The aim to reduce teachers’ class-contact time by 90 minutes a week could be achieved by the current target date of 2026 if the number of teachers in Scotland is increased, according to a report commissioned by the Scottish government.
The report by economic consultants WPI Economics says that, if teacher numbers remain roughly the same as the current level in the coming years, the class-contact policy could be achieved by 2028.
However, for that 2028 target to be achieved across all school sectors there would have to be changes to the proportions of teachers in primary, secondary and special schools - otherwise the 90-minute contact-time reduction would only happen in secondaries in 2031, although earlier in primaries, in 2026.
The report, Pupil projections and implications for teacher resourcing needs in Scotland: education workforce modelling and research, also cautions that the speedier option of increasing teacher numbers and making the policy a reality across all sectors by 2026 has some pitfalls, with “significant implications for cost and sustainability”.
It recommends taking the more cautious approach of aiming instead for 2028.
However, the Scottish government has stressed that while the report will “assist discussions with our partners”, it does not yet represent government policy.
Cutting class-contact time to ease workload
Responding to the report, one teaching union said it might “rejuvenate” discussions about the class-contact time policy but warned that there were “serious reservations” about the methodology behind the research.
The policy to reduce teachers’ maximum class-contact time from 22.5 to 21 hours a week was first announced in the 2021 SNP manifesto for that year’s Scottish Parliament elections. As recently as January this year, education secretary Jenny Gilruth indicated that the policy could be the key to resolving many of the challenges in Scottish education, including behaviour, attendance and curriculum reform.
However, while the policy was generally welcomed enthusiastically by unions - albeit with some reservations expressed by school leader bodies - there has been criticism over slow progress and a lack of information from the government about how and when it might happen.
In September 2023 the teachers’ panel of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers “strongly criticised” the government for making “very little progress” on the class-contact time policy.
Meanwhile, despite the government target to increase teacher numbers by 3,500, evidence has started to emerge in recent months of some local authorities planning to cut teacher numbers.
Above-average time in front of class
Workload is expected to be a major issue at the NASUWT Scotland and Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association annual conferences later this week, with reduced class-contact time seen as crucial to addressing that.
Class-contact time in Scotland is high in international terms: in 2021 data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development showed that, even if the 90-minute reduction were achieved, teachers in Scotland would still spend more time in front of classes on average than European counterparts.
Today’s report takes into account expected changes in the pupil population - broadly due to fall in the decade ahead - and “constrained public sector budgets”, with its modelling finding that “a constant, rather than increasing, teacher stock could more closely match expected teacher resourcing needs over the next decade”.
‘Sudden excesses in teacher numbers’
The report adds: “This could avoid sudden excesses in teacher numbers relative to resourcing needs, while meeting the policy commitment to reduce contact time to 21 hours, albeit by 2028, two years later than planned.
“This reduction could be enabled across all school types by 2028 if the proportions of primary, secondary and special school teachers are allowed to adjust (even though the overall number of teachers remain constant).”
Without this adjustment in staffing across the sectors, keeping overall teachers numbers at a similar level in the coming years means the 90-minute reduction in class-contact time “could be enabled faster in primary (by 2026) and slower in secondary (by around 2031)”.
A 2028 target, in short, “could avoid sudden excesses in teacher numbers relative to resourcing needs”.
The report finds that aiming for 2026 across primary, secondary and special school sectors “would require a significant increase in the number of teachers in the short term”. Sticking to the government’s 2026 target - which is already later than teaching unions had hoped - “could have significant implications for cost and sustainability, and raise questions about whether this delivers maximum value for money”.
The report also advises that maintaining the pupil-teacher ratio while reducing class-contact time “would be challenging without making other changes, such as exploring whether some of the teachers currently being used for targeted interventions, such as those doing the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC), Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) or Covid-recovery work, could teach in classes”.
Report could ‘rejuvenate’ discussions
Mike Corbett, NASUWT national official for Scotland, said: “While welcoming the publication of this report, which may help to rejuvenate stalled discussions on the long-promised reduction in class-contact time, NASUWT has serious reservations about it.
“It is notable for the lack of data and research it provides on the recruitment and retention of teachers, localised contexts and the size and operation of the supply-teacher workforce. Without these, any decision-making is not fully informed and NASUWT requests that the Scottish government swiftly commission or produce relevant research data in these areas to aid discussions.”
Mr Corbett added: “The NASUWT remains fully committed to achieving the promised 90-minute reduction in class-contact time and for it to be dedicated to teacher preparation and correction. Three years on from the promise being made, we remain willing to discuss and negotiate its implementation with employers and Scottish government.
“In the meantime, we repeat the request we recently made to [education secretary Jenny Gilruth] that she should encourage employers to immediately address many of the key drivers of teacher workload which NASUWT has shared with her, such as forward planning in primary schools, over-assessment in the secondary sector, bureaucratic tracking and monitoring procedures and unwieldy school improvement plans.”
Findings ‘not definitive’
The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) said today’s report was “not definitive and should not be seen as an excuse not to implement the 90 minutes sooner rather than later”.
SSTA general secretary Seamus Searson said: “The report shows deficiencies as it does not reflect how schools work and how teachers are allocated to particular duties such as additional support needs, pastoral or management positions [or] the differences between primary and secondary teachers and equally, special schools.
“The figures also do not include the registered number of teachers in Scotland and the scope for encouraging teachers back into the profession.”
He added that “the real obstacle” to reducing workload was local authorities’ “insistence on breaking the ‘protecting teacher numbers’ government pledge”.
The Scottish government said that the scenarios set out in the independent report do not represent its policy.
A spokesperson for the EIS teaching union said: “We expect the two manifesto commitments - 3,500 additional teachers and the reduction of class-contact time to 21 hours - to be delivered in the interests of quality education.”
The EIS added: “We do not believe that the findings of the research provide any kind of passport to reneging on the promises made to the electorate.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Ministers are committed to reducing class-contact time by 90 minutes per week, giving teachers more time out of the classroom.
“This independent report contains a number of high-level possible future scenarios and assesses how these would work alongside any changes to teachers’ contracted class-contact time. It will assist discussions with our partners on the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers on how best to deliver on the commitment.
“It will also help to inform our engagement with teaching unions, [councils umbrella body] Cosla and local authorities to ensure we have a teaching workforce in place now and in the future which allows progress on our commitments to raising attainment for all and closing the poverty-related attainment gap.”
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