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NEWS

Supply teachers’ ‘iniquitous treatment’

The iniquitous treatment of supply teachers in Scotland is continuing to be challenged by the NASUWT.

The NASUWT organised a seminar for supply teachers in Edinburgh at which the Union’s continuing opposition to the SNCT pay and conditions agreement was set out.

Supply teachers heard how the NASUWT is continuing to challenge the unjustified cuts to their pay and conditions.

The SNCT agreement, which the NASUWT was the only teaching union to oppose, exacerbates the impact of the 2011 McCormac Review, which resulted in the slashing of supply teachers’ pay and the resultant crisis in supply teacher availability which was predicted by the NASUWT. The 2013-15 SNCT Agreement fails to restore supply teachers’ pay to pre-2011 levels, despite strong representations for this by the Union.

Teachers at the seminar also raised a number of other issues of concern, including the lack of access to support and training for supply teachers from employers on the Curriculum for Excellence and new national qualifications.

Ahead of the introduction of the Professional Update from August, Norrie McKay, Education Advisor from the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), gave a presentation explaining how it will affect supply teachers.

Mr McKay explained that supply teachers will be expected to engage with Professional Update, with local authorities charged with ensuring that supply teachers have access to professional learning opportunities and that they have a point of contact to manage their development. He urged supply teachers to visit the GTCS website for further guidance and advice.

read more www.nasuwt.org.uk/Supply

Curriculum and qualifications update

The NASUWT is continuing to address the excessive workloads and bureaucracy members are reporting as a result of the reforms to the curriculum and qualifications systems.

Extra in-service day secured

The NASUWT has been successful in securing an additional in-service training day for primary teachers during the 2014/15 academic year.

The Union argued for the provision of an extra training day as a contribution towards supporting teachers as they continue to work to implement the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).

The Union will be pressing for the Scottish Government and employers to ensure further support is provided to teachers as the reforms continue to roll out.

Review of National 4/5 implementation

The NASUWT is represented on a working group established by the Scottish Government to review the implementation of the National 4 and 5 qualifications.

The group is examining the introduction of the qualifications over the last academic year and drawing up priorities for further action.

The NASUWT is sharing the reports the Union has received from members that the implementation of the new qualifications is driving up workload and bureaucracy due to the lack of resources, support and clear guidance for schools and teachers.

The Union is arguing strongly for practical measures to be put in place to support teachers, with better communication from employers and ministers about what is required from schools and effective resources produced to offer clear advice for schools and pupils.

Working group to tackle bureaucracy

The NASUWT is continuing to press the Scottish Government to bring downward pressure on workload associated with the introduction of CfE.

Feedback from NASUWT members suggests that teachers and school leaders have been subjected to unwieldy planning and assessment requirements, unnecessarily complex auditing and accountability frameworks and ambiguous expectations about the requirements of CfE.

The NASUWT, a member of the Scottish Government’s CfE Working Group on Tackling Bureaucracy, is continuing to monitor teachers’ experiences and keep the pressure on ministers and employers to ensure there is effective support for teachers.

read more www.nasuwt.org.uk/Curriculum