Ed Sec looking to reduce teacher workload to avert strikes (England)

[noblegiraffe]

The Telegraph is reporting that Gillian Keegan has instructed the DfE to look into ways to reduce teacher workload to avoid strike action, because the government is still refusing to look at pay either this year or next.

Apparently teachers spend 22 hours a week teaching and 29 hours a week on non-teaching tasks according to research by Ofsted in 2019.

Suggestions to reduce this include 'websites that mark answers for you in maths' (Are there any maths departments without a subscription to one of these already?), and stopping trying to quantify progress for Ofsted.

Better suggestions would be:
Scrapping Ofsted graded inspections and replacing with safeguarding checks
Increasing the number of qualified teachers (improving pay would help here) to reduce workload for experienced teachers who have to plan/support/pick up after supply or unqualified teachers
Guaranteed minimum one PPA per day (this would need more teachers, see above)
Funding CAMHS and stopping expecting teachers to do this job
Funding SEN provision properly

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/02/15/teachers-workloads-could-cut-bid-halt-strikes-schools/ (paywalled)

This worries me massively. I've done huge amounts for my subject in the last few years and not all is recorded even though evidence in practice is clear. I guess that's a job for next week.

When the unfunded pay rises mean that schools are getting rid of even more support staff than just those who are leaving to work in supermarkets, then it begs the question who is going to pick up the slack from reducing teacher workload? Oh, yeah, ain't gonna happen.

The Teachers' Workload Agreement was fabulous. We no longer have the support staff in the right roles or right numbers to do it...

I'd also get rid of all the endless interventions and the need to log everything on some dashboard somewhere. And restorative conversations can do one.

As a teacher, I’d much prefer to have a full days PPA per fortnight, and be allowed to WFH on that day. We did this at my previous school and it was fantastic!
30 mins PPA per day would be rubbish!

Also, school leaders, directed time is meant to be a limit, not a target...

I agree about ppa each day.
This is how mine is split this year and I was really annoyed initially but it's so much better as I can modify planning based on how the lesson went, go over learning that needs reinforcing etc

The irony of not doing your own photocopying in order to reduce teacher workload was that it took longer to organise what / how / how many of each sheet you’d want the admin staff to copy. We abandoned this after teachers practically rebelled!

My proposal would be 1 hour per day at secondary, so a full day per week at primary.

There should be a requirement for every new initiative, form, data collection, meeting to be impact assessed. If it increases anyone's workload, something else should be removed.

A full day's PPA means full days of teaching the rest of the week though, right? What happens if you're unwell on the PPA day?

A full period of PPA each day would be really good though.

In terms of directed time, I think there should be a proper requirement for schools to publish their calendars and it should be ensured that they don't go over, including trapped time. I don't know how this could be enforced but I do think it should be checked in some way.

How many schools have a reprographics department any more? Haven't they all been cut as a cost saving measure?

I'm sure there are some parents who if banned from ever entering school premises would mean life would be much better for teachers.

I'm not a teacher, never have been, though several of the family have. The one day PPA not in the school building I think they would support.

When I tell nin teacher friends what is going on they can't believe it. SEN provision is shocking,we have now got one mentor who works 0.8,we used to have 3 fill time. Our school nurse was never reached. Teachers should not have to monitor attendance- that is down to our one attendance officer in a school of 1200🙄,we should have time to develop relationships with our classes and tutor groups- that gone now. Disruptive elements should be removed so Quality teaching first- sick of hearing this,can happen. I am single, no kids, earli 50s and decided to drop a day as I can't take the pace. It relentless. Will be on strike not gor me as I probably won't carry on till 67🙄but for my younger colleagues. Ooh feel better now🤣

An awful lot of workload has been created in recent years in my school sixth form based around trying to make the kids actually do the work, and then endless intervention when they don't.

Sixth form used to be the place where you could teach, expect the kids to do the work, and kick them out if they didn't. Now they can't even drop a subject at AS, we can't kick them out because we need the funding and so it is on teachers to drag them through the course. So much time organising their work, checking they've done it, organising catch up.

I told my head that when he wanted to add more pointless shit to the calendar. He was surprised.

@thebridgeinny

Why should children with additional needs be dumped elsewhere? My autistic dd was mainstream educated to 18 and is at university, special schools don't educate to this level (we investigated and fought for lea who wanted to dump her in a non achieving unit!)

I feel like sixth formers are coping less well than previously perhaps due to the pandemic. But I agree at some point students have to be allowed to fail too - a lot of work goes into supporting y11 students as well.

I've been asked by y12s this year if we can run revision sessions for them. In theory I'm not against the idea but when?

When all the other local schools are doing this sort of support, it's hard not to, but I guess if someone centrally was able to put a stop to it, it would probably help.

In my school, we could do with 1 ppa per day to use for exactly that and at least 2 pastoral hours per week that we could use to do all the pastoral things we’re
expected to do as a form tutor. In the last 2 weeks of half term, every single hour of my PPA (and I’m a subject leader, so I get an additional hour per week for that) was taken up dealing with pastoral issues.

The expectation needs to be that teachers are there to teach. We cannot be expected to keep picking up the work caused by lack of Camhs services, social services and support for parents.

I’d like to go back to the days where we had enough admin support and cover supervisors too.

@Postapocalypticcowgirl

Years ago you chose whether to go to 6th form, now it's compulsory pretty much unless you have a job/apprenticeship which mostly requires you to have passed some GCSEs.

The staff and funding is needed to support students properly though. At the moment, it's not there and it is an issue.

I think also the number of students with additional support needs in large classes does create a workload issue. But smaller class sizes would help a lot here.

That's true, but there are a lot of vocational options too - that said BTEC etc requires a lot of work on behalf of the students and there's a lot of admin, too!

Perhaps more effort should be put into supporting students to find the right post 16 options?

Please god, yes, a PPA a day would’ve amazing! Mostly, tho, I need a secretary who can make phone calls for me to tell parents their child has done xyz and will be in detention, someone to do my photocopying for me and someone to input data and organise school trips abroad which takes forever!

Not a teacher, but as a parent the maths sites were awful and really put my DD off maths. She works much better offline. The teacher needs enough time to mark the work though so they can see where the children are struggling. It doesn’t happen at the moment (year 4) so I do it and work through any difficulties DD is having understanding. The poor teacher is working crazy hours and relies on parental support, which they don’t always get.

Schools are their own worst enemy . Rebrand revision as intervention. Teach students that teachers deliver this. Remove all autonomy and independence from students and teachers. Teachers who resist are letting the students down.

The only things, at a primary level at least, that would reduce workload are:

A full day of PPA.
Specialist TA support for SEND and behaviour issues.
A massive expansion of PRUs and special school places, with a streamlined process of referral to them.

If someone in government were to do the maths on the above, they’d see that a pay rise would be far cheaper.