Dave Brinson: Executive Report

Special Executive Report: January 2012

2012-01-12T15:23:00.008Z

There was a Special Meeting of the Executive on 12th January to respond to the latest offer from Government in the Pensions Dispute. Christine Blower and Kevin Courtney reported on the developments in the negotiations.

Kevin felt that there had been progress in the negotiatons with government should be pleased by some of the movement made, but we cannot sign up to any agreement that enshrined a pension age at 68 or a 50% increase in contributions. The overall "cost ceiling" for the scheme has not been changed since the November discussions. The concessions over accrual rates and early retirements have been paid for by changing the way career average would be uprated (from average earning increases, to CPI +1.6, which is a significant gamble, especially for younger teachers.)

In December the teacher unions were told that a previously floated proposal to deal with an increasing State Pension Age through a formula of State Pension Age minus 3 was now off the table and that there was no longer any possibility of any move on the cost ceiling. The civil servants then raised another formula - that for the years early retirement before age of 68 would be made a little more affordable by using a 3% early retirement reduction factor for the years from 68 to 65 – instead of the 5% actuarial reduction factor.

On Monday 19th December the unions were presented with a draft “heads of agreement” document – which contained accruals at 1/59 and revalorisation at CPI + 1.6%. During the day the Treasury officials agreed to move the accrual rate slightly to 1/57

Because of the absences of important paragraphs and annexes the NUT negotiators had suggested that there should be no pressure to agree to a document before the imposed deadline of 2pm on Monday 19th. The position the Union took was to reserve its position on the grounds that the document was incomplete as well as unacceptable. The NASUWT, UCU and UCAC also took that position.

The missing annexes that have been now been produced concerned fair deal – and were expected to contain reassurances about access for private school teachers to the scheme. In fact it is silent and contains no reassurances. There is nothing in any of these annexes that address any of the Union’s concerns.

Certain threats have been speculated about not signing up – we might be excluded from further talks on the detail of the scheme – this seems to be happening to the PCS in the civil service talks. It is also speculated that the pre-November 2nd "reference scheme" might be imposed (i.e. with a cost ceiling based on accruals of 1/65 and without the partial protections for scheme members within 10 years of retirement next April.)

The motion agreed by the Executive is reproduced below.

At the time of writing, GMB, Unison, Napo, Prospect, FDA, ATL, CSP and other unions have signed up in principle to the "Heads of Agreement" laid out by Government. NUT, NASUWT, PCS, UCU, UCAC and Unite have reserved position or rejected these. The PoA will not sign up without movement on age. The British Medical Association and the Royal Colleges of Nursing and Midwives are balloting members on the offer.

Resolution of the Executive: January 2012

2012-01-12T11:27:00.009Z

Following discussions at the Executive Meeting IT WAS AGREED THAT:

that the Union cannot agree to the “heads of agreement” document because there has been no movement on any of the key areas the union has identified:
- Normal pension age in the scheme will rise to 68 and even higher. (Teachers who leave before that age will face substantial reductions in their pension entitlements)
- Contributions will increase by 50%
- The change to CPI will remove a further 15% of scheme value
- The introduction of career averaging will lead to further cuts in pension value for a big majority of teachers.
- There has been no movement on the cost ceiling.
- It contains no reassurances that teachers in Independent schools will continue to have access to the pension scheme.

That the Union seek a meeting with Michael Gove and other willing unions in particular to press on the contributions and the age of retirement in particular. (Initial responses suggest that he is not currently willing to meet us outside the official negotiations ! DB)

That the Union appeal against the high court ruling on CPI/RPI (This has already been actioned)

That the Union should immediately begin polling members via email on their view of the Government offer – following materials from the Union indicating that the Union’s position is that it does not go anywhere near far enough.

The Union will write to school reps informing them of the details of the offer – and the other points in these recommendations and urging them to call school meetings to discuss it and ask members to respond to the NUT on-line survey.

In the light of Michael Gove's statement on 12th January on performance management and its implication for teacher workload, the executive reieterates its decisions taken in relation to action over the changes to the performance management arrangements in England, and recognises the need for further consideration of action over workload.

The Union will propose to other unions a joint program of publicity and action to continue to campaign for improvements in the pension including by putting forward a petition on the Government website calling for teachers and other public sector workers not to be expected to work to 68 years.

That the Union will continue to work with the National Pensioners Convention, public sector and private sector unions and through both the Public Sector Liaison Group of the TUC, and TUCG to develop the campaign around fair pensions for all.

The Union seek urgent talks with other unions that have not signed up to the Heads of Agreement to press the case for joint campaigning and further strike and non-strike action.

That the the Executive assess all aspects of the campaign at its meeting on 26th January including the possibility of identifying dates for further strike action in conjunction with other unions

That a divisional secretaries meeting be held on 2nd February to discuss the developments in the pensions campaign and the campaign around performance management and other workload issues, and to take reports from divisions on any meetings that have been held prior to this.

Pensions Campaign: Briefing on current Government proposal

2012-01-03T10:52:00.004Z

This briefing sets out details of the Government's proposed ‘heads of agreement’ for changes to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS); the progress of negotiations in December which led to their publication by Government; and the NUT's position on the Government's proposals and future discussions.

Despite our lengthy discussions with the Government over the last few days, the Government's current proposals still do not address most of the NUT's central concerns.

The Government still wants you to work longer, pay more and get less. In particular:

all teachers would still have to pay an average of 50 per cent more for their pension;

most teachers would still have to work longer for their pension, with the TPS normal pension age rising to 68 for those aged 33 or under;

most teachers' pensions would still be lower due to ‘career average’ pensions; and

all teachers would still receive less in retirement due to the switch of pension indexation to lower CPI inflation instead of RPI inflation.

Under these circumstances, the NUT has not been able to sign up to the Government's proposals. We will keep you fully informed of how the Government’s proposals will impact on your pension entitlements. The NUT Executive will be meeting in January to consider future campaign steps to seek to improve the position.

The Government has not agreed to provide any additional money for the TPS since its improved offer on 2 November or the strike on 30 November. Its proposals remain within the cost ceiling set by the Government on 2 November, requiring contributions of 12.1 per cent from employers and an average 9.6 per cent from employees, compared to the current TPS contributions of 13.25 per cent from employers and 6.4 per cent from employees (excluding the past service element of the employer contribution). The NUT has consistently said that it is very difficult to envisage agreement within this cost ceiling. The Government also decided at a late stage in the negotiations to withdraw a DfE proposal for a normal pension age of 65 for all, a further disruption to negotiations which have always been difficult due to inconsistent and difficult Government negotiating positions.

The core elements of the revised TPS as set out in the Government's proposals are:

a career average basis for the scheme;

an increase in the TPS normal pension age (the age at which pensions can be taken in full), so that for future accrual the normal pension age would be equal to state pension age of up to 68 or even higher;

an accrual rate of 1/57th of pay per year of service;

accrued benefits for serving members of the scheme to be revalued annually in line with CPI inflation plus 1.6 per cent;

deferred benefits for those who have left the scheme prior to retirement to be re-valued annually in line with CPI inflation;

pensions in payment to be increased each year in line with CPI inflation;

continuation of current provisions on optional lump sum commutation, spouses/partners pensions and death in service and ill-health benefits;

a limited facility for non-actuarially reduced early retirement with pension reduction factors of 3 per cent per year for a maximum of 3 years for those retiring early, with other early/late retirement factors on an actuarially cost-neutral basis.

Transitional protection would allow all those within 10 years of their normal pension as at 1 April 2012 to remain on their existing pension arrangements until their eventual retirement. This means that anyone on the NPA 60 scheme who is 50 or over as at 1 April 2012 would be unaffected by many changes to the scheme - but they would still pay more for their pension and receive lower pension increases in retirement. Further ‘tapered’ protection would apply to those up to 3.5 years younger than the qualifying age for full protection.

Normal pension ages would rise to 68 for those aged 33 or under in 2015, to 67 for those aged 34 to 42, and 66 for those aged over 42 (although those aged over 50 would be subject to full transitional protection and those aged over 46.5 would receive some limited period of protection).

The Government has also said that it proposes a long term employer ‘cost cap’ which would limit the extent to which the employer contribution could increase if scheme costs rise. Increased longevity costs could therefore lead to higher employee contributions or, of course, an increase in pension age if the state pension age increases.

There will be further discussions on the balance between the accrual rate and the revaluation factor for accrued pensions. The Government says that these discussions must be within the limits of the Government’s cost ceiling. The NUT is clear that discussions must also continue on wider issues, including the extent of any need for change and the NUT view that further money must be found to finance the future TPS and improve on the above proposals.

Discussions will also continue on employee contributions. The Government continues to insist that average employee contributions should rise to 9.6 per cent with ‘some protection’ to be provided for lower paid teachers. The exact nature of that protection and any tiering of contributions would be discussed early in 2012. The Government, however, continues to reject our arguments relating to the affordability of higher contributions and their likely impact on ‘opt-outs’ from the scheme.

Finally, the Government has still to confirm whether or not independent school teachers will still be allowed to be part of the TPS, despite its agreement to continuing the Fair Deal arrangements for public sector workers transferred to private sector employers.

The NUT will continue to represent your interests in the discussions as well as continuing to pursue our legal challenge to the RPI/CPI change. The NUT National Executive will meet in January to take a view on progress in the negotiations so far and next steps in the NUT campaign, including any further proposals on industrial action.

You can see the Heads of Agreement document here. The NUT has not signed this document. The NUT executive will consider the document and further steps to protect teacher pensions in the New Year.

Executive Report: December 2011

2011-12-08T15:42:00.009Z

The full Executive met on 8th December, at Stoke Rochford Hall.

Amanda Martin, Beth Davies, Anne Lemon and Heather McKenzie were elected to represent the Union at the Women's TUC. The meeting also agreed to nominate vice-President Marilyn Harrop to replace Neil Foden on the board of Stoke Rochford Hall.

General Secretary, Christine Blower reported.

On the 19th November, we had a strong NUT presence at Caught in the Act: a conference against privatisation, alongside organisations such as the Campaign for State Education. Comprehensive Future, Information for School and College Governors, and the Anti-Academies Alliance.

The NUT Leadership Convention at Hamilton House was also very well attended and received.

Christine congratulated the executive on their contributions to the events on the day of Action on 30th November. She has undertaken a large number of school meetings, and found members’ resolve was strong.

After the infamous Jeremy Clarkson comments on the BBC's One Show, Christine and the General Secretaries of a number of other Unions had received written death threats. These, of course, have been reported to the Police, but a further complaint has been made to the BBC pointing out this may well be a direct result of the comments made on that programme.

Christine congratulated the winners of the Steve Sinnott Young Campaigner awards- although this year’s were from Scotland, so wouldn’t have been taught by NUT members (congratulations to our EIS colleagues, then !)

Jerry Glazier, Chair of the Action Committee, reported on the dispute at Langdon School, East Ham, where members have taken strike action over management practices and workload issues. The school has been circumventing the Agency laws by using Supply Agencies to source casual (scab) labour, and then engaging those supply teachers on direct contracts. As this is an LEA school and these contracts are, on paper, with the Local Authority, Newham NUT’s general meeting voted 90-0 in favour of balloting for a Borough wide dispute. Recent informal talks with the Authority may have led to some progress, and members in the school will be consulted this week. If there is no progress, members are going to be taking three days of strike action next week.

Deputy General Secretary, Kevin Courtney reported on the negotiations around the pension scheme:

The extension of a pay freeze (two more years of freeze, followed by two years of 1% ) will mean that teachers salaries will fall significantly in real terms, even before any hit from pension contribution increases. Government plans to get rid of STPCD in next two years and replace with local agreements, and the proposals to end or water down TUPE add to the threats faced by teachers. This is against a background of the economic situation with tax credits reduced, and 300,000 more public sector jobs lost.

David Cameron’s ignorant and ill-informed attack on trade union facility time in Parliament last week also spelt out a clear threat to our lay officers and their ability to represent and support members in difficulty.

The TUC estimates around 500,000 people took part in the various demonstrations on 30th November.Thousands in London, Birmingham and Brighton, and the biggest ever demonstration in Horsham (350, but outside Francis Maude’s office !)

The polls reflecting public opinion on the campaign are mixed, although it is pleasing that 2/3 of women support the strikes, as do 80% of young people. November 30th was the biggest ever strike by women trade unionists in history.

Talks are ongoing with Ministers and the Civil Service, and it is important that the Teachers' side stays united, and that the Government are not allowed to rush us. We are clear that we are willing to meet any time, anywhere and negotiate in detail, but we remain willing and ready to take further action if there is no progress.

The Government is still refusing to carry out a revaluation- the latest line is that to do so would be “too expensive”. Kevin pointed out that Government have all the data to carry this out already, so this is a spurious argument.

Government will also not re-open the issue of the move from RPI to CPI inflation (currently hitting existing as well as future pensioners) . The NUT and partners in the challenge to this ruling (turned down in last month’s judgment) have been granted leave to appeal , on the grounds that there was a dissenting judge on one point. (The NASUWT, PCS etc. challenge was on slightly different points of law- they have not been granted leave to appeal on their points, but may go to court to seek that.)

Kevin reminded us that the campaign is not just about strike action- in particular that it is the threat of strikes backed up by campaigning and other action that is what presses employers into negotiation. The lobbying, campaigning, awareness raising etc. is vital. Also, there is a suggestion that the TUC may call a further national demonstration.

We were asked to send out advice to members about the NASUWT's work-to-rule. The NUT has not balloted on this form of action, but as always members will be expected to not pick up any work laid down by NASUWT colleagues in this dispute.

Helen Andrews, Chair of the Salaries committee presented a proposal to organise a ballot of Sixth Form College staff over their pay and the Government's funding. This was agreed.

The Government is proposing that the post-16 teaching qualification could be formally recognised for teaching in schools. It was agreed that we would add this to the approved qualifications for eligibility for NUT membership, if this takes place.

There was a motion adding a campaigning point that we should seek to build dialogue with the Labour Party on pensions policy. The NUT is not affiliated to any political party, and does not endorse any, but we seek to influence policy making by all organisations. It was noted that while support for our case has been varied from Labour front-benchers, there was solid and visible support on the 30th November by grassroots Labour Party members. I asked if the union could produce model text for motions to local Labour Party branches, and also for other organisations such as Trades Councils.

Internationalising it...

2011-12-08T12:24:00.003Z

The NUT's International Newsletter, Global Matters, is now available online. This includes information and links to a variety of teaching resources and international campaigs, including:-

Fair's Fair - Playfair 2012: Interactive teaching resources have been produced to coincide with the 2012 Olympics. The cross-curriculum resources, entitled ‘Fair's Fair - Life and Rights in the Global Sports Industry', have been produced as part of the TUC Playfair 2012 project in collaboration with the NUT, ATL, NASUWT and Anti-Slavery International, along with a group of practising teachers.

Global Dimension's relaunched website, which provides a library of global teaching resources. Visit for a free activity kit, an on-line international calendar and to join the Think Global Schools Network

NUT Supports the Robin Hood Tax: The Union has joined the coalition supporting the Robin Hood Tax. The introduction of a small tax on the financial sector would help to fight poverty. You can support the campaign and raise awareness by clicking here

RPI to CPI Challenge fails in Court- right to appeal granted

2011-12-02T20:03:00.005Z

A high court challenge to the Government’s decision to change the way existing and future pension increases are calculated from RPI inflation to the lower CPI calculation has failed at its first stage.

The NUT joined a raft of other unions in mounting the challenge, claiming that the accrued benefits existing pensioners had built up had been on the basis of the RPI calculation that had previously been used. The NUT challenge was alongside Prospect, GMB, First Division Association, Civil Service Pensioners Alliance, Association of Principal Fire Officers, National Federation of Occupational Pensioners, National Association of Retired Police Officers and the Police Federation. A similar action was brought by the Fire Brigades' Union, NASUWT, Prison Officers Association, Public and Commercial Services union.

Three of the four points of law that were challenged were rejected unanimously by the judges. A fourth was rejected by a 2-1 margin. The Union has been granted the right to appeal.

The BBC reported that: "If someone retired on an annual pension of £10,000 a year - a typical figure for a teacher - then over 20 years the uprating of their pensions by 2% (the Bankof England's CPI target) would see them accrue total pension payments of £245,500.
If a 3.4% RPI figure was used instead - because this would be 1.4 percentage points higher - the pensioner in question would receive £284,923. That's a difference of £39,423 over 20 years.”

NUT General Secretary, Christine Blower commented that: "The NUT took part in this action because the Government’s decision was simply wrong. Cutting pensions to save money at pensioners’ expense is disgraceful and immoral. All three judges agreed that a substantial motivation for the switch to CPI was deficit reduction. It is disappointing that only one judge felt able to say this was wrong. It’s also disappointing that the arguments advanced by the other unions involved were treated so dismissively.
The NUT has obtained permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. "In the meantime, the Government has deliberately avoided saying whether public sector pensions will be increased even by CPI in 2012. We call on George Osborne to make his position clear immediately and tell pensioners that he is not going to impose even bigger cuts next year.”

Solid support for the strike

2011-11-30T18:52:00.015Z

Members of the NUT across the country have turned out in force to stand up against attacks on our pensions. In East Sussex more than half of all schools were completely closed, with the majority of others closed to many or most pupils.

Thousands of trade unionists, from NUT, NASUWT, ATL, UCU, Unison, GMB, Unite, PCS and the many smaller craft unions attended rallies across the region. I was privileged to speak at the Eastbourne Rally, which had originally been scheduled to take place at the Unite Eastbourne centre. It became clear by 10.30 that there was no way we could all fit into the room, so an impromptu rally was staged at Eastbourne Bandstand, after which more than 500 people marched into the Town Centre.

The campaign goes on to press the Government to revalue the scheme, and enter into negotiations based on the reality of our pensions which are (as a result of difficult decisions in 2005-6) affordable, sustainable and fair: the costs are on course to fall.

Also, it is absolutely central to the campaign that the Government and the tabloid press are not allowed to label this as a public vs. private sector conflict. The scandal of inadequate pension provision in the private sector also needs to be urgently addresses.

I would urge members once again to read the pamphlet Fair Pensions for All produced by the NUT, PCS, UCU and Unite in conjunction with the National Pensioners Convention. This looks at the whole issue of pension provision, from the State Pension, through the attacks on occupational pensions, and gives a whole wealth of information that will help you when you discuss our campaign- as you must- with friends, family and colleagues.

Visit the NUT Website for the latest on the campaign to defend teachers pensions.

Murdoch censors the TUC !

2011-11-30T18:09:00.000Z

Yesterday The Sun asked the TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber to write 200 words setting out the case for the day of action. They are not in today’s paper. We publish them here, please spread them:

"This government cancelled the tax on bankers’ bonuses. Instead it has brought in a nurses’, teachers’ and lollipop ladies’ tax.

This is what the increase in pension contributions – around £1,000 a... ...year for a nurse – really means. It is not paying for pensions but going straight to the Treasury to fill the hole left by the bonus tax.

It takes a lot to get Brits to strike. Yet the government has driven millions of its own staff to stop work, including unions that have never gone on strike before such as head-teachers. They are not stupid or manipulated by union leaders, but ordinary decent people doing important jobs taking a stand as a last resort.

We know the strike will cause difficulties today, and we regret that. But it’s proved to be the only language the government understands.

I’ve been leading talks with ministers for months. But they were going nowhere. It’s only when we called a day of action that government started to move. Ministers should listen carefully today to their staff, and get stuck into trying to reach the fair negotiated settlement that unions want."

Fair Pensions for ALL: The facts !

2011-11-22T18:33:00.001Z

Fair Pensions for All is a pamphlet produced jointly with Unite, PCS, UCU and the National Pensioners Convention. This document dispels the myths about public sector pensions, exposes the scandal of pension provision in the private sector and sets out the compelling case for fair pensions for all.

The UK currently has the fourth lowest state pension in the EU- only Estonia, Latvia and Cyprus pay less to keep pensioners in security and dignity in old age. The basic state pension is currently £102 a week, worth only 57% of the government’s official weekly pensioner poverty level of £178

More than two million UK pensioers officially live below the poverty line, with a further million in fuel poverty.

Just over a decade ago nearly half of all private sector workers were in a workplace pension scheme; today it is only a third.

However, while pensions have been ripped away from ordinary workers, the directors of large companies continue to net very generous pensions averaging £175,000 per year in retirement. These generous fat cat schemes at the top lapped up the bulk of the £37.6bn in tax relief that private sector pensions get every year.

The Hutton report “firmly rejected the claim that current public service pensions are ‘gold plated’ …the median payment is around £5,600”. This equates to just over £100 per week in retirement. For a woman worker in local government the average pension is just £2,600.

Download the full facts, in the leaflet HERE

Teachers Pensions: £46.4 BILLION more paid in than out !

2011-11-20T20:56:00.002Z

The NUT today provides further support for the argument that public sector pensions are affordable and fair.

The NUT research shows that, during the lifetime of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS), £46.4bn more has been paid into the scheme than has been paid out.

The NUT has calculated the total payments into and from the TPS over the period 1923 to date, using its official valuation reports and accounts. Adjusting these figures in line with GDP growth shows that at least £46.4bn more in current prices has been paid into the TPS in contributions over the years than has been paid out in pensions.

This follows earlier reports by the National Audit Office and the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee which show that the long term costs of the TPS are already declining following earlier reforms. The long term picture contrasts sharply with the Government's arguments that the current imbalance between contributions and payments makes teachers' pensions unsustainable.

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said:

"The NUT's research proves two points. First, funding public sector pensions is a complex area – we won't allow our opponents simply to ignore those parts of the story that don't suit them. Second, it is a long term issue – policies shouldn't be driven by short term considerations.

“There is no £46.4 billion to hand. The fact is, however, that the Government has accepted a long series of cheap loans from teachers’ pension contributions before complaining about paying the pensions promised in return."

NUT LGBT Conference

2011-11-14T18:11:00.006Z

I was once again privileged to chair the 18th NUT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Teachers Conference at Hamilton House on 12th November.

After a warm welcome from the Vice-President of the Union, Marilyn Harrop, we welcomed not one but two excellent keynote speakers.

Elly Barnes has pioneered LGBT equality teaching at her school, Stoke Newington High School in Hackney. Her celebrations of LGBT History Month have become a major event in the school's calendar, and she now runs training sessions for teachers in other schools. Elly was named #1 on the Independent on Sunday's Pink List for her work combating homophobia in schools. Elly once again blew us away with the presentation of how this event can develop and embed in the life of the school, and presented us with a wealth of ideas and resources for use in our own schools.

John Amaechi was the first British player to appear in the NBA Basketball league. After a distinguished career in professional basketball, he is a psychologist, New York Times best-selling Author and social entrepreneur working in both the US and the Europe. He is involved with a youth sports club in Manchester where he uses basketball and football to develop emotional literacy with young people, and was recently awarded the OBE. John was an inspiring, entertaining and often challenging speaker.

Delegates took part in a range of workshops that were all well received. These included

Trans teachers-sharing experiences; Magna Carta School students presenting their resource – Homophobia – our closeted education; Celebrating the Classroom run by Tony and Sue from Schools OUT, and a workshop on the new Public Sector Equality Duty run by Jonathan Timbers of the EHRC.

The conference debated the motion that we would put forward to the main NUT Annual Conference in Torquay next year. It was agreed that we send a motion entitled Defending LGBT Rights, and the text can be read here.

The afternoon closed with a panel discussion with Annette Pryce, Nigel Tart, Ros MacNeil of the Union's Equalities Department and myself about being an "out" LGBT Teacher in schools. This developed into a really engaging discussion, with many conference delegates sharing their experiences, ideas and questions.

NUT members will elect the first dedicated LGBT Representative to the National Executive this January. Members must identify as LGBT and register for a vote. To find out more, please visit the membership section of the NUT Website.

Executive Report: November 2011

2011-11-10T14:46:00.005Z

The full executive met on 10th November, at Hamilton House.

Christine Blower opened by reporting that the NAHT had voted in favour of taking strike action with a healthy majority- although this now goes to their national executive for consideration. Unison has also voted to strike on November 30th. GMB, Prospect and the FDA ballots continue, as does the NAHT.

The booklet Fair Pensions for All is being launched and is being sent out soon- this is about pensions in general: looking at public, private and state. It points out that only Estonia, Latvia and Cyprus have lower state pensions than the UK, and unpicks the scandal about private pension provision in this country.

Deputy General Secretary Kevin Courtney congratulated Emily and Chris, our parliamentary team, for the Lobby of Parliament, where over 2,000 lobbied their MP over pensions. 75% of MPs were seen on the day, and others are being followed up in their own constituency. Colleagues had reported that a number of Tory MPs at the Lobby of Parliament appeared to be rather discomforted by the fact that there had been no revaluation. Some MP's had been under the misapprehension that a valuation had been done; others seemed to be under the impression that it was somehow difficult to carry out a valuation of an "unfunded" (ie. not a separate pot of money) scheme. It isn't and had been done regularly for many years !

The “concessions” -such as they are- from Danny Alexander were outlined.

The protection for members in the 50-60 age bracket (55-65 for members in the LGPS) is indeed a concession that we have won, however is it enough to sell other colleagues down the river ?

The change in accrual rates from 65ths to 60ths is not an “improvement”: simply retaining where we are now. The original plans were a worsening of accrual rates, so we are back where we started (the older scheme is calculated on 80ths, but also includes the lump sum of 3/80ths for every year of service)

The government claims that these will be the last changes to the pension system "for a generation": but no future government can be bound to it. The mechanism for automatic increases in retirement age mean that colleagues could be forced

Kevin noted that it is the action and campaigning by the NUT and the other trade unions that has pressed the Government to these concessions- however we need to win more. At this moment, no further dates have been set for the central negotiations, which suggests that the Government is not willing to negotiate further, except in the scheme-specific talks. All of these are being restrained within the Government’s imposed “cost ceiling”. All of the unions are in agreement that there is no realistic prospect of a deal while this arbitrary cost ceiling is in place.

We are actively taking part in scheme-specific negotiation over details , but are not prepared to concede our key principles. We will be carrying out a survey of members to gauge their feelings on the Government’s latest position, and to inform the executive on the opinion of the members we represent.

Kevin urged executive members and their activists to build for the 30th November. It is also important to counter the Government spin- especially the claims that somehow members will get higher pensions- this is not a fair comparison as they are looking at teachers working to 68 without taking into account career progression through career-averaging. A range of material will be coming into schools and to members soon.

I raised with Kevin the importance of continuing to hammer home the point that the Government continues to refuse to carry out the long-overdue revaluation of the scheme, to tell us how much money is in there. It was reported that Danny Alexander has stated in Parliament that there won’t be a revaluation until the changes have been made ! This is a key point to keep pressing whenever we are making our point in this dispute.

Senior Solicitor Clive Romain reported on the legal challenge to the imposed move in calculating pension increases (including for existing retired teachers) from RPI to CPI inflation. After a three day hearing, we were now waiting for a judgment- likely to be before the 30th November !

Christine also reported on the 20th Black Teachers conference was extremely well supported: Christine enjoyed the sessions she was able to attend. Also looking forward to the LGBT Conference this weekend (that I shall be chairing) Christine noted that Max Hyde has been invited to chair the next TUC Women's Conference.

The full executive later voted unanimously to endorse the position taken by Christine and Kevin in the negotiations.

PSHE Consultation

2011-11-10T12:30:00.002Z

As a former Head of Department for PSHE and Citizenship, I have a particular concern about the Government's policy in this area. There is currently a consultation open by the DfE on the subject of "how to support schools to improve the quality of teaching of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, including giving teachers the flexibility to use their judgement about how best to deliver PSHE education"

We are already seeing a significant threat to quality PSHE provision, given the savage cuts to any non-statutory local authority support services, such as PSHE advisers and those with responsibility for anti-bullying, LGBT, anti-racist and other projects.

We can also be sure that the usual round of homophobic pressure groups will be making submissions to the consultation, often hiding behind a smokescreen of "faith", to attack LGBT equality teaching: indeed certain "faith" based groups are likely to mount wholesale attacks on broad and factual sex education programmes (including pressure to introduces the widely discredited "abstinence only" curricula.)

It is vital that teachers with practical experience of delivering PSHE, SRE and equality programmes in schools make their views known in the consultation, which is open until 30th November.

Click here to take part in the consultation

EEPD: Response to School Governence Regulations

2011-11-10T11:31:00.002Z

The committee discussed the amendment to the School Governance regulations currently being consulted upon by the Government. This clarifies the position of parents being appointed as foundation governors, and is especially pertinent to voluntary aided church schools.

We agreed that the union would express the view amendment should "not alter fair representation on governing bodies. The stakeholder model of governance, with its roots firmly in democratic accountability, must be maintained and not be threatened by cutting back the size of governing bodies. The number of foundation governors must be retained as they form part of a named group appointed by the school’s founding body, church or other organisations named in the school’s instrument of government." and that

"No group or governing bodies, including foundation governors, should be disenfranchised. There should be no reduction in the required percentage of parent governors nor in the majority of foundation governors in voluntary aided or qualifying foundation schools, or the percentage of foundation governors in voluntary controlled schools."

You can add your view to the DfE consultation by visiting their website here.

EEPD Committee: Gender Advisory Committee Report

2011-11-10T11:30:00.001Z

The EEPD Committee received the report of the Union's national Gender Advisory Committee. A number of recommendations were made from this committee, and were approved:-

It was agreed that:

The National Union of Teachers should affiliate to Eaves Housing, and should make a one off donation to reflect the importance of the contribution of Eaves Housing to women and girls experiencing violence and to trafficked women and girls.

The National Executive carry out research in relation to gender stereotypes as outlined in the research proposals.

The NUT should submit motions to TUC Women’s Conference on: the issues of the privatisation of the education service and the threat of privatisation to progressive terms and conditions for women workers achieved through collective bargaining; and the issue of women over 50 in the labour market and the impact of sexism and ageism on this group of working women.

The National Executive consider ways to ensure that all campaign materials and NUT events (including Annual Conference) should reflect the fact that almost 80 per cent of NUT members are women; and that

The National Executive consider arranging a one-off event with the purpose of increasing the number of women who are active as lay activists.

EEPD Committee: Response to Initial Teacher Training Proposals

2011-11-10T11:29:00.001Z

The EEPD Committee discussed the Government’s Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Strategy Implementation Plan, published this week.

On Tuesday, Christine Blower had said:

"A first class degree does not necessarily a first class teacher make. The real incentive which Government needs to address in order to attract people into teaching is not simply bursaries. Teachers need to be given greater control over what goes on in the classroom, the unnecessary bureaucratic workload needs to go, pay and conditions need to remain competitive and of course Government needs to ensure a good pension.

There is a place for introducing some specialist teachers at primary school level but it cannot be at the expense of all primary teachers having initial and continuing professional development. A small cadre of sponsored first class degree primary specialists is not the way to ensure excellence in the 19,000 primary schools in England.

While it's absolutely right that schools should be involved in both content and delivery of ITT programmes, there is a need to maintain national standards and a syllabus for all trainee teachers. If not there is a danger that teachers will be trained to work in one particular type of school or type of neighbourhood rather than to be equipped to teach across a full range of schools and colleges."

A draft response to the Master Teacher Standard was also debated, and I will publish a link to the final document on this site at a later point."

Pension Negotiations (not very) Special

2011-11-03T12:59:00.002Z

The BBC reported yesterday on what was billed as concessions in the public sector pensions debate from the Government. The NUT, however, does ot share this excitement, based on the REALITY of what is being proposed:

In discussions with TUC unions including the NUT, the Government has been putting forward a package of proposals for public sector pensions. These would involve teachers:

• paying 50% more – an average 9.6% instead of 6.4%;
• having to work later – with normal pension age linked to State pension age, a teacher aged 34 or under would have to work to age 68 for a full pension
• receiving a “career average” pension based on an annual accrual rate of 1/65 of pay
• Facing lower pension increases in retirement - with the move to the CPI inflation index cutting 15% from the lifetime value of their pension

Yestrday's offer is in 3 parts:

• The accrual rate for pensions would be improved from 1/65 to 1/60.

This would only maintain the current accrual rate for the post-2007 Teachers Pensions Scheme, so it is not an improvement compared with the current scheme. It would still also mean teachers paying more, working longer and getting less due to career averaging and CPI pensions indexation

• Teachers within 10 years of their current normal pension age on 1 April 2012 would have “transitional protection”.

This would apply to those in the pre 2007 TPS born before 1 April 1962 and those in the post 2007 scheme born before 1 April 1957. It would mean that they would remain on their current final salary scheme, with the same accrual rate and normal pension age as now, so that their pension entitlements would be unaffected. The Government has also suggested the possibility of further "tapered" protection. Teachers who get this protection would, however, still have to pay 50% higher contributions and face losses from CPI pension indexation, the biggest changes facing this group. The NUT would welcome this protection but teachers in that group should still want to defend younger teachers facing much bigger attacks.

• The Government would promise that this will be the last change to pensions for a “generation”.

It is not at all clear how the current Government can bind its successors. Also, this does not mean that there would be no further increases in teachers’ normal pension ages. The Government wants to retain the proposed link between the TPS pension age and State pension age. This would mean the TPS pension age rising above 68 if the State pension age was increased further or individual teachers’ pension ages rising if the timetable for the planned increases in State pension age to 67 and 68 was brought forward.

The NUT will now be considering its response to the Government proposals in discussions within the TUC and with other teacher unions. The NUT Executive meets next on 10 November. We remain committed, however, to action on 30 November in conjunction with other unions if the Government does not move further to secure a negotiated agreement.

A Big Thank You

2011-11-03T12:57:00.003Z

Dear Colleagues-

Some of you may have noticed that this report has not been updated since the start of the new academic year. You may not know that I was off sick for a long period of time at the start of term. I am now back at work, and hope that "normal service" will be resumed.

I would like to thank those colleagues who have given me great support during this time- especially Marian and Nick at the Regional office, and Phil and Sheila in East Sussex.

Dave

Executive Report: July 2011

2011-07-14T14:26:00.009+01:00

The full executive met on 14th July, at Stoke Rochford Hall.

The first section of the meeting was given over to a special discussion about the Pensions negotiations and the ongoing pensions campaigns. Kevin Courtney, Deputy General Secretary gave a detailed report, which is summarised above.

The vice-President, Marilyn Harrop welcomed John to the Executive, to replace Pete Bevis who has retired as the member for the Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield area. Gill Goodswen was elected to replace Pete on the board of Stoke Rochford Hall, and Kendra Deacon to take his place on the Council of the Teacher Support Network.

Jerry Glazier, Nina Franklin, Marilyn Harrop, Hazel Danson and Gill Goodswen will represent the Union at a seminar with the American Federation of Teachers.

The meeting re-nominated Christine Blower and Dave Harvey for the TUC General Council- two places for which we have automatic nomination. We decided not to nominate any candidates for the General Purposes Committee or the additional places for LGBT, Disabled or Young Workers.

Christine Blower, General Secretary reported.

She began by congratulating the Union's Parliamentary Lobbyist, Chris Brown, who has been elected as a Councillor for the London Borough of Southwark.

Christine reported on a positive meeting last night, at Stoke Rochford, between Strategy and Finance Committee members with Andy Burnham, the shadow Education Secretary- who was keen to discuss education policy as part of the Labour Party's policy review (the NUT is not affiliated, and is independent of all political parties) . Christine and colleagues particularly put the case against Academies and Free Schools and the role of the Local Authority in the management and planning of schools. It was a useful dialogue, and Andy stayed after for some drinks (I was able to have a chat over a pint..)

At all the three Party conferences, we will be discussing the Role of the Local Authorities, based on research commissioned by us and Unison with the Local Government Information Unit.

The White Paper on Public Services is nothing less than an all out attempt to destroy the public provision of services: not just to the non-profit sector but to the private, profit making sector. The Health unions are fearing that the proposals after the pause in the NHS reforms, the new proposals may be even worse: it looks as if the "any willing provider" will remain.

Christine had attended a meeting about the Learners Charter. proposed by Professor Gus John, of the Institute for Education.

Show Racism the Red Card has launched some research, which highlighted the scandal that there is still no anti-racist provisions within Initial Teacher Training. This was not "anti-teacher" but it did highlight a significant area of development that was needed. I asked if the research and its consequences were also looking at the need to work on anti-homophobia training for initial teacher trainees.

John Dixon has done great work on the University and College Union and the Musicians Union, joint partnership agreements. Christine welcomed the updated agreements with the EIS (Scotland) and the UTU and the INTA (unions in the North of Ireland) who are also working very closely together. Christine had attended an Education International, and welcomed the opportunity to work with colleagues in teacher training unions in the Middle East and North Africa, especially the countries experiencing the current "Arab Spring". It was noted that Bahraini trade unionists are facing severe repression and were unable to travel. Representatives from the newly emerging independent trade unions from Egypt were welcomed for the first time. Clearly an opportunity for us to support these in terms of developing the structures and policy work of these growing organisations. Also discussions of the importance of encouraging and supporting women to take positions in the new unions.

Christine praised the Union's work at the TUC LGBT Conference, where Gill Goodswen held the fort for us on day one, due to the strike action, and the rest of the delegation who participated in the second day. Also, the Union had a superb turnout for our float at London Pride.

The Disabled Teachers' Conference was also extremely productive, and a number of priorities identified for the Union.

A Reception for Justice for Colombia said goodbye to the outgoing chair, Jeremy Dear, who has stood down as General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists. The NUT was well represented at the Durham Miners Gala, and expected a similar level of visible strength at the forthcoming Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival and the Burston Strike School Rally.

Alex Kenny warned the executive about the planned demonstration by the fascist EDL in East London - they are already making clear that this will be a virulently Islamophobic event (they are referring to the "Islamic Republic of Tower Hamlets") and have timed this to be two days following Eid. He urged divisions to support the work of anti-fascist organisations in opposing the march.

Reports were also received from the sub-committee; from the standing committee, and on the Union's ethical investment policy.

Pension Campaign: URGENT next steps !

2011-07-06T14:13:00.004+01:00

After any action, the inevitable question which people reflect upon is “what did we achieve ?” In the case of the strike action on 30th June, I believe we achieved an enormous amount.

A hugely well supported day of action, with many schools closed, most schools affected in some way, and thousands of people demonstrating and attending rallies has put the attacks on our pensions firmly in the public mind. Nobody can now claim that they are unaware that something is going on. The next stage is to make sure we put the justices of our case across at every opportunity.

Public support for the action is mixed- but even the most conservative of polls suggested that somewhere in the region of 40% of the public supported us, with many still in the “don’t know” category. These people are are target, and we have a great resource with which to target them: YOU !

In the staffroom, in the pub, in the shops, on Facebook, in every social setting, people will ask you why you were on strike, and we need to combat the half-truths and spin from the Government, and the downright lies from the tabloid press. We need to tell people a few facts:

Our pension is not a handout from the taxpayer- we contribute and our school contribute as part of our salary package. The combined contribution is 20.5% of our salary. (The Government proposals will not change the level of employer contributions)

The scheme was changed after 2007, to make sure that it was sustainable. Those changes are working, and part of that deal was that IF a revaluation showed that teachers’ contributions needed to rise, we would pay more. The Government refuses to do a revaluation of the scheme, because they know it will not support their case.

Our pension is a financial product we buy from the Government. If we bought a product from the bank, we would expect them to be able to tell us how much is in there, how it’s performing and what fees they are taking. We expect the same courtesy from Government !

When the Daily Mail and the other tabloids come up with outlandish figures about how much our pensions “cost the taxpayer” they are grossly twisting the truth. Because there is no separate pension fund, our contributions go into the treasury, on trust, and are paid out when we retire. It is not “taxpayers money” it is OUR money we have paid in, and expect to get back.

The proposals expect teachers to work to 68 years old, to pay far more, and get significantly less at the end. Yet the scheme is already sustainable !

We are not arguing for a public/private divide in pension provision. Our pensions are not “gold plated” but they are decent, sustainable pensions that will provide dignity and security in our retirement. The real scandal is the lack of decent pensions in the private sector- and the Government knows it. That’s why they didn’t allow Lord Hutton to even consider the issue of the private sector provision in his report. The NUT is launching a major campaign on decent pensions for ALL- you can read about it here.

Please commit to the following:-

TALK to people- explain the fairness and justice of our case at every opportunity.

WRITE to, or e-mail your MP. You can find their address by clicking here. There is a model letter for this purpose here.

ENCOURAGE colleagues to use the NUT’s online Pensions Calculator to see exactly how much these proposals will cost them over their retirement.

SIGN the petition for decent pension provision for ALL working people- with compulsory employer contributions, by clicking here.

KEEP visiting the NUT pensions campaign website, and stay up to date with the campaign.

Is there a retired teacher in your shed ?

2011-06-30T16:07:00.009+01:00

According to the Daily Mail, teachers pensions cost "every British family £13,500". It was in the Mail, so it must be true, surely ?

Hang on one moment. The average teacher's pension is £10,000. That means that there must be more retired teachers than working families. Millions of them. Have you seen them ? Perhaps you could all check in the shed, under the stairs, behind the settee etc. to see if you've got a retired teacher there ?

How on earth do they come up with these figures ? One common trick is to look at the value of all current and future teachers pensions, and then divide the figure by the number of families etc, to get an eye-watering figure. What they don't take into account is...

We PAY for our pensions. They are not a handout from the taxpayer, they are a financial product we BUY from the government.

20.5% of our monthly salary is paid, by us and our school's contribution, into the scheme. This goes directly to the treasury, who in turn commit to pay out our pensions benefits when we retire. The scheme is overdue for a revaluation, and the unions are already committed as part of the 2006 deal, that if the revaluation of the scheme shows that increases in contributions are genuinely needed, teachers would pay them.

Why won't the Government do a revaluation of the scheme and tell us how much of our money is in it ? Because they know that it will prove the scheme is sustainable. Will the Daily Mail tell you that ? Of course they won't.

More arguments in favour of our Pensions

2011-06-28T18:08:00.002+01:00

BBC Radio Sussex clearly have it in for me- last time I was on it was debating Sex Education with the Christian Institute- this time its Teachers Pensions with the "Taxpayers" Alliance.

Fortunately, I was armed with the greatest weapon we have-the truth. You can listen here I'm on at 1hr 14mins in.

Great response from Christine Blower to David Cameron's speech on pensions- reprinted below. As I keep pointing out to people the Government refuse to do a revaluation of the money in our scheme, because they know it would prove it is sustainable.

Commenting on David Cameron’s speech to the Local Government Association conference, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“David Cameron insists on pressing ahead with the baseless argument that public sector pensions must be substantially cut.

“The Teachers’ Pension Scheme has already been reformed in 2007. The National Audit Office recognises that those changes, including increased contributions, a normal pension age of 65 and a cap on employer contributions, mean that costs are falling. The NUT believes that our scheme is viable and sustainable. However, our 2007 agreement also provided for regular re-valuations of the scheme and for teachers to pay more if costs are shown to have risen.

“This Government has refused to undertake this re-valuation and wants to impose further changes without any evidence they are needed. Furthermore, David Cameron said today ‘what you have already earned you will keep’. However, the RPI to CPI switch already imposed is an attack on accrued rights that will cost existing and future retirees thousands of pounds. It breaks coalition manifesto promises.

“Teachers are not burying their heads in the sand. We have already agreed to possible further changes, at a cost to ourselves, but we cannot negotiate an agreement when the Government is failing to bring forward any evidence to support its case.

“David Cameron is absolutely right to point out the gap between public and private sector pensions. The NUT also agrees that there is a problem. Two thirds of private sector workers don’t have access to any employer-sponsored pension scheme and face poverty in retirement. The NUT wants to see fair pensions for all workers. We want the Government to improve the basic pension and require all employers to contribute to decent occupational schemes. "

“The Prime Minister seems to think equality means the whole country being reduced to poverty in old age. This is a betrayal of those public sector workers who are saving for their retirement and those private sector workers who are denied the chance to do so.

“The Government needs to be aware that more and more people are becoming extremely angry about this attack on pensions and will take action to defend them. The ‘we are all in this together’ rhetoric is sounding increasingly hollow with each passing day”.

How can non NUT/ATL Colleagues support ?

2011-06-27T13:12:00.003+01:00

Many colleagues have asked me how their colleagues who are not in the Union can express their support for the action.

The anti-trade union laws in the UK mean that it is unlawful for colleagues who are members of unions that are not part of the official dispute to refuse to cross picket lines. However, these members should make clear to their Head Teacher that they will only undertake the work they would usually do on 30th June, and not pick up work laid down by NUT/ATL colleagues.

All of the TUC unions (and even the small non-strike Voice union) have issued guidance to their members in this regard.

You should encourage colleagues to contact their MP and tell him or her that, while they are not currently taking part in the industrial action, they very much share our dismay at the attacks on teachers and public sector pensions. There is suggested text for a letter here.

Anti-Academy News

2011-06-26T02:48:00.003+01:00

Capita accused of making excess profits from Academy conversions

Headteachers overseeing the conversion of their schools to academy status had complained they are being slapped with huge bills, often as much as £20,000, just to change the licence on their school's back-office computer software.
The systems are critical to the running of a school, covering almost every part of its administration, from registration and attainment to controlling dinner money and admissions. Capita's own version, called Sims, is used by some 20,000 schools in England and controls about 80 per cent of the market. One primary, St Patrick's Academy in Solihull, was charged consultancy"costs of around £1,150 a day to help it convert, on top of re-licensing costs of about £15,000.

The back-office system, the big bucks - and the bills. Private firm sniffs a profit in coalition schools policy

Is Gove threatening your Primary school?

Following Michael Gove’s announcement that 200 ‘failing’ primary schools are to be converted into Academies, with 500 more to follow, a number of schools have contacted us which have been told they are on Gove’s hit list.
It is clear that many Headteachers, Governors and staff are very angry about Gove’s comments. They are generally working in poor areas, often with high levels of SEN or children with English as a second language.
Many are clear that they will need to fight this proposal. If you would like a representative of the Anti Academies Alliance to visit your school to meet the Head / Governors / Staff / Parents to discuss campaigning against any plan to convert your school into an Academy please contact us on office@antiacademies.org.uk or 07528 201 697

Responses to the SEN Green Paper

The SEN Green Paper is important to the Anti Academies arguments because it is built on the assumption that in the future there will be no need for the LA central services because all of the expertise and support for mainstream and special schools will be provided by Academies and Special Academies, not by the LAs. There is scarcely a mention of the LA as service provider.

More Information ?

Anti Academies Briefing is now in the 3rd print run of the Briefing on ‘Why would a school want to become an Academy?’ If you want copied for use before the end of term please let the AAA know urgently.

Free to parent groups and local campaigns
£10 per hundred to union branches

For more information, visit the Anti-Academies Alliance by clicking here

What "Career Average" really means !

2011-06-17T17:41:00.001+01:00

The government is planning changes to the way in which teachers’ pensions are calculated which will worsen the pension of every single teacher.

In addition to increasing contributions and raising the retirement age, the government now wants to decrease the amount of pension you get for every year worked.

The government proposals in a leaked Treasury paper, covered in The Guardian, would be devastating. The leaked paper confirms the government's intention to abandon the current teachers' pension scheme. It wants to introduce a new "career average pay" scheme, giving all teachers a massively smaller pension.

The government is suggesting that you would only get 1/100 of career average pay for every year in teaching.

This compares to the current scheme, which gives you 1/60 of final pay, or 1/80 of final pay plus a lump sum payment, depending on when you joined the scheme. Younger teachers would have to work until 68 for a pension worth less than half of their career average pay.

Older teachers would earn far less pension between now and retirement.

The Treasury proposals would mean you losing even more than the figures shown in the NUT pensions loss calculator. They show just how badly the government's plans will affect your future.

The government says these figures may not be the final position. However, the talks between unions and government have been going on for three months - and the proposals the government has now brought to the table are worse than anything we imagined. The government wants discussions to finish before the end of June.

All of this shows that it's more important than ever that we get an overwhelming turnout in our pensions strike action. This will support and strengthen the Union in its negotiations with government. Now is the time to act to defend your pension.

Executive Report: June 2011

2011-06-16T17:36:00.004+01:00

The full executive met on Thursday 16th June

Nina Franklin opened the meeting by congratulating former Executive Member Tim Lucas on his award of an MBE for services to the LGBT community in last weekend's announcement.

As members will predict- the main item of discussion for this meeting was the impending pensions strike action. It is clear that the Government is not prepared to discuss any meaningful concessions- they are still determined to make us work longer, pay more and get less. The negotiations were scheduled to end on the 27th June, and we could expect to be paying the significantly increased pension contribution in the next academic year. It is absolutely right that we are taking the action now.

Christine Blower congratulated Deputy General Secretary Kevin Courtney- not just for his stalwart work leading the pensions campaign and representing the NUT at the negotiatons with Government as part of the TUC delegation, but also appearing at the Science and Technology Select Committee (you can watch this on the Westminster website)

Kevin then reported on the preparations for the Pensions Strike. The Yes vote was overwhelming, and this was consistent across the country.

Letters have been sent out to all employers telling them of the pending action. Any attempts by independent schools or academies to mount legal challenges will be vigorously defended.

An NUT News poster will be in schools by Monday, and with a letter from the General Secretary. There will be a letter to all members at home next week. We are also producing a wide range of materials for schools and local associations to support the campaigns in the build up to, and on the strike day.

Kevin pointed out that there will be a barrage of hostile media coverage, particularly from the tabloid press. It is important that we make sure members have the information to counter these attacks. Details of rallies, demonstrations and other events on the day will be posted on the website.

The executive also discussed a number of other issues- including current government consultations (see separate articles for details,) the Anti-Academies campaign, including a very successful TUC-organised conference, and expressing support for teacher trade unionists in the Arab world who are facing persecution (there is an interesting article about the difficulties faced by supply teachers trying to organise in Egypt- you can read this at the East Sussex Supply Lines blog)

EEPD Committee: Competency and Performance Management

2011-06-16T15:47:00.007+01:00

The Government has published proposals for reform of the Performance Management regulations, and guidance for schools' Competency Procedures.

Under the guise of simplification, the Performance Management seek to remove the limit of three hours observation a year for the purposes of Performance Management, and raise the spectre of a huge burden of unlimited observation, drop-ins and excessive monitoring.

The proposals for "non-statutory" guidance on Competency Proceedings, however are chilling.

Currently, schools are expected to have an informal period of monitoring and support before embarking on formal proceedings. This is to see if problems can be resolved in a supportive manner. This is removed from the new policy.

The policy refers to "time" to improve performance, but makes no requirement for support or CPD

Despite the huge rise in mental health issues for teachers, and the fact that these can often be a contributory factor in performance issues, the new guidelines suggest that competency proceedings should not be suspended while a member is off sick. This implies a system where, if a school can push a teacher to breaking point, they can then get on with the process of sacking them from their sick bed, without them being given any opportunity to demonstrate an improvement in their teaching.

The consultation implies seeking a faster route to dismissal, even though in serious cases this can already be completed in just 4 weeks !

Schools are threatened with legal action if they write a positive reference for a teacher who is undergoing performance procedures. This is in spite of the paper recognising that many teachers who experience difficulties in one school can thrive in a different environment.

The paper talks about every teacher having a probationary period of one year in any new school- regardless of whether they are an NQT or an established teacher. This would effectively mean that every new appointment would be treated as a year's fixed term !

There is still time to read this consultation, and tell the Government what you think ! Please click on the link !

Honour for former Executive Member

2011-06-12T14:44:00.006+01:00

I am pleased to report that Tim Lucas, my predecessor as East Sussex Division Secretary and Executive Member for Kent, East Sussex, Brighton and Hove and Medway, was awarded the MBE yesterday in recognition of "service to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people"

Tim served as Chair of the NUT’s LGBT Advisory Committee for many years, and represented the Union at the TUC LGBT Committee. He was treasurer of Schools OUT, the national campaigning body for LGBT equality in education, which pioneered the introduction of LGBT History Month, which is now a widely celebrated event in schools and communities around the country, with Government endorsement.

Tim was a pioneer in campaigning for equality for gay and lesbian people in education for more than 25 years, whether teachers- through campaigns for pensions equality and the right to be out at work; for students through the campaign against Section 28 and proper rights and support for LGBT students; and internationally through publicising human rights abuses against our community in countries such as Jamaica.

Tim is thoroughly deserving of this honour, and we in the NUT are all very proud of him.

Pension Campaign: Latest

2011-05-12T14:32:00.000+01:00

Deputy General Secretary, Kevin Courtney, reported in detail on the current pensions negotiations, and preparations for the Strike ballot- papers for which will go to members homes from the 17th May.

Negotiations continue with us and other TUC Public Sector unions on the pensions issue, and, while these are ongoing, they are due to end in June, and there are no grounds to suspect that any significant ground will be gained on the demand for massively increased contributions, without any valuation of our scheme which is already affordable. The increase in pension age and the move from RPI to CPI inflation calculation remain immovable positions for Government. They still want us to work longer, pay more and get less.

Details of what a career-average calculation scheme would look like remain subject of discussion, but Kevin was able to confirm that nothing that has currently been proposed could be described as a redistributive scheme- and every indication that the career average schemes would make members considerably worse off.

The campaign builds- while only we, the ATL and UCU are balloting (or balloted) for strike action this term, there is significant joint campaigning activity amongst all of the teachers' unions. The NAHT has voted for the first strike ballot in its history, and the NASUWT appears willing to ballot in the Autumn term. The joint poster going out next week will be joint campaigning with ASCL and the NAHT.

We were reminded of the excellent PENSIONS CALCULATOR on the NUT website, which shows how much money you stand to lose over your retirement. Please do everything you can to urge members to use this- one Executive member suggested that you could have your school union meeting in an ICT room, and get members to try it there and then !

We were urged to continue with reps briefings and school meetings. The powerpoint presentation online is up to date, and the video of about 9 minutes is an excellent resource to use if members are not confident in speaking to a meeting. You can view the video at the bottom of this post.

Huge amounts of mailing material have already been printed and are being distributed. Telephoning of reps, and use of phone, e-mail and text will continue to urge members to turnout and vote YES in the ballot.

There will be joint rallies and demonstrations up and down the country if there is a strike day, and Kevin urged us to co-ordinate locally with ATL and also the PCS and UCU unions who are likely to be taking action at the same time.

You can download all of the pensions campaign material, and keep up with the latest news and information, by visiting the campaign site here.

Executive Report: May 2011

2011-05-12T14:00:00.001+01:00

The Full Executive met on Thursday May 11th

As members would expect, the pension campaign was top of the agenda, and we received a detailed briefing from Deputy General Secretary, Kevin Courtney. This is reported in the separate article, above.

The executive was asked to nominate a new Trustee of the Union, to replace Barbara Lloyd who has resigned. Former President, Mary Compton, was agreed as the new Trustee, to serve a five year term.

Following the elevation of Nina Franklin to the Presidency, we were asked to nominate a new member for the NUT's place on the council of our sister union UCU. Following a show of hands, our immediate past president, Gill Goodswen was elected to this position.

The Treasurer, Ian Murch, gave a detailed report on the current budget position- I will not, or course, publish details here, but I am happy to report to local Division and Association meetings.

Christine commented on the extremely good news from the Local Elections in Stoke on Trent, where all of the BNP councillors were defeated: she paid tribute to the work that was done by local NUT activist Jason Hill, who was presented with the Blair Peach Award at our Annual Conference. Following the results, Christine reminded us that we need to use our best endeavours to work with the newly elected councillors across the political spectrum- especially where there have been changes in political control, and new administrations are in place.

Christine commented on what a good Annual Conference we had just enjoyed, especially the high quality and diversity of the policy debates. She has especially enjoyed the short opening session on the Friday:sometimes in the past people had asked why we have it. This year proved that when there are excellent and inspiring speakers it is well worth while. Christine was delighted at the number of excellent speeches that were made by young and first-time delegates- a far wider range of people speaking at Conference than had been the case in the past. She congratulated the head office staff for their dedicated hard work in preparing for Conference.

Christine has been elected as the new vice-chair of Justice for Columbia. The TUC has also been a significant sponsor of this important international campaign, and it links well with our work with Education International to defend teachers and teacher trade unionists.

Christine praised our links with Show Racism the Red Card which does fantastic work and, of course the union is a strong and long-established supporter. She recently attended the National Awards in Newcastle upon Tyne- and strongly urged all members to encourage their schools to enter the competitions, and celebrate their fantastic anti-racist work. She reminded us that Show Racism the Red Card provide very good and cost effective resources on fighting Racism and Islamophobia, and are just launching new material on tackling Homophobia.

Christine reported that there have been two opportunities to meet with Government minsters. We met, alongside other TUC unions, to discuss general policy direction with Oliver Letwin and Michael Gove, and this meeting was particularly welcomed by the support staff unions, given the government's hasty and misguided decision to abolish the Support Staff Negotiating Body.

The other opportunity came following the recent international conference of Ministers and teacher trade unionists organised by the OECD and Education International. This meeting was to look at the wider and broad CPD needs of teachers, given the pressures that had been placed on schools to only deliver CPD on those narrow areas that the schools are currently pursuing ("CPD linked to the School Development Plan" has been extremely narrowly interpreted.) This was led by Mary Boustead of ATL: Michael Gove is suggesting a similar meeting on the issue of Curriculum, which Christine welcomed.

Christine was disappointed that not many concessions on the Education Bill had been won, despite a huge lobbying campaign. The one significant move appears to be the agreement from Government that LEA and Staff Governors will be required on Governing Bodies of Academies. Unfortunately due to the amount of time that was lost debating other amendments (such as right-wing Tories wanting to reopen old debates about Grammar schools !) the amendments requiring Qualified Teacher Status in Free Schools were not reached, and the opposition attempt to save the Education Maintenance Allowance was unsuccessful.

There is some cause for optimism that certain changes (including the requirement for QTS) may be reintroduced when the Bill goes to the House of Lords.

Finally, Christine drew our attention to a speech from TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber made to the CBI, that referred to the fact that, while the Government bang on daily about the deficit and government debt, there is a constant understatement of "private debt" through issues like student debt and individuals getting further into personal debt. Christine believes that this speech is due to be posted on the TUC website, or False Economy- watch this space.

Given the apparent change of policy from the NASUWT at their conference this year regarding Qualified Teachers (although they had signed the Workforce Agreement with the previous government that allowed Teaching Assistants etc. to cover whole classes, their conference this year passed strong policy that only teachers should be teaching.) I asked Christine whether there was now the opportunity to do some joint lobbying with the NASUWT on getting a requirement for QTS into Free Schools when the Bill gets to the House of Lords.

Following Christine's report, reports were received from the Committees of the Union.

Jerry Glazier, on behalf of the Action committee reported on the increase in the number of requests for sustained (paid) strike action over Change of Employer (academy conversion) and over Compulsory Redundancy. He reiterated the Union's determination to support members who wished to take action over their jobs and conditions.

It was agreed to nominate Christine to the Regional seat on the Commonwealth Teachers' Group- a section of Education International.

EEPD:"Shambles" at the Department for Education

2011-05-12T13:48:00.000+01:00

It was reported to the committee that MPs had crititicised the "shambolic" nature at the Department for Education. In particular, Ministers had admitted that more than 4,500 letters from MPs had not been answered within the appropriate timescale (readers of Brighton and Hove's Supply Matters will recall that Caroline Lucas MP's letter took MONTHS) Also, only 10% of Parliamentary Questions were being answered on time. Michael Gove was urged to take control of his "shambolic and chaotic" department.

Incidentally, it was also reported that in excess of 100 DfE Civil Servants were now engaged in working on the Free Schools project- costing millions in salaries. Priorities ?

EEPD: Behaviour and Discipline in Schools: Dfe Consultation

2011-05-12T13:32:00.000+01:00

The committee received information about consultation on new DfE Guidelines for Behaviour and Discipline in schools. The union had already submitted initial evidence to the consultation.

There are things in the new guidance we would welcome. Some elements pick up on recommendations from the Steer Report which we supported. However, we have concerns about a number of issues, particularly in the equalities area:

There is NOTHING in the new guidance that talks about the need to reward good behaviour (this is prominent in the old guidance which it replaces)

There are seemingly NO references to the obligations of schools and governing bodies under the Equality Act (or its predecessors such as the Disability Discrimination Act)

The old guidance required staff to receive suitably accredited training in the use of any restraint or positive handling of students. The new document makes no such stipulation about quality of training.

The section on dealing with bullying highlights homophobia and bullying on the grounds of disability, which is very welcome. It does not, however, refer to racist or gender-driven bullying.

The section dealing with allegations against teachers contains some welcome points- although it was noted in the meeting that this is simply guidance, not even the oddly-named "statutory guidance." We welcome the fact that the guidance makes clear that there should not be a policy of automatic suspension of teachers whenever an allegation is made- this has been commonplace in some schools in recent years. We also welcome that the guidance reminds schools of their general duty of care towards staff in this position.

The new document appears to focus very much on more punishment and more power to schools. The NUT has always tried to take a more holistic approach to rewards and behaviour policies, and we noted that it seemed a pity that most of the pastoral references from previous guidance were missing.

You can have your say in the Government's consultation until 30th May. The document and feedback form are online, and can be accessed by clicking here.

EEPD: LGBT Committee Report

2011-05-12T13:19:00.000+01:00

The committee received the report from the LGBT Working Party, which I chaired in April. A number of recommendations from this group were agreed. These were:-

That the Union furthers its work with LGBT youth organisations and supports the Paul Patrick Awards.

The Union seeks advice from relevant organisations on how best to ask members about their gender identity.

The Advisory Committee be provided with information on the number of discrimination cases that the Union is working on currently and that the Assistant Secretary from the Union’s Legal Department be invited to speak about the Union’s work on this area.

The Union should give greater consideration to using new technology to reach out to all its LGBT members.

The proposal to consider returning to a two-day programme for the Union's annual LGBT Conference would be looked at by the appropriate departments.

There was discussion about the inconsistent use of "prefer not to say" for some of the equality monitoring questions, and an acknowledgement that there should be a consistency of its use. These are being reviewed across the Union.

There was a vigorous discussion about the imposed decision not to enter a float in this year's London Pride. It was particularly disappointing to the LGBT Working Party that there had been little if any consultation on this decision, given the success of our participation in 2010. The EEPD committee agreed to refer this decision back to the union's Strategy and Finance Committee (which is responsible for financial decisions) for urgent reconsideration.

EEPD: Disability Working Party Report

2011-05-12T13:07:00.000+01:00

The committee received the report of the March meeting of the Disability Working Party, which I chaired.

A number of recommendations from the committee were agreed. These were:-

That the Union produces an education pack for Disability History Month 2011 (December) to be available online and in a printed version by October.

That there should be a response by the Union to the Secretary of State for Health on the Government Mental Health Strategy.

That the new Advisory Committee for Disability should continue to focus on mental health.

That John Illingworth be invited to represent the Union at the TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference.

That the individual circumstances of the disabled person who does not fit the criteria of being an ‘in-service’ teacher be taken into consideration as a reasonable adjustment when they are seeking election to the Advisory Committee.

That the Union monitors the uptake of the Model Disability Leave Procedure by Local Authorities both in terms of intention (how has the uptake been promoted?) and outcome (has the procedure been adopted?).

A number of other recommendations from that meeting were noted, and will be passed to the appropriate departments or committees for further consideration. These were:-

That the Union organise a disability seminar in 2011 at Stoke Rochford Hall with a view to moving the disability conference to the venue in the autumn term of 2012. (Further investigation regarding cost, access and wishes of disabled members to be sought)

That the Union website form for equalities monitoring be amended to make it clear that this is also a way to indicate that the respondent wishes to be seen as part of a constituency and that the definition of disability on the form be updated to allow members to indicate type of impairment.

That the black, disabled and LGBT constituency seat holders serve on all three equality advisory committees. (It was made clear that this would be an invitation, and would not be a requirement of that member's job role)

A request for a joint equalities fringe meeting at Annual Conference 2011 could not be actioned because of time.

The committee noted the willingness that was expressed for a consideration of co-option to the new Advisory Committee from Susannah Billeter, Tony Dooley, Jim Schofield, Ian Simpson, Vic Goodwin, and Richard Rieser.

Conference Report: Good coverage in the Indy

2011-04-26T13:49:00.001+01:00

Following yesterday's debate, and my appearence at a press conference, there was really good coverage of the debate about homophobia.

The Independent ran a substantial article- which you can read here.

Conference Report: Monday 25th April 2011

2011-04-26T12:20:00.010+01:00

A full day of debate began with motions on Employment Conditions and Rights. Once again the issue of Teacher Stress was highly prioritised. Former President of the NUT John Illingworth spoke of how the Health and Safety Executive recognises that teaching is the profession with the highest risk of stress-related illness, and yet the restrictions on the number of inspections the HSE can carry out means they are constrained in ensuring that schools follow their duties. John has undertaken a number pieces of research for the Union on Teacher Mental Health, including Crazy About Work, which you can read here.

Christine Blower commented that:

It is widely recognised that teaching is one of the most stressful professions to work in. Stress is the predominant cause of work-related illness in the education sector. Employers ought to be as keen as the NUT to address this problem, to protect the health of their staff but also to ensure that their schools are safe and productive environments for teaching and learning. It is their duty to ensure that stress risk assessments are carried out. Often head teachers have no proper guidance on how to carry out a risk assessment of any kind, let alone one on stress, which is far harder to assess than a straightforward accident hazard.

This is not a question of apportioning blame. Training is essential and employers should provide it. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a role to play in ensuring this happens. However, with them facing budget cuts of 35% over the next four years, their resources will be stretched to the limit.

The Government’s agenda of undermining health and safety laws as mere ‘red tape’ will inevitably put more lives at risk. We know teaching is stressful, we know some of the causes; now we need to concentrate on what can be done to eliminate them"

Lewes, Eastbourne and Wealden's motion on Teacher Workload was seconded by Phil Clarke, and called for the Union to draw up a model work-life balance policy, and for the union to be prepared to take action up to and including strike action in schools that make unreasonable workload demands on teachers.

My colleague Angie Travis from Brighton and Hove moved a motion on Supply Teachers calling for a conference of NUT Supply teachers to address some of the attacks on pay, work opportunities and pension access for these members. You can read about some of Angie's work at the Supply Lines website, here.

Unfortunately I had to take part in a press conference regarding the LGBT Conference Motion during the next session of conference so I missed the inspirational speech by school student Joe Cotton, regarding the campaign to save the EMA. Joe was given a standing ovation by conference, and you can read the full speech here, or view it at the BBC Website:

The afternoon saw the debate on the motions submitted by the three Equality Conferences: Disabled Teachers, LGBT Teachers and Black Teachers. I chair the first two of these committees, and seconded both motions. The Disabled Teachers motion highlighted the threat from the Fit to Work Notes, and the need for training in this area, and the LGBT motion dealt with homophobia in religious schools. You can read my Disability speech here, and my LGBT one here. The Conference also agreed to set up a an advisory committee for teachers of African, African Caribbean and Asian Heritage.

The afternoon also saw debates on Women and the Comprehensive Spending Review, and the Threat of Islamophobia- and the union swiftly issued a powerful statement on the latter, saying:

“The NUT is proud to be at the forefront of campaigning for equalities for all our children. Schools can provide the space and time to debate and learn about other cultures in an open and non-threatening environment.

It is therefore extremely important that teachers have the training and resources to tackle issues that face modern society in order to deal with them in a
constructive and informed fashion."

In the evening I spoke at the Disabled Teachers reception, where disability rights campaigner and NUT activist Richard Reiser gave a presentation about Disability History Month. You can read some of the materials and resources at Richard's site here.

Conference Report: My speech on LGBT Motion

2011-04-26T12:19:00.008+01:00

President, Conference, Dave Brinson, Chair of the LGBT Working Party, seconding motion 54.

As a gay teacher, I am proud to be a member of the NUT, a union passionately committed to equality; and we have come a long way together.

Our Union had the courage to publicly support LGBT teachers, and we’re out, proud and here to stay.

Our Union had the courage to support LGBT History Month, and now it’s even endorsed by the Prime Minster.

Our Union had the courage to speak out against Section 28, and now it’s been confined to the dustbin of history.

We’ve come a long way together.

But discrimination, intolerance and bigotry have not gone away. They are still there and need to be challenged.

They especially need to be challenged when they are cloaked in the thin veil of religious or faith-based freedom .

Conference, I want to take a moment to tell you what this motion is not.

This motion is not anti faith- there are many people of faith who vigorously oppose homophobia and prejudice in all of its forms. There are many LGB or T people who are also people of faith- I am one of them.

Nor is this motion anti-faith schools, and I hope it stays that way. I know of many church schools who do excellent anti-homophobia work. There are also schools, both faith based and secular who don’t and it is these who should be challenged.

We simply want- indeed demand that every school, whatever its ethos or structure should celebrate diversity, challenge discrimination and reject prejudice in all its forms.

The LGBT Working Party accepts the first amendment, which strengthens the main motion, not least by bringing in the issue of Free Schools, and how these threaten many hard-won gains towards equality.

However, we cannot accept the second amendment. (Note: This was trying to add a change of NUT Policy to opposing all faith schools) If you want a debate on Faith Schools, that’s fine, but submit it as a motion, and let members decide whether to prioritise it- don’t try and take over an Equalities Conference motion to introduce a different agenda.

If you expect all schools to challenge discrimination, promote diversity and be a safe space for LGBT students and teachers, then support this motion and the first amendment.

Conference Report: My Speech on the Disability Motion

2011-04-25T13:47:00.003+01:00

President, Conference, Dave Brinson, Chair of Disability Working Party, seconding Motion 53.

I want to focus on the Fit for Work system, and, as I was thinking about this speech I was looking for a good way in. I found one when I bought these socks. They were advertised as One Size Fits All.

That is what Fit to Work- like so many other Government policies is in danger of becoming.

GPs are being asked to make a sweeping judgment when a member has been off sick or with disability related absence, without necessarily having an understanding of the job, or the individual school circumstances.

This motion emphasises the need to adopt and promote the social rather than the medical model of disability. There are many skilled disabled teachers who are not currently in work.

Is this because their disability prevents them from teaching in school ?
Or is it because their school prevents them from teaching because of their disability ?

We must ensure that schools are made to take their obligation to make reasonable adjustments seriously.

Conference, we must also ask what is the political steer being given to the medical profession from Government ?

I was heartened, Madam President, that you spoke so eloquently and passionately about the Welfare State. But we now have a cabinet of millionaires determined to dismantle it, and the way they have focused their attacks on Disabled people has been shameful.

Is the government policy towards SEN students driven by a commitment to inclusion, or will this be undermined by the headlong rush towards deeper cuts ? Ask a specialist SEN teacher in local authority central services. If you can find one.

Some of you may be reassured that at least Disabled Teachers enjoy the protection of disability discrimination laws now enshrined in the Equality Act.

Think again.

The Government’s red tape challenge has a section on Equalities- the first question on that site is should the Equality regulations be scrapped altogether. Years of hard won rights eliminated at a single stroke.

Conference, please pass this motion, and get your colleagues divisions and associations to visit the Red Tape Challenge website and send a clear message to Government to keep their hands off our Equality legislation.

Conference Report: Sunday 24th April

2011-04-25T13:46:00.004+01:00

A shorter day at Conference, to allow delegates to enjoy some of their Easter break !

A debate on representing members raised issues of casework capacity, especially given that many local officers and reps are now facing "plant bargaining" on a school-by-school basis, with the growth of academies, independent of Local Authorities and with attacks on facility time arrangements that allow officers paid time away from school to represent members.

The regular motion on Professional Unity was moved by Brent's Hank Roberts, who is also the current vice President of ATL, and has stood for office in NASUWT as part of his campaign for one union for all teachers (read about this at Unify: One Union). There was strong debate- particularly the contribution from Lucy Orchard, a supply teacher from Devon, who pointed out that Hank's latest call was for one union for all education staff- and she pointed out that the NUT was the only teaching or support staff union that had a policy of a qualified teacher for every class. The growth of cover supervisors and TAs teaching whole classes had all but destroyed the livelihood of supply teachers. The time for debate on this motion ran out, so will move into the unfinished business section on Tuesday.

Also, a long and vibrant debate reaffirmed the Union's total opposition to the Academy programme- and a commitment to campaign both on a school-by-school basis and nationally, including with strike action where the members in a school request it. There was a powerful speech by Alistair Smith- national secretary of the Anti-Academies Alliance.

In the evening, I attended the Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans Teachers reception, which was well attended as always- and we heard from guest speaker Claire Dimyon, campaigner for LGBT Rights and Pride particularly in Eastern Europe. Claire was awarded the MBE for services to the LGBT Community. She spoke to us, via the miracles of technology from Russia, via Skype, and told us of the powerful work she has been doing- you can read more at her PrideSolidarity website here. We also welcomed Tony Fenwick of Schools Out, who was able to tell us about forthcoming preparations for LGBT History Month.

Conference Report: Saturday 23rd April

2011-04-23T19:31:00.004+01:00

Conference opened with an inspiring speech from new NUT President, Nina Franklin. Nina, a long serving Executive Member and secretary from Bristol spoke passionately in defence of the welfare state, of community schools and against the savage cuts agenda. She also talked about her work in promoting and inclusive and anti-racist curriculum.

Nina continued to promote the genuine alternative to the cuts in services, and highlighted the billions of pounds lost in unpaid, avoided and evaded taxes, and the cost of projects such as Trident. She reminded us that the so-called deficit is far smaller as a proportion of GDP than at the end of the second world war, when Britain created the NHS and the Welfare State. And she took a swipe at Cameron and Clegg's attitude to trade unionists:-

"I conclude with a thought and a quote. Cameron, Clegg and the right-wing media may dismiss us trade unionists as dinosaurs. Well, the dinosaurs ruled the earth for 160 million years. They were successful creatures well adapted to their environment and it took a giant asteroid from outer space to wipe them out. Mr Cameron, you are not in the same league as a giant asteroid from outer space.

The quote, inevitably, for all of those who know me, is from Bob Marley, that won’t come as any surprise. So Conference, let this be the year when we all join together to ‘get up, stand up, stand up for our rights’ and the year when we ‘get up, stand up and don’t give up the fight.' "

You can read the full text of Nina's speech here.

Saturday was the first day of policy debate, and what a packed day it was. My colleague Phil Clarke of the Lewes Eastbourne and Wealden association moved the first policy motion of the day against the cuts, which committed the Union to fighting to defend every job, top support brothers and sisters in other unions doing the same, and to be active in the setting up and resourcing of local Anti Cuts committees. There were also debates on the Economy, and on defending and regaining trade union rights.

The International Section debated the situation facing Women and Children in Palestine. A number of speakers gave moving accounts of their own experience, and the horrors of the treatment of child prisoners, with figures from the Defence of the Child International- Palestine
whose website is essential reading for all teachers who are concerned about the defence of children's human rights across the world.

Of course, the major event of the day was the debate on action to defend our pensions. The Executive brought a priority motion to call for a ballot of members to be held to take action in the Summer term. Every NUT member should already be aware of the issues around our pension- and I would urge you to visit the website, and in particular use the pensions calculator to work out the loss to your retirement income if the Government/Hutton recommendations are implemented.

The debate saw widespread agreement across all of the shades of opinion within the Union. Jerry Glazier and Ian Murch of the executive spoke, as did delegates from around the country. There was some dissent over tactics and language in some of the amendments, but on the principle of taking strike action and campaigning to defend our pensions, conference was overwhelmingly in favour (just two abstentions and no votes against.)

Preparations for the ballot- to take action alongside the ATL- will be put in place straight away. General Secretary Christine Blower told the press:

“Contrary to the Government’s myths, public sector pensions are affordable and they are most definitely not ‘gold plated’. The National Audit Office has confirmed that public sector pension costs are falling as expected due to the reforms already in place which include higher contributions, raising the pension age to 65 for new entrants and capping employer contributions.

The Government has already announced a 50% increase in pension contributions and changed the pensions link from RPI to CPI. This already stated desire to increase pension contributions by more than half will cost newly qualified teachers up to £61 a month and experienced classroom teachers up to £102 a month – an additional cost which will see many leaving the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme.

These measures will price many teachers and public sector workers out of pension schemes and lead to dependency on the state in old age. This is in no one’s interests. The real pension problem is in the private sector where two-thirds of employees are not in any employer-backed scheme. We need decent pensions for all.”

The Blair Peach Award was presented Jason Hill of Stoke-on-Trent NUT, for his tireless work against fascism, in an area where the BNP have local councillors and school governors. Blair Peach was an NUT activist and committed anti-fascist campaigner, who was murdered by members of the Metropolitain Police SPG in 1979, following a demnstration agains the fascist National Front. Blair's familiy have never seen the murderer brought to justice, but the NUT and the anti-fascist movement continue to honour his memory, and it is fitting that the Union has created this award to recognise outstanding work by others in equalities work. I was priviledged to sit on the panel that chose Jason as the recipient of the award.

The session concluded with the presentation of the Accounts by national treasure Ian Murch, which, you will be relieved to hear I will not publish here, but I these will be available to all local divisions and associations following their adoption.

In the evening I was privileged to attend the union's International Dinner, where we met with the guests of the union from sister unions and others around the world. I was able to have a long and productive conversation with a brother from the German education union, who was particularly keen to hear about the LGBT equalities work we have been doing in the NUT.

Gremlins-

2011-04-23T19:29:00.001+01:00

Dear all,

Because of gremlins in the system, it has been difficult to upload my exec reports from Conference. I should be sorted out by tomorrow morning, and will update you on the developments from Conference then. Twitter still happening !

Dave

Conference Report: Friday 22nd April 2011

2011-04-22T23:25:00.004+01:00

The NUT Annual Conference 2011 was officially opened on Friday afternoon.

The opening afternoon is not traditionally a session for policy debates, rather setting up the business for the days to come. Gill Goodswen, the 2010 President opened the conference, and there were greetings on behalf of the people of Harrogate from the Mayor Councillor Bill Hoult. Gill then installed the new President for the coming year- Nina Franklin.

Hazel Danson moved a vote of thanks for Gill's service over the past year, praising her commitment to the equalities agenda, and quoted LGBT campaigner Jeff Evans, who had written of Gill that "her member-centred approach was an invigorating breath of fresh air."

This year, the guests of sister trade unions and other organisations from the British Isles were represented by Mary Boustead, the General Secretary of the ATL. She thanked the NUT for the opportunity of getting together, listening and sharing, and reported on how her own conference had voted to take strike action over pensions- a decision unanimously supported by their executive. Mary pointed out the need for the unions to work together, saying: "If we don't hang together, we'll hang separately." She condemned the cynical mantra of the Cabinet of Millionaires that "We're all in it together" Mary was given a well-deserved standing ovation by the Conference. You can read the full text of her speech here

Lily Eskelon addressed Conference on behalf of the international guests- the current vice-president of the US National Education Association. She noted that in Britain at the moment there were a lot of noisy people on the streets to celebrate "somebody's wedding", and reminded us that in the US, there had been a lot of noisy people on the streets of Wisonsin: teachers and others defending their trade union rights. She told us of shared experiences over class size, lack of resource, and not being able to teach what inspired her children because it "wasn't in the standardised test." She reminded us of the need to defend unions, because if politicians succeed in destroying trade unions "the only organised power will be those who can organise money."

John Bills reported on the work of the Teacher Support Network over the past year, and showed a new video on TSN's work, which you can view here.

The National and Regional Membership Development Awards were presented, including the SE award for Isle of Wight President Dominic Coughlin.

Finally, the Fred and Anne Jarvis Award was made to Professor Robin Alexander, of the Cambridge Primary Review. Nina, introduced Robin as a powerful advocate of Early Years and Primary practice, as a man who really understood how children learn, and somebody who anyone who wanted to improve their practice needed to listen to.

Robin made a powerful acceptance speech, acknowledging that this was not just for him but for all of the organisations who had suppurated his work on the Cambridge Review, including the NUT. He said that we needed to ask three questions:

How well is the English education system doing ?
How can it be improved ?
What do children need to learn to meet the challenges of the modern world ?

Sadly, he felt, successive governments have only been interested in asking the first two questions. The trend was not for evidence based policy, but seeking policy based evidence, and simply ignoring or seeking to discredit any evidence that went against government policy of the time.

Annual Conference 2011

2011-04-21T00:39:00.003+01:00

The first year I went to NUT conference, I realised that what was being reported on TV and in the press bore little resemblence to the uplifting debates that I had sat through.

The following year, the Daily Express even reported (in scandalised tones) on a debate that, due to the agenda running late, hadn't even taken place !

For those of you who would like to read about the reality of our conference- the thoughtful, passionate and principled debates among dedicated professionals with a passion for education- I will be publishing my Conference Report online here every evening. You can also follow on Twitter at #davebrinson.

NUT Conference opens on Friday 22nd April, and closes on Tuesday 26th April.

Executive Report: March 2011

2011-03-27T21:35:00.008+01:00

The full executive met on 24th March

Deputy General Secretary Kevin Courtney gave a detailed update on the Pensions Campaign. He had attended two meetings with Government ministers, alongside Chris Keates of the NASUWT representing the teachers’ unions.

Kevin drew attention to the debate about the move from RPI to CPI inflation, and especially the recent report from the Royal Statistical Society which demonstrates that inflation actually affects pensioners MORE- as a higher proportion of their income is spent on food and fuel, two items that have seen significant cost increases. There is no indication that Government is prepared to reconsider this decision.

The next meeting with Government is likely to focus on the Hutton Report. While the government has not yet endorsed all of the recommendations in Hutton, Kevin pointed out George Osborne’s comment in the budget that they did not intend to “cherry pick”

There is also smoke and mirrors going on with the valuation of the public sector schemes- which do not have a distinct pension fund (contributions go straight to the Treasury) particularly around the “discount rate” – in order to continue asserting that public sector pensions are not affordable. The budget not only confirmed that the Government will increase the State Pension Age to 68, but George Osborne proposed an automatic mechanism for further increases as longevity rises. Hutton recommends that our teachers pensions are set at the same retirement age: will this mean that future teachers will be in the classroom until 70 ?

Kevin emphasised the need to continue with the Pensions Roadshows, and other ways of explaining the case to our members. He commended the (horrifying) Pensions Calculator on the NUT Website, that shows the cost of the proposed pension changes.

General Secretary Christine Blower reported that she had been to a conference in the USA with Ministers and Union leaders from “high performing” countries. Michael Gove was in attendance, although he absented himself from the final session- he seemed keen to use the trip to go and see the KIP schools in action, and promote these as a model fro Free Schools in the UK !

Christine had been able to talk about the NUT’s role as a Professional Association in tandem with our traditional Trade Union role. Given the attacks on the American teachers unions in certain states, it was noted that the highest educationally performing states of the US were those where teachers have collective bargaining rights (as opposed to the so-called Right to Work states) The highest performing state is Massachusetts, where we have strongly established links with the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

The Academy programme continues to steamroller ahead, with many schools pushing for the fast-track conversion status. The Free School programme appears much more of a patchy trickle, and many of the business plans have not been accepted by the Department for Education, and even those that have been approved were required to make significant changes to the initial plans. Christine welcomed the work of the Parents Alliance for Community Schools- which had taken a full page advert in Hammersmith and Fulham’s Council’s own in-house newspaper (despite the council's policy seemingly being diametrically opposite !)

Christine and a delegation had met with Andy Burnham, the new Labour education spokesman. She welcomed his strong support for comprehensive schools: and useful discussions were also had about Early Years provision, Qualified Teacher Status, and the threat of charges for activities in schools. At the recent ASCL Conference, Andy had spoken strongly against the imposition of the English Baccalaureate and stated his commitment to a broadly based curriculum. Christine pointed out the parallel with the Tory NHS proposals which would allow the concept of “any willing provider”.

The meeting was reminded about the March for the Alternative that Saturday, and encouraged to look for the NUT’s giant inflatable scissors ! Christine will be speaking in Hyde Park at about 3.10pm.

Executive Report: February 2011

2011-02-24T14:50:00.009Z

The full Executive met on February 24th.

Christine Blower reported on a number of issues and campaigns, including:

TUC March for the Alternative

Christine praised the organising being undertaken for the TUC’s March for the Alternative on March 26th- referred members to the various resources from the TUC and others such as False Economy about the cuts, and the genuine alternatives that are affordable, practical and would protect education.

She recognised that local NUT divisions and associations doing a lot of work to get members along: and was especially pleased that this is being promoted at our Pensions Roadshows. Many divisions and associations are putting money up for the coaches and trains to the March. She cited the North West model, where members are being encouraged to donate £2 towards these costs- both those who are coming and those that can’t as a solidarity gesture. The public are becoming more and more aware, and support for the march will be from way beyond just trade union members.

The union’s Strategy and Finance Committee has discussed materials for the march. It will be difficult to get one assembly point for NUT members given scale of the march- however there will be large NUT balloons to help find us. The TUC will seek to arrange some organisation for unions and groups to march together.

There are a number of rumours and myths floating around about the March. There is a myth about a "ban on placards"- this is not true. The TUC is encouraging flags, and NUT will be producing large number of flags that we hope members will keep and reuse. Placards are less green and the TUC will be billed for the cleanup !

The myth about coaches being diverted to Croydon, etc- there are various arrangements- 500 coaches, will obviously create parking issues. Call for stewards for the march- need 2,000 people to steward. Myths about” bouncers” has come from the fact that the TUC may be paying staff – who will be unionised- to meet the stewarding requirements set by the police. They will be workers, not agents of the subversive state !

At Hyde Park, there will be 10 speakers from the Trade Union movement. Brendan Barber and the TUC President will speak, to be followed by the General Secretaries of the eight largest trade unions.

International Solidarity

Christine was in the Middle East last week- stressing that important we send support and solidarity with our sister unions and the organisations we work with for peace. We have also contacted the revlevant embassies (there is no Education International affiliate in Libya at the moment) We have sent messages of support to our sister trade union in New Zealand, following the earthquake there. Also we have sent solidarity with the American National Education Association colleagues in Wisconsin, who are facing a massive attack on their trade union rights. There are also onslaughts against trade union rights in other states such as Indianna and Oklahoma. We know from ultra-right wing governments in places such as Colombia that sometimes the most dangerous thing to be is a teacher trade unionist- it is important that we always show solidarity with our brother and sister teacher unionists across the globe.

Reading for Pleasure

The Reading for Pleasure conference was a huge success- really good CPD, really good sharing of practise- demonstrated that the NUT is serious about education and professionalism. There have been calls to replicate the event in other parts of the country.

Subsequently Christine and others went to meet officials from DfE to raise our concerns about the proposed phonics test. To explain the alternative, they took the Reading for Pleasure conference booklet which was received positively- and were told that “the government would like to work with you on it” Christine felt that if anything will throw a bucket of cold water over the campaign it would be that ! We will, however, ensure we make the resources available to replicate the event. Christine commended those who tabled the motion at the 2010 annual conference, and we have followed it through splendidly. Over 7,000 downloads from the website so far.

Christine met this week with Oliver Letwin- the Government are saying they want to engage with Trade Unions, and it important that we engage when there are opportunities, recognising that there will be a time when we can find no agreement and will need to walk away- need to take opportunities to influence and persuade where we can.

Christine praised LGBT History Month: the President Gill Goodswen had been to the launch in Salford, and we have been sponsoring the Sheffield Eagles’ anti-homophobia shirt. Christine noted that there has been very strong support from the rugby community.

Education International's World Women ‘s conference in Thailand, had been very positive.

Holocaust Memorial Day- especially the NUT sponsored resource Martin and Erica’s journey and Paul’s Journey which can be accessed via the NUT Website.

PENSIONS CAMPAIGN

Deputy General Secretary, Kevin Courtney reported on a meeting with Danny Alexander and other government ministers with other public sector unions to seek to set out the terms of any future negotiations and discussions on the pensions issue. Teachers were represented by us and NASUWT, the Civil Service by PCS and FDA (in subsequent talks the FDA will rotate with Prospect and the Prison Officers) Health is represented by Unison and one of the health craft unions- in this case the Society of Radiogrpahers plus Unite and GMB.

Discussions are ongoing, but it seems that there was very little progress made on the key issues that concern us: the Government’s determination to secure an extra £2.6bn in contributions, the proposal to increase contribution rates by 3% and the imposed change in inflation calculation from RPI to CPI. Government are keen to concentrate on the issue of pensions for the lower paid.

We maintain that the existing contribution rates are fair, and that, as a result of the negotiated changes that were agred for 2006, we already have a scheme that is affordable and fair.

Kevin continues to lead these negotiations, and liaison with other unions- in particular the excellent materials being promoted by all of the recognised teaching unions. It is important that we keep campaigning and doing everything we can to make our members aware of the implications of these attacks on their pensions.

(O+M) Training Programme

2011-02-24T10:08:00.002Z

There was a report on the national training programme at Stoke Rochford Hall. Most of the courses for the spring term are now full, although at the time of writing there were still places available on the Second Level School Representative course- for school reps who have already attended the "basic" school rep training, but want to refresh or develop their skills and knowledge.

The Love Music Hate Racism training has been postponed, due to a clash with the March for Jobs.

You can read about and book for forthcoming NUT Training at the national website, by clicking here.

(O+M) NUT and Musicians' Union launch partnership

2011-02-24T09:43:00.005Z

It was reported to the committee that a formal partnership agreement was publicly launched on 14th February, between the NUT and the Musicians' Union.

MU members with QTS will be able to access joint membership of the NUT on payment of the local fee only, and there will be a reciprocal agreement for NUT members involved in music teaching.

Both unions aim to work together both nationally and locally to oppose the cuts to music services. No one can doubt the benefit of music education in our schools. Both the Secretary of State for Education and Darren Henley’s recent review into ‘Music Education in England’ speak in glowing terms of its importance and the place it should have in our schools.

The words however do not match up to the reality. Many music services have already been hit by cuts to Local Authority budgets. Freezing music funding for the next year does not ‘protect’ music services as the Government claims. With inflation running at near 5% this is a real terms cut which will be compounded by the possibility of Local Authorities losing up to 10% of their music budgets as the Government moves towards a national funding formula.

You can read the full text of the agreement here.

Pensions- WE'RE all in it together !

2011-01-20T14:43:00.004Z

As reported at the January Executive, ALL of the teaching unions have agreed to joint campaigning in defence of teachers pensions. This includes not just our sisters TUC Unions- NASUWT, ATL, UCU, the Scottish EIS and the Welsh UCAC, but the head teachers associations ASCL and NAHT, the Northern Ireland unions and Voice (formerly PAT).

The leaflet highlights the threat of increased contributions and higher retirement ages being threatened by the Government, while pointing out that in 2006 we negotiated agreements which have already cut the long term cost of our pensions. The planned cost savings are on course and are being achieved. .

A joint leaflet has already been agreed and will be available shortly. You can download a digital copy by clicking here.

Executive Report: January 2011

2011-01-20T14:42:00.003Z

Christine reported that we have had some meetings with Peers on a variety of issues- but the biggest issue at the moment is education minister Lord Hill...

A letter sent by Lord Hill to schools considering Academy Status shows a clear agenda to destroy national pay and conditions- to change the profession beyond recognition. We (and the NASUWT) have both written to Lord Hill- despite the amount of time he and his colleagues are spending on their “sleepover” in the Lords to push through the AV Referendum !

We know that there will be discussions over facilities time for local NUT Secretaries and other officials- especially in terms of Academies. What are the implications for local officers where many or most schools have withdrawn from the local authority ? There appears to be some willingness from the Academies to consider release for facility time in individual schools, but they are unlikely to be willing to “buy in” to LA arrangements.

Christine reported on the NUT’s Free Schools survey, which received widespread press and TV coverage. The findings found that parents were overwhelmingly opposed to the concept of Free Schools. The finding that parents wanted teachers (ie. Qualified !) to be in control of schools throws up an often missed point about the Free School policy: these will not be “run by the teachers” all the evidence so far suggests that they will be in the hands of remote private companies. You can read more on the Free Schools campaigns here.

Another Lord of the moment is Lord Bew, the Professor of Irish History who is heading up the Government’s review into testing . We had the Parliamentary launch of our joint work with the ATL and the NAHT- held in Parliament’s Portcullis House, to which a lot of parliamentarians came. However, as Lord Bew has been given such a constraining remit (ie. the Government remains “committed to external testing”) soothe review is unlikely to have anything great coming from it !

The balance of the Government’s reviews is a cause for concern. While there is space for former OfSTED chiefs and the heads of multi-million pound educational software companies, the group looking at National Curriculum review has no practising teachers, or even headteachers from local authority Community Schools.

NUT Staff have met with colleagues from the American Federation of Teachers, where we have common interest with them over the break up and fragmentation of their system. The Charter Schools in US are a similar set up to our Free Schools. In particular, the KIP movement is involved in charter schools and has UK free schools firmly in their sight. KIP schools have pioneered the tightly scripted lesson, leading Christine to observe “If it wasn’t so frightening it would be laughable.” Is this really about providing a balanced curriculum ? Liverpool Executive member Julie Lyon-Taylor raised the threat of first KIP school in Britain in Liverpool- asked for more material to be made available on this.

Christine reiterated how pleased she is that that we are developing the strong relationship with the AFT, with great potential for the future.

Christine reported on the work of Kevin Courtney and Andrew Morris at the Teachers Superannuation Working Party, which brings together all of the teachers’ and heads associations to consider pension matters. All unions (including the headteachers’ unions and the non-TUC “Voice”) have agreed to a joint union campaign) on Pensions. She praised the work of the union’s Salaries and Superannuation department for providing excellent briefings.

On the Anti Academies campaigns, we need to keep up with the sheer weight of potential applications and be creative in our work. Christine recently did an event in Gloucester where headteachers, governors and s and others were invited to a meeting with a panel consisting of: an Academy Head, a committed LA head, a Lib Dem councillor and Christine. The discussion reveals that two things in particular are pushing schools towards Academy status: the perceived additional money and the risk of LA central services “withering on the vine” if other schools go first.

Christine praised the campaign to save the Education Maintenence Allowance- we have worked strongly alongside NUS, UCU and others. Senior Vice-President, Nina Franklin addressed the major London rally on our behalf.

The pensions campaign will be our major focus for the next few months. It is already clear that the government will be leading an assault on public sector provision, with the move to CPI robbing retired teachers of thousands of pounds, and the request for teachers’ contributions to be increased by an eye-watering 50%.

The executive has made it clear that we are willing to ballot our members for industrial action to defend our pensions, and the Pensions Roadshows are already well underway- and teachers attending are already making clear their willingness to take action. Christine and Kevin will be attending a meeting of other TUC affiliated teaching and public sector unions, to discuss how we can take a pensions campaign forward with maximum professional unity, and I will report the outcomes of these discussions as soon as we are aware.

EEPD: Phonics "Screening Test" Consultation

2011-01-20T14:40:00.006Z

We know that, as far as the Government is concerned, synthetic phonics is the only game in town when it comes to teaching reading (some older colleagues might remember Ken Clarke as Education Secretary commenting that teaching reading was "easy.. C-A-T spells Cat" etc.)

This one-method-fits-all approach sits nicely with the Government's continuing obsession with national testing- so the proposal is to introduce a national phonics "screening test" in Year 1. This will be 40 words- 20 of which will not be "real" words. Apparently, deciphering gobbledygook according to the rules of synthetic phonics will give an accurate picture of how well children are learning to "read".

The DfE has an online consultation about the proposal, and I would urge members, particularly teachers with experience of teaching reading to younger children, to participate: let the Government know what you think as a chalk-face professional !

The NUT Education department has made a detailed submission to the consultation, which you can read here.

To make your own contribution to the Government consultation, please click here.

Save the EMA !

2011-01-16T19:06:00.002Z

The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) helps disadvantaged young people to stay in education and fulfil their potential.

Yet the Government has taken the disgraceful decision to axe it, leaving hundreds of thousands of young learners worse off and meaning that many colleges will face falling student enrolment.

On Wednesday 19 January there will be a debate in Parliament on the EMA. Will you join me in asking your MP to value the potential of our young people and vote to save the EMA?

Click here to ask your MP to vote to save the EMA on 19 January. If you are able to personalise your email and include reasons why the EMA is important to you as a teacher or parent then your MP will be more likely to take your views seriously.

For further details and information on how you can help support the joint union campaign to save the EMA please go to http://emacampaign.org.uk/

EEPD: Free Schools don't need any Qualified Teachers

2010-12-09T13:26:00.004Z

Michael Gove has announced that Free Schools will not need to employ qualified teachers, nor will they need to be led by a head teacher who holds the NPQH.

Bizarrely, this seems to fly in the face of the other announcements made by the coalition Government about raising the entry levels for teacher training courses, and developing different routes into qualified teacher status. The Academy Bill, which Gove steamrollered through only months ago stipulated that the new academies would be required to employ teachers with QTS. This is the current legislation that also governs Free Schools- so is he going to have to repeal elements of his own flagship bill to allow for this ?

The NUT believes, and always has, that there should be a good local school for every child, and a qualified teacher in front of every class.

EEPD Committee: Academies and Freedom of Information Act

2010-12-09T13:15:00.003Z

Academies have always been exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, which ensured that the public could find out detailed financial and operational information about the public bodies we pay for. All local councils, government departments and even the semi-independent Further Education colleges were bound by the Act, but Acacemies weren't: allowing funding arrangements to be kept "commercially confidential"

When the Academies Bill was steamrollered through Parliament in the summer, this was an area that was challenged. However, in the House of Lords, the Lib Dem Justice Minister Lord McNally announced that, unlike all other public bodies which must reply to requests for information within 20 working days, the Academies will be given a full 60 days. He went on, bizarrely, to refer to the need for replies to be "prompt"

Why Academies could not be expected to comply with the law in the same way as every other public body was not explained by the Minister.

EEPD Committee: The end of the GTC- and a warning !

2010-12-09T13:14:00.004Z

Max Hyde, an NUT nominee on the General Teaching Council for England, reported on the progress towards the end of the GTC which we are expecting to be formally abolished by 2012. While we generally welcome the demise of the GTC(E) there are a number of concerns about how certain functions, currently undertaken by GTC(E) will be delegated.

The registration of qualified teachers is currently a key function of GTC, and there is a legal requirement for all teachers in maintained schools to register. Will there still be a register of qualified teachers, and how will this sit with the Government's stated policy, that there will be no requirement for any formal teaching qualification for teachers in government funded Free Schools ?

More worrying is the disciplinary function that was undertaken by the GTC(E) Serious disciplinary cases were heard by a panel of GTC members which included elected serving teachers. The principle of professional self-regulation (such as in the medical profession) was one of the key reasons given for the setting up of GTC. The decision in serious cases is now being passed to DfE for decision in the name of the political Secretary of State. The range of sanctions that the GTC could impose is being replaced with one only: whether or not a teacher should be barred from the profession.

Sign to Save School Sports Partnerships !

2010-11-25T13:58:00.001Z

The NUT is encouraging teachers, head teachers and members of the public to add their names to a national petition against cuts to school sports.

The Government is planning to cut the £162 million that has helped to support the work of the 450 School Sport Partnerships that have done so much to provide an infrastructure for school sport. These cuts also threaten the jobs of specialist advisers for school sports.
The Government should be building on the opportunity provided by the 2012 Olympics, and England's bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018, rather than cutting direct funding for school sports.

The NUT opposes all cuts to front line education services, including school sports, music and specialist services such as those to support the achievement of children and young people from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Sign the petition

Young Ambassadors representing the School Sports Partnerships hope to deliver over a million signatures to the Secretary of State for Education on 7th December. The NUT urges all those who support an entitlement for all children and young people to have high quality opportunities in PE and school sports to support this campaign.

Please sign the petition here by Monday 29th November 2010.

Executive Report: November 2010

2010-11-11T15:16:00.006Z

The full executive met on November 11th.

Prior to the formal meeting, the executive members received an update on the pensions position from Assistant Secretary (Salaries, Superannuation and Conditions of Service) Andrew Morris. He gave detailed models of how the suggestion that is coming from Hutton's report on "career average" pension contributions and how this would compare to the current final salary scheme. A number of questions were raised by the executive members, including a key point about the disproportional effect on women members, who may have taken a career break to have children, and often sought promoted posts later in their career. There will be a briefing paper available for Division Officers shortly.

The Executive voted to nominate Max Hyde for election to the TUC Women's Committee.

Christine Blower reported. She commended Andrew for his work on Pensions, and noted that there was a motion on this issue later on the agenda.

Christine praised the high profile of the NUT at the TUC lobby of Parliament and the rally on the eve of the Spending Review (I was present with trade unionists from Eastbourne, representing NUT, Unite and Equity) The union got a great deal of publicity and appearances on television, radio and print news.

Christine felt that the Spending Review demonstrated the determination of the coalition government to dismantle the welfare state. People are being bombarded by the coalition line that there is no money and we can't afford welfare and public services. She regretted that the opposition to this agenda seemed rather lacklustre from the Labour opposition, so it was vital that trade unions made the case for the alternatives to the swingeing cuts- including the Robin Hood tax, closing tax avoidance options, and to make clear the historical position of government debt against GDP to respond to the ridiculous claims that Britain was facing bankruptcy !

Christine’s participation in BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions on the eve of the Spending Review was praised: it shows the strength of the union’s public profile that our General Secretary is being invited to speak on behalf of trade unionists. Christine clearly touched a nerve of fellow panelist, the right-wing commentator Fraser Nelson of The Spectator, a lonely cheerleader for the Government’s Free Schools proposal !

Christine highlighted the need to build for the TUC’s major demonstration against the cuts in March, but pointed out that there were already a variety of other events going on to protest against the cuts to jobs and services, in many different locations.

This week had seen the success of the Schools Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, organized by Music for Youth and the NUT is a major sponsor. Many of the “great and the good” from the education establishment attend the concerts, and Christine noted how pleasing it is “to have a chance to cheer the name of the NUT in the Albert Hall !” It is important to be supporting the work of organizations such as Music for Youth, especially as music services face such uncertainty as a result of the savage cuts to central education services. We have also become a major sponsor of the School Sports awards, alongside Aviva.

In the questions to the General Secretary, I raised the issue of Christine’s participation in the One Society Many Cultures conference in London next month, being organized by former mayor Ken Livingstone. While welcoming any high profile event to celebrate diversity, I- and several colleagues from the TUC LGBT Committee - had raised concerns about the conference’s pledge to defend “freedom of expression, religion and culture..” yet there was no mention whatsoever in the materials about LGBT equality, nor any speakers at the event who were clearly associated with the LGBT community. Was there a coded suggestion of justifying homophobia on religious or cultural grounds ? Christine assured me that this was not the case, and she was certain that there would be support expressed for LGBT rights.

After Christine’s address, there was a debate on a motion to prepare the union for a campaign to defend teachers’ pensions against the cuts that are likely in light of the Hutton review and the comments made by George Osborne. It was agreed to draw up a timetable for a plan of campaigning and action to build a strong and united campaign in defence of pensions- hopefully alongside other education unions where possible. It was pointed out that as well as the usual other teachers’ unions, members of UCU, the Scottish education union EIS and the Welsh UCAC were also affected by changes to School Teachers’ pension arrangements.

The pensions campaign will be one of the biggest challenges that the union has faced in recent memory, and it is important that all NUT members get involved, to defend future and also current pensioners, who will feel the effect of the change in calculation (from RPI to CPI: if you
haven't e-mailed your MP on this, click here !)

Executive Pensions Motion in Full

2010-11-11T14:59:00.009Z

The Executive recognises that:

the proposals of the Hutton Commission;
the decision to switch the indexation of pension benefits from RPI to CPI;and
the inclusion in the Comprehensive Spending Review of an assumption that public sector workers will pay 3% more of their salary in pension contributions

together represent a much bigger threat to our pensions that the proposals we fought in 2005.

The Executive instructs the General Secretary to bring to the December meeting of the Executive a timetable of campaigning and action to take place before the Hutton Commission produces its final report in Spring 2011.

This timetable should include:

The production and distribution of campaigning materials for use with members and the public;
Plans for meetings, rallies demonstrations and lobbying activities;
A ballot for strike action to take place in the spring term.

In order to support this work the Executive agrees:

that the Union should use its electronic facilities to inform members about this campaign and survey their views on all aspects of it;
that Executive members should work with Regional and Wales Offices in supporting divisions and associations in building this campaign.

Finally, the Executive recognises that the Union should seek the maximum co-ordination with other public sector unions in all of the above activities and instructs the General Secretary to approach other unions with a view to this and bring a report to the December meeting of the Executive.

Urgent Support pledged to Central Services members

2010-11-11T14:59:00.007Z

As the savage cuts from the coalition government begin to bite, the NUT is prepared to defend our members. Particularly and immediately at risk are our members employed through Local Authority central services. These members often provide crucial services to support the most vulnerable children, and they are not protected by any pledges by the Government on maintaining “school” funding.

The Officers of the Union approved the following policy position on Central Services Staff:-

The union is aware that members employed centrally in a majority of Local Authorities across the country are at a risk of redundancy or dismissal and re-engagement on worsened conditions.
Members will be employed in a variety of capacities and on varying terms and conditions. These will, in general be Soulbury or STPCD, but other members may be employed by voluntary organisations or otherwise. Many central service staff provide critical front-line services, often for the most vulnerable pupils.
At present there is no co-ordinated campaign from TUC affiliates to respond to this threat. It is proposed that the Union take an initiative to seek a co-ordinated response.
The steps proposed are outlined below as recommendations.

It is recommended that:

The general secretary write to the GS of other unions who may have members affected by the proposed cuts to seek coordination in responding and to share information as appropriate.
The Union declare disputes where appropriate.
The Union produce guidance on local campaigning, lobbying and community engagement campaigning against proposed cuts to central services, including text for local leaflets.
Urge divisions to assist the Union in collecting, collating and disseminating material about the work of central services as the affect the work of schools directly.
Information be sought from Divisions and Associations via Regional and Wales offices as to the precise situation in all areas.
The Union to support action where it is requested by Divisions on the basis of the likelihood of success in ballots and where other avenues have been explored.
Consideration be given to the constituencies for ballots on a case-by-case basis.
Maximum co-ordination of any action strategy should be sought with sister unions and across geographical areas.
Detailed and up to date information be forwarded from Divisions via Regional and Wales offices to be held by the Union at Headquarters.
Maximum publicity should be given to any successes achieved in saving jobs and services.

EEPD Committee: SATS Campaign continues

2010-11-11T14:30:00.006Z

Kevin Courtney, Deputy General Secretary reported to the meeting, and there was a discussion on the way forward with the SATS campaign, in the light of the Review of Assessment that has been set up by the Government. An external review panel has been set up under the chairship of Lord Bew, a cross-bench peer and professor of Irish History at Queen’s University Belfast. He was also a historical adviser to the Saville Inquiry from 1998 to 2001.

The panel membership is:
Miriam Rosen, former executive director of OfSTED, (not noted for her sympathy to teachers while in office !); Ruth Miskin founder of Read-Write Inc, who has made a fortune through selling phonics programmes; primary heads Greg Wallace (Woodberry Down, Hackney) Helen Clegg (Shiremoor Primary, North Tyneside) Kate Dethridge (Churchend Primary, Reading) Lubna Khan (Berrymead Junior, Ealing). Two of the Primary Headteacher representatives did boycott the SATS in 2010, although Secondary headteachers are represented by the Head Teacher of an Academy- Sally Coates, head of Burlington Danes Academy;

We welcome the setting up of the panel, but it appears that the remit is already being skewed by Michael Gove and the Government who remain “committed to external testing”. There seems to be no indication that the Government recognises the validity of teacher assessment at all. It is sad that the Liberal Democrats appear to have fully signed up to this agenda, especially given that we had significant support given for the SATS campaign from both Norman Baker MP and Stephen Lloyd- the two Lib Dem members in my executive area.

We continue to campaign for the ending of the SATS, and our work with partner organisations who share our vision- such as the NAHT and ATL. There are discussions and consultation ongoing with our leadership group members in Primary schools, particularly in light of the NAHT’s decision not to ballot its members on a boycott this year. There is significant anecdotal evidence that there are many head teachers (both NAHT and NUT) who did not boycott the SATS last year would be prepared to come on board this year.

Executive Report: October 2010

2010-10-20T16:01:00.005+01:00

The full executive met on October 7th

The meeting was dominated by discussion of the interim report on public sector pensions from former Labour minster John (now Lord) Hutton. The staff had got sight of this only a matter of hours before the executive met, and Assistant Secretary Andrew Morris was praised for his swift work in reporting to the executive.

Andrew was asked to summarise the key points. A main feature being that this is not a Government report: the government had only just received the report, and there was not yet an official response from the Treasury. Andrew expected that the first significant response would be on 20th October at the Spending Review. Also, this is an interim report: the full Hutton report will not be published until the spring of 2011. We believe that that potential changes should be made through the recognised negotiation machinery of the School Teachers Superannuation Scheme (and the equivalent bodies in the public sector schemes)

It was welcomed that Hutton does not recognise the caricature of public sector pensions being "gold plated". He cites the public sector average pension as being less than £5,000 per year, and the average teacher's pension being less than £10,000. It is recognised as right and proper that public sector staff should be saving for their retirement through pensions- reforms should not push these people into the benefits system.

We were referred to the agreed changes to the pension scheme from 2005/6 which already serve to contain costs. This agreement already has provision to share the burden of additional costs between employers and teachers. This agreement takes into account projected increases in longevity.

Andrew noted that the change in calculation of pensions increases to Consumer Price Index from the current Retail Price Index calculation is likely to have a negative effect on pensions to the tune of around 15%. It was pointed out that the models to assess pension liability were different for public sector and private pension provisions, and this could be used to create some of the ridiculous exaggerations of cost being touted in the press. Andrew also reminded us that there were a number of years when the nominal teachers' pension fund was in surplus- this seems to have been conveniently forgotten !

The implication of the Hutton report is that employee contributions to the pension scheme are likely to need an increase, although this would require negotiation on a scheme-by-scheme basis.
There are no specifics in the report about pension ages, although Hutton is uncomfortable about different members of the same scheme having different retirement ages. The concept of calculation being based on career average rather than final salary is floated, and there could be winners as well as losers under this proposal, dependent on the detail.

Andrew highlighted that the big question from the Hutton report from our point of view would be whether there is the intention for negotiation in the individual and diverse schemes, or whether the Government would seek to impose a one-size-fits-all model.

Ian Murch asked about extract 22 from the report:

"It has been suggested that extending access to public service pension schemes for non public service employees could be a solution to this problem. But it is not clear that this provides a solution either for the Government, which has to accept additional liabilities and long-term risk, or for some external organisations, which, depending on the scheme they are entering, may be required to pay a premium or indemnity for entry, take part in deficit recovery plans, or pay large exit charges."

and particularly how this applies to academies and independent schools which are already part of the Teachers Pension Scheme. He worried that this could be portrayed as a state subsidy to private employers.

Christine Blower highlighted that there is the potential for some really fruitful joint union campaigns, both with sister TUC teachers unions, and also other unions in the public services. PCS have already indicated a desire to work together, and she referred us to the excellent work of the regular TUC Cuts Bulletin.

EEPD: Sats boycott- NAHT pull out

2010-10-20T16:00:00.014+01:00

The National Association of Head Teachers has confirmed that it will not be balloting its members on a boycott of the Key Stage 2 SATS in 2011.

The new NAHT General Secretary, Russell Hobby has been in correspondence with Michael Gove, and appears to have accepted assurances that the new government will review the tests. This is despite the fact that the Government remain firm that there will be tests of a similar nature that will be used to create league tables of schools. The NAHT executive apparently voted "overwhelmingly" not to boycott.

At the EEPD Committee, I expressed my dismay at the speed at which the NAHT have jumped into bed with Michael Gove. We knew that the new government was uneasy about being in dispute with head teachers, and that there would be overtures made. However, the NAHT seem rather naive to assume that the promise of a review offers anything concrete to their beleaguered members, especially as a condition of the review appears to be that the 2011 tests must go ahead, unreformed, while the navel gazing goes on.

The Deputy General Secretary confirmed that the union is keen to continue working on assessment reform both with the NAHT and the ATL to make the case for a better system. He also reported that we are surveying our own head teachers and leadership group members- both those who did and did not take the action last year- and we will be guided by the information they give us.

EEPD Committee: Free Schools: Beyond the Spin

2010-10-20T16:00:00.010+01:00

Following the successful joint meetings with the other TUC teachers unions at the Party Conferences, the NUT steps up its campaigns against the government's proposed Free Schools, with the publication: Free Schools- beyond the Spin. It takes apart many of the arguments put forward for this policy. In particular, it challenges the myth propagated by Michael Gove that this is a successful model based on successes in Sweden. In fact, the Swedish Education Minister, Bertil Ostberg, has given a stark warning:

“We have actually seen a fall in the quality of Swedish schools since the Free Schools were introduced”.“The Free Schools are generally attended by children of better educated and wealthy families making things even more difficult for children attending ordinary schools in poor areas.”

Please click here to download the document as a pdf.

Members may also be interested to hear that, as a response to the pro-Free School's New Schools Network, the award winning journalist and education campaigner, Fiona Millar, has set up the Local Schools Network, along with other campaigners such as Melissa Benn, to counteract the propaganda and disinformation from the government - well worth a visit !

TUC Congress 2010

2010-09-15T12:52:00.009+01:00

This week I have been representing the Union at the 142nd annual conference of the Trades Union Congress, in Manchester- the city where the original TUC met in 1868.

As you can imagine, this was a conference where the focus was firmly on the threat from the savage cuts expected by the Con-Dem government in next month’s Comprehensive Spending Review, where schools and education services will not be spared from George Osborne’s axe. Already in our region we are seeing a taste of things to come with the wholesale redundancy of Connexions Service staff in Brighton and Hove- staff who work with some of our most challenging and vulnerable students and young people.

Brendan Barber, the TUC General Secretary spelt out the challenges ahead in his opening remarks, pointing out the devastating effects of service cuts at a time when the UK is creeping out of recession. He highlighted (as did NUT Deputy General Secretary, Kevin Courtney) that there are huge amounts of money available from uncollected and evaded tax in this country- and working people should not be expected to pay for a crisis not of our making. The TUC document All Pain No Gain spells out the detailed economic alternative to the cuts, and is well worth reading.

The debates across the week covered a range of issues- many of which are pertinent to NUT members, Opposing the cuts was clearly at the top of the agenda, and conference also debated the attacks on trade union rights (some of the most restrictive in Europe); the threats to UK manufacturing industry (in particular the callous withdrawal of a loan to Sheffield Forgemasters, which would have allowed it to manufacture the components for the governments new generation nuclear power stations: the withdrawal of the loan means that these components will not now be made in Britain); Young Workers- particularly looking at the effect of the ending of the Future Jobs Fund, and the growth of unpaid internships; and International Solidarity- especially with the people of Haiti and the Chilean Miners.

The Education debate reaffirmed the TUC’s opposition to Academies and Free Schools and other privatisation within the education service. In moving the main motion, Christine Blower, NUT General Secretary drew attention to the coalition government rushing through poor and ill-scrutinised legislation before the summer to allow schools a fast-track to Academy Status. Christine noted that the last legislation railroaded through at this speed (with the exception of security/anti-terror legislation) was the infamous Dangerous Dogs Act back in the early 1990’s. Christine pointed to statistics showing that 95% of the public do not wasn’t to see schools run by private companies, and she poured scorn on the coalition’s mantra that “we’re all in the same boat”

"Privatising and fragmenting our schools will reinforce division in our society.
All this talk of being on the same boat reminds me of that famous boat, the
Titanic. There were, of course, very different outcomes for those in first class
and those in steerage. "

You can read the full text of Christine's speech by clicking here. The message on Academies and privatisation was also endorsed by the NASUWT, ATL and UCU speakers. There was also a debate about inclusion, and the threats to SEN pupils from the savage cuts programme, and additional concern for advisers and specialists employed by central LEA services.

The debate on Health and Safety had some chilling messages, mainly emanating from the review being conducted for the Con-Dem government under Lord Young (Maggie Thatcher’s favourite businessman, remember him ?) Playing on media hysteria about isolated “ ‘elf and safety” stories, Young appears to be seeking to do what he did in the 1980’s: recklessly deregulate. In particular he is reported as having said: “Accidents happen, and people get killed. It happens...” seemingly giving a green light to employers who want to cut costs by avoiding necessary safety precautions. The government is proposing that firms can buy in private health and safety audits, which will mean that the Health and Safety Executive’s inspectorate will be banned from inspecting their premises until after there is an accident ! Matt Wrack, of the Fire Brigades Union roundly condemned the government’s plans to place workers in the Emergency Services outside the scope of Health and Safety legislation altogether: an insult to those firefighters who have lost their lives in the course of duty.

Climate Change was also high on the agenda again this year- with a plea for the one million green jobs plan that the previous government had envisaged. Speakers from Prospect and the CWU highlighted how tackling emissions and emphasising green production were not just good for the planet, but created sustainable high-skilled jobs as well.

The motion which I had moved as an emergency on behalf of the committee at the TUC Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans workers conference was debated and passed unanimously. This condemned the effect of the cuts on services for all workers, and highlighted the effect on LGBT members in the community, who may need access to a range of services such as victim support for hate crime, anti-bullying initiatives in schools or HIV support services. Many of these are supported by grants or specific funds from government, and are likely to be first in line for the axe.
The Professional Footballers’ Association moved a motion in support of the UK’s bid for the 2018 World Cup. An amendment from the Association of College Management highlighted the educational opportunities that this provided. Max Hyde of the NUT spoke in support of this view- praising the success of girls’ football in schools, and emphasising the successes of the One Goal campaign for universal primary education, and the Show Racism the Red Card programme. Max also raised the issue of domestic violence- stating the evidence that rates of domestic violence soar during major sporting events, and urging unions to promote campaigns highlighting this issue during the World Cup.

Guests addressing congress included Harriet Harman, the interim Labour Party leader, who spoke clearly and categorically about the need for a strong trade union movement; John Monks, former General Secretary, and now head of the European TUC; Gideon Shoko of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, who told us of the continuing difficulties and threats to trade union organisation and involvement; and Sharon Burrow, of the International Congress of Trade Unions, who spoke of the urgent need for trade unionists to promote the Robin Hood Tax.

Unfortunately, I had to leave the conference to return to East Sussex for casework reasons on Wednesday, so missed the much anticipated address from Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, and the debates on Transport and Pensions; however , the full report of the congress will be published on the TUC website, which can be accessed here. I strongly recommend you take a look, as the reporting in the press- particularly the tabloids- may not reflect the reality of what was debated and agreed !

Celebrating Diversity in Thanet

2010-09-12T00:54:00.007+01:00

I had the privilege of speaking yesterday at the NUT-sponsored Love Music, Hate Racism festival in Margate, which owed its existence to colleagues in Thanet NUT.

Margate was plagued by marches and activity in the 1970's and 1980's by the fascist National Front, and in recent years has seen increased activity from the BNP. So it was really gratifying to see a strong turnout from local young people, using the music to celebrate our diversity and to challenge the politics of division and hate.

You can read more about the Thanet event (pictures soon, I expect) at their website, here.

Free Schools: "We know, but we won't tell you !"

2010-08-26T17:52:00.004+01:00

The Anti-Academies alliance has submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act, for the Department for Education to release details of proposed "free schools" to be set up under the new policy of the Con-Dem government. Specifically, the AAA requested information on:-

The geographical location of all applications submitted to the Department for Education to establish "free schools", under the terms of the Academies Bill.
The identities of the individuals or groups who have submitted these applications.
Brief summaries of the intended specialisms, ethos and if possible curriculum of the planned schools.

The response may tell you something about the coalition government's attitude to openness and transparency. On each of the three points they state that: "The Department holds the information you have requested, but it is being withheld" claiming a rather flimsy exemption to the Act, suggesting that it is in "the public interest in permitting the Government to publish information in a manner and at a time of its own choosing"

You can read the full response from the Department for Education by clicking here.

Consultations on Behaviour

2010-08-25T17:36:00.003+01:00

The Department for Education Behaviour and Attendance in Schools Division is seeking information from teacher unions on the use of force and extending the powers to search in schools. The response from Unions is required before the beginning of the school term.

The key questions upon which teachers' views are being sought are:

Use of Force - Why are some teachers reluctant to use force to control or restrain pupils in accordance with the law?
Teachers' search powers - At present both the teacher conducting the search and the witness who must also be present must be of the same gender as the pupil being searched. From September, the witness to the search will need only be the same gender as the pupil where this is reasonably practicable. Should the same requirement be introduced in relation to the gender of the searcher (i.e. that the person conducting the search need only be the same gender as the pupil being searched where this is reasonably practicable). What may be the implications of such a change?

The Government’s Education Select Committee has announced an Inquiry into Behaviour and Discipline in Schools. Written submissions have been invited addressing the points listed below. The Union will be submitting a written response to the Inquiry and seeks your views on the following:

How to support and reinforce positive behaviour in schools
The nature and level of challenging behaviour by pupils in schools, and the impact upon schools and their staff
Approaches taken by schools and local authorities to address challenging behaviour, including fixed-term and permanent exclusions
Ways of engaging parents and carers in managing their children's challenging behaviour
How special educational needs can best be recognised in schools' policies on behaviour and discipline
The efficacy of alternative provision for pupils excluded from school because of their behaviour
Links between attendance and behaviour in schools
The Government's proposals regarding teachers' powers to search pupils, removal of the requirement for written notice of detentions outside school hours, and the extent of teachers' disciplinary powers, as announced by the Department on 7 July.

I would very much like to hear the opinions of colleagues in the Brighton and Hove, Kent, East Sussex and Medway NUT areas, to guide my contributions to the discussions on this issue. Please feel free to e-mail any comments to d.brinson@executive.nut.org.uk

Riding Roughshod over Democracy !

2010-07-27T19:04:00.003+01:00

Whatever the failings of the British Parliamentary system, it has always been assumed that the various, often lengthy, processes to enact new laws at least ensured that all legislation was properly scrutinised by our elected representatives.

In a move that may tell us something about how the coalition will conduct business in the “new politics”, the Academies Bill was passed last night, having been rushed through its Parliamentary stages.

Those schools determined to fast-track an Academy application have been able to pursue a route that completely disregards the normal process of law- they can apply on the assumption that the law will say what the Secretary of State wished it to say (regardless of any alterations or amendments made by Parliament during the passage of the Bill !) We used to assume that laws could not be applied retrospectively. However, in a letter to Christine Blower, Michael Gove stated that:

“..on the Academy Order you are correct to say that an Order cannot be made before enactment of the Bill…. However this does not mean that any work being undertaken now is unlawful. Clause 12 of the Bill ensures that any steps taken by a governing body to convert to Academy Status is treated as satisfying the requirements of the Bill when it becomes an Act. We have taken the necessary steps so that schools that wish to open as an Academy in September can do so.” (you can read the full text of the letter here)

Christine Blower responded to the passing of the Bill today, saying:

"The Government is undermining proper parliamentary democracy by rushing this legislation through. We have written to all schools who have told us they want to be Academies by September to ask what consultation they have done with parents and other members of the local community. We don't believe that many will have done that sufficiently and this could well create a legal minefield. It would not be reasonable for any school to try to consult during the holidays while staff and parents are away, so few if any will be able to take further steps before September.

“Since before the election, the NUT has warned that a timetable for schools reopening as Academies in September 2010 would be impossible. The schools minister was unable to dispute this last night, proving that the Government’s boasts were entirely empty. In fact, all that the Government’s arrogance has done is provide those in favour of state education a window of opportunity to campaign against conversions wherever such plans are announced.

“The NUT will continue to campaign in September to persuade governing bodies to remain in their local authority family of schools. Where governing bodies consider Academy status, we will of course campaign for a ballot of all parents before the decision is made.”

Executive Report: July 2010

2010-07-15T16:11:00.009+01:00

The full executive met at Stoke Rochford Hall on July 15th.

Christine reported on political work of the union- we are actively building/rebuilding bridges with Labour MP's. Meetings have taken place with a number of newly elected members, and with old allies such as John Trickett and Jon Cruddas. John is also involved in setting up a group to look at alternative economic policies, and the NUT has been invited to participate in this. It is not a campaigning group, rather a forum for politicians, trade unions, NGOs etc, to discuss alternative strategies to the swingeing cuts.

Christine emphasised the importance of not getting drawn into a turf-war over the cuts (i.e. "don't cut us, cut something else") and look at ways we can protect public services.

Christine reported that we will be running joint fringe meetings with the other teachers unions at the three main political party conferences this autumn- with the theme "England's Schools: Free for All ?"

While we had our issues with the Building Schools for the Future programme, we share the outrage that 700 schools in need have seen their promised new buildings cancelled. We will be supporting teachers and communities: as part of this there is a lobby of Parliament next week against the BSF cuts.

Michael Gove has written to Christine answering concerns about the "fast track" academy proposals and schools complying with legislation such as TUPE. In his reply, rather extraordinarily, he claims that he does not want schools to "rush" into this process. He also recognised the concerns about consultation, and pointed out that a new clause in the Academy Bill provides a requirement for governing bodies to consult before proceeding with a conversion.

It was noted that over 70 MPs had signed the Early Day Motion on consultation over academies. Also, the NUT has suggested amendments on SEN provision, admissions codes and other areas which we have seen taken up by sympathetic peers or MPs.

Christine reported that the number of schools pursuing the fast-track to Academy status (opening in September) is likely to be as low as 30. If the legislation is not passed, she could not see how any of these could succeed, and there is the possibility of a legal challenge from us or the other Unions if the TUPE transfer process is not completed properly.

Last week, we launched the policy document Make Assessment Measure Up with the ATL- Christine and Mary Boustead jointly did the press launch. There were questions to us, in the light of the SATS campaign, about why the NAHT was not a partner in this project. The simple reason is that they already have their own very comprehensive policy for Assessment Reform, which you can view here. We continue to work closely with the NAHT is discussing the ways forward following the SATS boycott, which saw a quarter of schools in the country not setting the tests, and support from many more head teachers who regretted that they were not in a position to join the action themselves. You can read the full list of Primary schools which boycotted the SATS by clicking here.

Christine and the union continue to work closely with the American teachers union the NEA. They are facing a range of similar issues to teachers in the UK- especially over the privatisation and fragmentation of the education system. Prior to his election, President Obama had been critical of Charter Schools and similar, but seems to have made something of a u-turn on coming to power ! Christine expected us to develop our strong working relationship further with the NEA, and that this would involve building links between activists as well as just at "office level".

The Social Partnership is dead (not that we mind, we were never admitted, as we refused to sign the workforce agreement that removed the requirement for qualified teachers in front of classes !) The new government wants to meet with the education trade unions, but in a less formal structure to the old Social Partnership: the new Education Forum will bring the General Secretaries of the teaching unions, and the Minister every 8 weeks. Unlike the Social Partnership, there will not be an obligation for all sides to reach agreement !

The first meeting had discussed pupil discipline and tackling bureaucracy. Some of the latter suggestions seemed a little alarming (ending statutory reporting and monitoring of bullying incidents etc.) but it was useful to confirm that neither OfSTED nor Government expect a written lesson plan for every lesson !

Finally, Christine reported that she had attended an excellent training launch in Brighton for Show Racism the Red Card, of which the NUT is a major sponsor. She urged us to make sure that there is a continuing NUT presence at these events. We will also be supporting Show Racism the Red Card events in universities in the autumn term.

Elsewhere in the Executive meeting, the delegation to the TUC Congress in Manchester was agreed- I will attend as a member of the TUC national LGBT Committee. Content for motions will also be discussed.

The meeting ended with a warm farewell to John Bangs- head of the Education department, who is retiring after more than 30 years service to the NUT in various roles. John is not leaving education behind completely, as he takes up a post as visiting lecturer at the Institute of Education, and also possibly at Cambridge, where he enjoyed a sabbatical last year. John was given a standing ovation by the executive.

EEPD: OfQual Review

2010-07-15T10:45:00.003+01:00

OfQUAL, the regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments in England, has been conducting a consultation on the regulatory framework for national assessments.

Notwithstanding the NUT’s view that the national assessment arrangements are in urgent need of review and that National Curriculum Key Stage 2 tests are not fit for purpose and should be replaced by moderated teacher assessment, we welcome the opportunity to respond to OFQUAL’s proposals for a new regulatory framework for national assessments.

The EEPD Committee noted and approved the response paper drawn up by colleagues in the EEPD department. As soon as this is available online, I will post a link here. In the meantime, colleagues who would like to know the detail of this should contact me.

STOP PRESS: I have received an e-mail from OfQual pointing out that, of course, any interested person can take part in the consultation, and we would encourage members of the union to have their own say ! You can access the full OfQual consultation by clicking here.

EEPD Committee: Academy Myths

2010-07-15T10:44:00.004+01:00

The NUT has commissioned a paper from independent consultant Martin Rogers, the former head of the Children's Services Network. The paper explores the detail of points made in Michael Gove's letter to schools encouraging them to pursue Academy status, and gives some excellent points to use in our campaign to maintain schools within the Local Authority framework. Some of the points are reproduced below:-

Points from Michael Gove’s letter to ‘outstanding’ schools:

"Freedom from local authority control"
Local authorities (LAs) haven’t “controlled” schools for at least two decades. They have a number of key strategic roles, which help ensure that our increasingly diverse system of largely autonomous schools functions coherently. Most schools value the contribution LAs make.

"Ability to set your own pay and conditions for staff"
This is a freedom from central government control – and one that few existing Academies have made use of (just as few grant maintained schools did when they, too, had the same freedom). Unions and most staff oppose it, and it has the potential to be highly disruptive if widely adopted.

"Freedom from following the National Curriculum"
This too is a freedom from central government – which has promised to cut the national curriculum and give all schools greater freedoms in the second Education Bill, probably in the autumn.

"Ability to change the length of terms and school days"
Current arrangements are determined by Regulations, which the Secretary of State could alter to enable all schools to make these changes. Foundation and voluntary aided schools can already set their own terms, and maintained schools can determine their session times, subject to Regulations.

"Having greater control over school budgets"
All schools already have full control over their individual school budgets.
Freedom to spend the money the local authority currently spends on your behalf. LAs retain part of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) for provision of a range of central school services and functions. Academies receive a grant to replace this element, and much of it is recouped from LAs. Academies will need to purchase these services, from the LA or elsewhere. If a lot of schools become Academies, the loss of funds could threaten the viability of services for other schools.

There are a range of further points in the paper that respond to information posted on the DfE website, and issues raised during the debate on the Academies Bill in the House of Lords. If you would like a copy of these, please contact me.

EEPD Committee: Primary Curriculum

2010-07-15T10:30:00.004+01:00

The Tory/Lib Dem coallition have announced that they will not be proceding with the reform to the primary curriculum that was started under the previous government following the Rose Review. The existing national curriculum arrangements will remain in place for the next academic year.

You can read the NUT's response to this decision, with detailed advice and guidance by clicking here.

EEPD: TUC Congress Motion

2010-07-15T10:28:00.010+01:00

The committee agreed to put forward a motion to September's TUC Annual Conference on the subject of Academies and Free Schools. We have been doing a lot of work jointly with our sister unions in TUC, (both teaching and school support staff) , and are hopeful that this will continue to build cross-union support for this issue.

Proposed Motion from the NUT to TUC Annual Congress

Congress reiterates its support for a state-funded, publicly-managed and democratically accountable education system. Congress rejects the Government’s Academies and Free Schools legislation, believing that such a policy will widen the gap between rich and poor, fuel inequity of entitlement to high quality education and fundamentally undermine local communities’ involvement in their schools.

Congress believes that the planning of school provision should be returned to local authorities, which should also have control over schools’ admissions criteria, the employment of school staff and the use and disposal of school land and buildings.

Congress recognises that a majority of the public opposes the removal of schools from the maintained sector and supports the principle of a good local school for every child.

Congress believes that the governance of schools should be by, and on behalf of, school communities with the full involvement of parents, local community representatives, staff and local authorities.

Congress instructs the General Council to:

i. oppose the Government’s plans for Academies and Free Schools and to campaign for all schools to remain within the maintained sector;

ii. provide full support to unions taking action where Academies and Free Schools undermine the pay and conditions of their staff;

iii. keep affiliates fully informed, through briefings, guidance and other documents, on the latest Government developments; and

iv. establish a campaigning group within the TUC to both oppose Government moves to break up the maintained school system and to put forward the TUC’s vision for comprehensive education in the 21st Century.

TUC LGBT Conference and Pride

2010-07-15T10:28:00.008+01:00

I was again proud to be part of the NUT's delegation to the annual TUC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Conference, which took place between 1st and 2nd July at Congress House.

A packed agenda saw debates on a range of issues, from the Equalities Act (and whether it will be implemented under the new government) Education, LGBT Asylum rights, International campaigns (such as in Uganda, where there are attempts to introduce the death penalty for homosexuality)

The NUT motion to the conference reiterated the right of teachers (and other workers) to be "Out" at work. There were also a range of interesting and informative guest speakers, including the excellent campaigning gay journalist Johann Hari.

I was proud to be asked to move the emergency resolution on the economy, on behalf of the TUC LGBT Committee- I emphasised that the #6bn of cuts in the emergency budget would hit frontline services hard, and would have a particular effect on funding to many voluntary sector groups who work with the LGBT community, on central services from local authorities such as health schools or PSHE advisory staff. I also highlighted that, while there were positive noises from the new Government on some elements of LGBT rights, there still lurked a considerable number of the most reactionary and homophobic Tory MPs, now sat on the government side !

I had to leave early, but the conference was addressed by the new Equalities Minister, Lynne Featherstone (a Liberal Democrat) I am told that there was some robust questioning, including on the Prime Minister's patchy record on supporting LGBT rights (and indeed his amnesia over how he voted on issues such as same-sex adoption)

The following day was London Pride, where the NUT had a float for the first time, as well as our usual stall in Trafalgar Square. Colleagues from across the country joined us, as we demonstrated that we were "Teachers- Out and Proud"

Tackling the Crisis- Research from the TUC

2010-06-29T12:42:00.013+01:00

The NUT is a proud member of the Trades Union Congress, and the wealth of thorough and useful research material justifies our continued involvement.

As the politicians and tabloid press continue to tell us that the cuts are inevitable, the TUC has produced materials that help trade unionists challenge the myths.

All Pain No Gain looks at what cuts are being planned, how the proposals will damage public services and the economy, will hurt the most vulnerable, and draws on the experiences of other countries to spell out an alternative to the Coalition Governments plans.

TUC Public Sector Pensions Briefing looks to explode the myths about the pensions which we and our schools pay significant sums for. Critics who say that public sector pensions are unaffordable or out of control often misrepresent the figures by presenting pension commitments that go decades into the future as an enormous final demand bill that has to be paid all in one go, says the TUC. The truth is that public sector pensions now cost around 1.5 per cent of GDP and while this is forecast to slowly rise to 2.0 per cent over the next twenty years it then falls slightly. Public sector pensions cost less than state pensions and long term care, which are also set to increase as the population ages.

Unlike in Britain's boardrooms, top public servants are all members of the same pension scheme as other staff. The majority of public sector pensioners receive a modest pension of less than £5,000 a year. The average local government pension is just £4,000 a year and half the women on NHS pensions get less than £3,500 a year.

Executive Report: June 2010

2010-06-29T12:42:00.011+01:00

The full executive met on 17th June

Christine Blower opened her report with the observation: "A lot has happened since we last met..."

On the Coalition Government's Academies Bill, Christine pointed out that the Bill cannot get Royal Assent until September. A number of amendments are being placed by Labour and Lib Dem peers- particularly on SEN provision, local consultation, the ability of schools to return to the Local Authority, the proposal to make Academies "exempt" charities etc. It seems highly unlikely that the Bill that is passed will be the same as that which is currently published- so schools that have started the fast track process will have done so on a false prospectus. The Report Stage of the Bill will be on the 7th July, and then there is likely to be a big push to pass the Act into law when Parliament reconvenes (early) in September. You can read our briefing to MPs and Peers here.

Christine welcomed the large amount of joint material we have produced for schools in partnership with the NASUWT, ATL, Unite and Unison. There is currently great optimism about working together on this issue. While there are always going to be discussions about content and emphasis, there is a big prize to be won through co-operation.

Christine told us that it is vital we debunk the Government's propaganda about an enthusiasm for academy status from head teachers. The Government is claiming that 70% of "outstanding" secondary schools have expressed an interest. However, all enquiries and responses to the Department for Education's e-mail on the subject are being counted as an expression of interest- many of these schools have no desire to go down the Academy route.

The NUT and others have applied under the Freedom of Information Act for the names of schools who are deemed to have expressed an interest- this was released and can be viewed here. Please visit the site and see if any of your local schools are listed. Christine noted the Government's reluctance to release the information: is applying for Academy status seen as some sort of "shameful secret ?"

Roman Catholic dioceses appear to be strongly discouraging their schools from going down this route, and the National Governors' Association is providing detailed advice, which is generally advising caution.

Michael Gove is expected to make announcements on Free Schools- and it is important that we keep up our campaigning on this issue in tandem with the Academies campaigns.

Christine reported that there is likely to be a change to the cycle of TUC Annual Congress- to a biennial model, with a much smaller gathering in alternate years. The Prime Minister, David Cameron will be invited to speak and take questions at this year's Congress. Christine also commended the TUC's research document "All Pain, No Gain" which explores alternatives to the cuts package, looking at the experience of other countries during the financial crisis.

Christine noted the abolition of the GTC. Whatever we thought of this, she pointed out (in response to communication from the civil servants union) that we are concerned about the treatment of workers in the organisation as it is wound up. Points were made about the danger that the failure of GTC would end the desire for genuine self-regulation of the profession. It was also noted that the scandalous decision not to bar teacher and BNP activist Adam Walker (who was posting racist material to the Internet from his school computer, during lessons) did not do anything to generate enthusiasm for GTC's regulatory function !

Christine noted with sadness the coalition government's decision to abolish the Future Jobs Fund, which will have devastating effects on youth unemployment. She noted that we share a keen interest in this along with our FE colleagues in UCU.

We were again reminded that pay and pensions were very much in the sight of the Government, and we would have to be prepared to campaign vigorously to defend our members.

Christine was asked whether the Union would consider legal challenges to the fast track applications for academy status. Christine noted that these applications had been made before the law allowed, and that the validity of applications would be questionable if the wording of the final Bill is changed through the Committee stages. Christine urged all members to keep Hamilton House up to date with any local Academy applications- details to your Division Secretary and also to HQ at academies@nut.org.uk

A member of the Executive raised the ongoing SATS campaign: Christine acknowledged that we need to keep building. It is important that we revise the successes and the lessons from the campaign so far- clearly the will of members is that the SATS should never happen again, and staff should not be teaching to the test through year 6. We will be surveying our leadership group members to get a full and accurate picture of their views.

In other business, there was a debate about International policy regarding Israel. The executive expressed its outrage at the recent Israeli attacks on aid ships, and reaffirmed our policy in this area, in line with that of the TUC. The motion also urged us to continue working with both the Israeli and the Palestinian teachers' unions.

NUT Young Teachers' Conference

2010-05-21T18:50:00.006+01:00

The NUT's Young Members Conference is always a highlight of the year, and I'm thrilled that I still qualify to attend this event (the NUT defined its young members as being up to the age of 35)

This is the fifth annual event, and already the conference is in danger of outgrowing the union's training centre at Stoke Rochford Hall. The event is a mixture of guest speakers, workshops and networking events for young teachers.

The event opened, as has become traditional, with the quiz evening, hosted this year by Kari Anson and Doug Morgan, both members of the Young Teachers' Advisory Committee (which I have been elected to this year, to represent the executive.

The conference proper was opened on the Saturday morning by National President Gill Goodswen, and this was followed by a discussion on Alternative Visions of Education, led by John Bangs, the Assistant Secretary for Education at the NUT, and the inspiring children's author Alan Gibbons. Alan was a great supporter during the SATS boycott campaign, and is a passionate campaigner for children and reading- "the book, the whole book and nothing but the book !" If you haven't come across Alan's Campaign for the Book- a campaign now endorsed by the NUT National Conference, take a look here. Participants than took part in Task Groups to discuss and formulate ideas for what our vision of education should be.

The afternoon saw the first of two sets of workshops, opted for by individual delegates. The programme of workshops available included:

Assessment after the SATS
Becoming a School rep
Building your Association, and making meetings more relevant and interesting
Love Music, Hate Racism
Management Bullying: A Collective Issue
Performance Management
Promoting LGBT Equality in Schools
Teaching about Conflict
Climate Solidarity Campaign
Money Matters for Teachers

Later in the afternoon, the Deputy General Secretary of the NUT, Kevin Courtney gave a stirring (as always) presentation about union campaigns after the general election.

Saturday night was devoted to partying. It is a young teachers conference, after all...

Sunday saw elections to three key areas- the Young Teachers Conference Steering Group, which will develop the programme for next year's event, and our delegation to the TUC Young Members Conference (under 27 only, would you believe ?) and our nominee to the TUC's Young Members Forum.

TUC Disability Conference

2010-05-21T18:35:00.017+01:00

I was pleased to be asked to represent the Executive on the union's delegation to the TUC Disability Conference, held at Congress House in London. I was joined by the National President Gill Goodswen, three other members of the executive, and delegates from the NUT's Disability Working Party.

The conference debated a range of motions around disability policy including:

Supporting Workers with Mental Health Conditions
Accessible Public Transport for All
A Workplace Agenda for Disabled Workers
Disability Hate Crime
Jury Service
Paralympic Games 2012

There were moving speeches on many of the motions, not least those that sought to strengthen the protection for victims of hate crime- the motion from the University and College Union mentioned the harrowing case of Fiona Pilkington and Francesca Hardwick- in particularly how the media and government appeared to be treating these serious hate crimes as "anti-social behaviour".

The National Union of Journalists brought a motion that expressed disgust at recent coverage in the media of mental health issues, and noted that some sections of the media openly perpetrate stigma and discrimination against people with mental health conditions. A related motion by the Public and Commercial Services Union highlighted the sweeping and discriminatory ban on jury service for any person who "suffers or has suffered from a mental illness"

The NUT's own motion on Dignity and Respect for Disabled People noted that the Equality and Human Rights Commission is conducting a formal inquiry into disability-related harassment, but expressed that the Union is appalled that the trigger for the inquiry has been the lack of action taken by public authorities to eliminate the harassment of disabled people.

Our motion instructed the TUC Disability Committee to:-

prepare evidence to present to the EHRC inquiry
to organise a fringe meeting at the TUC Congress about the negative portrayal of disabled people and the urgent need for campaigning to eliminate such harassment at work and in society; and
support all affiliated unions in campaigning for prevention of this harassment and to support a "zero tolerance" approach.

The conference was addressed by a number of guest speakers. Richard Reiser of the NUT spoke about his work on the European Disability Forum, and there was an inspiring presentation from a Colombian trade unionist, who spoke about the intimidation and murder of many activists in his country, simply for being trade unionists.

The conference also elected members to serve for the year on the TUC National Disability Committee, and Mandy Hudson, an NUT activist from the Ealing Association, to serve again on the committee.

Executive Report: May 2010

2010-05-21T18:35:00.014+01:00

The full executive met on 13th May

General Secretary, Christine Blower reported that, as a result of the General Election coalition deal, the Conservative Michael Gove is now Secretary of State for Education (the department will revert to the Education title, from DCSF, although will retain responsibilities for wider Childrens’ Services. Michael Gove spoke to the NUT Executive in the run-up to the election, and we are quietly optimistic that channels of communication will improve.

We know that public sector pay will be high on the agenda of the new government, and we need to continue to work closely with other public sector trade unions. The TUC Public Sector Liaison Group will meet on June 8th. The TUC has produced a comprehensive “myth-busting” document about public sector pensions, and this is available online here.

In the past, several Liberal Democrat MPs had been useful allies in getting amendments and questions around education legislation. With the Lib Dems in Government, we need to rebuild bridges with Labour MPs in this area.

Plans are underway for our special conference on the future of education; this will have the theme of defending comprehensive education and opposing privatisation. We will work with groups such as the Anti Academies Alliance, Socialist Education Association, Comprehensive Future, and CASE.

Christine commended the work dome by the NUT in the anti-BNP campaigns, and celebrated the fact that the BNP had lost all of its councillors in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, where they had been the main opposition party. She congratulated the Division Secretary, Dominic Byrne, and the work we had done- especially the survey of Barking and Dagenham teachers about the impact of a potential BNP-controlled council running schools. Christine reminded us we need to continue and build upon our work with organisations such as Unite Against Fascism, Hope not Hate and Love Music Hate Racism- and not just at election time !

Christine noted the success of the TUC Black Workers Conference, and congratulated Roger King on his re-election to the TUC Committee.

Christine commended the hard work done by NUT Divisions with the joint SATS Boycott with the NAHT. Although there was a variation from area to area over the numbers of schools participating, it is clear that the turnout was high enough to render any league tables as meaningless. It is important that we publicise and celebrate the activities carried out in many boycotting schools who undertook special creative teaching and learning activities instead of the damaging SATS. She gave a special mention to the Lambeth NUT picnic, which she and children’s author Alan Gibbons had attended, and got widespread media coverage.

Christine drew attention to the TUC campaign to boycott goods from the illegal Israeli settlements, and a range of materials is now available.

Christine highlighted the dreadful execution of Kurdish teacher trade union leader Farzad Kamangar in Iran, (after a sham trial which lasted less than five minutes) despite widespread international condemnation, and pointed out that many Kurdish trade unionists remain in prison in Iran for trade union activity. Divisions and members are urged to write to the Iranian authorities, and there is a model letter available for this purpose. More information is carried on the website of Education International here.

Finally, Christine mentioned the football World Cup, and the opportunity to use this as a teaching and campaigning resource. She commended the NUT resource Football and Freedom produced jointly with Action for Southern Africa, and the Global Campaign for Education’s 1 GOAL campaign to meet the Millennium Development Goal of universal Primary education.

The new executive elected a numer of new officers and members to committees, and these are detailed in the article below.

Changes on the Executive

2010-05-20T09:47:00.004+01:00

The new executive welcomes a number of new faces: Martin Powell-Davies, Heather Mackenzie, Ian Leaver, Ann Lemon, Beth Davies, Nick Wigmore and Robin Head. Ann Swift returns for the North Yorkshire seat, which she previously held during Judy Moorhouse's time as a National officer.

Ian Grayson is the new Chair of the Resource Management Committee.
Hazel Danson is re-elected as Chair of Education, Equalities and Professional Development.
Roger King is re-elected as Chair of the Organising and Membership Committee
Helen Andrews is re-elected as Chair of the Salaries, Superannuation and Conditions of Service Committee.
Jerry Glazier is re-elected as Chair of the Strategy and Finance Committee.

The new Officers took up their posts at Conference- Gill Goodswen moves into the chair as National President, Nina Franklin and Marilyn Harrop are Vice-Presdients, and Ian Murch was re-elected as National Treasurer.

I was re-elected to serve on the LGBT Working Party, and also the Disability Working Party. I will also be a member of the Young Teachers Advisory Committee, and an NUT nominee to the Council for Global Citizenship.

Press Releases from NUT Conference

2010-04-06T23:34:00.003+01:00

There were a number of useful Press releases issued by the NUT during the Annual Conference, and these can be accessed here:

General Election, Young Teachers, Defending education funding and public services, NUT response to Ed Balls’ speech today , Pensions, Independent Safeguarding Authority, Supply Teachers, International work of the NUT, The Future of 14 - 19 Qualifications, Challenging Homo & Transphobia in Schools & Colleges, Disabled Teachers, Discrimination and Harassment,
Early Years, Reading for Pleasure, Academy, Trust and “Free” Schools, Ofsted, Mick Brookes tells NUT conference SATs 'humiliate and demean', President's Address - Gill Goodswen, Licence to Practise, Teacher Mental Health - The Impact of Leadership and Mangement
Workload, Michael Rosen is awarded the Fred & Anne Jarvis Award at NUT conference,
Defend education in face of cuts UCU president-elect tells NUT conference

Conference Report: Tuesday 6th April

2010-04-06T20:02:00.004+01:00

The last day of conference opened with the Equalities debate which considered the Union's response to the BNP, especially in the context of BNP members who work as teachers or serve as school governors.

There was a range of contributions, especially from delegates who had experienced these issues first hand. An amendment was discussed that would have called on the union to press for BNP members to be automatically barred from the teaching profession, on the grounds that BNP membership was incompatible with the duty of care to all students and the need to promote equality, diversity and community cohesion. There was an in-depth debate, with some delegates in favour and others feeling that such a rule could be open to abuse- especially as it did not deal with people who held exactly the same pernicious views but were not card-carrying (or could not be proved to be) members of the BNP. It was argued that any expression or promotion of racist or homophobic views would be a disciplinary offence in any situation. In the event, no vote was taken on this amendment.

The extended debate on this motion meant that there was no time for me to speak to second an addition amendment from Amersham, Chesham and District NUT, that would have ensured that the campaign against homophobia was included in the motion. (First speech of the day that I wrote but didn't make...)

The debate on Special Educational Needs highlighted the fact that many of the motions brought to Annual Conference did not consider the circumstances of members employed in special schools. The motion called on the executive to ensure that special schools are included in future implementation of policy relating to schools, and that, where appropriate, they are mentioned specifically in posters and guidance documents.

The final session of the Conference, as always, was handed over to "unfinished business" This is for those motions where debate was not completed in the allocated time slot. Motions are mopped up according to the priority they were given when the agenda was drawn up (all local associations were able to vote on which motions they wanted to see appear on the agenda.) This meant that:-

The motion on the economic crisis was completed and passed
The motion on Young Teachers was completed. An amendment to delete the (rather crass, I thought) comparison with the equality conferences, and also to support the "We Want to Stay" campaign in London on the cost of living, was defeated. There was then a card vote on the main Young Teachers motion: the motion was very narrowly lost. (Speech number 2 from Dave not taken...)
The motion on exploring how Aspiring Teachers (those undertaking wor experience as teaching assistants etc. before embarking on a teacher training course) could be brought into something similar to student membership was explored, but with a considerable range of safeguards from the Executive amendment (we are not in the business of poaching members who should be joining and getting active in Unison, GMB or Unite as their recognised unions !) . This was passed- although I am not happy about the concept, and hope that the exploration shows it is not viable !

Keynote speech of the day came from General Secretary Christine Blower. Christine again paid tribute to the late Steve Sinnott, and noted how much he would have seen this Liverpool conference as a homecoming- he'd have called it "smashing" ! Christine spoke about professional unity, and welcomed the signing of the new partnership agreement with our brothers and sisters in UCU.

The SATS campaign continues apace, as we await the result of the ballot of our primary leadership colleagues and their counterparts in the NUT. Christine commended the ballot, as it was proposing "industrial action with no downside.... children will be taught, teachers will feel less stressed, children will not be reduced to a level..."

Only an hour or so before Christine spoke, Gordon Brown had gone to the Palace and sought a dissolution of Parliament. Christine urged us to get involved in the forthcoming election campaign by promoting our policy to candidates of all parties, and using the material which is now available, courtesy of the Political Fund, to campaign against the BNP and other fascist parties.

We closed conference after a warm vote of thanks was proposed to Gill Goodswen in the chair, and delegates set off- until next year in Harrogate, at least...

Following the close of conference, the new Executive met to elect the chairs and vice-chairs of the four Standing Committees- Organising and Membership; Education, Equalities and Professional Development; Salaries, Superannuation and Conditions; and Resource Management. Members were also elected to the Strategy and Finance Committee (kind of an executive committee of the executive, comprising the chairs and other nominated members) Nothing prestigious for me this year, which suits me fine- casework and other commitments keep my union time pretty busy !

Conference Report: Monday 5th April

2010-04-05T19:08:00.006+01:00

A busy day of business at Conference opened with further motions on Employment Conditions and Rights. Conference reaffirmed its opposition to the Licence to Teach proposals, which, with the Parliamentary session ending shortly after Gordon Brown goes to the Palace tomorrow, looks unlikely to make it to the statute book. Conference re-endorsed the Union's policies for professional development as contained in the document A Good Local School for Every Child and Every Community, and called for a high profile campaign against the licensing proposals.

I was disappointed that the amendment from Lewes, Eastbourne and Wealden Association was not moved- organisers from the "factions" at conference moved a procedural motion to move to the main question (i.e. not discuss any further amendments) after only one amendment was taken. This means that Newell Fisher, vice-president of East Sussex Division was not able to speak to conference on the issue of Competency Procedures. A great pity.

A comprehensive motion on Supply Teachers was overwhelmingly passed, which re-affirmed the union's position that whole classes should only be taught by a qualified teacher, and called for supply teachers to be brought back into the employ of the local authority and away from the agencies, with full pension rights restored. Readers of Supply Lines should be pleased !

A motion on Teacher Workload and Stress was passed, which highlighted the unions campaigns against excessive workload and bureaucracy, and pressed for school Safety Reps to use their statutory rights in tacking this. A Motion on the new Independent Safeguardiung Authority highlighted the issue of so-called "soft information" on any allegation against a teacher being retained, regardless of whether that allegation is disproved, and indeed shown to be malicious.

After lunch, the Priority Motion from the Executive was debated and unanimously passed. In the context of the forthcoming general election, it committed us to fighting against cuts to the education budgets in a crisis that was not of our making, and strongly mandated the union to campaign against BNP members teaching and serving as governors. A delegate from Stoke-on-Trent told the chilling story of a proudly self-proclaimed racist who is now, as a BNP councillor, the chair of the Children and Young People's committee on his local council.

The afternoon session saw the only real arguments of the conference, in the debate on the Young Teachers motion. A motion calling on the Young Teachers' Conference to have the right to send a motion to annual conference saw a host of young delegates lining up in support, and to oppose the compromise offered from the Executive which would create a mechanism for the YTC to bring policy through the Executive. After a long debate, the first card vote of conference was taken, which saw the Executive amendment defeated. The main motion will now be debated in the unfinished business section tomorrow.

The session finished with a debate on the workings of Annual Conference, with a list of suggested changes to procedures to improve and update the workings of this event. Again, this went to a card vote, the result will be announced tomorrow.

The eagle-eyed among you may have been looking for a report of the speech to conference from civil service union PCS' general secretary, Mark Serwotka. Unfortunately (he confesses) I was having a coffee at the time and managed to miss it. No offence is intended to colleagues in PCS who are in desperate struggle to defend their redundancy pay rights against a background of looming public sector cuts. I am told that Mr Serwotka was inspiring as ever.

Last day tomorrow-nearly there !

Conference Report: Sunday 4th April

2010-04-04T20:11:00.003+01:00

As it was Easter Sunday, and we'd all been well behaved, we had a half day from conference today.

The day started with the presentation of the Regional and National Membership Development Awards- known affectionately as NUMDA and RUMDA (and, from Wales, the WUMDA...)

The Early Years debate passed a motion that highlighted the impact of the changes of nursery hours from 12.5 to 15 hours. While we warmly welcome the increase in nursery hours, the motion noted with concern the "disorganised and unco-ordinated way in which the increase has been introduced, leaving Early Years Foundation Stage members with a disparate range of working conditions." The motion called on the union to campaign against increasing teachers contact hours, to survey members and design and promote models of best practice to implement the changes.

The session of conference devoted to the motions from the three Equality Conferences (Black members, LGBT members and Disabled members) passed a range of practical proposals that included monitoring discrimination and harassment, the removal of the medical "fitness to teach" regulations, and the importance of disability and LGBT awareness training. As Chair of the LGBT Working Party, I have the right to move the motion from that conference, however I, and the vice-chair Claire Jenkins were pleased to waive this to members of the working party Jeff Evans, Nick Jones and Annette Pryce. It was particularly pleasing to receive a motion from the Disabled Workers conference for the first time.

The International Debate is always an important part of the Union's conference, and this year debated a motion which reaffirmed its commitment to the Global Campaign for Education and the target of all countries implementing the Millennium Development Goals (please look at the work of the One Goal project that uses the World Cup to promote awareness of this campaign)

The motion called on the union to give support and publicity to the developing nations and their teachers who are working towards the goals, and urged local association to elect an officer to further their international work and to set aside a local budget for this purpose. We were also urged to support the work of the Steve Sinnott Foundation.

Conference closed with a tribute to those members who had passed away in the previous year, and had given national service to the NUT. We will also be marking the second anniversary of the death of our late, great General Secretary, Steve Sinnott, tomorrow.

A half-day maybe, but the conference fringe continued, and I was proud to chair the LGBT Teachers reception, which had a superb attendance, to the point where we have clearly outgrown the rooms they allocate us. We were pleased to be visited by the Deputy General Secretary, Kevin Courtney, and a number of ex-presidents.

Gill Goodswen spoke, and introduced the work of Jeff Evans and the Oldham Division in the Prevalence of Homophobia Survey for local associations- which has now been completed in a range of Local Authorities. We were then treated to a superb presentation from Homotopia, an arts and human rights group campaigning against homophobia with young LGBT people. They told us about Project Triangle, a teaching resource that was developed from a group of young LGBT people visiting Auschwitz and seeing first hand the horrors of fascism. Delegates were given a complementary copy of the teaching resource (RRP #95) to use in their schools. We also had a speaker from Love Music Hate Racisim, who spoke about the urgent need to support the project in the run up to the General Election, and the development of the Love Music Hate Homophobia project that will run alongside.

It gave me great pleasure to embarrass Ros McNeill, who is the Officer at HQ responsible for LGBT and other equalities work. Ros works incredibly hard to organise and co-ordinate the union's work in this area, and sadly (in one respect, but great in another...) she will be leaving us for a short while in the summer for the birth of her first baby, with her husband who just happens to be outgoing national president, Martin Reed. We wish her the very best, and want her back soon !

Conference Report: Saturday 3rd April

2010-04-03T13:12:00.010+01:00

The conference opened with a superb Presidential Address from the new President Gill Goodswen. Gill spoke about her experience in the union, from student to head teacher. She had

"...witnessed successive government's attempts to micromanage and control education through the imposition of the National Cuirriculum, National Testing
and assessment, statutory target setting, league tables, OfSTED, Performance
Management, National Strategies, Performance Related Pay, and a variety of
privatisation in the form of GM schools, trusts and academies."
"Each one is someone's often uniformed idea of how our education system could, nay should, be improved. Frequently we have worked from the lowest common denominator, assuming that all are as bad as the worst examples. It insults the majority. It undermines our professional status. It is counterproductive and it is unfair."

Gill went on to tackle the over-scrutinty and punitive inspection regimes, workload, the effect of the TLR system and the growth of privatisation. But all was not doom and gloom-

"This speech may have come across as a speech akin to a Leonard Cohen song... I'm showing my age I know ! But I am not a pessimist. I have been a teacher for more than 30 years- it's still the best job in the world- and I know that the NUT will do everything itcan to ensure that we resist and challenge changes for the worst, as proposed by any Government"

"There is so much for the NUT to do to overcome the increasing inequality and restore the vocabulary of education to what it should be about- the powerful vehicle that can liberate, not the barren language based on unfairness and judgement."

The full text of Gill's speech has been printed up into a presentation booklet that will be available via your local secretary, or you can read the text at our national website (to uploaded soon) by clicking here.

Policy debate took place in the Employment and Conditions of Service Debate with motions on Workload, Teacher Mental Health and the GTC Code of Conduct. Conference agreed to back a vigourous campaign on workload, including the need for restrictions on real working hours, class sizes and the punitive inspection and management culture that "believes teaching is improved by making ever more demans on teachers in a more and more bullying way." Conference agreed to continue supporting members in particular schools who wish to take workload action, and to consider national campaigns, up to strike or non-strike based industrial action if there is no agreement reached with STRB and the government. (This will, of course, appear in your right-wing tabloid newspapers as "teachers to strike...": that isn't what it actually says...

Mick Brookes of the National Association of Head Teachers was the guest speaker who closed the morning session. Mick thanked us for the unique opportunity: it is the first time that an NAHT General Secretary has addressed NUT conference, and in May he was looking forward to Christine addressing their conference in turn.

Mick recalled meeting, alongside all of the teachers unions, the then schools minister Jacqui Smith, where the unions presented detailed proposals to reform assessment at Key Stages 2 and 3. They were sent packing by the Minister, who said that this was "not up for negotiation" Mick remembered a conversation after this meeting with John Bangs, the NUT Assistant Secretary for Education, saying to John "If they won't change the system, maybe we should change it for them." John, apparently replied: "What- the NAHT ?" "Yes- the NAHT !"

The NAHT surveyed over 10,000 parents. This found that:

85% wanted the SATS regime changed
90% trusted teacher assessment, and
75% did not think that league tables were a good measure of a school's performance.

He also mentioned the Alexander Report, which gave an opportunity to bring in a great new Primary curriculum: the report was instead rubbished by Government. Conservative think-tanks, the House of Commons Select Committee on Education, school governors' associations, all recognise that the SATS are not needed. Why not the Government ?

Mick concluded by referring to the ballot for a boycott. He noted that in both unions there were three types of leadership group member: Those who are geared up and ready to support the action; a small number who oppose the abolition of SATS as a principle; and many who are too scared to vote Yes. Mick suggested that, for this third group, that was the very reason to send the paper back and vote Yes: a chance for us to change the culture that is making school leaders feel this way.

Mick received a standing ovation from conference (unthinkable for an NAHT leader a few years ago) and was warmly thanked by Christine.

After lunch the education debate looked at Academies, and particularly the growth of other forms of privatisation such as Trust and the Tory "Free Schools" proposal. The conference overwhelmingly endorsed the campaigns.

A motion from Oldham committed the union to a Reading for Pleasure policy, which praised the work of libraries and the work with Authors to promote the love of reading in our children, and reading for pleasure as a core part of every child's educational entitlement. In a brilliant speech, involving giant rabbit ears, a huge book and getting the audience singing, Jane Walton from Wakefield asked why it is that a prison has to have a library by law, but a school does not. The motion mandated the Union to support the Campaign for the Book, set up by Alan Gibbons and supported by the Schools Library Association

Following the overwhelming endorsement of the motion, conference heard from award winning children's author Alan Gibbons- a leading voice in our anti-SATS campaign. Holding up a paperback, he asked:

"If I were to tear out a page from this book, and call it 'reading' you'd be
horrified. Some of you might faint, some of you might gasp, some of the
quick ones might rush up and tie me up in a straitjacket... but that's what
the SATS do."

Alan condemned the SATS regime of looking at excerpts from a book, and subjecting them to comprehension exercises and one word answers. We should let kids immerse themselves in books- the whole book and nothing but the book. We could invest the millions of pounds wasted on the SATS into libraries and librarians (a vital person- "What do you call a library without a librarian ? A room...")

Alan recalled debating on radio with former Chief Inspector of Schools Chris Woodhead ("a living simile") who argued that sustained silent reading was not appropriate in teaching children, to which Alan had pondered "how do you read, then Chris ?"

In wishing us well, Alan paraphrased Liverpool hero Bill Shankly, saying "Reading is not a matter of life and death... it's much more important than that."

Conference finished with the presentation and adoption of the Accounts and the report from the examiners of accounts.

Conference Report: Friday 2nd April

2010-04-02T22:28:00.007+01:00

Friday is always a gentle introduction to Conference- an afternoon session to set up the business of conference, before we get down to policy debate in the coming days.

Gill Goodswen was installed as president for the 2010 conference, handing over from Martin Reed, The best wishes of Conference were formally given to Martin, in a speech from Judy Moorhouse- an ex president herself, in which she praised Martin's passion for education, his analytical mind, and his sartorial elegance ! She also congratulated Martin's wife Ros who is expecting a baby.

Guests of the Union were welcomed, and given a chance to speak. Alan Whitaker of the lecturers union UCU brought greetings from our sister union, and spoke of the shared challenges ahead. Alan highlighted as an example the experience of prison teachers, who have faced cuts, who have their service put out to competitive tender every 5 years, and who can be removed from their job with no notice at the absolute whim of a prison governor. He spoke of how the cuts in HE and FE budgets hit the students form the least well-off background hardest, especially in the community outreach programmes.

Irene Duncan-Adansa of the Ghanaian Teachers' Union GNAT, and African region president of Education International brought international solidarity, and highlighted how our shared experiences are much closer than we might have thought. her members also face the effects of the global crisis, with cuts in teachers salaries, increased class sizes and cuts to SEN facilities. In Ghana there is also an increase in the use of unqualified teachers and a problem with qualified teachers leaving the profession. Irene reminded us that there is a correlation between education budgets and pupil performance. Education is the way out of the crisis- and "solidarity is the key".

Wes Streeting, President of the National Union of Students praised the long established working relationship between NUS and the NUT. We have shared interests, and increasingly a shared membership, where we work in partnership to support those who are training to teach. Wes noted that in both further and higher education, we are suffering from the effects of an economic crisis which we did not create, and investing in education must be the number one priority for any government serious about getting us out of the crisis- at this time NUT and NUS must stand shoulder to shoulder. "It will be the educators and the educated that get us out of this crisis and ensure that it will not happen again."

John Bills, ex-NUT president and now Chair of the Teacher Support Network praised our long and established relationship. In the last year, TSN has made over #253,000 in grants, often to support teachers and retired teachers with "priority debt": rent, mortgage interest, council tax. The recession is hitting teachers hard, although the charity continues to do well. He welcomed the new Chief Executive of the TSN, Julian Stanley.

TSN celebrated ten years of its telephone helpline for teachers at a Parliamentary reception, where both Schools Minister Vernon Coaker and the chair of the Education Select Committee, Barry Sheerman gave fulsome praise to the work of TSN. The charity also won the Best Use of the Web award at the Charity Times Awards (beating the WWF) for a highly effective site, despite the modest budget !

John thanked the NUT Associations for their donations of more than #100,000, and the many NUT members who are individual subscribers: they help keep TSN serving the profession.

Graham Clayton, who recently retired as senior solicitor for the union, after more than 30 years service was awarded honorary life membership: he gave an amusing speech where he reflected on how proud he was to be an honorary member of the profession- he received a much deserved standing ovation from the conference.

Finally, the Fred and Anne Jarvis Award was given. This is for recognition of service to education and the campaigns of the union for those outside the teaching profession,
and was made to children's author and poet Michael Rosen, a long-standing campaigner for assessment reform, abolishing the SATS and fighting the far-Right.

Michal spoke of how he grew up as the son of teachers, and the NUT was "in his blood." He recalled how his mother had engaged in the fight for equal pay for women teachers (during the period when the NASUWT was formed to oppose that very concept !) He also spoke of his horror at the rise of the far-Right in his part of east London. The very same attacks are currently being made against the Bangladeshi community as against the Jewish community in the 1930's- of which his parents were members.

Michael wished us every success in the anti-SATS campaign, noting that the current regime was "anti-child, anti-teacher and anti-education.... Ed Balls claims that the SATS are part of the standards agenda, he knows that's lies."

In contrast, Michael welcomed the motion on Reading for Pleasure, which is being debated later in the conference.

The award was presented by former General Secretary, Fred Jarvis.

Conference Report: Thursday 1st April

2010-04-01T17:01:00.004+01:00

The NUT's Annual Conference kicks off tomorrow afternoon at the BT Convention Centre in Liverpool. Martin Reed, the outgoing President will take the chair for the first session, before handing over to Gill Goodswen, a primary school headteacher, who will be President for 2010.

As always, expect the most dishonest, misrepresentative and distorted reporting from the tabloid press- fortunately, you can read only the truth on this site. This will be an energetic, thoughtful and education-focused conference, with a range of debates and discussions. The agenda will be:

FRIDAY: Formal business such as agreeing the standing orders, and the welcoming of guests to the conference, in a short session starting at 4.00pm. Most delegates will have travelled up to Liverpool during the day, and will be wanting to get settled in and orientated. This session will also receive reports from our partner organisations the Teacher Support Network, the Teachers' Building Society and Teachers Assurance. The Conference will also be asked to grant honorary Life Membership to Graham Clayton, who recently retired as our senior solicitor after many years of service.

SATURDAY: The session will open with Gill giving her Presidential Address. Debates will then be held on motions relating to Employment Conditions and Rights, and general Education policy. There will also be an address from Mick Brookes from the National Association of Head Teachers, and leading children's author Alan Gibbons. Both are likely to speak out on the campaign to end SATS and give teachers time to teach. In the afternoon, the conference will receive the Accounts of the union, and of our training centre Stoke Rochford Hall.

SUNDAY will have sessions to discuss Early Years and Primary education, Secondary Education and the motions from the Equality Conferences. The Regional and National Membership Development Awards will also be given.

MONDAY will start with a Question and Answer Session with the General Secretary, and then motions on Salaries and Superannuation, Strategy and Finance, Organising and Membership and Resource Management in the union.

TUESDAY will debate Equality issues and SEN, and will conclude with a speech from the General Secretary Christine Blower.

Along the way, there will also be receptions and fringe meetings during the conference, and a chance for delegates to network furiously ! There is always a super exhibition from many organisations working in educational publishing, resources and campaigning: most of us leave with bags of free resources for school !

I will, of course, be posting a report daily on this site- if it's not up till late, I'm probably in the bar arguing over the finer details of policy...

Executive Report: March 2010

2010-03-18T15:42:00.008Z

The full executive met on 19th March.

Christine reminded us that this was probably the last normal executive before the General Election is called. The executive have now had discussions with the education spokespersons from all three main parties- Michael Gove for the Tories, David Laws of the Lib Dems and Vernon Coaker, the Schools Minister, for the Labour Party.

There is likely to be a priority motion on defending public services at our Annual Conference, but we await to see the detail of next week’s budget. The TUC has set out six tax options which it calculates would cover the defecit without the need for massive cuts to services.

Tax on finance market transactions- the Robin Hood Tax
Action to avoid general tax avoidence
A cap on tax relief for higher earners
An empty properties tax
Collecting tax currenlty due by improving HMRC resources
Changing the rules on "Non-Domiciled" tax

The TUC has a roadshow entitled “Speak up for Public Services” to champion investment in services, and to promote the alternatives to swingeing cuts. The TUC has also been heavily involved in campaigning around “extreme overtime”: the TUC suggests that teachers and lawyers are the group that work the most unpaid additional hours. Last Year Feb 26th was Work Your Proper Hours day. The date was chosen as the point in the year you would start earning your normal salary if your unpaid overtime was paid. This year, Christine suggested that the date would be 26th April.

Early Day Motion 845 in the name of Labour MP Frank Dobson on the new Ofsted Inspections now has 76 signatures, including David Laws, the Lib Dem education spokesman. It reads:

"That this House recognises that an effective system of school inspection should be genuinely supportive of school improvement and as such requires the confidence of teachers and headteachers; notes that there are deep concerns in a number of schools about the new inspection framework and evaluation schedule and the interpretation of these by inspectors, particularly in relation to the limiting judgments for safeguarding and achievement; is seriously concerned about reports of inspectors making arbitrary judgments based on trivial issues which lead to schools unfairly being marked down or in some cases deemed to have failed; is also concerned that parents and the general public will be given an erroneous and misleading impression of school standards; and urges Her Majesty's Chief Inspector to revise the guidance to schools and inspectors to remedy these concerns."

You can check whether your MP has signed the motion by clicking here.

On the Union’s Charter for Education- our policy document for use in the General Election, Christine reported that there is a different version now available that does not include the recommendation not to vote for the BNP and fascist parties. This version does not have to be paid for from the Political Fund, so can be downloaded and freely printed and circulated local NUT Associations to Parliamentary Candidates and others during the election campaign. All NUT material to promote education in the General Election campaign can be viewed here.

Christine expressed solidarity with the PCS union who have been taking action against civil service (unilaterally imposed) plans to cut the redundancy pay entitlement- seemingly to smooth the way to prepare for massive (and cheaper) job losses. Redundancies are already an unwelcome feature in many schools, and it is important that we defend decent redundancy packages for hard working staff in the public services.

Christine and John Bangs have recently returned from an OECD meeting- sad to feel that the privatizing agenda seems to be running rampant through the OECD countries. However, some very good speakers, including Diane Ravich, a former advisor to the Bush administration who has recently “changed sides” on the debate around education in the US- and has written a book: The Death and Life of Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education (available from Amazon)

We await to see how much of the unfinished Education Policy business will be passed in the last days of the Parliamentary Session. Christine felt that the proposed School Report Card will be passed; the Government seems to be hinting that this will be ‘better than’ the league tables- particularly in their propaganda seeking to discourage Head Teachers from supporting the NAHT and NUT ballot.

There was a question about what would happen if any NUT head teacher or leadership member taking action over the SATS was victimized or disciplined as a result of taking the action. Christine confirmed that, as with any other action taken by the Union, we would be willing to ballot all NUT members in that school for strike action in their defence.

Christine praised the delegation that recently represented the Union at the Women’s TUC in Eastbourne. We also have delegations coming up to the TUC Disabled Workers and LGBT Conferences- I will be a delegate to both of these- reports will be published on the site as they happen.

The main topic of debate at the Executive was, of course, building for the ballot of leadership group members on the SATS boycott. Both NUT and NAHT's ballots open on the 15th March, and closes at noon on April 16th. All leadership members are urged to return their ballot papers. You can read more about this trade dispute, and the wider education campaign for assessment reform by clicking here.

Training Opportunities

2010-03-18T09:39:00.004Z

The NUT's Summer Term training programme once again has a full range of opportunities for reps and union members.

REPRESENTATIVES should consider the School Rep Training, or if they have already done it, the Second Level Rep Training. There are specialised courses for NUT reps in Sixth Form Colleges and in Academies.

The week-long Health and Safety Rep course is running in July. Every school is entitled to have a trade union Health and Safety rep, and this is a really thorough course leading to formal accreditation recognised by employers and the TUC. This was the first NUT course that I ever did, and I can thoroughly recommend it. (There is a Health and Safety Course on 5-9th July)

MEMBERS: There are courses for School Leaders, "Moving into Management" for those considering seeking promotion, members working in Independent Schools, and women's development.

STUDENT MEMBERS: The acclaimed Just Qualified Summer Workshop will run from 26-28 July.

All NUT courses are FREE to members, including your accommodation at Stoke Rochford, travel and food. If you haven't done an NUT course yet, get applying ! To find out more details and to sign up online, visit the national training site here

O+M: Working with the NUS

2010-03-18T09:23:00.004Z

NUT has, for some years now, developed a strong working relationship with the National Union of Students, and the O+M committee received a report from the meeting this month between NUT executive members and staff and representatives from the NUS.

We were updated on current NUS Campaigns- their objections to the current funding arrangements and top-up fees, and the Hidden Costs campaign to look at the real costs for current students.

We will have a presence at the NUS Conference in Gateshead in April, and continue to support student societies in teacher training colleges and universities.

The NUT has a special website for its student teacher members at:- http://www.students.teachers.org.uk/

SATS Ballot Now Open

2010-03-17T15:09:00.002Z

The ballot is now open for NUT Primary Leadership group members, to vote to boycott the administration of this year’s SATS. We are joined in this trade dispute by the National Association of Head Teachers, who are balloting their primary members at the same time.

This is a trade dispute concerning leadership group members' conditions of service. Action taken would, of course, not be strike action. Schools would be open and children taught. The ballot will close at midday on 16 April. Both the NUT and the NAHT encourage those balloted to vote 'YES'.

boycott is separate from but runs parallel to our general educational campaign against SATs. We have powerful public support for this campaign - including from politicians, parents, academics and authors: you can visit the campaign site here.

My local NUT association are hosting a public meeting with acclaimed children’s author Alan Gibbons, Kevin Courtney our Deputy General Secretary, and David Pratt of the NAHT, at the Brighthelm Centre, Brighton at 7.30pm on Tuesday 30th March. All are welcome.