Saving time: Doing more by doing less

It seems counter-intuitive to think that you can get more from people by getting them to do less, but quite often stripping back workload and making staff aware of how to be more effective and efficient can have a huge impact on classroom practice.

Teaching is an intense game and giving (and encouraging) staff to save time can significantly boost the morale and reduce stress within departments and across the whole school.

So, embracing the idea that “less is more”, here are a few sure-fire ways to reduce undue pressure on teachers.

Gone are the days of needing lesson plans that detail each individual minute of each individual lesson. During training, detailed lesson planning plays a key role, but for teachers on the ground, day-in, day-out, detailed lesson plans are a waste of time. Insisting on, or even implying that teachers should prepare these (even if it is just for “observed” lessons) can really create a lot of unnecessary work. Responsive teaching is much more desirable. Doing away with unnecessary planning proformas leaves more time for collaborative planning or refining the lessons that are going to be taught.