NATIONAL UNION of TEACHERS

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE REPORT

July 2010

Colleagues will be only too aware of the varied Government attacks on public services including education. One such attack will be on pensions. For information: The Hutton review on the cost & affordability of pensions is due to make a first report in September and is currently taking evidence. The NUT evidence will be rigorous and strong. It is likely there will be a second stage to the review that will outline options for change. The situation is unclear and fast changing, whatever the result of the review, it looks like there will be change and it will not be in our favour!

The Academies debacle lurches from one crisis to another. It is looking like Gove’s claim to have 100s of Academies running from September is no more than a pipe dream – lets hope our headline in September can read – Gove 0! There is serious confusion over how much money a new Academy can expect from its LA, Government figures are way above what local L As say is possible. The danger to other schools in this process is becoming clearer all the time. New legal issues are also being found on a daily basis – church schools are now finding that seeking to become an Academy means church land becomes the property of the new Academy – there is no legal way to do this. The NUT has ensured that lots of amendments to the Academies Bill have been tabled, but the Government is rushing it through, this alone is causing discomfort. Our main avenue of attack has been over the issue of consultation. A recent letter from Gove on this issue has a different more conciliatory tone and recognises concerns. There is the possibility of Judicial Reviews or injunctions if consultation doesn’t take place, but this only delays the process it doesn’t stop it!

Division Secretaries must ensure that all schools that express an interest in this are contacted and Regional Office is kept up to date. The National Union is aware of the extra work this is causing and support is being put in place.

Colleagues may also be aware that the Social Partnership has been disbanded and replaced with an Education Partnership – to be called the Educational Forum. The NUT has been invited to attend and we have agreed. There are no preconditions set! The letter inviting us to join outlines the possible remit of the group – membership will be limited to the relevant General Secretaries. It is to try to ‘free schools from bureaucracy’ and also deal with issues of discipline in schools – this latter area having a big airing in the press in recent days. It remains to be seen if this group has any legs, but the NUT will engage with it in good faith.

SATs campaign – it seems approx.. 23% of schools boycotted the SATs, although figures varied hugely from area to area. This was enough to undermine this years League Tables. SATs next year – decisions will have to be made on this in the very near future if we are to be fair to our members, but there remain a huge number of pragmatic issues – remember we must have a legal trade dispute! At this time – nothing has been ruled out!

I presume most colleagues are aware of the arrangements to cover the role of Regional Secretary now Lynne Collins has resigned. I’m afraid I was unable to take part in the recent interviews for this post, but understand no permanent appointment was made. Temporary cover will be provided until January – details are on the Web-Site.

There has been some discussion about use of pen drives. It is becoming clear that more and more schools are not allowing the use of private pen drives in schools because of the danger of spreading viruses. It is becoming more common for schools to provide encrypted pen drives to ensure that data is not accessible if the pen drive is lost. This is NUT practise. This may be something local Divisions may wish to consider? Many schools are also putting into place strict policies on staff using Social Network sites – please keep an eye on this. Given so many schools are going paper free and expect teachers to access email on a regular basis there may be a case for looking at this becoming directed time and also ensuring teachers have access to the necessary technology?

Very late notice, but there is a rally and Lobby of Parliament on Monday 19/7 against the cuts in BSF funding.

The Government is also reviewing Health and Safety guidelines, we all know the popular view of H&S is that it is petty and intrusive, but the truth is that it protects lives! The NUT is urging caution.

I hope you all have an excellent summer break – we all need and deserve a rest. We need to be refreshed for the new academic year – it will be a hard one!

Dave Lyons (National Executive Member)

Tel: 01538371320  Email: lyons265@btinternet.com