28th August

At the start of the school year

At the start of the school year every teacher should receive the following documents from their school:

Your salary statement — this should state where you are on the main salary this should state where you are on the main salaryscale, where you are on UPS, the value of any TLRs you may hold and your overall salary. If you don't receive incremental progression up the main pay scale or upper pay spine, we strongly urge you to appeal. A local officer or your school NEU rep can support you in this.

[...full article]

28th August

Sixth Form Colleges

The NEU's formal ballot of teacher and support staff members in the sixth form colleges sector opened on 10th June. The ballot is for discontinuous strike action during the autumn and spring terms, as part of a dispute with the Secretary of State on pay, conditions and employment. It is being held in parallel to the union's campaign on sixth form college funding. The ballot will close in September.

Sixth Form College Members - Sixth Form College Members - Vote Yes in the ballot!

28th August

2019 Black Educators' Conference

Date: 15th to 17th November 2019
Venue: Mercure Manchester Hotel

This year, one of the largest conferences celebrating Black educational staff will be in Manchester, where the legacy of Black Trade Unionism is rich, varied and long.

This conference offers the unique opportunity to engage and network with other Black members. There will be a series of workshops, stalls, and plenaries which will focus on topics pertaining to Black liberation and self-organisation. The Black Educators' Conference is empowered to submit one motion, selected by majority vote, to NEU Annual Conference. Districts, branches and individual NEU members attending as delegates, and the National Executive can submit motions to the Black Teachers' Conference.

[...full article]

28th August

Support staff: do you know your rights?

Covering lessons

It seems quite common now for support staff to be asked to cover lessons. However, academy funding agreements stipulate that qualified teachers should be employed, and the 2003/2009 Workload Agreements stipulate that support staff should rarely cover. ALL schools MUST have a cover policy in place (WAMG note 22). The National Joint Council (NJC) national profiles recommend that, in a four-tier career structure, cover supervision is a level 3 activity. Specified work, however, is a level 4 (HLTA) activity. There is significant evidence that in primary and special needs schools cover supervision quickly becomes specified work. It is appropriate, therefore, that support staff deployed to provide cover which involves specified work should be trained to HLTA/ level 4 and their pay and grading should reflect this.

[...full article]

28th August

Are you making the most of your membership benefits?

Belonging to the NEU is not just a way to get involved in campaigning and affecting change in education. Neither is it just an insurance policy when things go wrong. The union is run by members, for members.

You can take part in local meetings and/or conferences, attend a wide range of training, and give or receive support at work. You'll receive a copy of the national magazine, Educate, and the local newsletter, City Educationalist, so you can keep in touch with local and national news and events. If you provide your email address, you'll get updates on training and campaigns. There are a host of other benefits too!

[...full article]

More news

• Indicative Ballot to Boycott Primary Assessment
• Anne Blair: Tributes
• Conference 2019: Camille named Officer of the Year
• Conference 2019: Pre-Conference Church Service
• Conference 2019: AGENDA
• Conference 2019: For the Global Good? Putting the Public Back in Education
• Annual Conference April 2019
• The TUC Black Workers Conference
• Conference 2019: Supporting the students on climate change
• NEU Indicative Ballot Starts on June 4th
• Conference 2019: NEU To Ballot Primary Members For Boycott Of Primary School Testing
• Agency Workers Regulations - some definitions
• Dealing with Assaults on Staff in School and College
• Training for school reps
• Education Uncovered Subscription
• The Leicester Schools Linking Project
• Strike Action at Wyggeston & Queen Elizabeth I College: Discussions
• Strike Action at Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth 1st College
• Pause for menopause: it's time we all talked about it
• Health & Safety Matters - Forty Education Workers Die Because of Work!

Meetings and events

DON'T FORGET that you can claim tax relief on your union subs.

We need your email address! If you would like to receive City Teacher and other information from Leicester NUT electronically, please let us have your up to date email address. This is especially important if you are a school rep.