Greetings, Tappsters!
As we approach the end of February, it’s the final opportunity to earn entries into our February Prize Draw. One fortunate teacher will win the Ultimate Snack Drawer hamper, filled with treats selected by our wonderful community. To participate, simply engage with Teacher Tapp for five consecutive days. For full terms and conditions, please click here.
Now, let’s find out what you have told us this week…
Data Drops
The bad news is that more than 40% of you are made stressed or unhappy at work due to administrative tasks. The good news is that this figure has been steadily decreasing over time. This figure of 40% is the lowest we’ve ever seen!
A significant portion of these tasks involves data analysis and submissions, commonly known as ‘data drops.’ Interestingly, only 2% of teachers consider this their favourite aspect of the job. Currently, approximately 36% of you are required to provide pupil data to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) at least once per half term—a reduction of fourteen percentage points since 2019.
Most schools are now adopting a termly approach for data drops. It doesn’t really vary by phase either, all teachers are seeing the benefit of this reduction in requirements. 🥳
Homework Limiting
Homework marking and recording often contributes to the data collection process, and this week we asked you to imagine a world where secondary schools only set homework in THREE subjects. Would one of these be yours?
Teachers in all subjects thought that Maths should be one of the three subjects chosen, with 92% of you choosing it. Intriguingly, more Science teachers (95%) than Mathematics teachers (92%) emphasise the importance of Maths homework. English and Science follow closely, with Languages ranking fourth; one in five teachers believe it should be among the top three subjects assigned homework in this context.
Working from home
Speaking of homework, how many heads are looking at adjusting the timetable to make working from home an option for teachers?
Regarding work flexibility, 21% of primary headteachers currently permit staff to start late or finish early by utilising Planning, Preparation, and Assessment (PPA) time. In secondary schools, this practice is observed by 27% of headteachers. However, allocating an entire day at home through PPA adjustments is less prevalent, with only 8% of primary and 3% of secondary heads implementing this approach.
Extra-curricular
One reason for offering the flexibility around PPA is because of the extra hours teachers put in when running lunchtime or afterschool clubs. A huge 88% of teachers say their department offers extra-curricular clubs, with just 12% reporting there were no non-timetabled sessions. Over time, running extra clubs has remained pretty stable – with small increases in the numbers offering revision clubs for exams (67% UP from 61% in 2022).
Reluctant subject leaders
Over in primary, the issue of subject leadership continues to prove tricky for some teachers – with the subject responsibility given to them despite the preferences of that teacher.
Around one in five primary teachers are leading a subject, when they would prefer to be leading another (22%).
Not having a choice is a common set up, with just under half saying they had NO choice in what subjects they were made subject leader for (48%).
Fortunately, despite the lack of choice, 78% of teachers are happy with the subjects they lead on (though 45% of these are ones who did have some choice!).
If you are a primary subject leader, what are your main responsibilities?
📖 86% conduct book scrutiny or review
💻 83% lead CPD on their subject
✏️ 43% Write schemes of work
👀 73% conduct lesson observations
Paper vs Electronic 📕🥊🖥️
As for our EYFS finding of the week this week, we asked whether you preferred paper or electronic reading resources, and the answer was fairly unanimous – paper, by 95% to 5%.
Will this change over time? One to keep an eye on…
Daily Reads
This week our most-read piece was a piece for primary teachers about Year Group recommended reading lists
Have you seen a great blog you think would make a great daily read? Let us know by emailing england@teachertapp.co.uk and we will check it out!
