How teachers will be freed from break supervision and cleaning

Teachers in Sweden will soon be freed from non-teaching duties like supervising student breaks and cleaning classrooms, thanks to a new law set to take effect in autumn 2027. For thirty years, regulations on teachers' working hours were abolished, leaving employers to dictate teaching time and neglecting dedicated periods for planning and follow-up work. This led to teachers being compelled to perform tasks beyond their core responsibilities, including break supervision and even answering parent calls during evenings and weekends.

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We are doing this because there are currently no obstacles for employers to schedule teachers more and more, and force them to do everything except plan and follow up their own teaching.

The Swedish government has pledged to address this issue, and the Riksdag (parliament) recently decided to establish a state ordinance for teachers' teaching and planning time. The Tidö parties have now agreed on the specifics of this ordinance, which will be incorporated into the Education Act. Under the new regulations, primary school teachers will be limited to a maximum of 650 teaching hours per academic year, with an equal amount of time allocated for planning and follow-up.

Upper secondary school teachers will have a maximum of 550 teaching hours annually, with 120 percent of that time dedicated to planning and follow-up. "We are doing this because there are currently no obstacles for employers to schedule teachers more and more, and force them to do everything except plan and follow up their own teaching," said School Minister Simona Mohamsson. "They should no longer be assigned auxiliary tasks that encroach on planning time. It has become a way to save money on schools, and therefore it is not strange that so many teachers leave the profession."

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They should no longer be assigned auxiliary tasks that encroach on planning time. It has become a way to save money on schools, and therefore it is not strange that so many teachers leave the profession.

The new rules are binding for all schools and teachers. Teacher unions have long sought central regulation of working hours, but previous attempts to negotiate with employers failed. "It has clearly not worked to let the parties themselves reach a solution," Mohamsson stated. The reform is expected to cost 2.6 billion kronor per year. However, the Social Democrats have raised concerns, suggesting the reform is underfunded and could lead to an even worse working environment for teachers, resulting in constant juggling, larger class sizes, and fewer qualified educators.

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It has clearly not worked to let the parties themselves reach a solution.