Dear Members,
We hope you are well. Since we last wrote to you, we are still in a National Lockdown and schools are only open to vulnerable and keyworker children. We appreciate how hard you are working to provide an education to pupils both physically to those attending and to those accessing learning remotely and we thank you for everything you have done and continue to do.
Locally, we have continued to support members with issues and engaging with employers. Nationally, the Union has been supporting members by issuing guidance, and providing support via the AdviceLine. The NASUWT continues to engage nationally with Ministers and Government Officials (See our website for recent letters).
Securing safe schools
The NASUWT is continuing to campaign and lobby ministers for additional safety measures to help ensure schools and colleges are safe now and when they begin to welcome back more pupils.
We expect all schools and colleges to be continually reviewing their risk assessments and individual risk assessments (i.e., VERAs) considering the increased level of COVID-19 cases across the country and to explain to staff and parents the additional safety measures they are putting into place to prevent the spread of the virus for those physically attending school. We also expect risk assessments to cover any COVID-19 testing provision and facility.
Where members have concerns about risk assessments or safety mitigations in their workplace, they should visit our Coronavirus hub to check our advice and contact the NASUWT for further help if necessary.
Vaccinate2Educate Campaign
We’re campaigning for all teachers and education staff to be prioritised for access to Covid vaccines to help support the safe provision of teaching and learning. Our campaign is already making significant progress with education ministers pledging to push for the education workforce to get early access to vaccination. Help us keep up the pressure by sharing the campaign and writing to your MP. We have further details about the campaign on our website.
We are also continuing to press Governments for other additional safety measures and a clear national plan for how schools will be fully reopened.
Remote teaching and learning advice
Our remote teaching and learning guidance, Live Streaming, Data Protection & Privacy guidance, Display Equipment (DSE) guidance and FAQs have further advice for members about all aspects of teaching pupils remotely and teaching from home. If you have any concerns about workload or with remote teaching, then please get in touch with us.
If you missed it, you can watch the joint webinar we did last week with Oak National Academy on supporting teachers with remote learning
Schools must support the stay-at-home instruction
Teachers should not be expected to attend their school or college to undertake remote teaching. This undermines the instruction for everyone to stay at home and work from home wherever possible.
We have been pressing employers and Governments to take further steps to strongly encourage parents to keep children at home wherever possible.
Supply teachers need a better deal
The extended timeline for schools to open to more pupils threatens to exacerbate the financial hardship and anxiety facing many supply teachers. We have launched a campaign for Supply Teachers which has involved putting together this bulletin, writing to Ministers with the TUC, writing to the Secretary of State for Education and providing this members update.
We are continuing to lobby the Government for financial support to be put in place for supply teachers during the pandemic.
Current arrangements are resulting in many agencies refusing to furlough supply staff and employers refusing to honour long-term supply assignments.
Supply teacher members facing hardship can check whether they are entitled to any social security benefits and access information about our benevolence fund.
National Tutoring Programme
All maintained schools in England can access tutoring subsidised by 75% through the National Tutoring Programme to support pupils who need extra help. This programme may provide access to additional financial support for schools as well as opportunities for supply teachers.
The NTP is running an information webinar on Wednesday 10th February at 4pm, where you can hear directly from Tuition Partner organisations and learn more about the Programme. Sign up here.
More detailed information is also available on the NTP website
Supply Teachers’ Seminar – Saturday 13th March 2021
Support, advice and CPD opportunities will be available for our supply teachers at our online seminar taking place on Saturday 13th March 2021. Members will be able to raise questions and discuss the issues they face as a supply teacher during the pandemic.
There will also be a choice of workshops to attend, encompassing issues including agency mythbusters, alternatives to the agency model for employment, accessing sick pay and more. Register now.
Equalities
Launching a Big Conversation on racial justice at work
Hundreds of our members took part on Saturday 23rd January 2021 in our virtual Black Teachers’ Consultation Conference where we launched our Big Conversation on racism at work.
We will be continuing this dialogue as part of our work to challenge racism affecting our members which is still too often going unaddressed by schools.
TUC Conferences
Each year, the TUC run conferences for Black, disabled, LGBT+, women and young workers. These conferences and their elected committees guide the General Council and Congress in setting policy on relevant equalities issues.
For further details and to register, click here.
LGBTI Teachers’ Consultation Conference – Saturday 20th February 2021
This online conference will offer LGBTI members the chance to inform our work to tackle the barriers which LGBTI teachers and pupils continue to face.
Members will be able to take part in practical workshops, share their views and experiences, get advice and hear from a range of speakers including Shadow Minister for Schools Wes Streeting MP and NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach. Register now.
Support for new teachers
NQTs should look out for our updated advice on our website on the implications of the pandemic for completing your induction year. Webinars will be held in the coming weeks for new teachers to have their questions answered.
Support for student teachers
Our free spring series takes place on 27th February 2021. Each of the four webinars lasts for one hour and focuses on a different topic.
If you are a student member and haven’t yet received one of our registration emails, please email conferences.events@nasuwt.org.uk.
Training and CPD
The Coventry Inspiring Change in Education (ICE) programme is continuing its offer for NQTs this term. For further details, click here.
Coventry Adult Education are providing free maths, English and IT functional skills courses for staff in maintained schools. For further information click here.
Our webinar programme will continue this term, with further details to be made available soon. To catch up with any of our previous webinars, click here.
Safer Internet Day 2021
Safer Internet Day is taking place on Tuesday 9th February 2021 and is a way of educating your pupils about staying safe and being respectful to others online.
Visit the SID 2021 website for teaching resources and to sign up your school as a supporter
Assessment and Qualifications 2021
Following the announcement of alternative arrangements for public examinations in 2021 we published an update for our members. The Government launched a consultation with Ofqual to which NASUWT has responded and has written to the Secretary of State for Education and Ofqual to raise further concerns. Joint Professional Associations and Unions have also published this statement today along with these guidelines.
Annual Conference 2021
Annual Conference will be held virtually this year between Friday 2nd and Monday 5th April 2021.
The period where members could self-nominate to attend has ended. However, there are still places available that have not been filled and if you are interested in representing members in your area, you will need to be elected at a quorate meeting. The next Local Association Meeting will the Annual General Meeting being held on Tuesday 9th March 2021 at 5pm.
Annual General Meeting – Tuesday 9th March 2021
The Coventry Local Association Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Tuesday 9th March 2021 at 5pm on Zoom. Please add this date to your diary – we hope that you can attend. All Coventry Local Association NASUWT members are welcome. We will share the final agenda and details on how to register for the meeting after the Half Term break.
Local Association Elections
You will have received notification via email or by post from the West Midlands Regional Centre last term about our Local Association Elections for 2021/22. We are seeking nominations for the positions of Vice-President, Negotiating Secretary, Treasurer and five Executive Committee members. The deadline for the nominations to be submitted is Tuesday 9th February 2021. For further details please refer to the notification.
Ongoing support for members through the COVID-19 pandemic
Our Coronavirus hub and FAQs has the latest advice and information for members with questions relating to all aspects of Covid-19 related health, safety and workplace issues. The hub contains advice on subjects including directed time, pregnancy and maternity, childcare, self-isolation and sickness pay, performance management and much more.
Visit the Coronavirus hub and FAQs
The Union will continue to keep you informed of developments and you are requested to please continue to monitor your emails and the NASUWT website for updates. This website will also have the latest updates for Coventry members.
Please stay safe.
NASUWT Coventry 