WORKFORCE REFORM: WHAT NEXT?
Looking forward
The new Apprenticeships,
Skills, Children and Learning
Act (ASCL) is set to have
a significant impact on
workforce reform
T
he ASCL Act received Royal Assent in
November 2009 and came into effect
in January 2010. It not only established
the School Support Staff Negotiating Body
(SSSNB) as a statutory body (England only),
but also gave the secretary of state powers to
make orders requiring employers of school
support staff (such as local authorities and the
governing bodies of self-governing schools) to she added that once the pay and conditions “If there are schools that haven’t yet
implement agreements reached by the SSSNB framework is in place, organisations like implemented the statutory changes that came
on support staff pay and conditions. UNISON would like to see CPD (including into being as a consequence of the National
Where the secretary of state requires a annual appraisals to identify training needs) Agreement then there is an urgency for them
proposed agreement to be reconsidered by guaranteed for all support staff. to address that now,” said Patrick Roach,
the SSSNB, and after renegotiation if the “Teachers have an entitlement to it, but assistant general secretary of the NASUWT.
secretary of state remains unhappy, s/he can support staff don’t,” she said. “We have many A joint statement from the English and Welsh
amend the agreement, or parts of it, or require support staff working in schools who for governments added: “Remodelling is never a
employers to “have regard to” parts of it. various reasons haven’t had the opportunity ‘job done’. Schools will need to continue to
The SSSNB, which is led by independent to have a formal education. Once they start ensure they are deploying their workforce in
chair Philip Ashmore and has 30 voting training and developing, some end up doing a way that makes the most effective, efficient
members, was set up to negotiate support a degree. Some schools have good training and appropriate use of all staff.
staff pay and conditions of employment in all programmes, but we would like to see these in “Local authorities have a crucial role
maintained schools in England. every school.” in ensuring that workforce remodelling is
It is now in the process of developing a A spokesman for the Department for embedded in school improvement strategies
national pay and conditions framework for Children, Schools and Families said the new and contributes to school effectiveness.
school support staff and has been asked pay and conditions framework will “bring about Working in local social partnership with
to submit its agreement to the secretary consistency across all maintained schools in schools, governors and workforce unions, they
of state by the end of May, 2010. This is a England, while ensuring all maintained schools are best placed to monitor compliance.
challenging timescale and the SSSNB chair can be free to choose individual roles for their “Through partnership working and by
is providing regular progress reports to the support staff and deploy them in a way that best sharing best practice, they provide support and
secretary of state. meets their individual needs”. guidance to ensure schools are aware of and
David Simmonds, chair of National In Wales, the One Wales programme for compliant with these statutory provisions.
Employers for School Support Staff (NESSS), government includes a commitment to develop “In this way any non-compliance can be
said: “Going forward, the new SSSNB will a national structure for classroom assistants quickly identified and addressed at a local
determine a pay and conditions framework that has been widened to include all school level.
that will more appropriately recognise support staff. A spokesman for the Welsh “In extreme cases, where all other options
the greater range of roles we see in schools Assembly Government added: “Work to have been exhausted, local authorities are able
today. develop the national structure will be informed to use statutory powers, introduced by the
“Through continuing the process of by the workforce-wide review of professional ASCL Act, to enforce compliance in a school.
remodelling we seek to have a school workforce standards, CPD and performance management The Act also provides ministers with powers to
that is ever more able to facilitate better that is currently being undertaken in Wales.” direct local authorities to consider exercising,
outcomes for the young people in our schools.” Elsewhere, in cases of alleged non- and ultimately to exercise, these powers where
Bruni de la Motte, national officer for compliance with the School Teachers’ Pay and they have failed to do so.”
education and children’s services at UNISON, Conditions Document, the ASCL Act enables As schools press ahead with agendas like
said the setting up of the statutory body was “a local authorities to issue an initial warning extended services and one-to-one tuition, Mr
public acknowledgement of a workforce that notice, which may then be followed by other Roach also urged them to apply “the principles
is very crucial to the success of schools”. But types of intervention. of workforce reform” to everything they do.
This supplement has been produced by SecEd and 5to7 Educator in association with the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group
(WAMG). WAMG is a unique social partnership of organisations representing employers, the English and Welsh governments and
school workforce unions that first came together as signatories of the National Agreement in January 2003.
WAMG, along with others, provides input to the development of government policy where there are school workforce implications.
Its website features a wealth of material about school workforce reform, including guidance, information and case studies. For more
information, visit www.socialpartnership.org
TDA:082203.10
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