New Initiatives

• TNC has agreed, at a system level, a New Initiatives Commitment Framework with guidance for policy makers. (Action 1)
• Work has commenced on the development of a framework and guidance for school-level initiatives. (Action 1)

Working Hours

• TNC has issued a communication and template letter to schools recommending they inform parents/guardians of operational hours and clarify that staff are not expected to respond outside of hours unless in a critical incident. Governors and Principals have been reminded about the Working Time Regulations. (Action 2)
• The Department of Education has issued guidance to schools reinforcing DE Circular 2008/17 provisions for two days per week release time for eligible school leaders. (Action 3)

Consultation

• A report on the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) pilot has been submitted to TNC. (Action 4)
• EA launched its School Leader User Satisfaction Survey with feedback being used to inform service improvement plans. A further survey will be launched in January 2026 and will take place annually. (Action 5)
• Staff Consultation Guidance for use in schools has been agreed and will issue to all schools. (Action 6)

School Leaders

• The Department has established a working group with school leaders to co-design future guidance for School Development Plans. (Action 7)
• TNC has ratified TNC 2025/2 and TNC 2025/3, replacing TNC 2013/3 and TNC 2013/4, effective from 1 September 2025. (Action 8)
• Consistent and standardised expectations for PRSD review of school principals have been agreed and will be communicated. (Action 10)
• NITC has been invited to and has nominated a representative to join the EA’s Governor Training Stakeholder Group. (Action 11)
• EA has refined its system-level emails to ensure phase-appropriate communication. (Action 12)
• EA will launch a pilot of in-person events aimed at providing support and guidance on critical administrative procedures commencing in January 2026. (Action 13)

Workload Agreement – TNC 2024/2 and Directed Time Budgets

• TNC has issued guidance to Principals and Boards of Governors on flexible working patterns to meet school and teacher needs. (Action 16)
• Joint agreement that unresolved issues at school level will be escalated to trade union offices and relevant school improvement professionals or Chairs of Governors. It has been agreed that further work will be undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach. (Action 19)
• Engagement has commenced with ETI to understand concerns about the operation of Directed Time Budgets where these are identified at a school level, and this engagement will continue in the New Year.

Assessment

• Joint engagement with CCEA, Management Side and NITC is underway to address workload issues linked to controlled assessments and this engagement will continue. (Action 21)
• The Minister has launched consultations on qualifications and assessment, and the consultations have identified issues impacting Teacher Workload.
• A cross-organisational working group has been established to review internal assessment/tracking workload. (Action 24)

Planning and Observation

• TNC has issued a joint communication on inspection to all teachers. (Action 25)
• A Joint Working Group has been established to review planning and pupil observation practices in Early Years and Special Schools. (Action 26)

Progress on Remaining Actions

Significant work has commenced on the remaining actions, which will continue throughout this academic year. These areas remain a priority, and both parties are committed to delivering them within agreed timeframes.

Independent Review of Teacher Workload

The Independent Review of Teacher Workload Panel will submit its report to the Minister at the end of this month.