To ask the Minister of Education whether funded nursery principal release time is part of the ongoing workload discussions and their recommendations.

Nursery principal release time was considered under the Review of Workload Impact on School Leaders. This was one of nine reviews committed to within the Teachers’ Pay and Workload Agreement. Eight reviews, including this one, have been completed by joint working groups comprised of representatives from teacher unions, DE, EA, CCMS, NICIE, CnaG and GBA and supported by a dedicated joint project team.

Following careful consideration of the issue of funded nursery principal release time it was agreed that this issue was not a terms and conditions issue therefore it was agreed that DE representatives would engage with National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) outside of the remit of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee (TNC) but will keep Management Side colleagues appraised of developments. The five main teachers’ unions, which make up Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) including NAHT were informed of this.

Funding for nursery principal release time does not form part of the current pay and workload discussions.