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Scottish Borders Local Association |
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McCrone Agreement: The Working Week Guidelines for Local Associations to adopt in negotiations were agreed at the March National Executive Committee meeting. Details will have to be agreed at local and school level. They are set out below for information - contact Jock if clarification is required. Executive Council 16 March 2001
1. Introduction 1.1 Following the agreement secured following the McCrone implementation negotiations, this paper provides some additional guidance for Area Officers and Local Association Secretaries. 1.2 One of the key elements of the McCrone settlement was the emphasis on enhancing the professional status of the job of teaching, providing greater professional autonomy for individual teachers and introducing a more collegiate and participative style of management to our schools. The key to this agreement involves individual schools and individual teachers having their priorities addressed, and this may mean not only that local associations have to address different issues as priorities, but also that different advice may require to be given to different schools within a local association. 1.3 The fine text of the agreement covering working hours is to be found on pages 6-8 of the agreement and is provided in the Appendix to this guidance. 2. In the Code of Practice it states - "The individual and collective work of teachers should be capable of being undertaken within the 35 hour working week." This applies to all grades of teaching staff. This should be the guiding principle of agreements at Local Authority and school level. Tasks must be assessed to determine how much time needs to be agreed for their completion. Analysis of the actual time which current tasks take, based for example on surveys/questionnaires/visits to schools, should enable schools and local associations to gain a realistic assessment of the actual time it takes to complete particular contractual activities. 3. From August 2001 a 35 hour week will be introduced. There should be no aggregation of working hours over any period longer than a week. The only exception, and that only in the period up to 2006, may be parents' meetings. Each parents' meeting of 2 hours duration should be augmented to allow for preparation and travel so that a notional 5 hours is allocated for each meeting. The 5 hours should consist of the contractual time remaining beyond class contact and preparation and correction time in the week of the meeting and the preceding or following week or weeks (depending on sector). 4. Class Contact Time 4.1 Until August 2004, maximum class contact time will remain unchanged. From August 2004, maximum class contact in the primary sector will be reduced to 23.5 hours per week and from August 2006 maximum class contact time will be reduced to 22.5 hours in both the primary and secondary sectors. It is anticipated that classes and timetables will continue to be allocated in the normal way during this period and beyond. 4.2 However, if it is anticipated that teachers may be required to provide cover for absent colleagues etc it has to be remembered that such cover counts in full as CLASS CONTACT TIME. On this basis it is only those teachers who have or, at the end of the week, would have a class contact commitment lower than the maximum who can be asked to provide cover. In other words the total of allocated classes and cover in any one working week must not exceed the maximum class contact limit specified for that sector. 4.3 One of the key elements of this new agreement relates to the fact that teachers do not need to be on school premises if the activity in question can be carried out at a different location and/or at a different time. However, in order to assist with the provision of cover etc within the school, teachers who may be expected to provide cover should be given a clear indication as to the times or periods when he/she is most likely to be required for cover purposes. 5. Preparation and Correction Time 5.1 From August 2001, all teachers are guaranteed a minimum of one third of their class contact commitment as a personal allowance for preparation and correction. What a teacher does during this time, when this work is carried out and where it is intended that this work will be done are decisions for the individual teacher. However, if a teacher is not required for cover and intends to be out of school during the normal school day (i.e. when pupils are still on school premises) he/she should inform his/her immediate manager. 6. Remaining Contractual Time 6.1 The use of the remaining period between the combined time for class contact and preparation/correction and the 35 hours must be agreed at school level and can include, for example, the following activities: additional time for preparation and correction, parent meetings, staff meetings, formal assessments, preparation of reports and other records, curriculum development, forward planning, CPD, additional supervised pupil activity and professional review and development. 6.2 Agreement will need to be reached on the allocation of time for promoted staff to carry out their responsibilities. Attention should be drawn to that part of the agreement which states 'managers require time for additional duties outwith teaching and associated preparation in order to fulfil their broad professional duties'. In those areas where a local agreement or guidelines exist on time for promoted staff, it is recommended that these should be the basis on which local agreement is sought, at least for next session. 6.3 During the course of the summer term, each school should agree a timetable of collegiate activities for the following session which should include the dates and times of parent meetings and meetings of departments/groups of teachers/committees/consultation groups/whole staff, and should take account of all major workload generators such as reporting, formal assessments and forward planning. All staff must be involved in the decision making process as regards the timing of collegiate activities; initial discussion should take place within the EIS branch at establishment level. It would be appropriate in small school branches for the EIS Rep to lead discussion in order for the membership as a whole to reach agreement on the timetable prior to further discussions with other trade unions and management. In larger branches it would be appropriate to set up a McCrone sub-Committee whose role would be to produce a draft timetable for submission to the full EIS branch for possible amendment and agreement. Thereafter, it would be appropriate to enter into discussions with representatives of other teaching trade unions prior to negotiation and agreement with the head of establishment. Such decisions should not be taken without, where necessary, reference to the Local Association Secretary and should be in line with agreements at Local Authority level. 6.4 When considering this timetable, a number of staff meetings in the 2002 Spring term should be allocated for the purpose of monitoring the time which has been allocated already for collegiate activities in session 2001-2002 in order to facilitate decisions to be made when planning for the next session, ie for 2002-2003. 6.5 Once agreement has been reached on the school timetable for collegiate activities (e.g. parent meetings, staff meetings etc), it is important to ensure that the maximum professional discretion is available to teachers in determining their priorities for the use of the remaining time. During the course of the year there will be different pressures on schools at different times and it is essential that agreement on the use of this remaining time addresses those particular pressures. It should be remembered that all activities which do not require the teacher to be on school premises can be carried out at a time and place of the teacher's choosing. 6.6 It would be inappropriate and unprofessional for management to expect teachers to complete any timesheets. A more appropriate strategy, for example, would be to agree reasonable submission dates for tasks, e.g. forward plans and reports, and the teacher organises his/her workload to complete these agreed tasks. A proportion of the available time (say 20% minimum) should be left flexible to allow for additional preparation/correction, which could be called upon on occasion by agreement to meet unplanned commitments, e.g. meetings with external agencies; emergency meetings, e.g. HMI; varying individual teacher needs. Schools will require to review, for example, over-elaborate record-keeping strategies, reporting arrangements and forward planning procedures, ensuring t hat these are cut where time is not available within the balance of contractual time beyond class contact and preparation and correction. Annual reviews of the use of additional time will feed into the planning cycle and must ensure tasks are prioritised and accommodated within the 35 hour week to properly manage and limit teacher workload. 7. Continuing Professional Development 7.1 An additional contractual 35 hours will be available for Continuing Professional Development but this time will include an appropriate balance of personal professional development, attendance at national accredited courses, small scale school based CPD and other CPD activity. Key to this element of the agreement relates to the fact that every teacher must have his/her CPD plan agreed with an immediate manager. It is also important to bear in mind that the full commitment to the annual 35 hours will not be required until session 2003/2004 and that all CPD activity must take place at an appropriate time and place. 7.2 The agreement on an annual CPD plan should take into account the fact that a number of CPD opportunities will only become known during the course of the year and therefore time should be set aside to allow for additional CPD activity to be included in the annual plan at a later date. The objective in constructing the annual CPD plan must be to address genuine needs to the extent that the availability of suitable opportunities permits, and not to fill the available time mechanistically. In addition, as it will take some considerable time for all CPD courses to be accredited and for all CPD providers to be nationally registered, the first two years of this aspect of the agreement will, almost certainly, concentrate on personal professional development and small scale school based CPD. 7.3 In the period up until 2003/2004 local association secretaries should seek agreement on the phasing in of the CPD time on the following basis:- 2001/02 - A requirement of no more than 15 hours.
8. Local Authority Guidelines 8.1 It is anticipated that each Local Association will seek agreement with their Council on guidelines to go to schools. This paper should form the basis of such negotiations. 8.2 An informal mechanism for resolving school level disputes over agreements should be agreed between management and teacher sides. 8.2 Prior to discussions beginning at school level Local Associations should hold representatives' meetings and, where appropriate, Headteacher members' meetings so that the details of the Council agreement/guidelines can be explained. 8.3 It will also be necessary for Local Associations to agree mechanisms at Local Authority level to monitor school agreements and to respond promptly to circumstances arising in any school where the procedures adopted breach local or school agreements. 8.4 Local Associations should keep their Area Officers fully informed of, and where appropriate, involved in negotiations upon, authority level guidelines, agreements etc.. The Salaries and Conditions Department at Headquarters should also be sent copies so that the national picture is clear and best practice call be disseminated. 9. Looking Ahead This paper of guidance is the beginning of a process that is likely to last for a number of sessions. It is recognised that regular liaison between local associations and the Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee will be a feature of this period. Return to main page.
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