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NEWS • VIEWS • INFORMATION • ADVICE





Step forward in recognition for overseas trained teachers



Progress in preventing the exploitation of overseas trained teachers (OTTs) has been welcomed by the NASUWT, but the Union believes that more needs to be done to ensure all OTTs are treated fairly.



It has been announced that teachers from the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will automatically have their teaching qualifications recognised in the UK.



The NASUWT has long campaigned for OTTs to have their qualifications recognised in the UK and to be treated equally with their British colleagues.



As a result of the current system, OTTs are commonly employed by schools as unqualified teachers, meaning that many are employed on inferior pay and conditions than their colleagues, despite being expected to take on the same duties and responsibilities. The NASUWT believes this exploitation must be stopped.



While the NASUWT has welcomed the announcement by the Department for Education (DfE), it has questioned why recognition is being limited to only four countries.



The Union believes this ‘arbitrary’ decision could lead to the differential treatment of OTTs from outside these four nations without any justification.



The NASUWT has called on the DfE to work with the Union in examining how all teaching qualifications gained overseas could be recognised in the UK. This could help to break down the barriers currently facing talented OTTs to working as qualified teachers in Britain.



The Union has undertaken in-depth research into the experiences of OTTs, finding that they routinely face discrimination and are frequently employed on inferior pay and conditions.



Visit www.nasuwt.org.uk/OverseasTrainedTeachers





‘Hire and fire’ plan



A ‘hire and fire’ culture will be created if Coalition plans to dilute employment rights across the UK go ahead.



Ministers have outlined proposals that will hand much greater powers to employers across the UK to dismiss workers and reduce redundancy rights.



The Coalition Government is considering reducing the amount of time legally required for an employer to consult on planned redundancies from 90 days to 30.



It is also arguing that employers should be able to hold ‘protected conversations’ with staff members about poor performance without the discussions being used by the employee in any future employment tribunals. This would clearly give rogue employers the ability to bully or threaten staff without fear of legal repercussions.



Under the plans, workers will have to be employed for two years before they can make a claim for unfair dismissal. At present, this is one year.



These measures would create major barriers for workers in challenging their employers and seeking justice against unfair employment practices. They are particularly reprehensible at a time of high unemployment and job insecurity.



This is yet another example of the Government’s attack on ordinary working people.



Visit www.tuc.org.uk/Industrial





Heads’ qualifications not required



Headteachers in England will no longer be required to be qualified, ministers have announced, in a move that the NASUWT believes devalues the status of leadership and presents risks for staff and pupils.



The National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) is to be revised and will cease to be mandatory for headteachers working in state schools from September 2012.



As headteachers are already not required to have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), this means in theory that a headteacher could be appointed without any appropriate training.



The creation of the NPQH was intended to raise the status of headteachers, as well as ensure that they were equipped with the requisite skills to lead and manage their school. The move to a voluntary qualification could leave some headteachers without the support and knowledge needed to fulfil their responsibilities.



Leading a school is a demanding job that requires a sound pedagogic grounding. Headteachers should be lead practitioners with a firm grasp of the realities of classroom teaching.





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