Absence
monitoring by employers
This document sets out updated NUT guidance on "absence monitoring"
or "attendance management" procedures in schools. It outlines recent
developments which have encouraged the adoption and use of these procedures,
including guidance issued by the DfEE (as it was at the time) and National
Employers. It supersedes earlier NUT guidance published in January 1997.
Guidance
pdf here
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Access
to personal files and references
This
document sets out guidance for members on teachers' rights of access
to their personal files and references.
Guidance
pdf here
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Access
to Work
Guidance
pdf here
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Accident
at work
If
you suffer an injury at work, however slight or trivial it might appear,
it is classed as an "industrial injury". Such injuries are covered by
special National Insurance regulations and there are certain procedures
which must be followed to protect your own interests.
Guidance
pdf here
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Adoption leave
New statutory adoption and paternity
rights are available to new adoptive parents from 6 April 2003.
Guidance pdf here
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Assessment and Reporting at KS1 & 2
This document summarises the key changes to the 2006 assessment and reporting arrangements for the Foundation Stage and for Key Stages 1 and 2 contained within the relevant National Assessment Agency (NAA) guidance.
Guidance Word doc here
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Attending
court as a witness
Most people, before they attend court
in any capacity, are nervous. It appears a frightening and alien world
with its own rules, procedures, language, clothes, hierarchy and mystique.
Yet there really is nothing to worry about when attending court as a
witness. Hopefully these guidelines will shed some light on what is
involved.
Guidance pdf here
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Bullying
Guidance
pdf titled 'Dignity at work' here
When
we hear about bullying in schools it usually refers to pupils. However,
just as in other walks of life, school teachers can suffer from adult
bullying and this can take many forms, including unjustifiable increases
in workload, derogatory comments, ostracism from staffroom groupings,
denial of necessary information, unreasonable timetables or room allocations
as well as sexual or racial harassment, homophobic behaviour or ageism.
Many teachers feel unsure about their situation - if so talk to someone
you trust (this could be your Union representative in school or at local
level) or contact the Teacher
Support Network's 'Teacherline' on 080 00 56 25 61 which is available 24 hours a day on all 365 days of the year for this
and other counselling needs.
Our local contact for the Teacher Support Network, who can be contacted,
at civilised hours please, is: CLAIRE PRICE
- 01242 244 582 If you are being bullied then these are some
things you can do:
- Tackle
the bully about your concerns (do this assertively but not aggressively)
making clear any behaviour you find unwelcome.
- Talk
to your NUT representative and get help if you don't feel able to
tackle the bully yourself or if you are unsure if you are right to
be concerned.
- Keep
a diary of events and make a note of witnesses
- Talk
to trusted colleagues about their experiences
- Keep
appraisal reports, correspondence, etc.
- Make
sure you have a copy of your job description, person specification
and school policies handbook
Have
these documents and your record of events available for your local Union
representative if you ask her/him to help you (you'll find contact numbers
on the local contacts page).
Bullying
website here
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Capability
procedures
1. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO GET OFF
THEM!
2. You need to establish exactly where you are in the process.
3. Whether you like it or not, the process is about professional
judgements being made about your work.
4. You need to find out exactly what it is about your performance
that is deemed to be below standard. Specific statements will help you,
vague generalities will not.
5. You must address the concerns, even if you do not agree with
them, and must be seen to be doing so.
6. The targets set for you need to be specific and clear Ð you
need to be in no doubt as to what is expected of you.
7. The targets need to be reasonable and achievable within the
timescales laid down. Prioritisation may be necessary. Try and achieve
one target at a time. Do not try and do them all at once.
8. You need to provide evidence for yourself which can be used
to support you if things do not improve. For example:
• seek advice, in writing, on specific targets;
• record what you are doing to try and follow the advice you have
been given by your head teacher and your mentor.
9. You need to have a clear understanding of how and when you are
to be assessed and by whom.
• following assessments, request comments in writing as to your progress
on specific targets;
• record both favourable comments and disagreements.
10. Always adopt the attitude that you are seeking to address the
concerns raised about your performance. You need to demonstrate that you
are taking advice and seeking support.
11. Always respond to anything given you by the head teacher, particularly
if it is in writing. Make the tone of your response grateful.
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Classroom observation
This document is intended to give guidance to NUT members in the South West Region about situations where classroom observation may take place.
Guidance Word doc here
Classroom observation in the context of capability procedure
Guidance for schools, senior managers and other teachers in the context of capability and induction procedures.
Guidance Word doc here
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Definition of disability
Guidance on matters to be taken into account in determining questions relating to the definition of disability.
Guidance Word doc here
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Disciplinary
hearing
Notes
to guide NUT members being represented by a Union officer at a formal
hearing.
Guidance
pdf here
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Discrimination
Race
discrimination - amendments
to the 1976 Act
Guidance pdf here
The Access to Work (ATW) scheme
is a Government scheme designed to provide practical help to overcome
the barriers that disabled people experience in the workplace. This
fact-sheet aims to give a broad overview of how the scheme works, the
type of support available and the different stages involved in getting
that support into place.
Guidance pdf here
Sexual orientation. Briefing document
for members outlining the NUT's response to the Government Consultation
on Equality and Diversity - Making it Happen and The Way Ahead.
Guidance
pdf here
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Educational
grants
The NUT often receives enquiries from students on courses of initial teacher
training and also from teachers about educational grants, funds, charities
and bursaries. Unfortunately we do not have access to any funds to assist
members with further education and training other than that provided by
our own training department (see the NUT website on www.teachers.org.uk for further details of our professional development courses).
The best source of information on this subject is the National Union of
Students and the most convenient access to the latest information is via
the NUS website which can be found at: www.nusonline.co.uk From the homepage click on "advice" then click on "money"
and finally "Information Sheets" before scrolling to the ones
you want.
The particular information sheets on this topic which may be of interest
are: NUS Welfare Unit Information Sheet No 9: "Further Education
Student Funding". NUS Welfare Unit Information Sheet No 10: "Alternative
Financial Assistance". NUS Welfare Unit Information Sheet No14: "Access
Funds, Hardship Funds and Discretionary Bursaries"
If you do not have access to the Internet, the National Union of Students
can be contacted at 461 Holloway Road, London, N7 6LJ. Telephone: 0207
272 8900.
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Fertility treatment
TIME
OFF FOR FERTILITY TREATMENT
The NUT believes that schools should deal appropriately and sensitively
with requests for time-off for fertility treatment. The NUT believes also
that paid leave of absence should be given for medical appointments for
initial infertility investigations and for other medical appointments
during a treatment cycle and should not be counted against the teacher's
sick leave entitlement. Sickness absence resulting from the treatment
should be counted against the teacher's sick leave entitlement in the
usual way. The nature of the treatment may mean that absences cannot always
be planned in advance but it is reasonable to expect teachers to give
as much notice of the need for time off as is possible. Failure to allow
a teacher time off or the application of other detrimental treatment by
a school or LEA may amount to unlawful sex discrimination. Any member
who is refused paid time off to undergo fertility treatment should contact
the NUT Regional Office in Exeter.
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Invigilating exams
Following changes arising as a result of school workforce remodelling, teachers can no longer be required to invigilate external examinations, such as National Curriculum tests, GCSE and AS/A2 examinations. The change applies additionally to ‘mock’ examinations and other tests requiring alterations to the normal school timetable.
Guidance Word doc here
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Job descriptions
The purpose of a job description is to
set out a fair, clear and mutually understood statement of the grading
and salary of the post held by the teacher and the work and responsibility
reasonably attached to that post. Developments in education such as the
new pay structure, performance management and school inspection make it
essential for the effective protection of members' interests for all teachers
to have clear job descriptions setting out in writing what reasonably
may be expected of them.
Guidance pdf here
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Jobshare
This guidance for NUT members interested
in job sharing tells you:
• what job sharing is and where to go for advice on job sharing;
• how to apply for a job share, either in your own post or in a vacant
post you see advertised,
• what to do if an application is turned down;
• what your position as a job sharer should be regarding pay, conditions
of service and working time arrangements, and
• what should happen if your job share partner leaves.
If you decide to apply for a job share, you should always seek advice
from your NUT Regional Office, before agreeing arrangements.
Guidance pdf here
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Pension
advice
How to improve your pension
- Added years, AVCs & Stakeholder:
Guidance
pdf here
One of the provisions within the
Teachers' Pension Scheme to protect teachers moving to a lower paid
post prior to retirement is by way of the pensions increase arrangements
which provide an alternative calculation to the "normal award".
Guidance
pdf here
Regulation E31(11) of The Teachers'
Pensions Regulations 1997 places a limit on the pensionable salary used
to calculate retirement benefits in a case where in any financial year
during the average salary period a person has received an increase in
contributable salary which is greater than 10% more than the "standard
increase" i.e. the annual pay award.
Guidance
pdf here
NUT's response to the Government's
Green Paper: 'Simplicity, Security and Choice: Working and Saving for
Retirement'.
Guidance pdf here
This
document sets out the main differences between the Teachers' Pension
Scheme (TPS) and the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Both
schemes are very similar in the provision of benefits and features offered.
There are, however, minor differences between the schemes and some more
major variations resulting from changes to the LGPS from 1 April 1998.
The Union and the other teachers' organisations are currently pursuing
similar changes to the TPS through the Longer Term Examination Working
Group.
Guidance pdf here
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Pension rights for same sex couples
The NUT advises members who have registered a civil partnership that they must take steps within six months of the date of registering the partnership in order to be able to claim elective survivor benefits for service before 1988.
Guidance
Word doc here
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Performance Management advice to school 2007
The Local Authority has provided all schools with a model Performance Management Policy for school governors to adopt. Options are offered within the model, requiring head teachers and governors to make a series of decisions and choices. Much of the document is non-controversial and acceptable to the Union.However, there are a few sections where some of the options offered are not acceptable to the Union.
Advice doc here
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Planning
in Primary Schools
Advice from Gloucestershire Association
NUT about good practice based on NUT guidelines and DfES guidelines on
planning and on reducing bureaucracy in schools.
Guidance pdf here
NB: Copies of this leaflet can be obtained from your district secretary.
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Pupil
behaviour
Highly publicised cases,involving
pupils in schools who represent dangers to other young people and to teachers,
have emphasised the need for teachers to be properly protected when carrying
out their duties. The NUT provides that protection and is determined to
ensure that members are not placed in positions where their confidence
and effectiveness are undermined by the behaviour of pupils.
Guidance pdf here
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Redundancy
This guide is for information, it is not its purpose to provide a thorough grounding for school representatives
in handling redundancy matters themselves. Whilst school representatives
may be "the eyes and ears of the Union", the handling of redundancy is
an extremely complex matter. The information gathered at one stage may
be deployed at subsequent stages and on certain occasions may be subsequently
used at an employment tribunal. It is therefore the case that at the
first indications of redundancy a school representative should contact
either their Divisional Secretary or the South West Regional Office. On
no account should any school representative seek to undertake any consultation
on behalf of the NUT with the headteacher or governors of their school.
Guidance doc here
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References,
Data Protection and the Freedom of Information Act
This advice
document deals with access to, and content of, references supplied by
employers.
Guidance
doc here
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Referral
to Occupational Health
The Union
is regularly contacted by members concerned about requests from employers
that they meet with their occupational health services.This leaflet
from South West Regional Office explaiins the background to the referral
system and offers advice about meeting the medical Adviser and how a
return to work, where appropriate, should be managed.
Guidance
doc here
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Salaries - model school policy
2004
DfES guidance states that each school
should have a clear salary policy which explains how decisions will be
taken and that this policy should have been discussed with staff.School
salary policies need to be updated to reflect the current legal position.
The high level of discretion which characterises the salary structure
for teachers makes it particularly important for schools to have a salary
policy.This document provides a model policy to be adopted in order to
promote fairness and equity in the way schools handle salary decisions.
Model
school policy here
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School
day - changing the time of school sessions
This NUT briefing gives details of
the procedures to be followed when governing bodies propose to make changes
to the time of school sessions.
Guidance pdf here
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Stress
Stress is
one of the biggest problems facing teachers today. The increasingly demanding
nature of our jobs has also increased pressure levels dramatically. Research
shows that teachers are now facing greater day-to-day problems with occupational
stress than most other employees. Teachers want to feel that, at the end
of the day, the special rewards of teaching are sufficient to justify
coping with the pressures faced at work. This NUT guidance aims to assist
you in making this possible by tackling the problem of teacher stress.
Guidance
pdf here
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Supply
teachers
This
NUT guidance note examines the pay, conditions of service and working
time of supply teachers. It deals both with supply teachers employed
directly by LEAs or individual schools and with those employed via supply
teaching agencies which set their own pay and conditions.
Guidance
pdf here
This leaflet describes the pension arrangements under which employment as a supply teacher can, on election,
be treated as pensionable within the Teachers' Pension Scheme.
Guidance
pdf here
There are a number
of supply teachers who have applied for threshold and who were
unsuccessful. For some, the reason may have been linked to a lack of knowledge
about the process. Some schools, after all, did provide some training
for those who were looking to cross the threshold. Other supply teachers
had undertaken too little supply during the last 2-3 years in order to
demonstrate that they fulfilled the criteria which were laid down. There
were, however, other supply teachers who were successful, and the intention
in this document is to provide some illustrative material from those success
cases which might be of benefit to those who are either applying in the
current year and may well be asked for further evidence from assessors.
Alternatively, this information may be of benefit to those who would wish
to apply in the next round.
Guidance
pdf here
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Teaching
in independent schools
This
NUT briefing note sets out the most important points to be considered
when you are offered a teaching post in an independent school and are
considering the details of the proposed contract of employment.
Guidance
pdf here
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Upper pay scale progression
This NUT guidance deals with:
the rules governing the progression of teachers on the Upper Pay Scale for September 2006; and
the NUT’s policy about how these should be applied to teachers.
Guidance Word doc here
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UPS salary progression 2007-8 update- digest
Guidance Word doc here
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For Andy's selection of topics members often ask about, click on his
picture. 
