Labels

Labels should help you find information. For example if you want to know when the next meeting is, click on "meetings".

For information about the pay campaign click on "pay"

Courses for reps, health and safety reps and much more

Courses for reps, health and safety reps and much more

Click here

As courses fill up we will add new upcoming courses with vacancies to the scoreboard.

Scrap SATS

The Guardian held a poll with the question, "Should SATS be scrapped?" and the final result was

Yes 92.4%
No 7.6%

Writing on the Education forum discussion board John Simkin said:

"When testing and league tables were introduced by the Tories, Labour opposed them. Once in power, Labour have extended their use. It is clear from the interviews with ministers that they have no understanding of what education is all about. Education ministers in Wales and Scotland were quick to remove SATs once they got independence from London."

Remember the petition on the Downing Street website

Scrap SATS

There is a petition to scrap SATS on the Downing Street website

Click here

Guardian poll on SATS

Click here to vote in the Guardian Poll on SATS

Suddenly the politicians are waking up to what teachers have been telling them for decades: SATS are bad for education.

The controversial key stage tests come to an end this week. Let the Guardian know whether you think the government should drop the exams altogether.

86.4% Yes
13.6% No

Poll closes in 2 days

Unlike telephone polls, the results aren't fixed and it costs nothing :)

WSTA has a facebook group

WSTA has a facebook group

Click here to join

It doubled in the first week,
then doubled again,
then doubled again!
Now we are eight!

Join up to keep in touch with your union after the strike.

Message from the TSN:

Message from the TSN:

I’m looking to develop new ways for teachers to get more involved using online community building tools. I just wanted to send you a personal invite to get involved in some of our upcoming things



Outside of our tools on our site http://teachersupport.info, We also have some entry points set up on the social network sites.



On Facebook:

Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Teacher-Support-Network/8348473439

Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2385602766

Would enjoy your participation and feedback. We’re also looking to get more teacher bloggers involved with TSN’s online work to create more teacher bloggers, or at least more participants talking about issues facing UK educators. We’re in the midst of creating some new online tools and would be neat to have you on board to maybe look at some of them as we’re developing them.



Anyway, any input is welcome. Thanks in advance



Andrew Lyons
Digital Media Manager
Teacher Support Network

Love Music Hate Racism

"Love Music Hate Racism" more or less sums up the NUT attitude.

There is a canival supported by the trade unions in Victoria Park in London on 27th April.

Details here

Download the leaflet here

Some of us were at the original gig 30 years ago!

Be a blogger

HUMAN RIGHTS PROJECT

NUT AND National Education Association HUMAN RIGHTS PROJECT

The US National Education Association (NEA) and National Union of Teachers are planning to hold a joint seminar for teachers focusing on civil liberties, human rights and freedom. The NEA and NUT are keen to draw on the experience of their highly successful professional development programmes and to work together to build on this.

It is expected that this will be a remarkable professional development opportunity for those involved. I am writing to ask if you are aware of any colleagues that would be interested and able to attend the initial two day seminar on Tuesday 15th April and Wednesday 16th April 2008.

The aim of the programme is to focus on the Magna Carta, a document of its time, but which encompasses values that are now seen as the very embodiment of the ideas of freedom, justice, fairness and human rights. In particular there would be analysis of the Magna Carta and how it relates to human rights, freedom and democracy; this would underpin further work developing strategies and materials for teaching and learning about the Magna Carta. A trip to Lincoln to learn about the Magna Carta is planned as part of the programme.

The format of the programme will provide an opportunity for teachers to work together during a two-day seminar, followed by further work through communication with a partner teacher. Participating teachers, from the NUT and NEA, will be 'linked' to provide professional support to each other (using telephone, e-mail etc) as they try out teaching and learning strategies in their classrooms. Participants may be teachers of any subject.

I hope that you may pass this information on relevant colleagues. If you have any questions regarding this initiative please contact my colleague Samidha Garg on 020 7380 4716 or via international@nut.org.uk . I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely


STEVE SINNOTT
General Secretary

Some people are gay

Thinking Skills

THE NUT CPD PROGRAMME IS INVITING 20 SCHOOLS - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY - TO TAKE

PART IN A UNIQUE eCOLLABORATIVE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PROJECT DURING 2008



For £100 participating schools will get an excellent CD produced by 'Imaginative Minds' and Steve Williams (usual price £235). The CD package is designed to underpin 6 one-hour staff development sessions (in-school CPD for the whole staff or departments). The outcomes will enhance the teaching of critical thinking to pupils/students.

In return, each school will nominate a link teacher who will take part in a learning conversation on NUT's CPD bulletin-board CHATROOM. 'Thinkers' like John MacBeath and Viv Baumfield will join in too.

If you and your colleagues/school are interested, please email (Quote 'Critical Thinking'):



nutcpd@nut.org.uk

Gay teacher wins apology and compensation for homophobia

A young gay teacher described as ‘Gay Dave’ and criticised for the way he walked by his head has won an award of £9,500 compensation and an unqualified apology from the governors of a school which formerly employed him after a landmark case for harassment under sexual orientation employment regulations. He was successfully defended in an employment tribunal by his union, the National Union of Teachers.

After a successful year at a special needs school in Winchester, David Watkins took up a new post in the Westminster borough. When he tried to promote equal opportunities within the school, and particularly spoke in favour of LGBT History Month, his head grew hostile. She accused him of ‘banging on’ and ‘drenching students’ in his sexuality and adopting a walk that aggravated older pupils; adding that he ‘didn’t walk like that when he came to interview.’ She also alleged that there was no homophobia within the school until he came along.

David, a successful teacher aware of his rights, pursued with the help of his union, a case that led to a successful admission of guilt and an unreserved public apology for the first time. This was the first case in UK law that saw a teacher taking his school to tribunal under the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003.

The Head’s hostility was possibly timed with the publication of an article that David wrote about LGBT inclusive schools, which was published in the NUT’s Teacher magazine, and on the website of LGBT education campaigners Schools Out. David was an ‘out’ teacher, clear about his support for Schools Out and LGBT History Month,

Sue Sanders, Co Chair of Schools Out and LGBT History Month, said:

“We all know that there have been teachers harassed, driven out of their posts and the profession and even constructively dismissed by homophobic behaviour. There have been bigger compensation awards too. But these have been tied to gagging orders, where the victim was not able to talk about the case. These gagging clauses have the effect, in terms of visibility, that the discrimination never happened.”

David Watkins is an active member of the Schools Out committee. He was repeatedly offered an out of court settlement but decided to go to a full employment tribunal.

At the final hour, the school’s governing body accepted guilt and made an unreserved apology before the case went to full procedure. The school made it plain that they recognised the excellence of David’s teaching and regretted that he had left. They also recognised the abuse he received was offensive, unacceptable and objectively homophobic, and that they should have intervened sooner on his behalf.

Paul Patrick co chair of Schools Out and LGBT History Month said:



“Our schools currently suffer from endemic homophobia. The DCSF guidance on homophobic bullying makes clear the importance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) role models. Schools that care about the welfare of all their pupils should be creating the sort of environment that supports LGBT teachers so they can be honest and open about who they. This has been a great decision for all who care about community cohesion, equality of opportunity and the celebration of diversity."

Appeal from Lewisham Teachers

The Union has just notified Lewisham Council of a one-day strike on Wednesday March 12th to begin discontinuous action at Merlin Primary School in Lewisham over a threat to cut their pay.

This is not just the pay 'cut' we have been balloting about nationally - i.e compared to inflation - this is an actual pay cut for eleven teachers who are facing the withdrawal of the additional Retention payments (of £1002 or £1971) that were won for teachers in a number of Inner London boroughs several years ago.

The mood of the staff is very determined - there is no way that they can afford a cut in their salaries.

Messages of support would be appreciated - sent to the NUT rep, Kay O'Dea at kay_odea@tiscali.co.uk

Action against Academies

This is information from NAME for members and supporters, it will also be of interest to those fighting against Academies elsewhere.

At the beginning of this crucial week for the future of all schools in the Rother Valley, NAME would encourage you to contact Robert Back directly (Robert.Back@westsussex.gov.uk) expressing your concerns.

Why is this so important? We know that the consultation will offer us little room for manoeuvre. We are told "it will not be a 'referendum'", which means that majority opposition to the Academy will not alone be sufficient reason for County to change its plans. However, we know that there are doubts among some even at County Hall about the wisdom of this deeply controversial proposal. In addition to attending the consultation meetings, and filling in the forms, we should therefore also consider going directly to the people who make the decisions.

If e-mailing Robert Back, you might ask him to address these points:


* Academies were designed to bring 'choice and diversity' to urban areas. For instance, North London parents might choose a Christian Academy, or a Business Academy. The Rother Valley represents an untried experiment: as the country's first rural Academy, it does not offer a choice to parents, but demands that their children comply with the sponsor's ethos.
* Although rolls are falling in the Rother Valley, West Sussex as a whole does not have anything like the ‘surplus’ of some local authorities, and the privatisation of the secondary school system seems a rather desperate way of addressing an issue which other authorities are finding different ways to tackle.
* If the ‘consultation’ we are to be offered only allows us the ‘option’ of a privatised Academy for the Rother valley, what kind of a ‘consultation’ is this? A ‘preferred option’ is one thing, a fait accompli is quite another.

To our disbelief, the man who actually makes the final decision, cabinet member for education Cllr Mark Dunn has 'gone on leave' for the period of the consultation, presumably in order not to have to field the kind of inconvenient concerns which are sure to be expressed by local communities. Nevertheless, NAME would urge you to copy your e-mails to him (Mark.Dunn@westsussex.gov.uk); you might also consider sending your questions to your local County Council elected member (and /or Midhurst's councillor Nola.Hendon@westsussex.gov.uk), or simply copying Ms Hendon in on your questions to Mr Back.

Please forward this e-mail as widely as possible to friends, colleagues or anybody who you feel might wish to contribute to this debate. If you receive a reply from Mr Back, Mr Dunn, Ms Hendon or anybody else at County Hall, please forward it to us at NAME (namecampaign@yahoo.com): we are intrigued to see what kind of responses you get!

The Big Give Away

Statement from NAME


We couldn’t make it up. Under plans to be revealed on Wednesday, West Sussex County Council will announce its intention to hand over the land and buildings on the Midhurst Intermediate School and Midhurst Grammar School River sites to a charity, United Learning Trust, as soon as this summer. These are assets paid for out of your council taxes, yet ULT will be allowed to sell off the River site and keep the cash! This scheme bears all the hallmarks of other rushed privatisations. Like Railtrack, this can only end in disaster.



You might not like the way that West Sussex County Council have run Rother Valley schools, but at least in theory you could vote them out: you get the council you elect. However if WSCC washes its hands of the schools, they will be beyond the electorate’s control for good. In a desperate bid to gain disappearing funding, West Sussex intend to open the new Academy on the existing MIS and MGS sites in September 2008, as a temporary measure before a new school is built. New ownership – same old buildings. We say why not wait and fund the school rebuild out of the public purse, retaining democratic control over the use of our taxes.



NAME have consistently argued that the ‘consultation’ is anything but a serious effort on County’s part to gain the public’s views. Sadly this view has been confirmed this week by West Sussex’s refusal to abide by its outcome, merely to ‘have regard for views expressed’. However, we urge everybody to attend the meetings, return the forms and let West Sussex County Council know that Rother Valley residents will not see their heritage, their taxes and their democratic influence thrown away in this manner.



E-mail Robert.Back@westsussex.gov.uk and Mark.Dunn@westsussex.gov.uk and share your views!

Pay campaign information

Reps Training

The reps training course on St Valentine's Day was a big success with Kevin Courtney as the guest speaker.

Even if the union rep "only" takes the mail from the union and puts it up on the notice board he or she is a vital part of the union. Kevin also outlined many other ways in which reps can play a role in the union especially with the upcoming pay ballot.

He stressed that winning the pay ballot will encourage members to battle on issues like Academy Status and workload whereas a defeat on this ballot will encourage management to think teachers will put up with *anything*.




The course dealt with
Disciplinary Procedure
Redundancy
Sickness Policy
Competence

It is important for all union reps or potential union reps to know about these policies. The details are here

Do not hesitate to contact the helpline 01342 410805 if you have any problems.

Pay offer

Details of the current pay offer are available here

Let's win the ballot

Faith McGrath, NUT rep., Adamsrill Primary School, Lewisham NUT wrote this in Classroom Teacher 2 out now Click here to download


Let’s win the ballot

Most teachers have never taken part in a ballot for strike action so be ready to answer any queries:

How do I get my ballot paper?

Ballot papers will be sent to home addresses. Make sure the NUT has the right details for all your staff.

How can I help win the ballot?

Make sure all your colleagues know about the vote. Call a school meeting to discuss it. Call or visit other nearby schools as well. Some Local NUT Associations, like mine, have set up campaign committees - help build one in your area too.

Can my school stop me striking?

No! You will be protected by our official action ballot. If the NUT gives the go-ahead, thousands of teachers will take united action. We can all join together on the day, with local rallies and meetings too.

Can I afford to take strike action?

Can you afford not to?! You will lose a day’s pay - about £60 - but you will lose thousands if these pay cuts are imposed. With all the hoops we have to jump through, you can’t even rely on going up the pay spine to earn more. We have to rely on union action instead!

Will one-day action be enough?

From a solid first day’s strike, we must build the united public sector action that can make ministers think again. So vote YES for action!

McDonalds' A levels

We have received news that McDonalds are going to introduce their own A levels.

We have even got a preview of one of the papers:

Is McDonalds?

a) a vicious anti-union low wage employer?
b) a fast track to a heart attack?
c) fun in a bun?
d) animal cruelty incarnate

If your answer was (c) congratulations you now have a Mc A
level.

(before the Millionaire McLawyers get on the McPhone this is
a joke of course)

NUTS about Facebook

There is a group for everything on Facebook. There is now even a group for NUT members.

Click here

TES discussion group

From the TES website:

"The NUT saved my career and my sanity."

"It is a union that organises and campaigns on issues that matter. It is the only union that opposes the use of unqualified cover supervisors to teach children."

You can register to join in this debate:Click here

And click on "register" and "staffroom" A five minute process.

Top Ten Books

The list produced by Teachers' TV in collaboration with the NUT is very interesting because it is a list chosen by teachers.

There is a TV program available to view online or download
here

They may not be your "top ten" but you can comment on the programme on the website.

Lisa Copeland for GTC

NUT rep Lisa Copeland from Shoreham First School is standing for the General Teaching Council. The GTC is a bit remote from ordinary teachers and perhaps Lisa can bring it down to earth.

Save the NHS

Pictures from the march in London

Reclaim the Night

West Sussex Teachers' Association supports the Reclaim the Night Demonstration on 24th November.

Last year over 1000 women took to the streets of central London in a night-time demonstration to protest at the rising tide of violence against women and the failure of the authorities in dealing with it. It was a fantastic event which closed Charing Cross Road and made a real impact on a Saturday night in the West End.

The 'Women-Only' march lasted about an hour and ended in a mixed rally and party at ULU. Some school groups used it as a night out for women staff and went off for dinner etc after the march. It was a wonderfully empowering and positive experience. Several other regions also staged Reclaim the Night demos during the year, most notably in Ipswich.

This year the event in London is being repeated on Saturday 24th November and we want to hugely increase the numbers that attend. The NUT is supporting the demonstration this year and the National banner will be there. They are also hosting a lunchtime reception prior to the march at the Women's Library. A circular has been sent to all divisional secretaries encouraging them to support the demonstration and to pay travel expenses from delegates. It is brilliant that the Union is taking such a public stand this year and we need to do everything we can to make both events a massive success.

Attached to this email is a document containing the latest Reclaim the Night flyer as well as an invitation to the Reception at the Women's Library. Please do everything you can to get this circulated in your place of work/division.

Hope to see you (and many more) there.

Kiri Tunks
(Vice-chair NUT Gender Advisory Committee)

Details here

Adur reorganisation - any questions?

Meeting for NUT members with queries about the Adur reorganisation.

Thursday 6th December
4.30
Shoreham First School

See map

Hotmail problem

Members have been unable to receive emails from WSTA if they use hotmail. Those who use other systems such as WSGFL or yahoo are unaffected.

Hotmail responded to our query about this:

"If you are having trouble with delivery of your emails, we recommend
that you notify your clients who have hotmail accounts to add you to the
allowed sender list."

They didn't make any suggestions about how we notify you.

Hotmail are laudably trying to cut down on spam but their methods lack sophistication.

Petition for pay

Petition for pay,

Sign up! Send it off!

The NUT petition, once signed, needs to be returned no later than November 16 2007 to NUT, HAMILTON HOUSE, MABLEDON PLACE, LONDON WC1H 9BD envelope marked "Fair Pay For Teachers"

You can obtain copies or additional copies of the petition that has been sent to your NUT school representative. Make sure you add your name and urge your colleagues to add theirs!

Local Voice October 2007

Click here for a Word document version of Local Voice (which can be read using Open Office free software)

Click here for an HTML version.

Martin, Hank and Veronica

The general meeting of the West Sussex Teachers Association nominated Martin Powell-Davies and Hank Roberts for the Vice Presidential roles in the NUT.

Veronica Peppiatt was nominated as NUT Executive member for West Sussex and Surrey.

Lunchtime - you are entitled to one!

1.A teacher cannot be required to undertake midday supervision and “shall be allowed a break of reasonable length either between school sessions or between the hours of 12 noon and 2.00 p.m.”. Paragraph 75.6 of Section 2 of the 2005 STPCD refers. Any teacher who volunteers to undertake mid-day supervision is entitled to a free school lunch.

2.Head teachers, deputy head teachers, assistant head teachers, advanced skills and fast track teachers are also entitled to a break of reasonable length, but the STPCD is silent on the issue of whether such staff can be required to undertake midday supervision. NUT policy is that midday supervision should be undertaken by lunchtime supervisors.

3.The NUT’s view of the “break of reasonable length” is that teachers should have an entitlement of at least one hour when they cannot be required to undertake duties, attend meetings or remain on school premises. The lunch break cannot be included in the 1265 hours of directed time.

4.NUT members are strongly advised not to attend meetings convened by management during their lunch break.

Salsa Evening 5th October

There will be a Salsa Evening on 5th October at the Hickstead Hotel from 8pm to 11pm. It will begin with an hour's free salsa tuition.

Map of Hickstead Hotel

Free refreshments and soft drinks and there is a licensed bar available.

It will be £5 but free to NQTs and NUT reps.

If you are interested email Dave on davethomas23(at)hotmail.com


Click here for a leaflet to download.

Can my employer change my contract of employment?

A contract of employment is a legal agreement between the
employer and the employee. It contains terms, either express
or implied, which cannot lawfully be changed or varied by
the employer without further agreement from the employee
(either individually or through the trade union). Many terms
of the contract are, of course varied from time to time, by
mutual consent.

For example, it is quite usual for pay to be varied, usually
increased, on a regular basis. In some cases the contract
may contain an express term permitting the employer to make
changes from time to time. These changes would need to be
reasonable. Where changes are made to your contract the law
requires employers to notify you of the change within one
month.

However, that does not change the fact that an unauthorised,
one-sided variation is a breach of the contract of
employment. If such a change is so fundamental that it goes
to the heart of the contract, it may justify the employee's
resignation in protest. Such a resignation, if justified,
would be a 'constructive dismissal'
This information came from
http://www.worksmart.org.uk

Term dates 2007 to 2008

Click here for term dates 2007 to 2008

You will note that this arrangement means the "Easter holiday" would not actually include Easter and the NUT conference.

Defending Postal Services

The Communications Workers' Union have asked us to circulate a leaflet about the postal dispute in view of the media misinformation on this subject.

It is here

Locked Stockroom and Two smoking Gerbils

This is a still from my favourite Staffroom Monologue "Locked Stockroom and Two Smoking Gerbils".
You can download Staffroom Monologues from here

They are a collaboration between Teachers' TV and the National Union of Teachers. Videos are available on Teachers' TV but more conveniently perhaps from their website.

Be our 4000th member

At the last count West Sussex Teachers Association was 33 away from its target of 4000 members. The person who becomes our 4000th member will get a meal out at our expense.

You can join immediately by ringing 0845 300 1669

You can join online here

Katrina: 7500 teachers and school employees sacked

Immediately after Hurricane Katrina hit, the Louisiana state legislature voted to take over most of New Orleans' public schools and effectively fire the 7,500 teachers and other employees who work in them. The city schools are now part of the state-run recovery school district and control of many of schools is being given to private charter organizations. The US TV program Democracy Now! spoke with a member of the United Teachers of New Orleans.

Click here

WSTA is not responsible for the content of external sites but this is a story of interest to teachers.

GCSE howlers

The following questions and answers were allegedly collated from last year's British GCSE exams. Some older members will remember them being "collated" from GCE and CSE papers thirty years ago!

Geography

Q: Name the four seasons. A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink. A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed? A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: What causes the tides in the oceans? A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.


Sociology

Q: What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on? A: If you are buying a house, they will insist you are well endowed.

etc.

British Residents in Guantanamo Bay

I received this information from the Save Omar campaign which is a humanitarian campaign supported by West Sussex NUT.

Omar Deghayes is a 35 year old married man and father, originally from Libya, but a resident of Saltdean since 1987, who was arrested in Pakistan and has been held in solitary confinement in Camp Delta (Guantanamo Bay), Cuba since 2002.

He has not been charged with any offence and the only evidence produced against him is a video tape,which the Americans claim links Mr Deghayes with terrorists but which experts have dismissed as a case of mistaken identity.

There is a worksheet about his case for use with PSHE classes
http://wsta.org.uk/omar.doc
It is in Microsoft Word format and can be read using Open Office as well.

NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION FOR THE BRITISH RESIDENTS IN GUANTÁNAMO BAY
BRING THEM HOME.
Sat Jan 21st,
Assemble 12 noon, Tothill St
(nr St James Park tube) map

Support the Hunger Strikers
Shut down all illegal prisons
March via Downing St to the American Embassy, Grovesnor Square
Supporting Families of the British Residents in Guantánamo Bay
Coach tickets from Brighton £6/£4 (Jackie - 07796 478 421 for tickets)
For more details contact info@save-omar.org.uk

Sloppy journalism

Mark Twain used to say that a lie could be half way round the world while the truth was still getting its boots on. The Daily Mirror goes into hundreds of thousands of homes and it carries articles like the following:
"TEACHERS NAME KIDS THEY FEAR
By Vanessa Allen
CHILDREN called Liam, Paige and Chloe are likely to be troublemakers at school, according to teachers."

The headline and the first sentence contain the same lie and it is all downhill from there.
Was Vanessa Allen quoting a survey of teacher opinion? No. She was quoting from a facetious thread on a bulletin board. This is not exactly scientific. Anyone can post on a bulletin board. Vanessa Allen does not know whether a single one of the posters is actually a teacher.

What she does know that this does not represent the views of "teachers" but of a few posters. Teachers do not prejudge pupils on the basis of their names: the statement is so obvious it would not need making were it not for such unprofessional conduct as that of Ms Allen.