National Agreement On Teachers’ Workload

On behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government I have today signed an historic Agreement between Government, employers and school workforce unions to tackle teachers’ workload and raise standards.

I fully support the UK Government’s proposals in the Agreement for changes to the teachers’ contract in England and Wales.  The Agreement recognises that under devolution it is for us to determine how these changes can best be achieved in Wales.

The Agreement will achieve progressive reductions in teachers’ overall hours through:

• changes to the teachers’ contract to ensure that teachers and headteachers do not routinely undertake administrative and clerical tasks; have a reasonable work/life balance; have a reduced burden of cover for absent colleagues; have guaranteed planning, preparation and assessment time within the school day, to support their teaching, individually and collaboratively; and have a reasonable allocation of time in support of their leadership and management responsibilities; and
  
• reducing unnecessary bureaucratic burdens on schools and providing increased support for teachers inside and out side the classroom.

The Assembly Government has committed £21 million over the next three years to increase the level of administrative support in schools.  We are discussing with our education partners how this funding is targeted to best effect in schools.
In addition, we are making some £1.4 million available to pilot and develop a ‘change management programme’ to help schools to adopt working practices that help reduce teachers’ workload, including making the best use of funds for administrative and other support as they come on stream.  
Delivering the contractual changes means teachers will also need more support in the classroom.  It is important that those providing the support are appropriately trained and qualified.  We will be working with our partners in education to develop the way forward, based on the principles set out in the Agreement.  
This Agreement is the starting point of an exciting period in teaching – one where the professional needs of teachers are fully recognised, and where teachers will be better supported to enable them to focus clearly on their professional functions and so raise their standards and the standards achieved by pupils in Wales.