Officially, the early years co-ordinator oversees the running of the nursery, but she has little to do with it in practice. Do I have the right to the same planning and preparation time as teachers from this September?

The workload agreement was designed to deal with the problems faced by teachers. It is unlikely that you are covered by its provisions. So, no help there. However, I am perturbed about what you mean by “running” the nursery. Is it a nursery class within the school, or a free-standing nursery with its own budget but sharing the site with the school? Either way, it seems to me that you should not be in day-to-day charge. I know that schools sometimes try to bend the rules and nominate a teacher as responsible in theory but also require them to have their own class. You should talk to your union about the position as you may have been asked to take on work beyond your job description.

If you have a question for John Howson, please email susan.young@tes.co.uk