Why is PPA Time Important on a Teacher’s Timetable?

It doesn’t really matter what stage of their career they are at – PGCE student or veteran with 20 years of experience in the classroom – all teachers will agree on one thing…

There is just simply never enough time!

There is never enough time to do all the work you have to do. There’s never enough time to do all the work you think you have to do. And there’s definitely never enough time to do all the work you’d like to do.

And it doesn’t matter how much you try to work smarter rather than harder.

It never seems to make any difference.

That’s why PPA time is so important on a teacher’s timetable.

What is PPA and What is it for?

Planning, preparation, and assessment (PPA). This time is a statutory entitlement for all teachers in England and Wales who work under the STPCD (School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document.) Therefore, it applies to most teachers who work in state schools.

PPA time is non-contact time that is allocated on a teacher’s weekly timetable. The statutory requirement is that PPA should amount to at least 10% of their teaching timetable. The National Education Union has more resources on their website if you want to find out even more about PPA.

During the allocated PPA time, teachers cannot be directed by school leaders or managers to do any particular tasks. Teachers should be free to use the time to plan lessons, mark work, or to catch-up on any other work.

Why is PPA time so important in a teachers timetable?

Hours that teachers work and the holidays they get have always been a source of misunderstanding among the general public – and misrepresentation in the media.

Comments such as, ‘All the holidays teachers get!’ or ‘I wish I could just work from 9-3!’ echo in teachers’ ears.

Only if you are a teacher yourself – or live with one – do you truly understand the number of hours that teachers have to put in outside the classroom.

This is why PPA time is absolutely vital.

The idea that all a teacher’s planning, preparation, or marking can somehow be rattled off in a couple of PPA periods a week is an absolute nonsense.

In reality, it isn’t even enough to scratch the surface.

It’s also fair to say that the way PPA is delivered across the nation’s schools is inconsistent. Many schools do allocate more PPA time to their teachers than the statutory requirement. For those who do, this time is seen – as it should be – as absolutely sacrosanct.

However, in some schools there is still an unwritten expectancy that ‘if duty calls’ then PPA time could be either taken away, rearranged – or that teachers might still be directed to do other tasks during their PPA time.

All in all, though, while PPA time is not perfect and not enough… it is something.

Yes, it only goes some way in lessening a teacher’s workload. However, it goes a long way in terms of its benefits for a teacher’s wellbeing. For more advice on how to better your wellbeing as a teacher, check out this blog post.

Even if it just gives a teacher the opportunity to catch their breath during the hectic school day, PPA is well worth it.