Press Release - 23 June 2025

As part of the SSTA’s campaign to reduce teachers’ class-contact time by 90 minutes, the “Delivering the 90 minutes and protecting secondary teachers” member survey was launched last week. Within days, the SSTA received nearly 1,700 responses.

Seamus Searson, SSTA General Secretary, said:
“The survey shows that all secondary teachers work beyond their 35-hour contractual week and provide huge amounts of ‘free overtime’. Yet the employers (COSLA) fail to recognise the significance of the Scottish Government’s promise to reduce contact time by 90 minutes for teachers’ wellbeing and effectiveness. Despite government funding, COSLA continues to ‘fiddle while teachers burn,’ watching teachers leave the profession exhausted and burnt out.”
 
Seamus added:
“The teaching profession in Scotland is in crisis. The failure to recruit in the secondary sector—and the exodus of many teachers before retirement—are a massive indictment of COSLA’s inability over the past four years to implement a ‘no-brainer’ solution to retain and recruit teachers. The survey also shows the strength of feeling among members: 92% are prepared to take industrial action (the survey is still live).”
 
Peter Brandon, SSTA Salaries and Conditions of Service Convener, said:
“Scottish teachers teach well above the OECD average, yet our employers seem unable to understand how much better teaching and learning would be with less-exhausted teachers. Reducing class-contact time is vital in addressing excessive teacher workload. Our children suffer daily while this situation continues unchanged.”
 
[ENDS]
 

 
Early Survey Findings

1. How many hours do you work beyond the 35-hour contractual week?
   
   • 18%: up to 5 extra hours
   • 43%: up to 10 extra hours
   • 25%: up to 15 extra hours
   • 14%: more than 15 extra hours per week
     
      
2. How many hours do you spend on planning, preparation, and correction during the school day?
   (Maximum contractual time: 7.5 hours/week)
   
   • 31%: less than 2 hours
   • 24%: less than 4 hours
   • 14%: less than 6 hours
   • 31%: receive the full 7.5 hours
     
      
3. Are you asked to teach or cover beyond your maximum 22.5 hours of class-contact time?
   
   • 48%: never
   • 49%: occasionally
   • 3%: regularly

 
Member Comments

• “More planning time—well used by professionally motivated teachers—will surely lead to improved learner experiences and better educational outcomes.”
• “I work every night and weekend, far above my 35 hours.”
• “More than 50% of our school population has an ASN, yet we have fewer PSAs than ever. Some pupils arrive at secondary school still at an early level in literacy and numeracy. Trying to support these pupils in class and differentiate work appropriately is impossible within the current allocated time.”
• “Imagine someone in the private sector being expected to perform all day with no break between performances; no time to reflect on each performance and no time to prepare for the next. We are constantly on high alert with no headspace to plan, prepare, and reflect, yet we are expected to work miracles in our classrooms every day, managing all kinds of needs and abilities.”
• “As a teacher of 25 years, I feel the profession is failing. Teachers are under immense pressure to deliver BGE and national qualifications to classes so differentiated that the job has become completely impossible.”