<p>Teachers’ Planning, Preparation and Assessment Time </p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education – in the Senedd at 2:01 pm on 8 February 2017.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 2:01, 8 February 2017

Thank you, Hefin. If I can be absolutely clear, because I believe the regulations governing who can teach in Wales are clear: only qualified teachers—those with QTS—can undertake specific work, i.e. teach. That is a very different situation that we have in Wales than you would see across the border, and a differentiation that I am very pleased about. Schools can employ a suitably qualified floating teacher. Like you, I recognise that there are benefits to continuity and quality assurance from having floating teachers who are employed either in a single school or, perhaps, in a cluster of schools to provide cover for absent teachers or to ensure that those teachers have the PPA time that they need. I would see that as good practice. Ultimately, staffing structures, however, are a matter for individual schools, governing bodies and the LEA.