Allegations of
abuse
A motion calling for changes in procedures when children or
others make allegations against teachers was well received by both the Welsh
Assembly and Secretary of State, David Blunkett, who promised an urgent review.
Conference was addressed by Marje Evans, the NUT head-teacher from Gwent who
had been pursued for 18 months as a result of, largely unknown, charges
accusing her of having slapped an unruly child. Marje was eventually cleared of
all charges and disciplinary action, with the help of NUT Cymru and NUT
Headquarters.
The motion calls for rapid investigation of allegations, to establish innocence
quickly where this is appropriate, and to preserve anonymity of the accused
teacher. The Secretary of State has accepted the Union’s call and there
will be talks with police, social services and the DfEE to seek common,
nationally implemented procedures to seek to remove the stress and anxiety that
occurs.
Marje is not alone and we have cases in Suffolk where the reaction of the child
protection agencies is out of all proportion to the alleged offence and where
the "investigation" is prejudicial and flawed.
_________________________ Unacceptable
Behaviour
The NUT is pro-inclusion and our policy is that children
with Special Educational Needs of all descriptions should normally be educated
in their neighbourhood school.
However, the NUT has also always underlined that the neighbourhood school can
only do this if the provision available can be as supportive, |
specialised and as well-equipped as would be
available in separate Special provision, and where there is no detrimental
impact on the rest of the pupils and staff.
Our local opposition to the inclusion of some violent and disruptive pupils,
and to the closure of Oakwood, has always been because Suffolk has failed to
produce specialised provision at neighbourhood level.
Conference passed a resolution calling upon school staff and pupils to be
protected from violent pupils, but went on to spell out the kind of measures
that would be required for inclusion of EBD pupils to work. These included:
- training for all staff;
- extra staff for early intervention;
- counsellors in every school
- support from mental health agencies;
- flexible placements in PRUs or EBD schools to maintain
contact with school, and to seek re-integration;
- a behaviour support team of experienced practitioners of
sufficient size to work across all schools;
- funding arrangements which promote individual remedies
for each EBD pupil without penalising schools which have to exclude if unable
to provide the specialist care.
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More detail
_________________________ Cover to
Contract
The NUT National Executive agreed to suspend the "cover
to contract" joint action with the NASUWT following their announcement in
March. The NUT only agreed to such a suspension on condition that members in
schools such as Holywells continued to be |
protected from the excessive workload
involved in covering for unfilled vacancies. The Union is anxious to maintain a
common approach with the NASUWT and to be included in any talks about a new
contract for teachers, which the LEAs’ representative, Graham Lane,
indicated would be on the table.
Graham Lane repeated this in his address to Conference, in which he also
praised the NUT for being the only teachers’ union to have fought
consistently for the restoration of the right for teachers to negotiate with
their employers on pay and conditions (removed illegally by the Conservative
Government when it created the STRB).
The Union has made it clear that members in Holywells and any other school
protected by the ballot, remain protected from overload during the period of
suspension, and that the action will be reinstated if the employers try to
return to expecting cover beyond contractual obligations.
__________________
The President’s address pointed out that League Tables
never applied in Scotland, have been abolished in N. Ireland and are on the way
out in Wales.
On the teacher supply crisis, he called for OFSTED inspectors and threshold
assessors to be drafted back into the classroom . "This would be a
cost-free initiative and would have the added bonus of allowing inspectors to
refresh their classroom experience".
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Published by the Suffolk Division NUT 1
Gainsborough Road BURY ST EDMUNDS, IP33 3RX ( & FAX 01284 763980
martingoold@suffolknut.org.uk www.suffolknut.org.uk
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