Teaching Profession

Historic Pact Expected to Lighten British Teachers’ Workload

By Bess Keller — February 12, 2003 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Teachers’ unions and government leaders in Britain have agreed on a plan to redistribute the work in schools so that teachers will have more time for better teaching but a lighter load overall.

Two years in the making, the historic deal to rewrite teachers’ contracts in England and Wales is moving forward without the support of the nation’s largest teachers’ union, which fears that teaching assistants could replace teachers under cover of the agreement.

The pact attempts to temper escalating demands on teachers—who are in short supply in Britain as they are in many places and specialties in the United States—as well as help them meet higher standards for student achievement.

A government-sponsored study in 2001 found that British teachers worked hours comparable to those of other professions, when averaged over the year. But when schools were in session, they worked on average 52 hours a week, and 16 percent of their time went to administrative and other tasks.

The agreement includes the guarantee of the equivalent of a half-day a week for planning, assessment, and marking; the elimination of nonteaching tasks by the coming school year; and a cap on the number of hours a teacher must spend covering the classes of absent colleagues. It also makes a commitment to cut teachers’ total hours within four years.

“This package of reforms will change the way teaching and learning develops in the United Kingdom,” said a government spokeswoman. “Pupils will get more attention, and teachers will get more time to teach.”

The spokeswoman, who asked not to be identified, likened the envisioned changes to those that were made years ago in hospitals, where doctors, nurses, and other workers have different roles related to the care of patients. In the case of schools, teachers would be analogous to doctors, and teaching assistants would function somewhat as nurses do.

‘Price Is Too High’

Under the agreement, a class of high-level teaching assistants— not yet established—would be allowed to provide occasional lessons. That provision was the sticking point with the National Union of Teachers, the nation’s largest teachers’ association, with 210,000 teachers in state schools at the precollegiate level.

In a statement to members, the head of the union, Doug McAvoy, praised the government’s deal as offering “significant improvements in the contract.” But, he declared, “the price is to accept that unqualified persons will teach whole classes. That price is too high.”

Some unionists, school administrators, and members of local education authorities fear that the extra money the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair has promised—predicted to be the equivalent of about $1.64 billion a year in U.S. money by 2005—won’t be enough to make the agreement work.

They say that the money can help recruit more teachers and support-staff employees, but that if teachers continue to be in short supply, it will be hard to ease workloads without blurring the division between teachers and assistants. Some have calculated that the additional money divided among all the primary schools involved would not be enough to employ a single full-time teaching assistant.

A Seat at the Table

Gerald Imison of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, the country’s third-largest teachers’ union, acknowledged the danger in the plan. But, he said, taking the risk was the only way to be at the table, pressing for a workload restructured along lines favored by teachers.

Primary teachers in particular were crying out for time during the school day to prepare lessons and grade papers, according to Mr. Imison. “We have many, many reports of teachers working from 8 in the morning till school finishes at 3,” he said, without any break from the classroom other than for lunch. The result is an additional several hours of work after school and at home in the evening.

Mr. Imison’s union was one of five that signed the agreement last month, making the National Union of Teachers the only holdout among the six major teachers’ unions. As such, government leaders have excluded them from talks to flesh out the agreement.

“The agreement sets a framework with detailed negotiations to come that will make it or break it,” Mr. Imison said. “Our executive committee has made it clear that if we can’t get the safeguards we want, we may have to walk away.”

Coverage of cultural understanding and international issues in education is supported in part by the Atlantic Philanthropies.

Related Tags:

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession Data Average Teacher Pay Increased Again This Year—Sort of. See How Your State Fared
Inflation is taking a bite out of teachers' paychecks, according to new state-by-state salary data.
3 min read
A kindergarten teacher works one-on-one with a student during a small-group math activity.
A kindergarten teacher works one-on-one with a student during a small-group math activity.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Teaching Profession How These 4 Teachers Go Above and Beyond for Their Students and Colleagues
During Teacher Appreciation Week, we showcase inspiring examples of committed teachers.
8 min read
Jessica Arrow, a play-based learning kindergarten teacher, talks with her students about squirrels during class at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H. on Nov. 7, 2024.
Jessica Arrow, a play-based learning kindergarten teacher, talks with her students about squirrels during class at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H. on Nov. 7, 2024.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Teaching Profession Teachers Share the Weirdest Teacher Appreciation Week Gifts They've Ever Gotten
These presents range from the unexpected to the unforgettable.
1 min read
Collage of images: ash tray with cigarettes, partially eaten muffin, toilet paper, cockroaches, a pineapple and a rock.
Liz Yap/Education Week and Canva
Teaching Profession Opinion My Grandson Is Becoming a Teacher. Here's What I Want Him to Know
Larry Ferlazzo, who retires from teaching at the end of this year, offers guidance for new and veteran educators.
4 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week