Update: 6th December 2021

Teachers’ Pay

Next week the government will publish its “remit” to the School Teacher Review Body (STRB) outlining its proposals for teacher pay from September 2022.

The NEU will be watching this announcement very closely and will be preparing to mobilise members to respond if this falls short of our expectations.

Below is a newsletter for NEU members outlining the current situation with some key points – please download this and circulate to members in your school by hard copy or email.

Here are some key points:

• Two years ago the government said they plan to raise starting salaries for teachers to £30,000 by 2022, but last year they froze teachers’ pay.
• This means they will need to increase salaries by 8% in 2022 and again in 2023 to keep their promise.
• With more teachers leaving the job than ever before, the government has failed to meet its targets for ITT recruitment
• The NEU is campaigning for 8% pay rise for all teachers and support staff
• We believe that any pay rise must be fully funded

And some key dates:

• On Thursday of this week our local officers will attend a briefing from our executive members.
• The NEU will hold a national Zoom meeting in the first week of January.
• The national Zoom meeting will outline plans for an indicative survey of members about strike action.
• We will hold a local briefing on Monday 17th January.

Please alert members in your school to this information.

Ofsted

We want to hear about the experiences of members who have recently been inspected by Ofsted, or are currently undergoing or preparing for an Ofsted inspection. We will use all member feedback to inform a new campaign we will be launching in the new year.

Please encourage your members to contact Jill.Stokoe@neu.org.uk to share their experiences and professional opinions on Ofsted.

We will keep you updated on our plans for this developing campaign area.

Tackling Workload

We want to encourage school groups to meet and discuss the Union’s Value Education, Value Educators resources, using the tackling workload booklet below to identify issues of concern.

We covered this in our Reps training on Monday and will be organising further training in January for Reps who were unable to attend.

One area we want to take a close look at is marking, so we would like to hear from you if your school has revised its marking policy in a way that has reduced workload for staff.

Covid Precautions

The government has issued revised guidance to schools as a precaution against the new variant of Covid.

The chief recommendation is that adults in all settings should wear masks in communal areas and this should apply to students in secondary schools. Schools are also being advised to consider events such as assemblies and parents meetings.

We encourage Reps to meet with your head to discuss the new guidelines and any measures that need to be put in place. We will continue to monitor the situation and issue further advice as we receive it from NEU HQ.

Christmas Treats

As the end of term approaches we are offering to reimburse Reps up to £40 if you want to organise an end of term get together for NEU members or to buy some treats for the staffroom.

If you wish to do this just send us a scan of your receipt and send me your bank details.

Film screening/Q&A: British Bangladeshis

We are delighted to be hosting a special screening and Q&A with Aminul Hoque of his powerful film “British Bangladeshis”.

His film tell the story of the Bangladeshi community in Tower Hamlets, their struggles and heritage, through the experience of different generations of his family. It is a very powerful film that is both intimate and universal.

Aminul is a lecturer in the Educational Studies Department at Goldsmiths College. He was born in Bangladesh, his family came to the UK when he was just three years old and settled in Bethnal Green.

Aminul’s film tells the story of the Bangladeshi community in Tower Hamlets, their struggle and heritage, through the experience of different generations of his family.

It is a powerful film that is intimate and universal at the same time, and will be of interest to education staff in Tower Hamlets.

Subject to Covid restrictions, the screening is on Monday 31st January at 5:00pm in Stepney Green School.

 CLICK HERE TO BOOK A FREE TICKET 

NEU Conference 2022

We are seeking nominations from colleagues who would like to represent our District at the NEU Conference in 2022.

The Conference will be held in Bournemouth from Sunday April 10th – Thursday April 14th.

It is a very important event and a great way to find out more about the Union and help shape policy.We encourage new people to attend and want to ensure that our delegation reflects the diversity of our membership.

If you are interested please complete the attached form with the names of a proposer and seconder and send it to me.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any information, advice or support.