Back to School

3rd September

At the start of the academic year, every teacher should receive the following documents:

• Your salary statement - this should state where you are on which salary scale, the value of any TLRs you may hold, and your overall salary.
• A breakdown of your 1265 (directed time) hours. If you are working part time, you should receive a personal pro-rata breakdown.
• The school calendar - your PPA should be clearly identified (not less than 10% of your timetabled teaching time). If your PPA is in the afternoon, check that it is an accurate reflection of PPA in your school (some schools swap AM and PM PPA slots mid-way through the year).

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Covid

3rd September

The government's blasé attitude can only be deplored but although they seem to want us to carry on regardless there is every reason for schools to keep as many mitigations in place as possible. They must remember that, as employers, they have the legal duty to protect the welfare of their employees and those that enter their premises.

Risk Assessments must continue to be updated every time circumstances change. The LA agree with us that people should err on the side of caution when they feel unwell. The idea that you should go into work because you've only got a cold is completely wrong when it is reported that many of the early symptoms of the Delta Variant mimic those of a cold. If you see someone in school who you suspect is unwell you should consider alerting management.

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Stress

3rd September

Employers have always been required to manage the stress that work causes their employees and reduce it as much as possible. Working in schools has always been stressful and the past eighteen months has only exacerbated the situation. Sadly, some schools seem determined to pour petrol on the flames with unreasonable demands of their staff.

All schools and settings should carry out stress surveys to identify the causes of stress. This will enable them to produce an action plan to manage and reduce stress. The LA has always recommended the use of the HSE stress survey although some schools have developed their own. The NEU has had its own stress survey for a number of years that school groups can use independently of management and some schools have used this instead of the HSE survey.

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Bargaining for Equality

3rd September

Yes, it was a Saturday. Yes, it was the first day of the summer holidays in Leicester. Yes, I attended the excellent Bargaining for Equality conference organised by Leicester's own George White.

Regional Secretary Una O'Brien started the morning by highlighting the regional aim to have equality front and centre in the agenda moving forwards. She acknowledged that inequality starts early in education with childhood poverty and that as community activists we need to stand shoulder to shoulder with organisations who fight inequality on a daily basis. We need to look at our bargaining strategy and how to hold the employer accountable. The legal framework is a starting point. The NEU have model policies: anti-racism charter, model menopause charter and domestic abuse policy.

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Black Educators' Summer Event 2021

3rd September

This year the Black Educators' Summer event was held on Thursday 1st July at Victoria Park. The event was well attended and was chaired by the Leicester City President - J Walters-Nisbett. Black educators across Leicester City were treated to a range of activities to update, inform and celebrate the work that these educators had done during these unprecedented times. This was done in a COVID secure manner.

The Leicester City President gave an opening speech to start the occasion, then introduced the keynote speaker Malcolm Richards, a PhD student at the University of Exeter. Malcolm Richards is a former teacher, senior leader, and advisory teacher in UK schools. Mr Richards' research interests draw upon a wealth of influences including critical auto-ethnography, critical pedagogies, critical race theory, Black British studies, cultural studies, dialogic education, digital tools, and decolonizing educational relationships in teacher education. Mr Richards talked about the importance of embedding strong black networks within the union. He praised Leicester Black Educators and the impact that its members have made across the national stage. Finally, he spoke about the challenges for Black Educators post COVID, but he reminded us to stay connected.

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NEU Reps

3rd September

Are you remaining as rep this academic year? If not, please ensure that a new rep is elected so that we can continue to send local information to a person in your setting. Let us know who it is!

If you are the rep, please recruit new members. These could be support staff, NQTs, staff new to the school or those training on the job i.e. SCITT, Teach First. Also, please check that your membership lists are up to date where staff have moved on or joined your workplace.

Finally, thank you for all your help and support over the past twelve months. Being NEU rep is not always easy, but it is a vital part of how the union operates. The grassroots membership and reps are the life blood of the union.

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