Most enter the profession believing that they have within them the power to change lives and, as far as personal and professional fulfilment goes, you can’t quite beat it.

It is an enormous responsibility though, to be a teacher that is, to be in control of the education of multiple individuals, year after year. Yet, it is a challenge that many take on with gusto, enthusiastic as they are that their vocation is not only one of the most important, but one of the purest.

However, the reality is less poetic, and, while one’s philosophy and understanding of education does not necessarily change at a base level, the fact of the matter is that teaching is hard work (and for all the wrong reasons).

It is everything outside of actual lesson time that has the most dramatic effect.

Busybodies, bureaucrats and middle of the road managers with a passion for process and spreadsheets, as well as the meddling inclinations of the political class of the moment, seem to do everything in their power to distract teachers from the very thing they should be focusing most of their time on: preparing for and delivering high quality, engaging and inspiring lessons.

Implicit in this is workload, and workload that is unnecessary in both volume and purpose. While those in the profession already know all too well how burdensome their profession has become, the stark reality of it is have a decisive impact on trainee, student and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) far earlier than normal.

A new survey from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) found, for example, that 76 per cent of respondents have considered leaving the profession because of heavy workloads, with a further 87 per cent stating that this is what they most dislike about teaching. Additionally, 79 per cent said that don’t have a good work/life balance, with 80 per cent saying that they do not get an opportunity to rest.

"New teachers, like their more experienced colleagues, are enthusiastic and caring professionals who want time to do their job well and have a reasonable work/life balance,” commented Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the ATL.

“It's incredibly sad to hear that so many are already disillusioned so early on in their careers, but it is understandable given the pressure and stress of a high workload. Unless the government makes changes to address teachers' workloads, we fear thousands of great teachers will leave the profession.”

Almost two weeks after this survey was published, the government announced its plans to transform the experience of teachers, outlining key measures it believes will “tackle the root causes of unnecessary workload”. It is based in response to and analysis of the Workload Challenge survey, which received over 44,000 replies – the biggest Department for Education consultation of its kind in a decade.

Some of the commitments include getting Ofsted to commit to not modifying its handbook or framework during the school year; providing schools with more notice of significant changes to the curriculum; improving access to best practice through a “central repository of evidence” and tracking teacher workload every two years starting in the spring of 2016.

However, Dr Bousted was less than impressed with the government’s response, describing it as a “bitter disappointment”. She said: "The government has dodged the issue of tackling the problems caused by Ofsted and the unreliability of its inspections.

"Ofsted is the biggest single cause of teachers' excessive workload, followed by tasks required by school leaders. These two causes are connected because Ofsted's judgements can make or break a school, and the variable quality of its inspectors means school leaders have no idea what they will demand to see.

“Leaders think they have to require teachers to produce mountains of duplicated evidence to 'prove' they are doing their job. I've heard of teachers writing comments on four-year-olds' work even when they can't yet read.”

While scathing in her response, she did have some positive comments to add, welcoming, for example, the government’s suggestion of providing school leaders with more support and lauding the idea that a more calculated introduction of reforms – especially to qualifications and the curriculum – would put less stresses on schools.

What is evident is that although the government recognises the problem, its ability to deliver thoughtful and decisive solutions is still lacking. As such, some of the ideas mooted can be considered to represent a breakthrough of sorts, but ultimately, as a whole, they appear to be lacking in real conviction.  The debate over teacher workload is far from over.