Covid-19 Members Update -7 January 2022

COVID-19 Update As schools return after the Christmas break the spread of the Omicron variant has led to a rapidly changing situation in schools. The latest Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance on reducing the risks from COVID-19 in schools was issued on the 7 January 2022 .This guidance includes updates to Self-isolation sections (paras 54 to 94)Vaccination section based on latest JCVI advice (paras 115 to 120)Outbreak management (paras 185 and 186) In addition, please find a link to the Covid – Good Practice Guide that has…
PayOfferRejected

SSTA rejects that latest pay offer from the employers (COSLA)

SSTA rejects that latest pay offer from the employers (COSLA) The SSTA Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee met on 15 December and firmly rejected the latest employers’ pay offer and regarded it as further insult to the hardworking and committed teacher workforce in Scotland. The SNCT Teachers’ Side pay claim for April 2021 was lodged in December 2020 and, despite a series of meetings, COSLA had only been prepared to make a pay offer of a 1.22% increase from…

Teacher Pay Negotiations 2021 – Insulting Offer Rejected

The SNCT Teachers’ Side pay claim for 2021 was lodged in December 2020 and despite a series of meetings COSLA had only been prepared to make a pay offer of 1.22% to all SNCT grades from April 2021. That was rejected by the SNCT Teachers’ Side as a derisory offer.COSLA subsequently submitted a further offer with a minimal adjustment with a 1.22% increase from January 2021. This offer was rejected by the SSTA Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee earlier…
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Members' Bulletin - Misuse of social networking applications

Misuse of social networking applications In recent days, the SSTA has been receiving a stream of concerns from members regarding misuse of social networking applications, particularly TikTok.   TikTok is a video-focused social networking service which allows users to post short videos which tend to be humorous, fascinating, or outrageous in the hope of gaining significant numbers of likes and followers.  There are widespread news reports of users making TikTok videos including still or moving images of teachers taken from…
Members' Briefing

SSTA Members Briefing and Pensions Update 2021

The SSTA has arranged briefing sessions for members in the coming week.The General Secretary, Seamus Searson, will give the latest information regarding Covid-19, national qualifications and the Education Reform review. There will also be a presentation on the impact of the Teachers’ Pensions consultations and the changes due to take place in April 2022 by Stuart McCullough, Independent Financial Advisor from Llife Ltd.The briefings will be conducted remotely and will take place on: Tuesday 2 November at 5.00pmTuesday 2 November at…

Message to Members - 25 October 2021

Safety First – the fight against Covid-19 continues Covid-19 has not gone away and the SSTA has welcomed the Government decision to continue mitigations including face coverings in schools. There was a push from some to reduce the mitigations to match other measures in other settings. However, that is not taking into account that the majority of the school population are not vaccinated and it is in the secondary school age group that the highest increase in cases of covid is…
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Presidential Address to the 76th Congress of the SSTA

John GuidiSSTA President Address to the 76th Congress of the SSTA 2 October 2021 During my time as President, we have experienced two lockdowns, two consecutive years of external exams cancellations, the Alternative Certification Model, an OECD review of the curriculum and assessment, a review of Education Scotland and the Scottish Qualification Authority and now the possibility of not even a two percent pay rise. Certainly, plenty of material to write about in a speech! Over the last 18 months,…
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SSTA Annual Congress (Part2)

All SSTA members are invited to watch the SSTA Congress that will be taking place in Glasgow on Saturday 2 October. Watch SSTA Annual Congress                                                                The SSTA Congress is a public session and will focus on the development of SSTA policy and will start at 10.30am. Members are all encouraged to see the working of the Association if only for a short while on the day. The morning session will include the SSTA President’s address, a presentation by Professor Mark Priestley and motions…

Members' Bulletin - 22 September 2021

Safety First – We must keep all in schools safe Covid-19 is still with us and it continues to cause disruption to schools. Teaching and learning is being challenged every day and unfortunately we are looking at a further period of strict adherence to mitigations. The latest government guidance has been enhanced and will continue until at least the October break. The increasing number of teacher and pupil absences due to Covid will again have an impact upon national qualifications…