The title of this blog may be a surprising comment to teachers who look forward to their time away from their classroom - a weekly respite session to catch up on all those little jobs you've not quite got round to doing.
The reason I am questioning PPA is that for me it is often more hassle than it is worth. The Creative Learning Agency (2011) suggest that:
'...PPA time has presented an opportunity for other organisations and individuals, for example, artists, sports coaches, etc., to work with schools to provide enriching activities for pupils during PPA time...'
An interesting proposition it has to be said. However in reality what PPA has come to mean to me is a time where I constantly worry about what is going on in the classroom I have left - a TA is forced unwillingly into a role they are not paid for, delivering something I have had to plan, something they are not trained to do. Quite the opposite of the curriculum enriching PPA dreamed up by the government. Schools are forced to trim budgets so drastically that PPA cover in the form of another teacher, a specialist or an outside company is one of the first things to be culled.
Yes it could be argued that PPA time is a valuable time to sort planning, preparation and assessment but I wonder how many teachers actually find the time used for that purpose? Another issue is finding somewhere quiet and suitable to do this work. The staff room is a constant distraction with support staff loudly discussing the local gossip or their never ending women problems, the ICT suite is booked out all week with classes having their computer lessons and all other available space is being used for small group work, the school nurse, outside professionals coming in for meetings or to do assessments.... the list goes on.
Furthermore, enriching the curriculum I fully understand but how does this actually work. One of my favourite things to teach is PE but I know a lot of my colleagues dislike it. Does that mean that I should have to miss out on teaching a subject I feel I do well, so that a specialist (aka two lads who liked PE at school and have decided to start up a company) can come in and teach the children in the school their PE?
I wonder whether PPA time is a waste of time and should be either re-thought and properly funded or scrapped completely saving the school some money for other activities.
Resource: What is PPA time? - available here:
http://www.creativelearningagency.org.uk/metadot/index.pl?iid=23989&isa=Category
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