Newsletter, March 2008

Since the last newsletter in January the Scottish Borders association of the EIS has held its AGM (18th March 2009) and four meetings of the Executive Committee. Two members of the committee are members of EIS National Council (President, Graham Jarvie and Secretary, Kay Miller). The Council members from Scottish Borders and three other members attended the National AGM in Perth in June 2009.

We have four members on the teachers’ side of the Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers (LNCT) and there have been three meetings of that committee since March 2009. Much of the time at these meetings has been taken up with the implications of TCS (Transforming Children’s Services). An extra meeting has been arranged for later this month to discuss in more detail the implications for Principal Teachers in both secondary and primary schools. There are many unanswered questions about how the reduction in PT numbers will be achieved and what the effect on individual teachers, schools and the education service will be. We are assured that managers from SBC will meet with PTs collectively and individually to discuss their options.

LNCT members have visited some schools in the region to discuss with collegiate groups how they formulate Working Time Agreements and allocate hours to tasks that have to be undertaken in schools. School managements are being asked to send in copies of the WTAs for scrutiny by the LNCT. This is to be done by October 2009. If you have not discussed the allocation of hours in your school or had a report from your collegiate group then you need to ask about it now. It is the right and responsibility of every teacher to have an input into this process. The collegiate group should meet at least once a term to monitor the agreement, especially the use of flexibility time. Teachers who feel under pressure and are finding their workload unacceptably high, should speak, in the first instance, to their line managers.

Any comments on LNCT matters can be sent either to Kay Miller, Yvonne McCracken (Joint Secretaries of the LNCT) or Ian Topping (Chair of LNCT 2009-2010). A leaflet outlining the remit of the LNCT and contact details should be in schools now.

Along with representatives of other Unions, Kay Miller has attended five Consultation Meetings on the progress of Transforming Children’s Services. At these meetings representatives from Human Resources, the Department of Education and Lifelong Learning and Social Work inform the Union Reps of progress. The HR consultant, Lyn Haemmerle also attends. So far we have been given updates on the changes required by Work Package 2. Some of you will have been directly affected by this in the Special Education Needs Service. There are still problems to be resolved – some individuals have been subject to fairly aggressive treatment and have had to make serious decisions about their terms and conditions.

The EIS would urge all members to get advice about new contracts before signing anything.
N.B. Scottish Borders’ Council does not necessarily advertise vacant posts in the press but now uses the website www.myjobscotland.gov.uk as the preferred method of recruitment.

There was a meeting of The Joint Consultative Group for Teachers on 30th September. A variety of items on the agenda included the 35 hour working week, Transforming Children’s Services and Violent Incident Reporting. This forum, chaired by Councillor Bhatia, is our opportunity to bring issues concerning the working conditions of teachers directly to the attention of Elected Members of SBC.

There has been guidance from the Scottish National Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) on issues surrounding the Swine ‘Flu Pandemic. The average absence for someone contracting the disease is 9 days. During the pandemic it is important to maintain the continuity of all front line services of the Council, including education. The SNCT has stated that although there will be no re-deployment of teachers into any other work, some teachers may be re-deployed to another educational establishments as teachers.

There have been a number of common themes in queries and problems coming from members in Scottish Borders. The Executive Committee is aware that those members who report problems are probably the tip of the iceberg and others are working under similar difficult circumstances. It is important that members communicate information about their working conditions so that colleagues don’t feel isolated in their schools and that bad practice can be identified and dealt with. Good practice may be taken for granted by those who experience it and we should work together to spread it around when it exists!

With this in mind your Local Executive Committee asks members for feedback on the following areas:-

• delivery of non-contact time cover
• experience of Partner Schools
• experience of inspections – both HMIE and SBC
• working with GLOW
• quality of CPD, including equal access for supply teachers
• is CPD being linked to the timetable for implementation of a Curriculum for Excellence?
• Implementation of C for E – all Local Authorities report that they are ‘ahead of the game’ – we need evidence /comments from teachers about what is happening in classrooms. (Larry Flanagan, Convener of the Education Committee of the EIS, stressed at an EIS Council meeting on 2nd October that HMIE are not expecting full implementation of C of E in August 2010 – it is recognised that this process will take several years. Schools are expected to be engaged in the process)
• the delay in the closure of the National Assessment Bank and the continuation of the gathering of results by SBC
• multi-stage composite classes – the Education committee of the EIS is preparing a paper on the advantages and disadvantages of these classes and would welcome comment
• faculty arrangements – there are ongoing discussions with HMIE about faculties, especially given the pursuit of ‘flatter’ management structures
• the role of Chartered Teachers – according to a recent SNCT report, any enhanced role should be mutually explored through PRD interview. Chartered Teachers should not be undertaking managerial tasks (the SNCT has now published the Code of Practice on the Role of Chartered Teachers and this can be found on the Borders EIS website – www.borderseis.org.uk)
• please report any difficulties around Absence Management Policy – especially after prolonged absence and claiming of accrued leave

In reporting on all these issues it is important to have documented evidence rather than anecdotal information, which although interesting, cannot be used to build up a case about real problems facing teachers.

At a recent meeting for Local Association Secretaries it was reported that COSLA have not yet sought to open up the teachers’ pay deal. This may change as there will continue to be a squeeze on Local Authority Budgets in the coming months but EIS Council was assured that the Salaries Committee of the EIS would strongly resist any attempt to renege on teachers’ 3-year pay deal.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, EIS HQ obtained data from all 32 Local Authorities on their Education Budgets. According to these figures, Scottish Borders has the biggest increase (+2.5%) in pupil numbers in Scotland. (2 other Authorities have very slight increases in primary pupils and Midlothian is +1.3% for secondary pupils). In spite of this, teacher numbers were expected to fall in Borders (by 20 at the time the figures were obtained). The number of support staff (which is the lowest in Scotland except for the Western Isles) is not going to change for 2009/10. You will not be surprised to learn that the predictions for the future of Local Authority budgets are dire for the next few years.

Finally, the EIS cannot function to protect the rights and working conditions of its members without the involvement of individuals. Your Executive Committee in the Borders is very grateful to all school representatives for their contribution to recruitment and dissemination of information. If you know of any teachers, including NQTs, who have not joined a Union then please urge them to do so as soon as possible – preferably choosing the EIS – which is the Union that represents the majority of teachers in Scotland.

If you have anything to report on the issues mentioned in this newsletter please contact your school rep who will pass the information on to the Local Association Secretary, Kay Miller. (Contacts page on this website for details if required)

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