LEICESTERSHIRE WORKFORCE AGREEMENT
MONITORING GROUP
With a change in the law due later this year with regard to what are called 'compliance' issues, it might be helpful to explain what Leicestershire WAMG is and what it does.
Every Local Authority has to have a WAMG. Leicestershire WAMG consists of County Secretaries from the unions (teaching and support staff), senior Local Authority Representatives, and Representatives of Governor organisations.
The main aim is to ensure that schools comply with regulations and contractual entitlements developed as a result of the Workforce Remodelling Agreement. It discusses issues surrounding PPA, Performance Management, Rarely Cover, 1265 Hours, the appropriate use of TA's and HLTA's etc.
Leicestershire WAMG also makes recommendations about the training and development needs of the children's workforce, as well as being involved in induction, recruitment and retention issues.
Matters can be brought to WAMG by any of its members, and the main concern is to monitor general trends and concerns rather than get involved in individual casework issues.
Individual NUT members with issues related to workforce compliance should raise these firstly through the Secretary.
Later this year the law is due to change to make Governing Bodies carry more responsibility for ensuring that their school is complying with workforce remodelling regulations. Teachers cannot be denied their contractual entitlements, and the law is therefore being strengthened to deal more firmly and more quickly with schools which do not comply.
Issues
SECONDARY REORGANISATION - FAQs
Q Why is Leicestershire Secondary education being reorganised?
A It's not. Yet. There will be public consultation on possible reorganisation in the future.
Q Why?
A Leicestershire is trying to get money from the Government's Building Schools For The Future programme, and a condition of this is that the structure of secondary education needs to be reconsidered. In Leicestershire, this means consultation on whether to continue with a 14-18 system, or replace it with 11-16, or replace it with some other system. Or a diversity of systems.
Q Is the whole of Leicestershire secondary education being reorganised?
A The Council has decided to split the process into a series 'phases'. The order was decided as a result of applying certain criteria, and the first area will be Loughborough and Quorn. This will be followed by the Hinckley and Earl Shilton area, and then North-West Leicestershire and Shepshed. Other areas will be considered after these three phases.
Q When will this take place?
A The timescales depend upon government decisions, but formal consultation should start sometime during 2009 according to the 'tentative draft timetable' approved by the CYPS Overview & Scrutiny Committee in November 2008. The key word is 'tentative'.
Q Who will be consulted?
A All major stakeholders, including parents, young people, teachers, etc.
Q What will be the outcome?
A As this consultation has not started, no-one knows! As yet, the CYPS has not suggested any 'preferred model', so it is all a bit uncertain. Reorganisation in Melton and the Vale of Belvoir is taking place, and trade unions have asked for an interim report on this process in order to find out what worked well and what needs looking at again in the light of experience. This might help decide what happens in the BSF consultations.
Q So what's happening now?
It depends where you are and who you talk to! Formally, nothing is happening yet and nothing can happen yet: there is no 'preferred model' and no formal consultations. BUT this has not stopped some parent groups and some Heads from agitating for what they want in advance of formal consultation starting. Some people are talking about wanting to change to 11-16 schools, some people are talking about possible school closures as a result of surplus places, some people are talking about separate Sixth Form Colleges...But the truth is that nothing has been decided and all of this is designed to influence possible decisions which might be taken at some point in the future. In some areas it has created bad feeling because of statements that have been made about particular schools. The NUT does not think this is helpful, and is concerned that speculation and rumour are being encouraged by some people who need to understand that this is causing alarm, disquiet and real concern. It is having a destabilising effect when schools need to co-operate and work together for the benefit of young people.
GTCE
CODE OF CONDUCT
All teachers should now have received the GTCE Code of Conduct And Practice For Registered Teacher. This came into effect from 1 October 2010.
Members will be pleased that nationally, regionally and locally, the NUT will be keeping a 'watching brief' on the operation of the Code, and will vigorously defend memberswho fall foul of its broad remit.
We wait to see whether the implementation of the Code avoids limiting "a teacher's right to a private life", as the GTCE states in the introduction to the Code.