Government cuts teacher paperwork

The Government has significantly reduced guidance material issued to teachers in a bid to avoid unnecessary paperwork.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said the scrapped material contained advice on how to carry out a headcount and how to maintain a school minibus.

Guidelines on assessing pupils were cut down from 160 to 50 pages, while the material on attendance was reduced from 220 to 30 pages and health and safety guidance was shortened from 150 to eight pages.

Mr Gibb also said teachers are not expected to create a detailed plan for every school lesson and should not have to spend unpaid overtime on these tasks.

Mr Gibb said: "I am aware that many teachers are doing enormous amounts of overtime and that is a tribute to the professionalism of teachers in our schools today.

"What is important is that overtime is not spent filling in voluminous forms or reading huge lever arch files of guidance."

Copyright Press Association 2012