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NEWS


RUGBY ENTHUSIASTS SOUGHT

(Photo of a rugby team)

Rugby enthusiasts are being sought to join a new teachers’ league that has been established with help from the NASUWT.

Earlier this year, Tony Fretwell of Stetford High School in Manchester set up the Great Britain Teachers Rugby League Association (TRLA) to encourage more people from the profession to join the sport.

Backed by the Rugby League Foundation (RLF), the TRLA is open to teachers, teaching assistants and BEd/PGCE students in the primary, secondary, special and further and higher education sectors. The RLF is currently working with the TRLA to create a long-term strategy in partnership with the Student Rugby League.

The TRLA is being sponsored by the NASUWT and the Union’s logo appears on the new PUMA Great Britain Teachers kit provided by the RLF.

The GB team kicked off its campaign in style with a 24-14 win against the British Asian Rugby Association in the UNICEF Challenge, which was held during the summer to raise funds for the charity.

Further details about the TRLA are available by e-mailing teachersrugbyleague@hotmail.co.uk or searching for Teachers Rugby League XIII on Facebook.


Behaviour partnerships axed

Disruptive pupil behaviour, bullying and truancy may rise, the NASUWT believes, after the Coalition Government abolished the requirement for schools to work together in Behaviour and Attendance Partnerships in England.

Expert evidence showed that the partnerships had been highly successful in bringing schools and other agencies together to tackle poor behaviour. This decision has the potential to hinder many schools in developing effective behaviour management solutions.

It may also inhibit collaboration and co-operation between schools, preventing teachers from working together to share expertise.

A Report published recently by Ofsted, Children Missing from Education, highlighted the importance of schools working together to meet the needs of excluded pupils, support that will become much more difficult to provide as a result of the Government’s decision.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said: “The Coalition Government’s programme for schools signals a return to the dark days of fragmentation and damaging competition between schools that served all children, young people and their teachers very badly.

“The public should be deeply worried that the decision to abolish the requirement for school behaviour partnerships, together with the Coalition Government’s rush to set up independent academies and ‘free schools’, appears to be part of a determined plan to break the system of state education.”

The decision could also have stark consequences for teachers as many are employed by behaviour partnerships to support their work and these jobs will now be at risk.

The NASUWT is consulting local authorities over their plans for behaviour partnerships to seek to minimise job loss and any adverse impact on education provision.


Get energy smart

Schools in England are eligible to apply for a free tool to encourage more effective usage of energy.

Primary and secondary schools can receive a free Energy Display Meter to monitor their energy usage and support teaching about sustainability and environmental issues.

The meters are being provided by Partnerships for Schools and installed by British Gas. The meters will provide real-time data accessible through schools’ IT networks, which can be incorporated into lessons and used by school management to monitor and reduce energy usage.

Schools can apply for a meter by completing an online order form at www.energydisplaymeter.co.uk. The website also contains further information about the Scheme.