⚠️ Please note: The SSTA Council meeting scheduled for Saturday 4 October in Glasgow will now take place online only due to adverse weather. Council members have been sent the meeting link by email.
If you are a member of Council and have not received the meeting invite, please contact HQ at info@ssta.org.uk
At its Annual Congress in May, the SSTA carried an emergency motion calling upon the Scottish Government to issue guidance to schools and teachers following the UK Supreme Court judgement earlier this year on the definition of sex within the Equality Act.
The legal position has now been clarified, and all schools are required to ensure compliance with the Equality Act. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has subsequently advised that the 2021 guidance Supporting Transgender Young People in Schools is no longer reliable. Certain recommendations within that document are not compatible with the statutory protection of sex-based rights contained in the Act.
The SSTA has met with the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on a number of occasions, most recently last week, to press the urgent need for updated guidance. The Association has stressed that clarity is essential for schools and school leaders in fulfilling their legal duties.
SSTA Advice to Members:
Pending the issue of revised guidance, members are reminded that, should such situations arise, they must seek written direction from their employer before taking any action.
The Association draws attention to the updated national guidance, published three months ago, which makes clear that consequences form an integral part of building positive working relationships with pupils.
This update followed strong representations from the profession that the absence of consistent consequences in many schools had contributed significantly to the increase in low-level disruptive behaviour.
The SSTA has welcomed this important shift of emphasis. However, the Association is clear that improvements will only be realised where school behaviour policies and practices are formally revised and applied. Members are urged to raise this matter within their establishments without delay.
The full guidance, “Fostering a Positive, Inclusive and Safe School Environment guidance” includes an appendix setting out examples of proportionate consequences which may be utilised.
In June, the Scottish Government issued national guidance on the use of Pupil Behavioural Risk Assessments. These are intended to safeguard staff and pupils against risks arising from the minority whose behaviour may be violent, aggressive, or otherwise dangerous.
The guidance is evidence-based. It is therefore essential that all violent incidents are formally reported and recorded, thereby enabling appropriate mitigations to be identified and implemented. This process reduces both the likelihood and the severity of further incidents.
Members are asked to advise the SSTA if:
The national guidance is available at: “Guidance on risk assessments for violent, aggressive and dangerous behaviour”
Teachers’ contractual working week is 35 hours. Of this, 5 hours (= 190 hours annually) may be directed to school-level collegiate activities (e.g. meetings, CPD, working groups) under the terms of local Working Time Agreements.
All remaining professional duties (e.g. preparation, planning, assessment) may be undertaken at a time and place of the teacher’s choosing.
The SNCT conditions are founded upon professional autonomy and mutual trust in workload management. Members are not required to remain on the school premises except where necessary for class contact or agreed collegiate activities.
The SNCT Handbook is explicit:
“All tasks which do not require the teacher to be on the school premises can be carried out at a time and place of the teacher’s choosing: teachers will notify the appropriate manager of their intention in this respect.”
In practice, this means:
SSTA Advice to Members:
Being a school rep is vital – but it can also feel challenging.
This one-day training event will give you the knowledge, skills, and support you need to represent colleagues effectively and build union strength in your school.
What you’ll gain:
Expect a supportive, interactive day with real-life examples, case studies, and practical takeaways. Whether you’re new or experienced, this training will help you grow as a rep. Book your place at the training day here
The SNCT Extended Joint Chairs (SSTA, EIS, COSLA and the Scottish Government) met on Friday 5 September following the rejection of the latest pay offer by the Teachers’ Side.
The rejected offer was:
This proposal failed to deliver a real-terms increase above inflation, particularly in the second year, and did not include an adequate restorative element.
The Teachers’ Side highlighted the following concerns:
The next meeting of the SNCT Extended Joint Chairs will take place during the week beginning 15 September.
The SPPA has confirmed that all active members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme should have received communication regarding their 2025 Annual Benefit Statement. The SPPA used the contact details currently held on its system.
If you have not received your statement, please:
The SPPA has also launched a new online member portal, Engage, which enables members to register and view their most recent (2025) statement.
The 2025 pension statements have been redesigned to provide greater clarity. Contributions made between 2015–2022 are now shown as returned to the original ‘legacy’ scheme, alongside contributions to the CARE scheme.
Please note: Members who joined the Teachers’ Pension Scheme after 1 April 2015 entered directly into the CARE scheme and did not contribute to the legacy scheme.
The SSTA Pupil Behaviour Survey has already received over 800 responses.
Early findings indicate:
The results show that verbal aggression is too often treated as a normal and accepted part of school life, with few meaningful consequences.
⏳ The survey will close on Friday, 12 September. We strongly encourage all members who have not yet taken part to complete the survey and ensure their views are represented. Any member who has not received the link to complete the survey, please email info@ssta.org.uk to request the link
Recruit a Member
The start of the new term brings fresh faces to our staffrooms. Please take a moment to welcome new colleagues and encourage them to join the SSTA. One new member in every school makes a real difference. There are several great offers for new members—just direct them to the SSTA website, where joining is quick and easy. www.ssta.org.uk/join
SSTA Membership Offers
The SSTA Pupil Behaviour Survey has already received more than 600 responses. Early results show that defiance (including refusal to work) is reported as the most significant challenge for teachers. This is followed by disrespect and grandstanding (clowning), wandering (in classrooms and corridors), and mobile device misuse.
When asked “Have you seen an improvement in challenging pupil behaviour since the introduction of the Action Plan?” most members indicated that they have not noticed any change.
⏳ The survey will remain open until Friday, 12 September. We strongly encourage all members who have not yet taken part to complete the survey and ensure their views are represented. Any member who has not received the link to complete the survey, please email info@ssta.org.uk to request the link.
Education Scotland – Professional Learning Programme – Applications extended to 12 September
Education Scotland requested that we circulate information on its range of professional learning offers for educators in Scotland.
Attached is an email which outlines some of these, including details on some of our programmes which are currently open for applications.
The programmes we’re currently recruiting for are as follows:
Recruit a Member
The start of the new term brings fresh faces to our staffrooms. Please take a moment to welcome new colleagues and encourage them to join the SSTA. One new member in every school makes a real difference. There are several great offers for new members—just direct them to the SSTA website, where joining is quick and easy. www.ssta.org.uk/join
SSTA Membership Offers
The ‘Delivering the 90 Minutes and Protecting Secondary Teachers’ consultative survey received 2,811 responses. Members’ contributions provided invaluable insights that will strengthen our campaign to reduce excessive teacher workload. The failure of employers and the Scottish Government to engage constructively and work towards implementing the 90-minute reduction in class contact time has led to a formal dispute being declared and the need to gauge members’ support for potential industrial action.
Together with sister teacher unions, the SSTA has been consulting members on their willingness to take industrial action. The response from SSTA members clearly demonstrated the strength of feeling on this issue. In the survey, 92% indicated they were prepared to take part in ‘action short of strike action’, while 72% were prepared to take part in strike action to resolve the ongoing dispute with employers.
As reported this week, discussions have begun with COSLA and the Scottish Government, with the first negotiating meeting held on Thursday 28 August and two further meetings planned in the coming weeks. However, if these meetings fail to make sufficient progress, unions will return to members to escalate pressure on the employers.
Monique Dreon-Goold, SSTA President, said:
“The response from SSTA members in the consultative survey—and their willingness to achieve a reduction in class contact time—has placed significant pressure on the Scottish Government to bring employers ‘whining and complaining’ to the negotiating table.
COSLA’s continued failure to employ teachers on permanent contracts, and to fully utilise all available teachers, is a damaging tactic designed to justify claims of a ‘lack of teachers’ to deliver the reduction in class contact time. We know that many new teachers seeking employment are being pushed out of the profession by these actions.
We have already wasted four years trying to secure this vital improvement to teachers’ working conditions. Now is not the time for words—it is the time for action.”
The SNCT Teachers’ Side received an Employers’ Side pay offer on 16 June. The proposal was for a two-year settlement, with an undifferentiated 4% increase in the first year and a 3.5% increase in the second year.
At the SNCT Extended Joint Chairs meeting (SSTA and EIS, COSLA and Scottish Government) on 23 June, the Teachers’ Side sought clarification on the offer and raised a number of concerns. These included:
The Teachers’ Side also made clear that it was not committed to a two-year pay award.
Since then, the SNCT Teachers’ Side has been awaiting a response from COSLA. While it is understood the matter was reported to COSLA Leaders on 25 June, no response has yet been received.
On 27 August, the SNCT Teachers’ Side met and unanimously resolved to reject the 16 June pay offer and seek further negotiations. Each teacher union was asked to confirm the decision overnight to allow a collective response ahead of the COSLA Leaders meeting tomorrow (Friday, 29 August). The SSTA Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee was consulted and confirmed its support for the rejection. The SNCT Teachers’ Side has today formally confirmed its rejection in writing.
Peter Brandon, SSTA Salaries Convenor, said:
“The opportunity to reach a pay settlement in time for the August settlement date has been wasted. The lack of urgency from the employers to reach agreement shows little respect for the teachers in their employment. I hope negotiations restart quickly and that a settlement is reached soon, allowing the pay increases to reach teachers’ pockets.”
Delivering the 90 Minutes and Protecting Secondary Teachers – Consultative Survey
Thank you to the more than 2,800+ members who took part in the recent SSTA consultative survey. Your contribution is invaluable and will help strengthen our campaign to reduce excessive teacher workload.
📝 The initial findings of the survey are set out below.
Initial Survey Findings – Teacher Workload
The survey revealed that all teachers are working beyond their 35-hour contractual week:
Contact Hours
Management Time Allocation
A quarter of survey respondents hold management positions, but the time allocated for management duties varies significantly. The SNCT is currently considering national guidance on management time, as practice differs widely across the country:
Next Steps
Further information will follow on:
SSTA Membership Offers
Reduction in Class Contact Time – Some Progress
The SSTA, along with other teacher unions, has finally received the COSLA report Reduction in Class Contact Time and the Scottish Government’s Proposal for the Next Steps on Reduced Class Contact Time (RCCT), ahead of a special SNCT meeting on Wednesday, 20 August. Both documents raise significant issues that must be addressed.
The COSLA report was confusing, misleading, and lacked the necessary detail to support the practical implementation of reduced class contact time. Many would consider the paper “incompetent,” given that it took more than six months to produce despite the involvement of senior experts. Teachers would face severe criticism if they failed to complete a report within such a timescale.
By contrast, the Scottish Government’s paper offered a number of proposals and, most importantly, set out a work plan for the SNCT RCCT subgroup. This subgroup is tasked with urgently developing a clear route map for the delivery of RCCT. The SNCT Teachers’ Side reminded both COSLA and the Scottish Government that it remains in dispute over RCCT, with consultative surveys on industrial action already underway. The priority, therefore, must be meaningful engagement on how RCCT will be implemented.
The SNCT Teachers’ Side has not agreed to any of the proposals presented in the papers, pointing out that these issues could and should have been addressed at any point during the past six months. A series of meetings is now being arranged to develop a delivery plan, but any further delays risk triggering ballots for industrial action. While RCCT alone will not solve the problem of excessive teacher workload, it represents an important first step.
Delivering the 90 Minutes and Protecting Secondary Teachers – Consultative Survey
The SSTA member survey is a vital part of our campaign to reduce excessive teacher workload. The survey closes on Thursday, 28 August, and we strongly encourage all members who have not yet responded to take part and ensure their views are heard.
If you have not received an invitation to complete the survey, please contact SSTA Head Office at info@ssta.org.uk
Education Scotland’s Professional Learning Sessions – New guidance
Education Scotland has requested that we highlight the following professional learning sessions on the new guidance published in June are now live for school staff. The sessions can be booked via the following links:
There will also be an initial professional learning session on Thursday 21st August which will outline the national educational policy landscape, the relationships and behaviour action plan and guidance, and information about Education Scotland’s supporting professional learning programme ‘It’s all about relationships’ running between now and December 2025.
Relationships and behaviour: policy, guidance and professional learning – 21st August 2025 | Events | Education Scotland
Recruit a Member
The start of the new term brings fresh faces to our staffrooms. Please take a moment to welcome new colleagues and encourage them to join the SSTA. One new member in every school makes a real difference. There are several great offers for new members—just direct them to the SSTA website, where joining is quick and easy. www.ssta.org.uk/join
SSTA Membership Offers
The SSTA continues to hear from members that disruptive behaviour by young people is a growing barrier to effective learning and teaching. Such behaviour not only impacts learners’ attainment but also increases stress and anxiety for teachers. The SSTA has consistently pressed the Scottish Government for a unified approach to supporting teachers in meeting the needs of young people in our schools, and we welcome the introduction of the Relationships and Behaviour Action Plan (see below).
We now wish to hear from members whether the Action Plan has made a difference in managing challenging behaviour in schools. The SSTA previously conducted a pupil behaviour survey in 2023, and this follow-up survey will inform our discussions with the Scottish Government and contribute to the further development of the Action Plan.
Email invitations to take part in the survey were sent to members on Wednesday 20 August at approx. 12.45pm
The Scottish Government published the Relationships and Behaviour Action Plan in August 2024. The 3-year action plan was developed by the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) Improving relationships and behaviour in schools: ensuring safe and consistent environments for all Joint action plan 2024 – 2027
As part of the action plan the following documents have been published.
As part of the next stage of the action plan on the 17 June the Government published Fostering a Positive, Inclusive and Safe School Environment guidance (the ‘consequences’ guidance) and the Violent, Aggressive and Dangerous Behaviour Risk Assessment guidance.
The SSTA, alongside other teacher unions, has been waiting for four years to discuss the proposed 90-minute reduction in teacher class contact time—without success. The most recent SNCT meeting, held on 25 June, saw no progress, as COSLA refused to share any documentation.
Throughout the summer, however, information not shared with teacher unions has been freely circulated via the TES. These articles are worth reading (links provided below).
Misinformation and assumptions have been shared publicly while unions remain excluded from the discussion. This only strengthens concerns that decisions—or excuses—are being developed to block the implementation of this critical measure to reduce teacher workload.
Our ‘Delivering the 90 Minutes and Protecting Secondary Teachers’ member survey is a vital part of our campaign. Thank you to the thousands of members who have already responded. Reminders will be issued shortly for those yet to participate.
Related articles:
Scottish teaching unions have expressed their frustration over the lack of progress in pay negotiations. As a result, the deadline to implement higher salaries by the start of August has been missed.
The SSTA’s concerns were featured in a TES article on 3 July 2025, which included a statement from COSLA claiming a two-year deal had been offered to the entire Scottish local government workforce—including teachers. This raises serious questions: is COSLA again undermining and bypassing the SNCT pay negotiating process?
Related article:
Scottish secondary teachers have once again demonstrated professionalism and dedication in delivering this year’s national qualifications. Every effort has been made to ensure all students had the opportunity to fulfil their potential. This marks the second year of full course assessment since the Covid pandemic.
Read the SQA’s statement here:
The start of the new term brings fresh faces to our staffrooms. Please take a moment to welcome new colleagues and encourage them to join the SSTA. One new member in every school makes a real difference. There are several great offers for new members—just direct them to the SSTA website, where joining is quick and easy. www.ssta.org.uk/join
