We head to the United Arab Emirates to hear from a school leader about his workload management strategies for both staff and himself, including strict no communication policies for certain times and why he believes mid-week deadlines are better for everyone.
Kausor Amin-Ali, principal of Frontline International School in Ajman, also explains the success of running a Wellbeing Wednesday each month.
1. What is the workload like for teachers in your school?
Our school’s tuition fees are below average for the region, widely, but at an average tuition price for the immediate locality.
With this budgetary model, staffing recruitment is carefully managed. Commitments outside of working hours are minimal as most of the planning and feedback of learning are completed in the day - a shorter working day ending at 3pm and a strict no communication after 6pm policy is also enforced.
I have worked in other schools where budgets are higher, but working hours are disproportionately higher, too.
2. How do you engage with teachers to understand their workload concerns and implement meaningful changes?
Staff voice is well-established with the senior leadership team and open feedback mechanisms exist informally and formally, as well as a “second opinion” from another member of SLT if matters are not resolved the first time.
I am also supported very well by an excellent HR officer, who understands both legal matters in terms of employment law and also the human side of being empathetic to personal challenges. She is always cautious and dignified in issuing reprimands, which endears her to all staff.
3. Have you implemented any specific policies or initiatives to reduce workload?
We now run a Wellbeing Wednesday (usually the first Wednesday in the month) where all staff leave by 2:15pm. If any support staff are needed for the usual business hours until 3pm, they have a rota for either a late arrival or early finish the next day.
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I ensure any deadlines for staff are in the middle of a working week (to allow for an end of working week follow up) to avoid the unrealistic “7am deadline on Monday morning” requirement, which results in a ruined weekend for staff with them often asking for an extension on a Sunday evening.
I also removed a previous requirement for a weekly summary and daily lesson plan - much to the satisfaction of the teaching body.
Finally, I have encouraged the minutes of meetings to be hosted on Google Classroom (other platforms are available) rather than a typed document template. This could be seen as innovative or perhaps risk being a maverick from the external view.
However, it allows deadlines for the SLT to be personalised (set as assignments with due dates) and also ongoing discussions on certain topics to be authentic and real time on the stream rather than “standing items on the agenda”, which can be quite static.
4. Do you look at teachers’ extracurricular workload, too?
Any teachers who offer extracurricular activities or who attend school to support Admissions Open Days over the weekends are paid as these are beyond their expected working hours.
School trips are also carefully planned in advance so teachers who commit to these are fairly distributed and so childcare plans can be put in place for staff with children.
5. Are there cultural differences in your country that influence how workload is managed in schools?
The main demographic in our school workforce is females in their late 30s, most of whom are parents and have caring responsibilities for children or elderly parents, and it is this commitment, which, rightly, they remind me is their first priority outside of work.
Hence, I am very mindful of what to commit to in terms of workload. It is a “work to live” culture - probably the first I have fully experienced and appreciated in my decade of working overseas.
This is a contrast to other schools, where demographics could be younger and with no family commitments and there was a competitive “live to work” mindset.
6. Have you done anything to improve your own workload?
I aim to lead by example and not communicate in the evening unless it is an urgent health and safety matter or a safeguarding issue.
Staff have the right to contact me out of hours, and I do respond accordingly, but 19/20 times I would say we can pick it up the next working day.
I have been in schools where the messages carry on past 10pm and recommence before 6am, and it is very toxic and unhealthy.
7. If you could introduce one major reform to improve staff workload management, what would it be and why?
Our assessment methodology has changed from a heavy emphasis on mid-term and end-of-term assessments towards smaller unit assessments in the academic year.
However, I feel this has increased the focus by some stakeholders (staff, parents and students) who see them as mini exams.
I hope that in time we can move away from any sense of formality in these assessments. This will then avoid “revision” and the risk of teaching to the test - instead of teaching for understanding… and enjoyment!
Kausor Amin-Ali is principal of Frontline International School, Ajman, UAE and chair of governors at Robert Miles Infant School, Bingham, UK. He is also the author of A-Z of School Leadership, A-Z of Teaching and more recently A-Z of Learning
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