Plans for a flexible four-day week in class for Scottish teachers

Teachers could work a “flexible” four-day teaching week under new proposals announced by the Scottish Government.

The plans also include a reduction in contact time with pupils in the classroom and agreed national minimum standards for pupil learning hours.

It would leave a fifth day for “professional learning” activities outside the classroom, including lesson preparation, grading and training.

Scotland’s Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said it demonstrated a “clear commitment” to teachers. But the EIS union said it was “unaware” of how a four-day week would work.

The EIS and NASUWT unions are currently voting for members to go on strike for failing to reduce contact time in class, periods when teachers directly teach their students.

In the last Holyrood election, the SNP promised to reduce contact time by 90 minutes a week to allow more time for other activities.

The new proposals could allow for later start times, extended breaks or restructured school days.

Teachers’ unions stressed that any allocated time outside the classroom should be used as teachers see fit.

The Education Secretary said the plans, along with a new pay deal, would form a new “National Deal” for teachers.

Jenny Gilruth acknowledged that unions had “strong” views on these plans and said she would meet with the EIS later.

He told BBC Scotland: “The move to a four-day teaching week would really help to lighten the workload but also create space for the teaching profession.

“We have put forward some pragmatic solutions and we are looking forward to working with local government and also the teachers unions to reach an agreement that ensures we can improve conditions for teachers.”

A survey by the EIS in June found workloads in schools were “unfair, unhealthy and unsustainable”.

Teachers said they were rarely or never able to do the work, preparation and marking they had been asked to do during their working week.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said the promised 90-minute reduction in class contact time was a “red line for teachers”.

“There can be no ruling from government or employers about how teachers should use this time,” he added.

Ms Bradley told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland that the union did not yet know how a flexible four-day week would be implemented.

He said the Scottish Government’s proposals “do not represent a plan that can be properly examined” and said it would not affect the vote on the EIS strike.

NASUWT said it was happy with the proposals but needed “assurances that teachers will have the responsibility to decide how that time should be used”.

A spokesperson added: “Our members are frustrated by continued delays in delivering on a clear promise from the Scottish Government, which is why we have opened a vote on industrial action on this matter.”

This is not a proposal to impose a four-day work week on teachers. The discussion revolves around how exactly a teacher’s five-day week might be structured.

Any changes would come after negotiations involving unions and councils. But there are clearly important practical issues that need to be examined, particularly in primary schools.

Having a different teacher one day a week is different from having a different teacher for an hour, perhaps for PE or another specific subject. But there is real frustration among some teachers about their workload.

Unions want to reduce contact time to help reduce the amount of work teachers say they have to do on their own time in the evenings and weekends.

Strike votes continue over this issue.

Even if the proposals do not become the definitive long-term solution, will they be enough to avoid the risk of a strike in the months before the Scottish elections?