Classroom Release and Non-Contact Time

Most teachers are entitled to scheduled time away from the classroom. This is separate from any additional release time associated with leadership or management responsibilities.

CRT and non-contact time are provided to allow teachers to perform duties that relate to and support their teaching, but cannot be done while they are teaching their classes. This includes things like planning, marking and professional development. CRT and non-contact time are tangible ways of helping teachers manage their duties and develop their teaching practice. 

Policy

To comply with teaching Collective Agreements (CA), a policy on scheduled time away from the classroom needs to be in place.

Generally, the creation of this policy and its operation is delegated to the principal. As this policy is directly related to the teaching staff’s terms and conditions, the policy should be developed in meaningful consultation with those staff.

The specifics of what is required differ depending on which CA covers your staff.

Primary Schools

Teachers in primary schools are entitled to classroom release time (CRT) as detailed in clause 3.28 of the Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreementopen_in_new (PTCA).

The PTCA requires schools to have a CRT policy. The principal develops and maintains this policy in consultation with the teaching staff.

NZEI Te Riu Roa has a Guide to Consultation on Classroom Release Timeopen_in_new.

The policy will detail:

• How the CRT entitlement is to be used

• How the time will be allocated for use

• What happens if an individual employee cannot take their CRT for reasons outside the school’s control.

You can download and use this sample CRT policyopen_in_new.

It should be used alongside these Best Practice Guidelines for Classroom Release Timeopen_in_new.

Secondary Schools

Secondary school teachers get “non-contact time” as set out in clause 5.2 of the Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreementopen_in_new (STCA).

The school’s policy on non-contact time must incorporate the required information as set out in clause 5.2.1 of the STCA.

The PPTA’s It’s About Time toolkit open_in_new provides useful information on consultation and implementation of the classroom release time policy.

Area Schools

The entitlement of a teacher at an area school differs depending on who they predominantly teach.

A teacher who has 80%, or more, of their timetabled teaching time with year 1-6 classes have a maximum timetabled classroom teaching time as set out in clause  4.2.4 of the Area School Teachers’ Collective Agreementopen_in_new (ATSCA).

A teacher with 80% (or more) of their timetabled teaching time with year 7-13 classes is entitled to the non-contact time provisions set out in clause 4.2.3 of the Area School Teachers’ Collective Agreementopen_in_new (ATSCA).

Area schools must have and maintain a policy on timetabling containing the matters listed in clause 4.2.2 of the ASTCA. The NZEI and PPTA documents below provide useful guidance for area schools regarding consulting staff on this policy.

Questions a principal could ask

• Do we have a policy on non-contact time or CRT that complies with the respective collective agreement?

Templates, resources, and references

Click on the link(s) below to access this topic’s templates, resources, and references.

Depending on your device, these may download or open in a separate browser.

Links from us

• Sample CRT policy

NZEI Te Riu Roa 

• Guide to Consultation on Classroom Release Timeopen_in_new

• Best Practice Guidelines for Classroom Release Timeopen_in_new

PPTA Te Wehengarua 

• It’s About Time toolkit

Collective Agreements

• Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreementopen_in_new

  • Clause 3.28 – Classroom Release Time (CRT)

• Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreementopen_in_new

  • Clause 5.2 – Timetabling Policy

  • Clause 5.2.1

• Area School Teachers’ Collective Agreementopen_in_new

  • Clause 4.2.4 – Maximum Timetabled Classroom Teaching Time

  • Clause 4.2.3

  • Clause 4.2.2