NEWS

Schools are being urged to harness the power and interest in the forthcoming football World Cup to press for free universal education for all children and young people.

The NASUWT is backing 1GOAL, a campaign which is using the backdrop of next month’s World Cup to press world leaders to honour their commitment to free primary education for all.

1GOAL is being spearheaded by the charity Global Campaign for Education, which is calling on schools to teach pupils about the importance of education and explore some of the barriers that prevent children in many parts of the world from attending school.

Schools can sign up to the campaign online and receive a free resource pack with DVD, poster, stickers and teaching resources.

Schools are specifically being asked to use paint, glue, wool or other creative ideas to make a giant supporters scarf to send to the Prime Minister ahead of the Millennium Development Talks in September, where the universal education commitment will be discussed. Participating schools are also being asked to hold a special assembly on 11 June, the first day of the World Cup, to celebrate the value of education.

To sign up to the campaign and get further information see the website at www.sendmyfriend.org.


£8.5m plus compensation for injured teachers

The NASUWT is committed to protecting members’ health and safety and is continuing to take legal action to ensure teachers’ rights and entitlements. During 2009, the Union secured £8,764,337 in compensation for members who had faced discrimination, unfair dismissal, unlawful deduction of wages or personal injury. The NASUWT continues to campaign for all employers to take their legal responsibilities seriously. Some of the cases brought by the Union are detailed below.

Violence and indiscipline

In 2009, the NASUWT referred 44 cases where members were assaulted by a current or former pupil to the Union’s solicitors for further action.

The NASUWT supported members at a school in Tyne and Wear

in taking action after a school refused to expel a pupil after assaulting a teacher. Industrial action was also taken in Nottinghamshire after an independent appeals panel overturned the permanent exclusion of a pupil who was found carrying a knife on school premises.

Personal injury

The NASUWT referred over 150 cases relating to accidents in the workplace to the Union’s solicitors during 2009. Among the cases settled successfully included an £80,000 award to a member who suffered serious and career-ending injuries to her leg after slipping on spilt food in her school’s dining hall and £28,100 for a member who sustained extensive injuries while supervising pupils on a residential trip. While searching for two missing students, the member fell down an unlit staircase, breaking her elbow and nose and damaging her teeth. Her injuries were so severe, she was left with permanent damage to her arm and required six months off work to recover. The Union successfully secured an out-of-court settlement as a result of the hotel’s negligence.

A teacher who suffered permanent damage to his hearing and lungs as a result of the hazardous levels of noise and dust in his classroom was awarded £10,000. Despite consistently raising concerns with his employer, no action was taken to protect the design and technology teacher’s health and medical tests revealed he had lost 50% of his upper hearing and had scarring and inflammation of the lungs.

Being a member of the NASUWT also provides protection outside the classroom, with compensation secured for a member involved in a car accident on his way home from work. The geography teacher suffered whiplash when a car travelling at high speed hit his car from behind as he waited in a stationary line of traffic. The Union secured over £5,000 in compensation for the member.

For more information, visit the NASUWT website www.nasuwt.org.uk.

May 2010 Teaching Today 15