NUT research into teachers' state of mind

Research for the Teachers Under Pressure report was conducted over a five-year period. John MacBeath and Maurice Galton discovered that primary teachers' workload has increased from 54 hours per week to 56 hours.

They found that newly qualified teachers felt their initial freshness of thinking was diminished by the government's national strategies.

The report criticised the pressure placed on teachers to deliver performance-based and formulaic lessons and "the tyranny of assessment" they find themselves under. It said creativity in teaching had been lost as a result.

Christine Blower, Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "Teachers Under Pressure is a wake up call for Government. It cannot ignore the overwhelming evidence that over-prescription and rigid centralisation are robbing teachers of their creativity.

"This can only have a negative effect on children's own enthusiasm for learning. I urge the Government, in its upcoming reviews such as the Primary Review, to recognise that teachers need far greater trust to be placed in their judgement."

"If this message is not heeded then education itself suffers," she added.