Dear Member,
Since we last wrote to you, schools have now fully opened at the start of the new academic year. This year, they have opened in the unprecedented circumstances of a COVID-19 global pandemic. We know many of you have been feeling concerned and sharing these concerns about your return to the workplace, but we want to assure you of the Union’s continuing support.
The NASUWT advises all members to ensure that they:
- have been provided with a copy of the school’s COVID-19 updated risk assessment, which should contain all of the safety measures your employer is putting in place. Risk assessments should be the subject of consultation with staff, and if on reading the risk assessment you have any concerns about the measures being proposed or believe that something has been omitted, you should raise this with your headteacher immediately and contact the NASUWT for advice;
- are clear about and observe at all times the safety procedures;
- use the incident report form provided by the NASUWT to report any incidents where the COVID-19 safety arrangements are breached or the employer fails to implement them;
- regularly review the NASUWT Coronavirus Hub on the Union’s website, which is kept up to date with the latest advice and guidance and FAQs and keep a check on their emails for the Union’s COVID-19 updates.
Members in vulnerable groups are advised to:
- make sure that they have received and are satisfied with their individual risk assessment;
- check the risk assessment is current and reviewed on a regular basis;
- ensure that the control measures in the risk assessment are implemented fully in the workplace;
- contact the NASUWT immediately if they have any concerns about their health and safety.
Communications
The National Union has kept you informed and updated via email on a range of issues including communications with Ministers and Government, advice on risk assessments, Health and Safety, Pay, NQTs, Vulnerable Staff and Supply Teachers:
- NASUWT Email to Members – 01/09/20
- NASUWT Email to Members – 21/09/20
Our website has a wealth of information in the Coronavirus Hub including the updated self-audit checklist and letters, the updated Health & Safety Checklist and regularly updated FAQs to help support you.
Health and Safety
Failure to implement COVID-19 safety provisions, including social distancing, in the workplace
The NASUWT has received a significant number of queries from members about compliance with the COVID-19 safety measures employers have put in place, particularly social distancing measures. Employers must have within their risk assessment the measures they are putting in place to ensure that they are taking all reasonable steps to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees as required by health and safety legislation. This includes the measures relating to social distancing between adults, and between adults and pupils, in the workplace.
Risk assessments are not just a paper exercise. They have a statutory basis and must be regularly reviewed and updated. Employers have a legal duty to ensure that the measures in the risk assessment are implemented and are subject to legal action should they fail to do so. Members have reported to the NASUWT that they have raised with their employer breaches of the safety measures, including social distancing, and no action has been taken. Members must ensure that they record any incident in writing using the form provided by the NASUWT and send it to their headteacher and copy to the NASUWT at advice@mail.nasuwt.org.uk. If the employer fails to act on the incident report, the NASUWT should be contacted immediately for further advice.
Employees (this includes headteachers) have a statutory duty under section 7(a) –(b) of the Health and Safety at Work Act to:
- take reasonable care for their health and safety and that of anyone who may be affected by their acts or omissions while at work;
- co-operate with their employer so far as is necessary to enable compliance with any statutory duty or requirement relating to health and safety. Where government/employers have issued clear guidelines on social distancing in the workplace, this may constitute an implied or express term of the employee’s contract of employment. Failure to follow the guidelines by an employee may, therefore, be considered by the employer to be a failure to follow a reasonable instruction and could lead to disciplinary action. It is the responsibility of every member of staff to have regard not only for their own safety but also for the safety of others, and social distancing between staff members must be adhered to at all times.
Changes to working practices in response to COVID-19
There is no doubt that teachers and headteachers have had to adapt most of their normal working practices as a result of seeking to make educational provision and schools COVID19 secure. Many activities which were normal practice in schools have had to be reviewed in this new context. It is still all too easy to forget that passing documents around for colleagues to sign, sharing pens and equipment, or a birthday cake or box of biscuits, all now pose risks in the workplace.
Unfortunately, it appears that some schools are still trying to maintain practices which are increasing the risk of COVID-19 transmission. These include practices such as classroom observations, learning walks, drop-ins, face-to-face parental consultation events/evenings, open days, and mock examinations with large groups of pupils in the school hall. Members are advised to review very carefully the working practices and activities in the school they are expected to engage in, and also to think carefully about any activities they may be organising and to consider whether these are either necessary or safe in the current context. Please refer to the NASUWT website for further advice and guidance.
National Survey
In order to continue to develop our dialogue with the Government following school reopening, we would be grateful if you could complete the snapshot survey linked below to let us know what has happened in your school in the last couple of weeks.
The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete and will close at the end of Tuesday 29th September 2020.
Click here for the survey
Thank you for your continued support in letting us know your experiences.
Local Association Meeting
Our next Local Association Meeting will be taking place on Tuesday 6th October 2020 starting at 5pm. It will be a virtual meeting hosted on Zoom. We will be covering a range of issues including Pay and Remote Learning.
Please register to attend and a link will be sent to you.
Click here for the agenda.
Click here for dates and details of our meetings taking place this academic year.
Annual Conference
You will have received an email from our General Secretary, Dr. Patrick Roach on 14th July 2020 about being a delegate at the Annual Conference in Gateshead which is being held from 2nd April 2021 to 5th April 2021. Please follow the instructions in the email if you would like to attend.
Directed Time
We have updated our guidance on Directed Time in relation to COVID-19 which you can view here.
Remote/Blended Learning
We have updated our guidance around Remote and Blended Learning and also produced a Position Statement and Checklist for members to use.
Pay and Pay Progression
We have updated our Pay Scales which you can view here. Members should be consulted on the updated Pay Policy for 2020/21.
On Pay Progression and Teachers Appraisal, we have been clear to employers that pay progression should be honoured for all members unless you have been on capability process which began before the lockdown which you would have been aware about. We have updated our guidance here.
Childcare
We are aware that some members are facing difficulty with self-isolation and childcare and we have updated our guidance on this here.
Supply Teachers
Supply teacher members, when agreeing to take up an offer of supply work, are advised to:
- make sure they request a copy of the school’s risk assessment and that COVID-19 safety procedures are made available to them on or, where possible, before their arrival at the school;
- ask, in addition to the general risk assessment, for an individual risk assessment if they have an underlying health condition, a disability, are pregnant and/or are from a BAME background.
Click here and here for the latest Health and Safety advice for Supply Teachers.
Examinations 2020/21
Click here for the NASUWT Position Statement on the Examinations in 2020/21.
Workload
We are aware of the increase in our member’s workload during this pandemic and we are working locally to address these concerns at the Workload Working Group with Head Teachers, other Teaching Unions, and the Coventry Local Authority. The Union has also updated its guidance on Workload and Wellbeing in relation to COVID-19.
Equalities
The Women Teachers’ Consultation Conference will be taking place virtually this year on Saturday 3rd October 2020 from 9am to 4pm. Please register for this event here.
Training and CPD
We are currently reviewing our National, Regional and Local CPD offer and we will provide details once they are available.
We have held a number of webinars that have taken place online during the Summer Term, over the Summer Break and in the past 3 weeks. Topics covered include Risk Assessments, BAME, Self-Audit Checklists, Health & Safety, Accountability, Remote Learning and others. To catch up with previous webinars click here. Please view them as they cover important topics and may answer any questions, queries or concerns you may have.
Upcoming Webinars:
Pay update – 7pm, Tuesday 29 September
A webinar to discuss the Union’s guidance and support on teachers’ pay in England following the publication of the 2020 School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD). The session will be on CrowdCast and will last for 30 minutes. There will be an opportunity for questions to be answered at the end.
https://www.crowdcast.io/e/pay-update-england-only
Pregnancy and Covid-19 – 7pm, Thursday 1 October
The NASUWT is holding a webinar to discuss the Unions’ support and guidance regarding pregnancy and issues related to Covid-19. The session will be a Zoom Webinar and will last for 30 minutes. There will be an opportunity for questions to be answered at the end.
https://nasuwt-org-uk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Cjq3aNiCSAKiAOzA42G5Tg
General Q&A on Covid-19 and schools – 7pm, Tuesday 6 October
The NASUWT is holding a webinar in the form of a Q&A to answer questions you may have related to Covid-19 and schools. The session will be a Zoom Webinar and will last for 30 minutes.
https://nasuwt-org-uk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pbgpvGwwRZqvA2TjE4BkbA
Supply teacher update – 7pm, Wednesday 7 October
A webinar on issues relating to support for supply teachers. The session will be a Zoom Webinar and will last for 30 minutes. There will be an opportunity for questions to be answered at the end.
https://nasuwt-org-uk.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KJ6ywKn6T5C4jsdQ_0XoFg
Managing Workload (including remote and blended learning) – 7pm, Thursday 8 OctoberA webinar to discuss the Union’s support for Managing Workload including the topics of remote and blended learning. The session will be on CrowdCast and will last for 30 minutes. There will be an opportunity for questions to be answered at the end.
https://www.crowdcast.io/e/managing-workload
The NASUWT continues to engage nationally with Ministers and Government Officials (See website for recent letters) and locally with employers, schools, and the local authority in Coventry. We have been raising directly any issues and concerns of members.
The NASUWT has also recently written to every Local Authority, School, Trust and Independent Schools advising them of their legal obligations to their employees, reserving our members’ legal rights and entitlements and setting out the actions we expect them to take to continue to safeguard the health and welfare of staff.
We are committed to doing all we can to support the safe running of schools for you and for your pupils. Protecting your health, safety and welfare is our priority. Please do not hesitate to contact us for help, advice and support by emailing advice@mail.nasuwt.org.uk.
NASUWT Coventry 