Background: Proposals for flexibility which received a rigid union response

THE McCormac report made a series of recommendations on how to make teachers’ working patterns more “flexible”.

After an eight-month investigation, Professor Gerry McCormac, principal of Stirling University, said the current system in Scottish schools was “overly prescriptive and inherently inflexible”. As well as suggesting an end to the focus on reducing class sizes, the report recommended the controversial introduction of “external experts” to aid teachers, as well as scrapping the system of chartered teachers.

It was recommended that no changes be made to the 35-hour week, but said flexibility should be allowed to allow teachers to undertake “effective collegiate work”. The report also said teachers should stay on school premises during the school day.

It said no changes should be made to salaries in the short term, but they should remain at a level that “ensures teaching is an attractive career choice”.

The report recommended no change be made to the 855 hours per year of class contact time, but said such time should be measured over longer periods such as a month or a term rather than over a week.

While advocating the scrapping of the chartered teachers scheme, it said the commitment to provide a guaranteed year of employment for all new teachers should continue.