An area of great contention in recent years, especially with the decreases in the number of teaching days in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 academic years. However, as we get ready for the 2023/2024 academic year, we’re back to “normal” with the academic year returning to a 195/190 format.
| Normal Academic Year 195 Working Days | 2021-2022 194 Working Days 189 School Days – 5 INSET Days | 2022-2023 193 Working Days 188 School Days – 5 INSET Days | |
| 1.0 – 5 days per week | 1,265 | 1,258.51 | 1,252.03 |
| 0.8 – 4 days per week | 1,012 | 1,006.81 | 1,001.62 |
| 0.6 – 3 days per week | 759 | 755.11 | 751.22 |
| 0.4 – 2 days per week | 506 | 503.41 | 500.81 |
| 0.2 – 1 day per week | 253 | 251.70 | 250.41 |
The Burgundy Book (National Pay and Conditions of Service for Teachers) and School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document (England) stipulate that class teachers must be issued with a breakdown of the 1265 they are contracted to complete over the 195 school and inset days.
This stipulation is located in paragraphs 51 and 52 of the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document 2022. It states that all full-time and part-time teachers must be provided with a breakdown of their directed time by their Headteacher. Schools should publish their directed time to staff in the summer term prior to the following academic year and at the absolute latest, this must be published on the first day of the academic year.
The maximum number of hours a teacher can work, across the 195 school and inset days is 1,265. Part-time teachers work the pro-rata equivalent.
A directed time calendar is important to ensure teachers’ hours are reasonable and is standard practice within the profession. Headteachers also find directed time calendars help with resourcing and ensuring staff wellbeing. Headteachers, Deputy Headteachers, Assistant Headteachers and Lead Practitioners (who are paid on the Lead Practitioner Pay Range) are not confined to the limits of 1265, there is an expectation that these leaders will be given reasonable time during school sessions, having regard to their teaching responsibilities, for the purpose of discharging their leadership and management responsibilities. Nothing in the STPCD is to be taken to conflict with Council Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November 1993 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time (O.J. No L307, 13.12.93 p.18 which was implemented by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/1833)).
Best practice, is to issue your 1265 in the second half of the summer term, including the dates of training, specific meetings/events, parents’ evenings and mandatory staff meetings. You also need to identify to part-time teachers (anyone on less that 1.0 FTE) what training dates, meetings/events, parents evenings and mandatory staff meetings they are required to attend in line with their proportion of the 1265.
Watch out for the PPA time allocations as it is 10% of the teachers teaching time, not 10% of their overall contracted hours, 20% when in the first year of the ECT training.
Key information relating to the 1265 calculation for directed time can be located in the STPCD on page 48.
There are also some tools available on the NEU website which may be useful.
What do I have to account for with the directed time?
Directed time includes the following areas:
- Timetabled teaching time
- PPA time
- Parents evenings
- Inset days
- Other CPD time
- TLR duties
- Break duty
- Staff briefings
- Staff meetings
- Open evenings
You can find a template letter to issue to each member of staff with their agreed directed time calculation. You can also use our FEPS template for your directed time calculations.
What happens if I don’t issue the directed time to staff?
Employees may be able to contest their working hours and attendance at meetings/INSET/training if you do not issue their directed time. This may also cause friction between your school/academy and trade union colleagues. It could so be viewed as a breach of the employee’s contract.
If you would like assistance with your directed time for staff at your Trust or Academy, please get in touch with our Education Specialist HR Consultants on 01924 827 869, or leave us a message.
Watch back our webinar on directed time / 1265 statements in our knowledge hub.
