Teachers in Wales – Issue 54

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term 2016 Issue 54 Summer

teachers in Wales From the NUT for all

Welsh election shakeup With the results of the Welsh election now in, Carwyn Jones AM has been re-elected as First Minister of a minority Labour government. Wales also has a new Education Minister, or as the post is now named, Education Secretary. Despite 29 of the 60 Assembly Members being from the Labour party, Liberal Democrat Kirsty Williams AM was appointed.

There were some key education policies put forward by the Welsh Lib Dems at the election. These included a commitment to retain and increase the pupil premium fund, an abolition of regional consortia, establishing an annual workload survey and a reduction of class sizes to a maximum of 25 pupils.

NUT Cymru will be seeking to work with the new Education Secretary to deliver on these pledges, as well as some of the other constructive and exciting policies members helped develop as part of the Union’s own election manifesto.

In taking up the position, Kirsty Williams becomes the first non-Labour party politician to run education services in Wales since authority for the portfolio was devolved to Cardiff Bay. NUT Cymru has already been working to arrange detailed discussions with Kirsty and we will be aiming to ensure she speaks to as many teachers as possible over the coming months and years so that it is the voice of the profession that leads policy decisions during her tenure in cabinet.

Carwyn Jones AM, First Minister

Kirsty Williams AM, Education Secretary

Upon accepting the position Kirsty said: “I will work with others in Government, across the Assembly and with parents, students, employers and teachers in our shared ambitions for the highest standards and opportunities for all. I will be open to ideas and innovation from all quarters – here at home and beyond.”

Education hustings Throughout the Welsh election, NUT Cymru played an active role in promoting the policies that you wanted us to highlight while holding candidates to account. Our manifesto offered an innovative yet deliverable plan for the Welsh education system.

New policy was at the heart of our debates, as well as a desire to challenge the ideas brought forward by the politicians who form the Welsh Government.

The Wales-wide Education Question Time tour kicked off with a national hustings event held jointly with the ATL and UCAC in Cardiff. This centrepiece session featured the then-Labour Education Minister and spokespeople for the other main parties.

The event provided a broad national debate, and enjoyed incredible coverage with the BBC, ITV and national print media.

Local division secretaries worked closely with candidates to arrange a series of debates across Wales in Gwynedd, Ynys Mon, Cwmbran, Swansea, Powys and Flint. Debates were well attended by NUT members, fellow unionists and also parents.

It can be argued that no other organisation in Wales engaged politicians to the extent, that NUT Cymru has throughout the campaign. We are proud that NUT Cymru continues to be the most influential and most focused union for representing teachers and pupils in Wales.

Inside… Young Teachers Conference Munich University delegation Croeso Beth!

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Young Teachers Conference Due to the overwhelming demand for places at January’s Young Teachers Conference, a second conference was held at the St David’s Hotel, Cardiff in April.

In the morning, delegates were treated to excellent workshops from Helen Bowen, a Literacy Consultant and Estyn inspector.

The first was Engaging pupils and improving literacy skills and the second was Embracing inspection…a survival guide!

The next Young Teachers Conference will be held in January 2017. If you are interested in attending the Conference then please contact Lisa Tavener at the NUT Cymru Office on 02920 491818.

Croeso Beth!

The NUT Cymru office was delighted to welcome a new colleague in June. Beth Roberts, Wales Union Learning Fund (WULF) Project Coordinator, was previously WULF Project Coordinator for BECTU, our sister union, where she worked for nearly nine years.

After lunch, delegates enjoyed a session on Getting the most out of your Union with Laura Chisholm, a Young Teacher Officer in Portsmouth and Young Teacher Advisory Committee member. Those who attended the conference met up again as a group in July to share experiences and have a wellbeing day.

Your NUT Executive members for Wales Former NUT President Beth Davies, along with Neil Foden, elected chair of the NUT Wales committee, and Angela Jardine, current chair of the Education Workforce Council, have been re-elected onto the NUT Wales committee and the three will now be the Union’s Executive members for Wales for 2016-18. NUT Cymru would like to congratulate them all on their election.

Her role is to provide valuable CPD training to members across Wales, to promote Welsh language learning and the development of Union-led learning. “I am really looking forward to the challenges of providing further Union learning for NUT members here in Wales,” said Beth. “As the previous WULF project was a huge success, this is an exciting opportunity for me to ensure that this project is as successful, and that many NUT members can benefit from it.”

Munich University delegation NUT Cymru was visited by a delegation of senior lecturers and students from the Department of Applied Social Sciences at Munich University recently. Professors Maria Rerrich and Claudia Ueffing requested to meet with NUT Cymru as they were visiting schools in and around Cardiff to compare early childhood education with the situation in Bavaria.

They were equally interested in learning about the working conditions of teaching staff and the history and current activities of teacher trade unions in the field of early childhood education in Wales. Ten delegates from a party of 24 visited the office and had discussions with Stuart Williams and Owen Hathway from NUT Cymru and Beth Davies, ex-President and National Executive member for Wales.

Wanted: a rep in every school The NUT has members in almost every school in Wales. Now we want to make sure every school has an NUT rep. In most of our schools, dedicated teachers have already taken on the task of becoming a rep.

They carry out vital work recruiting new members, organising NUT meetings in schools so teachers can find collective solutions to problems at work, and assisting and advising members. They also help to promote NUT policy, such as our Stand Up for Education campaign, and act as a vital link with local NUT divisions or associations and the NUT Cymru office.

Training for reps The Union’s three-day training course for all new and existing school reps has been a great success as it gives reps the tools and confidence to make a real difference to members’ lives. A Foundation course will run from 4-6 October at the St Davids Hotel in Cardiff. If you’re interested in becoming a school rep and attending one of the above courses then please contact Lisa Tavener at the NUT Cymru office. Remember, reps are legally entitled to attend these courses. The NUT will support any rep that has difficulties getting time off work to attend.

You can also find out more about becoming a school rep or playing an active part in the NUT in a variety of ways by visiting: teachers.org.uk/getinvolved

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Teachers in Wales / Summer term 2016

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Threat of closure NUT Flintshire held an Education Question Time (EQT) at John Summers High School in advance of the National Assembly Elections in April. Over 100 people attended the EQT to hear from candidates representing Labour, Conservatives, Plaid Cymru, Liberal Democrats and the Greens. The event was chaired by Executive member Beth Davies and Executive member Neil Foden was a panellist on behalf of the NUT. John Summers is threatened with closure, despite the County Council’s previous policy to build them a brand new school, and NUT members, teachers and the local community have been campaigning hard to keep the school open, even taking their campaign to the High Court. The decision whether or not to keep John Summers open will be in the hands of Education Secretary Kirsty Williams.

The candidates taking part were left in no doubt of the strength of feeling in the community and the passion for keeping a good, local school open.

Many of the questions posed came from pupils at the school and covered issues such as the disruption to

pupils’ studies and the educational impact of trying to make new friends and become part of a new school culture. Issues such as the additional cost and time of school travel, the environmental impact of closing a school and the question of school places were also raised.

The children asking these intelligent and insightful questions were a testament to the fact that John Summers is a good school, with good teachers providing a good education to its pupils.

Paula Stanford, the head of John Summers, said: “Everyone I have spoken to has said how much they enjoyed (the EQT) and we feel much more positive about the next few months, whatever may be thrown at us.

The support offered to NUT members and others at our school has been remarkable from the outset and is very much appreciated by all at the school – pupils, staff and governors alike”.

NUT members in the school and in the wider Flintshire Division have been a credit to the Union in their commitment to campaign for fairness for the children of John Summers High School.

NUT sponsors mindfulness course for teachers in west Wales The NUT is proud to sponsor a mindfulness course for teachers led by teacher Elizabeth Daniels and organised through the Healthy Schools Scheme.

The eight week course aims to increase stress resilience and wellbeing for teaching staff after research by the NUT indicated that teachers are the second most stressed professionals in England and Wales.

Participants reported that “as well as a reduction in stress related problems such as headaches, other benefits from attending the course include finding joy again, even while undergoing an Estyn inspection.”

One teacher said: “This course has been a life saver, I hadn’t realised how near to burn out I’d been.” Another teacher delightedly reported that it had even cured her phobia of flying.

Course leader Elizabeth explained: “Teachers that learn mindfulness also report

better teacher-pupil relationships and outcomes in the classroom.”

For participants wishing to become mindfulness teachers themselves, Elizabeth says that after practicing mindfulness for six months, participants can take the courses to teach mindfulness to secondary or primary children respectively. “This will be a significant step towards more schools integrating mindfulness into their daily lives for the benefit of teachers and pupils alike,” she added.

“If a child is facing a difficult emotion and they haven’t the skills to navigate this, it is hard for them to be motivated to learn. On the other hand, if a child is attaining at all costs and putting intense pressure on themselves, this can have a damaging effect on their mental health. If we want our children to flourish clearly something is missing,” she continues.

Supporting the theory, Professor Katherine Weare states that “when mindfulness is well taught to children and when practised regularly it has been shown to be capable of improving mental health and wellbeing, mood, self-esteem, self-regulation, positive behaviour and academic learning.”

The course, developed by the Mindfulness in Schools Project, is currently the subject of a multi-million pound research project led

by Oxford University Mindfulness Centre to tackle the growing concern about the wellbeing of both our teachers and children.

Any Pembrokeshire schools interested in further training courses please contact Liz Western, (Public Health Wales) at: Liz.Western@wales.nhs.uk or course leader Elizabeth Daniels at: elizabeth@mindfulwales.com

Summer term 2016 / Teachers in Wales

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Funding success for NUT Cymru NUT Cymru is delighted to announce that it has once again been successful in gaining access to the Wales Union Learning Fund (WULF), which will ensure that we continue to have a significant impact on NUT members in Wales. As the previous WULF project was a resounding success, NUT Cymru wanted to continue with the four priority areas, including: 1. Promoting Welsh language learning for all teachers across Wales by developing a bespoke Welsh language programme 2. Promoting the development of Union-led learning for teachers across Wales, with a focus on essential IT skills 3. Providing a bespoke, comprehensive support programme for supply and out-of-work teachers 4. Supporting the development of lifelong learning for teachers, with a focus on mindfulness and wellbeing

The Union has appointed Beth Roberts as a project coordinator who will be responsible for the development of the learning strategy. She will work with existing Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) and recruit new ULRs to gauge a more detailed understanding of NUT members’ learning needs.

NUT Cymru Principal Officer Stuart Williams, who was in charge of the application, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve been successful with our second application.

NUT Cymru is the only teaching union in Wales to access this fund, which means that we can continue to ensure that NUT members in Wales will receive the training and support they need and deserve.

“When the EWC stopped offering grants for teachers to access valuable CPD over seven years ago, it’s been virtually impossible for teachers to gain any access to lifelong learning. With the aid of this funding, NUT Cymru can continue working towards bridging this gap and provide essential lifelong learning for its members.”

NUT at the Urdd Eisteddfod NUT Cymru were delighted to see so many friends, old and new, at the annual Urdd Eisteddfod in Flint this year. The Union had a stall at the week–long event, which is the largest youth festival in Europe. The main attraction on the stall this year was the drawing competition held over three days, which drew in approximately 80 entries. The overall winner of the competition was Eve Roberts, a Year 4 pupil from Ysgol Trelogan, with a drawing in the ‘My School’ category.

NUT Cymru Principal Officer Stuart Williams, said; “With tens of thousands of attendees, many of them NUT members, the Urdd Eisteddfod is a great opportunity for us to engage with parents and young people on what education means to them. This was especially important as we were able to discuss the importance of our on-going campaign to end standardised literacy and numeracy tests in schools.”

Also present at the stall during the week was the former NUT President and current Wales Executive member, Beth Davies, and various members from the area who volunteered to help out.

Overall Winner of the Competition

Winners of Day 1 (Mr Urdd) and Day 2 (My School)

We’re here to help…

As the largest teachers’ union, we are able to offer members an unrivalled service.

Our professional team is here to provide expertise to our network of school and college representatives and local association and division secretaries. If you have a problem at work or want to know more about NUT member services, contact: ●

your school or college representative

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your association or division secretary

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the NUT Cymru office.

NUT Cymru Ty^ Sinnott, 18 Neptune Court Vanguard Way Cardiff CF24 5PJ Tel: 029 2049 1818 Fax: 029 2049 2491 Email: cymru.wales@nut.org.uk Wales Secretary: David Evans Wales Officers: Gareth Lloyd, Debbie Scott, Dilwyn Griffiths Wales Organiser & Communications: Stuart Williams North Wales Organiser: Cai Jones Wales Solicitor: Angharad Booker Wales Policy Officer: Owen Hathway Executive members: Neil Foden, Angela Jardine, Beth Davies

NUT Head Office National Union of Teachers, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD Tel: 020 7388 6191 Fax: 020 7387 8458 NUT website: www.teachers.org.uk President: Philipa Harvey Acting General Secretary: Kevin Courtney