What changes would significantly reduce your workload?

[Postapocalypticcowgirl]

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

I can't read the full article because it's behind a paywall, but my understanding is that the DfE are looking to cut admin tasks, rather than something like a proper commitment to more PPA which would make a real difference to teacher workload.

For me, the biggest creator of regular admin tasks that take up all my time is definitely reports. But would parents accept less reports, or more basic reports from secondary schools? And really, it would probably only free up a few hours 3 times a year for me.

The other big creator of admin for me is teaching a BTEC, but I don't think the DfE will be able to make that less admin heavy!

If I could have another non-contact period each week, that would be major, but we are all timetabled to the max, so it's impossible. If I could have smaller class sizes, that would also be significant- but again, it requires more staff.

Last year, the biggest driver of my workload was setting cover for classes where we didn't have a permanent teacher.

The connection isn't being made that staffing shortages and funding cuts lead to high workload.

But does anyone disagree? Are there things your school could get rid of, which would significantly reduce your workload but not impact students or cause parents to be unhappy?

but everyone is clock watching and breathing a sigh of relief when it gets to 1pm each day

That is insane. Ofsted shouldn't just be scrapped because of workload, but because of the unacceptable level of stress it creates.

The stories of heads who have been broken by their schools being downgraded are awful.

I agree the stress caused by Ofsted is insane- and for that reason alone it should be scrapped.

I don't agree that increasing PPA is the answer. That is just giving more time to do paperwork, not redressing the ridiculous balance of 'paperwork' vs teaching.
The whole issue is the complete lack of trust of professionals.
The need to be able to "evidence" everything.

When I started teaching (Primary) we would sit one evening after school (with Yr group partner) and put all the planning for the whole of the next week on a sheet of A4 - and it wouldn't be full.
As you became more experienced, it was expected that you could walk into a classroom and teach. When I left the classroom, schools were expecting 5 sheets of A4 per day.
What other professional is expected to write out, in minute detail exactly what it is they are going to do during the day. Then evaluate it all afterwards ? Most professionals are paid to actually do their job, not write out how and why they are going to do it as well as doing it.

Then the SMTs / HT you get that try to micromanage exactly how you deliver each aspect of each subject. Again - no trust in the professional's ability to do their job.

I mean, that's obviously not the only issue, but it really doesn't help.

I don't agree that increasing PPA is the answer. That is just giving more time to do paperwork, not redressing the ridiculous balance of 'paperwork' vs teaching

I completely agree. I think the introduction of PPA was when thinks started to get bad. The workload seemed to quickly get huge with the expectation that, ‘oh, you can just do that in your PPA’.

When I started teaching, you could tick/cross work when you marked, kids didn’t need individual targets or learning objectives for each lesson, planning was quick and useful, people knew what eg a level 3c piece of writing looked like so assessment made sense.

TBF, nobody asks me for written lesson plans, unless I'm being observed.

A lot of the paperwork I do is essentially me logging that I've offered a student support, or recording a behaviour incident, or a safeguarding one. I do think it's important that certain things are written down, but there's a bit of a culture of covering one's back- especially in terms of results.

I do think a culture shift in terms of trusting teachers would help a lot BUT as this is difficult to mandate, I'd take something practical and measurable.

Fixed working hours. We would soon find out what is important and what is not if overtime had to be paid or time off in lieu given.

In some ways that would be amazing, but equally I'd leave if I was required to eg work until 6 every day or work Saturday mornings etc. I like the flexibility to finish early some days and then work later at night.

If it was a fixed number of hours to be worked at home and logged what we did then that would be very different and I think could work well for teachers but what happens when you reach your maximum hours for the week/term/year?

@Postapocalypticcowgirl a normal working day of 8-4 or 8.30-4.30, for example. With an hour for lunch. Lunch break less than an hour? Shave off some time so maybe 8.30-4? Anything after that needs to be paid overtime or time off in lieu. Need me to complete that lengthy form about one child for an outside agency? No problem - are you giving me time out of class or paying me overtime or am I finishing an hour early on Friday?

Scotland has fixed hours -35 hours a week. They're currently on strike and also complain about workload so I suspect the answer to 'what happens when you get to the end of your hours and there is still work to do?' Is 'you keep working'.

But that’s what needs to change.

And fixed hours isn't the solution if the culture doesn't change with it.

Exactly this.

Scrapping Ofsted would do a long way to making the job more bearable, even if it didn't reduce workload that much. Working in a large secondary, I'm not sure what "admin" could be scrapped tbh. We already do things like WCF rather than marking books with written comments. I really think we just need more non-contact time. I don't think there's another solution.

I do wonder if you work in my school?!

For me in a one form entry primary school, the biggest help to workload would be another pair of hands. I have 30 children, two children who qualify for 1:1 support so a learning assistant who is meant to do everything for them as well as general support. The amount of targets, reviews, record keeping, assessments etc for send children is phenomenal and in a mainstream school you still have all the other children as well.
Safeguarding has become so huge that we have to record every notable incident on cpoms. By the time you've spoken to a child following an incident, established what happened, checked in on other children, potentially rang the parent (obviously in your lunch time or after school) and recorded the incident, it easily adds up to an hour each time.

Plus we are another school where ofsted is imminent - not been in for ten years...