The taskforce comprised of union representatives, school leaders and employer representatives has made a number of key recommendations including:
· Removing the current requirements around performance related pay for teachers and replacing these with a less bureaucratic way to manage performance and pay.
· Schools to identify a senior leader with dedicated responsibility for improving wellbeing and reducing workload
· Governors should also publicly commit and actively promote measures to address workload and appoint a designated Governor to act as a wellbeing champion
· A revised list of administrative tasks which teachers should not be required to undertake should be reinstated within the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document.
· The Government should ensure there is greater awareness of the existing School Workload Reduction Toolkit and Education Staff Wellbeing Charter and review their contents to ensure they remain fit for purpose
· Ofsted’s current guidance for Schools regarding marking, planning and data should be revised and reissued to ensure clarity regarding their expectations in these areas
· Addition of a sixth Inset day to the School calendar which should be dedicated to workload reduction.
In a joint statement from the Minister of State for Schools, Damian Hinds, and the main teaching Unions broadly welcomed the recommendations. The Government has signalled it will accept all the proposals – with the exception of the additional inset day.
In respect of reforms to the current performance related pay the statement committed to undertaking ‘a rapid Government and Trade Union review of current guidance surrounding appraisal and performance management to facilitate a replacement being in place from 1st September 2024’
Meanwhile the Taskforce will continue its work exploring additional areas such as the School inspection framework, the contractual provisions of the STPCD – before issuing it’s final recommendations by the end of March this year.
The report and recommendations can be viewed here: Workload Reduction Taskforce - Initial recommendations(publishing.service.gov.uk)
We will keep you updated with further developments on these important proposals.