Teachers, take back your time!

Teachers everywhere know the feeling. You sign up to teach, but end up buried under admin. The latest data from the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s (AITSL) Australian Teacher Workforce Survey (2023) confirms it: full-time classroom teachers are spending significant time on non-teaching tasks, with lesson planning, marking, and administration consuming a substantial portion of their week. According to the survey, 40% of full-time classroom teachers spend 10 or more hours per week on lesson planning and preparation alone, while 24% of secondary teachers and 11% of primary teachers dedicate 10 or more hours to marking and assessing student work. Over 50% of teachers report spending 5 or more hours on administrative tasks each week, with one-fifth logging 10 or more hours on paperwork. This equates to roughly an extra day or more of work each week, often spilling into nights and weekends.

Workload is the biggest factor driving teacher stress and attrition. While schools work hard to support staff, the system itself keeps demanding more. The AITSL data shows teachers often spend more time on paperwork than on face-to-face teaching, which can erode the quality of programming and assessment. Lesson planning, a core component of teaching, is vital but time-intensive—41% of primary and 40% of secondary teachers report spending 5-9 hours weekly on this task, with many exceeding 10 hours. Marking, particularly for secondary teachers, adds further strain, with nearly a quarter spending 10 or more hours per week. These demands leave little room for reflection or innovation, and the quality of teaching can suffer as a result.

Programming should be a support tool, not another source of overload. Yet too often, programming documents become long and bureaucratic. Units are copied and pasted year after year without review. Success criteria sit in folders rather than driving student learning. Teachers may feel they are “done” because they have a document, but without time to reflect and refresh, lessons lose their edge.

This is where schools can take action. By rethinking how programming is designed, shared, and improved, schools can reclaim hours each week and give teachers time to focus on students rather than paperwork. Collaborative programming across stages or faculties can reduce duplication. Clear success criteria can make teaching sharper and marking easier—potentially cutting down the 10+ hours many secondary teachers spend on assessment. Using digital tools to store, update, and share units means teachers can work smarter, not longer.

Planuva is designed to do exactly that. Instead of every teacher reinventing the wheel each year, schools can build a master program with units, assessments, and lesson outlines. Teachers can adapt it to their classes and feed back improvements at the end of the term. Over time, this builds a living, improving program rather than a static document. This continuous improvement loop can help schools get ahead of workload pressure, particularly for lesson planning, which consumes significant time for 80% of full-time teachers.

When teachers spend less time wrestling with programming and admin, students benefit. Lessons become more focused, assessments more consistent, and expectations clearer. Teachers can redirect their energy to where it counts most: direct teaching, feedback, and student support. By addressing the heavy burden of lesson planning (40% of teachers spending 10+ hours) and marking (up to 24% of secondary teachers spending 10+ hours), schools can create a more sustainable workload model.

For more detailed breakdowns of teacher workload, working hours, and workforce profiles, see the Australian Teacher Workforce Data Reports at AITSL.

If you want to join the solution to the workload program, sign up with us at https://planuva.com