Primary school leaders in Scotland today made it clear that they are deeply concerned about plans to reduce teachers’ class-contact time.
Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville this morning addressed the first full in-person conference of primary school leaders’ body AHDS since 2019. When she took questions after her speech, almost every question was about the proposed 90-minute reduction in weekly contact time, which teaching unions want in place by August 2023.
And there were cheers from delegates when Ms Somerville acknowledged concerns that the policy would place ”additional burdens on school leadership teams”. AHDS delegates, in questions to the education secretary, raised concerns that reducing class-contact time could disrupt pupils’ learning and have a particularly pronounced effect on those who need additional support.
Addressing the AHDS conference in Glasgow today, Ms Somerville said: ”Undoubtedly, you ,as school leaders, will also have a view on the best use of this additional time, and I am equally aware that many of you may have concerns that reduced class-contact time may create additional burdens on school leadership teams, especially if additional cover is required.”
Fears over cutting teachers’ class-contact time
Earlier in her presentation, Ms Somerville said that demands on teachers had increased during the Covid pandemic and that “teachers urgently need support with their own wellbeing”. She explained that the contact-time policy was designed to address such concerns.
”I recognise that workload impacts significantly on headteachers,” said Ms Somerville. “That is one of the reasons why we have committed to reduce teachers’ class-contact time by one-and-a-half hours [a week].”
She said: “Reducing class-contact time will free up teachers to prepare lessons and improve their skills, and it will also create over 2,000 permanent teaching posts and reduce workload.
“I am aware that, through the [Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers], the teacher unions have requested that this reduction in class-contact time is used solely for planning and preparation, but I believe it is crucial for all SNCT parties to agree on how this reduction should be used to the benefit of both teachers and our children and young people.”
She added that ”our commitment to an additional 3,500 teachers sits hand-in-hand with the class contact time reduction”.
Ms Somerville said: “Please be assured that we are actively working with our SNCT partners, including AHDS, to ensure that the system has the capacity to deliver this without placing additional burdens on school leadership teams.”
She added: “I hope that an implementation date [for the reduced contact time policy] will be agreed soon.”
Ms Somerville also spoke to AHDS delegates about teacher pay, the morning after deputy first minister John Swinney set out his emergency budget review statement, and made clear that a bigger teacher offer could only be realised through more cuts.
She said: ”Let me be honest with you: the Scottish government is facing spending cuts of an unprecedented magnitude. Without the ability to borrow money to address pay pressures or the green light to review tax laws later in the year, our budget is already fully committed for this year. This year’s strains on public finances have been made worse by both the war in Ukraine and the rise in inflation.
“Despite these pressures, we are providing £140 million of extra funding on a recurring basis to support a higher pay award for all council staff, including teachers. This additional funding demonstrates our commitment to all local government staff, including teachers, recognising the crucial role they play in our communities.
“I won’t hide my disappointment that the recent [teacher] pay offer of 5 per cent was rejected. This would in effect mean a cumulative pay increase for the majority of the SNCT workforce of 21.8 per cent since 2018.”
She added: “We have already made many difficult choices to support pay offers in 2022-23, mitigate the cost crisis and balance budgets. Every additional penny that has been identified for a pay settlement, or any other measure, has had to be found from existing allocations within the current Scottish budget. I need to be absolutely clear with you that to fund an increased pay offer for teachers, further cuts will need to be made to existing commitments.
“But I remain absolutely committed to working together with our SNCT partners to support a fair pay offer - no one wants the delay in getting a teachers’ pay deal over the line. I sincerely hope that we can reach an acceptable resolution in the very near future and avoid unnecessary strike action and the disruption that would cause - particularly for pupils, parents and carers who have already faced significant disruption over the past three years.”
Ms Somerville also told the AHDS conference that, after the ongoing period of education reform, she wants ”the chief inspector regularly laying reports directly to Parliament and providing an annual report on the performance of Scottish education”.
