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

Under trade union legislation an election for General Secretary has to be held every 5 years. The present term of office for the SSTA General Secretary will conclude on 1 February 2020 and the SSTA Council have agreed a timetable for the election process.

Nomination of a candidate in the election for General Secretary may be made by (a) Council and/or (b) any District or Area of the Association. Council may nominate any person; any other nominee must have been an ordinary member of the Association for a period of at least a year as at the date nominations close (but not a Life, or Associate, or Retired member).

Seamus Searson has been nominated by the SSTA Council and this decision was unanimously endorsed at the meeting of Council on 2 March 2019.

• Potential candidates seeking nomination will have the opportunity to send a single email communication to all District Secretaries and members of Council.  The text of the email must be submitted to Andrew Brown in the SSTA Office and be received by 12 noon on Wednesday 9 September 2019.
• The Executive Committee has appointed an independent scrutineer for the election:  Electoral Reform Service, The Election Centre, 33 Clarendon Road, LONDON, N8 0NW. The Depute General Secretary will act as the Returning Officer.
• Districts and Area are required to clearly indicate who they are nominating using the approved proforma.  The nominations must be made at a properly constituted District or Area meeting. Nominations must be returned to the Depute General Secretary by 12noon on Wednesday, 2 October 2019 the date when nominations close.
• Within 7 days of the close of nominations candidates may submit an election address of not more than 300 words together with a photograph (together called the “election statement”).

Seamus Searson the General Secretary would like to meet with SSTA members to discuss the issues that face secondary teachers. This includes the potential new career structure and pay scales for teachers, the impact of the Government’s Empowerment Agenda (Headteachers’ Charter, RICs, etc.) and reducing teacher workload.

Public Sector Pensions – Legal Challenge – Age Discrimination.

The outcome of the legal challenge (McCloud & Sargent) regarding Public Service Pension Schemes and the transitional arrangements that were introduced in 2015 to help protect those members of the schemes closest to retirement. This case has shown that the transitional protection discriminated members of the scheme on the grounds of age.

We see the outcome of the legal challenge applying to all teachers who were active members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme prior to 31^st March 2015. Whilst this matter is not yet fully resolved and there is ongoing discussion the SSTA believe it is important that you understand the potential implications of this outcome and what this could mean to you and your retirement plans. Stuart McCullough, Independent Financial Advisor from Llife Ltd will be giving a presentation on the potential impact of the legal challenge.
Agenda

1. General Secretary – Members’ Update,
   • Career Pathways Report – new pay structures
   • Reducing Teacher Workload
   • Empowerment Agenda – Headteacher Charter, Regional Improvement Collaboratives
2. Teacher Pensions and potential changes. (Stuart McCullough, Independent Financial Advisor, Llife Ltd)
3. Members Questions

The briefing will start at 5.00pm and will be repeated at 7.00pm.

• 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

To book a place click at a briefing go to the SSTA website and select the briefing you would like to attend and complete the registration form at the bottom of the page.

The 75th Annual Congress was held on 17th and 18th May 2019 at Crieff Hydro Hotel. You can find the text of the motions passed at Congress below.

MOTION A

Congress believes that Restorative Practice is increasing teacher workload and is often ineffective in improving pupil behaviour.

Congress calls upon the Scottish Government to review the implementation of Restorative Practice at Local Authority level and in schools. 

MOTION B

Congress notes that the 2018 SSTA survey showed that 70% of members experienced incidents of serious verbal abuse, 60% had experienced incidents of threatening or menacing behaviour and 19% experienced incidents of physical assault.  Teachers then face difficulties in reporting incidents and teachers are often seen to be ‘the problem’ if incidents are pursued.  Only 33% of teachers felt supported or received feedback after the incident. The perception of ‘no action being taken’ undermines teachers and fails to address the worsening conditions in schools.  The high number of teachers who feel that the schools try to ‘sweep it under the carpet’ and not address the issue is alarming.

Congress insists that all violent incidents in schools must be reported and any overly bureaucratic and duplicate processes must be removed. It is essential for teachers to work in a safe environment and to expect action to be taken by Local Authorities to protect staff in order to reduce the increasing level of violent incidents.

MOTION C

The SSTA calls on Local Authorities to ensure that all schools have appropriate facilities (e.g. staff rooms, staff bases, toilets etc.) to support the well-being of teachers.

MOTION D

Congress calls on COSLA to establish a minimum of 50 minutes lunch break as a measure to improve the working environment and health and well-being of teachers and pupils.

MOTION E

Congress notes with concern that, in many situations, the voice of teachers is not represented in important decisions affecting education and the teaching profession. Both the quality of decision-making and the securing of the commitment to necessary reforms would be greatly enhanced by including the perspectives of practitioners and their representatives who have an informed, professional input to make in advising on policy decisions. The exclusion of the teacher’s voice from many advisory and decision-making bodies is short-sighted, is contrary to best practice and demeaning of the profession of teaching.

Congress calls on the Scottish Government to involve education trade unions in all decisions affecting the profession and the education system and take into account their advice and opinions.

MOTION F

Congress is concerned about the potential loss of around 1,000 teachers in Scotland, as a result of leaving the EU.  The Association calls on the Scottish Government to take this into account when establishing the number of teachers to be trained in future years.

MOTION G

Congress welcomes the move by the Scottish Government to introduce bursaries of £20,000 to encourage new entrants into the profession.  However, the Association calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that the recipients are tied to a long term commitment to teach in Scottish schools.

Motion H

Congress believes that cuts to Technician Services are having a negative impact on high quality learning and teaching. The SSTA calls on the Scottish Government and COSLA to call an immediate halt to reductions in Technician Services and to undertake a review with the aim of providing a high level of service in all Local Authorities and schools.

Motion I

The SSTA welcomes the Scottish Government’s “Review of Personal and Social Education.”

However, the recommended timescale for implementation by March 2021 is ambitious. The SSTA calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that fully-funded, relevant, timeous and high quality in-service training is available to all teachers who will be involved in the delivery of the recommendations in the Review.

Motion J

Congress believes that pressure on teachers to ensure that pupil achievement in National Courses is increasing, with a reasonable expectation that pupils must leave school with a qualification. Many schools have persisted in using freestanding units to provide a fall-back position, thus defeating attempts to reduce workload.

The SSTA calls on the Scottish Government to instruct the SQA to set fixed dates in the academic year for all freestanding unit entries and passes, thus preventing retrospective entries and duplication of workload.

Motion K – remitted to Council

Motion L

Congress believes that all pupils, irrespective of their dates of birth or any decision by parents to delay the start of their education, should be entitled to leave school after 11 years of compulsory education, based on a single school leaving date at the end of the summer exam diet.  Congress calls on the Scottish Government to bring forward legislation to put this into effect.

Motion N

Congress calls upon the Scottish Government to carry out an urgent review of the increased workload for newly qualified teachers who enter the profession and to ensure a balance between pedagogical theory and curriculum knowledge. 

Motion O

Congress notes that there is a wide disparity in the provision and cost of music tuition in Scottish schools.   We also acknowledge that the Depute First Minister has recognised the importance of music tuition.

The SSTA calls on the Scottish Government to instruct all Local Authorities to scrap music tuition service charges and to ensure that ratios of instructors to pupil numbers mirror the best practice across the country.

Motion P

Congress calls upon the Deputy First Minister to insist that all school leaders implement his own directive that “the professional judgement of the classroom teacher must be listened to” when it comes to deciding at what level a student should be presented  within the exam system.

Motion Q

The SSTA calls on the Scottish Government and Local Authorities to resource sufficiently the principle of inclusion to allow teachers to get it right for every child.

Motion R

Additional Support Needs and Support For Learning teachers work with some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

Congress calls on the Scottish Government to fund and provide training opportunities to fully support the range of additional support needs found in classrooms across the country.

Motion S

Children and young people identified as having a hearing or visual impairment in Scotland, are legally entitled to support from a qualified teacher of hearing or visual impairment. This mandatory qualification takes over 2 years to complete but, despite that, is not recognised by the GTCS.

This lack of recognition devalues the qualification and undermines the dedication and professionalism of those sacrificing personal time to achieve it.

Congress calls on the GTCS to review their current policy to acknowledge this PGDip. Qualification and to recognise teachers of hearing and visual impairment as additional, distinct and valued categories of registration. 

Motion T

Congress believes that GIRFEC is overly bureaucratic and unevenly implemented across Scotland’s Local Authorities. This presents unnecessary barriers to teachers which are not in the best interests of young people.

Congress calls on the Scottish Government to standardise procedures related to recording and planning to best meet the needs of children and young people.

Motion U

The SSTA calls on Local Authorities to ensure that all workplace bullying is taken seriously and dealt with appropriately in order to maintain a culture of collegiality in schools.

Motion V

Congress welcomes the Scottish Government’s proposal to embed LGBTI issues within the curriculum in order to improve the educational experience of pupils. We therefore call upon the Government to provide quality resources and training to support this.

Motion W

Following the increase in the pension age and in recognition of teachers having a longer career, Congress calls on all Local Authorities / Regional Improvement Collaboratives to ensure that there is equality of opportunity for good quality CPD for teachers at every stage of their career.

Motion X

The SSTA calls for the Scottish Government to promote the use of the recently published HSE Education Stress Talking Toolkit (Preventing Work-Related Stress in Schools), so that teachers like other employees can ‘Go Home Healthy’.

Motion Y

Congress calls on the Scottish Government to extend its ambition for improving Mental Health in schools to include staff as well as pupils and to commit to providing Mental Health First Aiders for all school staff.

Friday 17^th May 2019

We are in the 75th year of the SSTA and the issues of 1944 are the same issues in 2019. Examples of these have been taken from our 50^th anniversary and are contained within the Congress Agenda you have today. We will include stories of the last 25 years in next year’s addition.

Concerns over pay, workload and pupil behaviour appear throughout our history and will probably do so for a good number of years to come.

At our congress last year – the call was for ‘Retention, Recruitment and Restoration’.

1. Retention – The first priority was to keep the teachers we have. It made no sense not to value the experienced teachers we have and any attempt to focus on recruitment would miss the point.

Why not ‘pull out all the stops’ to encourage teachers to stay. This could be achieved by paying teachers properly, providing a ‘real’ career structure, valuing teacher’s professional judgment, reducing workload, and giving teachers ‘real’ support with the appropriate educational professionals in meeting the challenges that pupils bring in to schools.

2. Recruitment – the second priority was to encourage more people into the profession.

We needed to encourage people to join the profession with offers of professional respect, professional levels of pay, career development and a manageable workload. Teaching should be seen as a career for life not a job for a few years until something better comes along.

3. Restoration – the third priority

To address the shortfall of teachers’ salaries over the last 10 years the main grade teacher salary should be in the region of £43,000.

The SNCT claim was for 10% pay increase. This 10% claim was the first step in a restorative pay claim. The Government needed to support and value its teachers by making a major effort to restore teacher pay levels.

The Pay Campaign and the three issues

Pay was the first issue

Before last year’s Congress pay negotiations were underway but little could be reported.

The SSTA took its place at the negotiating table alongside our EIS partners with the employers (COSLA) and the Government. The Government side was keen to move forward but COSLA was resistant to offering a bigger increase to teachers than to other council employees. Numbers were being discussed but no formal offer made.

During the autumn term teachers across Scotland were getting annoyed at the lack of progress on teachers’ pay. Both SSTA and EIS were preparing for a long struggle and a strategy to achieve a positive outcome.

The SSTA Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee had been active throughout from making the pay claim, determining the pay campaign strategy and consulting with members.

The SSTA and EIS worked together and prepared a campaign, and as you know a campaign with many twists and turns. The October teachers rally in Glasgow where teachers from all unions stood side by side to send a message to the Government and the employers that teachers were prepared to act and fight for a significant improvement in pay.

The first SSTA consultative ballot in November had a 76% membership response with a resounding 97% rejection of a divisive and derisory offer.

This was followed by a school representative opinion survey in January. The survey was conducted at very short notice with close to 2/3rds of our membership participating. I cannot pass without a big thank you to all our SSTA Reps in our schools on mobilising members on this occasion. But also their work in supporting and caring for our members every day in our schools.

This was followed by the second consultative ballot based upon the information received following our school rep opinion survey. Yet again our membership came out in force with a 76% response with 64% of members prepared to accept the pay offer.

There was another turn as EIS successfully sought a further increase but SSTA was still there at the negotiating table trying to reach a resolution for all teachers. The pay deal was agreed in April and hopefully the back pay and increases will be with you all soon.

Following the pay campaign. The top of the main grade in 2018 was £36,480. As from April 2019 the top of the main grade is £40,206 rising to £41,412 in April 2019.

This not the level we need to reach but it is a good step in the right direction. When the pay negotiations start again “Restoration” will be top of the list. But what we have achieved so far shows what can be achieved if we and sister unions work together.

This campaign has been a success but it could not have happened without the support of our members in schools, all our reps in schools and at local authority level. And of course all the members who are here at Congress, those on SSTA Council and Committees who further the work of the Association.

A Big Thank You must go to you for all the work that you do, regardless of how big or how small it is all appreciated. This is your success and well done.

The second issue – Teachers are demoralised by the never-ending and increasing teacher workload.

More new initiatives, more tracking and monitoring, more record keeping, more personalised learning plans, more accountability for every move and every decision a teacher makes, and of course a national qualification system that appears to go out of its way to dream up new ways to increase teacher bureaucracy.

Granted it is not all of SQA making but headteachers and local authorities demanding the ‘belt and braces’ approach of completing units just in case the pupil falls through the gap. Units were retained by the Deputy First Minister for the exception. For example, the pupil that had missed school during a long period of illness.

The SSTA said at the time that schools couldn’t resist the opportunity to carry on using the units as they are rarely concerned about teacher workload. The real reason units are being used is not in the interest of the pupils but in the interests of schools and local authorities. Their interest of pushing-up the ‘Insight’ scores and place up the fabricated and narrow measure of a school the league tables. This unfortunately, highlights how little teacher professional judgement is valued and the lack of trust shown by many in senior positions in the world of education.

But none if this would be necessary if schools, local authorities and Government would trust teachers’ professional judgement in placing pupils in the correct course, allowed a common course for all Nat 4 and Nat 5 pupils so that all pupils in the class could all be taught together. This would cut teacher and pupil workload in a stroke. 

The Government must mean what is says and put pupils at the centre, allow teachers to teach, put appropriate assessment in place for all pupils at all levels across the secondary school. As more and more pupils are staying in education it is time for a review of the Curriculum and National Qualifications. This is not an opportunity to start all over, but to talk to teachers (the unions who represent and speak for teachers) but identify what works, what is appropriate and put a plan together for implementation.

It is time for teachers to take back control of their workload. Agree sensible and properly accounted for Working Time Agreements that recognise the professional judgment of the teacher.

The teacher must be allowed to make decisions on what is a priority, what is appropriate to prepare for lessons, the how and the structure of the lesson, the method of assessment, and be trusted to present pupils for national qualifications.

All must be achievable within the Working Time Agreement when the time is used teachers need to say NO.  The days of ‘it is in the interest of the children’ or ‘you don’t care about the children’ needs to stop. These bullying tactics to undermine teachers and their right to a work-life balance must end.

Now is the time for teachers to take back the profession from the bureaucrats and ‘bean counters’. Teachers and teacher unions must work together in every school to bring about this change.

The third issue for teachers is pupil behaviour.

Throughout the pay campaign the message from members was clear please do something to address pupil behaviour. The facts show over the last ten years that austerity measures have caused the number of teachers to be reduced, the number of specialist teachers to be severely cut and the range of other education support staff working in schools has practically disappeared.

At the same time number of pupils with Additional Support Needs has more than doubled from 98,523 in 2011 to 199,065 in 2018. But the number of pupils with Individual Education Plans has fallen from 42,819 in 2011 to 35,566 in 2018.

How can numbers be going-up at the same time as IEPs are going down? Each of the IEPs has a resource implication therefore, you cut the number and you cut the cost. As we speak Highland Council is planning to cut its ASN provision as tries to save money.

This means that teachers are having to manage increasing complex pupil needs without specialist support. Increasing number of pupils being denied the additional support they need and an increase in pupil frustration. Pupils with ASN are being pushed into classes without specialist support, they are unable to access the curriculum, and it is all left at the door of the classroom teacher.

The pupils can’t cope the teachers are demoralised and feeling like failures as they can’t meet the needs of all their pupils. Nobody wins. The Government and local authorities are failing both pupils and teachers by not putting money into ASN to address the needs of pupils and support teachers. It is no wonder the number of violent incidents and incidents of disruption in schools is increasing.

The SSTA survey on ‘Violent Incidents’ is again another example of the failure of the system to support pupils and teachers.

 The SSTA survey found that

• 70% of members experienced incidents of serious verbal abuse;
• 60% had experienced incidents of threatening or menacing behaviour and
• 19% experienced incidents of physical assault

Headteachers and Teachers reported feeling unsupported in trying to maintain good discipline and order in schools. The constant statistical drive to reduce permanent and temporary exclusions is putting tremendous pressures on schools, its teachers and other education support staff.

Exclusion has come to be seen as evidence that the headteacher, the teachers and the school are failing the pupils, when in reality it is showing that schools, following years of staffing and funding cuts, are unable to meet the needs of all their pupils in the schools all of the time.

And when members were asked ‘Did you report the incident?’

• only 55% of those who suffered serious verbal abuse did report it;
• only 66% of teachers threatened or received menacing behaviour, and
• only 71% reported physical assault.

This lack of reporting can be seen clearly when only 33% said they felt supported or received feedback after the incident.

Local authorities need to be the support to the schools in helping pupils that are unable to cope in the school environment and not the barrier to good discipline and order they have become.

SSTA Advice to Members

• All Teachers must be able work in safe and unthreatening environment
• Report all incidents of violence (verbal and physical) and expect a report of actions taken
• Reporting systems must a single entry process and not be unnecessarily bureaucratic
• A ‘Risk Assessment’ must be carried out following all incidents that outlines the strategies and process to avoid further incidents occurring (in the event of serious violence the pupil may need to be excluded from the school).
• Report all threatening and violent incidents to the police

The same three issues as 75 years ago in 1944. Maybe it is time to bring about change.

Teacher Career Pathways Review

SSTA has advocated a progressive review of the teacher career pathways and looks forward to flexible and alternative routes for teachers throughout their careers.

The SSTA expects proper recognition for all teacher roles in the education system, especially those in the classroom. The focus must be on teaching and learning.

The report is due to be published at the end of the month. It has the potential to retain teachers in the profession and let them see a range of other opportunities on their career journey.

A career pathway that recognises curricular specialism, pedagogical and policy specialism that runs in parallel with the existing leadership/management routes will be welcomed. The review will only benefit the profession if it allows all teachers to be valued and respected for their knowledge, skills and experiences.

If it is only for a chosen few, controlled by those who don’t see the future of education, and poorly resourced it will be doomed to failure and a golden opportunity to retain teachers will have been lost.

The last area I want to raise today is the place of the teacher and our union within the education system. SSTA members are demanding to be heard.

The Teacher Voice

The Government often refer to teacher unions as stakeholders with the same place as other stakeholders. On the outside looking in.

Parents, community groups, businesses, the GTCS, the SQA, education officers, politicians and others could be called stakeholders in education. I am not however convinced that pupils are stakeholders, or consumers, or customers or something else. I will leave that for you to determine.

But one thing I do know is that teacher trade unions are not stakeholders. Teacher unions are Partners in education. Teacher unions represent its members, are the voice of its members, and most importantly is accountable to its members.

Government and others must not by-pass teacher unions, by selecting teachers, headteachers, organisations that only represent in most cases themselves. They don’t represent the profession and are not accountable to the profession.

The Government tries to gather about itself those who will not challenge it and then justify the decisions it makes by saying it consulted stakeholders.

Teacher unions are ‘partners’ in education and must be given the proper respect, must be listened to and have their views taken seriously if we want an education service for the future.

Without the teachers there is no education. That is why the teacher voice is essential in shaping and delivering education. All the education bureaucrats and stakeholders need to see their place as supporting teachers in the classroom. The days of the ‘back seat driver’ in telling teachers what to do needs to stop.

As the SSTA sets its course for the next 75 years - we have the power if we only chose to use it.

The SNCT Extended Joint Chairs met on Tuesday 26 March in anticipation of the major unions in Scotland (SSTA and EIS) prepared to accept the pay proposals contained in the DFM letter (8 March). Further discussion on the other elements included in the letter took place.

The other elements of the agreement include:

1. for all parties (unions, COSLA and Scottish Government) to work to together to reduce the workload of teachers and to undertake joint activity to assist in reducing and preventing unnecessary workload through increasing teacher agency and school empowerment
2. two additional in-service days to focus on key issues such as workload, additional support and empowering schools. Issues and activities for such days should be decided at school level and by collegiate process
3. further development of professional learning opportunities, a ‘Teacher Innovation Fund’ and enhancement of the current Teacher Leadership Programme. 

A draft wording for an agreement was discussed at the meeting and it was agreed that the Joint Secretaries would work to prepare a Pay Agreement document. It is anticipated that the offer will be agreed at COSLA Leaders meeting on Friday 29 March. Once this has taken place COSLA will make a formal offer by letter to Teachers’ Side.

The SNCT Teachers’ Side will meet on Thursday 25 April to accept the Pay Offer and this will then be followed by a full SNCT on the same day to agree the Pay Offer for 2018 – 2021.

COSLA has indicated that once the formal offer is made it will try and make arrangements for the April 2019 increase to be included in the April salary (i.e. 10%) with the 2018 back pay to follow possibly in May.

This should bring a close to a good pay campaign and a step in the right direction in restoring teacher salaries.

Do have a good Easter break when it comes.