Directed time calculator for part-time teachers
Your share of the school's timetabled teaching week is your share of the 1,265 directed hours. Enter both weeks to see your hours.
Your part-time directed time
759 h directed time a year
60% of full time
| Timetabled time, 38 weeks | 570 h |
|---|---|
| Left for meetings, INSET, duties and evenings | 189 h |
How part-time directed time is worked out
The STPCD guidance compares your timetabled hours with a full-time classroom teacher's timetabled teaching week at your school. Timetabled time counts teaching, PPA and other non-contact time but leaves out breaks, registration and assemblies. If the school's week is 25 hours and you work every morning for 15 of them, you are on 60%. Your pay is 60% of the full-time rate, and your directed time is 60% of 1,265 hours: 759 hours.
The NEU's part-time calculator then takes off your timetabled time across the year: 15 hours for 38 weeks is 570 hours, leaving up to 189 hours for everything else, such as registration, assemblies, meetings, parents' evenings and INSET. Plan those against your working days in the full directed time planner, with your days ticked under Contract.
You can't be required to work on a day, or part of a day, you don't normally work. You can be asked to do duties other than teaching outside sessions on your working days, but no more in proportion than a full-time colleague.
Part-time questions
Do part-time teachers have to attend INSET days?
Only INSET days that fall on days you normally work. You can't be required to attend on other days, though you can agree to, and the school should then pay you for the extra time or give it back elsewhere.
Can I be asked to stay for a meeting on my working day?
Yes, on a day you normally work, within your pro rata directed time. The DfE guidance says part-time teachers shouldn't have a bigger share of their directed time outside their normal sessions than full-time colleagues, and heads should try to avoid directing time either side of a gap when you aren't working.
Should I get something in writing?
Yes. The guidance says every part-time teacher should have a written, agreed statement of how their working time is used, including the directed time expected beyond the school day.
Why does the NEU use 38 weeks?
The NEU part-time calculator counts teaching time over a 38-week teaching year (190 days). The NEU's directed time FAQ uses 39 weeks instead, which leaves 15 hours less for everything else. Use your school's own number of teaching weeks.
Do TLRs change my percentage?
No. Pay and allowances follow the pro rata percentage, but TLR payments are set separately. Your directed time is based on your percentage of the timetabled teaching week, not on any TLR.
Sources: School teachers' pay and conditions document 2026 (working time, and guidance on part-time teachers' pay and working time); NEU directed time calculator (part-time sheets). This is a planning aid, not legal advice.