Created on: 06 Feb 2025
The Educational Institute of Scotland has expressed growing concern at the lack of any offer to progress the Scottish Government’s manifesto commitment on reducing class contact time for teachers to 21 hours as a way of reducing teacher workload.
A deadline of 12 noon on Monday 3rd February, previously set by the Teachers’ Panel of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), passed without any offer on reducing class contact time being made by the Scottish Government and COSLA and none has been forthcoming since.
This is despite several public assurances being made by the Scottish Government, including the’ Cabinet Secretary for Education that an offer would be made, through the SNCT, on time.
The SNCT Teachers’ Panel originally set Monday’s deadline in December 2024, following increasing frustration at the lack of progress on the commitment made in in 2021, and in response to the Cabinet Secretary’s statement to parliament on 10th December 2024, and in cognisance of a joint COSLA and Scottish Government statement made on the same day, committing to meaningful progress on reducing class contact time for teachers.
The SNCT Teachers’ Panel made clear that in the event of no offer being made, or the offer failing to afford the full reduction to increase preparation and correction time, then a formal dispute will be declared at the SNCT.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary, Andrea Bradley, said, "It is deeply concerning that, despite public assurances, the Scottish Government and COSLA have failed to meet the deadline set for the beginning this week to finally, after four years of stalling, start meaningful progress on reducing class contact time.
"With Scotland’s teachers continuing to be burdened by unsustainable workload and to engage in numerous hours of unpaid time each week on planning, preparing and providing feedback on learning, this failure now makes a wholly avoidable dispute appear inevitable."
Ms Bradley continued, "The Salaries Committee of the EIS will meet later today to form its response to this unacceptable scenario, prior to a full meeting of the SNCT Teachers’ Panel on Friday of this week.
"In light of the failure of the Scottish Government and COSLA to put words into action and make real their commitment to meaningful progress on class contact time, and the fact that the patience of Scotland’s teachers on this issue has run out, it is difficult to imagine any other outcome from these deliberations than dispute declaration."