* Goal plc (www.goalplc.co.uk) specialises in education software from key stage 1 through to post-16. The programmes are able to test, format results, and diagnose problem areas for individual pupils. Goal claims its products “save teachers hours each week”. Tel: 01926 458686.
* Hamilton Trust (www.hamilton-trust.org.uk). Free access to ready-made plans and resources for primary level maths and English, formulated as part of a project aimed at cutting teachers’ preparation time. Try their sister company Hamilton Education too (www.hamiltoneducation.org.uk).
* www.teachernet.gov.ukremodelling gives access to various DfES documents, including the reducing bureaucracy toolkit. This was sent to schools last year but anecdotal evidence says only about 10 per cent have made use of it. This isn’t too surprising - it’s quite bureaucratic and a little patronising (Step 1: decide what you mean by bureaucracy. Step 2: appoint a project managerI). On the plus side, there are good case studies of schools involved in trialling ways of reducing workload. It’s also possible to download and print off a “reducing the bureaucratic burden” poster. Intended for display in staffrooms, it offers practical suggestions. You can also download an unabridged copy of the Pricewater-houseCoopers workload report. Again it’s the case studies at the end of the report that make the most interesting reading. Tel: 0870 000 2288.
* The Educational Institute of Scotland website (www.eis.org.ukmccrone.htm) includes a summary of the McCrone agreement and its implications. Download a full copy of the report.
* The NASUWT website carries a summary of ways to reduce workload, and a checklist of chores staff should not be doing - www.teachersunion.org.uk and click on “reducing workload checklist”.
* If workload issues are getting too much, the Teacher Support Network runs a telephone helpline on 08000 562 561. It also has helpful advice on its website at: www.teachersupport.org.uk - click on the work and life balance section.
* The DTI website (www.dti.gov.ukwork-life balance) also has advice on work-life balance.
* The homework campaigning group Parents at Work (www.parentsatwork.org.uk) has downloadable factsheets on flexible working, employment rights and childcare choices.
* A look at the issues and possible solutions to sustaining the right work-life balance can be found at www.flexibility.co.uk. It features relevant publications and links to a range of online resources.
* If you need to improve time-management skills, most book shops carry a range of titles on the subject. One of the best is Get Everything Done and Still Have Time to Play by Mark Forster (Help Yourself Books, pound;6.99).
