Dave Brinson for NUT Vice-President

Ballot Papers now out- vote Dave Brinson #1

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 12:22:00 +0000

Ballot papers were dispatched on Wednesday, and have begun arriving on members' doormats this morning. Please take a minute to fill in your ballot form, and return it: it's YOUR union, make your voice heard !

Supply Teachers- next steps in the Agency campaign- and a reminder of how we actually got here !

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 18:55:00 +0000

NUT members staged a great lobby of the main supply teachers' agencies yesterday. While I couldn't be there in person, I am proud that East Sussex was represented. I have long campaigned for supply members' rights (even before it became "mainstream" in the Union...) and my Division was one of the first to hold Supply Teacher training, which I organised. (OK, end of own-trumpet-blowing...)

TEACHERS' PAY FOR A TEACHER'S DAY

East Sussex NUT Postcard 2007

One of the first campaigns I had to fight on becoming Division Secretary was to try and save the supply pool in the local authority. This had already been semi-outsourced: an agency (Hays) had a contract to manage the list placing of supply staff for which they received a commission. The staff were still employed on the County payroll, at the appropriate rate and pension contribution.

Hays wanted to get out of this arrangement- presumably to have the ability to pay teachers less, and, in particular, not to have to include pension contributions. East Sussex NUT lobbied council officers and elected members- with hundreds of postcards proclaiming "Teachers' Pay for a Teacher's Day"

We didn't persuade the Authority to keep the supply arrangement. They maintained that staff could still be on LA payroll and approach schools direct, but there would be no pool or list. Clearly the other Agencies were already muscling in....

I LIKE LUCY (...but....)
I have been a Labour Party supporter for over 20 years, and it heartens me that the front bench is finally saying many of the same things as the NUT. Lucy Powell is potentially the best Labour education spokesperson we have had since before the Blair era- certainly in terms of agreeing with the Union on policy. She gave support to the Lobby yesterday, linking it with the campaign on teacher recruitment saying:

"Supply teachers play an important role in our education system. However, we are seeing a teacher shortage crisis in our schools which means that head teachers are turning to agencies in desperation to fill the gap...."

Unfortunately, she's wrong.... on at least one thing:

The move towards using expensive agencies is not the result of head teachers "turning [to agencies] in desperation" Head Teachers and local authorities were complicit- intentionally or otherwise- in the takeover of supply by the agencies, when there were still many established supply lists and pools.

AS WE WERE SAYING, EIGHT YEARS AGO...
My East Sussex colleagues and I were campaigning on supply years ago, and we well remember when the Agencies started to get a grip. Schools were visited by sales reps, promising them all manner of support and services, but the bottom line of this was that it would be cheaper than paying supply teachers through payroll. Glossy brochures, mugs, pens, coasters- all branded with the agency's corporate colours and logos became commonplace in every school office.

Many East Sussex supply colleagues found that their supply work dried up. I know of a number of supply teachers who stopped getting supply, practically overnight, from schools that had used them for years. They were now deemed too expensive. Some were told that the school was "only going through the agency" Those that did eventually succumb to signing with the agency often found that their daily rate dropped- in some cases by in the region of 50%. Many others left supply teaching altogether- especially those who were UPS teachers, and brought years of experience to the classroom. Gone.

So why am I singling those words of Lucy's comment out ? Why (as a VP candidate who wants to improve communication with our NUT Heads and leaders) am I seemingly having a go at Head Teachers ?

No head teacher had to use agencies when this began: but there is still no reason why supply staff cannot be given a payroll number and paid properly, with pension contributions, by schools. We need to campaign to change the assumption at school leadership level, that agencies are where supply cover has to come from.

And I'm sorry to those who are members, but Head Teachers who were in post ten, eight, even five years ago who took the agency shilling were not just complicit, but to some degree driving the Agency rip-off, on the promise of a few quid off the daily rate and a glossy mug. Our members lost money and blocks of pensionable service as a result of those decisions. Many have been lost to the supply teacher workforce forever as a result of those decisions.

What next ?

On top of the excellent lobbying and political work, the Union needs to make quite clear to our leadership members themselves, school reps and NUT members who are school governors, that schools are not required to use Supply Agencies. Schools should be encouraged to build relationships with good supply teachers and to pay them directly.
We need to use the Freedom of Information Act, not just to expose the scale of Agency costs to individual schools, and also to identify schools that are using high levels of unqualified staff to cover absence- another threat to our supply members.
We need to look at how we can support and resource our supply members who want to approach schools directly. We should also explore how we could provide practical support to NUT heads who would like to engage more direct supply
Also- although it is a legal minefield- we need to be willing to look at legal cases we can take on for Supply members who are being "tied" to an agency, for instance where they are prevented from working directly in schools if they have previously been on an agency's books. The agencies are massive companies with lots of resources and clever lawyers, but the NUT is a massive union with clever lawyers too.
The NAHT is now a member of the TUC. They should be invited to give guidance to their head teacher members about their options in engaging supply members, and as our TUC sister union, the ethical and moral implications of choosing rip-off agencies.

There are a number of motions being considered on Supply teachers for next year's Annual Conference- please support these in your Associations.

Time for a national 'Dignity at Work' policy- with teeth ! End workplace bullying.

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 18:03:00 +0000

As every caseworker will tell you, many of our colleagues are treated appallingly in their workplace. It is sad to note that there are bullying managers in many schools (often themselves victims of bullying from employers, government or Ofsted.) Many schools take a "zero tolerance approach" to pupil bullying- it's time for the same approach towards bullying of teachers.

Recently we have heard stories of a teacher being given a performance management target "not to cry in the staffroom". I have personally supported members who had been shouted at, belittled and humiliated in front of colleagues or parents. I had to support a pregnant teacher who was criticised- in writing- for being "unacceptably emotional," and another who was warned not to let the fact that she was in a same-sex relationship become known as it would "damage the standing of the school in the community."

In my Local Authority area, the previous Dignity at Work policy was- without the support of the Unions- withdrawn and instead partially included in a new, supposedly "streamlined" Grievance policy. This has clearly not been to the advantage of staff, which is why my Division is campaigning for the restoration of a stronger and specific Dignity at Work policy in our area.

This needs to become a national campaign. Every school should have a Dignity at Work policy. Many already have, but they are often vague and unspecific. They need to be tightened up, given teeth, and seen as a part of staff members' contracts- from heads and SLT right throughto everybody working in a school.

Let's put an end to workplace bullying in our schools!

Time for common sense, not spot-fines nonsense.

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 15:33:00 +0000

The requirement of parents to ensure that their children attend school "regularly" is nothing new: it isn't a Blair-era piece of government control, it dates back to the 1944 Education Act. This was successfully used recently by a parent in the Isle of Wight to challenge fines issued for a term-time holiday. However, the debate has gone way beyond family holidays, with the schools minister suggesting that it was unacceptable for pupils to miss school due to a family bereavement.

Nick Gibb, parrot-like schools minister trots out the "evidence" that any missed schooling- even a day, even through illness- has a negative effect on children's education. Like many in the DfE, he is selective about which "evidence" he quotes word-for-word: evidence that shows, say, community schools improving faster than academies is not used. What his selective and out of context data does not take into account is that the whole circumstances of family circumstances, and children's physical and mental health and wellbeing are unique to every child, and do not fit in a crude table.

Privately-educated Tory MP Gibb told Radio 4: "If it’s something like a funeral or something, then the head teacher would be able to give permission to attend the funeral, but not to have an extended holiday on the back of that funeral or other compassionate circumstances." (See also Daily Telegraph here)

Yep- you've got it. Grieving for the loss of a parent, sibling or other close person isn't an excuse for giving a child compassionate time to come to terms with the situation. It's not bereavement time- it's "an extended holiday."

Perhaps Nick Gibb and his DfE colleagues think that these children would be able to access help in school via those specialist children's mental health services such as CAHMS... Oh wait- that would be the CAHMS service that is facing massive cuts, on top of the nearly £600 million real terms cut it faced under the coalition government. (If you haven't signed the Change.org petition against CAHMS cuts, please do so here)

The thorny issue of students being taken out of school for family holidays is an issue that often divides staffrooms. I know of colleagues who support the zero-tolerance approach, and many others who see it as a nonsense. The NUT does not appear to have clear policy on this- I certainly don't recall it being debated at annual conference recently. I hope that when it does, the Union will call for an end to the 2013 blanket ban on term-time leave, allowing some common sense to be applied, and, in particular end the role of schools in the issuing of fines to parents. The Local Government Association recently called for a common sense approach, and this was supported by the Union, through Deputy General Secretary, Kevin Courtney, who said:

"The LGA is right to highlight the problems that occur as a result of Government and Ofsted’s policy to fine parents who request permission to take children out of school during term time. It has caused great irritation amongst parents and is not supported by the majority of teachers.

“There are many reasons why families on occasions have to request leave during term time, not least the huge hike in prices for holidays during school breaks. What has to be remembered is requested leave is not the same as truancy and should not be viewed as such. Of course children’s education is very important but adopting a common sense approach as advocated by the LGA will ensure that unnecessary tensions between schools and parents/ carers do not arise.

“The NUT will be working with other unions and parent groups to try and resolve this unsatisfactory situation.” (Source: NUT Press Release 21.10.15)

Nick Gibb and the exclusively privately educated and wealthy ministers at DfE miss one important fact when they try to defend their policy through sterile number-crunching. Whatever the impact of missing a few days schooling is on a child's attainment, the relationship of support and trust between school and home is far, far more important. For many of our children, from ordinary backgrounds in ordinary schools, the school itself is the most consistent and safe space in their young lives- it needs to be a place that stands up for children and stands alongside parents who trust it, not somewhere that hands out fines like an educational traffic warden.

Who cares for the Caseworkers ?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 17:12:00 +0000

Che Guevara said: "If you tremble with indignation at any injustice, then you are a comrade of mine."

If you tremble with indignation at injustices on a regular basis, chances are you are an NUT caseworker, and one of the most important people in our union. Lay caseworkers accompany thousands of our members to attendance management, capability, pay appeals, investigations and any other one-to-one meetings where a representative is asked for. It is one of the great strengths of our union: our members can be supported and advised by a trained caseworker who is also a teacher- they are a peer who understands how schools work, and what our job really entails.

I was able to ask a question of Kevin Courtney at the Division Secretaries' Briefing last week, on the subject of supporting the mental health and well-being of our lay secretaries and caseworkers.

The Union's recent Casework Survey showed that most caseworkers sometimes find that the pressures of casework become a problem; a small group have reported that this is often the case. I was able to give personal experience of this issue- several years ago, I had to take time off work, owing to depressive illness caused, at least in part, by the weight of casework alongside my teaching responsibilities. I was lucky in being able to get back to work relatively quickly, although I still have to take care. When I tremble with indignation at an injustice, I have a tablet I can take, but this is hardly ideal...

My GP asked me why I didn't raise the pressure of casework in my "supervision meetings" (any caseworker will smile ironically at this!) While I don't believe that formal "supervision" meetings are necessarily needed for lay caseworkers, we do need to ensure that we have mechanisms in place to support each other- whether it is Regional Officials making time available to talk through caseload with lay caseworkers, or if it is a purely mutual set-up: one London Div. Sec told me that he and half a dozen other local secretaries meet up regularly for an informal lunchtime discussion purely focusing on caseload.

In my Vice Presidential campaign, I have very much focused on the need to build capacity in the union to take on the range of challenges we face as a Union and as a profession. This includes training up additional lay members to take on small casework loads. But- as Annual Conference has discussed on several occasions, there are a number of actions that the Union can take centrally:

There is now guidance on which levels of casework should be referred to, and dealt with by, Regional Office staff. This should be circulated to Divisions, and kept to ! If there is a lack of capacity at Regional Offices, we need to re-allocate resources to expand it.
The programme of Rep Training needs to be stepped up a gear: we should set ambitious goals for rep recruitment- NOT because school reps should take on additional casework themselves, but they are well placed to support caseworkers in giving initial advice to members, and in collecting information relating to casework.
We have been told that the promised Casework Software is still not ready, because it wasn't a priority. It needs to be a priority !
The Union's ASOS programme called for all school initiatives to be "Workload Tested". We need to apply the same principle to our own casework and organising. Who is monitoring the workload of lay caseworkers- not just in terms of hours but in terms of the emotionally draining toll of some of the more complex casework.

· Our caseworkers are teachers too- and teacher health, especially mental health, should be at the heart of our Union work.

Asbestos: Remove it NOW.

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 15:58:00 +0000

We've been saying it for years, and finally an All-Party Parliamentary Group agrees we're right. Asbestos must be removed from schools.

More than 90% of schools in my Division have asbestos present. The official line from East Sussex County Council has been that it is better to "safely contain" asbestos, rather than "disturbing" it by removal. The NUT and other teachers' unions do not believe that there is a "safe" level of containment: the material must be removed expertly and safely.

I remember doing a health and safety tour of a school, where the asbestos register showed a small amount of material in the roof above the entrance doors from a playground. The health and safety officer assured me that it was not likely to be disturbed. I asked him if he would have any objections to standing underneath that bit of ceiling (which was just thin ceiling tiles) while I kicked a football through it. He got my point !

Last week, there was a tragic fire at a school in my Division. Much of the building, including the roof, was destroyed in the blaze. Regional Officer Nick Childs was in contact with the local authority the very same day, to check the asbestos information for the site. We were lucky that there was no asbestos in the roof space (although there is some in the below-ground boiler room, which thankfully was not damaged.) Had that fire been in an older building with asbestos materials in the roof space, the whole site could have been contaminated.

Old warm-air heaters must be checked
for asbestos-containing material.

And asbestos takes teacher's lives. A former staff member at my own school, Clive Beck, died of mesothelioma. The shelves in his stock cupboard had been made of asbestos-containing material. Many other schools had asbestos in wall panels, that were unwittingly used to pin students' work- releasing the deadly fibres. Warm air heaters were merrily blowing out asbestos dust as the insulating materials inside began to break down with age. Such overt asbestos hazards should be long-gone from our schools. But as the "safely" contained asbestos begins to age, it is time to implement NUT policy and see the wholesale removal of all asbestos material from our schools.

NUT Health and Safety Reps can play a vital role, in pressuring their school or LA to remove any remaining asbestos-containing material. If there isn't an NUT H&S rep yet in your school, why not volunteer? Free training provided by the Union, and a right to paid time off to attend.

Responding to the All-Party Parliamentary Group report, Julie Winn, Chair of Joint Union Asbestos Committee said:

“JUAC welcomes the APPG Report as the first step in developing a national strategic plan to remove asbestos from the built environment. Too little is known about the dangers of the deteriorating asbestos in more than 75% of our schools and colleges; where it is, what condition it is in, how duty holders are managing the asbestos in their schools. What we do know is that staff and pupils are dying as a result of their exposure to asbestos in schools. Despite this there is still no national strategic plan for the prioritised removal of asbestos from our schools over the medium and long term. The APPG Report acknowledges the increased risk to children of airborne asbestos and calls for schools to be prioritised with the removal of asbestos from all schools by 2028. JUAC supports the APPG Report. JUAC calls on all political parties to support the proposal for a new law on asbestos with a clear timetable for the eradication of asbestos and for them to work together to make all UK schools and colleges safe from asbestos.” The report can be found here.

For more information about Asbestos in schools, and other Health and Safety advice and guidance, visit the East Sussex NUT Health and Safety site here. The A-Z tab at the top contains a list of all NUT briefings on these issues.

The Asbestos in Schools Group (AiS) is a campaigning organisation with an overall aim of making schools safe from the dangers of asbestos. AiS is non-party political. See www.asbestosexposureschools.co.uk or www.asbestosinschools.org.uk

Workload: Hunt lets the cat out of the bag !

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 08:53:00 +0000

Tackling teacher workload has been a major campaign for the NUT for some years. We identified the growing problem during the Blair/Brown era, and saw this explode during Michael Gove's poisonous reign at the DfE. Indeed, so shameful was the excessive workload burden during the Gove era, that the Government sat on their OWN statistics for over a year, until they were finally forced to release them by NUT and NASUWT strike action.

The DfE's own Workload Diary survey in 2013 revealed that the average primary teacher was working nearly 60 hours per week, only slightly behind the average primary head teacher at 60.2 hours, and an increase of 9 hours per week since 2010. Secondary head teachers average 63 hours and the average secondary classroom teacher is working nearly 56 hours a week, nearly 6 hours a week more than in 2010.

We are used to politicians paying lip service to Workload concerns. Under New Labour, the list of administrative tasks that teachers were not required to undertake was added to the STPCD. A drop in the ocean, it nonetheless set down some red lines. At Gove's behest, this was removed from the conditions document. Nicky Morgan promised a more conciliatory approach with her sham Workload Challenge. This produced some statements-of-the-bleeding-obvious, but no contractual protection for teachers, and failed entirely to recognise the impact of high-stakes testing (filling the pockets of a growing number of edu-business providers,) as a cause of workload and stress. (Incidentally, the NUT could have saved Nicky the time and effort of the Workload Challenge. We KNOW how to tackle workload, as we explained in our simple Eight Steps)

"Why don't they do anything about it ?" was the frequent staffroom cry. Well, thanks to Jeremy Hunt, Tory health secretary, mate of Rupert Murdoch and multi millionaire (he's been described as the richest man in the cabinet, and let's face it, he has competition...) we now know.

Asked about the cuts to tax credits, the millionaire Hunt replied:

"We have to proceed with these tax credit changes because they are a very important cultural signal.
My wife is Chinese. We want this to be one of the most successful countries in the world in 20, 30, 40 years’ time. There’s a pretty difficult question that we have to answer, which is essentially: are we going to be a country which is prepared to work hard in the way that Asian economies are prepared to work hard, in the way that Americans are prepared to work hard?" (Source: The Guardian, 5.10.15)

|According to this Tory government, the problem is that we don't work hard enough! Gove's attempt in his submission to the School Teachers' Pay Review proposed removing the working time provisions from our contract- ending the 1265 directed time allocation, the 195 specified days, and even the right to a lunch break (which many of our now retired NUT members struck and marched for.) Now we know why.

Parliament may only sit for 133 days, but Jeremy Hunt, and the cabinet of millionaires want you to work longer, and longer, and longer (for less, and less and less money.)

John McDonnell Catches Up !

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 15:11:00 +0000

Pleased to hear the new Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell (a long standing friend of the NUT) speaking in favour of introducing the Robin Hood Tax- a tiny tax on financial transactions that would nonetheless raise billions (from the bankers and financial institutions who brought us the financial crisis!)

Glad to say that the NUT is a long standing supporter of the Robin Hood Tax campaign- as I reported here in my Executive Report from way back in 2011. It's good to see that the Labour Party is catching up with NUT policy in this area, as well as on Academies and Free Schools !

I agree with Christine Blower's comments today- she stated:-

"The NUT is encouraged that a major party is now articulating a route away from austerity. It is only right that corporations should pay their taxes. The NUT has supported the Robin Hood Tax for many years and will continue to do so. We welcome today's clear signalling from John McDonnell of Labour's support for a Robin Hood Tax."

"Austerity is not working, and certainly isn't working in education. Huge cuts to Sixth Form Colleges and post-16 funding continue to have a terrible impact. Teacher pay has been held down for many years and this, along with unsustainable workload, has led to both a drop in teacher recruitment and the departure of many existing teachers from the profession. Students and parents have also borne the brunt of austerity through the scrapping of EMA and the vast increase in tuition fees."

"We wait with interest for the development of Labour's education policy and in particular its funding priorities. Schools are facing real terms cuts, at a time of increasing pupil numbers and real cost pressures leading in some cases to job cuts."

"It is essential that we have an opposition in Parliament which can voice solutions to these major challenges."

NQT members- the Union's future !

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 15:02:00 +0000

I am really proud that our Union is not just a formidable campaigning union for conditions of service, but also has education very much at the heart of what we do.

My Division, East Sussex, has for many years run a free NQT training day each year, to allow new teachers to meet with each other and figures from the NUT, and undertake really high quality CPD. We have once again got excellent behaviour management guru Paul Howard (an NUT member, and chair of the People's Assembly in Eastbourne) running his "Who's Behaviour Is It Anyway?" sessions, plus training on surviving Ofsted, and, of course School Teachers' conditions, and how the Union protects them !

If you know any NQTs in the East Sussex division area, please urge them to sign up

East Sussex has already shared its established programme for the day with other Divisions in the South East- please let me know if you would like to know more.

Teachers' Pay for a Teacher's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 18:02:00 +0000

One of the first campaigns I organised when I became a Division Secretary was to fight East Sussex County Council's unilateral decision to close their "Supply Pool" arrangements. Although we gained (hollow, it turnout) assurances from the County that individual supply teachers could retain their payroll arrangements and approach schools directly for work, in practice the County was handing over supply teaching to the myriad of private agencies.

Supply Teachers engaged directly by a school are paid according to the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document, so that they receive the equivalent of a full time teacher for that day (appropriate annual salary divided by 195 teaching days). They also have pension contributions made for that day's service.

Agency teachers are being engaged at rates that are usually significantly lower than this, and no contributions are made to their teacher's pension. Indeed, Supply Teachers cannot make their own contributions to the teachers' pension fund while engaged through a private agency.

The agency takes a significant commission for placing a teacher (we have reports of cases up to 50% of the fee.) In addition, some agencies are requiring teachers to sign up to fake "umbrella company" employers to avoid them accruing the right to be paid at the same rate as directly employed teachers (after 13 weeks) Others are expecting teachers to become bogusly "self-employed" to avoid gaining employment rights or the agency having to pay National Insurance.

Increasingly, agencies are getting involved in recruiting for medium term vacancies or even permanent jobs, for an often eye-popping "finder's fee." In a case I dealt with recently, a member who applied for what he believed to be a permanent teaching vacancy that was recruited by an agency found himself asked to sign up to the agency's "umbrella company" as his employer for the first term: a sort of "try with no obligation" for the school.

The agencies are the epitome of the GERM and the drive for privatising education. Shareholders are growing fat on the backs of underpaid supply staff, and insecure placement of longer term teachers. Schools are handing over an enormous portion of the fee not to reward professional staff, but to line the pockets of the agencies.

It doesn't have to be this way. A group of NUT Supply Teachers visited Northern Ireland recently where a new, central register and system of substitute teachers has been established. As a result, Supply Agencies are almost unheard of. Teachers are paid to scale and contribute to their pension fund.

The NUT is lobbying the major Recruitment Agencies' organisation over the October half-term, on 28th October. Please register your intention to go on the NUT website here. Your local Division may be able to cover transport costs (East Sussex certainly will!)

Please also sign the petition against the Agency Rip-Off on 38 Degrees website. by clicking here. The petition will be presented on the 28th October.

Welcome Back

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 17:37:00 +0000

A big welcome back to colleagues who returned to school this week after the summer break. It's always great to see the young people again, but every September, we face new challenges and threats to our profession- and what a list of threats and challenges there are this year...

Our pay continues to stagnate with a recommended 1% only increase, with the odd provision of 2% at the top of the Main Teachers scale (not UPS) Despite the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document saying no such thing, the DfE has already begun spinning that even this (less than) cost-of-living increase should be "linked to performance".... In my local authority area, as in many others, we are ensuring that schools apply the uplift to ALL points- but be aware of maverick head teachers and governing bodies who may attempt to impose different pay policies. The Union must be willing to support members in ANY school where the cost of living increase is not fully implemented.

A number of schools will have fallen below the Government's "floor target" for GCSE 5 A*-C grades- the last year this will be the performance measure they use. In my Division area, there are 6 schools in this position; 4 of which are Academies. However, Nicky Morgan continues to believe, despite the evidence to the contrary, that Academies and Free Schools are the only show in town. Expect any schools that fell below the floor target to be relentlessly targeted for academy conversion. In particular, if you become aware of any representatives of Academy Chains visiting your school, let your Division know without delay.

Teacher Workload remains, of course, a massive issue, and there is no sign that Nicky Morgan will remember any of the warm words but no promises she made before the election. Many schools face cuts in support staff numbers (and even teachers in some areas- last year we had dozens of threatened teacher redundancies in East Sussex for the first time in memory) NUT reps should ensure that ANY new initiatives in a school are "workload tested" (ie something has to go of equal or greater workload !) and should involve the Division where there are issues. Teacher stress is a significant Health and Safety issue, and local NUT Health and Safety Officers will be able to support.

One great memory from the summer holiday was the terrific turnout from NUT members on our open-topped bus at Brighton Pride: equality and solidarity are what we are about as trade unionists !

Child Poverty- Still a national disgrace

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 17:06:00 +0000

I have lost track of the number of Tory-leaning folks I have known over the years who have trained as teachers and then undergone a swift political conversion. Not because the staffroom is stuffed full of left wing revolutionaries (because it isn't, despite what the Daily Mail will tell you) but because they start to see the real-life effects of the political policies of the Right on the young people we teach, day in, day out.

Teachers see first hand what "cuts" mean. It stops being about huge abstract figures thrown around by politicians, or pretty pie charts in a tabloid paper; and starts to be the staff we can't replace, the specialist services we used to be able to access for our kids, the EMA payment that helped our poorest sixth formers stay in education.

"Benefit sanctions" stop being about the mythical war on so-called scroungers, and start to be about the real parents we see who struggle to pay the bills, to provide for their children- even to put food on the table.

Building and resourcing schools did not cause the banking crisis. Teachers and teaching assistants did not cause the banking crisis. Children's Centres did not cause the banking crisis. EMA did not cause the banking crisis. Making sure that families could put food on the table for their children did not cause the banking crisis.

"Politics of Envy" is the standard riposte by the Right whenever the wealth and privilege of those at the top is challenged. But it takes on a different angle for those of us who see kids with great talent, ability and potential, and know that at every step of their lives they will be playing with life's cards stacked against them by the privilege of those from wealthy backgrounds who have the way very much cleared in front of them.

Child Poverty is a national disgrace, and the Government has so little to offer (or desire to fundamentally challenge the problem) that they are now planning to change the way they collate the data- to fiddle the figures in other words.

NUT General Secretary, Kevin Courtney said last week:-

Today’s figures show that the Government has nothing to offer when it comes to tackling child poverty. Indeed, so resigned are they to this fact that they have announced plans to remove existing targets for getting child poverty down. This is a disgrace coming from a Government which presides over one of the wealthiest nations.

It is the poorest in society who are bearing the brunt of austerity measures. Unless the issue of child poverty is addressed, millions of children will never achieve their full potential. Teachers are only too aware of the problems of poverty and, frankly, deprivation that face our pupils. They take their pastoral responsibility very seriously, but addressing society-wide inequity cannot be the task of schools alone.

Children and young people who arrive at school hungry, who live in poor housing and who cope with the daily struggle of living in households with little money, cannot learn as well as they could and should. Teachers should do everything they can with every child – and they do. Politicians should do everything they can to eliminate poverty – but they don’t.”

Government wrong on testing says NUT... and the CBI

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 12:53:00 +0000

We fought off Michael Gove's first attempts to impose the EBacc as a narrow and prescriptive exam by building the widest and most diverse coalition of voices in a campaign. Once again, we see the opportunity to work with unlikely partners in challenging the testing-obsessed ideological agenda of this Government.

The CBI is Britain's "Big Bosses Club", and you would expect them to speak in close harmony with the voice of the Tory Government. But once again, even big business recognises the folly of the Tories' education policy.

Christine Blower welcomed a speech by John Cridland, Director General of the CBI to the Festival of Education today, saying:-

"We welcome John Cridland’s speech, which recognises that successive Governments have fostered a culture of testing above all else. The obsession with league tables and the tick-box has stifled learning. The CBI suggests a credible alternative.

As NUT-commissioned research this Easter showed, students are becoming conditioned to view schools as places where tests and exams are sat, to the exclusion of anything else. This cannot be right. The tyranny of testing has all but squeezed out the space which teachers require to ensure that every child in their class is excited by education.

In order to truly engage students, a flexible curriculum will make more of a difference than endless exam reform. Teachers’ professional control is the key to unlocking the potential in every child, and John Cridland is right to place a premium on quality work experience and careers advice. The Government’s reforms of careers advice services, which have involved transferring the responsibility for delivery to often cash-strapped schools, have not worked. There is now an over-reliance on online or telephone based resources for young people. The Government must make it a priority to invest in re-building a proper national careers service where young people can access advice, delivered face-to-face by trained professionals.

The Coalition Government’s piecemeal and rushed approach to exam reform did not bring greater coherence to 14-19 education, and in many respects the situation is now worse. It is imperative that students are not limited in their options at 16 and that Ebacc subjects are not viewed as the be-all-and-end-all of learning. Indeed, the Ebacc has been questioned by Conservative Lord Baker as not appropriate for all students. Government must regain the notion that schools bring out the potential of every child and encourage their development, be it vocational, artistic or traditionally academic.

The DfE and Ofsted must recognise that they are causing the ‘perverse outcomes’ identified by Cridland. It is only through fundamental reform, in consultation with the profession, that the phrase ‘exam factories’ can be banished to the past."

Visiting friends old and new in Kent

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 16:00:00 +0000

It was a great pleasure for Linda and me, along with other candidates for the Vice Presidential nomination to attend and speak at the Kent Division President's Lunch last Saturday. Thanks to Mary Kerr of Canterbury NUT for inviting us. I am happy to attend any local Association Meetings in Kent to speak more about the campaign.

Cameron's Equality appointments: the latest Whitehall Farce

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Tue, 12 May 2015 16:37:00 +0000

Equalities has always been central to my trade unionism: if we are not about equality, then we are nothing.

The new Tory Government has said that it thinks equality (other than economic equality, of course) is important, but let's judge them by their actions.

Nicky Morgan is one of the only members of the Cabinet who voted against Equal Marriage. So what job is best for her: why Education Secretary of course: lets have the fight against homophobia in our schools led by a woman who thinks that LGBT folks are second class citizens.

Caroline Dinenage is the new Equalities Minister, also based within the DfE, so perhaps she will be able to keep Ms Morgan in check on LGBT rights. Oh no... in fact Ms Dinenage also voted against Equal Marriage, stating that "the state has no right to redefine marriage".

Both Ms Morgan and Ms Dinenage have sought to play down their opposition to equal marriage, with Nicky Morgan suggesting that if she would have her time again, she would "probably" vote for it. However my new Tory MP in Eastbourne, Caroline Ansell has no such doubts. She has been a vociferous opponent of Equal Marriage, even making it an issue in an earlier local election campaign (despite the council in question having no powers over the issue!)

Looks like we will have to rely on the Equality and Human Rights Commission to ensure that the law is being upheld. A tricky task, as they have had their funding slashed- more than halved under the Coalition government from 2010, and staff dropped from 455 to 180. Expect the EHRC to be in the firing line for the additional billions of cuts promised by the Tories but not identified.

The NUT is proud of its equalities work. I was greatly honoured to serve as chair of both the LGBT and the Disability committees during my time on the National Executive, and to campaign for the establishment of the Equality Seats on the Executive. But we have our work cut out now, to make sure that we stand up for equality, and fight any attacks on our rights or cuts to our services.

After the General Election...

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Sun, 10 May 2015 22:04:00 +0000

The NUT is party politically independent and always has been. However, like many NUT members, I was involved in the General Election campaigns, fighting hard to avoid the outcome that we got on Thursday 7th May: an outcome I think will prove a devastating result for education and public services.

with NUT member and Parliamentary
candidate Jake Lambert, and Labour
council candidates in Eastbourne

I make no secret or apology for being a Labour Party member of 20+ years standing. I was proud to campaign for the Labour manifesto- which had its failings- and for the outstanding Jake Lambert, Labour candidate for Eastbourne and vice-president of East Sussex NUT. I was proud to have stood as a Labour local government candidate in the Eastbourne Borough Council elections of the same day.

Already, some NUT activists are clamouring for strike action, and I would agree that this will probably be necessary as the new Government unveils its expected horrific package of cuts to education and other services. But, with the mandate from Conference for a new ballot, any proposed industrial action will need to win the overwhelming backing of our members- whether or not the Government manages to rush new anti-union laws through or not. This means we need to be engaging in discussion and debate with ALL of our members, not just those who turn up to local association meetings.

More importantly, we need to maintain the momentum from the Stand up for Education campaign and the Vote for Education manifesto materials which we swamped our schools and communities with. The new government has a majority of just 12 (remember the coalition had a majority something in the region of 70) Lobbying and campaigning can chip away at this- even in constituencies with Tory MP's. We need to use both social and traditional media to make sure that our agenda for education cannot slip off the public's radar. No NUT Division can do this on their own- every staffroom in the land needs to be involved in putting our case to both the Government and the public, and exposing each and every one of the Government's failings on education.

As a Labour Party member, I was proud to join with many other NUT Labour Teachers at annual conference, in an upbeat and positive fringe meeting with three Labour MP's including former Schools Minister and NUT member Kevin Brennan. It wasn't a meeting where we were talked at by the politicians: we spent most of the time in round-table groups discussing points of policy. As they reflect on the loss and start considering a new leader, the Labour Party must not be allowed to side-line issues of education policy. We need to ensure that every NUT and Labour member is lobbying their Labour MP, or engaging in their branch or CLP to ensure that we put the case for education at every opportunity.

Stand up for Education may have been conceived as a programme leading up to polling day- it's now a five year project- let's keep up the pressure.

Dave launches candidacy for NUT Vice-President

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 14:17:00 +0000

I am pleased to say that I have been asked to stand for Vice President of the National Union of Teachers, and this site will now be used to update members on that campaign.

I am pleased to be standing with the backing of the Broad Left/Broadly Speaking group, and to be running alongside my friend Linda Goodwin from Staffordshire NUT.

All content before April 2014 relates to my time as a National Execuitive member- this is remaining on the site to show the level of reporting and accountability to members I believe I should have as an elected officer !

Why I'm voting for Christine Blower

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 23:31:00 +0000

This week, NUT members will be receiving ballot papers in the election for our General Secretary- and I am proud to be casting my vote to re-elect our current General Secretary, Christine Blower.

I joined the National Executive of the union in 2008, under Steve Sinnott's leadership. Steve had changed the culture of union "politics"- moving us away from the factionalism and conflict that had been commonplace, and working tirelessly- with Christine as his deputy- to build a truly united union.

After Steve's tragic and untimely death, (just days before the Union took its first national action in over 20 years) Christine stepped into the leadership of the Union, and continued this work- a united, campaigning and growing NUT.

Christine has become a hugely respected and recognisable face in the media and society, as a powerful, knowledgeable and principled voice for teachers. I am voting for Christine for the following reasons:

A United Union: Back in 2008, Steve Sinnott had been seen as a figure from the "right" of the Union spectrum, and Christine as from the "left". This became increasingly irrelevant as they led our Union in an inclusive, consensual and united way. Christine has received huge support from across the spectrum of opinion in the Union- as shown by the wave of nominations she has received from across traditions in our Union. We need a General Secretary who can unite and command the respect of all of our members- not one beholden to one narrow wing or faction.

For Professional Unity: The joint working with other teachers unions under Christine has been unprecedented. She has led campaigning on assessment reform with the ATL, built joint industrial action with the NAHT over SATS, and, of course the recent joint working with the NASUWT. While this has not always been successful or sustained over the long term- Christine has recognised that we are at our strongest in defending teachers when we speak with one voice. Christine and Kevin made huge efforts to maintain and deliver joint action with the NASWUT and others. Throughout that time, some of her opponents- including her opponent in this election- consistently voted to move towards industrial action on our own, breaking the fragile unity we had built with other trade unionists. We should not be afraid to take action alone when necessary- but we should always seek to build the strongest possible alliances with the unions representing our staffroom colleagues. The NUT calls for one union for all teachers. A vote for Christine is for a leadership genuinely committed to Professional Unity.
Teachers constantly tell us this - Christine has demonstrated that she understands this.

For a Democratic Union: Christine has consistently and tirelessly used her position to advance NUT policy, as determined by the sovereign decision-making body of our Union- NUT Conference. The General Secretary leads, but their job is to implement the policy of Conference, not simply ignore it ! Martin Powell-Davies and LANAC appear in their election materials to be proposing a range of new demands and actions: that is not the job of the General Secretary, it is the job of Annual Conference, (and elected Executive members between those times- the General Secretary is not a voting member of the national executive.)

Because she's done a great job !: What reason is there for removing a sitting General Secretary- particularly when we are in the middle of a major campaign to defend the very soul of our profession ? Well, certainly we should have the right and the will to do that where a General Secretary has been inadequate, has ignored Union policy, or has been found wanting in other ways. Christine is not in that position- she has led our Union with distinction. She and Kevin Courtney have been powerful public figures advancing our case, and have built an enviable level of public recognition that the General Secretaries of other teachers' Unions can only dream of.

As well as leading the current industrial campaign, she has been a highly visible and committed supporter of our equalities work, our international campaigns, and campaigning for a curriculum and a school system that serves our children. She has been a strong presence for the Union on the TUC's general council, and has been at the forefront of the fight against racism and fascism as national vice-chair of Unite Against Fascism. Our membership is healthy and growing, and our reps, activists and members are well served and supported by the union's structures. Let's build on that success and re-elect Christine Blower and Kevin Courtney. Please use your vote.

NUT Annual Conference 2014 Report: Tuesday 22nd April

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 23:25:00 +0000

The last day of Conference, and my last day as Executive Member for Kent, East Sussex, Brighton and Hove and Medway, after six great years proudly serving our members.

The day opened with the important debates on those motions brought forward from the Equalities Conferences. The motion from Disabled Teachers Conference, which I had attended, looked at Promoting Disability Equality- and heard from activists Mandy Hudson and Richard Rieser amongst others. After the debate, Christine Blower commented:-

"Every school has disabled pupils, staff and family members and the Union must continue to do all it can to support and raise awareness amongst our members and the wider school community of the barriers that disabled people face. But further we must insist that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. The Government's benefit cuts are hitting disabled people hardest of all and the employment of disabled people is especially vulnerable to public sector job cuts. Disabled teachers say that they would definitely not disclose a disability or health condition when applying for a job for fear of discrimination or not getting the job. A high level of harassment, negative stereotyping and adverse reaction is reported by disabled teachers wishing to remain in the workplace."

The motion from the LGBT Teachers Conference focused on Transgender Teachers' Visibility and Rights. The motion referred to the tragic death of our member Lucy Meadows, after a hideous campaign of abuse from a national newspaper, despite being well supported by her school.

I spoke in this debate. While recognising that we should not speculate on the causes of Lucy's suicide, I reiterated that there are many writing in the tabloid press who have questions to answer about their responsibility, not just for this but other tragic cases. I also referred to a recent case of a trans teacher in the United States who was suspended because her gender identity could be "confusing". I said that:

"People's gender or LGB identity is not confusing for children. Prejudice and discrimination is confusing for children. Telling children that bullying is wrong, but letting them witness unchallenged homophobia and transphobia is confusing. Challenging children's language and prejudices when they can read the prejudiced filth in the tabloid press over their breakfast is confusing."

I also took the opportunity to thank the Conference for their support over the last six years, and celebrated the fact that, although my defeat meant that the executive had one fewer gay and disabled member, I was less concerned because of the excellent work of Betty Joseph, Annette Pryce and Mandy Hudson, who, thanks to Conference's decision to create our reserved places, meant that people like myself would never ever go unrepresented on our Executive again.

The motion from the Black Teachers' Conference looked at Addressing Inequality for Black Teachers, and highlighted in particular the way in which black colleagues are demonstrably overlooked for promotion and disproport8ionately targeted by so-called Capability procedures.

The Unfinished Business section of the day allowed us to finish the debate and pass a motion reaffirming our determination to achieve Professional Unity and One Union for All Teachers. A motion on the General Election recognised the need for us to create and promote a manifesto for education and teachers, and to vigorously promote our policies to all of the political parties. in pursuit of this, I met with a group of teachers who are Labour Party members after the Conference to discuss how we can promote and forward our Union's policies in the Labour Party in the coming months.

Christine Blower gave a barnstorming address to close Conference once again. Christine paid tribute to three heroes we have lost since we last met- the great Nelson Mandela, who was an honorary NUT member; Bow Crow, the leader of the RMT and a colleague of Christine's on the TUC General Council, and the veteran Labour MP and campaigner Tony Benn. She reminded us of the words of Joe Hill- "Don't mourn, organise" Christine spoke of the challenges ahead, and the need to organise and win our action campaign, and explained the dire threat from the incoherent but dangerous Global Education Reform Movement, of which Michael Gove is a zealous follower. She closed conference with a video of the rousing Billy Bragg song "There is Power in a Union"

Christine brought conference to its feet with a rousing standing ovation- reminding me why I am so proud to be supporting her re-election campaign- and urge all members to support her in this.

NUT Annual Conference 2014 Report: Monday 21st April

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 22:54:00 +0000

Back to a full day at Conference, with a range of policy debates, and also the presentation of two important annual awards from the Union.

The Fred and Anne Jarvis Award is presented annually to a person from outside the Union who has made an important contribution to education campaigns. It is presented by Fred Jarvis, former NUT Secretary, in memory of his late wife, who was an NUT member, Labour councillor, and education campaigner.

This year, the award went to Michael Lees, who has been a leading campaigner on the important issue of getting rid of asbestos from our schools. Michael’s wife Gina, a nursery school teacher, and an NUT member, was exposed to asbestos at a number of different schools and died of mesothelioma at the age of 51. In the 12 years since her death, Michael has emerged as a leading voice on the risks of asbestos exposure.

His website www.asbestosexposureschools.co.uk is one of the best places on the internet for evidence and research about asbestos and mesothelioma. Michael has also written extensively on the subject in the press, advised countless journalists and given a great many media interviews.

The Blair Peach Award is named in honour of NUT member and anti-fascist campaigner Blair Peach, who was murdered by a still unidentified member of the Special Police Group while taking part in a demonstration against the National Front in 1979. The award goes to an NUT member who has made an outstanding contribution in campaigning on equality issues. This year's winner was Sam Kirk works at Tong High School, a co-educational 11-18 school for 1600 pupils, who together are representative of Bradford’s diverse population. At her school, Sam secured a tutorial program for all year groups on the issue of homophobia and the effects it has on young people. An accompanying theatre project, performed by Key Stage 4/5 students, was seen at the Alhambra Studio theatre and screened at a Holocaust Memorial event in Bradford. As a consequence of this work, Tong High School monitors incidents of homophobia more closely and both staff and students feel better able to challenge those views.

The day saw a variety of important policy decisions. The debate and vote on the Priority Motion on the Stand Up for Education campaign was completed- committing us to stepping up the campaign, with a commitment to taking further strike action in June if no progress is made, and to engage with members about building for further action in the Autumn term. You can read the Union's press release on the campaign here.

The second priority motion was taken- on the issue of Sixth Form funding and the scandalous appropriation of funds to the Free Schools programme- exemplified by the £45 million being given to a post-16 free school in Westminster, run by the Harris chain, founded by Tory donor Lord Harris. Christine Blower said:

"The Government cuts to post-16 funding are senseless and damaging. Despite their demonstrable success in securing results and preparing students for further study or the world of work, sixth form colleges have been particularly hard hit. They have already lost over £100 million in funding already and further planned cuts will put many colleges’ viability at risk, both in terms of the breadth of the curriculum and their very existence."

The motion on Supply that was partly proposed by the Lewes, Eastbourne and Wealden NUT Association was debated. It highlights the attacks on conditions for supply teachers, and once again raised the scandal that Supply Teachers who are employed through Agencies cannot contribute to the Teachers Pension Scheme. It was seconded in an excellent speech by local supply teacher Natasha Witham.

Also debated and passed were motions on:

Capability Procedures
Attacks on Teachers' Pay and Conditions
The Use of Numerical Targets and Ofsted Grades in School Appraisal and Pay Policies
Early Years and Primary Assessment
The Too Much Too Soon campaign

In the evening, I attended the reception for Disabled Teachers, which heard from National President May Hyde, Disabled Teachers' executive member Mandy Hudson, and veteran inclusion campaigner Richard Rieser.

In the evening was the Executive Dinner, when I got to say my farewell to those colleagues who I have served with on the Executive for the past six years. Also leaving the Executive are Tony Tonks, Veronica Peppiatt, Julie Lyon-Taylor, Eddie Ritson, Marilyn Harrop and Clare Jones. We also said farewell to Marian Darke after many years of service as an Executive member, National President, Regional Officer, and most recently as Regional Secretary for the South East Region.

NUT Annual Conference 2014 Report- Sunday 20th April

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 16:46:00 +0000

As it was Easter Sunday, (and we'd been good !), Conference was a half day today. We did, however, still have a range of important debates.

The day opened with the presentation of a number of awards to members- including the Rep of the Year and the Officer of the year awards.

Once again, the International section focused on our support for peace and justice in occupied Palestine. A delegation from the Union had taken a delegation to Palestine last year- this included local Brighton and Hove teacher Seema McCardle, who has spoken of her experience to local associations. A report on the delegation is also available in print form from Hamilton House. The motion today reaffirmed the NUT's campaigning for the rights of Palestinian children, and encourages local Divisions to make links with Palestinian teachers and schools.

Christine Blower, speaking after the debate, said:

"We call on the British Government to pursue vigorously the dismantling of the 700km-long wall which separates many Palestinians from their schools and their land, and to support the UN’s call for the lifting of the blockade of Gaza.
Children wherever they are should be entitled to a life without fear and to receive an education in which their own heritage is reflected. As Education International says, schools should be a place of safety.
The Union will continue to call upon the UK Government to fulfil international obligations in relation to the treatment of Palestinian Child Prisoners. This was the pledge given by our recent delegation to Palestine led by our ex-President Beth Davies."

The debate on Special Education and Inclusion reiterated the Union's policy of supporting inclusive education and developing disability equality in mainstream schools, while recognising that the Children and Families Bill does not provide adequate safeguards for the large majority of these children. It has provided a whole raft of bureaucracy and workload for our SENCO members, and, of course, the former central role played by local authorities in supporting SEN pupils is constantly undermined by the fragmentation of the school system by Academies and Free Schools, and the savage cuts to LEA central services' funding.

Christine commented after the motion was passed, that:

"In the context of cuts to local authority budgets there is a great deal of concern that the special educational needs of pupils will suffer. Lack of funding or cuts to the external support services available to SEN pupils have been an issue for some time.
Local authorities play a vital role in co-ordinating provision of education for SEN and disabled pupils, backed up by high quality specialist advice and intervention. The fragmentation of the education system through the academy and free schools programme provides a direct threat to this SEN provision across local authorities.
Inclusion of all children is a principle to which the NUT holds dear.
The Education Health and Care Plan is likely to create significant increases in workload for class teachers and SENCOs as it requires a greater level of detail than the current Statement.
In some local authorities staff have been required to change all statements to EHC plans during the summer term. The Government needs to make clear to local authorities that there is a clear lead in time for the changes and statements only need be changed to EHC plans once they are due for revision"

In the evening, I was pleased to be invited to the Cumbria NUT party, with music from my executive colleague Alan Rutter and his band. This is always a superb event, and it was a pleasure to see so many colleagues supporting- including the indefatigable Fred Jarvis- who was General Secretary of the Union in the 1970's and 80's. Fred is now well into his 80's, but still regularly attends and engages with NUT Conference (as well as the TUC and Labour Party conferences) Fred's energy is amazing- and he always makes an effort to attend those fringe meetings where there is music and dancing !

NUT Annual Conference 2014 report: Saturday 19th April

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 22:59:00 +0000

Following Max Hyde's speech to Conference this morning, there was a debate on a "reference back" to a paragraph in the Officers' Report section of the Annual Report. This has the effect of removing that paragraph from the report, and usually is moved to allow Conference to indicate to the Executive that they wish them to look again at a decision or action that was taken. Because this was internal business of the Union, it was taken in a private session, with only delegates and observers who were also NUT members present.

Following this, there were debates on three motions under the "Education- General" section- on Definition of a Teacher, Academies and Free Schools, and on OFSTED.

On the Definition of a Teacher, moved by Essex NUT, conference agreed to recognise that "..only those who have undertaken and completed training and statutory qualifications can be described as being teachers", and following an amendment, also rejected any "notion of an unqualified teacher status, other than as being a recognised route towards becoming a qualified teacher."

Following this debate, Christine Blower commented:

"As our recent NUT/ YouGov poll showed, unlike Michael Gove parents want their children to be taught by a fully qualified teacher. 88% of parents think teachers should be able to exercise their professional judgement to best meet the needs of their children. This is in stark contrast to the 3% of parents who thought politicians should be able to prescribe what and how teachers teach."

The debate on Academies and Free schools reiterated Conference's opposition to what incoming vice-president Anne Swift wrote in this morning's Broadsheet Bulletin "an anti-democratic and ill-judged method of providing education for all our children and young people."

The motion instructs the Executive to "continue to oppose vigorously both forced and voluntary conversions, and the creation of free schools by working with the Anti-Academies Alliance, parents and other stakeholders" and to restore rights to local authorities. However, it also reaffirmed strongly the Union's commitment to supporting members working in Academies and Free Schools to ensure no undermining of pay and conditions. The work of the NUT members in Islington's STEM 16 free school, in taking strike action to successfully win union recognition and defeat the imposition of zero-hours contracts for teachers (yes really !) was praised. Christine Blower commented:

"For the sake of education in this country we need to see an end to the destructive and divisive forced academy programme and free schools programme. All state funded schools must employ only qualified teachers and all schools need to be brought within the same regulatory framework in respect of admissions, the curriculum and education policies"

The debate on OFSTED contained many horrific stories of how the inspection regime is destroying teachers and schools.   As well as clarifying our opposition to the current regime, the motion provided a number of methods for upping our campaign, including developing web-based resources to allow members to report bad practice. While these suggestions were subsequently removed from the final motion (with a wide ranging amendment) they provide important suggestions about how we put our policy into practice.

A first amendment added the case for demanding an independent review, and highlighted the evidence the Union had gathered from Finland (also mentioned in Max's speech) where there is no equivalent inspection framework, but government, teachers and unions work together to develop curriculum and government invests in teacher training, CPD and evidence based policy making.

A second amendment removed the words suggesting that "OFSTED needs radical and innovative changes" and replaced it with a clear message of "no confidence" in the organisation, and called for the NUT to work with other unions to promote the case for a "credible, evidence-based alternative."

In the debate a very pertinent point was raised by Roy Wilkes from Bury, who raised the conflice of interest he saw in the private Tribal Education company which has the private contract to carry out many OFSTED inspections, but also seeks private (for profit) contracts to advise schools and academies on school management issues.

After lunch came the big debate on the Stand Up for Education priority motion, which included debate on the next steps in the Trade Dispute.

The motion in the name of the Executive contained a range of proposals about stepping up the action in support of the campaign, including preparing for strike action in the Summer term following the exam season. The full text of the motion was published by me on this site on April 14th and can be read here. Moving the motion, Jerry Glazier reminded us that the campaign has, and always has had, three strands- Engaging with the public, applying political pressure to the Government, and backing this up with strike action.

The first amendment was put by Martin Powell-Davies of Lewisham, and called for us to commit to "a week of action before the [Autumn] half term break, and a further week of action in November. In each week all members... would be called on to take at least two consecutive days of strike action."   It also added demands to the secretary of state including a flat-rate £2000 pay increase on all points of teachers pay scales.

Kiri Tunks of East London successfully opposed this amendment- pointing out that it was too prescriptive, and also introduced new demands into the campaign. We need to build on the incredibly hard work that members have undertaken as part of the Stand Up for Education campaign, and being clear about the support we want to build from parents. Alex Kenny and Jay Barry of the Executive also opposed the amendment.

After a detailed and complex debate, the vote was called, and it appeared that the amendment was lost. However, as a number of members stood to demand a card vote, this was taken, meaning that the debate was paused while it was counted. As delegates are representing an Association or Division- or if there is more than one delegate, a proportion of one, the card vote reflects the number of members each voter is representing (as I was attending as an Executive member, my card was only worth one !)   The counted vote was:

FOR the amendment- delegates representing                87,262 members
AGAINST the amendment- delegates representing     158,138 members

so that amendment was lost. The debate moved on to debate a second amendment, that was proposed by the incoming vice-president Phillipa Harvey, bringing a number of strengthening points including specifying the need to consult with members through a range of methods to clearly identify their attitude towards different forms of action in the autumn term, and adding additional campaign ideas including circulating information about local People's Assembly groups.   Because of time, the debate will continue later in the Conference- either if time is made up elsewhere, or during the Unfinished Business section on Tuesday.

The afternoon concluded with the adoption of the Union's annual accounts from the Treasurer, Ian Murch, and also the accounts of the Union's training centre at Stoke Rochford Hall- where I have served as a director for the past two years.

NUT Annual Conference Report 2014- Saturday 19th April: President's Address

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 11:09:00 +0000

The incoming National President of the Union, Max Hyde, gave her Presidential Address this morning.

"I have spent my working life hoping to open up the life chances, the life-long chances, of others. I am proud to be a teacher and to have educated thousands of young people in my career as a teacher of physics and chemistry. So why does the Coalition Government label me an enemy of promise?"

Max Hyde and me at TUC LGBT Conference

You can read the full text of her speech here

NUT Annual Conference 2014 Report- Friday 18th April

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 10:56:00 +0000

I am proud to be representing Kent, East Sussex, Brighton and Hove and Medway at Annual Conference as their Executive Member for the last time- especially as Conference is at the heart of my area, in the City of Brighton and Hove.

Friday's business is largely ceremonial- with the inauguration of the new President, Max Hyde, who takes over from Beth Davies. Beth was praised on her service to the union in a Vote of Thanks moved by Jerry Glazier- National Executive member for Essex.

The Conference welcomed a range of guests- those from our sister teacher trade unions at home and abroad, and from other kindred organisations. We heard from comedian Kate Smurthwaite- representing the campaigning organisation The People's Assembly against Austerity, from Australian Teachers' Union leader Angelo Gavrielatos (who pointed out the frightening similarities between the Gove agenda and the policies being pursued by the new right-wing Government in Australia) and Larry Flanagan of the Educational Institute of Scotland (our partner union in Scotland)

The reception of Annual Reports from the Union's partner organisations (Teachers' Assurance, Teachers' Building Society, Teachers Housing Association, and the Teacher Support Network) is usually a formality- a presentation from the organisations updating Conference on their past year's work. However, this year, there was a difference.

I had expected to be called on the debate on the motion to accept (or not- I was speaking against !) the report of Teachers Support Network. However, after the report was moved by the Chief Executive and seconded by Christine Blower (who gave Conference a welcome warning about her reservations about the direction the charity appears to be taking); only one speaker was allowed against- a member of theTSN National Council, who spoke ofher concerns about the processes within the organisation. I was intending to explainmy wider concerns, however, in an extraordinary decision, the President ruled that she felt there had been a "balanced debate" (what ???) and I would not be called.

I was hoping to make the following points:

TSN is reviewing its governance structures, which includes the "refocusing" and possible/probably renaming of the charity. Given the impact of such changes, these should be scrutinised carefully.

NUT members and associations support TSN generously, both due to the excellent work it does for teachers, but also because it is/was an organisation which had a long history with our Union, and appeared to be proud of its relationship with the NUT. If the TSN is now embarrassed by its formal links to our Trade Union, then many of us would reconsider where we give our money !

The governance review appears to be proposing that the NUT loses all of its rights to nominate members to serve as trustees or management members of the Charity. This would relegate us from being an integral part of the organisation to a purely passive source of money (treated a bit like a wealthy elderly relative- they don't want to listen to us, but they'd still like to get our money !)

The report to Conference contains a highly disingenuous financial table, showing the (still very healthy) level of donations to TSN from NUT sources, but juxtaposed against the "cost" of services TSN provides to NUT members: this was created to show a supposed "shortfall" of over £100,000. My belief is that this was done to further the political agenda of the current chief executive to downplay the NUT's importance to the Charity, and thus justify marginalising the Union.

The figures, however, only included donations directly from NUT Associations, or from NUT members who make a donation as part of their membership sub. It did not recognise A SINGLE PENNY of the money donated by NUT members or retired NUT members as regular Direct Debit subscribers to the Charity, nor did it recognise a penny of legacies left to the Charity by departed NUT members. Why not ? Because this would not suit the agenda of the current TSN leadership. Who says the figures can't lie ?!

I want the TSN to continue as a successful charity supporting all teachers. The NUT has been at the heart of the Charity's work for over 130 years- from the days of the Benevolent and Orphans' "bob", to its days as the Teachers' Benevolent Fund, and now as TSN. I want to fight to ensure we are still an active and engaged partner long after the current leadership is gone and forgotten.

In an almost unprecedented move- despite the debate being cut short (and several delegates noticed my slightly theatrical-sorry- reaction at being blocked from speaking) the Conference voted very clearly NOT to formally receive the Annual Report of the TSN. This is largely a gesture, but it sends a clear message to the TSN and to the NUT members who are on the National Council, that our Union is not going to sit quietly while the leadership of the Charity seek to remove us as partners in the organisation we have supported for so long !

Conference also agreed to suspend standing orders (ie. change the agenda) to allow two debates on priority motions- these must relate to events that have occurred or changed since the deadline for normal motions and amendments. Conference agreed to us debating the Stand up for Education and trade dispute campaign, and the situation around Sixth Form funding.

Executive Priority Motion- Stand up for Education

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Brinson) — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 18:31:00 +0000

The Executive will be proposing the following Priority Motion to Annual Conference this week- on the topic of the Industrial Action campaign as part of our Trade Dispute with the Secretary of State, and the wider Stand up for Education campaign:

Conference notes that the Stand Up for Education campaign launched recently has proved the NUT right in its belief that it is possible to build a broadly based movement that can challenge the Government’s bullying and destructive approach to education and to teachers resulting in many good teachers leaving the profession, due in particular to workload pressures. Conference congratulates all Union members who have supported the campaign through engaging parents, pressuring politicians and striking on 26 March 2014.

Conference believes that it is essential that the Union continue to promote the three components of the Stand Up for Education campaign - engage - pressure - strike - and that by doing this the Union is increasing pressure on Michael Gove and his Government.

Conference notes that, as result of the street stalls and other campaigning,　 there is now strong evidence that parents and the wider public share the Union's concerns on issues such as Qualified Teacher Status, the right of Local Authorities to plan and build schools, and constant unplanned changes to the curriculum and assessment.

This mobilisation across England and Wales, in combination with Twitter and Facebook has begun the process of moving the Union into social movement trade unionism, following the example of other unions internationally and in particular the Chicago Teachers Union.

Conference further congratulates members for the successful campaigning which forced the Government to publish the results of the workload diary survey carried out in March 2013, which showed a big increase in hours worked by all teachers. Conference condemns Michael Gove for this increase which has resulted in incredible stress and loss of many effective teachers from the profession due in particular to workload pressures.

Conference notes that the outcome from the STRB when it was asked to remove all statutory protection of teachers conditions of employment was in stark contrast to responses to previous Secretaries of State. The joint strike action in June and October and the ongoing action at school was the background to success in holding on to most elements in the STPCD.

Conference further notes positions which the Secretary of State could have adopted to cause the Union to suspend strike action:

I. Commitment to participating personally in the discussions which are now on-going, which should deal with the direction of Government policy, not simply about its implementation, and in meetings with the NUT, NASUWT and UCAC which seek to resolve the Union’s dispute.

II. Agree to the immediate demands on pay, workload and accountability agreed by the Executive, including continued publication of pay spine points and guidance to schools on portability and budgeting for all teachers to make pay progression, pending the outcome of discussions on broader policy on teachers’ pay and conditions.

III. Agree that the proposed study on the health and deployment implications of working to 68 should also consider whether 68 is an appropriate pension age for teachers, and agree to publish a valuation of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme conducted on the basis of the 2010 criteria and factors.

The strike on 26 March 2014 went ahead because of the Secretary of State’s negative response to these reasonable demands. This strike was a success, with much positive reporting from all over England and Wales. Conference congratulates all the members who took part in this action and the many NUT representatives that encouraged them.

To build on the success of the current campaign, Conference instructs the Executive to put in place the following campaign elements:

A parliamentary lobby on 10 June 2014, with the aim of securing lobbyists from every constituency across England and Wales.
Encouraging local associations and divisions to ensure local lobbying takes place in the run up to the national lobby.
Mobilising for the 21 June 2014 national demonstration in London called by the People’s Assembly under the banner of Stand Up For Education.
Continue to develop those elements of the Stand Up For Education Campaign that takes the Union’s message to the public through street stalls and encouraging broad-based "Education Question Time " type events to capitalise on the success of those events already held.
Participation in the talks process and reporting to members on it.
Continue to press in the talks for negotiation about policy as well as implementation of existing policy and encourage members to contact their MPs about the inadequacies of the process.
Noting that the DfE may conduct enquiries looking at supporting work until 68 and at the workload arising from the accountability regime, find ways to encourage members to provide evidence for these reviews to demonstrate the barriers that teachers face.
Review of the progress made in the on-going talks with the DfE at its meeting on 22 May 2014 The Union will engage with the NASUWT and UCAC on this review. In the event that significant progress is not being made, seek to co-ordinate national strike action in the week beginning Monday, 23 June 2014, whilst showing flexibility if other school-based, education and public sector unions are planning action on similar timescales, and whilst being prepared to take strike action alone, as on 26 March 2014, if necessary.
Develop a programme of action from the Autumn Term and beyond in the event that there has been insufficient progress.
Continue the ASOS, in conjunction with the NASUWT, possibly with a focus on specified instructions in given weeks and give consideration to new ASOS instructions.
Train NUT representatives in all aspects of pay and appraisal policies.
Mobilise for TUC Day of Action on 18 October 2014.