The Workload Reduction Taskforce is already having an impact with a new list of 23 barred tasks, the end of performance-related pay, and a renewed focus on the 2016 Workload Review findings. Suzanne O'Connell considers how we can drive workload discussions in school
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There is no doubt that school staff are buckling under workload pressure with primary school leaders working an average of 57.9 hours a week and teachers 53.9 (DfE, 2024a).

So it is to be welcomed that the Workload Reduction Taskforce, established as part of the settlement that ended 2023’s teacher strikes, is leading to real change.

The taskforce has the stated aim of reducing workload by five hours a week within three years (DfE, 2023). It includes representatives from education unions as well as teachers, school leaders and other experts. The first  recommendations were accepted by the Department for Education in January (DfE, 2024b) and included:

  • Updating the list of barred administrative tasks.
  • Strengthening implementation of the three independent workload review groups’ recommendations on marking, planning, and data management.
  • Renewing and re-introducing Ofsted’s myth-buster about the requirements of inspection.
  • Maximising sign-up to the DfE’s 2021 Staff Wellbeing Charter.

One of the biggest changes is the scrapping of performance-related pay, which the taskforce reported “works poorly in practice”. It is to be replaced from September 2024 by a “less bureaucratic” method of performance management that will not be linked to pay. For more on this decision, see our article (Headteacher Update, 2024) and find advice about reforming your performance management processes in this article here. Schools have been promised further details soon, although as this edition went to press nothing has been forthcoming as yet.

 

Barred admin tasks

More than a decade ago, the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) included a list of 21 administrative and clerical tasks that teachers should not be routinely required or expected to do and which did not call for a teacher’s professional skills and judgement. The STPCD made it clear that teachers should not engage in these tasks – even voluntarily. It was not considered to be an appropriate use of their time. 

In 2014 the list was axed by then education secretary Michael Gove. However, 10 years on and it is back – and bigger. From September 2024 we can expect the STPCD to include an updated list of 23 administrative tasks that teachers should not be required to carry out.

The new list is largely similar in nature to its last iteration a decade ago. However, this time we have a little more detail and some additional barred tasks. The full list has been published online by Headteacher Update (2024), but additions include:

  • Production of photographic evidence of practical lessons (i.e. for assessment purposes or to evidence learning).
  • Creation or duplication of files and paperwork perceived to be required in anticipation of inspection such as copies of evidence portfolios or regularly updated seating plans.
  • Administration or data analysis relating to wraparound care and preparation of food/meals.
  • Administration of medical consent forms and the administering of medication on a routine or day-to-day basis. 

The old list included administration relating to work experience, but this has now been updated to include tasks relating to school visits, trips and residentials (including booking venues, collecting forms and recording lunch requirements).

 

Previous DfE guidance

In 2016, three independent review groups produced reports focusing on workload relating to marking, planning and teaching resources, and data management (see further information).

The DfE is urging schools to revisit these reports and their recommendations. In 2017, Headteacher Update published an article distilling 30 key workload audit questions based on these three reports. This article is worth revisiting. By way of a quick recap:

 

Marking

The review of marking recommended three principles for marking policy and practice:

  • Meaningful: Marking should serve a single purpose – to advance pupil progress and outcomes. 
  • Manageable: Marking practice should be proportionate and the frequency and complexity of written feedback should be taken into account.
  • Motivating: Marking should motivate pupils to progress. 

 

Planning and resources

For schools, the review recommended:

  • Senior leadership teams should review the demands made on teachers in relation to planning.
  • Teachers should engage in collaborative planning.

 

Data management

The review recommends that everybody involved in data collection should only collect data that is “purposeful, valid and reliable” and that teaching staff should ask if they do not understand why data is collected. Principles include:

  • Be streamlined and eliminate duplication.
  • Be ruthless: only collect what is needed to support outcomes for children.
  • Be prepared to stop activity.
  • Be aware of workload issues.

 

Staff Wellbeing Charter

The Staff Wellbeing Charter was produced by the DfE in 2021. It sets out commitments from the DfE, Ofsted and employers in education. The school commitments include:

  • Prioritise staff mental health.
  • Give staff the support they need to take responsibility for their own/other people’s wellbeing.
  • Give managers the tools and resources they need to support the wellbeing of their teams.
  • A clear communications policy.
  • Give staff a voice in decision-making.
  • Drive-down unnecessary workload.
  • Champion flexible working and diversity; support staff to progress in their careers.
  • A good behaviour culture.
  • A sub-strategy for protecting leadership wellbeing.
  • Hold ourselves accountable, including by measuring staff wellbeing.

 

Reviewing your practice

A key element amid of all this is for schools to “drive a discussion” about workload concerns. The DfE has urged schools to spend INSET time considering how workload can be reduced. As a leadership team you might:

  • Review the new list of 23 barred administrative tasks against current practice in your school.
  • Consider the impact of the replacement of performance-related pay and what might replace it in your context (see our article on this here).
  • Review the recommendations from the 2016 workload review groups (and our 2017 workload audit.
  • Adopt and raise awareness of the Staff Wellbeing Charter. 
  • Share the recommendations as items for discussion with your governing body and establish a working group to consider implications in more detail.

 

Final thoughts

A final report from the Workload Reduction Taskforce is expected soon and will address: 

  • The impact of the accountability system on workload.
  • In-school practices that drive workload.
  • Contractual provisions in the STPCD.
  • Technological solutions.
  • The impact of pressures on wider public services on schools.
  • Parental expectations and complaints.

So there will no doubt be more to consider in the coming months about how your school manages staff workload – are you ready? 

 

Headteacher Update Summer Term Edition 2024

This article first appeared in Headteacher Update's Summer Term Edition 2024. This edition was sent free of charge to UK primary schools in May 2024. A free-to-access digital edition is also available via www.headteacher-update.com/content/downloads 

Further information & resources