The Scottish government has this morning set out plans for a new national deal for teachers, including the possibility of a four-day teaching week for school staff.
The proposals, which the government says will help deliver its 2021 promise to reduce teachers’ class-contact time by 90 minutes a week, were set out today in an address by education secretary Jenny Gilruth to primary school leaders’ body the AHDS, at its annual conference in Glasgow.
The proposals would see “phased implementation of reduced contact time”, including a series of pilot projects.
The “flexible four-day teaching week” could, the government says, “offer a dedicated day for professional activities”.
‘Restructured school days’
Meanwhile, “nationally agreed minimum standards on pupil learning hours” are trailed as a way of allowing “later start times, extended breaks or restructured school days”.
AHDS delegates who spoke to 91 said they were pleased to hear a tangible announcement, but they needed more details, including when and where the pilot projects announced by Ms Gilruth would take place.
Scotland’s largest teaching union was “deeply disappointed” that the government announced the plans in a media release, instead of sharing them at the forum for negotiating teachers’ terms and conditions, the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT).
EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said: “The EIS will await further details of these proposals coming via the SNCT, which is the appropriate forum for discussions on teachers’ terms and conditions.
“Almost five years after the promise was made to reduce teacher workload, and almost a year after teachers were given assurances that proposals for implementation of the commitment would be on the table, it is deeply disappointing that the Scottish government has made related announcements via the media before appropriate discussion at the SNCT where teachers are represented by their unions.”
This month, Scottish teaching unions have started the process of balloting their members over strike action because of the government’s failure to deliver the extra 90 minutes a week out of class for school staff.
Ms Bradley said the ballot remained open, adding: “The EIS urges all teachers to vote in this ballot and to vote yes to strike action and yes to action short of strike.”
She also reiterated the union’s “red line” that the 90-minute reduction in class contact must be allocated to teachers’ preparation of learning, teaching and assessment.
‘Devil in the detail’
Reacting to the contact time announcement before Ms Gilruth addressed the issue further at the AHDS conference, School Leaders Scotland general secretary David Barnett said: “There is merit in these proposals, and we would be willing to work with Scottish government to achieve them. A flexible working week could make the profession more attractive, for example.
“However, the devil will be in the detail, and negotiations around this will take time. We still have an urgent need to reduce teachers’ workload, yet the use of the 90-minute reduction in class contact time has still to be agreed.”
Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association, said there were “lots of details missing” in the education secretary’s announcement and “pitfalls with all of it”.
He added: “The Cabinet secretary wants a lot in return - more professional learning, more school improvement activities and support for ASN [additional support needs].”
He said that the announcement “brings us back” to a dominant issue in Scottish schools: teacher workload.
Mr Searson also questioned why the proposals had not been “brought to the SNCT table before now”.
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