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headteacher, Belvoir High School, Leicestershire. Mark

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Neill Morton, Headteacher,

Portora Royal School, Enniskillen. Jo Smith, Deputy headteacher, Long Field School, Melton Mowbray.

Tina Stockman, Teacher, Harlaw Academy, Aberdeen. Ray Tarleton,

Headteacher, South Dartmoor Community College, Devon. Dr

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Union threatens action over new curriculum

by Sam Phipps

Teachers will ballot for industrial action unless the Scottish government provides more details on the imminent curriculum changes by the end of this month. Delegates at the Scottish

Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) annual conference last week voted unanimously to ballot members if education secretary Michael Russell did not meet their demands. The emergency

motion was tabled by the ruling executive. These demands include the for-

mation of working groups to provide core materials for every secondary subject, and a list of core skills for all subject areas. Objections to Curriculum for Excellence, which is due in schools in August, have cen- tred on its perceived lack of clarity. Elaine Henderson of the SSTA

executive said: “It must be made clear that this association is not against Curriculum for Excellence. “Industrial action for any reason

SSTA defiant over salaries and pensions

A major Scottish teaching union has vowed to defend its members if public sector cuts threaten their salaries and pensions. Peter Wright, president of the

Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA), told his union’s annual conference in Peebles last week that the organi- sation “cannot and will not accept a cull of public education to pay for private sector stupidity and greed”. Mr Wright warned that public

sector cuts could take Scotland down the same road as Ireland where, he claims, teachers have

suffered a 19 per cent reduction in salaries over the last year and endured a “disgraceful and sus- tained campaign of vilification and demonising of the public sec- tor” by elements of the country’s media. Speaking on Friday (May 7),

Mr Wright said: “We will work co-operatively with good employ- ers and managers but those who fail to support their secondary teachers will find the SSTA knock- ing on their door. “Those employers who treat

their teachers as commodities, to be discarded when considered inconvenient, should take note.” Elsewhere in his speech, Mr

Wright criticised the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), saying that teachers are beginning to view it as “little more than an employers’ stooge which does absolutely nothing for classroom teachers other than lift £45 out of their pockets once a year.” He called on the Council to

ensure it operated with a “genu- ine independence from all exter- nal influences while remaining accountable to the teaching pro- fession”. “There is an unfortunate ten-

dency on the part of some who are elected to serve on the GTCS to forget this,” he said.

On hold: Pressures on the North’s education budget could delay building programmes

Northern Irish building programme hit by cuts

Vital new buildings for Northern Ireland secondary schools are to be put on hold because there is not enough money to go around. Pressures on the North’s edu-

cation budget mean that just £8 million is being made available in this financial year for new capital projects. All proposed new school builds

must comply with a range of gov- ernment policies. These include the “entitlement

framework”, which will guarantee all secondary pupils a broad range of subject choice at both GCSE and post-16. It is not all bad news, however,

with a handful of building projects already approved due to get under- way soon.

This means that while post-pri-

mary schools in Derry and Belfast will receive new buildings, others that have waited for years for work to begin face even longer delays. Northern Ireland’s education

minister, Caitriona Ruane, says she is facing a very challenging position in the coming year regarding invest- ment in the schools estate. There is a net capital budget for

2010/11 of £169 million, which is more than £84 million lower in real terms than 2009/10. Ms Ruane says she is acutely

aware that the building of any new school makes a significant difference not only to the children, but also to the teachers and wider community.

She adds that she hopes to

approve several new capital projects later in the year. The available funding this year

will be used to complete seven projects currently on site, which have been funded through public private partnerships. This investment of £101 mil-

lion in 2010/11 includes the Belfast Boys’ Model School, and St Cecelia’s College and St Mary’s College in Derry. “In addition, a further seven

major capital projects, with a pro- jected total capital spend of £18.3 million in 2010/11, are currently under construction,” she said. “These include Magherafelt

High School, where £6.9 million will be invested in 2010/11.”

Survey reveals gaps in sex education training

St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road Herne Hill, London SE24 0PB www.markallengroup.com

Teachers are not adequately trained to deliver sex and relationship education (SRE), a survey has revealed. According to around 1,500

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school leaders, parents and gover- nors, teachers do not have the nec- essary training to be able to deliver lessons on safe sex and contracep- tion, even though nine out of 10 felt it was very important for children to receive such lessons at school. The survey, which was carried

out by the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), and the National Governors Association (NGA) in

2

partnership with condom manufac- turers Durex, found that 80 per cent of teachers are unsatisfied with the level of training they have received to teach SRE. Teaching materials also came

under fire, with less than 10 per cent of teachers saying they found the materials available “very useful”. Sion Humphreys, from the edu-

cation management department of the NAHT, said the survey made “fascinating reading”. “It highlights that parents, teach-

ers and governors all agree about the importance of SRE for children. However, teachers have not been adequately trained to deliver it and

have not had access to the range of resources they need. This is an urgent need that must be addressed if we are to be able to prepare young people for their future lives,” he said. Gillian Allcroft, the NGA’s pol-

icy manager, added: “It is vital that teachers receive adequate training if they are to deliver high qual- ity SRE. Parents have an impor- tant role to play and they must be encouraged and supported to help with the delivery of SRE at home.” For guidance on teaching SRE,

visit www.teachernet.gov.uk/whole school/healthyliving/behaviours/ sexandrelationshipeducation

SecEd • May 13 2010

will always be a last resort – it is an indication of our level of con- cern about the potential dangers to Scottish education for our young people that this is being consid- ered.” Secondary teachers could there-

fore vote for industrial action after June 1, but this could take the form of stepped action including a work to rule, rather than strike action. Teachers are potentially now in

an even more mutually antagonistic relationship with Mr Russell, who had already said the union was

being anti-progress for proposing industrial action. Curriculum for Excellence has

been postponed by a year until this August because teachers said it was not ready to roll out. The SSTA had demanded another year’s delay but the curriculum management board last month ruled it should proceed as planned. Ms Henderson told the confer-

ence that schools might end up cre- ating their own versions. “Without clarity we could be looking at 400 different models for maths, English

and science. That has serious impli- cations, particularly for pupils changing schools,” she said. Uncertainty over the timing

and content of new qualifications is one of teachers’ main concerns, as well as the subject choices open to pupils. Training and materials, including textbooks, are also areas that have provoked criticism. Next month, Scotland’s biggest

teaching union, the EIS, is expected to vote on a ballot for industrial action over the threat of big spend- ing cuts to education budgets. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16