Both new and experienced teachers recognise that having guaranteed non-contact time during the school day is crucial for thriving in their profession and delivering high-quality education.
Every teacher has a statutory entitlement to PPA time—dedicated periods for planning, preparation, and assessment. This guide explains your rights regarding PPA time and how to make the most of it.
Contents
- What is PPA time?
- How much PPA time should I receive?
- Are part-time teachers entitled to PPA time?
- What about teachers with leadership responsibilities?
- How to make effective use of your PPA time
- Useful resources
What is PPA time?
PPA stands for planning, preparation, and assessment time. This is protected, non-contact time when teachers can organise and complete tasks essential for supporting their students' learning. It forms part of a teacher's directed time but must be free from other duties or interruptions.
PPA time is a statutory entitlement for all teachers, including classroom teachers, members of the senior leadership team, and others with teaching responsibilities.
How much PPA time should I receive?
According to The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Order, teachers are legally entitled to PPA time equivalent to 10% of their timetabled teaching hours. This time must be allocated in meaningful blocks of at least 30 minutes.
During PPA time, you cannot be asked to cover classes, attend meetings, or perform any other duties. This time is specifically protected for planning, preparation, and assessment activities.
Are part-time teachers entitled to PPA time?
Yes, part-time teachers have the same statutory entitlement to PPA time. They receive 10% of their timetabled teaching hours, which must be scheduled within their normal working hours.
What about teachers with leadership responsibilities?
Teachers with leadership responsibilities receive the standard 10% PPA time based on their teaching hours. This is separate from any leadership time they are allocated.
Those in leadership roles, such as assistant or deputy heads and headteachers, should receive additional dedicated time during directed hours to fulfil their leadership responsibilities.
Both PPA and leadership time should be clearly defined in their timetable as protected periods.
How to make effective use of your PPA time
As a professional teacher, you're best placed to determine how to use your PPA time effectively. Understanding how colleagues manage this time can help you optimise your workload and reduce stress.
PPA time is specifically for planning, preparation, and assessment tasks. Many teachers find it helpful to plan for the upcoming week or fortnight, allowing for efficient time management.
During your PPA time, you might create resources, mark assessments, or plan upcoming lessons. The key is to focus on tasks that directly support your teaching and student learning.
Remember that this is your protected time to complete essential teaching tasks, enabling you to deliver effective lessons and support your students' progress.
Useful resources
Here are some valuable resources to help you make the most of your PPA time and manage your workload efficiently:
Planning and organisation tools
- Time and task management guide — Designed specifically for teachers with strategies, advice and tools to develop your workload, task, and time management skills.
- Teacher planner — a customisable, printable planner to help structure your academic year with templates for timetables, lesson planning, assessment tracking and more.
- Academic calendar — Printable year at a glance and monthly calendar templates, perfect for long-term planning.
- Teachers' toolkit — comprehensive collection of templates and teaching tips for starters, plenaries and assessment across all subjects (try the primary version of the teachers' toolkit).
