STA Motions for NUT Conference

There are sixteen motions in this set (with a couple more to come) please make a selection for your association and let us know which ones you are putting – we need to try and get them all covered.

Please note that these motions have been subject to discussion and revision amongst various comrades and we would therefore request that you keep to the text of these and save any changes you may wish to make for the amendment stage.

The motions are:1. Organising for Equality2. Racism and Migration3. Ofsted4. Prevent5. Workload6. Fair Pay for teachers7. Housing8.Climate Change9. Supply Teachers10. Children’s Mental Health11. SEND reforms12. Staffing structures in secondary schools13. Local officers and a lay-led union14. INSET15. Sixth form funding16. Campaigning for Education

1. Organising for equalityConference notes:

i) the steps taken by the Union in recent years to address issues of equality within the Union, within education and within society as a whole;

ii) the range of curriculum materials the Union has produced with others to address equality issues including Stereotypes Stop You Doing Stuff, Refugee Resources, Show Racism the Red Card and materials for Black, LGBT and Disability History months;

iii) the appointment of a National Organiser with responsibility for equalities, whose role builds on the work already being done by the Education and Equalities department;

iv) the establishment of a number of local, self-organised, networks for members of various equality groups;

v) that the Union is developing a Strategic Plan for its equality work.

Conference believes that:

a) recent changes in government education policy can be shown to have had a discriminatory effect on particular groups of teachers and young people;

b) more can, and must, be done by the Union at all levels to address issues of inequality;

c) seeking to involve members from the equality strands in the union's campaigning and organising work is a vital part of revitalising the Union so that it is seen to be representative of the membership;

d) local or regional equality networks are drawing new people into Union activity;

e) campaigning around issues of discrimination arising from policies and their implementation is not only important in and of itself but can be a good way for the Union to recruit and involve members.

Conference instructs the Executive to:

i) make local associations aware of the equality plan developed by the Executive;

ii) take steps to improve the Union’s equality data and encourage local associations to promote the “self-amend” facility to members;

iii) encourage local associations to:

a) develop local equality plans and make sure this is given time at local committee and association meetings;

b) promote the Union’s curriculum resources at meetings and events as a way of addressing equality issues for children;

c) explore the possibility of establishing local networks for members of the various equality groups;

d) identify equality issues around which to campaign - such as maternity leave, pay progression and part-time working.

2. Racism and MigrationConference notes:

1. That war, poverty and political repression continue to push people across the world into leaving their homes and migrating, often under difficult, degrading and dangerous conditions that in many cases have led to their deaths.

2. That migrants continue to make a huge economic, political and social contribution to this country, and that many public services and businesses would face severe difficulties without their contribution.

3. The unhelpful distinction made by the mainstream media and politicians between ‘refugees’ and ‘economic migrants’.

Conference condemns:1. The wave of racist stereotyping that has characterised much media coverage of

migrants, as well as the response of some mainstream politicians including the Prime Minister to the their plight,

2. The campaigning of the UK Independence party against migrants and refugees3. The UK government’s inadequate response to the situation of migrants, and its failure to

offer a refuge to more than a minute fraction of those suffering.

Conference applauds:1. The support given to collections, aid convoys and other aid by many schools, teachers

and the general public, following the horrific scenes in the Mediterranean, central Europe and Calais

2. The Union’s support for these initiatives, and the publication of relevant teaching materials and ideas on the NUT website

3. The stance of some politicians, such as the leader of the Labour Party, in calling for and end to scapegoating and for welcoming refugees and migrants to this country

Conference agrees to:1. Continue to gather and collate teaching materials on migrants and refugees, and to

publicise these to members

2. work with anti-racist organisations such as Stand Up To Racism and Fascism, Unite Against Fascism, Hope not Hate and others to defend migrants and refuges, and to campaign for policies that welcome them to this country.

3. encourage local associations and divisions to work with members to support local anti-racist groups, and to support work within schools on these issues.

3. OfstedConference notes:

1. Existing policy calling for the abolition of Ofsted and its replacement with a proper system of accountability based on self-evaluation of schools and trusting teachers.

2. The detailed proposals for such a system that the NBUT has published, most recently the 2008 Evaluation, Inspection and Support, a System that works report.

3. That highly achieving education systems such as Finland have systems of accountability much more in line with those proposals rather than the current Ofsted driven, league table obsessed regime we suffer from.

4. That the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader has opened a greater space for a new debate on long overdue change in national education policy.

Conference believes that Ofsted is a political tool, used increasingly to drive a narrow and reactionary vision of education, that it has no place in any proper system of school accountability and should be immediately scrapped.

Conference instructs the executive to seek urgent meetings with the leadership of the Labour Party and its education spokesperson, to press them to join us in the fight for a proper system of school accountability and to commit to any incoming Labour government scrapping Ofsted as part of a move towards such a new system.

4. Prevent StrategyConference notes:

i) that there exist long established and robust safeguarding procedures in schools to identify and protect vulnerable children or children at risk from harm.

ii) that the Counter Terrorism and Security Act places a statutory duty on schools, colleges and local authorities to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being “drawn into terrorism”;

iii) that Prevent training is being carried out in schools and colleges by a range of organisations including local Police Authorities as well as an unregulated range of NGOs and private training companies so as a consequence this training has been very varied in content and practice;

iv) that there have been a number of high profile cases where young people have been wrongly referred to the police for comments made during class discussions;

v) that this strategy is being implemented against a background of increased attacks on the Muslim community and risks being used to target young Muslim people;

vi) the conclusion by David Anderson QC, Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, that, "If the wrong decisions are taken, the new law risks provoking a backlash in affected communities, hardening perceptions of an illiberal or Islamophobic approach, alienating those whose integration into British society is

already fragile, and playing into the hands of those who, by peddling a grievance agenda, seek to drive people further towards extremism and terrorism."

vii) that the extension of the inspection framework has given Ofsted power to make judgements about whether the curriculum actively promotes the ‘’fundamental British values’’ of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

Conference believes:a) that the statutory duty placed on schools, colleges and local authorities sits

alongside a responsibility to ensure a safe space for children young people to explore their relationship with the world around them;

b) that a key role of teachers and schools is to develop critical thinking skills in children and young people and that teachers should feel able to embraceopportunities to promote such developments within the classroom situation;

c) that discussion in schools should take place in a spirit of openness and trust, with young people feeling safe in expressing challenge to ideas;

d) that there is evidence that some of the expectations driven by the Prevent agenda and Ministerial speeches is undermining the confidence of teachers and students to explore and discuss global issues;

e) that the recommendation in the Bullock Report (1976), “No child should be expected to cast off the language and culture of home as he (or she) crosses the school threshold” is as true today as it was in 1976;

f) that no student or pupil should fear that the expression of opinion or exploration of ideas within the boundaries of the school’s equality and diversity policy and codes on harassment or abuse, will incur suspicion, reporting or sanction.

g) that the meaning of “Fundamental British Values” is unclear and contestable and should be replaced with the principles of international human rights, and the values and goals enshrined in the UN convention on the rights of the child.

h) that there is a danger that implementation of Prevent could worsenrelationships between teachers and learners, close down space for open discussion in a safe and secure environment and smother the legitimate expression of political opinion.

Conference instructs the Executive to:

a) work with other teacher unions, the UCU, NUS, civil liberties groups, faith groups and others to:

i) call on the government to withdraw the Prevent strategy in regard to schools and colleges and to involve the profession in developing alternative strategies to safeguard children and identify risks posed to young people.

ii) campaign for recognition of the principle that schools and colleges should ensure a safe space for children and young people to explore their relationship with the world around them;

iii) draw up guidelines for schools and colleges to address values, community cohesion and the advance of human rights through education.

b) Issue further advice to members about Prevent and to support members and associations who raise concerns about the implementation or training where they believe this has:

a. breached equality rights and principles b. encouraged the racial profiling of studentsc. encouraged the targetting or victimisation of students for reason of faith,

culture or legitimate political expression;

c) encourage and support members and workplace representatives to monitor how Prevent is being implemented in their school/ college and to take collective steps to challenge and improve policies and reporting/curriculum practices where necessary;

d) work with classroom teachers to develop resources for teachers on teaching about difficult or controversial issues and consider providing CPD on this;

e) continue to inform members about the Union’s position on Prevent through union publications and via the website.

5. Workload, Teacher Shortage, FundingConference believes:

1. That workload for teachers is intolerable and getting worse.2. That the government’s Workload Challenge has done nothing to improve the situation.3. That a series of factors are now coming together which will push teacher workload even

higher, as fewer teachers, more students and less funding combine to create a “prefect storm” on workload. The key factors include:(i) the growing teacher shortage – fuelled by the double whammy of record numbers

of teaching leaving, driven out by excessive workload and stress, and lower numbers training to be teachers.

(ii) Rising student numbers (by another 615,000 under 16 school students in the next five years)

(iii) Reduced funding – as the government’s intention to protect the cash per student does not allow for inflation, and amounts to a real terms cut of up to 10% in education funding over the coming years.

4. That all these factors will drive up class sizes, reduce the numbers of support staff, cut resources and will inevitable increase workload.

5. That this is an intolerable prospect when a majority of teachers are already saying they are thinking of quitting, and over 60 percent of those cite workload as the key reason.

6. That the union should continue to give full support, up to and including sustained strike action, to schools which seek to win local improvements on workload – using, for example, the Ofsted letters of clarification on marking, or the Annexe C of the government’s Workload Challenge report, to press for improvements.

7. That such local successes, vital as they are, cannot turn back the tide on workload, nor the worse that is yet to come.

8. That we should campaign vigorously using all means at our disposal to warn that unless the workload crisis is addressed education in Britain will face a crisis in the years ahead.

9. That more teachers, lower class sizes, less contact time, more time for collaborative planning should be the cornerstones of any serious drive to cut teacher workload – along with a change to the dismal league table, Ofsted policed, misnamed accountability regime which currently blights teaching and learning in schools.

10.That this requires increased real terms funding for education.

Conference instructs the executive to:

a) seek out allies to build such a national campaign on these themes – one which puts teachers and our workload as a core part of the fight for a decent education system for all;

b) That we should seek to organise, with unions and organisations if possible, a national demonstration around the crisis in education as soon as practical;

c) build a campaign to persuade members that national strike action will be necessary to bring about changes in the intolerable working conditions, and lack of work-life balance, created by current government policies.

6. Fair pay for individual teachers and for the whole teaching profession

Conference recognises the irrefutable evidence that the present Government’s treatment of teachers’ pay has enormously damaged the morale of the profession and is causing an intensifying recruitment and retention crisis.

Conference recognises that:

A. All teachers have suffered a real terms decline in the value of their take-home pay of approaching 20% at any particular point on the pay scale since the beginning of the Coalition Government, as a result of pay freezes and increased pension contributions.

B. In addition, employers are now being encouraged to treat the lower end of the Main Scale, rather than the top of the Upper Pay Spine, as the normal salary for an un-promoted teacher, with the Government seeking to give employers the right to bully teachers into giving up their entitlement to be paid on the Upper Pay Range.

C. Some Schools have also used the new opportunity they have been given to end any proper and transparent system of pay points and levels, and are holding increasing numbers of teachers back at salaries well below those that all teachers could previously expect to achieve. Real terms cuts to school budgets are accelerating this trend.

D. Meanwhile housing costs accelerate at a rate whereby it is unaffordable for teachers to rent, let alone buy, a house in growing areas of the country.

E. As a consequence, teaching is ceasing to be an occupation that will meet the aspirations of a well-qualified graduate.

Conference believes that there has to be a new start for teachers’ pay. It therefore instructs the Executive to seek from the Government:

1. An end to the pay freeze and a plan to restore, over a fixed period of time, the real value of all teachers’ salaries;

2. The restoration of mandatory pay scales and responsibility payments for all teachers whose employment is publicly funded, including those in academies, free schools and sixth form colleges;

3. The restoration of national pay bargaining;

4. An end to the current system of so-called “performance related pay” that has been so arbitrary and so destructive of teacher morale; and

5. A combination of a living wage and affordable housing that will allow teachers to live in London and the fringe areas, this proposal arising from Union consultation with members in these areas.

Conference further instructs the Executive that in addition to putting these proposals to the Government and the School Teachers Review Body it should:

i. Seek support for them from all other parties representing England and Wales in Parliament and report to our members on their responses;

ii. Involve our members in a campaign to convince the general public that our pay demand is reasonable;

iii. If no progress is made in talks with the Government on agreeing and implementing these proposals, campaign for and, when there is the necessary support, ballot for a national campaign of strike and non-strike action, seeking the involvement of other teaching unions and non-teaching unions as appropriate,;

iv. target employers, whether they be local authorities, academy chains or individual schools, who produce unreasonable or unfair pay policies or use their policies in unreasonable and unfair ways, including naming and shaming them where necessary

v. Give full backing, up to and including strike action, to members where individual employers or schools operate unacceptable pay policies that do not meet the requirements of the NUT checklist; and

vi. Continue through our Stand Up For Education and other campaigns to emphasise the negative consequences for the education of children of restrictive and divisive pay policies

7. Housing crisisConference notes:

1. That there is a national housing crisis with house prices now averaging 6.5 times average annual wages.

2. That in many cities the ratio is far higher than this, and in London house prices are around 13 times the average wage.

3. That many young teachers have therefore been forced into private rented accommodation.

4. That rents have for many years been rising above the level of inflation, so that many of our members are unable to afford or even aspire to a family home.

5. That many young teachers will be spending as much as 50% of their disposable income on housing costs.

6. That the situation facing many of the children we teach is far more serious. For instance in London it is estimated that as many as 1 in 25 children now live in temporary accommodation, with many more facing overcrowding, poor living conditions and poverty as a result of the housing crisis.

7. That the policies of the current Government, including extending the right to buy and encouraging the sale of government land to private developers, have worsened the situation.

Conference believes:1. That the emergence of campaigns around housing is a welcome and overdue

development.2. That there is a growing recognition in the trade union movement that this is something

that impacts greatly our members and that we should be involved in.3. That TUC policy which calls for more council housing, rent controls and greater landlord

regulation deserves our active support.

4. That the crisis is caused by the withdrawal of government intervention and that a reliance on building private housing that most cannot afford will not improve the situation.

5. That in parts of the country the housing crisis is exacerbating an already serious situation with regard to teacher shortages.

6. That if the government does not take political action on rent controls, this must inevitably contribute to a drive by our union and others to push for industrial action on pay.

Conference instructs the executive:1. To encourage local associations and divisions to work alongside housing campaigns in

their area and to offer the support and resources of the union.2. To work alongside and support campaigns such as Generation Rent, Defend Council

Housing, the March for Homes and the People’s Assembly in their work around housing issues.

3. To publicise the impact of the crisis in housing on teacher supply, and hence on the quality of education

4. To support the work of the London Teachers’ Housing campaign and encourage similar developments in other parts of the country.

8. Climate ChangeThe National Union of Teachers recognises the following

1. Keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees C or below is essential if human civilisation is to be sustained and there is to be a future for our children.

2. Doing so requires sharp cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions on a very rapid timescale.

3. This requires 75-80% of known fossil fuel reserves to be left in the ground.

4. The technology exists to make a transition to a sustainable carbon neutral society with gains in living standards for the majority of humanity at an annual cost little greater than the current cost of annual fossil fuel subsidies, but this is incompatible with high levels of inequality and a society based on aspiration for luxurious lifestyles.

5. That growth will have to be primarily in those areas of the economy that enable this transition to take place.

6. The world’s wealthiest countries will have to make cuts in emissions of 8-10% a year (on top of those made by exporting manufacturing and related pollution to China and other countries).

7. Governments will have to put our economies on a war footing and take charge of necessary investment in sustainable energy, transport and urban planning because the private sector is not doing what is necessary.

8. This will not happen while the needs of our planet and our civilisation are held to ransom by the short-term profitability of the fossil fuel industries.

9. This has profound implications for the structure and content of our education system, both in terms of content and values.

Conference instructs the executive to call for:1. A national plan for the most rapid possible transition to a carbon zero economy, including

an immediate reversal of the current governments withdrawal of support from wind and solar energy.

2. The most rapid possible retrofitting of all school buildings to make them as carbon neutral as possible (as part of a concerted plan for all publically owned buildings).

3. An end to restrictions on solar panels by heritage considerations.

4. A re-examination of the curriculum to put sustainability and the values of a sustainable society at the heart of it.

5. An immediate abandonment on fracking domestically and an embargo on the import of any fracked gas or tar sand oil from any other country.

6. The most rapid possible transfer of fossil fuel subsidies to sustainable energy generation and the phase out of coal power without CCS by 2023.

7. The most rapid possible socialisation of power generation.

Conference further instructs the executive to:1. Negotiate with DFE on a new curriculum and seek support from other education unions.

2. Convene a working party of all interested teachers to work with relevant campaigns, like FOE, Greenpeace, Campaign against Climate Change, to find all the aspects of the current curriculum that can be developed to draw out a sustainable content and to examine those areas or values that need to be challenged and changed and produce model alternatives; making 2016-17 the year of the Green Curriculum.

3. Work with these campaigns on developing termly themes that link educational content with active citizenship and encourage our members to push them in schools.

4. Encourage union bodies at all levels to support national and local demonstrations and campaigns against fracking and climate change, negotiate with local authorities to make our schools carbon neutral solar power stations and press governing bodies to adopt a green school plan of action.

5. Take this issue up with other unions through the TUC, our international counterparts bilaterally and through Education international, supporting initiatives like the German TUCs Marshal plan for Europe.

6. Affiliate to the campaign against climate change (constitution appended).

9. Supply TeachersConference reaffirms its support for the continuation of the NUT Teachers Supply Network

Conference notes:1. That supply teachers are on the receiving end of relentless poor publicity and negative

judgement from the national media.2. That the majority of supply teachers are employed by private agencies and are paid well

below the Teachers' Pay Scale and are not allowed into the Teachers' Pension Scheme.3. That supply teachers are increasingly employed on long term contracts with no access to

sick pay, maternity pay, holiday pay, and subject to dismissal without notice. Constituting a hidden privatised layer of teachers in our schools

4. That supply teachers have less chance of being employed full time due to prohibitive agency transfer fees. These exorbitant ‘finders’ or introduction fees are charged by agencies, amounting to four or five figures, create a barrier to finding permanent or long-term employment.

5. That agency staff are often required to pay for CPD themselves out of their already unacceptably low pay.

6. That many NQTs work for up to five years as a supply teacher. If they are unable to find a post suitable for induction, they are forced to leave the teaching profession.

7. That there is confusion in some local authorities over the eligibility of agency supply teachers to undertake NQT induction on a long-term cover assignment.

8. The change in agency worker regulations that allow agency workers to break strikes9. The lobby of teacher supply agencies organised on Oct 26 by the Teacher Supply

Network and the NUT.

Conference believes:1. That the NUT should campaign with local governments to establish a central supply

register, publicly accountable, non-profit making, paying to scale, accessing TPS so that schools can hire supply teachers directly based on the Northern Ireland model.

2. This should be a key campaign for the NUT.3. That divisions and local associations should elect a supply teacher representative.

Conference instructs the executive to:

1. Campaign for a central supply register2. Support members in organising further action around supply such as national and

local lobbies of supply agencies.3. Ensure the NUT provides regular training for supply reps and activists4. Organise an annual weekend event at Stoke Rochford for supply reps in addition to

the Supply Teachers' Conference.5. Collect, monitor and analyse statistics relating to the number of NQTs registered as

supply teachers who leave the profession.6. Campaign against the excessive introduction fees charged by agencies.7. Seek clarification at a national level over the position, and entitlement to induction,

of supply NQTs employed on long-term cover through agencies.8. Offer training to caseworkers and supply teacher officers/reps in supporting NQTs

working as supply teachers.9. Encourage local associations to make contact with newly qualified supply teachers

to evaluate what support they may need.10.Offer and promote training to support NQTs who are working as supply teachers.

10. Children and Young People’s Mental HealthConference is alarmed at the rise in numbers of children and young people who have mental health difficulties.

Conference notes that Childline reported the number of young people in Britain seeking counselling due to exam related stress has increased by 200% in the last year. They reported that they have been contacted by over 34,000 CYP who were stressed and worried about exams and there were more that 87,500 visits to their website over the same issue. The NUT Exam factory research found that the accountability measures that schools are implementing are having a negative impact on the mental health of our CYP. That the WHO reported that last year there had been a 3 fold increase in the number of teenagers who self-harm in the last decade.

Conference further notes early intervention and treatment could prevent some children and young people developing long-term mental health difficulties. However, huge underfunding of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), means that many children and young people wait months before seeing a practitioner.

Conference is appalled that the House of Commons Health Committee reported in 2014 that NHS England did not know how many inpatient beds were needed for children and young

people; over 200 children and young people with mental health difficulties are treated on adult wards every year. Furthermore over 200 children and young people with mental health difficulties are detained in police cells annually.

Conference welcomes the report of the Chief Medical Officer, in 2013, which highlights the strong links between mental health problems and social disadvantage. Conference is extremely concerned that the same report stated that children and young people in the poorest households are three times more likely to have mental health problems than those growing up in better-off homes.

However, Conference notes that continued austerity policies will result in more children and young people living in poverty, which increases the risk of them experiencing mental health difficulties.

Conference also notes that the Government intends to devolve NHS services from national to local government. It is not clear what impact this will have on CAMHS funding and provision. Since 2010, national spending on CAMHS has been cut by over 6% and over 60% local authorities and cut their CAMHS budget.

Conference instructs the Executive to:1) Launch a campaign highlighting the cuts to CAMHS since 2010 and the impact on young

people2) Promote Mental Health Awareness week in schools and colleges3) Encourage all schools and colleges to adopt “mindfulness” policies4) Continue to oppose all spending cuts, which impact negatively on young people and their

families5) Develop a clear position and strategy of responding to the devolution of health services

from central to local government6) Campaign to end the constant testing regime that is leading to the deterioration of the

mental health of many CYP

11. SEND ReformsConference notes that the number of students who have Special Educational Needs has decreased by nearly 6% since 2010. Conference further notes that nearly half this decrease has occurred since the SEN reforms of September 2014.

Conference is concerned that, since the introduction of the new Code of Practice in 2014, many students, who were previously considered to have SEND, are being denied access to additional funding and specialist teaching. Conference also condemns the cuts to public services which have resulted in many local authorities abolishing specialist SEND support teacher posts. Conference believes the fragmentation of the education system, through the increase in academies and free schools, has made it virtually impossible for local authorities to plan, deliver and review the provision needed for students with SEND.

Conference is also alarmed that classroom teachers now have greater responsibilities in meeting the needs of students with SEND, but they have received no additional resources or training. Conference believes that this has increased teacher workload and reduced the number of support staff posts in schools.

Furthermore, Conference believes the incessant push, by the Government, to “raise standards” is having a detrimental effect on students with SEND, who are falling further behind their peers. Conference is particularly alarmed that students who fail to gain a grade C or higher in English

and Maths GCSE are required to resit it until they are 18 years old. Conference believes that education should be enjoyable, relevant and useful.

Conference believes that the Government’s agenda of accountability and standards is at odds with a democratic and inclusive education system. The SEND reforms were not undertaken with students’ needs in mind; they are merely a cover for further funding cuts to the most vulnerable in our society. Conference believes that all students, including those with SEND, deserve to have a broad and balanced curriculum, which embraces their abilities and allows them to develop at their own pace.

Conference instructs the Executive to:

1) Work with other trade unions to stop further job losses in central services and to school support staff, including taking strike action2) Lobby the Government to restore spending on services for students with SEND to pre-austerity levels3) Demand that all trainee teachers, including those on school-based training, such as Teach First or School Direct, receive comprehensive training on SEND as part of their course4) Campaign against mandatory English and Maths GCSE retakes5) Work with other interested organisations to design an alternative, meaningful inclusive curriculum, which celebrates achievements of students with SEND6) Campaign to end the constant testing regime that causes many students with SEND to feel marginalised and failed

12. Secondary School staffing structures

Conference notes that the traditional hierarchy in secondary schools is to have teachers line managed by a ‘Head of Department’, in turn line managed by Assistant Headteachers, line managed by Deputy Heads, with the Headteacher (or Principal) at the top.

Whilst this could - in theory - work effectively, Conference believes - based on our experience doing casework in schools - that this model is frequently responsible for a higher workload for teachers.   In most cases, it is the fact that Assistant Headteachers are delegated by their Headteachers to roll out a series of initiatives.  This is done through line management, at middle management level and through INSET.  Whilst these initiatives may be on the school improvement plan they aren’t always the priorities of teaching staff, who should have personal development goals established through a fair appraisal process. Thus those enforcing the school priorities are accountable to the headteachers and yet expecting teachers to deliver for them.

Conference believes that the priorities of a school should be set by the teaching staff and that the CPD programme for a school should be determined by the needs of the Teachers.  Conference believes that too often schools have larger management teams than are necessary for this aim and that there is probably a direct correlation between the size of a school’s leadership team and the workload of teachers.

Conference supports the development of middle leaders and recognises that there needs to be an appropriate route of progression in schools and suitable opportunities for promotion for successful and ambitious middle managers, but doubts that a current structure as outlined above is beneficial overall to the profession.

Conference moves that:

1. The Union researches models of school staffing structures in other countries; and seeks the views of teachers in the UK;

2. The Union publishes the results of this research, including in the Teacher;3. The Union, in conjunction with other teaching Unions, draws up guidance on how school

staffing structures can best support teachers.

13. Local officers and a lay-led UnionConference reaffirms its belief that vibrant local associations, led by locally elected officers and committee members, are the bedrock of the Union.

Conference welcomes the fact that the NUT continues to develop an organising strategy that is centred on both building union capacity and addressing issues of concern to members in schools and the communities they serve.

Conference commends those associations making strides in building union capacity to address the issues confronting teachers and children.

Conference condemns this Government’s attack on Trade Unions including the attack on facility time. We call on any incoming Labour Government to reverse these attacks and promote positive trade union rights.

Conference notes that despite the Government attacks, the legal basis of facility time remains - an elected union representative is entitled to reasonable time off from their employer to represent members - and it is still permissible to consolidate that time locally or otherwise across several employers.

Whilst welcoming the present focus on protecting facility time, finding and training school reps and supporting locally elected lay officers, Conference believes that more can and should be done.

Conference welcomes the union’s healthy membership figures despite the new difficulties in recruiting new teachers posed by the retreat of traditional routes into teaching and the rise of School Direct. Conference further welcomes the fact that the has one of the youngest membership age profiles amongst TUC affiliated unions, and calls for renewed efforts to recruit and train younger and more diverse reps and officers as part of a general strategy of renewal and succession planning.

Conference welcomes the casework survey carried out by the Union following Conference 2015, the results of which were presented to division secretaries in October. Conference further welcomes the work carried out by the Union to support the casework function of the union such as establishing guidance for caseworkers, self-help materials and explanatory notes about casework for members.

Conference instructs the executive to:

1. Continue to develop an organising strategy that builds union capacity and addresses issues of importance to members.

2. Ensure that local, democratic structures are central to NUT activity and renewal.

3. Ensure that all relevant staff in the regions/Wales and Headquarters work with locally elected officers to ensure that:

a. Buy Back mechanisms are established where they currently do not exist

b. School Forums are lobbied to ‘de-delegate’ funding

c. Academies contribute to local facility arrangements

d. All members, and head teachers, understand how facility time works and why it is important

e. The Union encourages and supports sustained strike action to force schools to contribute to local facility time arrangements – such as the action witnessed in Haringey last year.

4. Encourage, help and support associations in exerting pressure on local politicians around both educational issues and trade union rights

5. Encourage, help and support associations in, wherever possible, identifying and building alliances around issues of central concern to the union.

6. Develop further ways of supporting associations manage their casework through training and on-line advice, and a campaign to identify more caseworkers.

7. Consider ways in which more young teachers can be brought into local activity.

8. Consider ways in which retired teachers can support associations and receive training casework handling; school visits and general campaigning and organising.

14. INSETConference believes that teachers need regular, high-quality CPD to enhance their skills, pedagogy and subject knowledge. Conference notes that 5 days every year (in Schools on STPCD) are supposed to be dedicated to whole staff INSET.

Conference believes that these days are frequently re-purposed by management largely as information-giving exercises. On the rare occasion that INSET days are used to deliver whole school training, it is usually an opportunity for the school management to ‘tick off’ something from their school improvement plan rather than being a need of the teachers.

There is a lot to be gained from collaboration across schools and in the past this is something that Local Authorities have been able to deliver, using school INSET days. With Academisation and funding cuts to Central Services, this avenue to CPD has also diminished.

Conference believes that many teachers are being denied the opportunity for external training, with schools citing budgetary reasons and claiming that INSET is delivered in house. The result of this is that:

a. teachers are not getting the specific training they need, and b. teacher workload is substantially increased by management as a result of whole school INSET

and the further erosion this causes of the limited non-contact time teachers have.

Conference instructs the executive to:1) carry out a survey of teachers – including those who work in Academies & Free Schools - to

determine how INSET days are used in their school and how much external INSET teachers attend,

2) seek, in conjunction with other willing Unions, to publicise our view on INSET, specifically referencing the lack of professional development in the profession and the increase in workload as a result, and promotes this view in discussions with the Government and school providers.

15. Sixth Form Colleges Conference is alarmed by a report from the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) that says that government funding cuts will mean that as many as 4 out of 10 Sixth Form Colleges (SFCs) may cease to be financially viable within five years.

Conference understands that SFCs have been subjected to budget cuts of around 25% since 2010, Further cuts of around 10% are expected to be announced this year.

Conference recognises that the impact of these funding cuts in the SFC sector has been extremely deleterious, with respect to both educational provision to students and members’ workload. For example, the large majority of A-level students are now only studying 3 subjects in their first year, rather than four, which narrows the breadth of their education as well as leading to job losses. As a result of these cuts, many SFCs are struggling to maintain financial viability.

Conference is alarmed that the DfE and BIS are carrying out a programme of “area-based reviews” of post-16 provision that will focus on Further Education (FE) and SFCs. The aims of the reviews include moving towards “fewer, often larger, more resilient and efficient providers.” The obvious threat is that this will increase the pressure on FE and sixth form colleges towards merger. This will result in fewer SFCs and worse conditions of service for SFC members. This will also result in worse provision for students; FE colleges and SFCs serve different needs. These reviews are intended to cover every area of the country by March 2016.

Conference is concerned that the process has the aim of levelling pay and conditions downwards and is driven by a desire to cut costs rather than improve the quality of education. FE colleges have already been subjected to a succession of cuts and a worsening of pay and conditions. Furthermore, school sixth forms, academies, University Technical Colleges (UTCs) and ‘free’ SFCs are not included in these reviews.Conference is very concerned that the reviews threaten the future of many SFCs. They come in the context of the huge cuts to 16-19 education and the clear danger is that they are a money saving exercise to cover up the damage done already to 16-19 education.

Therefore, Conference instructs the Executive to:

a. Continue its campaign of opposition to funding cuts to SFCs;b. Make its campaign of opposition to the threat of area-based reviews a strategic priority;c. Spare no effort in publicising widely the negative impact on students’ education of the area

based Reviews;d. Consult meaningfully with members in SFCs about national action, up to an including strike

action, to campaign against the threat to the SFC sector posed by area-based reviews;e. Support NUT and UCU members, up to sustained strike action, in colleges in which pay and

conditions are adversely affected by the outcomes of area-based reviews or in which current pay and conditions are not sustained;;

f. Send messages of support to support staff experiencing job losses and changes to their terms and conditions.

g. Work with NUS, NAS, ATL, UCU and UNISON to highlight the crisis in the SFC sector.

16. Campaigning for Education

Conference notes:

1. The election of Jeremy Corybn, who is fully committed to comprehensive, democratic and progressive education, as leader of the Labour Party.

2. Lucy Powell’s statements, signalling a change in direction in Labour Party policy on education.

3. That these developments come at a time when the key issues in education are set to be dominated by austerity, not just privatisation. Our children face years of austerity with deep cuts in education and other aspects of the welfare state.

4. That the shortage of school places – more than 11,000 new primary schools are needed by 2024 – and the looming shortage of teachers will have a massive impact on education in the next four years

5. that here is a new movement of people – of hundreds of thousands of people – and 10,000s of teachers who have broken from neo-liberal consensus and will be looking for alternative ideas on education.

Conference believes that:1 Jeremy Corbyn was elected as Labour leader due to the impact of the anti-austerity

social movements and that something fundamental has changed in British politics

2. It is essential that our education campaigning work is focused on how to support and win this new movement to our vision of education.

3. Whilst many of those who supported Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign will be clear in their anti-austerity politics, their anti-war commitment and their commitment to the NHS, we cannot take for granted that they will have a clearly thought out perspective on education.

4. That Labour’s education policy since 1997 has permanently scarred the education landscape, muddying the waters on not only the aims of education but on the best ways of educating our children.

5. Lucy Powell’s announcement signalling a change of direction is a welcome step in the right direction but that the detail of Labour education policy needs more elaboration.

6. There are at least four more years of Tory attacks to come and that there can be no question of waiting around to let the Tories dismantle even more of the state system.

7. That Jeremy Corbyn’s call for a National Education Service is worth exploring and has potential to provide a positive alternative to the GERM (the Global Education Reform Movement) ideology.

Conference resolves to1. Support continuing efforts to create a new national education campaign with parents; the

new social movements; groups within Labour - such as Momentum, Compass and the SEA; other political parties such as the Greens and education campaigns such as AAA, CASE, LSN and other education campaigns that share a commitment to the ideas of comprehensive, progressive and democratic education.

2. work with the Labour front bench to call a National Convention on Education at the earliest opportunity inviting other unions, education campaigns and parents to help develop a coherent plan for education

3. focus efforts on promoting education issues in the London and other mayoral elections

4. Develop a programme of campaigning activities across the country