NASUWT
Islington AssociationTHE CAREER TEACHER’S ORGANISATION
January 2002To all Islington Teachers,
| Association General
Meeting Time: 4:30 - 6pm Date: Tuesday 19th March 2002 Venue: Masque Haunt Public House, Old Street EC1 (near the tube) refreshments will of course be provided |
Happy New Year Everyone. Hopefully most of you have recovered from that flu bug that has been going around.
ITNet have now taken over the payroll system. Fortunately not many teachers were affected by the hiccups in the system, although many support staff were short of money. If it's any consolation, the mistakes affected CEA staff as well, including the head of payroll and personnel !
There has been some delay in the release of joint union and employer guidance on banked time for when teachers have covered beyond the third day, or where a post is vacant. Members should still record any extra cover they do and if there is difficulty arranging the time off in lieu, contact me. Please discuss this with your school rep first, though.
In a number of our schools people have been employed on the "graduate teacher programme" (GTP). This is effectively on the job training for teachers. While they are on the course NASUWT is offering free full membership as well as the free legal advice available to student teachers. Some schools have taken on unqualified teachers in the hope that they will be accepted onto the GTP. Anyone in this position should seek advice asap.
Conference this year will be 1st -5th April in Scarborough. Members should have seen the full list of motions and there will be a ballot of local associations to select those which are debated. If anyone has strong views on any of the motions they should contact me immediately (before 31/1/02)
| News in Brief Harborough
and Rosemary School may close and reopen as one school, before splitting on to sites at
Holloway and Hungerford Schools. |
In the elections last term, the candidates supported by Islington, Seamus Searson and Kathy Duggan were both elected as our National Executive members for Inner London.
Formal consultation on the future of Harborough and Rosemary Schools closes on Feb 5th. Arrangements for a temporary new governing body should be complete by Easter. Discussions over the facilities, buildings and other arrangements at Holloway and Hungerford Schools (which is where the special schools will move to) continue.
GTC - members need to make sure they are registered. A view is being taken that obstructing the collection of fees would add to costs, which would ultimately result in a higher annual charge which would benefit nobody. On the other hand if people wish to make a personal objection that is their choice.
Unusually for the NASUWT there is no explicit direction either way.
| London Allowance Campaign This is a joint campaign supported by NASUWT, NUT, SHA and NAHT. There is general agreement on the difficulty of recruiting and retaining staff in London. In the case of the police an allowance of £6000 was awarded last year. By comparison STRB has recommended that teachers £3000 allowance (inner London) be increased by 3 ½% - or £105 The police wrote to their MPs (in the areas where they work) and achieved this result last year. We are asking members to write to their school’s MP - Jeremy Corbyn in North Islington Chris King in South Islington at House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA We would like personal letters, rather than a pro-forma, but the following points could be mentioned: v teachers have the same living expenses as the police,v we also have a difficult "clientele",v the system is propped up by supply staff who cannot provide the continuity needed,vrecruitment and retention can cause dissension if only some staff benefit, v there is a chronic shortage |
Housing ....
As part of the recruitment and retention schemes Islington is participating in there are a small number opportunities on two schemes:
"Keys for the Capital" may provide a proportion of the cost of purchasing a property (up to £35,000) within commuting distance. The same proportion is then repayable when/if you sell the place. Contact Metropolitan Home Ownership on 020 8920 4450 (direct line)
"Part-buy part-rent" allows you to buy a portion of an ex-council flat and pay rent on the remainder. Contact Notting Hill Home Ownership 020 8357 4444
Full details are on the housing page of the website.
Before Christmas a number of women members of NASUWT attended a conference for women trade unionists hosted by the GLA. There will be another conference on Saturday 9th March.
Anyone interested in attending should contact Capital Women direct on:
capitalwomen@london.gov.uk
Tel 020 7983 4100
Fax 020 7983 4089
As unions we will have to spend time working out where the consultation mechanisms fit in to the new council structure. We hope to improve on the current situation.
School Teachers Review Body (STRB) Report The STRB have delivered their annual report, including the following: Ÿ 3 ½% overall increase.Ÿ change to six point pay scale and remove bottom point (move up scale quicker).Ÿ upper scale to be consolidated (post threshold points move with you).Ÿ continue monitoring threshold.Ÿthis Summer teachers may apply one year earlier. Ÿ extra £33 to pay for GTC (or % if p/t) |
Finally, you may by now be aware that the future of NASUWT is being discussed. The decision was formally made on 18th January 02 to consult with members on how the NASUWT wishes to address the changing nature of the teaching profession. The full range of options to be discussed will be circulated, but these will include working towards a merger with other teaching unions and the membership of non-teaching staff.
Greg Robbins