Education secretary Estelle Morris promised a 'revolution', a 'remodelling', a 'radical restructuring' of the teaching profession in England when she launched the Government's far-reaching reforms of the school workforce - then she promptly resigned. Now it is up to her replacement, Charles Clarke, to implement what she described as her 'vision' for schools in the 21st century.
The reforms, explained Ms Morris, aim to raise standards by moving away from the 'old-fashioned model of teaching' towards a 'more individualised'
approach, with a greater emphasis on differentiation and supporting the children most in need of help. 'The vision is quite simply how to get a better mix in our classrooms to raise standards for our children,' she said.
To bring about this shift, teachers will be given the time to concentrate on teaching and PPA (planning, preparation and assessment), while a 50,000-strong army of support staff will be recruited by 2006 to take on a broader support role in and out of the classroom.
The launch of the reforms received widespread coverage in the national media, with commentators voicing the fears that had been about ever since they were first mooted: they would undermine the teaching profession; they were a way of getting teachers on the cheap; they would lead to a mum's army of underqualified assistants.
But what about the detail of the reforms? How will they affect teachers'
and classroom assistants' working lives? And will it open up longed-for and new opportunities for early years staff?
What will the reforms mean for teachers?
Workload According to surveys commissioned by the DfES, primary teachers spend roughly one-third (35 per cent) of their time on teaching and one-quarter (24 per cent) on administration and management. The Government plans to give teachers more time for teaching and PPA, by:
* cutting bureaucracy
* limiting administrative duties
* giving greater responsibility to support staff (see below)
* improving ICT
* encouraging good practice through the Innovation Unit
* improving school management and leadership, to ensure headteachers have time and skills to remodel their school staff deployment.
The Government will not, however, make any recommendations about how much more teaching will be expected of teachers.
Working hours The Government wants to see progressive reductions in teachers' working week, which currently averages 52 hours. However, a statutory hourly limit will not be written into teachers' contracts.
Contractual changes
* From September 2003, teachers will not be expected to do 25 mainly administrative tasks, including bulk photocopying and stocktaking.
* From September 2004 at the latest, teachers should not be required to cover for absent colleagues for more than 38 hours within their 1,265 contracted hours.
* From September 2005 at the latest, teachers should have guaranteed time for PPA, equivalent to at least 10 per cent of their teaching time, which will count towards their 1,265 hours.
Bureaucracy There will be joint efforts by the DfES, Ofsted, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) and the Learning Skills Councils to cut red tape, and an Implementation Review Unit will be set up to provide feedback on policy implementation and to cut bureaucracy locally.
What will the reforms mean for support staff?
There are 216,000 full-time equivalent support staff, a rise of 80,000 since 1997. The DfES acknowledges that support staff outnumber teachers at some schools and that the role of teaching assistants has developed enormously in recent years.
Extra staff will be employed to help with classroom support, behaviour management (ranging from playground supervision to supporting individual children), administrative and clerical work and helping headteachers with management and administration. There will be a wide range of new roles, from music specialist to bursar, language assistant to librarian.
Funding Money for new staff should come from schools' mainstream budgets and the Schools Standards Grant, which for primary schools amounts to Pounds 10,000.
Training The Government notes that teaching assistants' median qualification is only NVQ level 2. It plans to extend induction training for all support staff and provide additional targeted training funding over the next three years.
Extra responsibilities Only qualified teachers will have overall responsibility and accountability, but the reforms will involve the creation of a new type of 'higher level' assistant.
Regulation The DfES will draw up regulations clarifying the circumstances under which support staff can undertake 'teaching activities'. A consultation is underway (see below). However, the DfES believes that decisions about delegation and supervision should largely be left up to headteachers, rather than being prescribed nationally, and rigidly, by the Government.
Career progression The DfES thinks that schools should look to developing three career paths, that are not mutually exclusive, for support staff to become 'higher level' assistants - pedagogical; behaviour and guidance; and administration and organisation.
Pedagogical route
* Responsibilities Teaching activities, such as planning and preparing lessons, delivering lessons, assessing and reporting on children's progress and marking children's work; cover for teachers during short-term absences; and supervisory and behaviour support.
* Training The Government will commission the TTA to develop standards and training for 'higher level' teaching assistant roles, and aims to offer up to 20,000 training places a year. It will also develop easier routes into teaching.
Behaviour and guidance route This would involve relieving the behaviour management burden currently placed on teachers and improving the guidance given to individual children. This could include co-ordinating behaviour policy.
Administration and organisation route This could involve roles such as bursar and business manager and technical support staff.
What happens next?
The DfES is now consulting on:
* changes to teachers' contracts (closing date 26 November 2002). See 'Time for Standards: reforming the school workforce' and 'Government's Response to STRB Workload Report'.
* teaching activities to be undertaken by support staff and staff supervision (closing date 22 January 2003). See 'The Education (Teaching Work and Registration) (England) Regulations 2002'.
* developing the role of support staff (Closing date 22 January 2003). See 'Developing the Role of Support Staff'.
All the consultation documents can be downloaded from the website www.teachernet.gov.uk/Manage- ment/staffinganddevelopment/ remodelling/downloads.
Have your say
* We would like to hear the views of Nursery World readers on the proposed reforms to the school workforce. Will the reforms cut your workload? Will they provide opportunities to develop a new career? Are you already doing the job of a 'higher level' assistant for no extra money?
Tell us what you think. You can contact us by fax on 020 7782 3131, by e-mail: ruth.thomson@nursery-world.co.ukor via the feedback facility on our website: www.nursery-world.com.
