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NEWS • VIEWS • INFORMATION • ADVICE





The Art of Protest



Young people are being encouraged to get involved with a new project which promotes the art of peaceful, non-violent protest.



Taking place at the People’s History Museum in Manchester in spring 2013, The Art of Protest is seeking submissions from young people expressing their issues and concerns about the wider world.



Students can submit entries in a wide range of formats, including photography, painting, performances, sculpture, film and poetry. Teaching notes and a brief about the competition are also available online.



To find out more about the project and how to enter, visit www.noisefestival.com/protest.





Another nail in the coffin for equalities



The Coalition Government has yet again shown that it is determined to turn back the clock on equalities by scrapping statutory guidance which would have set out schools’ and colleges’ responsibilities for challenging discrimination.



Statutory codes of practice for schools and colleges on implementing the Public Sector Equality Duty, which were due to be issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), have been scrapped.



Ministers have told the EHRC that issuing the statutory guidance, which would have informed managers and governors of their responsibilities under the new equality duty which came into law last year, would place too much of a bureaucratic burden on schools and colleges.



The absence of statutory codes of practice will further undermine equalities work, in the NASUWT’s view, as they are an important way to ensure employers and employees are aware of their rights and responsibilities, and are also regularly relied on in employment tribunals.



The NASUWT believes that this decision, which follows the announcement of major cuts to the budget and remit of the EHRC, demonstrates yet again the Coalition’s flagrant disregard for equalities and the principle of equal rights for all.



Visit www.nasuwt.org.uk/Legislation





PRU academy proposals ‘without merit’



Proposals to turn pupil referral units (PRUs) in England into academies will do nothing to improve standards or ensure children’s needs are met, the NASUWT has stated.



A report by Government behaviour expert Charlie Taylor has recommended removing all PRUs from local authority control, claiming that this will fix what he described as a ‘flawed’ system that fails to provide vulnerable children with a suitable education. Where PRUs cannot be converted into academies, they should be closed, Mr Taylor argues, adding that without reform a repeat of last summer’s riots is likely.



Mr Taylor has also suggested that teacher training should take place in PRUs to provide teachers with more specialist skills in managing pupil behaviour.



The NASUWT does not see any merit in Mr Taylor’s proposals.



The Union does not believe that removing PRUs from public ownership will enhance standards; indeed such a move could damage children’s education, hampering vital coordination with local health and social services.



Furthermore, Mr Taylor’s attempt to link the riots with pupils in PRUs is entirely spurious and unacceptable as police data has shown that the majority of those who took part in the riots were above school age and had not had any prior involvement with social services.



Visit www.nasuwt.org.uk/PupilBehaviour





Durham Miners’ Gala



NASUWT members will be taking part in the annual Durham Miners’ Gala on 14 July.



The event celebrates the trade union movement through a mixture of music, speakers and a huge procession through the streets of Durham.



Labour leader Ed Miliband will be addressing the crowds this year, along with Director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti and John Hendy QC, the barrister who has led a number of high-profile employment rights and industrial relations cases through the courts.



For more details, visit www.facebook.com/NASUWT

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