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Suffolk Division NUT

Executive Committee (17:30 - 18:45)

and DIVISION COUNCIL MEETING (18:45 - 21:00)

October 19th 2000 at Sidegate Primary School, Sidegate Lane, IPSWICH (Map)

Secretary's mobile 'phone for late apologies: 07850 221051

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.

Part 1: Information and Reports

Apologies already recorded: (For EC: Ray Frowd. For Council: Penny Cook; Colin Stabler.

Section A:

National Reports and Correspondence: Glenys Shepherd to report.

  1. Threshold: Landmark judgement, "Now what"? See draft newsletter on PRP. NUT News 26: The who dare wins! HQ is claiming victory over the right to appeal: it is based on Press reports. I hope they have something more substantial than that to go on! Publication of the STRB report=Friday 20th October.
  2. New legal challenge over right of assessors to alter headteachers' decision: See draft newsletter on PRP.
  3. Applicability of the NUT's Bureaucracy report. (See draft newsletter on PRP).
  4. Executive Report No 74 (duplicated on yellow) and NUT News 25 (Sent to schools).
  5. Major publications by Smithers and Robinson: "Coping with Teacher Shortages" and "Talking Heads". Shows the real situation with teacher vacancies and how schools cover them.
  6. Golden Jubilee Bank Holiday: Secretary has written to Doug McAvoy. Acknowledged. Union has written to Government. See also JNC report. Danger is that all extra public holidays are subtracted from teachers' existing holidays. In this case, the Government intends actually to move the half-term holiday to ensure that teachers do not get an extra bank holiday.
  7. A Guide to Induction: delayed up-date of the booklet for NQTs. **** Has it gone to NQTs in Suffolk schools?
  8. **** Dates of National Executive Meetings: Secretary to take into consideration when recommending plan of work for AGM 2001.
  9. NUT Professional Development Programme.
  10. **** DfEE Circular 0116/2000 on Sex and Relationships Education Guidance. Secretary requests assistance in summarising for members.
  11. **** Toys for the Children of Asylum Seekers. Request for action.
  12. Reporting of Accidents and Injuries in School. Information.
  13. Audit by HQ of IT resources in Associations and Divisions: it looks as though they are at last looking to send some info out by e-mail and CD ROM. I'll believe it when I see it! Secretary has replied. See report on up-dating Division's resources.
  14. NJC Car Allowance Rates 2000-2001 as agreed by UNISON for essential users are 27.5p (451-999cc), 31.2p (1000-1199) and 27.8p (1200-1450cc). These have already been adopted by Suffolk LEA as teachers' mileage rates.
  15. Standards Fund: EMAG and Travellers.
  16. DfEE's Capability Procedures: Union objections. Suffolk does not appear to be keen to re-write the procedures and, in any case, the DfEE's model is unsatisfactory in many respects, not least because it does not adhere to the ACAS Code of Practice.
  17. Access to Personal Files. Information from HQ.
  18. Asbestos in Schools: H&S NUT Up-dated guidance.
  19. European Week of Health and Safety: October 16-22nd. This is it!
  20. **** Nominate a peer!: The House of Lords Appointments Commission invites nominations from the public for non-party political members of the House of Lords of "nominees with outstanding personal qualities, integrity, independence, a significant record of achievement in their chosen way of life, the ability to make an effective and significant contribution to the work of the House of Lords and the time to do so." The last qualification makes it look ideal for Torsten.
  21. **** A leap in the Light: A course on Innovative uses of ICT to support teaching and learning. Wed 29th Nov. 2000, at Hamilton House. Course Fee for members: £50. (This can apply even if the fee is paid by the members' school.)
  22. **** Preparation for Annual Conference 2001, Cardiff. Accommodation Guide, Conference calendar and blank forms for original motions. Executive Committee to recommend ex-officio representation of Division and instruct Secretary on arrangements. Executive Committee to recommend method of dealing with original motions from Division. Deadline for receipt of original motions from Associations and Division is 15th November. See Part 2 of this meeting.
  23. National Disability Working Party Report from Wendy Stapleton on meeting of 4th Oct: Agenda items included report from 12th April, NUT response to the SEN & Disability Rights in Education Bill, response to DfEE consultation on accessibility law, response to TUC consultation on rehabilitation, Report on 3rd TUC Conference on disability July 2000, "Within our reach" update, Education and Equal Opportunities Conference 4th November, RNID report on deafness, employment and discrimination, TUDA News, TTA: employing disabled teachers, good practice guide.
  24. From CASE: Notice of Autumn Conference (21st Oct) on "Does saying it three times get it right?". University of London. Also Campaign Briefing on PFIs and three copies of "Parents and Schools" No. 111 "Welcome Progress must be continued".
  25. **** Materials from STOPP: Invitation to send delegates to STOPP conference on November 4th 2000, South Camden Community School.
    SECTION B: REGIONAL (John Dixon to report).
  26. Regional Meeting on 14th October. Secretary's report available separately. Discussion included the various debates around PRP and Assessment, and teacher supply. Regional Office needs examples of post difficult to fill properly. The Corby situation (a four-day week for pupils) might become more frequent, although there will be much political pressure to take all possible avoidance measures! Next Regional Meeting November 22nd. (Regional Executive). Other dates agreed:
    20 January 20001 Reg AGM
    17 March 2001 Reg Sub Committees
    4 April 2001 Reg Executive
    5 May 2001 Reg Council
    27 June 2001 Executive
    15 September 2001 Reg Sub Committees
    13 October 2001 Reg Council
    21 November 2001 Reg Executive
    Section C: Division / County:Division Secretary, Martin Goold, to report, including items from the preceding Executive Committee meeting.
  27. **** Nominations to Division Posts. Nominations have been received for Treasurer (Maggie Freeman) and Assistant Secretary (Penny Cook).
  28. **** Dates and venues for Division Council Meetings: Following the decision to change some Division meeting dates to help the Executive Member and Assistant Secretary, Northgate High School is booked for the Division Executive and Council meetings of: November 30th, January 25 and February 15th. Ipswich Association to be asked to provide/suggest a venue for the AGM on March 29th.
  29. Local GTC Regional Roadshow, November 2nd. Schools were circulated on 14th September with invitations. This appears to have met with a limited response as the LEA then sent it to County Secretaries to drum up support. Members are concerned at the letter sent out by Mr Peachey which refers to the GTC as "the professional body for teachers" set up "to represent teachers' professional interests" and to "support teachers in providing the best possible opportunities for young people." Secretary is writing to Mr Peachey to point out that this is a gross exaggeration of the role of the GTC which is simply taking away from the Secretary of State certain functions in regard to individual casework and the setting of standards for teacher training, etc. In cannot support individual teachers and has no representational role with Government or Employers.
  30. GTC Registration: Some members have said they do not want to pay the registration fee for the GTC and the GTC says that, if they do not, they will be dismissed. Graham Clayton said that failure to register would bar a qualified teacher from taking up a post. He was not so sure what would happen if you registered without paying. It appears that, for teachers already in post, the registration fee will be collected by the LEA. How this will be collected from the individual is not yet known. Secretary is in touch with the LEA on this.
  31. Disclosure of Malpractice Procedure (Whistle Blowing) has now been published and circulated. It does not appear to cover malpractice in examinations.
  32. Draft Salary Policy for PRUs: The LEA has produced this draft which largely ignores the representations from the Teachers' Organisations regarding the need for PRU staff to be brought firmly into the "Special" category by the payment of at least one SEN allowance. The policy suggests Heads of PRUs should be paid on a scale from L6 to L12.
  33. JNC Report: Meeting of 4th October: Matters not raised elsewhere in this report:
    a) Barry Ellis of Riverwalk School gave a presentation on what began as LEA guidance on the use of restraint but has developed into a social services document on child protection. It fails to give teachers real guidance on how to apply the law on restraint. For example, if you see a fight, you are not supposed to intervene if you have not been trained but should call for trained assistance! All rather impractical and failing to provide teachers and other staff with the protection they need when facing a situation requiring physical restraint. Even the title has changed to "Positive Behaviour Support Training." The idea is that all Suffolk teachers will be trained in it. By when??
    b) The Union lodged the need to negotiate pay for this present year for all those paid centrally under the Teachers Pay and Conditions Document 2000and needing to be placed somewhere on the Leadership Spine as either Headteachers or Deputy Headteachers. The LEA expressed the view that it was becoming increasingly difficult to interpret the TPCD for posts outside schools and was looking to other possibilities, such as Soulbury. Secretary is in touch with the Advisory Service NUT Convenor.
    c) The Union also pointed out that it will be desirable to amend the redeployment policy of the LEA to be ready to recompense receiving schools for expensive teachers who are on the leadership spine or gone over the threshold. The present regulations only compensate a receiving school, for 4 years, where the postholder is stepping down from a post with a higher responsibility (management) allowance.
    d) The LEA made a surprise announcement on Coping with Stress. Instead of continuing with the Stress Working Party approach, they have now agreed to approach the Teachers' Benevolent Fund for advice as consultants for a wellbeing scheme, similar to Norfolk's. Of course, we did suggest this 2 years ago, but to no avail. The Cassandra effect again! If this goes ahead, we should have much faster progress on this item than we have seen in the last three years.
    e) Model School Attendance Policy: The LEA put this on the agenda but it was too late! The policy had been passed by the Executive Committee of 12th September (See Andrew Guite's report below). It is full of problems and the Teachers' Panel, seeing it for the first time after it had been passed, was not amused. It includes, for example, the recommendation that teachers not only take the class register for each less, but total them up and submit them to a deputy every half term. Other excesses and problems are pointed out in Andrew's report.
    f) Golden Jubilee Holiday and PD Days 2001-2: The Teachers' Panel suggested that the LEA gave support to schools/pyramids agreeing to disaggregate 1 of the Baker days (which at present eat into the summer holiday) and to grant the second such day as a day off in lieu of the lost Jubilee Holiday (lost if it occurs in a moved half-term holiday). LEA did not agree to take any action, but appeared not to fight the principle. This leaves it to us to put the idea forward, so Penny will be writing to Heads to make the suggestions.
    g) County School Improvement Group: there will be a vacancy on this group. The NUT intends to nominate John Scanlon of Hadleigh High School.
  34. Community Education: The Secretary has responded to the Consultation Document on the future of the Community Education Service on behalf of the Division and NUT members in Community Education (available on www.suffolknut.org.uk/comed.htm). There was extensive liaison with the newly-formed CYWU in Suffolk and with both NATFHE and UNISON. We are all agreed that the LEA is wrong to seek to re-organise (again!) on the basis of District Council boundaries, and to reduce the number of CE practitioners in the community. We believe that they are suggesting this in order to up-grade some staff to take over responsibilities in the Connexions service. It looks as though Connexions cannot be staff with new money or new personnel: they will "borrow" staff from existing services, but, of course, in this will water down what can be offered locally by CE. It is likely that some market town (often multi-use) Community Education Centres will lose their staffing and perhaps even close entirely. NATFHE has been put in touch with the TRs on the Theme Panel. Their response is very detailed and thoughtful. Ours supports their approach and takes more of an over-view.
  35. South Suffolk SCITT: The JNC organisations are seeking to meet the students during a Friday lunchtime, November 10th.
  36. From SCC: Suffolk Education Service Plan 2000-2001.
  37. Recognition for Community Education: The LEA has had to reconvene a forum to discuss the Community Education reorganisation. It had hoped to restrict this to UNISON and NATFHE but the CYWU is seeking recognition, and has our support. The NUT has claimed its right to be included in any negotiating machinery for Community Education and is supporting the recognition of CYWU. This situation has highlighted the problem of Community Education having no direct representation either on JNC or via Teacher Representatives, since the FE Representation was stopped with the incorporation of the FE Colleges. A joint meeting of the Community Education Unions sought to meet with the County Councillors (M4) but this has not been accepted, at least as yet. The officers appear to be advising against such a meeting.
  38. **** Review of recruitment of NQTs and students this term.
  39. ****Review of Harassment Procedures:The Division Executive Committee is asked to receive a report from the Secretary on lessons to be learnt from the first three cases of Harassment, brought against headteachers.
  40. Division Secretary's Course 11-13th October, Stoke Rochford. The Secretary attended. Excellent information as always. News given of the "workload" approach to continuing the campaign against PRP and the use of the law to defend teachers' rights. Sessions on employment legislation also very helpful. Prof Alan Smithers (Talking Heads) gave a very useful talk (lots of quotations and statistics) showing the real crisis behind teacher recruitment. Eg: 30% of trainee teachers never actually take up a first post. and 5 years later, 60% of those trainees are doing something else. Only 30% actually become long-term trained teachers.
  41. The following statistics on NQT induction 1999-2000 have been forwarded to HQ:
    NQTs taken on Sept 1999 224
    NQTs eligible for induction 224
    Successful completions by July 2000 211
    Extensions 0
    Failures 2
    Appeals 0
  42. OXFAM: Give it up! Campaign. Oxfam is hoping that schools will run fund-raising activities on November 10th, pupils being sponsored to "give up" something (presumably not homework, etc.!). Secretary agreed to assist and has sent all schools the invitation card to apply for a teaching pack, etc. via Schools Mail. Also posted copies to the NUT Representative of all Upper High Schools. All distribution has been at no cost to the Division.
  43. **** Division Communications Equipment: the Division's Binatone memory telephone has broken down (dialing pad not functioning at all). This could be an opportunity to replace the Phone/FAX/answering machine with one modern multi-function machine, for not much more than simply replacing the high spec telephone (30 memory places, number display, built-in (free) call back facility, hands free dialling). The existing FAX and answering machine, which are very old but work well, could be used elsewhere. EC asked to deliberate and to minute disposal of Binatone telephone.
  44. **** Request from Brenda Shelley (SE Suffolk delegate) for facility time support to help run a 2-day equal opportunities Course for a Barnsley Voluntary Sector organisation on January 26th 2001. The course will include sessions on the DDA and HRA which will be useful to the Union. Brenda would be pleased to report back to the Division.
  45. Suffolk County Council Papers:, including:
    Minutes of Executive Committee 12 Sept 2000
    E00/127: Proposed new Primary School to replace Raeburn and Orwell Junior Schools. (see TR Report)
    E00/128: Governors: Improved Consultation Arrangements (see TR Report)
    E00/129: Term Dates 2001-2002 (See below)
  46. From Teacher Representatives:Andrew Guite (Primary TR) of Gorseland Primary School 01473/623790 reports:
    Executive Committee 10th October 2000
    EOO/127 Proposed new Primary School to replace Raeburn Infant School and Orwell Junior School, Ipswich. All parties were keen to see a new school being built. Tony Lewis informed us that the two schools, the local community, the parents and the local member Ron Sudds were all in favour of the proposals. There was considerable interest in community use of the premises, and that the new school was built to accommodate the new curriculum pressures like a room for a computer suite and a suitably sized hall. A long discussion took place over the tendering procedure, with the Conservatives voting against the partnering approach proposed. David Pattenden responded to my question that if everything went to schedule the school will actually be finished in April 2002, allowing sufficient time to make sure the new school opens properly at the start of the academic year September 2002. However, there is no guarantee, especially if there are objectives through the statutory procedures. The Council will need to put up some extra money, and no figure was put on the receipts (because of planning permission) that might be received when the two school sites are sold.
    E00/128, Suffolk School Governors: Improved Consultation Arrangements: This agreed to the establishment of the Suffolk Governors` Forum to serve as the principal means of consultation between the County Council and school governors, with a draft constitution and terms of reference.
    E00/129 Term Dates 2001/2002: Members agreed the proposed term dates for 2001/2, including the movement by one week of the summer half term (now beginning 3rd June 2002). I informed the committee that the Teachers Panel (the teacher unions in Suffolk) was writing to head teachers and governors proposing that schools might want to disaggregate the last two days of the summer term by carrying out twilight professional development. The other suggestion was that the L.E.A. would grant an extra days holiday in lieu of the extra bank holiday, meaning that only one day should be disaggregated. I am sure that parents as well as teachers will be interested in what will happen to these two days Monday 22nd and Tuesday23rd July 2002, so watch this space!
    EOO/133 Policy Development Panel Recommendations on Community Safety In Appendix B(1) it states” A teacher in each school in Suffolk is designated to support children and young people in care and ensure continuity of educational placement.” Mr. Peachey said the teacher was not responsible for supervision of each child in every lesson at school, but was there to ensure a whole school approach. In dealing with racial harassment the SSPDC was to work with schools, because the multi-cultural team was based there, but I’m sure it would make better sense to make use of the Northern and Western PDC`s.
  47. Andrew had also submitted the following report of the Executive Committee 12.09.00 for the previous Division meeting which was not included in the papers for the meeting, with apologies.
    School Attendance (E00/119). This was the main education item on the addenda. Besides describing the primary function of the Education Welfare System (EWS), there is guidance for schools and a Model attendance policy for schools. Schools should look at it in the light of their community size and type of school.
    High and Middle Schools have been allocated about £1m to promote attendance through the Pupil Retention grant. Schools are spending this on administration costs, buying in services and on courses for pupils at risk of exclusion. However, first and primary schools have had no extra money for the increased burden of checking up on absences.
    Suffolk is one of 16 counties to pilot the Connexions Service, but it was stated it is not yet clear where the EWS will fit in with regard to Youth Justice and mentoring. The EWS will be tackling areas of high non-attendance in line with government policy, but this will mean other schools will lose out and receive a lesser service. If the local EWO is ill nothing will be done in the short term, but in the case of long term sickness some action was promised.
    Sanctions are mentioned. In the case of three week holidays or holidays in SAT or exam weeks little can actually be done especially if they are isolated incidents. Register practice needs to be the same across the school, many schools I know use red oblique and black circles, the opposite to that stated in the advice! In answer to one of my questions it was said than an absence could be marked as a circle until information was received as to whether it was an authorised absence or not and then the appropriate code could be inserted, rather than what is stated in the guidance (2.8) that it should be automatically be recorded as unauthorised and correct if the reason is justifiable.
    In the model policy, it is up to schools what to do with letters and how long to keep them, rather than (p.10) file them half termly in individual files. First and Primary Schools will want to adapt the policy from the emphasis on High Schools (Head of Year etc.) and "Co-ordinating meaningful work" should mean parents or brothers or sisters collecting and returning normal school work rather than teachers delivering and picking it up (p11).
    It was stated that the guidance will be reviewed annually. The grey area over authorised and non-authorised absences and temptations inherent in target setting were also highlighted with some children being overlooked because they had a note, the EWS only being involved with unauthorised absences. It should be noted that unauthorised absences are very low in Suffolk, but actual numbers were not available, only percentages.
  48. Grapevine:
    It has been confirmed that Alison Fraser (ex-Principal at Orwell HS) has been appointed "Principal" of a group of three schools to become one Federated School in September 2001, in East Cleveland EAZ.
    Paul Widdowson, NUT Rep at Leiston High School, has been elected a member of the National Policy Forum of the Labour Party.
    Section D: Local Associations
  49. *** Facility Time: Alan Aldred's Secretary has now agreed payments to Hadleigh High (10 days), Thurston CC (125 days), Leiston MS (10 days), Gt Cornard US (10 days). We are once again not providing an advance allowance to Oulton Broad CP.
  50. **** From Ipswich Association: Letter from Roger Mackay on risk assessment and teacher stress. Report from Tony Dooley on a conference on stress organised by Ipswich TUC which he attended (duplicated). EC to be asked to consider further action.

Part 2: Decision Making

A) Arising from National Matters

  1. To agree the draft of a newsletter item on Performance Management, prepared by the Secretary and to be circulated after half-term.
  2. Motion on PRP: (Proposed by the Secretary): "This Division applauds the successful legal challenge by the Union against the abuse of power by the Secretary of State. We urge the National Executive to continue to oppose payment by results in all its forms and guises, and in particular in any criteria for the annual appraisal of teachers. This Division gives notice that it will support any member who is disadvantaged by an imposed Threshold application system or Performance Management Scheme which has not been agreed by NUT members at the school and urges the Executive to take all possible steps to ensure a right of appeal for all personal salary decisions."

  3. Original Motions for Conference: (as with all motions, the text should be submitted to the Secretary before the meeting.)

    a) Submitted by Local Associations, seeking Division Support.(Any such motions must have first been supported by a minuted meeting of the Association and made available to the Executive Committee in writing.)
    b) Original Motions on behalf of the Division: Secretary to Propose: "Conference believes that the both the Teachers Pay and Conditions Document and the Teachers' Superannuation Scheme discriminate against Part-Time teachers by:
    1. Removing the "pro rata" principle from the working time provisions;
    2. Failing to protect part-timers from a proportionally higher expectation of attendance at InSeT provision, meetings and non-pupil days;
    3. Failing to ensure that the terms of contract for a part-time teaching post are in keeping with the principle of "no detriment" for part timers.
    4. Requiring part-time teachers to opt in to superannuation arrangements rather than automatically accepting them into membership of the scheme.
    5. Making no provision for arrears of superannuation contributions to be paid if there is a delay in electing to join or re-join the scheme as a part-timer.

    Conference therefore calls upon the Executive to enter into negotiations with the relevant bodies to ensure that these anomalies are put right forthwith. In the event of intransigence on the part of the Government or other agency, Conference instructs the Executive to seek suitable cases to pursue through the courts to establish part-time teachers' right to equitable treatment."
    Arising from Regional Local Matters
  4. To agree the publication on local guidelines on Injury and Assault in Schools.
  5. Nominations for Division Officer Posts: information.

Date of next meeting: November 30th 2000, Northgate High School, Ipswich.

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