Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document to require schools to provide part-time teachers with confirmed work schedules before contractual resignation deadlines.

For most teachers, resignation arrangements, including dates, are set out in the Burgundy Book. This is a national agreement negotiated with employers by the six teachers’ unions. The department has no authority or responsibility for the Burgundy Book. Resignation details are therefore currently the responsibility of employers, which, in a school setting, is normally the local authority or Academy Trust.

We are encouraging schools and multi-academy trusts to adopt a strategic approach to flexible working, including having open conversations with staff, designing clear processes for managing requests that reflect the needs of staff, leaders and pupils, and ensuring these processes are aligned with workforce planning and timetabling to support clarity around working arrangements.