Unions reject call to make teachers work more hours

Education Correspondent

Wednesday 12 September 2012

CALLS for Scottish teachers to work longer hours as part of council cuts have been rejected by unions after new figures show they already have one of the highest teaching workloads in the developed world.

contact: Teachers in Scotland, the eighth-best paid in the developed world, have heavy workloads, says the OECD. Picture: Colin Mearns

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Andrew Denholm Education Correspondent

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found school staff in Scotland spend an average of 855 hours a year teaching – compared to an international average of 704 hours.

Only teachers in Mexico, the United States, Chile and Argentina spend longer in the classroom.

The report by the OECD, which looked at 38 countries, also found classroom teachers in Scotland were the eighth-best paid in the developed world.Countries ahead of Scotland – where non-promoted teachers can earn up to £34,200 – are Denmark, Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg.Scottish teacher pay has increased in real terms by 21% over the past decade as a result of the McCrone deal on pay and conditions, which addressed a long-standing decline in salaries. The deal also saw a 10% reduction in time spent in the classroom, with the extra hours being taken up by protected marking and preparation.In recent years, councils – including Glasgow and Edinburgh – have raised the prospect of teachers working even longer hours, with protected time for marking and preparation stripped away.The move would save millions of pounds because councils would no longer have to spend money paying for additional staff to cover classes.Teaching unions said the OECD figures showed the dedication of Scotland's teachers and warned those taking part in ongoing negotiations over pay and conditions to drop demands for staff to work longer hours.Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS, said: "Important protections such as guaranteed time for preparation and correction and a 35-hour working week are key aspects of teachers' conditions, which are intended to help keep workload and working hours at a manageable level."The OECD report demonstrates that, contrary to ill-informed opinion elsewhere, Scotland's teachers work some of the longest hours in the education world and far above their contractual commitment. At this time of austerity and the desire to cut budgets above all else, local authorities need to look at the bigger picture and recognise that attempting to cut back on important aspects of the current working agreements for teachers would cause significant damage to our schools and the learning environment of Scotland's pupils."Carole Ford, a former president of secondary head teachers' association School Leaders Scotland, even suggested there was a need for longer holidays."Across Europe schools are basically closed through July and August. In Scotland, they return mid-August. There is a law of diminishing returns in education," she said."There is no evidence children would be disadvantaged by longer holidays. It is a very high- stress occupation and teachers need longer holidays to recuperate, refresh and be ready for the next term."However, Liz Smith, education spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservatives, said: "I have no doubt teachers work hard, but that is an expectation they and the public at large rightly make of them. It is a responsible job, particularly at a time when there is a need to raise basic standards in our schools and when there is significant curriculum change."Overall, the OECD report concluded that governments should increase investment in early childhood programmes, as well as maintain "reasonable costs" for higher education to reduce inequality, boost social mobility and improve people's employment prospects.

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Unions reject call to make teachers work more hours

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