Archives: Notes for Division Council Meeting of May 11th 2000. Westley Middle School, BURY ST EDMUNDS.

INFO 1: Matters Pending or Arising from previous meetings:

  1. re. conference on "When Research informs Teaching and Learning": Finlay Martin cancelled at the last moment. As the booking was not refundable, an alternative was sought and Tricia Andrews attended, together with the second delegate Christine Lloyd. The Division meets the cost of one. Secretary also has copies of letter to Ms Lloyd from Tony Dooley re. misunderstandings over the booking, eventually put right.
  2. Letter of thanks received from the member who received a cash settlement in a case of non-renewal of fixed-term contract.
  3. SCITT Schools: Secretary informed Regional Office of the schools and will be in contact with the designate officers and course leaders to suggest RO involvement in training on Conditions of Service. This has already been raised informally with Eddie Casey.
  4. Re. Teacher Representative Elections: The original notice from LEA (4 February) stated "Any full or part-time (0.5fte or more) teacher working within special education in Suffolk may nominate a colleague working in special education as the representative, but only full time teachers can be nominated" and the definition of "Special Education" excluded SENCOs. Secretary challenged both, quoting the European Directive on part-time working. The LEA agreed to accept nominations of part-timers and sent out a retraction. However, they did not accept that SENCOs were working "within special education". Secretary circulated electoral address + letter to Reps, etc. But our candidate Barbara Robinson was not elected. The successful candidate, Judith Palmer, is also an NUT Member, and is ASC teacher at Westbourne HS.
  5. Copy of letter from Estelle Morris received via Jamie Cann, MP re. his request for a meeting with Ipswich NUT Members, "I regret that due to heavy diary pressures, I will be unable to meet with you."
  6. Waiver Clauses: John Dixon and Martin Goold met with Alan Aldred to discuss the use of waiver clauses. There was some reluctance to depart from the "money saving" legally possible via such clauses, but John put forcibly the possibility of challenging their use. particularly in the area of EMTAG, because of the likelihood of potential discrimination. Secretary has requested more detail of use of these contracts from LEA.
  7. No reply from DJET to our letter of Dec 10th re, Performance Indicators and the error over class size in "Action 99". But Action 2000 has now been received and this gives says that the percentage of primary school classes with more than 30 pupils in KS1 as 7% "this year", with a target to reduce this to 1% next year. Note this is the percentage of classes, not pupils.
  8. Black Teachers' Conference: Secretary circulated all Associations asking for £20 donations to be sent to Division Treasurer to meet the cost. - Handyone project: donation to be considered.
  9. TBF: Donation to be considered.
  10. re. Education Now and the World Bank / World Trade Organisation. All 6 Suffolk MPs contacted, and a full response received. Many included a copy of Clare Short's address "The Hugh Gaitskill Lecture". Also OXFAM picked up on our activity and enlisted Penny Cook's support for a photo opportunity and some more publicity (Hadleigh High School).

INFO 2: Information Circulars from Headquarters/National Level

  1. Performance related pay: Survey of members' views: results were made available at conference:
    Will it motivate and retain teachers? Yes 1.8%
    No 96.3%
    Will it be supportive of effective teaching? Yes 2.5%
    No 94.9%
    will it encourage students to become teachers? Yes 2.5%
    No 89.3%
    Is it right to impose a link between pay and pupils' external examination and national test results? Yes 1.4%
    No 97.8%
    Demonstration? Yes 76.3%
    No 9.8%
    refuse to undertake additional workload? Yes 89.1%
    No 4.9%
    refuse to undertake work not required byu conditions of service? Yes 85.8%
    No 7.3%
    one day unsustained strike? Yes 59.7%
    No 26.4%
  2. Performance related pay, Lobby and legal action. The Government is attempting to change the Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (without consultation or parliamentary process) to include a contractual duty to: "assist the headteacher in carrying out threshold assessments of other teachers" and the threshold application guidance includes involving "the assessor speaking to a teacher or line manager to verify evidence cited in the application or carrying out classroom observation." The Union successfully sought leave for judicial review. A third string of the legal challenge was that these phrases would apply to Wales, without reference to the Welsh Assembly, where a vote to reject PRP for teachers was defeated nem con.
  3. Performance related pay publicity: Founded on Unfairness (Booklet, letter to Governors), Posters: Lies and the Truth; Dolly Blunkett, STOP!; Unfair Unjust Unsound, Threshold application advice to members. Don't mess;
  4. Performance related pay, on-going campaign
  5. The STRB Report 2000: The new pay scales; Management Allowances, Assimilation, Safeguarding
  6. Reform of Local Authority Structures and Teacher Representation on LEA Education committees: Secretary completed HQ questionnaire on Suffolk situation.
  7. Exclusions: DfEE letter to Heads/Governors January 21 "There may be circumstances where for a serious offence, for example involving violence, it is not appropriate to apply the "prior alternative strategy" test." and "A permanent exclusion can be given for a first offence, for example involving violence, but only when the headteacher has had further opportunity (not in the "heat of the moment") to consider the incident in question".
  8. Health & Safety Leaflets: Using Computers Safely in Schools; Meningitis in School
  9. New Opportunities Fund: further advice from HQ. Announcement from DfEE that NOF money can only be spent on approved training, not for cover, hardware or accreditation. Briefing dated January 2000.
  10. Education Action Zones: OFSTED coordination of reports in EAZs.
  11. Standards Fund Grant 32: Teaching Assistants.
  12. Harassment and Workplace bullying: further guidelines for model policies, from HQ.
  13. The impact of OFSTED Inspections: The Human cost of Special Measures. Important booklet from NFER and NUT. Secretary has ordered 4 more copies for specific use. Associations invited to ask for copies from E&EO.
  14. Best Value: updated information from HQ.
  15. Good recruitment practice: some ideas.
  16. Training Schools: the first lot of 50 such schools due to come on stream in September 2000. Rumour has it that Horringer Court Middle School (BSE) has been selected. Secretary is enquiring.
  17. Monitoring of NQT Induction: Short changing the profession (Survey results).
  18. Parental Leave: up-dated advice from HQ
  19. Key Action points in Post-16 Education.
  20. Collective agreements on tackling racism. TUC questionnaire.
  21. Membership regulations 2000
  22. Excellence in cities: up-date and information sheet on City Academies. (Torsten Friedag has joined the DfEE Excellence in Cities team, having wrecked his last three schools, we can only hope he will have a similar effect on the DfEE.
  23. GTC election results.
  24. Equality, Spring 2000 "magazine".
  25. Job Sharing: poster and leaflet: important new publication from NUT
  26. "Broken Promises" Global action week for education.
  27. Executive Report No 70, on PRP, Disability Rights, Cuba, SEN.
  28. From the Teacher Support Network (TBF): Annual General Meeting, and Local Association Secretaries Conference, 20th May.
    From SCC:
  29. Targets for LEA include: Making free early education available. Increasing the number of pupils gaining A*-C grades at GCSE from 53.8 this year to 55% by Summer 2001.
  30. School Organisation Plan 1999-2004, review.
  31. Committee Papers for Learning for Life Theme Panel (2/3/00, 18/4/00) and Executive Committee (29/2/00, 28/3/00)
  32. Minutes of Theme Panel (20/1/00, 2/3/00) and Executive Committee (2/3/00, 14/3/00)
  33. LMS Document 07/00: Budget Notification 2000-2001.
  34. From Alan Aldred re. facilities: The LEA has conceded on use of PDCs. He says "... for the present at least, it will be possible to arrange some limited use of the PDC facilities by associations without charge, provided that this does not compete with fee-earning use. The Teachers' JNC pre-meeting may continue to be held at the SSPDC: this is part of the joint consultative structure and we willl assume responsibility for ensuring that a suitable meeting facility is available. Provided that they do not clash significantly with the Advisory Service's use of PDC facilities, the annual training of school representatives for which you seek daytime facilities may also be held at the PDCs. This should not be a problem provided that it does not exceed one booking per year at each PDC. It is not practicable to offer use of the PDCs for regular association meetings, nor for any occasional meetings such Mr Dooley's meeting with an MP. The main facility available to associations should continue to be the use of school premises under the arrangements which are covered by the delapidation charge for community use. This would be out of normal school hours at a time when schools are open for other community uses and there are there fore no additional caretaking or other related charges. Any charges for use up to the end of the Spring term will be waived, however."
    From elsewhere:
  35. Department for International Development (DFID): Booklet Learning Opportunities for All"
  36. From CASE: Parents and Schools, April 2000 "Looking for the ideal solutions, and appeal for local contacts.

Part 1: Executive Committee (17:30 - 18:45)

Reminder: NUT Conferences already notified:
Date Description Venue
19-21 May 2000 Black Teachers' Conference
30 June - 2 July 2000 National Education Conference Stoke Rochford Hall
4 November 2000 Equal Opportunities Conference
2 December 2000 "Pride in Education" Conference
11-13 Oct 2000 Division Secretaries' briefing Stoke Rochford
6-8 Dec 2000 Using the Media: Training for Local Officers

E2: Campaign against Performance Related Pay: EC to consider news from Conference and HQ and recommend local activity.

E3: Change dates in Plan of Work with fall within the school holiday (marked **):

Proposed plan of work 2000-2001
September 21st 2000 Bury St Edmunds
** October 26th 2000 ** Ipswich
November 29th 2000 Ipswich
January 18th 2001 Ipswich
** February 22nd 2001 ** Ipswich
March 22nd 2001 (AGM) Bury St Edmunds
May 10th 2001 Bury St Edmunds
June 7th 2001 Stowmarket
July 12th 2001 Leiston
   
Tuesday 3rd July 2001 Membership Meeting,
Whitehouse Infants

E4: Appointment of Divisional Health and Safety Officer: Tim Mobb has asked to stand down and Colin Exworth has been nominated by Ipswich Association to take his place, including on the Suffolk County Safety Committee (next meeting 2.00, Wed. 21st June). EC are asked to endorse Colin's appointment. Colin has been in correspondence with the Secretary re. actively pursuing H&S matters on behalf of the Division and seeking clarification on his status as an officer, but not a member of the EC. EC will need to establish working practices to recommend to Council.

E5: Examination of Division Council Agenda and consideration of recommendations which would speed the work of the Council.

PART 2: DIVISION COUNCIL MEETING

2a: Information Exchange and Reports

Registration: Please sign the attendance register and record any apologies for absence. The meeting will be begin at 19:00, giving a period of reading and informal discussion. Motions arising from anything on this agenda should be sent to the Secretary to arrive before the Executive Committee meeting.

Reports and information exchange:

  1. Glenys won the election by 1648 votex to Chris Grant's 695.
  2. Extract from NUT News: JUDICIAL REVIEW: The NUT sought judicial review of the Government`s decision to introduce, with no consultation or debate either in or out of Parliament, a new duty requiring teachers to inform on others as part of the threshold process. The judge found for the NUT, awarding a judicial review on all issues. He was highly critical of the Government in many respects, wondering when teachers would make their reports and why anyone would take up teaching. On the issue of the desire of the National Assembly in Wales to exclude examination and test results from the threshold criteria, the judge observed that the Government had made a mess of devolution.
  1. Section 188 notices: New: Halesworth MS (objection lodged), Woolpit (Jan 2000).
  2. PRP in Suffolk:Special PRP Brief: Secretary prepared a briefing on PRP (also Advisory Teachers & Oakwood) despatched to Association Secretaries for distribution on 25/2/2000, posted on website same day. A second, on the arrangements for Threshold Assesment in Suffolk was sent out at the beginning of April, also available on the website.
    April 27th: The Secretary contacted Philip Shaw to seek details of the Threshold Assessment 2000 for peripatetic music teachers (where the standard criteria cannot be applied) and to D Thornton (Deputy CDE) for details of how the LEA will apply the scheme to Hospital Teachers, Teachers in PRUs, Home Tutors, "additional hours" SEN teachers and any EMTAG or other teachers on contracts which do not attach them to a particular school for PRP purposes. We asked for information and application forms to be made available to members in time to meet the June 5th deadline.
    The letter went on: "We note also the PRP regulation which states that supply or part-time teachers serving in more than one school should be assessed at the school at which they do the most work. This could cause a few problems of congestion in some schools, where there could be long-term supply arrangements covering illness (where the teacher on sick leave is also entitled to be assessed) in addition to the normal number of supply teachers brought in for INSET or other purposes. The overall workload could be extensive and Heads might seek some assistance with this."
  3. PRP Training: Secretary contacted all schools with automatic FAXes to give headteachers the same information as NUT headteachers had already received, about not getting involved in threshold assessment training until later in the Year. Most heads ignored this and went ahead, largely wasting a day, it would seem. Few members objected enough for the PD Day to be re-converted into a normal teaching day!
  4. Appraisal: The Secretary believes that the crunch will come when heads of Department/Subject or KS Coordinators, etc., get dragged in to Appraisal for Payment by Results. Careful targeted propaganda could help pick up more members and frustrate the cause of PRP still further. Our stance on the Appraisal Committee must reflect our opposition to the direct link between Appraisal and Pay, while pointing out the amount of time and energy to be spent on appraising everyone, every year (Yes, that is what it means). The result of all this could be a continuation of the "cheap and nasty" self-assessment application form leaving all the power in the Heads' hands.
  5. Lobby of Parliament: Associations to report on their activities. Waveney and Yoxford had a particularly productive day.
  6. Oakwood: The Secretary responded on April 26th to the second Oakwood consultation document, (oakwood2.htm). As the LEA had not responded in writing to our suggestion of dropping opposition to closure per se in return for a stability policy guaranteeing redeployment for 2 members, the second response was as uncompromising as the first. The LEA intends to out-source the "Centre of Excellence" via the self-styled National Teaching Advisory Service which is likely to be based at Belstead House. The LEA now say that there will be three separate management teams / organising sharing the old Oakwood premises, with no links between them. This, they say, is "flexible provision". The Secretary has been invited to give evidence to the Scrutiny Commission on 16th June.
  7. Orwell High School:
    Talks between NUT and Chair of Governors + Principal re-commenced after the resolution of the two grievances. The harassment case took weeks to get started, then an even longer delay getting the report and conclusion written up. We still await the report, which has to go to the Governing Body. The Union made various suggestions about improving security and personnel relationships in the school. The Principal continued to seek to remove two Senior Teachers from the SMT, despite a formal agreement not to do so made with the Union and Chair of Governors. This intention was again signalled in correspondence with the LEA. The LEA is insisting on a proper action plan to address OFSTED's criticism of management relationships.
    Towards the end of term, a court case involving a member on lunch duty attacked on school premises by a former pupil was dismissed. Staff felt so let down by this event that they decided to withdraw from lunchtime duties and to leave the premises en masse. This reached the newspapers, and the Principal wrote to parents to inform them that they would only serving free meals from May 2nd and that parents would have to take responsibility for their children during the lunch period. During the Easter holiday, further talks took place with the LEA, SHA and Regional Office. The Union asked the Principal to write to parents and staff before the beginning of term to call off the "lock out" and to indicate the measures she was putting into place. She prepared a letter to parents but did not tell the Union. By the time we found out, a press release had been prepared to counter the arguments put forward in the press by, amongst others, pupils. 4 Governors requisitioned a special meeting of the Governors for 4th May. Regional office contacted Action Committee with a view to declaring an official dispute.
    A press release was sent out on Saturday 29th. attempting to get the debate back on to the issue of poor management rather than "violence in schools". It is manner in which incidents are handled which is causing the difficulty. The Principal announced an intention to break her undertaking about the restructuring of SMT. This could well lead to a ballot of members.
    The Governors met on 4th May. One item on the agenda: "The collapse of relationships between Staff, Senior Managers, LEA and Governing Body of Orwell and to determine a way forward to restore these to the benefit of children at the school". Much work going on behind the scenes. DJET in attendances as well as JCrompton. Members subsequently met on 5th May.
  8. A High School in the N Area: NUT members had to lodge a formal grievance before the Head would agree to meet with Union representatives to consult on the Section 188 notice. When the meeting took place, it was clear that there had been financial mismanagement and that an accounting error led to a £90,000 overspend, mostly on technology. Although the threat of compulsory redundancy has been lifted, there remain serious timetabling and workload problems from an enforced staffing cut at a time of rising rolls.
  9. Holywells High School: Staff concerns were again brought to Division attention on 3rd May. Secretary proposed joint NUT/NASUWT/ATL approach to Governors and LEA which was accepted. Issues revolve around lack of support for staff in dealing with poor behaviour and incidents of violence.
  10. Stephen Lawrence Inquiry: Suffolk County Council response: Secretary noted that the SCC plan left out ethnic monitoring of LMS school staff. Replied to suggest that equal opportunities of applications, appointments and employment in Suffolk schools should be added to the action plan against "institutional racism".
  11. Local Government Improvement Model: Penny Cook attended a meeting on behalf of the Division, on March 8th. with the Local Government Improvement Team. We have been asked to assist in their assessment (!). A review is taking place to "recognise and celebrate our strengths and identify our weaknesses. The key purpose is to stimulate widespread discussion within (Suffolk CC) about how we can become more effective." (Apologies for the post-modernist clichéd corporate delusionism).
  12. A member is seeking an unpaid sabbatical year in order to take time out before retiring but without taking an actuarially reduced pension. There is a germ of an idea here! Watch this space.
  13. Some concern that the Computers for Teachers scheme is not as good or as speedy as it is made out to be. We have had a report of our first successful applicant being (eventually) recompensed. Problems passed on to RO for collation.
  14. Reply from AA on Disability: Guidelines for LMS employers. A little progress on this, but Secretary remains in touch with HQ and Richard Reiser about the problems of responsibility for the DDA coming under Governing Bodies, not LEAs.
  15. Two Heads have resigned from schools in special measures and the third (Warren Special) is also running without a permanent headteacher.: David Hardwick of College Health Middle and Jean Waite of Castle Hill Middle School. It is interesting to note that Castle Hill Middle school was on our "Warnings List" (relationships) and that in 1995 College Heath made a teacher redundant, against NUT advice, in order to appoint the headteacher (the school having run rather well with the Acting Head) . Because the redundancy was eventually voluntary, no further action could be taken.
  16. Annual Grant 2000: Forms 120 and 423 were dispatched to HQ before the March 31st deadline.
  17. Website: The Division's website has been up-graded and now contains two search engines: the first searches the Suffolk NUT site only (but can even search the whole web from the search results page without leaving the Suffolk NUT site) and the second searches three sites: Suffolk NUT, Suffolk County Council (Education) and the National NUT Site. It has to be seen to be believed!
  18. INTERNET Feedback Form: a feedback form has been added allowing you to submit a message or request direct from the website without having to swap to e-mail. The Secretary has also added a "tracking" feature which enables the Division to have full details of "hits" on our pages. There is also a special feedback form for ordering publications.
  19. After all that clever stuff the Secretary forgot the basic rules of computing with Windows 95, and trusted his post record to the hard disk. No, he did not make a backup file; no, he did not have a floppy disk back-up either. What a wally! On 19th April, SCANDISK deleted the file irretrievably. This means that all records of recent posting is lost and he cannot put in an accurate postage expenses claim. Expensive mistake.
  1. Dealing with assault and Injury (Ian Brown i/c)
  2. Teachers' Mileage Allowances
  3. Oakwood and the future of EBD: Inclusion payments and penalties
  4. Review of Salaries Policy in PRUs
  5. Schools causing concern: Information and involvement

Ipswich and South-East Suffolk Training Session, April 7th at SSPDC was attended by 15 Reps. Sessions were taken by John Dixon, Martin Goold, and Colin Exworth.

There will be a short break between the sessions, but timings could be altered to suit the timing of business, as determined by the Executive Committee, subject to the agreement of the Division Council.

Part 2B: Discussion and Decision making (20:00 - 21:00)

  1. Confirmation / amendment of EC recommendations from Part A, including appointment of Health and Safety Adviser
  2. PRP campaign:local publicity and activity.
  3. Future organisation of Teacher Representation on Suffolk County Council: implications for sector-based representation.

NEXT MEETING: June 8th 2000, Stowmarket (Venue to be confirmed)

EXECUTIVE NEWS 21 February 2000 No. 69

The General Secretary reported that the attitude of ATL was that you should not ask for concessions that you know in advance will not be granted. Further, it was highly unlikely that ATL would participate in a joint lobby of parliament. The position of NASUWT hinged on whether or not payment by results remained part of the proposals; they had indicated that they were not opposed either to performance related pay or to threshold assessment. UCAC has supported the line adopted by the Union.

The General Secretary reminded the Executive that the NUT is the only teachers` organisation in England that remains opposed in principle to performance related pay and payment by results. It is the only teachers` organisation to campaign consistently and effectively against the Government`s proposals. The NUT`s campaign was on­going. It remained opposed to performance related pay, to payment by results, to performance management linked to pay and to threshold assessment linked to pupil results. It was clear that the NUT was alone in opposing performance management linked to pay. The General Secretary indicated that the Union would not join in any talks which would put it at a disadvantage and which would lead to the NUT compromising on its principles.

The TUC is pursuing the possibility of a meeting with the Secretary of State or the Prime Minister. A further meeting was being sought of the four teacher organisation affiliates. The General Secretary advised the Executive that there would be no support from the other teacher affiliates for joint action involving industrial action. This did not mean, however, that the NUT should not be taking action on its own. Executive Motion The Executive unanimously passed the following motion: The Executive notes the success of the Union in leading the campaign against PRP/payment by results. The Executive believes that we are at a critical point in the campaign which requires a clear expression of members` views on the imposition of PRP/payment by results.

This survey should be accompanied by a strong recommendation from the Executive and the General Secretary to support the options in order to allow maximum flexibility in planning the campaign. The results of the survey and recommendations based upon them, should be presented to the next Executive meeting or a special Executive, in order to take forward speedily the campaign against PRP/payment by results. Additionally, the Executive urges the General Secretary to continue discussions through the TUC regarding PRP/payment by results elements of the salary structure and to report back to the Executive.

Elian Gonzalez ­ General Motion. The Executive unanimously passed the following motion: The National Executive notes the plight of Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban six­year old boy who is currently being held in the United States against his father`s wishes. It further notes widely reported assertions that, if Elian were to be returned to his father in Cuba as advocated by the US Immigration Service, his educational opportunities would be damaged. The Executive knows this not to be the case. Our contacts with Cuban teachers and the education system enable us to assure all concerned that the Cuban education system is of very high quality ­ its further development is only held back by the US blockade. The Executive fully endorses the work of the Union on this issue, and believes that the view of the Union should continue to be communicated to appropriate bodies. From Exclusion to Inclusion:

Disability Rights Task Force and Forthcoming Legislation The NUT will respond in detail to proposed legislation that will give students equal access to schools, colleges and to the curriculum. It has been agreed that the Union`s response will be prepared following consultation with appropriate bodies within the Union, including the Advisory Committee on Special Educational Needs, the Working Party on Disability and the Sub­Committee on Special Educational Needs. The Executive agreed to seek views from members and provide advice via the Special Schools Newsletter and the NUT`s website. Guidance to divisions on negotiating issues with LEAs will follow Royal Assent for the legislation.

The Care Standards Bill The Executive identified the concerns of the NUT in relation to the Care Standards Bill. These include serious concern about the additional powers to be given to the Chief Inspector of Schools and about the growing empire of OFSTED. Other concerns relate to

The NUT has called for the re­drafting of one clause in its entirety on the grounds that it is the view of the Union that inspectors should not examine children at risk and should not interview childminders or other providers in such circumstances alone.

Performance Related Pay/Payment By Results: The General Secretary reported on the meeting, chaired by John Monks, of the four TUC affiliated teachers` organisations held on Wednesday, 15 February. At that meeting the Union presented a range of options for joint activity by the affiliates, including a further meeting with the Secretary of State as part of the formal consultation on the Review Body Report; the production of joint campaigning material to be used locally and in meetings with LEA representatives, governors and parents; and a joint national lobby of parliament. The view of John Monks was that affiliates could choose to organise a joint lobby of parliament and that it was possible for agreed joint material to be drawn on by the TUC so as to communicate more widely to governors within the trade union movement. It would be premature, however, to seek to make any necessary arrangements until a further meeting had taken place either with the Secretary of State or with the Prime Minister. John Monks expressed the view that there was evidence that the Prime Minister was currently more flexible ­ the recent increase in the minimum wage being one example ­ and that it might be possible to secure some concessions.

Suffolk NUT {short description of image}Stop Press:

Late items of Correspondence and Report for Division Council Meeting 11/05/2000

Apologies:Glenys Shepherd (no report to send), Ian Tatchell.

New Correspondence and information items:

  1. a) National Three new important booklets: Pupil Behaviour and Discipline; OFSTED School Inspections; Tackling Stress. Available from the ORDERS form on our website.
  2. NUT Health & Safety Working Group: three meetings a year, ten lay members to be nominated by Divisions and elected by the Executive. Nomination papers are to be returned to HQ by 19th May.
  3. NUTNEWS No 12: You will decide. Gives results of NUT Survey of Members' Views on PRP.

b) Regional

  1. Letter from RO requesting donations for Alan Ward on his retirement. ERC is suggesting £25 per Division/Association.

c) County Division

  1. Oakwood School: The decision to close Oakwood has been taken (May 9th) and this will presumably be followed by a Section 188 notice and a formal closure notice (both statutory procedures). The Union will continue to oppose the closure by lodging formal objections, until and unless our members are found satisfactory redeployments. We would then need to move our attention to the consultation on the EBD Review, due out after half term (June 2000) where we might see how the LEA intends to bridge the gap between Oakwood closing and some more EBDs being set up in the next few years.
  2. Scrutiny Commission on Oakwood: date of Secretary's participation changed to 6th June.
  3. Orwell High School:
    Governors met on 4th May and the result was letters to staff and parents, + a press release. Secretary responded with a follow-up press release. Governors at last referred the management issues to an LEA enquiry. Meetings with Principal continue re. practical day-to-day measures on safety and duties.
    The LEA has agreed to a agree a brief for its investigation by half term and hopes to complete the enquiry into relationships with Principal by the end of the summer term.
    While all this was going on, the Union also had to prepare to protect members against any action by the Governors re. action on duties. This has entailed a request for a Regional Deputation (required by Union rules) prior to an indicative ballot. This would be an enabling measure should progress at any stage falter. Date of deputation: May 26th.
    We still await the Harassment report and any action the Governors may take in response to the recommendations. There appears to be only two options: do nothing or take disciplinary action. We now understand that the LEA do not intend to show a copy of the report to the complainant, yet they offer the complainant the facility of making an appeal. Secretary taking this up with JC tomorrow (Friday 12th).
  4. Section 188s: Hillside: two full-time volunteers. Hollesley: was to have been a selection of a part fte on May 5th. Information awaited. Woolpit resolved by a promotion to Snape CP, but the Union will continue to oppose the staff reduction because it will create classes over 30. Also Halesworth Middle where a Section 188 notice was issued together with the post which was to be made redundant. Secretary following this up. Gt Cornard solved by a compromise agreement with a member. St Josephs College: Darryl Long took a first hearing case against selection of a member this morning (11th May) as Secretary was unavailable.
  5. Threshold assessment of Unattached teachers:
    Alan Aldred writes (May 3rd): LEA is checking their records and some LEA staff have underaken the assessor training and AA is discussing with Frances James what arrangements the LEA should make.
    They are awaiting confirmation from DfEE how to assimilate advisory teachers (all on headteachers' pay spine) to the new arrangements.
    AA says that the implementation of arrangements for performance management for unattached teachers have been deferred by the DfEE until 2001. (Is this fair? -Sec). This presumably includes Home Tutors, which AA fails to mention specifically.
  6. Threshold Assessment for Peripatetic Music Tutors:
    Philip Shaw has responded to NUT query. All those on 9 points have been sent a letter detailing arrangements with DfEE application pack. Philip Shaw has been trained as a Headteacher for assessment. The criteria have to be adapted to what CMS teachers do, and can do.
    PS also confirms that Performance Management will not be introduced for peris until Sept 2001. One complication for CMS is that Performance Management applies to unqualified staff as well, although PRP only applies to qualified staff. Any jealousy could become accentuated. Another problem is that the DfEE forgot to send all the info to those i/c groups of unattached staff, like CMS. It all sounds wonderful!
  7. Training Schools in Suffolk as notified to the LEA:
  8. Need to appoint a Student Recruitment Officer for Suffolk
  9. Report on Conference "When Research Informs Teaching and Learning" from Christine Lloyd. (Duplicated)
  10. Primary Teacher Rep's report from Andrew Guite (Duplicated)

d) Local Associations

Return to Main Report

Return to Main Index