Heads want 45-hour week for teachers

Head teachers today proposed limits on teachers' hours in a radical move that puts further pressure on the Education Secretary Estelle Morris.

She has pledged to cut teachers' workloads, but has resisted a strict limit on hours.

But the plan for a 45-hour week for teachers spread over 38 weeks - around 10 hours a week less than the current average - comes in a joint proposal from the two main headteachers' unions, effectively cutting the ground from under the minister's feet.

It suggests teachers would spend 21 hours in the classroom, 14 hours on "directed" time - such as parents' evenings - and 10 hours for professional development. Teachers could only be required to cover for absent colleagues for 38 hours per year.

Today's move from the Secondary Heads Association and the National Association of Head Teachers also adds to the pressure Ms Morris faces in spending talks with Chancellor Gordon Brown.

The proposal would require the recruitment of thousands more teachers, but Mr Brown has already warned Ms Morris to trim spending plans to make way for a huge boost for the NHS.

Yesterday, unions representing teachers warned Ms Morris that failure to deliver on her promise - seen as a major block to recruitment - could result in industrial action, with members imposing the 35- hour week promised in Scottish schools.