§ Mr. Pawseyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average number of hours worked per week by teachers including time spent preparing and marking; what is the average number of periods (a) spent teaching each week and (b) free; and what is the average length of teachers' holidays.
§ Mr. DunnThe length of the timetabled school work is not prescribed, nor is detailed information on practice 397W collected by the Department. A typical primary timetable might involve 25 hours, excluding midday and other breaks and after-school activities. A typical secondary week would be a little longer, perhaps 27 hours. The length and number of periods in those timetabled weeks will vary from school to school: information is not collected centrally. Primary school teachers (including head teachers) teach on average for some 90 per cent. of the timetabled week; for secondary the figure is about 80 per cent. Information is not immediately available on teachers' out-of-term activities but schools are required to open for a minimum of 190 days a year, giving a maximum of 14 weeks' holiday.