Back in what we sometimes call normal times, those of you who work in schools and colleges might now be looking forward to the Easter break. Even then, there was, of course, work to do preparing for the new term. But there was at least a pattern to the year and a chance to recharge.

These days - more than a year into the pandemic - the distinction between term-time and holiday-time has become blurred. For many leaders and teachers, the Easter break looks unlikely to offer much respite.

First, the government expects staff to be available for contact-tracing duties for the first six days of the holidays - as was the case in February half-term and over Christmas, and in October half-term.

Second, there is likely to be an announcement during the Easter holidays about whether face masks will be required in classrooms next term. 

Third, there is the looming mountain of work involved in assessing students for qualifications this summer, following the decision to cancel exams. 

Exams 2021: leaving it to teachers to sort out the mess

On exams, guidance was published today from the Joint Council for Qualifications. The fact that this comes on the last day of term for many schools and colleges will be infuriating, and the situation could have been avoided if the government had listened last year to our calls to have in place a Plan B if exams were unable to go ahead.

But it did not do so - so teachers and leaders across schools and colleges have been left to sort out the resulting mess once more.

It will immediately be clear from the guidance that a great deal of work is required to set, deliver and quality-assure assessments for every student in every subject, in order to hit the deadline for submitting grades on 18 June. 

There are 12 weeks in which to complete this process - and that is a timeframe that includes holidays and bank holidays. All of this follows 12 months in which many leaders and teachers have worked pretty much without a break.

Some sections of the commentariat delight in any opportunity to attack teacher holidays. But even they must surely accept that everybody is entitled to and needs some downtime occasionally.

You’ll no doubt now hear some warm words from ministers praising the hard work of teachers and thanking you for all you are doing. It is reminiscent - for those of a certain age - of the store owner Mr Grace in the 1970s TV comedy Are You Being Served?, who would occasionally visit the shop floor and tell staff: “You’ve all done very well.”

Commitment to tackling excessive workload

What would work better than platitudes, however, is a commitment to redouble efforts to tackle excessive workload in the longer term.

Covid, as in so many areas, has intensified a problem that was already there. Workload is an issue that clearly damages teacher and leader retention, and which various initiatives have failed to address fully.

This is because those initiatives, while well-meaning, tend to focus on the detail of how things are done rather than on the big issues that drive workload.

We all know what those issues are, and the government does, too. They are an endless list of expectations and requirements, lack of resources, and an accountability system that is completely excessive, driving good people out of the profession - or simply to distraction.

If the government really wants to thank leaders and teachers, it should find a better match between what is expected of schools and colleges, and how they are resourced and funded.

In the meantime, here’s hoping you find some time over the Easter holiday to get some sort of break and enjoy a chance to relax with family. You certainly deserve it.

Geoff Barton is general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders