Teachers Pay Deal 2018-2020

• 2018 - 3% (except £80,000+), 2019 - 4% and April 2020 - 3%.
• 4% restructuring including Main Grade Salary Scale reduced from 6 points to 5 with higher starting point (April 2019)
• Job Sizing Review (to include ASN, Guidance and PEF appointments)
• 2 Additional in-service days - aimed at reducing unnecessary workload and addressing challenges in supporting pupils with additional support needs.

https://www.snct.org.uk/library/2623/SNCT19-70.pdf

SNCT Career Pathways Committee - established by the SNCT – Report May 2019

     Summary of Recommendations

• The Principles for Career Pathways adopted by the profession and stakeholders.
• A career pathway should be established for specialist roles in curricular, pedagogical and policy delivery through the creation of a new post of Lead Teacher.
• New and developing career pathways for Headteachers within and beyond Headship should be recognised including new opportunities in system leadership.
• Opportunities should be created that enable career progression both incrementally and laterally for all teachers.
• A national model for sabbaticals should be developed for all teachers, including Headteachers that is both attractive and sustainable.
• High quality, systematic, coherent and accessible support for career development should be available for all teachers.
• Further steps should be taken to promote teaching as a Masters profession whilst recognising the importance of work-based professional learning and experience.
• Existing and developing national processes should ensure that opportunities for and access to career progression are coherent, fair and equitable.
• A mechanism established to ensure workforce planning is effective and coherent
• All recommendations from the report to be implemented by August 2021.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/independent-panel-career-pathways-teachers-final-report/

Empowering Schools: education reform progress update – published 25 June

• Headteachers’ Charter – guidance and professional learning
• Parental Engagement -  develop existing good practice guidance
• Learner Participation - in their own learning, in decision making related to the life and work of their school, and in the wider community
• Regional Improvement Collaboratives – 6 regions with increased capacity from local authorities and Education Scotland
• Enhancing Education Workforce - all those directly involved in teaching and learning have an entitlement to registration and professional development
• Enhancing the Teaching Profession - Teachers’ pay deal sets a shared agenda on addressing issues relating to workload, additional support for learning, and empowering schools. Alongside, the Career Pathways Report highlights the Government’s position on ‘teachers and improving the attractiveness of the profession to aid recruitment and retention’.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/empowering-schools-education-reform-progress-update/

School Empowerment Documents – released 7 February

• What is an Empowered System?, Empowering School Leaders and Headteachers’ Charter for School Empowerment

https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/an-empowered-system

• press release

https://education.gov.scot/news-and-events/news/Collaboration%20is%20key%20to%20school%20empowerment

Devolved School Management – published 25 June

• Devolved School Management (DSM) schemes set out local authorities’ financial processes for funding their schools, how they delegate some financial decisions to their schools, and the accountability and responsibility for financial decisions.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/devolved-school-management-guidelines/

Scottish Education Council

Issues discussed at SEC meeting in March and May

• Equity – Attainment challenge
• Professional Update
• Career pathways
• CfE and subject choice
• GTCS 3 year professional update

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-education-council-minutes-march-2019/

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-education-council-minutes-may-2019/

 International Council of Education Advisers (ICEA)

• Last meeting February 2019
• Next meeting end of September 2019
• Next report due in Feb 2020.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/international-council-of-education-advisers-minutes-february-2019/

 National Improvement Framework – 13 June

   CfE Assessment Data

• Achievement of CfE levels data 2018-19
• Deadline 10 June, sign-off October, publish in December
• Quality Assurance and Moderation Support Officer programme 2019-20
• Managed by Education Scotland with involvement of staff from Las

   Parental Involvement and Engagement (PIE) – pilot year (10-20% response)

• Questionnaires circulated through LAs May and June
• LA data to be used with schools and outcomes shared with government
• Survey to be non-mandatory

   Health and Wellbeing Census

• To start in school year 19/20 to cover p5 to S6.  Set of questions established to be age/stage appropriate. 
• Online platform administered by LAs (450,000 pupils) and provision for LA and school report. September through to April. Non-mandatory

Education Scotland: structural changes

• All officers to be based in the RIC regions (except HMIe)
• Education Scotland structure with five Directorates:
• Scrutiny
• Regional Working
• National Improvement
• Professional Learning and Leadership
• Corporate Services and Governance

SCOTTISH ADVISORY GROUP ON RELATIONSHIPS AND BEHAVIOUR IN SCHOOLS (SAGRABIS) - 13 June (DFM attended part of meeting)

• Violence at work, behaviour management policies, bullying

Discussion on NASUWT survey to be discussed further at next meeting.

• Restraint and Seclusion

A working group to update Included, Engaged and Involved Part 2 around the need for a minimum data set and a streamlined approach to recording and monitoring.

• ASL Review/AGASL Group
• Terms of reference for the ASL Review agreed with an independent chair (tba). Report to the Scottish Government and COSLA.
• Terms of Reference for AGASL group will have a new name and new membership
• Scottish Government are running an additional support for learning summit, which will take place on 1^st October. 
• Update on Included, Engaged and Involved, Part 1
• Three engagement sessions were held, attended by 150. Launch would take place on 14^th June, after which it would be circulated.
• ‘Next steps’ will be a Self-evaluation checklist similar to what was done with the checklist for exclusions in Part 2.
• Recording and Monitoring of Bullying in Schools.
• the list of perceived reasons for bullying had been updated. Details are on GLOW community page.
• Feedback from pilots positive, reducing bureaucracy and saving time.
• Issue however remains over the definition of bullying and when to record. Full evaluation will take place in 2020/21.

Strategic Board for Teacher Education (SBTE) – 22 May 2019

     Update on Early Phase Career Sub-group

A working group to consider the structure, entitlement and position of CPD throughout a teachers’ career.

• Undertake research a synopsis of current evidence and activity.
• Consultation on findings and next steps (September – November)
• Presentation on findings (November – December)

     Probationer Allocations

The Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) offers every eligible student graduating with a teaching qualification from one of Scotland’s universities with a guaranteed one year probationary post in one of the 32 local authorities.

                May 2019 (initial allocation)

• Primary – 2,133 (of which 129 are Preference Waiver Payment)
• Secondary – 1,554 (of which 207 are PWP)

      Masters Framework for Teachers

• Review the Masters Framework – variable, confusion, opportunity to strengthen professional learning and a link with Career Pathways.
• Life-span of credits and transferring of credits to be considered further

STUC GENERAL COUNCIL - 7 August

   STUC Draft Strategic Objectives 2017-2021

• Union Promotion and Engagement
• Campaigning and Communicating 
• Policy Development
• Fair Work and Equality
• Effective Organisation

   STUC CENTRE

• Following sale of the STUC Centre and to vacate building 20 February 2020.
• Expected 9 month build to be completed in May/June 2020

   ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE Conference 20 November 2019 in Glasgow 

Conference will cover five main areas

• Economic Strategy and renewables supply chain
• Heating and the debate over future supply and innovation
• Future job growth with an emphasis on infrastructure, transport and reducing heat emissions
• Offshore Oil and Gas
• Organising in the context of climate change

   STUC/FIRST MINISTER’S BI-ANNUAL MEETING – 18 November 2019

Agenda to include:

• Economy
• Brexit
• Fair Work
• Public Ownership
• Poverty and Inequality

   CITIZEN’S ASSEMBLY OF SCOTLAND – announced by First Minister

• The Assembly of Scotland will be made up of 100 plus members of the public, randomly selected to be broadly representative of Scotland
• To deliberate on the broad issues
  • What kind of country are we seeking to build?
  • How can we best overcome the challenges we face, including those arising from Brexit?
  • And what further work should be carried out to give people the detail they need to make informed choices about the future of the country?

  PRECARIOUS WORK, PRECARIOUS LIVES RESEARCH

• STUC to publish its research ‘Precarious Work, Precarious Lives’ report.

Forthcoming Events

STUC Black Workers’ Conference, Clydebank, Glasgow 5-6 October 2019

STUC Women’s Congress, Perth 28-29 October 2019

STUC Congress, Perth, 20-22 April 2020

SSTA Congress, Crieff,15-16 May 2020

SSTA Members Briefings

• Monday 2 September – Inverness, Jury’s Inn
• Monday 9 September – Aberdeen, Aberdeen Altens Hotel
• Tuesday 24 September – Ayr, Mercure Ayr Hotel
• Wednesday 25 September – Glasgow, Hilton Glasgow Centre
• Tuesday 22 October – Dundee, Hampton Hilton Hotel
• Wednesday 23 October – Edinburgh, SSTA Head Office