As part of the recent industrial action in Northern Ireland, teachers across the country took part in extensive Action Short of Strike Action (ASOSA).

ASOSA gave teachers – and their families – the opportunity to experience what a better work-life balance looks like in practice. And they liked it.

Moreover, with teachers focusing their working days on teaching and learning rather than the empty “make-work” which cluttered calendars and diverted them from their core focus, the performance of students in NI continued to top the league tables.

But now our industrial action is coming to an end, and around the country schools are preparing for the post-ASOSA world. It is essential that we do not return to the bad old days of untenable workloads, intolerable stress, and inevitable burnout.
 
Over the years the Department of Education, employers, teachers and trade unions have negotiated scores of agreements aimed to maximise the effectiveness of education in Northern Ireland, while protecting the rights and welfare of teachers at the same time.

Set up by trade union activists this campaign puts together these agreements - including the latest one, TNC 2024/2 - and builds a best practice approach to some key elements of teacher workload in the form of the think1265 charter.

This is a simple 10-point document which lays out clear ways schools can implement these agreements, and put the welfare and work-life balance of their staff at the forefront of their planning going forward.

The rules to protect teachers from excessive workload already exist. By signing this petition you are asking everyone - teachers, school leaders, employers and Governors - to finally put these rules into practice.