Wave 3 of the government’s Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders research (DfE, 2025) has revealed a general reduction in working hours, but many teachers are still spending at least half of their working time on tasks other than teaching.
Based on the experiences of 10,020 teachers and leaders, the surveys took place between January and May 2024 and asked respondents about their last full week of work.
Overall, teachers worked an average of 48.1 hours in their last full week of work, down from 49.4 in 2023. School leaders meanwhile worked an average week of 56.6 hours, down from 57.4.
The findings show that at secondary level, school leaders report working 57.8 hours a week, down from 58.5 in 2023. Secondary school teachers, meanwhile, report an average working week of 47.8 hours, down from 48.9 in 2023.
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