The agreement acknowledged the pressure on schools to raise standards and tackle unacceptable levels of workload for teachers and introduced a series of significant changes to teachers' conditions of service to be introduced in three annual phases from September 2003. The agreement delivered joint action from all signatories to achieve its twin aims.
The agreement arose out of social partnership and the workforce agreement monitoring group (WAMG) which is made up of representatives of the signatories, has also overseen its implementation and provided guidance and support to schools and local authorities.
Significantly the agreement does not focus solely on teachers. It acknowledges the vital role played by school support staff and has led directly to the establishment of higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) standards and the certificate in school business management (CSBM). The agreement has also helped create other new roles in schools for adults who support teachers' work and pupils' learning.
The agreement called for a structured change process which would help schools implement the contractual changes and embrace wider workforce reform.
The three phases of contractual changes arising from the agreement for teachers were:
1 September 2003
- routine delegation of administrative and clerical tasks
- introduction of work/life balance clauses, and
- introduction of leadership and management time for those with corresponding responsibilities.
1 September 2004
- introduction of new limits on covering for absent colleagues (38 hours per year).
1 September 2005
- introduction of guaranteed professional time for planning, preparation and assessment (PPA)
- introduction of dedicated headship time, and
- introduction of new invigilation arrangements.
The national agreement timeline
