TEACHERS in England started industrial action today in a bid to secure better pay and working practices.

The NASUWT union instructed members to limit their hours by working to rule, following ballots for industrial action that took place last term.

The union’s national action committee is initially instructing members in schools and colleges to refuse to undertake extracurricular activities, midday supervision and work during lunch breaks.

Teachers will also refuse to work at weekends or on bank holidays, to perform other tasks during planning, preparation and assessment time and to take part in mock inspections.

NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “We can no longer allow teachers to be overworked and exhausted by the demands of the job.

“The government needs to take more urgent action on workload and working hours, which are the key drivers leading to teachers and head teachers leaving the profession prematurely.

“Our action will ensure that teachers and head teachers can focus their time on teaching and learning, whilst bringing immediate downward pressure on workload and working hours.

“The government has accepted that excessive workload is a problem that must be tackled.

“But the reality is that teachers in England are working some of the longest hours anywhere in the OECD [the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, most of whose members are highly developed countries] and this is simply no longer acceptable or sustainable.”

Dr Roach called for greater urgency from the government and more investment to tackle the workload crisis in schools and colleges.

“The industrial action beginning today will mean that, for the first time in a decade, specific measures and protections are being put into place to tackle excessive workload and working hours and to ensure teachers’ health, safety and welfare,” he said.

The Department for Education was contacted for comment.