SSTA News
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Lockdown Learning Depended on Teachers’ Resources and Resourcefulness
The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association, Scotland’s specialist union for secondary teachers, recently carried out a survey of its members to establish the extent to which they felt employers had ensured they had the right ICT tools for the job both during and since lockdown. Over 1900 secondary teachers from all over Scotland responded. The pandemic…
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Safety Measures in Schools are Putting Teachers at Risk
The SSTA conducted a survey of SSTA School Representatives on the measures being used in schools to keep staff safe. The survey highlighted the inconsistent approach to staff safety taken by local authorities across Scotland. Seamus Searson, SSTA General Secretary said “The SSTA has argued for a consistent approach to safety during this crisis but…
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SSTA Members Briefing
The SSTA has arranged briefing sessions for members on the challenges facing secondary teachers at this time. The General Secretary Seamus Searson will give the latest information regarding Covid-19, national qualifications and the OECD senior phase review. There will also be a presentation on the impact of the Teachers’ Pensions consultation by Stuart McCullough, Independent Financial Advisor…
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Pension Consultation – closes 11 October 2020
The Government are currently consulting with all members of the public sector pension schemes which includes the Scottish Teachers Pension Scheme. This is regarding the unjustified age discrimination in relation to the transitional arrangements to the 2015 pension scheme. Within the consultation they are asking you, the scheme member, to make a choice. It’s very important…
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SSTA Safety First – School Return Survey
Employers need to take their duty of care seriously The SSTA conducted a survey of members to gauge their concerns following the return of all pupils to school. The survey highlighted the inconsistent approach to staff safety taken by local authorities across Scotland. Seamus Searson, SSTA General Secretary said “It is particularly worrying that 53%…
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Safety First and the Education Recovery Year
Safety First Schools have been attempting to adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic but they are far from being complete. Some schools have been more successful than others but there remain many challenges ahead. Some progress has been made in recent weeks but the recent SSTA survey highlighted a number of areas that are not been adequately addressed…
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SSTA Position Paper: Rapid Review of National Qualifications experience 2020
On 11 August Deputy First Minister John Swinney announced that an Independent Review, led by Professor Mark Priestley of Stirling University, would be commissioned to look at events following the cancellation of this year’s examination diet. Given the urgency, the DFM asked for an initial report with recommendations on how things should go forward this…
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Safety First – School Return – SSTA Survey
The SSTA conducted a survey of members following the reopening of schools to gauge the confidence of teachers returning to school. The survey received 2,058 responses and highlighted the concerns of members. Seamus Searson, SSTA General Secretary said “The majority of secondary teachers still do not feel safe in school and lack confidence in their…
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Safety First and SQA
It has been a challenging return to school for many and there will undoubtedly be further challenges ahead. I would like to thank the very large number of members who had the opportunity to take part in our reopening of schools survey. The information received highlighted the issues that members and schools faced and allowed…
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Reopening of Schools: Email to School Reps
The Scottish Government statement on 30 July committed schools to reopen to all pupils by 18 August. This was supported by the Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on preparing for the start of the new school term in August 2020 document. This document was to be the reassurance for schools that they would be safe to return. It is expected…
