Kevin Courtney opinion

Opinion

Together we can overcome these obstacles

NEU joint general secretary Kevin

Courtney urges all members to vote Yes in the pay ballot.

Return Address Civica Election Services PO Box 46556 London N1 0WW

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“THERE is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune,” – Julius Caesar.

Quotes can mean many things to many people. But the fact that the NEU, NASUWT and the NAHT are all balloting their members at the same time means there is a mood shift – a tide in the affairs of teachers and support staff – as well as of other working people.

There are moments when we have to act, in order to take the flood.

It may not be that it leads to fortune – no teacher or member of support staff earns a fortune. But perhaps it can stop year after year of getting poorer, and ensure some fortunate funding for our schools.

That’s why it is so important that every NEU member who is balloted fills in their ballot form and returns it in the post. There are, however, big obstacles in front of us.

n We are legally precluded from

electronic methods of running a formal ballot.

Despite the fact that political parties can use electronic methods securely and secretly, unions are precluded by the Government from such methods.

So we have to ballot you on paper at the home address recorded for you on our database and then you have to get your vote back to the returning officer by post.

n More than 50 per cent of members

must return a postal ballot.

Anyone who doesn’t return a ballot is effectively counted as a No vote.

n More than 40 per cent of all members

must vote Yes.

Not 40 per cent of those who vote, but 40 per cent of all the members who are balloted. Once again, this means not returning a ballot form or missing the post, counts as a No vote.

For all these reasons winning a ballot across around 24,000 schools is difficult.

But on the positive side: the Government has set these ‘thresholds’ believing that we can’t reach them. So if we do, it will cause a political earthquake.

There are already backbench MPs in the Conservative Party worried about the prospect of school cuts and the difficulty of recruiting and retaining teachers and support staff. If we pass the thresholds, alongside NASUWT and the NAHT, those worries will become much more real.

We know that our members do not want to strike. They are concerned about their students. They don’t want to lose pay. They are concerned about the attitude parents will have to any strikes.

Neither Mary nor I want a strike either. But we both believe that if the Government doesn’t listen then strike action will actually be the responsible thing to do.

Each year we prepare comprehensive evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body, which looks at the trends in recruitment and retention, and compares pay levels with private sector graduate employment. We give that evidence to Government and speak with ministers about it – we use every technique of persuasion we have.

But despite the overwhelming evidence we present, Government turns away from it and makes ideological decisions.

Its decisions to suppress pay and underfund the pay rises they do award are so

YOUR NEU BALLOT PAPER ENCLOSED – PLEASE OPEN AND RETURN ASAP

CES

damaging to education. Schools can’t recruit and retain support staff - because pay rates are better in supermarkets than for the skilled roles that support staff undertake. Support staff have seen the real value of their pay decline by 27 per cent since 2010.

The Government keeps missing its teacher recruitment targets and retention problems keep growing. This increases workload for the teachers who remain.

Those experienced teachers who remain have seen the value of their pay decline by 20 per cent up to this year. If the five per cent award isn’t improved, that pay loss increases to 24 per cent since 2010.

We know it’s difficult but we are asking you: please vote Yes, and please encourage your colleagues in whichever union to vote Yes.

We will do all we can to use those ballot results to persuade the Government it has to move.

The National Education Union is undertaking a formal strike ballot to demand a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise for support staff. Teacher members and sister teaching unions are conducting one too.

Our preliminary electronic ballot confirmed the overwhelming strength of feeling about your inadequate pay offer.

And yet the Government still fails to act.

VOTE NOW VOTE YES

In our POSTAL ballot from To industrial action for a fully 31 October to 13 January. funded, above-inflation pay rise. neu.org.uk/support-staff-pay NEU2775/0922 NEU2775 P0163 M003 Support staff pay up ballot statutory poster.indd 1 18/10/2022 15:56

n If your ballot paper doesn’t arrive, email ballotenquiries@neu.org.uk

Campaigning for assessment change in Parliament

THE NEU has launched an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) as part of its ongoing examination of assessment in schools.

The independent APPG for schools, learning and assessment, co-chaired by Conservative MP Flick Drummond and Labour MP Emma Hardy, will provide a forum for parliamentarians, educators and education policy experts to promote and support school-level education and examine the quality of learning and assessment for all pupils.

Through working with the APPG, the NEU hopes to make the case for change in Westminster. Over the coming term the APPG will be holding an event to bring together the chairs of various commissions that have been looking into assessment reform – including the NEU-backed Independent Assessment Commission – to explore the need for change and possible recommendations for a future system.

The APPG plans to launch an inquiry later this year into the assessment system in England and hopes to release a report of its findings in 2023.

n Visit schoolsappg.org.uk

Smoking and health charity releases new vaping guidance

NEW guidance for schools on youth vaping and smoking has been produced by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the leading UK charity working to end the harm from smoking.

The guidance aims to support educators to develop policies around vaping. It has been produced with support and advice from teachers with expertise in safeguarding and health education. It includes facts on smoking and vaping, questions to inform wider school policies and ethos, and links to helpful resources.

n Visit bit.ly/3SHcVGs n The guidance sits alongside the more detailed Briefing on youth vaping for local authorities, which is available at bit.ly/3SUJuAd

Six-figure settlement for life-changing injury

THE NEU legal team has won £550,000 compensation for a member after an accident at work ended her teaching career.

Lis Stuart, a primary teacher from Oxford, suffered life-changing injuries in 2018. Arriving at work, a colleague accidentally reversed into a wall in the car park above, which collapsed and trapped Lis beneath the fallen bricks.

Lis suffered multiple orthopaedic injuries including a fractured pelvis and ribs, and numerous crushing injuries to various parts of her upper and lower body. She was unable to walk for 18 months and unable to work as a teacher again.

“It was frightening. I remember looking up and seeing the back of the car hanging on the edge above me,” recalled Lis.

She was in hospital for several weeks. Initially, due to a misreading of the Burgundy Book by the school, Lis was offered only a week and a half of sick leave instead of the 12 months she was entitled to. So she turned to the NEU for help.

“It was an incredibly frustrating process. I really want to encourage members to get to know the Burgundy Book and exactly what you’re entitled to, because without the NEU I might have only got a week and a half of sick leave for an incident where I was in hospital for weeks,” said Lis.

Lis also faced a four-year battle with her colleague’s insurance company after bringing a civil claim for damages. Lis discovered that this would also be covered under her NEU membership.

“It didn’t even occur to me that the NEU could help me with legal support. I thought I was going to have to pay maybe £45,000 or more for a lawyer, but in the end I got one for free by virtue of my union membership. It’s incredible really,” she said.

Lis finally reached a settlement this year for £550,000. This includes damages for her injuries, her past and future loss of earnings, and her ongoing care and potential care and assistance she might need in the future.

“It’s been a long and difficult journey, but at least my family and I now have something to help support the care I need now and in the future,” said Lis.

Lis Stuart

Malthouse: ninth DfE boss in eight years

THE ninth Education Secretary in eight years was appointed last month.

Welcoming the appointment of Kit Malthouse, NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney warned that the new Education Secretary would need to get to get to grips with the “long list of major flaws and issues in our school and college system”, including chronic underfunding, excessive workload and a recruitment and retention crisis.

Kevin added that Mr Malthouse would only be able to deliver workable solutions if he listened to and worked with the profession, students and parents.

“The Education Secretary cannot ignore the problems. Our current education system is on its knees despite the huge efforts of school leaders, teachers and support staff to plaster over the cracks,” he said.

“There needs to be a determination from Government to ensure every child and young person gets the education they deserve.”