As part of Green Shoots’ ongoing research programme into the UK schools’ market, we have initiated a biannual study exploring both macro and micro trends in education. A summary of the findings from the first study is now available, and can be downloaded here. Some key findings include:
Feedback on the UK macro-education landscape
Teachers tended to be quite pessimistic when reporting their views on the UK macro-education landscape. There was widespread agreement that the sector is underfunded, and that government policy has failed to improve standards.
However, teachers were somewhat more polarised when it came to considering the value attached to education by society. Slightly more teachers feel that education is valued by society than those who feel education is not valued by society.
Feedback on the situation in schools
Despite being pessimistic about the situation at the national level, teachers tended to be more positive about the situation in their own schools. Indeed there was general agreement that their schools had supportive cultures, effective leadership, and a good CPD programme. Teachers were less likely to report that their school has good tech / digital capabilities.
Once again funding was cited as being a big challenge. When considering spend for the coming year, teachers tended to feel that staffing costs, spend on premises and facilities, and spend on ICT infrastructure were most likely to be prioritised for increased expenditure.
Feedback on teachers’ personal experiences of teaching
Despite extremely challenging conditions facing teachers over the past couple of years, many teachers reported that they enjoy their jobs, feel supported by colleagues, and believe that they can achieve their career goals. However, workload is clearly a significant issue, and teachers described being at breaking point.
We look forward to see how the situation changes over the coming years.
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