Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the amount of time teachers are allocated to undertake (a) planning, (b) preparation and (c) assessment.

All teachers who participate in the teaching of pupils are entitled to reasonable periods of planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time, which is a minimum of 10% of their timetable.

This government is committed to resetting the relationship between the government and education profession in order to improve the experience of being a teacher. In July, alongside delivering a fully-funded 5.5% pay award, we clarified that teachers can use PPA time at home, to provide greater flexibility for teachers.

The department knows that improving workload will play a key role in recruiting and retaining excellent teachers and leaders, which will support the government’s mission to transform the education system so that all children and young people get the skills, care and opportunities they deserve.

The department is now considering all options for future policy interventions to improve teacher workload and wellbeing to help deliver on the government’s ambition to recruit 6,500 additional new teachers, and is working with partners across the sector to achieve this.