Suffolk Division NUT Information for Division Council Meeting on Wednesday March 7th 2012 Venue: Waveney House Hotel, Puddingmoor, NR34 9PL, Beccles

Latest News and Developments:

1. EXECUTIVE NEWS No.178 FEBRUARY 2012
2. EXECUTIVE NEWS - JANUARY 2012
3. The Secretary of State for Education has identified more than two hundred primaries across England that he intends to turn into academies as well as nine or ten local authorities with ‘unacceptable high numbers of under-performing primaries’.  The Government’s attempt to force schools to become academies assumes that academies are the only way to raise standards and that academies always raise standards. Neither is true. It is also undemocratic to force a school to be an academy against the wishes of a school community.  We are pleased that Tottenham MP David Lammy has tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament raising these very concerns. The motion calls on the Government to end its policy of forcing primary schools to become academies and instead work with parents, governors and teachers to raise and maintain high standards in our schools..
4. Privatisation Update No. 21 and 22 now available on Hearth
5. 12-047-EC&R - DIAMOND JUBILEE PUBLIC HOLIDAY - 5 JUNE 2012: For most schools, this will fall in the half-term break. The late May Bank Holiday has been moved to Mon, 4 June. The DfE has amended to the Regulations to reduce the school year 2011/12 to 189 days. The DfE has already made amendments to the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document 2011 by:
   • reducing the number of days a teacher employed full-time must be available for work from 195 to 194 days for the academic year 2011/12 and the number of days on which a teacher may be required to teach pupils and perform other duties from 190 days to 189 days; and
   • reducing the number of hours a teacher employed full-time must be available to perform their duties from 1265 hours to 1258.5 hours. Part-time teachers will be required to work ‘that proportion of 1258.5 hours that corresponds to the proportion of total remuneration the teacher is entitled to be paid pursuant to paragraph 46’, in other words pro-rata arrangements will apply.
   Most academies employ at least some teachers on STPCD conditions, so the above guidance applies equally to them. Where staff are not employed on STPCD conditions, the position is more complex. Whether academy employers must grant the extra day is very much dependent on the terms of the contract of employment. If the contract of employment states that the teacher is entitled to all bank holidays, the employer will be bound to grant the additional day.
6. 12-046-SSEE - SIXTH FORM COLLEGES – NUT CAMPAIGN AND INDUSTRIAL ACTION: NUT members in sixth form colleges in London took a half day’s strike action on 23 February.  NUT members in other colleges across the country are now being called on to take a half day’s strike action on 15 March. 
7. 12-045-S&C - OFFICER REPORTING ON HEARTH/WEEKLY MEMBERSHIP UPDATE REPORTS
8. 12-037-SSEE - TEACHERS' PENSION INCREASE FOR APRIL 2012: The proposed increase for 2012 is 5.2%, based on the September 2010 CPI.  The same increase is due to be applied to local government pensions. The NUT is continuing its legal challenge to the Government's decision to switch indexation from the RPI.  Under that previous link, the pensions increase would have been 5.6%.
9. 12-044-SC - PROPOSED RULE CHANGES TO USE OF POLITICAL FUND:

   1. Campaign Expenditure	the present wording will be changed to read ‘on the production, publication or distribution of any literature, documents, film, sound recording or advertisement, or any event, festival or campaign, the main purpose of which is to persuade people not to vote for political parties and their candidates who promote racist, fascist and similar views’. The aim of this proposal is to remove the present limitation that the particular activity being supported by the Political Fund can only take place at elections.
   2. Voter Registration	‘to encourage our members or identified groups within our membership, or to encourage people generally or specific groups of people, to register to vote’.
   3. Costs of Attendance at Party Political Conferences	the provision of expenses incurred by officials or officers of the NUT at the annual conferences or other meetings of political parties’.

10. 12-043-SC - PENSION AND APPRAISAL CAMPAIGN UPDATE
11. 12-042-ECR – DEALING WITH ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE – NEW GUIDANCE FROM THE DfE states that a quick resolution of an allegation made against a teacher should be a clear priority and that at any stage of consideration or investigation, all unnecessary delays should be eradicated. On the issue of staff suspension following an allegation, the guidance states that an individual should only be suspended if there is no reasonable alternative. If suspension is deemed appropriate, the reasons and justification should be recorded by the school and the individual notified of the reasons.  The guidance highlights the issue that pupils that are found to have made malicious allegations are likely to have breached school behaviour policies. The school should therefore consider whether to apply an appropriate sanction, which could include temporary or permanent exclusion (as well as referral to the police if there are grounds for believing a criminal offence may be have been committed). The guidance also provides that all schools and FE colleges should have procedures for dealing with allegations. The procedures should:
    • make it clear that all allegations should be reported straight away, normally to the head teacher, principal or proprietor if it is an independent school;
    • identify the person, often the chair of governors, to whom reports should be made in the absence of the head teacher or principal, or in cases where the head teacher or principal themselves are the subject of the allegation of concern
    • include contact details for the local authority designated officer (LADO) responsible for providing advice and monitoring cases.
    Finally, the guidance provides that allegations that are found to have been malicious should be removed from personnel records and should not be referred to in employer references. The NUT takes the view that this policy aim has retrospective effect. Existing personnel records containing malicious allegations should now be removed from teachers’ personnel files.
12. 12-141-EE - NATIONAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE: 14-15 JULY 2012
13. 12-038-RM - ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012 - TORQUAY
14. 12-040-ECR - CHANGES TO PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND CAPABILITY ARRANGEMENTS IN ENGLAND: see Secretary's report.
15. 12-039-EE - VENEZUELA SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN EVENT
16. 12-036-SC - PENSIONS CAMPAIGN UPDATE
17. 12-035-SC - SHOW RACISM THE RED CARD - SCHOOLS' COMPETITION AND PRIZE GIVING EVENT
18. 12-034-SC - UNITE AGAINST FACISM: NATIONAL CONFERENCE - 25 FEBRUARY 2012
19. 12-033-EC&R - HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVISERS BULLETIN NO. 91
20. 12-032-SC - OFFICER EMAIL AND BULK EMAIL STATUS
21. 12-031-SC - PENSION CAMPAIGN - SCHOOL REPRESENTATIVES' BRIEFINGS
22. 12-030-S&C - SIXTH FORM COLLEGE BALLOTS - RESULTS
23. 12-029-RM - STANDING ORDERS FOR ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012
24. 12-028-RM - ARRANGEMENTS FOR ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012
25. 12-027-EC&R - SUPPLY TEACHERS: three NUT publications for supply teachers:

    Supporting Supply Teachers, available on Hearth and teachers.org at: http://www.teachers.org.uk/node/14723, sets out the steps the Union is taking to support supply teacher members and also the measures supply teachers can take to help protect their own position.

    The Agency Workers Regulations - NUT Guidance for Members who are Head Teachers, available on Hearth and teachers.org at: http://www.teachers.org.uk/node/14761, examines the implications for head teachers who may be engaging supply teachers through agencies.

    The Agency Worker Regulations – NUT Guidance for Supply Teacher Members, available on Hearth and teachers.org at: http://www.teachers.org.uk/node/14764, provides a summary of the regulations and includes practical advice for NUT members who use agencies for supply work.

26. 12-026-E&E - NUT DISABLED TEACHERS' CONFERENCE 2012
27. 12-025-RM - VACANCIES - NATIONAL DISCIPLINARY PANEL AND NATIONAL APPEALS COMMITTEE
28. 12-024-EE - BAHRAIN: ONLINE PROTEST TO RELEASE BAHRAINI TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT:  The global union movement is calling for a massive online protest to get Mahdi 'Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb, the President of the Bahraini Teachers’ Association (BTA), released from jail.  Mahdi's health is rapidly deteriorating and the authorities have refused him access to medical treatment.  He was unjustly jailed for ten years for legitimately leading his union during the nation-wide protests of March 2011. The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry has called for the release of all political prisoners. The BICI report also describes detention and torture methods that have been inflicted on Mahdi and other detainees by the authorities.  His retrial is on 19 February 2012. According to Amnesty International, Mahdi and Jalila al-Salman (the BTA's Vice- President) appear to have been targeted solely for their leadership of the BTA and for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.The Bahraini authorities have cracked down on teachers and trade unionists through arbitrary arrests, military prosecution, investigation, suspensions, dismissals, salary cuts and torture.  While some workers have been reinstated in response to the global outcry, the situation remains dire for most.  None of the 55 trade union leaders - including six national leaders - have been reinstated.
29. 12-023-O&M - TEACHERS ASSURANCE: Message from NUT/TAC, re. changes to way TAC will give teachers advice - moving from individual visits, to visiting schools and groups, with telephone follow-up for individuals. Letter for members outlining the new approach.
30. 12-022-ECR - IMPORTANCE OF FACILITY TIME TO UK ECONOMY: A TUC report ( Facility Time for Union Reps: Separating Fact from Fiction) this month says unions in the workplace could be saving employers in the private and public sectors as much £701m a year or £2m a day.  Where union representatives negotiate with employers on behalf of their colleagues, there are significant cost savings to be had with more productive and better trained workforces, safer workplaces, fewer cases taken to employment tribunal and less is spent on recruitment and retention.   The report says that a good deal of the work of reps takes place in their own time - 16 per cent of union representatives said that less than a quarter of the time they spent on union work was paid for by their employer.  And it calculates that for every £1 spent on union facility time in the public sector, between £3 and £9 is returned in accrued benefits. Report is at: http://www.tuc.org.uk/tucfiles/206/FacilityTimeSeparatingFactfromFiction.pdf
31. 12-021-EE - DEMONSTRATION IN SOLIDARITY WITH MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
32. 12-020-S&C - DIVISION SECRETARIES' BRIEFING: 2 FEBRUARY 2012
33. 12-019-RM - ELECTIONS FOR EXECUTIVE MEMBERS – 2012-2014 - ELECTORAL DISTRICTS, BLACK MEMBER, DISABLED and LGBT CONSTITUENCY SEATS
34. 12-016-SSEE - PENSIONS UPDATE - SPRING TERM 2012: Current pensions campaign material, including the NUT’s briefing on the current Government proposals and a fully updated NUT Pensions Calculator, can be found at: www.teachers.org.uk/pensions.  The Government has confirmed that it will increase the employee contribution rate from April 2012.  The increase for 2012-13 is given in the table below:

    Salary Band	Contribution rate in 2012-13	Increase from current 6.4%
    Up to £14,999	6.4%	0%
    £15,000 - £25,999	7.0%	0.6%
    £26,000 - £31,999	7.3%	0.9%
    £32,000 - £39,999	7.6%	1.2%
    £40,000 - £74,999	8.0%	1.6%
    £75,000 - £111,999	8.4%	2.0%
    Over £112,000	8.8%	2.4%

35. The DfE ’s proposals are for a banded contribution structure.  A teacher would pay the same contribution rate on their whole salary.  The contribution tier into which teachers fall will be determined by their full-time equivalent salary.  A part-time teacher working a 0.5 fraction and earning £18,000 would therefore pay a 7.6 per cent contribution rate. The increase for 2012-13 translates into the following contribution rate for teachers on the classroom scales:

    Pay Band	England and Wales	Fringe Area	Outer London	Inner London
    M1	7%	7%	7%	7.3%
    M2	7%	7%	7.3%	7.3%
    M3	7%	7.3%	7.3%	7.3%
    M4	7.3%	7.3%	7.3%	7.3%
    M5	7.3%	7.3%	7.6%	7.6%
    M6	7.3%	7.6%	7.6%	7.6%
    UPS1	7.6%	7.6%	7.6%	8%
    UPS2	7.6%	7.6%	7.6%	8%
    UPS3	7.6%	7.6%	8%	8%

    The Government plans further contribution increases in 2013-14 and 2014-15 as part of its plan to raise revenue from public sector pension schemes. The Union continues to oppose the employee contribution increase for 2012-13 and the proposed contribution increases for 2013-14 and 2014-15.
36. 12-017-RM - ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012, TORQUAY: PAYMENT OF CONFERENCE REPRESENTATIVES' TRAVEL EXPENSES AMENDMENT: HQ has set the Secretaries' expenses allowance at £100 for a maximum of 4 days (same as last year).
37. 12-015-OM - 2012 MEMBERSHIP REGULATIONS: Division website page on subscriptions has been up-dated. It includes a record of the previous 7 years, for tax relief claims.
38. 12-014-RM - ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012, TORQUAY: PAYMENT OF CONFERENCE REPRESENTATIVES' TRAVEL EXPENSES
39. 12-010-SSEE - SCHOOL FUNDING IN ENGLAND – SPRING TERM 2012 UPDATE
40. 12-013-SC - UNILEVER DISPUTE – WITHDRAWAL OF FINAL SALARY PENSION SCHEME
41. 12-011-OM - 2010/11 SURVEY OF YOUNG TEACHERS’ OFFICERS : LOCAL ACTIVITY
42. 12-012-SC - SIXTH FORM COLLEGE BALLOTS – JANUARY 2012
43. 12-009-OM - 2012 ‘QUICK READS’

Assistant Secretary's Report

1. 4'rce: Meeting with LA on 17th Feb. The Union passed on to the LA concerns expressed by members about behaviour, equipment, child protection, premises and lack of joined-up management response to discipline, curriculum and expected standards.   The LA were concerned and took away our reports to discuss with management.
2. EOTAS: The Union pressed the LA very hard to change their proposals to do away with 1:1 tuition and concentrate all out of school teaching in group tuition centres.  A briefing prepared for today's CYP Forum meeting by the LA supports much of the NUT's submission and they sat that they will now include a "further flexible tier of employment" of staff working zero hours contracts as and when required".  This puts the current casual 1:1 tutors onto a contract, making them employees of the County Council.  They will continue to recruit to the permanent (full or part-time) posts available in the various centres.  The Union is well pleased with the outcome, as it achieves all that we set out in our observations, and the decision to move all existing tutors to zero hours contracts means that there will be no redundancies.  This may disappoint those who would have liked to retire on the grounds of redundancy, but there was never really any realistic prospect of redundancy payments being paid under the current circumstances.
3. Soulbury: A working party has now met to make representations to the Soulbury Forum over the wording of leave arrangements and availability of staff when not diaried to be in the office or in meetings.  The SPA arrangements are also being reviewed, largely to ensure compliance and a common understanding by all line managers.
4. "Difference" with the LA re. their refusal to implement the 2005 JNC Agreement on Industrial Injury.  Meeting still awaited.  The LA has proposed drafting some guidance to schools and line managers concerning the sick pay arrangements and Occupational Health procedures, in the light of the 2005 JNC Agreement.
5. SOR: St Louis: MG has deputised for GW in the SOR informal monthly briefings.  The last briefing was attended by the Catholic representative, to discuss the findings of the Schools Adjudicator who overruled the LA and Diocese's proposal to close St Louis Middle.  MG met with members at St Louis and there is now a proposal by St Benedicts US to admit Yr 7 pupils from Newmarket and Haverhill, instead of them going to St Louis.  This would pre-empt the new consultation which should be held about new proposals for the Catholic pyramid, given the Adjudicator's report.  That report severely criticised the Local and Diocesan Authorities for flawed and inadequate consultation.  The NUT is pushing a federation approach once again.  The Authorities say that this was "rejected by the schools", by which they mean a small conclave of Upper and Primary School heads and chairs of Governors.  We will be pointing out that, once again, St Benedicts has failed to include the Unions as one of the stakeholders with whom there should be consultative meetings.
6. SCC have confirmed the following list of schools becoming Academies in Suffolk:

   Hartismere High School Sep-10 Forest Community Primary School * Nov-10 Samuel Ward Arts & Technology College Nov-10 Debenham CEVC High School Jan-11 Holywells High School * - now Ipswich Academy Mar-11 Thomas Mills High School Jun-11 Hadleigh High School Jul-11 Copleston High School Jul-11 Farlingaye High School Jul-11 Holbrook High School Aug-11 Sir John Leman High School Aug-11 Bungay High School Aug-11 East Bergholt High School Aug-1

   Kesgrave High School Aug-11 Horringer Court Middle School Aug-11 Westley Middle School Aug-11 County Upper School Aug-11 Kirkley - now East Point * Sep-11 Orwell - now Felixstowe * Sep-11 Deben - now Felixstowe * Sep-11 The Ashley School Sep-11 St Mary's CEVAP School, Mildenhall * Sep-11 Priory School Sep-11 Thurleston Jan-12 Thomas Wolsey Feb-12 Stradbroke Business and Enterprise College Feb-12 St Albans Catholic High School Feb-12

Date of next meeting: May 9th 2012