EXECUTIVE NEWS
Date
GENERAL SECRETARY’S REPORT
The Executive noted a list of engagements
undertaken by the General Secretary and the
National Officers since their last meeting. The
General Secretary drew attention to a number
forthcoming events during the next few
months
including
the
major
NHS
demonstration on 4 March (which the Union
would be supporting) the NUT and ATL
member ballots and the Budget in early
March. A suite of communications to
members, school representatives and local
officers had been planned running up to the
ballot opening on 27 February, including
weekly texts and a home mailing the previous
week. The Union was precluded from putting
any message with the ballot paper
encouraging a vote either way so
communications at all levels in the Union to
promote a ‘yes’ vote and the highest possible
turnout was important. The Union had
responded to a call from Educational
International
to
participate
in
a
demonstration outside the venue for the
Education World Forum held in London on 24
January, to demonstrate opposition to one of
the main sponsors, Bridge Academies and
their promotion of ‘low cost’ private schools
across the global south. The General
Secretary had been pleased to speak at a
‘Children against Borders’ event at
London’s Senate House on 14 January; an
organisation with which the Union is working
closely on the hostile and unacceptable use
of pupil census data. On 17 January, the
General Secretary spoke at a packed
‘Parents Against Funding Cuts Meeting’ in
Haringey, North London. The increasing
likelihood of the devolvement of responsibility
for Wales teachers’ pay and conditions to the
Welsh Assembly Government required
Executive and Conference debate to ensure
adoption of Union policy in this area.
In relation to the three priority campaigns,
the General Secretary reported that there had
30 January 2017
No: 224
been some positive and fruitful engagement
with the six divisions selected for the
workload pilot. A statement for school group
adoption on primary assessment issues has
been produced and circulated and Executive
members were asked to encourage adoption
in at least six primaries within their electoral
area. The funding website continued to
garner traffic and publicity with 130k visitors to
the site. In Manchester, the Division was
organising a joint, torch-lit demonstration on
25 February on the NHS, the social care and
education funding crises. Members, reps,
local officers and Executive members were
being encouraged to lobby MPs before half
term to ensure maximum pressure exerted
before the March Budget. The Union’s
funding website and campaign had clearly
changed the parameters of the debate by
challenging the Government’s attempts to
focus on redistribution of education funding –
‘fair funding’ – and expose the drastic funding
cuts to members and the wider public. The
General Secretary reported that the Union
was cautiously welcoming and supporting the
campaign by Lucy Allen MP calling for the
removal of primary schools from the Prevent
Strategy – obviously, the Union’s; policy aim
was to reform the strategy for the whole
sector.
The General Secretary paid warm tribute to
the work of the local secretary on Jersey,
Rob Ward, and the Executive member for the
area, Robin Head on their member support
and engagement which had seen an 11 per
cent increase in members in the last year.
SUPPLY AGENCIES
NUT policy is to support and campaign for
supply teacher register schemes which are
“publicly accountable, non-profit making,
paying to scale and [giving access to] TPS”,
similar to the Northern Ireland model.
Various private companies offering a registerbased model are beginning to enter the
supply teacher market. The Executive agreed
that the NUT will not endorse any such
companies (in particular because the pay
rates and employment relationships involved
are not yet clearly established) but will monitor
their operation. It was agreed that it was
important that no impression was given that
any such provider has any NUT endorsement.
Associations would be advised that:
•
they do not endorse such providers,
recommend them to members, or enter into
any contractual arrangement or arrangement
involving payments to the association; and
•
any information circulated about such
providers is wholly neutral in nature.
NEW UNION
Following the NUT and ATL special
conferences, a number of issues were raised
with the Certification Officer who advised on a
number of necessary revisions to the
Instrument of Amalgamation in relation to the
operation of the Political Fund. Further
discussions were held with the ATL and
additional changes were made to the
Instrument of Amalgamation and the
Transitional Rules, as agreed with the CO.
The ballot material will comprise these two
documents plus a notice of ballot (printed as a
booklet) and a separate ballot paper. The
Executive also agreed the composition of the
Joint Executive Council which will take effect
from 1 September 2017 and comprise the
National Officers, chairs of standing and
Professional Unity committees and five
Executive members.
CHILD POVERTY AND SOCIAL MOBILITY
The Executive agreed to endorse a statement
on child poverty, inequality and social mobility
in response to the Government’s policy
agenda and focus. The Executive agreed the
recommendation to develop alternative
proposals for educational policy interventions
which would promote good outcomes in terms
of social justice and equity for all. The
Executive also agreed to:
(a) Use the fact that the International
Summit on the Teaching Profession
2017 is taking place in Scotland in
March and will focus on social mobility;
(b) Convening a roundtable with six
Executive
members
and
six
researchers;
(c) Explore how to identify alternative
policy solutions and win support.
NATIONAL ORGANISING FORA
The Executive nominated three of their
number to sit on each of the newly constituted
National Organising Fora for the following
member categories: LGBT+, Disabled
members,
Young
members,
Retired
members, Leadership members, Sixth Form
College members, Supply members and the
Health and Safety Group.
TUC EQUALITY MATTERS
The Executive agreed to re-nominate Mandy
Hudson, the Equality Seat Holder for
members with disabilities, to the TUC
Disabled Workers’ Committee. The Executive
also agreed to nominate Annette Pryce, the
Equality Seat Holder for LGBT+ members, to
the TUC LGBT Workers Committee. Roger
King was elected as the Executive delegate to
the TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference
taking place in May 2017.
GUESTS @ ANNUAL CONFERENCE
In addition to guests already invited to
Conference, the Executive agreed to invite
Hanan Al Hroub (Global Teacher Prize
winner), Leanne Mohamad (Wanstead High
School pupil and British Palestinian activist)
and Manish Sisodia (Deputy Chief Minister
and Minister of Education, Government of
Delhi, India).
OTHER MATTERS OF REPORT
The chairs of the four standing committees
gave short reports on the business discussed
at their meetings earlier in the day (the reports
of which would be adopted formally by the
Executive in February), including the Union’s
STRB submission, the gender pay gap
revealed by the NUT pay survey, high profile
joint work with the National Heart Foundation
on air pollution, welcoming the agreement by
Reach2 academy chain to contribute to
facilities ‘pots’, the Union’s sexism survey,
joint NUT/ATL roadshows with DFE and the
Standards in Teaching Agency; the increasing
abdication of responsibility for school
improvement by local authorities in parallel
with the fragmentation of school provision;
positive membership figures and trends; and
the tendering process for HQ catering.