SecEd The ONLY weekly voice for secondary education Inside this issue Unions step-up strike


Speaking up in languages


Alison Thomas looks at a range of techniques to encourage spontaneous conversation skills in the languages classroom Pages 8 and 9


Alternative ideas


With plans to make schools find and fund alternative education for excluded students, Paul Gutherson reports on research into effective provision Page 14


Brave new world


SecEd's Managing ICT pages report from the recent NAACE conference, which debated the future of ICT in schools Page 10


SecEddigital


and Twitter Thousands of teachers are reading SecEddigital, a virtual edition of SecEd, which is emailed out every week. You can sign up for free by emailing editor@sec-ed.co.uk. SecEd news and features are now also available on Twitter. You can follow us at www. twitter.com/SecEd_Education


The threat of national strikes over the government’s plans to change teachers’ pensions heightened this week in the run-up to the annual Easter trade union conference season. Over the next three weeks, mem-


bers of the NASUWT, Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), National Union of Teachers (NUT) and National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) will be holding their annual conferences. Members of all four unions have


tabled motions to debate the chang- es to public sector pensions, with NUT and NASUWT threatening industrial action if their motions are passed by members. At ATL, while a motion on pen-


sions does not reference strike action, general secretary Dr Mary Bousted told SecEd that they are expecting to see an emergency motion tabled during the conference which will ask for a vote on industrial action. Leadership unions have also


sounded strike warnings. The Association of School and College Leaders held its annual conference last month when it released the results of a members survey show- ing that 63 per cent would consider industrial action. An NAHT survey showed similar results, and general secretary Russell Hobby told SecEd this week that industrial action is a “realistic possibility”. It comes after the Hutton Review


of public sector pensions recom- mended scrapping the teachers’ final salary pension scheme and replac- ing it with a scheme linked to aver- age career earnings. The idea behind the move, which could come into


Striking back? Union members will be asked if they are willing to walk-out over pensions


effect in 2015, is to end the huge final salary pension pots for some workers. However, unions are irate, pointing out that teachers’ average pensions are just £12,000 a year. Lord Hutton is also calling for


the normal pension age in public service schemes to be linked to the State Pension Age, which is 65 but set to rise to 66 in 2020 and then to 68. Teachers are further incensed because it comes on top of the two- year public sector pay freeze and existing proposals to increase pen- sion contributions by 50 per cent – from 6.4 to 9.8 per cent by 2014 – which are set to see teachers pay- ing up to £102 a month more. This could be phased in from next April. In addition, the government has


already changed the annual infla- tion-linked pension increase from the Retail Price Index (RPI) to the lower Consumer Price Index (CPI), which it is claimed will devalue pensions by up to 25 per cent. The motion before the


NASUWT conference, which opens in Glasgow on April 23, con- demns what it calls a “concerted attack” by the government on pen- sions and “abhors” the move to increase employee contributions. The motion reads: “Conference


deplores the decision by the coali- tion government to instigate anoth- er review of public sector pension provision despite the fact that the changes made to teachers’ pen- sion schemes in 2006 were con-


sidered by the Treasury to make the schemes viable, affordable and sustainable in the long-term.” It adds: “Unless the government


ceases its attack on public sector pensions, joint union industrial action across the UK is inevitable.” NASUWT general secretary


Chris Keates told SecEd this week that a “backlash” from public sector workers would be “inevitable” if the plans are not changed. Meanwhile, the NUT, which


meets from April 22 in Harrogate, will debate a motion calling for a “co-ordinated negotiation, cam- paign and action strategy” with public sector unions. The motion states: “Any pension indexed to CPI rather than RPI over the last 21


Issue 281 • April 14 2011 Price £1.00 www.sec-ed.com


threat in pensions fight Members from four education unions are expected to vote on whether they should strike over pension cuts


years would have been worth about 14 per cent less in total. It will cost a typical teacher tens of thousands of pounds in their retirement.” It calls for “a strategy that includes action as well as other forms of campaigning”. At ATL, which meets in


Liverpool from April 18, the expect- ed emergency motion on pensions will come after the union this week delivered a 15,000-strong petition to chancellor George Osborne rejecting further changes to pensions. Dr Bousted said that if industrial


action takes place, it would be likely to happen in the summer term. She added: “If it were to hap-


pen it would take place reluctantly but the government is refusing to hold negotiations, so we feel we might not have an option but to offer (industrial action) to members.” Meanwhile, strike action is also


set to be discussed at NAHT when it meets in Brighton from April 29. As SecEd went to press, the


NAHT had not published its list of motions for conference, but Mr Hobby told SecEd that poten- tial industrial action over pensions would be on the agenda. He said that if approved by members, strikes could take place in the autumn and that if this happens it would likely be a co-ordinated approach with other unions. He said: “People feel very strongly about the final salary scheme proposals and for the gov- ernment to prevent any action they need to negotiate openly and fairly.”


• See editorial on page 6, our pensions overview on page 13, and page 4 for a preview of the Easter union events.


What if all the principles that got you into


education disappeared one by one? The face of education is changing forever. From teacher training, curriculum and assessment through to inspection, funding, academies and free schools, almost every aspect of state education will be dismantled by the coalition government over this parliamentary term, with irreversible consequences for you and your pupils.


Find out more at www.atl.org.uk/speakoutforeducation UK news n SecEd: On Your Side n Psycho babble n Teach it like Torno! n NQT diary n Managing ICT n At the chalkface


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