Category: Information for Members

The SNCT Teachers’ Side met this morning to discuss concerns arising from the Cabinet Secretary’s press release, Delivering Reduced Class Contact Time, issued on Thursday 20 November, along with the subsequent document Delivering Reduced Class Contact Time: A National Deal for Scotland’s Teachers 
 
The SNCT Reduction in Class Contact Time working group had met on Wednesday 19 November, where no progress was made in agreeing the use of the promised 90-minute reduction in class contact time. No reference was made at that meeting to the forthcoming press release. The timing and nature of the announcement appear to undermine the established SNCT negotiating machinery and the ongoing industrial action ballots being organised by the teacher unions.
 
The SNCT Teachers’ Side agreed that each union will review the documents and reconvene to agree a formal response. It was further agreed that the Teachers’ Side would issue a statement highlighting the failure to conduct negotiations on teachers’ terms and conditions through the recognised SNCT channels.
 
Members are reminded that the SNCT Teachers’ Side remains in dispute regarding the Government’s failure to implement its commitment to reducing class contact time. The unions’ ballots for industrial action will continue, as the latest announcement does not address either the use of the 90 minutes or any clear timescale for implementation. The SSTA ballot arrangements are currently being finalised with an independent postal ballot provider, and members will receive full details early next week.
 
All members are encouraged to check and update their membership details as soon as possible to ensure ballot papers are delivered to the correct home address.

Your Responses Confirmed – Action on Demands, Support & Change

On behalf of the SSTA Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) Committee, I want to sincerely thank the 600 members of staff who took the time to complete our recent confidential survey on work-related stress.

As promised, we approached this survey with a commitment to calling “workload” what it is: Work-Related Stress. Your high, honest response rate, and clear feedback, framed around the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) six key factors, have given us a robust, data-driven mandate for change.

The results are exceptionally stable and confirm the severity of the work-related stress crisis. We are moving forward with a decisive action plan based on the three most pressing issues you identified, viewing them as organisational health risks.

1. Validated Top 3 Sources of Stress

The survey used the HSE Management Standards to measure stress factors on a scale of 1 (Most Stressful) to 6 (Least Stressful).

Rank	HSE Factor	Mean Rank (N=600)	The Core Problem
1	Demands	1.55	Excessive workload, unreasonable deadlines, and unsustainable volume of non-contact tasks.
2	Support	3.50	A lack of practical resources, inadequate assistance, and insufficient managerial encouragement to cope.
3	Change	3.63	Organisational change is poorly managed, rushed, or implemented without necessary consultation and resource allocation.

 
Key Takeaway: The data is unambiguous. 93.7% of you place Demands in the top three stressors. High demands, coupled with a lack of Support and disruptive Change, create an unacceptable environment of stress.

2. Our Immediate, Data-Driven Action Plan
The HSW Committee, in collaboration with working with COSLA and Scottish Government, will focus all efforts on these three priorities. Our goal is to achieve systemic, measurable relief, not just temporary fixes.

A. Priority 1: Eliminating Demands (The ‘Don’t do’ List)
We will be campaigning on the Administrative Task Audit immediately. This is not a review to ‘streamline,’ but to eliminate non-essential bureaucracy.

• Task Audit: Members will log all non-statutory administrative and data-driven tasks over a four-week period to identify those that can be removed or delegated.
• Communication Charter: We will work to establish a formal protocol that creates clear boundaries for electronic communication, confirming that no response is expected outside of contractual working hours.

B. Priority 2: Enhancing Support (Practical Assistance)

• Protected Time: We will continue to campaign for the increase in minimum non-contact time, (90 minutes) is ring-fenced, protected time within the working week dedicated purely to planning, preparation, and collaborative support, ensuring this time cannot be usurped by meetings or administrative cover.
• Targeted Training: We will campaign that management receives focused training on the HSE standards, emphasizing how to provide practical support and conduct meaningful, supportive welfare check-ins, rather than just performance monitoring.

C. Priority 3: Managing Change Effectively

• New Change Protocol: We will propose a formal requirement that all new initiatives include a clear Consultation Period, a guaranteed Phase-in Strategy, and the removal of a corresponding old task to prevent additive workload.

3. Next Steps
We believe that formally identifying these factors as work-related stress, rather than simply ‘workload,’ is the crucial first step toward lasting, systemic change.

The full, detailed report will be shared with representatives of COSLA and Scottish Government. We commit to providing a progress update on the implementation of the three priority actions at Congress.

A further survey will ask you to determine what aspects of demand need addressed. This survey will ask for your local authority, so these issues can be acted on directly through your district secretaries.

Thank you again for your honesty and participation. We are committed to using this data to create a safer, less stressful, and more sustainable working environment for everyone.

Grant McAllister
Convenor,
SSTA Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee

Tackling Teacher Workload – An SSTA Priority

The SSTA National Executive is preparing for an official postal ballot on industrial action in the coming weeks — the next step in its campaign to reduce teacher workload and related stress.

Seamus Searson, SSTA General Secretary, said:

“Tackling excessive teacher workload is now our top priority, following the settlement of teacher pay for 2025–2027. The SSTA, alongside our sister teacher trade unions, is embarking on a campaign of industrial action to secure a long-overdue reduction in class contact time for all teachers.

The proposed cut of 90 minutes is a modest but significant step toward addressing unsustainable workloads. The Scottish Government promised to reduce class contact time four years ago; yet, despite countless meetings and discussions, we remain no closer to seeing that promise fulfilled.

Our Delivering the 90 Minutes and Protecting Secondary Teachers consultative survey revealed the strength of feeling among members. An overwhelming 92% expressed their willingness to take action short of strike action, while 72% indicated their readiness to take strike action to resolve the ongoing dispute with employers.”

SSTA President Monique Dreon-Goold added:

“SSTA members are struggling under the excessive workload demands placed upon them. School bureaucracy has spiralled out of control, pulling teachers away from their most vital role — teaching and learning in the classroom. The additional tasks expected of teachers today bear little resemblance to their workload just a decade ago.

Schools must refocus on supporting classroom teaching and remove the impossible demands that hinder rather than help. It is time to let teachers teach.

SSTA members must stand together to demand a fair and reasonable workload that protects their wellbeing and the future of the profession. The reduction of 90 minutes in class contact time is only the first step in that fight”.

Message to Members – 11 November 2025
 
Pay Offer Accepted
 
The SNCT Teachers’ Side met on Tuesday, 11 November, and agreed to accept the “best and final” pay offer from COSLA. Following our member survey, the SSTA voted in favour of acceptance. A total of 1,706 members responded, with 96% voting to accept the 2025–2027 pay offer. .Please see SNCT Teachers’ Side acceptance letter to COSLA (attached below).
Letter_To_COSLA_Pay_Offer_11_NOV_25_FINAL.docx 

The agreed two-year deal covers the period from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2027 and includes the following increases:
 

• A 4% uplift from 1 August 2025 on all SNCT pay points, rising to 4.25% from 1 April 2026 (an additional 0.25%).
• A 3.25% uplift from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027 on all SNCT pay points.

Peter Brandon, SSTA Salaries and Conditions of Service Convener, said:

“The two-year pay deal represents a marginal improvement on the previous proposal and applies to all SNCT grades. I hope employers move quickly to ensure that the backdated pay is reflected in members’ salaries as soon as possible.

I would like to thank the members of the SSTA Salaries and Conditions of Service team for their dedication and their prompt response to developments throughout this long and protracted negotiation process.

I also hope that future pay rounds are concluded more efficiently and on time — though I remain to be convinced.”

The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA), which represents all teachers employed in secondary schools across Scotland, recently conducted a survey as part of its “Delivering the 90 Minutes” campaign to better understand the staffing situation in secondary education. 

For several years, secondary schools have struggled to recruit sufficient subject-specialist teachers to meet curricular needs. With the Scottish Government’s commitment to reduce teachers’ class contact time by 90 minutes per week, the SSTA sought a clearer picture of the current challenges facing schools. 

The survey revealed that 46% of members reported teachers being required to teach subjects outside their specialism, while a further 35% were unsure. Alarmingly, 45% of respondents indicated that these teachers were also responsible for examination classes. 

Members also reported that 54% of schools are employing primary-qualified teachers, with an additional 22% unsure whether this was the case. 

When asked how these primary-trained colleagues were being deployed, 84% of respondents said they were working in Additional Support Needs (ASN) and Guidance roles. However, 88% reported that primary-qualified teachers were teaching Broad General Education (BGE) classes (S1–S3), and 27% stated that they were teaching qualification-level classes (S4–S6). 

Monique Dreon-Goold, SSTA President, commented: 

“It is widely known that Scotland faces a serious shortage of secondary teachers. The continued failure to attract enough graduates into secondary teacher education is deeply concerning. This situation adds to the work-related stress experienced by teachers, many of whom are struggling under impossible workload demands while supporting an increasing number of pupils with additional support needs. It is no surprise that so many are leaving the profession.” 

Seamus Searson, SSTA General Secretary, added: 

“Addressing the shortage of qualified secondary teachers must be an urgent priority for the Scottish Government and COSLA. Current recruitment measures are not delivering results — new and creative strategies are needed to attract and retain teachers.” 

“While the SSTA represents all teachers working in secondary schools, employers must ensure that every teacher receives appropriate support and training, and that opportunities are provided for dual qualification where possible, to maintain the quality of education for our young people.” 

“Reducing teacher workload would be a strong first step. Implementing the 90-minute reduction in class contact time would demonstrate that employers acknowledge the growing pressures teachers face.” 

[ENDS] 

Further information from: 

Seamus Searson 

General Secretary  

Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association

Statistics from the Delivering the 90 Minutes” Survey 

Q. Do you have Primary Qualified Teachers working in your school? 

Yes	54.11%
No	23.93%
Don’t Know	21.95%

Q. If Yes, Do you have Primary Qualified Teachers working in your school? 

teach in S1 to S3 (BGE)?	88.05
teach qualification classes?	26.98%
work in ASN or Guidance?	84.32%

Q. Many schools are having difficulties recruiting secondary qualified teachers to fill subject-specific vacancies. How would you feel if it was proposed to increase opportunities for primary qualified teachers to be employed teaching in the early years of secondary schools as a way of addressing these shortages? 

Open to that possibility if it were only in BGE classes	26.79%
Open to that possibility if it were only teaching literacy and numeracy skills within BGE	27.17%
Opposed unless those appointed had embarked on gaining registration for teaching in secondary	15.23%
Opposed unless those appointed had also gained registration for teaching in secondary	24.66%
Don’t Know	6.15%

Q. Would you be prepared to teach your specialist subject in more than one school within your authority to support the introduction of the reduction in class contact time? 

Yes	19.35%
No	68.95%
Don’t Know	11.70%

Industrial Action on the Horizon – Reduction in Class Contact Time

The SSTA welcomes the Scottish Government’s proposal to establish a work plan for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) Reduction in Class Contact Time (RCCT) subgroup. This subgroup has been tasked with urgently developing a clear route map for the implementation of RCCT.

However, the SNCT Teachers’ Side has reminded both Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Government that the dispute over RCCT remains unresolved and that there must be meaningful engagement on how RCCT will be delivered.

A series of meetings have been held to develop a delivery plan, but progress has been slow raising the risk of ballots for industrial action. While RCCT alone will not fully resolve the issue of excessive teacher workload, it represents an essential first step toward meaningful workload reduction.

The SSTA’s Delivering the 90 Minutes and Protecting Secondary Teachers consultative survey highlighted the strength of members’ views on this issue. An overwhelming 92% of respondents indicated their willingness to participate in “action short of strike action,” and 72% expressed their readiness to take strike action to resolve the ongoing dispute with employers.
The SSTA continues to engage actively with the RCCT working group, but time is running short. If there is no significant progress in the coming weeks, the SSTA Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee will prepare a report to the National Executive seeking approval to move to a formal ballot for industrial action.

SSTA President Monique Dreon-Goold said:
“The SSTA has been extremely patient in waiting for progress on reducing class contact time, but that patience is wearing very thin. We must see tangible action soon, or we will have no choice but to move to industrial action to press COSLA and the Scottish Government to deliver on their promise to help reduce excessive teacher workload.”
 

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Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee Planning Survey

Following May’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee webinar on the Health and Safety walk round, the committee would welcome your views on what we should present next. Our suggestions are.

• fire evacuation policy
• mental health
• establishing and the work of an H+S committee
• creating and reviewing subject specific risk assessments
• what should be included in a school risk assessment
• heating and ventilation
• keeping safe online
• the rights of a health and safety representative
• Other (please indicate)

You can let us know your preferences by completing a short survey.  We are hoping to have our first webinar in November and will try to complete at least one a term.
 

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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

• ALL NQTS – Free Until January 2027
• ALL New Members – 50% off subscription fees for the first 12 months
• ALL Part-time members – Pay a reduced subscription of 50% off the full-time subscription (unique to SSTA)

The October 2025 SSTA Newsletter is now available for members to download.  The newsletter contains articles on:

• Extremism in Our Schools Must Be Tackled
• Presidents Pledge – Putting Teachers First
• Dragging Out the “90 Minutes”
• Teacher Health and Well-being
• Teachers with part-time contracts
• SPPA 2025 Annual Benefit Statements

You can download the October 2025 SSTA Newsletter here 

We’re inviting all SSTA members to join us, alongside the STUC, The Poverty Alliance, and unions from across Scotland at the Scotland Demands Better March and Rally on Saturday 25 October in Edinburgh.
 
As the union representing Scotland’s secondary teachers, the SSTA is proud to stand with others demanding a fairer future. Every day, our members see the impact of underinvestment in education and public services (larger classes, increasing workloads, and pressures on families and communities).

It’s for these reason that we’re marching to call for fair pay, better working conditions, and proper investment in schools and public services so that every young person in Scotland can thrive.
 
What we’re demanding together:

• Better jobs for everyone, with fair conditions and wages that cover the cost of living.
• Better investment in essentials including affordable homes, strong public services, and high-quality education.
• Better social security so that every household has the foundation for a secure future.

What to expect on the day:

• When: Saturday 25 October 2025
• Assemble: From 9.30–10.15am at the Scottish Parliament (look out for our SSTA banners and posters!)
• March route: Up the Royal Mile, George IV Bridge towards The Meadows
• Rally: The Meadows, with music, speakers, stalls, and family-friendly activities

 
We’ll be there from 9.30am so we can march together as an SSTA group and please feel free to bring colleagues, friends, and family.

If you’d like to join us or help by carrying our banners and flags, please let us know by completing a short form so we can organise materials and coordinate where to meet.

⚠️ 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