Northern Ireland

Public underestimates number of hours teachers work

Those polled suggested teachers worked 45.9 hours a week
Those polled suggested teachers worked 45.9 hours a week Those polled suggested teachers worked 45.9 hours a week

PEOPLE underestimate the weekly number of hours teachers work by almost a full school day, new research has found.

Questioned about the hours primary and secondary teachers spend in school, those polled suggested teachers worked 45.9 hours a week.

Education charity the Varkey Foundation's Global Teacher Status Index 2018 indicated that staff in Britain and Northern Ireland spend 50.9 hours at work, however.

Classroom staff in the UK were working the fourth longest hours per week out of the 35 countries polled, behind New Zealand, Singapore and Chile.

Respondents also said they thought the average starting salary for a secondary school teacher was around £29,000, instead of £24,000.

On average, the public thought a fair wage would be almost £31,500, while the teachers polled said it would be close to £33,000.

According to the index, overall teacher status has risen in the UK relative to other countries polled, since the survey was last conducted in 2013.

Then the UK ranked 10 out of 21 countries surveyed, and of those 21 countries it now ranks seventh, leapfrogging countries including the US and the Netherlands.

Of the 35 countries polled for the 2018 index, it ranked 13.