Created on: 09 Jan 2025
The EIS has reiterated that the clock is ticking if a formal dispute over teacher class contact time in schools is to be avoided.
Last month, the Teachers’ Panel of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) issued a warning that a dispute will be declared, if no concrete proposals on the delivery of the promise to reduce teachers' maximum class contact time is forthcoming by the 3rd of February.
With just 24 days to go until that deadline, there has been little or no movement from the Scottish Government and COSLA towards delivery of a plan.
The promise to reduce teachers’ maximum class contact hours by 90 minutes per week, to 21 hours, was one of the manifesto commitments that saw the current Scottish Government elected in 2021.
Fours years on, with a new set of Scottish Parliamentary elections to come next year, there has been no tangible progress towards the delivery of this promise despite the best efforts of the EIS to bring this to bear.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, "Last month’s statement from the SNCT teachers’ panel made clear that patience has run out over the lack of progress in the delivery of this promise to Scotland’s teachers. In the three-and-a-half years since the current Scottish Government was elected, the pace of movement towards the delivery of this commitment falls somewhere short of glacial.
"Despite a clear manifesto commitment, and despite repeated statements from both the Scottish Government and COSLA of their commitment to the delivery of class contact reductions, Scotland’s teachers still face one of the highest teaching hours commitments in the OECD, which is contributing to the crippling level of workload that continues to blight Scotland’s teaching professionals."
Ms Bradley continued, "Following the recent Scottish budget statement, the Scottish Government and COSLA announced an agreement on local authority funding which included a shared commitment to make progress towards delivery of the class contact time reduction that has been promised. While this was a welcome reaffirmation of the commitment, it did not, in itself, represent any real progress towards delivery.
"Teachers are on their knees as the result of crippling workload pressures, that see them work on average 11 hours a week extra, unpaid. They need tangible progress now on tackling what are unfair, unhealthy and unsustainable levels of workload, not the repeated promise of possible progress at some unspecified point in the future.
"They need reduction in their class contact time and the additional 1.5 hours protected time for the planning of learning, teaching and assessment, and for marking work and giving quality feedback to learners."
Ms Bradley added, "With just 24 days to go until the deadline of the 3rd of February, the clock is very much ticking on the Scottish Government and COSLA. If they really want to avoid a dispute with Scotland’s teachers on the issue of class contact time, they must start acting now to deliver on what they have promised.
"If the Scottish Government and COSLA are serious about supporting Scottish education, are committed to acting collegiately with one another and with teacher unions, and to improving the working lives of teachers and the educational experience of young people, they must deliver a clear plan on the delivery of their class contact time promise within the next 24 days. The EIS is ready and waiting to assist with meaningful implementation of the promised improvements."