Pay and pensions
Pupil health and wellbeing
Working practice and pupil behaviour
Bureaucracy and workload

Pay and pensions

Over the last 12 months, teachers have continued to report deep concerns about pay and financial pressures, although there are some positive movements compared to last year.

For instance, the proportion of teachers who do not believe that teaching is competitive with other professions has fallen again, down four points to 79%, while those who feel they are not paid at a level commensurate with their skills and experience has also declined slightly to 73%.

Similarly, fewer teachers now say that pay deters people from entering the profession, although it should be noted that three quarters still believe it remains a significant barrier.

Levels of financial anxiety remain high across the profession, with 81% of teachers saying they are worried about their financial situation - only a marginal decrease on last year - underlining the ongoing strain that low pay continues to exert.

Additionally, concerns about affordability of pensions remain, though the percentage of teachers who find costs unaffordable has dropped slightly to 24%.

There are further signs of easing pressures in day-to-day spending. Fewer teachers report cutting back on essentials such as heating (down ten points to 34%), food (down six points to 47%) and clothing (down four points to 66%). The number of teachers who have had to stop saving has also edged down to 56%.

However, the absolute numbers remain stark: nearly three quarters have cut back on social activities, nearly half have had to cut back on food, and over one in ten still say they have been forced to take a second job.

While there are modest improvements across a number of measures, the overall picture continues to show a profession under severe financial pressure, with high levels of worry, widespread personal cutbacks, and significant concerns about the competitiveness of teaching compared to other professions.

Q18		do not think that teaching is competitive with other professions
Q19		do not believe they are paid at a pay level commensurate with their skills and experiences
Q20		believe that people are put off a career in teaching because of pay
Q21		find their pension costs unaffordable
Q22		are worried about their financial situation (somewhat/very worried)

Q23 In the last 12 months, have you had to do any of the following:

Pupil health and wellbeing

The responses to questions about pupil health and wellbeing and safeguarding remain largely consistent with last year.

Almost all teachers report teaching pupils with mental health challenges and 85% say rates of adverse emotional, personal or social issues have increased over the past 12 months.

Eight in ten teachers continue to say that appropriate support is not available to address pupils’ mental health needs. Just over half report that safeguarding referrals have increased over the last year, while 81% feel supported to make safeguarding referrals within their school.

For the first time, the survey asked about types of provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or additional needs.

Over half of teachers report their school has a resourced provision or SEN unit and almost four in ten have internal alternative provision.

Fewer than half say that pupils in these provisions are reintegrated into mainstream classes, highlighting ongoing challenges in ensuring all pupils receive the support they need.

Q24		believe that the rates of adverse emotional, personal or social issues among pupils they teach have increased over the last 12 months
Q25		don’t believe that appropriate support is available to help address pupils’ mental health issues
Q26		fulfil a safeguarding lead role in their school
Q27		say that the number of safeguarding referrals made has increased (slightly/significantly) over the last year

Q28 Teachers who say that the number of safeguarding referrals made has increased (slightly/significantly) by type:

Q29		feel supported (moderately/very) to make safeguarding referrals within their school

Q30 Teachers who say their school has an internal resourced provision or SEN Unit for pupils with SEND:

Q31 Teachers who say their school has internal alternative provision for pupils (e.g. pupils who have been suspended, are in seclusion, have anxiety issues):

Q32		say that their school ensures that pupils attending internal resource provision are reintegrated back into main school classes

Working practice and pupil behaviour

Pupil behaviour continues to be a significant concern for teachers.

The most commonly reported issues remain the inability to follow rules, chatter in class, and irregular attendance, while failure to complete work, backchat, and late arrival at lessons also cause frequent disruption.

Worryingly, reports of physical assaults on teachers and misogynistic behaviour by pupils have increased slightly, although most other categories of poor behaviour are broadly stable compared with last year.

Incidents of pupils bringing weapons into schools remain rare but continue to worry teachers.

Teachers’ experiences of abuse or challenging behaviour from pupils and parents are similar to last year. However, a higher proportion of teachers feel that their school has not dealt with such incidents satisfactorily.

There have been small improvements in perceptions of support from schools, with slightly more teachers feeling empowered, resourced and supported in managing poor behaviour and a small increase in the number of schools completing risk assessments for violent or potentially violent pupils.

Concerns about school buildings remain, although slightly fewer teachers rate conditions as poor or deteriorated.

Persistent issues include extreme temperatures, leaking roofs, lack of ventilation, and limited welfare facilities, highlighting ongoing challenges in maintaining safe and suitable learning environments.

Q33 Pupil behaviour problems that cause the most concern on a day-to-day basis:

Q34 Teachers in the last 12 months say they have been subject to:

Q35		felt that their school had not dealt with abuse by a parent/carer or pupil in a satisfactory manner

Q37 My experience in my current school (agree/strongly agree with statement):

Q38 Percentage of schools that complete risk assessments for violent/potentially violent pupils:

27%		Yes - and shared with staff
16%		Yes - but not shared with staff

Q39		rate the condition of their school building as poor/very poor
Q40		say the condition of their school building has deteriorated/greatly deteriorated over the past three years

Q41 Concerns about conditions of school buildings:

Bureaucracy and workload

Teachers continue to face significant workload pressures, with almost half (48%) reporting a substantial increase over the past year.

Statistics

The average working week is 47 hours, including 12 hours outside the school day, with the greatest increases in time spent on administrative tasks, pastoral care, and data and assessment requirements.

Hours spent on classroom teaching, lesson preparation, marking, and remote education have remained relatively stable.

Overall, while the types of tasks have not changed dramatically, the continued high workload - especially time spent on non-teaching activities - remains a major challenge for teachers, highlighting the ongoing need for support and manageable workloads within schools.

Q42		say workload has increased significantly
Q43		hours worked in a typical mid-term week
Q44		hours worked in a typical mid-term week outside of school day

Q45 Change in time spent on activities (% saying more/much more time):

Teaching quality
Technology
Health and wellbeing
Job satisfaction

Teaching quality

Half of teachers report not feeling managed in a way that empowers them, with key factors contributing to professional disempowerment including:

• constant change (62%);

• lack of understanding from decision-makers (59%); and

• insufficient respect for teachers’ professional judgement (59%).

Other notable pressures include unreasonable expectations, a culture of blame, and insufficient support when challenges arise, highlighting persistent systemic challenges that limit teachers’ autonomy and professional confidence.

Threats or involvement in capability procedures remain relatively low (7% threatened, 5% subject to procedures), while respect for professional judgement shows slight improvement (30% feel it is not respected).

Access to continuing professional development (CPD) has decreased, with teachers reporting 16 hours in contracted time and 11 hours in their own time, alongside a small reduction in refused CPD requests (16%) and self-funding (8%).

Q46		do not feel managed in a way that empowers them

Q47 Factors that professionally disempower (% agreeing):

Q48		have been threatened with capability procedures in the last 12 months
Q49		have been subject to capability procedures in the last 12 months
Q50		have been offered or put on a support programme in the last 12 months
Q51		think that the professional judgement of teachers about the needs of their pupils is not respected in their school
Q52		hours CPD accessed over the last year in contracted time hours CPD accessed over the last year in own time
Q53		have had CPD requests refused in the past 12 months
Q54		have had to fund/part-fund their CPD

Technology

The 2025 survey focused on questions that highlight the growing integration of technology in schools, particularly remote education and artificial intelligence (AI).

Nearly half of teachers report that their schools continue to provide remote learning for unplanned closures (48%), pupils in seclusion (45%), and those who have been suspended (44%).

Remote activities are also being used to support pupils with mental health needs (32%), those with SEND/ALN who struggle socially (31%), and school-phobic pupils (27%).

AI is increasingly being adopted in teaching practice, with 43% of teachers using it for lesson planning, 28% for administrative tasks, 15% for delivering teaching, and 6% for marking.

Many teachers (71%) report that AI has reduced the time spent on certain tasks, allowing them to focus on other essential work, though only 7% feel it has reduced their overall workload.

Despite this, only a small proportion of staff (7%) are given dedicated time to train and prepare for using digital and AI-enabled technologies, indicating a need for greater structured support in this area.

Q55 Instances in which schools continue to provide remote education/distance learning/remote activities:

Q56		use AI for lesson planning and preparation (Yes, occasionally/Yes, frequently)
Q57		use AI for delivering teaching (Yes, occasionally/Yes, frequently)
Q58		use AI for marking students’ work (Yes, occasionally/Yes, frequently)
Q59		use AI for other administrative tasks (Yes, occasionally/Yes, frequently)

Q61 Implications of workload being reduced through using AI:

Q62		are given additional time to train and prepare to use digital technologies, including AI-enabled technologies

Health and wellbeing

Teachers continue to report high levels of stress and adverse effects on both their mental and physical health.

Three in five teachers indicate that their physical health has been negatively affected by their job, while nearly four in five report impacts on their mental health.

Workload remains the primary factor contributing to poor mental health, though issues such as poor pupil behaviour and poor management continue to play a significant role.

New to this year’s survey, leadership initiatives and expectations from multi-academy trusts (MATs), local authorities and government have also emerged as notable stressors.

Common physical health issues include headaches and back pain, reported by over half of teachers, alongside neck pain and high blood pressure.

In response to these challenges, many teachers have sought support from friends, colleagues or line managers, though fewer report accessing professional or medical help.

There are minor improvements in perceptions of school attention to women’s health and wellbeing, with small increases in the presence of policies supporting menstrual health and menopause.

Overall, while some indicators show slight improvements from 2024, stress levels and the prevalence of work-related health impacts remain high.

Q63		have experienced more workplace stress in the last 12 months
Q65		believe that the job has adversely affected their mental health in the last 12 months

Q66 Factors that have been most important in causing adverse mental health (% saying most important):

Q67 In the last 12 months, have you experienced any of the following because of work (% agreeing):

Q69		believe that the job has adversely affected their physical health in the last 12 months

Q70 In the last 12 months, have you experienced any of the following because of work:

Q72 If your job has negatively affected your mental/physical health in the last 12 months, have you done any of the following:

Q73		say that their school/college takes issues of women’s health and wellbeing seriously

Q74 Teachers who say that their school/college has the following policies to support women’s health, safety and wellbeing:

Q74		Menstrual health Menopause Other (responder specified)

Job satisfaction

In 2025, teachers’ overall views of their profession show small improvements in some areas, though key challenges remain.

Slightly more teachers now feel that their classroom expertise is valued, and there has been a notable improvement in how good teachers perceive their school buildings and teaching spaces to be for pupils (+6 points).

Pride in one’s school has also increased (+4 points) and a small rise is seen in the proportion of teachers who would recommend teaching as a career (+1 point).

Despite these modest improvements, workload remains the top concern for teachers, affecting three quarters of respondents.

Pupil behaviour and indiscipline remain high on the list of worries and pay continues to be a significant concern.

Encouragingly, fewer teachers report being dissatisfied with their job or experiencing a decline in job satisfaction over the last year and slightly fewer are considering leaving their current post or the profession.

Work/life balance shows mixed results. Teachers are slightly better able to separate work and home life (+3 points) and relax at home (+1 point), while tiredness and pressure from family expectations remain high.

Levels of experienced discrimination or harassment at work have remained stable.

Q75		would recommend teaching as a career

Q76 About own school:

Q77 Views on own job:

Q78 Work/life balance statements:

Q79		experienced discrimination at work in the last 12 months
Q80		experienced harassment from a colleague or manager at work in the last 12 months

Q81 Top five things that teachers like most about their job:

Q82 Top five concerns:

Q83		are not satisfied/very dissatisfied with their job
Q84		say that their job satisfaction has declined in the last 12 months
Q85		have seriously considered leaving their current job
Q86		have considered leaving the teaching profession