Supporting Teachers' Well-Being and Recalibrating Their Work

The Ministry of Education (MOE) values our teachers and the unique nature of their work in stewarding young lives. We recognise the demands placed on our teachers and are taking a multi-pronged approach to strengthen the profession, support their well-being and manage their workload. This includes recalibrating what teachers do and rethinking how teachers work.

Multi-Pronged Approach

2. MOE adopts a range of measures to manage teachers' workload and support their well-being, which we will continue to improve and strengthen:

Managing Teacher Workload

1. The Teacher Work Management Framework, which was refreshed in 2024, provides School Leaders with principles to guide equitable workload allocation, considering teachers' competencies and preferences. It emphasises transparency, trust and open communication in workload deployment.
   1. All schools provide protected vacation time during school holidays to ensure that our teachers can rest and recharge. Across the four blocks of school holidays, teachers can get around six to seven weeks of protected time and can take their vacation leave beyond the protected time, if they do not have any work.
   2. To support teachers who need to balance their work and personal needs, MOE offers various Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA). These include adjusted reporting times when teachers have no lessons or duties, and working from home on days without classes or duties requiring their presence in school. School Leaders are encouraged to support teachers' requests for FWA, where feasible, while maintaining the duty of care towards students.
2. MOE also refreshed the School-Home Partnership guidelines in end 2024 to avoid parent-staff communication after school hours, except for critical emergencies. Where necessary, MOE will take firm action, in accordance with MOE's Engagement Charter, to safeguard the well-being of our staff.
3. Flexibility for schools to pace out the implementation of new initiatives such as the EdTech Masterplan 2030.
4. Enhanced Staffing Support for every school comprising dedicated administrative teams, as well as allied educators for counselling and support for students with special educational needs.

Leveraging Technology to Ease Administrative Duties and Support Teaching & Learning

1. Technology and AI Innovation help to reduce the time teachers spend on repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus more on students. Examples of AI tools include:
   

   
   Easing Administrative Work

   1. Appraiser Testimonial Generator, an AI-powered application that streamlines the process of writing student testimonials.
   2. HeyTalia, an AI assistant which supports teachers in drafting messages to parents.
   3. To further ease administrative duties, we have streamlined the collection of consent forms and medical certificates through digital platforms like Parents Gateway. More schools' administration teams have also taken over procurement from teachers. We will continue to streamline procurement processes for teachers, so they can focus on teaching and nurturing our students.

   Supporting Teaching & Learning

   4. Authoring Copilot, an AI-driven tool on the Singapore Student Learning Space designed by educators for educators, which helps to streamline lesson planning for teachers across all subjects and levels.
   5. The Learning Assistant, which uses AI to support in-class group discussions, allowing teachers to focus on groups who need more guidance.

Supporting Teachers' Well-being

1. Schools have established Staff Well-Being Committees to coordinate programmes to promote staff well-being. These include workshops, talks and webinars on topics such as work-life balance and mental health, for teachers. Self-care materials are also available to help teachers develop healthy coping strategies. Peer support is available through Wellness Ambassadors, who are trained to provide basic mental and emotional support and help colleagues navigate their concerns.
2. Teachers can access free in-house professional counselling services or seek support through the Whole-of-Government Employee Wellness Programme – Well-being@Gov. These support channels provide teachers with a safe space to share their concerns and challenges with trained professionals. Teachers are also encouraged to raise well-being concerns with their supervisors, school leaders or cluster superintendents, who can provide support or connect them with appropriate resources.

MOE to Continue Strengthening Measures in Support of Teacher Well-Being

3. The complexity of a teacher's work has increased over the years. MOE will continue with our efforts to support the well-being of our teachers.

4. We will continue to conduct regular engagement and surveys to better understand the deployment and workload of teachers in schools, including across teaching subjects and school levels. This allows us to track closely and develop a holistic understanding of teacher workload trends and issues, so that we can adjust our policies and programmes as necessary. We will also regularly engage the teachers' unions to better understand our teachers' feedback and concerns. Educators can share their suggestions via:

• Let Us Listen, a staff suggestion and feedback channel where teachers can provide suggestions and feedback on MOE policies and professional matters.
• Having conversations with their supervisors, school leaders or cluster superintendents.
• Staff can also email the Permanent Secretary or the MOE Human Resource Director to report any wrongful or doubtful practices.
• The Singapore Teachers Union provides an online portal, Care@STU, that lets teachers seek guidance and support.

5. We are encouraged by the commitment shown by our teachers over the years, despite the growing complexity of the role. MOE is committed to working with the education fraternity to strengthen the ecosystem of support for our educators.