Hey there, Teacher Tappers!
Half term is over, and the second half of the autumn term is underway. We’ve noticed an uptick in the number of Tappers writing in to say they’ve been really anxious about going back after the holiday, and when we asked how worried you were about the next half-term, more of you said ‘very worried’ or ‘worried’ than at the same point last year (32% UP from 26%). If you or a colleague is finding things tough, please do speak to a trusted colleague, or contact organisations like Education Support for advice.
This week we have a whole host of findings for you – plus some updates about our Teacher Tapp Reward Store! First, the edu-data…
Supporting absent pupils
Pupil absence continues to be a huge problem for schools. According to Department for Education statistics published earlier this year, the absence rate in schools during the 2025-26 autumn term was 6.47%, up from 6.38% during the same period in the previous year.
Several Teacher Tappers have been sliding into our inbox and asking “What is normal?” when it comes to the school’s expectations for teachers after a pupil has been absent and has returned to school. Writing to Teacher Tapp, teachers said new policies are being introduced this year and workload expectations are ramping up.
We asked leaders what their school expects class teachers to do to help a pupil to catch up after a week off sick. There are big differences between primary and secondary; primary leaders are more likely than secondary leaders to say there were NO set expectations (79% vs 55%). Other differences centre around the independence of the pupil, with secondary leaders more likely to report directing pupils to complete tasks they can do on their own:
- 1% of primary leaders say teachers have to direct them to online catch-up resources, vs 30% of secondary leaders.
- 3% of primary leaders say teachers print or photocopy missed work, vs14% of secondary leaders.
- 1% of primary leaders say teachers ask pupils to copy from a classmate, vs 14% of secondary leaders.
- 17% of primary leaders say teachers recap content in lesson time, vs 14% of secondary leaders.
- 11% of primary leaders say teachers pass missed work to a TA to work with the absent pupil, vs 4% of secondary leaders.
Staff attendance awards
Of course, it’s not just the students whose absence schools track – staff absence can be a cause for concern for leaders. But what do schools do to try and incentivise attendance from the teachers?
7% of both primary and secondary teachers say their school awards staff for good attendance, and 4% of primary and 6% of secondary teachers say their school used to give awards but has now stopped.
But do these rewards work? Most aren’t convinced: more than half of classroom teachers AND senior leaders both say they think they make no difference (57% and 58%).
There has been a flurry of requests about staff absences and what happens when you return to work. We have asked a few questions about this before, including return-to-work interviews. If you have suggestions for others, please email England@teachertapp.co.uk.
Directed time
All local authority schools in England, plus all the academies that choose to use the same guidelines, have 1,265 hours to “direct” classroom teachers to work. In the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions document, it explains directed time as when a teacher “must be available to perform such duties at such times and such places as may be specified by the headteacher.”
But of course, it’s important to note that teachers aren’t expected to work just 1,265 hours a year (if only!). The document also says: “In addition to the [1,265] hours a teacher is required to be available for work…a teacher must work such reasonable additional hours as may be necessary to enable the effective discharge of the teacher’s professional duties.” Once a teacher is on the leadership scale, the 1,265-hour limit no longer applies.
But are leaders sharing the “directed time budget” (the document that lays out where the 1,265 hours are used) with their staff? Answers from senior leaders in state-funded schools vary greatly depending on their phase.
46% of primary leaders say yes, they do share the budget, 45% say that they don’t, 6% don’t know what it is, and 3% say they don’t follow it at their school.
80% of secondary leaders say yes, they do share the budget, 16% say that they don’t, 2% don’t know what it is, and 2% say they don’t follow it at their school.
We have more directed time questions coming, so keep an eye out for more over the next few months…
A Teacher Tapper asked… is there a union rep at your school?
This week, a Teacher Tapper got in touch to ask about union representation in schools. She is a rep herself and has regular meetings with her headteacher, but knew of fellow reps who didn’t. “Is it normal to not have a rep in your school? And those that have reps, how often do they get to have a meeting with SLT?”
This reveals a HUGE gap in the experiences of primary vs secondary: only 39% of primary teachers say they have a union rep in their school, whereas 83% of secondary teachers say the same.
And of those who do have reps, how often reps meet senior leaders wasn’t always common knowledge (37% of primary and 43% of secondary teachers said they didn’t know), but meetings in secondary appear to be more regular than in primary, with 32% of secondary teachers saying reps meet senior leaders at least once a half term, compared to 11% of primary teachers.
If you have a question you would like Teacher Tapp to check, get in touch and let us know! England@teachertapp.co.uk 📧
INSET and part-time clashes
One thing you might raise with your union is an INSET day falling on the non-working day of part-time staff.
Possibly prompted by the September INSETs, a couple of Tappers wrote in to ask what other part-timers were offered when INSET fell on a non-working day. A quick glance over on social media also revealed other teachers swapping notes on what their school offered teachers who found themselves in this predicament.
- 9% of primary and 7% of secondary leaders said their part-time teachers attended the INSET, but without extra pay or time off in lieu (TOIL).
- 61% of primary and 41% of secondary leaders said their part-time teachers attended for extra pay or TOIL.
- 12% of primary and 23% of secondary leaders said their part-time teachers missed the INSET, but caught up on what they missed. Similar numbers said they just didn’t catch up at all (15% and 23%, respectively).
Reward Store – new items!
Our Teacher Tapp Reward Store has been restocked! You wanted new badges and stickers – and we have delivered! Check it out and let us know what you think of the new merch…
Daily Reads
The most-read tip made the argument for ditching exercise books.
There are so many great blogs out there, and we love featuring them on Teacher Tapp. If you have a blog you think we should feature, please email us at England@teachertapp.co.uk, and we will check it out!
