Teachers working hours - 1

Then there's this....

But also this...

Teachers - working hours (calculation) - 2

Now, concentrate.

A teacher is responsible for six classes with 30 children in each. How many children is that in total? 180? Well done. And if the teacher spends five minutes marking each student's work every fortnight – no, I know five minutes isn't enough, Michael, particularly not for eight hours' lessons and homework. Let's say six minutes then – that will have to do. So, how long does our teacher spend marking every week? Nine hours? Correct. And add 21 hours of teaching, to make a total of 30 hours.

No, we're not finished yet. Each lesson needs to be full of engaging activities, teaching facts and ideas. Yes, I'm well aware that you don't think any of these facts are important and yes, you've made it quite clear that you think you know better than me. In fact, that's exactly what makes it so hard for me to do my job.

Anyway. Our teacher takes five minutes to plan for each 30-minute lesson – yes, Michael, she will differentiate for each ability level and need. And make resources. And write tests. And set homework. And carry out wider reading too dear, even though the curriculum and texts change every year or so. Well Michael, when you grow up, you'll understand how important it is for people in positions of responsibility to know what they're talking about. OK, so 10 minutes' preparation per 30 minutes teaching. (You're quite right dear, that's not enough time at all. Don't worry, I'll explain it all in tomorrow's lesson, "teachers' holidays and flying pigs").

So that's seven hours in total? Add that to the 30 then. 37 hours? Good.

Now, time for mental arithmetic. Ready? I'll round down all of the following to make it easier: add two hours' on tutees; 1.5 hours' meetings; four hours on emails and paperwork (that's very perceptive of you, Michael, we'd love to spend that time planning); 1.5 hours for discipline/detentions; one hour on lunch duty; one hour contacting parents; setting up and tidying rooms; making displays; running after-school clubs (your little friend David's very keen on those, isn't he?); organising competitions and trips; giving assemblies and analysing data.

So, what do you have, Michael? At least 48 hours? Does that include breaks for the teacher to eat or go to the toilet? No? Well, don't worry about that, we've more important things to do anyway.

Now time for some harder maths. Get out your calculator, and average that out by the week. With 180 reports to write each taking seven and a half minutes; 180 exams to mark at 10 minutes each; seven parents' meetings at three hours each. Correct, that's about two more hours each week across the school year. So that's 50 hours.

What's that? The students? Well, they take priority over everything else, dear. Where should I start? Two absences, three lates and four missing essays to chase; the extra support for Adam; that little chat with your friend Michael about bullying and then there was that horrible incident with the compass. And that was only Monday period one – I won't bore you with the other 20 lessons.

Teachers work 55+ hours a week in term-time. Their work doesn't stop when the school day stops, and it doesn't end when the holidays start. Why then, do you persist in perpetuating the myth of the lazy teacher? Don't do that. We don't deserve it.

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Teachers - working hours

Teachers demanded a 20-hour a week limit on classes yesterday to maintain a healthy ‘work/life balance’.

Union members called for a rigid 35-hour week, with little more than half given over to teaching children.

Five hours would be used for planning, preparation and assessment ‘at a time and place of the teacher’s choosing’ – meaning at home in most cases.

The remaining ten hours would be set aside for other ‘non-contact’ duties including marking and going to meetings.

The proposal came at the end of a heated eight-day period during which annual conferences held by three teaching unions were used to repeatedly attack the policies of Education Secretary Michael Gove.

The working hours motion of the National Union of Teachers – which was passed by an overwhelming majority and will be linked to planned strikes over pay, pensions and conditions – would mean teachers taking classes for just four hours a day on average. Many schools would have to hire extra staff, putting greater pressure on budgets.

Cutting teaching workloads is one of the demands in the current dispute with Mr Gove that has led to a series of regional strikes from this summer, followed by a national strike before Christmas.

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The National Union of Teachers said activitists should consider strike action to enforce rigid new rules covering maximum lesson sizes and a 35-hour working week.

Under new plans, the union is demanding a 23-pupil limit on classes for pupils aged five-to-seven – around 25 per cent down on the current maximum.

Activists will also lobby the Government for a maximum class size of 18 for GCSE lessons to make sure teenagers get more feedback from teachers.

The NUT said that new caps should be imposed to bring schools into line with institutions such as Eton where “the richest in society” can pay for smaller lessons.

The union is also demanding the introduction of a strict working week in the state education system to combat excessive workloads.

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North Somerset’s National Union of Teachers (NUT) secretary, Jon Reddiford, says the education system is ‘in crisis’ as North Somerset teachers are ‘burnt out’ and cannot handle the ‘ridiculous’ and ‘overwhelming workload’.

The exclusive Mercury survey asked 88 North Somerset teachers, from the NUT, what they thought of their working lives and the pressures they face.

Of the 88 teachers who completed the survey, 58 said they are considering quitting the profession within the next five years.

A primary school teacher who has been working in classrooms for more than 10 years said she is considered by her colleagues to have a wealth of experience.

However she added: “I am no longer able to continue being a class teacher due to the overwhelming workload, constant scrutiny and change.”

The survey showed 69 teachers were contracted to work between 31 to 40 hours a week. However, 62 found themselves working as many as 30 additional hours a week.

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Working Hours - Teachers

Teacher Megan Quinn says she works a minimum of 56 hours per week - not to mention a few more on marking and lesson preparation.

She is just one of many thousands of teachers in England said to be burning the professional candle at both ends.

According to the Education Policy Institute, most full-time teachers work an average of 48.2 hours per week.

But one in five works 60 hours or more - 12 hours above the limit set by the European working time directive.

A teacher for eight years, Megan feels well supported by her school in north London and considers herself one of the lucky ones. She says she would love to commit to the job for the rest of her working life, but is not sure it is sustainable.

"Between the hours of 09:00 and 15:30 I am in my absolute element," she says.

But she says coping with government changes in assessment and accountability, and, as she sees it, with national tests set at too high a level for some of her children, she sometimes doubts whether she can continue in the job she loves.

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Teachers in England work longer hours than almost anywhere else in the world, according to new analysis.

The study found secondary school teachers work an average of 48.2 hours per week, with one in five working 60 hours or more – 12 hours above legal limits set by the European Union.

It means teachers in England work an average 19 per cent longer than those in other countries. They do an extra 2.7 hours per week compared to teachers in the USA, 11 hours more than colleagues in Korea and a full 19.8 hours per week more work than educators in Italy. 

Of the 36 countries and jurisdictions surveyed, only Japan and Alberta in Canada had teachers working longer hours than England. 

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For years teachers have warned that their workloads are unsustainable. Many say their mental health has suffered as a result of work pressures, while others cite workload as a reason for leaving the profession. So far, politicians have done little to tackle the issue. Our analysis, published this week, provides yet further evidence that policymakers must act.

Using Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data, we found that full-time teachers in secondary schools in England now work an average of 48.2 hours per week. This is the third highest out of 36 education authorities surveyed. It is also 19% longer than the OECD average.

We examined what impact this has on students, and what politicians can do about the problem.

Long hours, low starting pay

England’s secondary school teachers spent an average of just four days on continuing professional development (CPD), including courses, observational visits, seminars and in-service training. This is far lower than the average of approximately 11 days across schools in other OECD countries. Work schedules are a barrier to accessing CPD according to 60% of teachers in England, compared to an average of 49% elsewhere.

This has obvious implications for teacher effectiveness. But difficult working conditions also make the job less appealing compared to other professions, especially when relative pay is considered too. England is typical in that teachers are paid less than other workers of similar qualification levels. However, in England the ratio between teachers’ working hours and the average for the whole economy is 17% greater than the average ratio across 13 other, mainly European, countries assessed.

Long hours, low starting pay and limited access to professional development create a risk of teacher burn out, especially in the early stages of careers. Only 48% of teachers in England have more than 10 years’ experience, compared with an average of OECD 64%. According to the OECD, England has also had one of the fastest reductions in the proportion of teachers aged over 50 in secondary education between 2005 and 2014.

Whether or not a teacher can cope with long working hours is therefore likely to have as great an influence on whether they remain a teacher for the duration of their career as their effectiveness in the profession. Combined with extremely low levels of CPD, which might otherwise improve the effectiveness of teachers who need support to improve, this does not suggest a labour market that will help pupils flourish.

Does this signal a national problem or, rather, bad practice in certain schools?

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Maximum weekly working hours

1. Overview

You can’t work more than 48 hours a week on average - normally averaged over 17 weeks. This law is sometimes called the ‘working time directive’ or ‘working time regulations’.

You can choose to work more by opting out of the 48-hour week.

If you’re under 18, you can’t work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week.

Exceptions

You may have to work more than 48 hours a week on average if you work in a job:

• where 24-hour staffing is required
• in the armed forces, emergency services or police
• in security and surveillance
• as a domestic servant in a private household
• as a seafarer, sea-fisherman or worker on vessels on inland waterways
• where working time is not measured and you’re in control, eg you’re a managing executive with control over your decisions

Contact the Acas helpline or use the Acas Helpline Online to get further advice on working hours.

Calculating your working hours

Average working hours are calculated over a ‘reference’ period, normally 17 weeks.

This means you can work more than 48 hours one week, as long as the average over 17 weeks is less than 48 hours a week.

Your working hours can’t be averaged out if you’re under 18. You can’t work more than 40 hours in any one week.

Exceptions

Some jobs have different reference periods, eg:

• trainee doctors have a 26-week reference period
• the offshore oil and gas sector has a 52-week reference period

What counts as work

A working week includes:

• job-related training
• time spent travelling if you travel as part of your job, eg sales rep
• working lunches, eg business lunches
• time spent working abroad
• paid overtime
• unpaid overtime you’re asked to do
• time spent on call at the workplace
• any time that is treated as ‘working time’ under a contract
• travel between home and work at the start and end of the working day (if you don’t have a fixed place of work)

What doesn’t count as work

A working week doesn’t include:

• time you spend on call away from the workplace
• breaks when no work is done, eg lunch breaks
• travelling outside of normal working hours
• unpaid overtime you’ve volunteered for, eg staying late to finish something off
• paid or unpaid holiday
• travel to and from work (if you have a fixed place of work)

You have more than one job

Your combined working hours shouldn’t be more than 48 hours a week on average.

If you work more than 48 hours on average, you can either:

• sign an opt-out agreement
• reduce your hours to meet the 48-hour limit

Opting out of the 48 hour week

You can choose to work more than 48 hours a week on average if you’re over 18. This is called ‘opting out’.

Your employer can ask you to opt out, but you can’t be sacked or treated unfairly for refusing to do so.

You can opt out for a certain period or indefinitely. It must be voluntary and in writing.

Example of opt-out agreement:

I [worker’s name] agree that I may work for more than an average of 48 hours a week. If I change my mind, I will give my employer [amount of time - up to 3 months’] notice in writing to end this agreement. Signed…………………………………… Dated…………………………………….

Workers who can’t opt out

You can’t opt-out of the 48 hour week if you’re:

• airline staff
• a worker on ships or boats
• a worker in the road transport industry, eg delivery drivers (except for drivers of vehicles under 3.5 tonnes using GB Domestic drivers’ hours rules)
• other staff who travel in and operate vehicles covered by EU rules on drivers’ hours, eg bus conductors
• a security guard on a vehicle carrying high-value goods

Cancelling an opt-out agreement

You can cancel your opt-out agreement whenever you want - even if it’s part of your employment contract.

You must give your employer at least 7 days’ notice. You may have to give more notice (up to 3 months) if you have a written opt-out agreement.

Your employer can’t force you to cancel your opt-out agreement.