The SNCT Pay Claim 2024-2025 – No improved offer received
The SNCT Teachers’ Side pay claim for 2024-2025 is 6.5% for all SNCT grades from August 2024 and was made in January 2024. The SNCT Teachers’ Side unanimously rejected the pay offer made on 5 June on behalf of all the teacher unions. Please follow the link to the COSLA Pay Offer Letter 4 June 2024 to see details of the rejected offer.
The SNCT Extended Joint Chairs (SSTA, EIS, COSLA and Scottish Government) met on 13 and 19 June seeking an improvement of the rejected offer. Unfortunately, there has been no improved offer as we move towards the end of the school year and close to the settlement date of 1 August 2024.
Teacher Workload and Working Time Agreement
At this time of the year many schools are completing their Working Time Agreements (WTA). Since 2006 the pupil contact time for secondary teachers in Scotland has been limited to a maximum of 22.5 hours per week with teachers contracted to work for 35 hours per week.
The SNCT handbook states “An allowance of no less than one third of the teacher’s actual class contact commitment is provided for preparation and correction. The use of remaining time will be subject to agreement at school level within LNCT guidelines, based on the Code of Practice on Working Time Arrangements (see Appendix 2.7).”
The WTA in each school specifies the remaining 5 hours per week as ‘Collegiate Time’. Unfortunately, many schools believe that the WTA is a starting point not a maximum. Excessive teacher workload is a major problem in most schools in Scotland and there is a duty on school leadership teams to ensure that teachers’ time is used efficiently and within the allocated times. Equally, we urge all members to play their part and ensure that allocated time is adhered to and used appropriately. The SSTA is quite clear that not all demands upon teachers can be met and therefore the expectations of parents and others need to be managed.
The SSTA has issued WTA guidance to all school representatives but all members should be aware of the details of how a WTA is developed. A recording of the briefing is available to view on the SSTA website.
Did you Know?
There should be a maximum of 5 (five) parental consultation meetings in a year and teacher preparation time should be included. For example, the SSTA recommends that a 3-hour parental meeting should have a 2-hour preparation period. This equates to 5 hours for each parental consultation meeting.
Part-time teachers should only attend the number of parental consultations in the same proportion of the days worked. For example, a teacher who works for 3 days a week should, through negotiation with the Headteacher, attend only 3 parental consultations.
Teachers who work in schools with an asymmetric timetable are not required to remain in schools on a Friday afternoon. Teachers are only required to be engaged in activities on a Friday afternoon if events have been included in the school calendar and the school’s WTA.
Mobile phones in Scottish Schools Petition
The SSTA conducted a national survey on Mobile Phones in Schools earlier this year and the results were published in a press release: Press Releases Archives - Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (ssta.org.uk) The SSTA has shared this survey with the Scottish Government and have engaged in developing a Scottish Government policy document.
We have been contacted by a group of teachers in Moray to publicise a petition that has been published, calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to update guidance on mobile phones in schools to require all schools to prohibit the use of mobile phones during the school day, including at interval and lunchtime.
The petition is here: https://petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE2106
SSTA Membership – Recruit a Colleague
All members are encouraged to recruit a colleague to join the SSTA. SSTA membership is unique in that it offers direct access to a senior official for advice and support. No other teacher union provides this service. The SSTA is the only trade union that offers this access to all members and remember the SSTA is the only teacher union that speaks only for Scottish Secondary Teachers.
- NQTs – Free until January 2026 (qualified 2024)
- New members – 50% for 12 months
- Part-Time – 50% for all part-timers (£9.00 per month)
Any new members can join view the website at www.ssta.org.uk/join
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