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Unions refuse to back latest pensions offer


by Daniel White


The two biggest teaching unions this week confirmed their refusal to back the government’s latest pen- sions offer. The national executives for both


the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the NASUWT have announced that they will not accept the revised pensions offer made before Christmas, and will push for further changes. Furthermore, the NASUWT


claimed this week that as the pre- Christmas negotiations came to a close the unions had been “pres- surised and threatened to sign up to a (Heads of Agreement) document when a final draft was not even available”. They also accused the Department for Education (DfE) of changing the wording of the agree- ment overnight. The new proposals for the


Teachers’ Pensions Scheme (TPS) retain plans for a career-average pension scheme but include an improved accrual rate of 1/57th of salary each year. Also, teachers who are 10 years from retirement will be immune to any changes and those who miss the 10-year cut-off by up to 3.5 years will also receive some protection. Teachers would continue to be


able to choose a retirement date at any age from 55 onwards but the unions remain concerned about pro- posed increases in employee contri- butions and pension ages. The Association of Teachers


and Lecturers, Voice, the National Association of Head Teachers, and the Association of School and College Leaders all signed a “Heads of Agreement” and agreed to con- sult their members on the deal. The NASUWT and NUT


refused to sign the agreement and have this week confirmed that they


School transforms old buses to create aquaponics centre


An innovative aquaponics centre, thought to be the first of its kind in the country, has opened at a second- ary school in South Yorkshire. Students at Swinton Community


School in Rotherham will be offered the chance to take a BTEC qualification in “fish husbandry” using the state-of-the-art facilities, which include five huge tanks con- taining 12,500 gallons of water and 2,000 ornamental koi carp. The centre, which is based in


two buses painted black, is being used for a range of lessons, from art to mathematics, and will be used by local people and children at primary schools across the area. Headteacher David Pridding


said: “The aquaponics centre is something different and the edu- cational possibilities are immense. The interest that has been generated from parents has been phenomenal, and Ofsted was fascinated by it in a recent inspection. “We’ve already got students accessing the centre and it’s proved


very good for engaging some stu- dents who find it more difficult to engage with education. There are qualifications in aquaponics, but there are also so many possibilities for cross-curricular work. Science is the obvious one, but we can also use it for maths teaching or as a focus for English and art.” The centre is in the heart of the


1950s school and its construction involved two buses being lifted by cranes to be set into position. On the lower deck of the dou-


ble-decker bus is the fish breed- ing area, while the upper deck is home to a hydroponics area where a range of crops, mainly cress, are grown in water. A neighbouring single-decker


bus has been converted into an IT suite and the koi carp tanks lie between the two revamped buses. Work on the aquaponics centre


began in February and has just been completed in time for the official opening by David Moody, the Lord- Lieutenant of South Yorkshire.


Funding for it came from govern- ment grants and sponsorship from Evolution Aqua and Kitsu Koi. The centre will be self-fund-


ing; run as a business separate to the school, raising money through sponsorship and sales of the fish and plants.


Mr Pridding added: “The


aquaponics centre is a great new development for our school and really adds to the fantastic breadth of learning we can offer to our students, so we are delighted to be hosting the centre. “But we want to ensure that


will not put the proposals to their members. Instead, both unions are seeking further meetings with edu- cation secretary Michael Gove. Chris Keates, general secretary


of the NASUWT, said: “Put bluntly the national executive has recog- nised that the process the DfE used to seek to reach agreement by its imposed deadline of December 20 was a debacle. “Valuable time was wasted by


the DfE. It failed to provide the necessary information on which meaningful discussions could take place, chopped and changed its mind on the issues which were up for discussion and presented some potential changes which did not have Treasury approval. “Unions were pressurised and


threatened to sign up to a docu- ment when a final draft was not even available and even when a document was produced as the final meeting was breaking up, overnight


the wording was changed unilater- ally by the DfE.” An NUT statement said that its


national executive will be meeting in full next Thursday (January, 12) to decide what their next step will be as part of the campaign to save teachers’ pensions. General secretary Christine


Blower said: “We remain com- mitted to a negotiated agreement on pensions but these proposals will not, in our opinion, serve the interests of teachers or the educa- tion system. Mr Gove assured us in December that sufficient time and resources would be provided to secure a solution. The govern- ment must face the fact that further discussions and additional funding are needed.” A DfE spokesman said: “It’s


disappointing the NUT and NASUWT restated their position on last month’s deal. We’ve already addressed many of teachers’ con-


cerns, particularly around early retirement. We are now ready to have detailed, technical discussions to reach a final settlement – but have made clear that the broad deal on the table is as good as it gets. Other unions have given a far more positive response.” Responding to accusations that


unions were “pressurised and threat- ened”, the DfE spokesman added: “The discussions were detailed and complex – and inevitably there are differing characterisations of how they went. The fact is that eight unions were in the discussions – four unions were happy to sign the Heads of Agreement and four have chosen to reserve their position. “We listened very carefully to


all unions’ arguments. The govern- ment made clear that it wanted to secure an outline deal with unions by the end of last year. We have provided all the technical, factual detail the unions have asked for.”


Making waves: The new aquaphonics centre at Swinton Community School


these new facilities don’t just ben- efit our students and its learning opportunities will be offered to all schools across Rotherham.”


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


Win American trip at BETT


Teachers attending this week’s BETT ICT in education show have the chance of winning a tai- lored work placement in America for one of their students. The SecEd giveaway is


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being hosted in conjunction with Lightspeed Systems and teachers can enter by visiting the com- pany’s stand at the show, which is on at London’s Olympia until Saturday (January 14). Lightspeed Systems’ glo-


bal HQ is based in Bakersfield, California with its European offices in Essex. The company provides network, security and other solutions for UK schools. The week’s work experience will take place at Lightspeed’s


Californian offices and during the week, the winning student could opt to work with the company’s IT developers and support team, the business development team, the marketing team, or the staff members who work on the com- pany’s My Big Campus service, among others. A place on the trip is also


on offer for a teacher or parent who will also get to work with Lightspeed’s experts and offer their perspective when it comes to web safety and filtering.


The prize (and conditions)


The winning school wins one stu- dent place for a week’s experience at Lightspeed Systems in California


and a second place on the trip for a parent or a teacher. The prize includes return flights


to Los Angeles International Airport, UK and US airport trans- fers, all meals, and accommoda- tion at the Padre Hotel, which is based near to the Lightspeed HQ in California. Lightspeed Systems Europe will


agree the itinerary and the exact dates for the trip in collaboration with the winning school. It is for the winning school to decide which student and which teacher or parent should win the prize. The winning school must accept


liability for the trip under the guide- lines for school trips and outings as laid down by their relevant local


authority or governing body. The school also undertakes to complete any relevant risk-assessment forms for the trip. All other costs for the trip –


including any costs arising from insurance requirements, additional fees such as visa payments, and spending money – will not be covered by SecEd or Lightspeed Systems and must be met by the school or the winning student’s family. The winners must have a valid passport for travel to America.


How to win


To enter the competition, visit Lightspeed Systems (stand S42) at the BETT 2012 Show and ask


for details. The competition is strictly limited to one entry per school and entries must come from a member of school staff. It is only open to schools based in the UK. The winning school will be drawn at random from the cor- rect entries and announced later this month. All entries will be passed


on to Lightspeed Systems and for further information, email editor@sec-ed.co.uk This competition is awarded


by Lightspeed Systems and nei- ther SecEd, nor any of its employ- ees, accepts any liability for the non-delivery or failure to com- ply with any of the terms stated herein.


2


SecEd • January 12 2012


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