MORE than half of Scottish teachers have considered leaving the profession in the past year, according to a survey.
The NASUWT teaching union said 51% of members who took part in the questionnaire had considered leaving – a rise of 9% on the previous year.
The findings of 800 teachers, revealed at NASUWT Scotland's annual conference in Edinburgh, found some 60% said job satisfaction had declined in the past 12 months, a rise of 20% on 2012.
Nearly three-quarters said they had experienced more workplace stress, with 71% saying workload was their biggest worry.
Changes to the curriculum and qualifications were cited as the biggest generator of excessive workload by nearly six in 10 teachers.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: "This survey should be taken by the Scottish Government as a graphic illustration that they have a profession on the verge of a crisis."
A Scottish Government spokesman said the issue of stress was taken very seriously.
"We will continue to work with teachers' organisations and local authorities to monitor teacher workload," he said.
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