Over half (51 per cent) of staff governors believe their schools are not “effectively addressing” workload and wellbeing issues, according to a new survey.

But the vast majority (81 per cent) of chairs of governing boards thought the opposite - that their schools were effectively dealing with the issues impacting staff recruitment and retention, according to the poll conducted by the National Governance Association. (NGA).

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The NGA said this demonstrated “a disconnect in the perception” of how well schools were dealing with the issue.

Only just over a third (36 per cent) of boards reported that they consider addressing staff wellbeing and workload to be one of the top three issues facing their school or trust, and less than half (45 per cent) of governors and trustees feel a school’s ability to manage the issue impacts recruitment and retention.

The survey also shows that 38 per cent of governors and trustees say it is difficult to attract good quality teaching staff, while 34 per cent said it was difficult to attract senior leaders. 

The recruitment and retention crisis has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, says the NGA.

Steve Edmonds, director of advice and guidance at the NGA, said: “It’s not surprising that so many governing boards consider addressing staff workload and wellbeing issues to be one of the top issues facing their school or trust and we expect this will be even higher now given the significant strain that school leaders and staff have been under maintaining continuity of education during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Governing boards working alongside school leaders have substantial responsibilities to support the wellbeing of those employed in their schools and trusts, including their work-life balance.

“Now more than ever, it is important for boards collectively to take a lead in considering and supporting the mental health and wellbeing needs of their school community, particularly their staff.

“We should not accept a culture that normalises overwork and excessive working hours more than it demonstrates an overriding concern for the wellbeing of a school’s most important resource.”

The survey also found that:

• Twice as many (62 per cent) of those governing schools graded “inadequate” by Ofsted said it was difficult to recruit to executive leadership posts, compared to 36 per cent of those governing ‘good’ schools and 39 per cent of those governing ‘outstanding’ schools.
• And 71 per cent of governors and trustees supported the government’s plans to raise primary and secondary school teachers’ starting salaries to £30,000 by 2022-33.