Teacher recruitment and retention have been associated with the word ‘crisis’ since I joined the profession thirty years ago. But Daniel Kebede’s idea to give teachers a day each week to work and ‘mark from home’ is not the answer.

Kebede is the general secretary of the National Education Union. His job is to speak up for his members – many of whom, like me, work very long hours. According to the Department for Education, full-time teachers put in an average of 52.4 hours per week during term time. The work might be rewarding but it is also gruelling and often challenging. Yes, the holidays and the pension are nice but, less than three weeks into term, I am sinking under the sheer volume of work that needs to be done by the end of the week, never mind half term.

If Kebede had his way, ev

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