Headteachers are calling for the hours that Scottish teachers work to be more flexible, with school leaders in one council saying current arrangements “stifle” innovation.

The Scottish government has set in motion a series of reforms to change the way in which schools in Scotland are run. The goal is for schools to be free to take more decisions about issues such as staffing, the curriculum or the way the school day is organised - things that are sometimes be dictated by councils.

However, the 38 primary and secondary headteachers in East Lothian have said that the current teachers’ contract - which sets out the 35-hour working week - is a “key obstacle” to innovation.

They also raise concerns that it takes too long for an incompetent teacher to be removed from the classroom - an issue also recently raised by secondary headteachers’ organisation, School Leaders Scotland.

Consultation warnings

The East Lothian headteachers say: “A key obstacle to empowering schools is the nature of the current teachers’ contract. Without significant changes in this area innovation will be stifled and young people will be disadvantaged.  This must be addressed immediately if real change is to happen.”

They add: “…current arrangements for tackling poor performing teachers do need to be completely reworked. Much more streamlined, quick and effective processes currently operate within employment law in England and such approaches must be adopted in Scotland.”

The headteachers made their comments in a response to a recent government consultation on the law it intends to introduce to give headteachers more power, the Education (Scotland) Bill. Other responses have included calls for teachers to be able to deliver subjects outside their specialism and warnings that if headteachers have more power exclusions could rise.

One East Lothian headteacher told Tes Scotland that it might suit senior pupils to start school at 10.30am and finish at 5.30pm, given research into the teenage body clock, but currently such a move would be blocked by the teaching unions.  

Flexible hours debate

The headteacher, who did not wish to be named, said: “The current contract, which is rigid adherence to 35 hours, narrowly defined remits, and inflexibility around teacher hours - ie, keeping within the constricted hours of a standard school day - is likely to block innovation.”

School Leaders Scotland said it would also like to see “flexibility” introduced into the teachers’ contract. General secretary Jim Thewliss said they were not looking to ride a cart and horses through the contract but it was “restrictive”.

He said: “Schools open at 8.45am and close at 3.30pm for all teachers. There is the focus just now on closing the attainment gap. Youngsters living in deprivation sometimes find it difficult to get themselves to school, so it would be useful to have just that wee bit of flexibility.”

The EIS teaching union said that when the school day started and ended, when the lunch break was taken and the length of periods were already decided at school level, subject to consultation with staff and parents. Its general secretary, Larry Flanagan, warned teachers’ hours should not be dictated “at the whim of individual headteachers” and any such move would be resisted.

He said: “The idea that people’s working hours should be varied at the whim of individual headteachers is something we would resist.”

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