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Collegiality at School Level

From SNCT/52 available at http://www.snct.org.uk

In schools, collegiate working is carried out within the context of the 35-hour working week.

It is also important to acknowledge that every school is different and that no single model of collegiality will apply to all schools. For instance, the practicalities of collegiate working in a two or three teacher primary school will be very different from working arrangements in a secondary school with a pupil roll of 1600 and over 100 teaching staff. Nevertheless, certain common principles should apply and what follows is a description of the collegiate school.

Strong, effective communications operate within the collegiate school. The prevailing atmosphere fosters mutual respect and encourages frank, open and honest communications amongst all staff. There is evidence of a range of meetings including meetings involving the school's management team and representatives of the staff as a whole and which may include representatives of trade unions and professional organisations. The outcomes of such meetings are communicated to all relevant staff.

All staff contribute to the construction of the Working Time Agreement through a process of consultation, professional dialogue and negotiation; consequently, all staff have a sense of ownership of the Agreement. The Agreement is transparent, is signed by all members of the school negotiating team and is submitted to the LNCT by the specified date. Once finalised, the terms of the Agreement are respected by all members of staff and inform the work of the school over the session to which the Agreement applies.

All staff members recognise their responsibility to contribute to the school development process and to participate in this process in a collegiate and constructive manner. There are clear mechanisms in place to allow staff to make their views known; staff express their views openly and professionally. The opinions of staff are valued and are used as input to the school's development plan and policy development processes. School policies and decisions are regularly reviewed and all staff participate in the review process. Any changes required to the plan during the session are subject to appropriate consultation and take account of teacher workload.

Within the context of the 35-hour week and Working Time Agreements all staff in the collegiate school participate in a wide range of whole school activities, such as school committees, policy formulation, curriculum development, professional development and additional supervised pupil activity.

In the collegiate school, leadership qualities are evident throughout the school. There is a devolved and participative style of leadership and management. Staff are afforded opportunities to develop leadership skills and take advantage of these opportunities. Leadership in this context is distinct from management duties as set out in Part 2, Section 2 (Main Duties) of the National Scheme and Annex B of the National Agreement.

The collegiate school utilises and develops the skills, talents and interests of all staff and involves all staff in the key decisions affecting the life of the school as a whole. More broadly, the spirit of collegiality extends beyond teachers and support staff, and includes parents, pupils and partner agencies.

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