TEACHERS’ WORKING TIME AND DUTIES

1 TEACHERS WORKINGTIME ANDDUTIES AN NUT GUIDE 2 3 CONTENTSINTRODUCTION.. 4 SCHOOL TEACHERS PAY AND CONDITIONS DOCUMENT (STPCD).. 6 SECTION 1 TEACHERS WORKING time .. 8 Examples of a Directed time Budget .. 11 The STPCD and Part- time Teachers .. 13 Discharging Professional DUTIES .. 15 The teacher Decides.. 15 Work/Life Balance .. 17 Absence.. 17 Morning and Afternoon Breaks .. 17 Non-Contact time /Planning, Preparation and Assessment time .. 19 Leadership and Management time .. 19 Headship time .. 20 SECTION 2 PROFESSIONAL DUTIES .. 22 Reasonable Direction .. 23 Professional DUTIES Teaching .. 23 NUT Policy on Schemes of Work and Lesson Plans.. 24 Professional DUTIES Whole School Organisation, Strategy and Development .. 26 Professional DUTIES Cover .. 26 Gained time .. 27 Professional DUTIES Health, Safety and Discipline.

2 28 Professional DUTIES Management of Staff and Resources.. 28 Professional DUTIES Professional Development .. 28 Making Meetings Effective .. 30 DUTIES of Head Teachers as they Affect Teachers .. 35 Administrative and Clerical Tasks .. 36 SECTION 3 OTHER PROFESSIONAL ISSUES AFFECTING WORKLOAD.. 40 Written Documents/Policies/Reports .. 41 Common Assessment Frameworks (CAFs) .. 41 OFSTED/Estyn.. 41 Monitoring Visits .. 43 Target Setting .. 44 National Curriculum and Assessment .. 45 National Curriculum and Assessment in Wales .. 54 The Foundation Phase in Wales .. 55 Excessive Class Size .. 57 Changes to School Session Times .. 58E-mail Overload .. 59 Classroom Observation.. 60 SECTION 4 CONCLUSION.. 62 4 INTRODUCTIONThe NUT has campaigned over the years to seek to establish effectivelimits to teachers workload.

3 There is no shortage of evidence about theextent of the problem. In February 2014, following sustained pressure in the form of afreedom of information request, the DfE finally published the findingsof its 2013 teacher Workload Diary Survey. The survey revealed anastonishing increase in the hours that teachers are WORKING . The average primary teacher is WORKING nearly 60 hours a week, onlyslightly behind the average primary head teacher and an increase of 9 hours a week since 2010. Secondary head teachers average 63 hours per week and the average secondary classroom teacher is WORKING nearly 56 hours a week, which is almost 6 hours a weekmore than in 2010. These levels are simply unsustainable and are one of the reasons for our stand up for education campaign. See February 2014, the School Teachers Review Body (STRB) deliveredMichael Gove a huge blow by rebuffing his recommendations forremoval of key elements of the teachers contract.

4 He had sought topersuade the STRB that certain provisions undermined professionalismand were overly-prescriptive. Instead the STRB recognised the strengthof the NUT s arguments about excessive workload levels andrecommended retention of WORKING time limits, PPA in its current formand rarely cover .Whilst this was a genuine victory, unfortunately it did nothing toimprove the current WORKING lives of teachers and it still remains thecase that workload remains too burdensome, and that two out of fiveteachers leave in the first five years of their career. 51 This guide supercedes all other NUT guidance and recent and future strike action our campaign of action short of strike action, which began in autumn 2012, is continuing and provides a fantastic opportunity to put pressure on theGovernment, improve the WORKING lives of teachers and deliver improvements for the young people they teach.

5 See ,uk/campaigns/protect- help NUT members in their schools tackle their own workloadreduction priorities, guidance is available in the `Workload StrongerTogether section of the NUT website This includes practical advice on howto take issues forward, time sheets to log hours worked, a checklist ofworkload targets, as well as guidance on tackling stress and ondeveloping policies on work-life guide1includes both a detailed summary of teachers conditions ofservice, as set out in the STPCD, and NUT policy and advice. 61. Advice and support on any of the issues raised in this guide isavailable in the first instance from the NUT AdviceLine: Tel: 020 3006 6266; Email: in England. Members in Wales should contact NUTC ymru: Tel: 029 2049 1818; Email: SUPPORT2. The NUT will provide advice and assistance to schoolrepresentatives and members seeking to have NUT policyimplemented.

6 In most cases, as a result of negotiations,agreement will be reached. Where negotiation fails to resolve theproblem, and where there is sufficient support amongstmembers, a ballot of members for industrial action to seek toachieve a resolution can be SCHOOL TEACHERS PAY ANDCONDITIONS DOCUMENT (STPCD)3. The STPCD contains the statutory requirements for teachers payand conditions for maintained schools in England and Wales andlocal authorities and schools must abide by these. It applies toteachers employed by a local authority or by the governing bodyof a foundation or voluntary aided school. It may also apply incases where teachers in academies and independent schoolshave transferred when a school has adopted academy The STPCD also contains statutory guidance on salaries andconditions of service issues.

7 Local authorities and governingbodies are required to have regard to the guidance and a court ortribunal may take any failure to do so into account in any legalproceedings. In effect, this means that any school not followingthe guidance would need to have good reason not to do so andwould need to be able to justify any departure from it. 75. Where the STPCD applies, there is a legal obligation upon schoolmanagement to give NUT school representatives access to is best effected by schools keeping up-to-date copies forreference purposes. The provisions are statutory and schoolscannot choose to ignore them. Additional copies can bedownloaded from StrongerTogetherSECTION 1 TEACHERS WORKINGTIME 8 9 Section 1 Teachers WORKING Time6. The provisions described below apply to teachers other thanhead teachers, deputy head teachers and assistant headteachers.

8 How Many Days?7. The STPCD states that a full- time teacher must be available forwork for 195 days in any school year, of which 190 days must bedays on which the teacher may be required to teach pupils andperform other DUTIES . The 195 days must be specified by theemployer or, if the employer so directs, by the head The STPCD states that teachers must be available for work for195 days in any school year. It does not state that teachers mustbe present at school for 195 days. There is room for employersand for head teachers to exercise A head teacher cannot direct a teacher to undertake DUTIES onany of the 170 calendar days, 171 in a leap year, not specified asworking days by the The NUT believes that there should be no variation from theworking days specified by the employer for schools generally orwithin individual schools without consultation with the teachersconcerned.

9 NUT members facing variations which do not meetwith their ready agreement should consult the The STPCD states that a full- time teacher must be available toperform such DUTIES at such times and such places as may bespecified by the head 1265 hours, those hours to beallocated reasonably throughout those days in the school year onwhich the teacher is required to be available for work . It isimportant to remember that the 1265 hours is an absolutemaximum and that teachers do not have to be directed to workright up to that limit. 1012. The STPCD also states that no teacher may be required to workon any Saturday, Sunday or public holiday unless their contract ofemployment expressly provides for this .13. Under the STPCD, the 195 specified days do not have to beidentical for all teachers in the school.

10 If they are different,however, individual arrangements must be made for the time toscore against the 1265 hour and 195 day These limits must not be exceeded. Members who are calledupon to undertake directed time which would exceed these limitsshould consult the Union as soon as the situation arises or,preferably, as soon as it seems likely. It is essential that schoolskeep accurate records of the demands upon their teachers, interms of directed time . In advance of each academic year,teachers should be provided with a directed time calendar ordiary, setting out their commitments in terms of teaching, PPA time , leadership and management time and meetings. NUT members should contact the Union if they believe that they are likely to exceed 1265 hours of directed time or pro-rata if part- time .