Know your agreement: Workload Commitments
Clause 9.3
Lurking at clause 9.3 of the Agreement is an important statement: “The parties are committed to working together in development strategies to support the workload of Teachers and Principals…”
The details which follow this are important. Employers have committed to working in consultation with the IEU to better manage teacher and principal workload. This system-wide work will back up and support the important work done by your Consultative Committee at a local level.
Here’s the full text of the clause:
9.3 Workload commitments
The parties are committed to working together in development strategies to support the workload of Teachers and Principals, which includes:
(a) Strategically planning school-based and Employer-based calendars to support the workload of Teachers and Principals during peak periods.
(b) Fostering collaboration at schools and between schools to enable the sharing of resources and teaching materials.
(c) Developing best practice guidelines for schools on the management of the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability.
(d) Using purposeful communication to ensure efficient use of emails, meetings and other communication tools.
(e) Promoting clear boundary setting for Teachers and Principals through consistent communication and email policies.
(f) Reviewing and considering the best ways to manage time spent on non-teaching tasks to ensure that Teachers can focus on teaching and learning.
(g) Developing guidelines to support Teachers and Principals to manage their time effectively.
We know that there is a lot that can be done by employers to provide resources, reduce duplication, encourage efficient collaboration, and most importantly to ensure that teachers and principals can focus on their core important work by reducing administrative burdens.
We will keep members informed as we work with employers to ensure that these commitments are met.