The target date for reducing teachers’ weekly class-contact time by 90 minutes in Scotland has been revealed this afternoon (Tuesday 14 December).
Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said that she hopes to have this in place by the start of the 2022-23 school year, Henry Hepburn reports.
Ms Somerville set the date during a statement when she was setting out how the Scottish government intended to react to data showing worrying trends for literacy and numeracy attainment during the Covid pandemic.
However, she did sound a note of caution that the target date for reducing class-contact time by an hour and a half a week was not guaranteed to be met.
The education secretary told the Scottish Parliament: “Our commitment to reduce class-contact time for teachers by 90 minutes per week will help facilitate teachers’ access to extended professional learning and collaborative planning opportunities.
“We would hope to have this in place for August 2022. However, the timing of this change will be determined by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) and will be dependent on capacity in the system. I am grateful to them for working with us on these changes.”
In June, a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) advised that the aspirations of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) were unlikely to ever be fully realised if Scottish teachers continue to spend so much time in the classroom.
Tory MSP Meghan Gallacher was critical of the plan to reduce teachers’ class-contact time. Reduced class-contact time “could impact young people being able to catch up on lost schooling”, she said, given that some school buildings were still closing as a result of the pandemic.
Ms Gallacher added: “Given that 99 per cent of teachers did not believe their pupils were fully engaged with homeschooling during the height of the pandemic, does the cabinet secretary share my concerns that this is not the appropriate time to be cutting class time between teachers and young people?”
Ms Somerville responded that “I genuinely think Meghan Gallagher is missing the point on this one”.
She added: “I’ve said in my statement that there is the intention to bring this in by August 2022, but we’ll work with the SNCT to ensure that there is capacity in the system to allow that to happen, and particularly to ensure that we are providing young people with the support they need.
“There is absolutely no suggestion that the Scottish government will do something that will actually diminish the number of teachers or the amount of time that we have it within the school system, until the system is ready.
“But that’s exactly why we’re working very hard to recruit more teachers into the process to ensure that that can happen.”
Ms Somerville today also announced the formation of a new national group to address concerns over literacy standards.
She said: “Scotland already has the National Response to Improving Mathematics Partnership Board, and we will set up a National Response to Improving Literacy group.
“Both groups will examine the existing landscape in Scotland and internationally, seeking opportunities to enhance the professional learning for teachers and the classroom experiences for young people.
“In the light of today’s attainment data, I will be asking both groups to develop evidence-based recommendations in spring 2022, with a view to implementing changes as soon as possible.”
