Almost nine in 10 teachers have told Ofsted that mounting workload is a barrier to taking part in professional development and training.
A review by the inspectorate also warned that some of the training teachers receive is not of a high quality.
And Ofsted found that almost a third of teachers said they needed more training in supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The watchdog has published a new report into professional development today, based on findings from school visits last year and a survey carried out at the end of 2021.
Workload ‘a barrier’ to professional development
According to a YouGov survey, which informed the Ofsted review, the majority of classroom teachers (87 per cent) reported that workload pressures were a barrier to them being able to take part in development and training.
This was followed by the availability of staff to cover lessons (73 per cent), the cost to the school (68 per cent) and timetable conflicts (67 per cent).
Chief inspector Amanda Spielman said: “Schools know that professional development is vital, so it’s disheartening to see poor-quality training and workloads getting in the way.
“It’s important that teachers get high-quality training at every stage of their career. Training helps teachers learn new techniques and gain confidence, which in turn helps pupils.”
Commenting on the findings, the Association of School and College Leaders’ general secretary, Geoff Barton, said: “It is significant that even Ofsted is now highlighting the impact of teacher workloads. This problem is caused by the government’s chronic underfunding of the education system and teacher shortages resulting from real-terms pay cuts.”
Mr Barton added that professional development was a vital element of supporting career progression, classroom practice and retaining teachers but that “schools and colleges have very little time or money to do anything beyond the needs of the day”.
Concerns about quality of training
The Ofsted report found that only two-fifths of respondents to the YouGov survey thought they had received enough relevant, high-quality training since April 2021.
However, early career teachers (ECT) and teachers studying National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) were much more positive.
The report showed that in total, just over a third of respondents either slightly or strongly disagreed that they had frequent high-quality development opportunities.
Ofsted said that during the school visits it carried out, staff regularly commented that the training they had recently received was sometimes irrelevant.
This concern applied to both in-house training and courses provided by external experts and organisations.
Curriculum the most common focus of training and development
The survey carried out for Ofsted also asked teachers which topics were covered by the training they had carried out.
The most frequently mentioned topic was curriculum, which was highlighted by 36 per cent of respondents.
Ofsted said it is encouraging that schools have prioritised training and development around the curriculum, adding: “This works well alongside Ofsted’s focus on the quality of education in the education inspection framework.”
Teachers want more SEND training
The second most commonly mentioned topic was special educational needs, which was highlighted by 30 per cent of teachers taking part in the survey.
However, SEND was also the most common answer when respondents were asked what areas they felt they needed more training in, cited by three in 10 teachers.
The other areas highlighted were approaches to individualised learning (21 per cent), school leadership (19 per cent) and ICT skills for teaching (18 per cent).
The Ofsted report was more positive about training for ECTs and the Early Career Framework (ECF).
The report added that ECTs tended to find the focus and content of the ECF to be well aligned with their needs in terms of quality and relevance. Only on a few occasions did ECTs say that the training was irrelevant and unengaging.
However, several ECTs told Ofsted that there was limited flexibility in the programme and that it was “too prescribed and generic, with no scope to develop aspects bespoke to the teacher or the school they worked in”.
Some teachers also commented that the focus of the training and the materials used were irrelevant.
The Ofsted report noted that when it carried out its survey there was “limited awareness of the ECF and reformed NPQs”.
Less than half of teachers said they were aware of the ECF, according to the YouGov survey carried out in 2021.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We have put in place free professional development programmes called National Professional Qualifications.
“They are helping new teachers early in their careers and are supporting experienced teachers looking to progress into specialist and leadership positions, so they feel more confident in the classroom and in their careers.
“We are listening to teachers and working with them to address issues such as workload, including through development of a workload reduction toolkit.”
