Directed time NASUWT ACADEMIES. an introductory guide. The Teachers Union

Transcription

1 Directed time an introductory guide ACADEMIES NASUWT The Teachers Union

2 Directed Time (Academies) An Introductory Guide Working hours are essential in order to help schools and teachers plan so that the school day is effectively managed and teachers are able to achieve a satisfactory balance between work and home. Working hours should be set out as part of your terms and conditions when you start work. This is referred to as directed time. This quick guide provides you with key information about your rights at work regarding your working hours/directed time.

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5 Teachers Working Time The majority of academies in England operate according to the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) which states that a classroom teacher can only be directed by the headteacher to work for up to a maximum of 1,265 hours over 195 days of the year. A maximum of 190 days involve teaching pupils/students, the remainder being non-teaching days where you may be asked to undertake other duties related to your role as a teacher. These are often known as in-service training days (INSET). These limits do not apply if you are paid on the leadership range. In most cases, your employer will provide you with a directed time budget at the beginning of each academic year which identifies the number of hours you are being directed to undertake the professional duties of a teacher, including your timetabled teaching as well as any meetings and duties such as parental consultations, planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time, leadership and management time (as appropriate) and meetings. (See Annex A for further details.) Some academies may operate terms and conditions which do not adhere to the STPCD. They are therefore able to set a different directed time calendar specifying working time, which may be in excess of the 1,265 hours and 195 days a year identified in the STPCD. However, your working time should be clearly defined in your contract of employment. Directed time must be allocated reasonably throughout the days you are contracted to work. Once you have been provided with your directed time budget/calendar, you should not be directed to undertake other duties by your employer. If you are unsure about whether a limit applies to your working time, then please contact the NASUWT for further advice.

6 Morning and Afternoon Breaks Morning and afternoon breaks which are identified on your timetable shall count towards your total hours of directed time. Whilst it is likely that only a small number of staff undertake a duty on a rota basis, it is the case that all staff can be asked to be available for work should such a situation arise which necessitates this (e.g. an emergency). Assemblies Assemblies should count as part of your directed time hours. Lunchtime Supervision Directed time should not include lunchtime supervision as you cannot be directed to work during your lunch break. Saturday, Sunday or Public Holidays The directed time budget cannot place an expectation on you to work on any Saturday, Sunday or public holiday unless this is expressly stated in your contract of employment.

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9 Guaranteed Planning, Preparation and Assessment (PPA) Time Where you are entitled to timetabled teaching time for PPA, this should count towards your hours of directed time. This should be clearly identified on your timetable in blocks that are not less than half an hour. In most cases, classroom teachers are allocated a minimum of 10% of timetabled teaching time for PPA.

10 Leadership and Management Time If you are in receipt of a Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) allowance or paid on the leadership spine, you should be given adequate time to discharge your leadership and management duties that is proportionate to your level of responsibility, in addition to any PPA time allocated. This should count towards your directed time hours. Part-time Teachers and Directed Time Part-time teachers cannot be required to work or attend non-pupil days, or parts of days, on days they do not normally work. A directed time calendar is a necessity for understanding when a part-time teacher can and cannot reasonably be expected to be in school.

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13 Other Additional Hours In addition to directed time, a teacher may work such reasonable additional hours as necessary. This can include time for planning and preparing lessons and assessing pupils work. However, the amount of additional hours cannot be specified by your employer and will not count towards your hours of directed time. All work undertaken during non-directed time is determined by the individual teacher and it is up to you to exercise your professional judgement in how you manage this. Work/Life Balance Your employer should ensure that you are able to achieve a satisfactory balance between the time required to do your job and time to pursue interests outside work. Working Time Regulations Employers must ensure that they adhere to the Working Time Regulations (1998) which set a maximum working week of 48 hours, taking into account teachers directed time and additional hours of non-directed time. Additional Payments and Directed Time A teacher in receipt of additional payments for out-of-school hours learning and continuing professional development (CPD) may be directed to undertake these activities outside their hours of directed time.

14 Teachers on the Leadership Pay Range The STPCD provisions regarding directed time do not apply to headteachers, deputy headteachers, assistant headteachers or teachers on the pay range for leading practitioners. However, headteachers are entitled to dedicated headship time which is a reasonable amount of time in order to discharge their responsibilities effectively. All school leaders should have an adequate work/life balance.

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17 Consultation/Negotiation The directed time budget should be negotiated and agreed by the employer with the NASUWT. Academies should agree with the Union the teaching timetable and directed time calendar which clearly identifies staff meetings, parental consultations and other activities for each academic year. NASUWT Industrial Action Directed time currently forms part of the NASUWT national action instructions. All members in maintained schools and academies are covered by the NASUWT national action instructions, which state: Members are instructed not to attend any meetings outside school session times which are not within directed time and where there is no published directed time calendar which has been agreed with the NASUWT. Further Advice and Guidance The NASUWT has produced a directed time calculator for you to use in determining the directed time budget for your school. This can be found at: For further advice and guidance, please contact the NASUWT. We can help with information and advice to support you regarding directed time: Telephone: advice@mail.nasuwt.org.uk.

18 Annex A Listed below are the key elements which should be included in the calculations of a directed time budget. Meetings The days of the week on which meetings will be held at end-ofschool sessions should be identified and calculated on a calendar of meetings so that teachers can plan their personal activities. This is especially critical for teachers with carer responsibilities. Once published, this calendar should not be changed unless there are exceptional circumstances and then only in consultation with staff and the NASUWT. It is expected that there should be no more than one meeting per week lasting up to an hour. For teachers on the leadership pay range, there should also be an agreed limit on the number of meetings attended. Parental Consultation Attendance at parental consultations count towards directed time. The time and dates of the meetings should be identified in the calendar of meetings.

19 In a week where there is a parental consultation meeting scheduled, no other meeting outside school sessions should be calendared to take place. Buffer Time In most schools there is a period of buffer time before and after each of the school sessions. This buffer time should be no more than ten minutes and you may be allocated on-site supervisory duties during this time. Open Evenings If there is a contractual requirement for teachers to attend open evenings, this will count against the hours for directed time. Trapped Time If there is any gap between the end of the school day and the start of a meeting where there has not been sufficient time for a teacher to go home and return, then this is referred to as trapped time. This time should be counted as directed time. Breaktimes Morning or afternoon breaks which are identified on your timetable count as part of the hours of directed time.

20 NASUWT The Teachers Union Tel: Website: England