1. SSTA Guidance ‘Action Short of Strike Action’

2. Core Duties must not be used for other activities
Core Duties must not be used for other activities Assigned classes and cover for absent colleagues maximum of 22.5 hours per week preparation and correction allocation of 7.5 hours Collegiate Time - remaining 5 hours a week Total = 35 hours a week

3. Collegiate time Collegiate time is 5 hours per week The allocation of these hours is determined by the School’s Working Time Agreement (WTA)   Voluntary activities - are entirely voluntary

4. SSTA Guidance How Schools Can Manage Workload

5. Working Time Agreements
Must be adhered to and any changes can only be made to reduce teacher workload
All changes must be negotiated with the recognised trade union representatives

6. Staff, Department and Working Group Meetings
all meetings must be allocated on the school calendar
have an agenda circulated in good time
action points recorded and
are time constrained
Meetings should not go beyond the allocated time.

7. Formal assessments
sufficient time is allocated to carryout formal assessments
(including work required for National Qualifications).
All subject teachers should quantify the workload demanded by SQA
School should make arrangements to identify measures and adequate time required to manage this workload

8. Monitoring and Tracking
Tracking and monitoring systems must prevent duplication of teacher input
The system should be capable of generating a report to parents
It is sufficient for teachers to track and monitor all pupils twice a year
Recording systems that collect information but do not add to teaching and learning should be discontinued

9. Parent meetings
only one meeting per year group in the course of the year
the parent meeting should not coincide with other reporting processes
Parent teacher dialogue is crucial in supporting learning

10. Reporting to Parents
Computer generated reports should replace the need for other types of reports for parents
Where teachers are required to produce subject reports the time allocated within the WTA will determine the length of the report (after accounting for time required for monitoring and tracking)
Subject reports should reflect allocated teaching time
(e.g. If a teacher teaches across a year group the report will
be a lot less than a teacher with a single class with a larger
number of lessons)

11. Administrative and non-teaching duties
Tasks that do not require the skill and expertise of a teacher should be undertaken by support staff
This includes:
bulk photocopying, filing, ordering of materials and equipment, arranging meetings, and duplication required in completing risk assessments and accident report forms

12. IT Systems
IT systems should be ‘fit for purpose’ and reduce teacher workload (systems that are ‘time consuming’ and workload intensive should be replaced by alternative methods)
Teachers should use statement banks and other time saving systems to complete reports
IT systems that do not assist teaching and learning should be discontinued

13. E-mail Communication an email communication policy should be in place
the focus should be on the passing of essential information to
those who need to know and requires limited responses.
It is unreasonable to expect teachers to read and respond to s with unrealistically tight deadlines, or during evenings, weekends and holiday periods.
The system cannot replace professional dialogue and should not be seen as a substitute

14. School Improvement Plans
all development work should have an allocated time resource within the WTA
all new initiatives or policies must have a workload impact-assessment, and
agreed with the recognised unions within the school before implementation

15. Temporary Responsibilities
teachers undertaking temporary responsibilities are entitled to be paid after undertaking the responsibility for 20 days (backdated to day 1)
Teachers who take additional responsibilities without payment are doing so on voluntary basis and should be taken only on a limited basis
All offers of additional voluntary responsibilities
can be declined

16. Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association
If you have a query not answered by this information please do not hesitate to contact the Association at or