As it will already be November when you are reading this, the new Performance Management system should be operational in all schools – the ‘deadline’ for change was 31st October. Unfortunately, this is not quite the case as many schools still seem not to have completed the process of negotiating the change from the old system to the new.

All members should have received a copy of The Performance Management advice booklet (pink) at home over the summer, so I will not expand again on the detail. If you didn’t receive a booklet, then your address may be wrong on the system – please see the article on membership.

Many schools may not have consulted because they feel ‘not much has changed’, but even if that is the case, the new system should still have been discussed with the NASUWT rep on behalf of members.

One of the biggest problems we are expecting is over the issue of ‘drop-ins’. We continue to believe that any observation, no matter for how long or for what purpose, should come under the agreed Classroom Observation Protocol. This has been operational in Derbyshire for just under 10 years now and has worked well. The basic requirement of the protocol is that the timing, purpose and focus of an observation is known and agreed in advance. Drop-ins clearly fall outside this agreement. As partners in RIG (the Rewards and Incentives Group) who have negotiated these conditions, we are currently discussing this situation with the Local Authority, who are also partners, but who at the moment appear to see things rather differently than us. We will keep you informed of progress.

In the meantime, if drop-ins, or any other aspect of the new Performance Management Regulations are causing major problems in your school, let your local secretary know and you will be advised on the best way to proceed.

An article normally included in this first term issue of The Banner is a warm welcome to all new members. It is vital that all members who have moved schools over the summer notify us of the change. To be represented by a school rep or local branch officer, we must be able to verify your membership on our database. If you are still registered as a member at your last school in Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby City or anywhere else outside the county, this causes problems and delays.

Please let us know as soon as possible therefore your new details. An e-mail to or a phone message left on 01629 585088 stating your name, membership number if you know it, old school, new school and anything else that may have changed, is all that is needed. We will see to the rest for you.

Alternatively, the new ‘live’ on-line membership system allows you to check your own details and amend them as necessary. You will need to know your membership number (this can be found on the mailing label of any NASUWT mailing to your home). Log on to the NASUWT home page – www.nasuwt.org.uk and go to the ‘members’ login’ area. On your first visit you will need to set up a password. Then just follow the links and you should be able to access and change your details – this will work wherever your previous school was, not just for Derbyshire.

Membership numbers seem to have stabilised across the county at just over 3300 following many years of growth. New members continue to join, but only at about the same rate as retirements. It is therefore vital that we continue to recruit. Remember, the most common reason given for joining is ‘someone asked me!’

For information to new members (and a reminder to everyone else), problems arising in school should, in the first instance, be taken up with the school rep. If the rep is unable to help, because the situation is too complex, then you will be referred to the local secretary for your branch – details are on the back page. If you work in one of the county-wide centrally attached services, then you should ring the County Secretary for advice, rather than the local branch secretary. Members can ring the regional centre (details in diary) directly for information only. If the regional centre believes the matter to be potential casework, they will automatically refer back to the local secretary anyway.

Please remember that most local officers have a teaching commitment for some of the week, and may already be in meetings representing members at times when they are not teaching. It may therefore be that you need to leave an answerphone message with appropriate details. You will always be contacted at the earliest convenient opportunity. Your help and understanding in these matters ultimately helps us to provide a better service to you.

Around 20 Derbyshire delegates attended the recent East Midlands Region NASUWT Conference. This was held on a Saturday in October at the Regional Centre, Nottingham, and was open to delegates from Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Northants, as well as Derbyshire. Thanks to those members who willingly gave up a Saturday to discuss policy issues.

In all, 13 motions were discussed during the day, 6 of which were submitted by Derbyshire branches, along with a further 5 from our colleagues in Derby City. The topics were wide-ranging but heavily focussed on conditions affecting members. The conference provides an invaluable opportunity for branches to try out motions in preparation for National Conference later in the year.

Motions from Derbyshire were successfully passed on such topics as: Cover – the delay in implementing national conference policy on reaching a position of zero cover; Duties of non-TLR teachers – particularly in relation to primary teachers being expected to be ‘curriculum coordinators for no additional pay; Suspension – the effects that child protection procedures can have on a teacher’s life if an allegation leads to suspension. In addition, motions were proposed and carried on items of internal NASUWT politics such as financing of local branches and consultation of branches in policy making. In all, about 12 Derbyshire delegates made speeches on the motions, providing useful training for national conference.

The Regional and National Conferences represent an opportunity for local branches to express their views to a wider audience and inform policy decision making. The views presented by local branches are arrived at from discussions in local meetings. If you feel you want to be a part of this process, look out for the notices of meetings which arrive in schools each term. All meetings are fairly informal, although there is an agenda to work to, and all are held in comfortable venues with good parking and usually include free food and drink.

Many schools decide to replace one or more of their INSET days with ‘twilight training’ for a variety of reasons. Most commonly this is to accommodate an unusual holiday pattern. To enable staff to have complete weeks (usually at either Christmas or Easter), the day is ‘disaggregated’ and worked as a number of shorter sessions at the end of a normal school day. Indeed, this approach is often ‘recommended’ on the Local Authorities’ published list of term dates.

However, this is only a recommendation. Whilst we have no objection to the principle, it must be done by agreement and not by imposition. As it represents a change to the published working pattern for the year, any change should be reached by agreement with the union rep acting on behalf of all members. Most staff are often happy with the proposal to change – much preferring the day off elsewhere – but it must be taken into consideration that the change can cause severe problems for some staff. Issues relating to child care are the most obvious problems. It is for the school management to try to reach a solution acceptable to all through the proper channels of negotiation. It also needs to be remembered that staff change regularly. An agreement that suited one group of staff a number of years ago may no longer be valid for the current members.

There is an alternative. The Pay & Conditions book states that teachers should be available to work for 195 days, of which 190 shall be pupil days. It has become accepted therefore that the other 5 are INSET days. The place of work however is at the direction of the Head. It is therefore possible for the Head to direct staff to ‘work at home’ on one or more of the 5 days rather than seeking to add on an extra 2 (or in some case 3) hour session on to the end of an already demanding day. It’s something to consider!

In the June issue, I wrote an article asking reps to monitor temperatures in rooms throughout the summer as we were getting many reports of rooms being completely unsuitable for working in. If anyone managed to log a temperature over 20C this summer they were doing well! For many of us water was more of an issue!

Nevertheless, temperature in classrooms is an issue which should be monitored and taken up via the Health & Safety rep if it becomes a major issue. Unfortunately there is still no hard and fast rule on min or max temperatures, but conditions must be reasonable and suitable for the work being carried out at both ends of the scale.

Suffering in poorly heated and poorly ventilated rooms is bad for everyone’s health – teachers and pupils – and should be addressed properly.

The prime reason for the existence of Trade Unions is to seek to protect conditions of service of members through either individual casework or collective action. Occasionally it becomes necessary for members in a school to undertake collective action in order to protect their conditions. Such a step is never taken lightly.

Members at Glossopdale Community College in the Peak District are currently involved in such action. The Local Authority felt it necessary to intervene in the summer and remove delegated financial powers from the governors. In order to attempt to bring the budget under control, the Authority then embarked on a process of savage compulsory redundancies affecting many of our members. The members who weren’t directly affected in terms of losing jobs then found themselves having significant increases in workload. Bravely, the members at the school asked to be balloted and responded significantly that they were prepared to undertake industrial action, both short of and including strike action, in order to preserve livelihoods and working conditions.

Their resolution has already had an impact in that the proposed compulsory redundancies have been postponed in the hope that a better resolution can be found. Once again, it has been demonstrated that firm collective action by NASUWT members can have a significant effect.

The battle is not yet over and it will continue to be a very difficult year for members at the school. Your support will mean a great deal to them. Support can be expressed by e-mail via the acting local secretary, Alison Sloan (details on back page). Alison will forward all messages to the members at the school.

Included with the mailing of this edition is a flyer from our regional Union Learning Officer. UnionLearn provides access to a number of courses which can complement your working life. Some are free, whilst some incur small costs. The courses are not all work related but can also just help to broaden personal interests. The course advertised here however provides a recognised qualification on coaching and mentoring. It may be that your school CPD budget is able to help out with costs. Ask your rep to see the flyer if you think you might be interested.

Contact details for local secretaries are as follows:

South Derbyshire Secretary:

John Crofts 07977 004820

North East Derbyshire Secretary:

Peter Baranek 01629 581878

(Acting) Peak Association Secretary:

Alison Sloan 07980 949280

County Secretary:

Ian Brown 07966 210248

e-mail:

Further information about the union locally can be found on the Derbyshire Federation website at www.derbyshire.nasuwt.org.uk

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