HL Deb 27 January 2003 vol 643 cc135-6WA
Baroness Blatch

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the cost of giving all teachers one day per fortnight release from teaching. [HL1112]

Baroness Ashton of Upholland

The Government have proposed that teachers should have guaranteed time for planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) equivalent to at least 10 per cent of their timetabled teaching time. Schools will manage this contractual change, which takes effect from September 2005, in a variety of ways. These are likely to include the transfer of managerial and administrative and non-teaching contact tasks to support staff, releasing teachers for PPA; protecting existing non-contact time from cover through the use of ICT learn centres and cover supervisors; and adjusting timetables and redeploying existing staff. Guidance will be made available to schools on ways of releasing time for guaranteed PPA. The cost of creating guaranteed PPA time will depend on how each school provides it. But it will be well within the estimated total cost of workforce reform in 2005–06 of £1 billion.