Victorian Catholic education member survey: Workload
The main reason cited for pay dissatisfaction (55%) by members in Victorian Catholic schools was that ‘the work is more demanding than the pay reflects’.
‘It shows that members are not asking for more money just for the sake of it,’ says David Brear, General Secretary. ‘Staff in schools need a fair pay rise to keep up with the rising cost of living – but just as importantly, they need relief from unsustainable workloads so they can focus on teaching. No one started a teaching career in order to spend their days buried in paperwork.’
Read more results from our recent member survey:
Most respondents (79%), think it’s important to protect the workload improvements won in the 2022 Agreement, but it’s clear that more needs to be done. A
Administration (90%), dealing with learning plans (83%), assessments (79%) and meetings (79%) were identified the most burdensome aspects of teacher workload.
Priorities for workload improvements were: Reducing administration (77%), providing more support for special needs students (71%), and having more preparation time (71%).
David says these results show that workload changes introduced in the 2022 Agreement need to ‘be refined and go further’.
‘In many cases, employers are still resisting meaningful workload reforms. It’s a damaging approach. Alienating and exhausting your workforce doesn’t benefit anyone. Supporting staff wellbeing benefits schools – and most importantly, students.’
The IEU will take on board the concerns of members to continue the push for more efficient, supportive and fulfilling workload models.
Survey comments
The survey confirms that administrative burdens are still having far-reaching impacts on student learning, staff wellbeing, and the sustainability of the profession.
Excessive workload and administrative burden
Teachers are overwhelmed by non-teaching tasks:
‘What we need is a way to either reduce the workload (especially the administrative burden) OR a way of tracking the overtime work spent on marking.’
‘It’s not pay, it’s not face-to-face teaching, it’s all about the ridiculous amount of paperwork and administrative expectation.’
Administrative duties cut into teaching time and effectiveness:
‘By the time I actually walk into the classroom to begin my lessons, I am exhausted… any passion I had for the topic is gone.’
‘We are doing 100 times the work, and studies show kids are not gaining anything from us working ourselves to the ground.’
NCCD documentation:
‘A lot of workload can be traced back to NCCD and documentation that is unnecessary… could that be addressed? For what purpose are we writing all this down?’
‘We recently went through an audit where they asked us to log every single time we’ve had to do anything for any student with NCCD requirements. And then all of a sudden they said, oh, so we passed the audit, but now we’re going to apply for the funding. So you’ve got to re-enter that same data again.’
An overflowing curriculum:
‘We are constantly rushing through things… this is a major contributor to why our teachers (are) burning out.’ Impact on students and pedagogy:– ‘I hate having to say to my students that we can’t further explore a topic … because we just don’t have the time.’
‘I feel like I am always behind in the classroom. It means that I don’t spend the time that I would like to spend on certain things, children missing things. We kind of just have to move on. And we are just constantly chasing our tails. It’s hard to feel successful.’
St Joseph’s Newtown.
Impact on wellbeing and retention
Many members are reducing hours or considering leaving:
‘I am unable to work full time and have taken a $20,000 pay cut just so I can have a normal work-life balance.’
‘We don’t have a teacher shortage. We have teachers and they are leaving.’
Psychological effects are real:
‘The workload is causing significant psychological harm … I may need to take stress leave.’
‘Teachers are quiet quitting or taking leave like never before just to survive the workload.’
‘The industry does not have enough teachers and the ones who are staying are being treated poorly. Protect us before it is too late.’
‘After teaching in lockdowns and then the aftermath, it has been exhausting. Teacher burnout is real and we need our profession to be valued.’
Lack of inclusion and special education support
Mainstream classrooms are ill-equipped:
‘(Students are enrolled) who are not able to be successful in mainstream education … with little to no support.’
‘Teachers trying to be inclusive with no special ed training is extensive.’
Documentation and ILP demands are unmanageable:
‘My class has 8 PLPS and 8 SAPS … I am not given additional time to complete these documents.’
‘A class teacher … (has) 10 ILPs to complete each week and adjustments to learning. She has no support.’
