Teachers’ working conditions set to change

Every school teacher in England will be entitled to allocate 10% of their timetable for planning, preparing and assessing lessons, under new government changes which come into effect on Thursday.

Planning, Preparation and Assessment time (PPA) is the third phase of changes to teachers’ working conditions. The government introduced the changes in a bid to encourage teachers to spend as much time as possible teaching and raising standards.

Commenting on the changes, Schools Minister Jacqui Smith said: “Planning, Preparation and Assessment time is about raising standards even further. It will give teachers dedicated time, within the current timetable, to plan and prepare for their lessons and help to personalise the education that our young people receive. PPA will not only benefit pupils, but will also help to reduce workload and pressure on teachers."

Chris Keates, General Secretary of teachers’ union NASUWT, described the introduction of the changes as “an historic development”. He said: “The provision of guaranteed time for planning, preparation and assessment, which cannot be used for anything else, will enhance the quality of lessons and enable teachers to continue to raise standards.

“It emphasises the crucial importance of a teacher’s core role – teaching.

“PPA time, when combined with the other contractual changes introduced since 2003, will ensure that teachers are able to use their expertise to develop more personalised approaches to teaching.

“This is good news for teachers, pupils and parents.”

The new measures follow other changes, which limited teaching cover to a maximum of 38 hours per year and removed the need for teachers to perform administrative tasks.

(KMcA/SP)