This is a difficult page to write, because I risk sounding like the worst kind of petty school middle-manager. Deep breath, and here we go:
Some teachers spend too much time at school on personal, social activities when they should be working.
Now, I can hear the gasps of outrage nation-wide, so I know this must be - at least partly - true. I have touched a nerve. Of course, all these teachers will more than compensate, by doing school work at home, by giving extra time after hours, and just by working damned hard... but that's not the point.
The point is that TM4T is based on a simple formula, which includes 'Right Place, Right Time'... and in very many instances, the best time to do school work is in school, during school hours.Â
This means that PPA lessons should be exclusively (well, almost exclusively) dedicated to activities like planning, assessment and work-related communication, and that meetings should be focused on specific learning-related objectives (and coffee, obviously).
The fact is that some teachers, outside the classroom, do tend to let their hair down professionally and unwind in the staffroom and the department office. This is no different, of course, to the behaviour of solicitors, doctors, or business managers, but some observers seem to feel that - in some schools - teachers do it more. 'It' being things like look-at-Facebook, talk-about-TV, and read the Guardian.
This is, ultimately, a matter of personal choice, of course. If you work better at home, and need to unwind after 8E, then that's fine. If you really want to use your time to it's best effect, though, treat your PPA time as work-work-work.