UTU POLICY - APRIL 2006

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CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

The UTU is calling on the Department of Education to amend the Teachers' Terms and Conditions of Employment Regulations 1987 to ensure that all teachers must be afforded 10% planning and preparation time in line with their teaching colleagues in England and Wales . The UTU will be calling on the Employing Authorities to ensure that provision will be made to ensure that every teacher in Northern Ireland will have 10% planning and preparation time from September 2006.

HEALTH & WELLBEING

The UTU is calling on the Department of Education and the Employing Authorities to ensure that a comprehensive Health and Wellbeing Strategy for teachers is put in place forthwith, to include a fully funded independent welfare strategy.

PROFESSIONAL FEES

The UTU has called on the Central Executive Committee to work with the other unions in the Northern Ireland Teachers' Council to establish an agreed payment schedule for teachers who are requested to provide written or oral evidence outside the terms and conditions of their employment.

LEADERSHIP SALARIES

The UTU is demanding that Principals' and Vice Principals' salaries are awarded, like teachers, on the fulfilment of objectives set by the Governors, and not based on the ability to pay from inadequate budgets.

NEWLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS

The UTU is calling for all Newly Qualified Teachers to be guaranteed a year's school experience paid for from central funding as recommended by the Curran Committee and the GTC NI. The UTU is calling on the Employing Authorities to consult with the teacher unions on how these NQTs might best be used, including to assist with the introduction of the revised curriculum and to support teachers with composite classes.

GENDER BALANCE

The UTU is concerned at the lack of male applicants to the teaching profession, particularly in the primary sector and is calling on the Department of Education to take steps to redress the current imbalance.

GTC NI

The UTU applauds the introduction of a limited number of bursaries by GTC NI and is calling on the Department of Education to fully fund Professional Development as proposed by GTC NI.

ENTITLEMENT CURRICULUM

The UTU is calling on the Department of Education to review the funding allocation for the Entitlement Curriculum. Additional funding should be directed to schools moving forward with the meaningful and successful collaboration needed to meet the requirements of the Entitlement Curriculum.

SCHOOL TRANSPORT

The UTU is demanding that transport costs must not be taken from the Education budget and must be funded separately ( e.g. by Department of Rural Development, Social Services etc.)

SCHOOL FUNDING

The UTU has instructed the Central Executive Committee to plan and carry out a campaign focussed on the disastrous level of school funding in Northern Ireland when compared with the rest of the United Kingdom . The progress and result of this campaign will be reported to Conference 2007.

PRSD

The UTU is demanding that PRSD be properly funded in schools. Teacher reviewers must be given support to enable them to review colleagues. This must include Department of Education paid substitute cover whilst they are out of their classrooms.

SPECIAL NEEDS

The UTU is demanding that children entitled to support under the Code of Practice for Special Needs can be referred on the basis of need and not on a quota basis as happens in some Boards. The UTU is also demanding that the Government provide additional resources in the form of teaching and non-teaching support and in-service training.

UNION ORGANISATION

The UTU has instructed the Central Executive Committee to investigate an immediate review of Union structures to align these with the new structures envisaged under the Review of Public Administration. It is also reviewing the funding structure to Branches and Area Associations.

BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT

The UTU is demanding that the Northern Ireland Education and Library Boards prioritise professional development on pupil behaviour management for all teachers and support staff.

IMMIGRANT WORKERS

The UTU is calling for an urgent review of the systems currently in place to facilitate communications between schools and immigrant workers. The UTU is demanding that where necessary the Department of education make additional funding available to ensure that the increasing number of immigrant families have appropriate support, information and translation/interpretation services to allow them full access to education.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

The UTU is concerned about the growing problem of obesity and lack of physical activity in an increasing number of children. The UTU is calling on the Department of Education to help redress this situation by:
(a) resourcing primary schools for the provision of PE facilities, and

(b) funding PE specialists to work in all primary schools, either in individual large schools or in clusters of small schools.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY

UTU recognises the increased cultural diversity in many of our schools and is calling on the employing authorities to ensure that teachers are given adequate training to deal with the additional challenges presented by pupils of differing ethnic backgrounds.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

UTU is enlisting the support of the other NITC unions to enter into negotiations with the employing authorities to ensure that teachers who have two or more consecutive one-year contracts in the same school will be considered permanent.

SCHOOL TRIPS

UTU is demanding that the Department of Education (DE) prepare draft guidelines for teachers on the implications of taking pupils on school trips and negotiate those guidelines with the teacher unions through the Teachers' Negotiating Committee (TNC). It wishes to ensure that teachers are fully indemnified against claims of negligence in such situations, and if the employers are unable to do so, UTU will advise teachers not to accompany children on such trips.

PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS

UTU is demanding that the DE prepare draft advice to members on the taking of photographs of pupils and the use of video recorders in schools and the liabilities that may arise and negotiate guidelines with the teacher unions through the TNC.

TEACHING PRINCIPALS

UTU is demanding that the DE compensate those principals who have been carrying out the responsibilities of a class teacher without payment. UTU is negotiating with the employing authorities to provide appropriate support staff to release principals of nursery schools and all schools where there is a teaching principal from teaching duties within 3 years and will also fight for ring-fenced funding to be set aside for principal release.

STATEMENTS OF SPECIAL NEEDS

UTU is taking steps towards remedying the situation that can render a SEN statement invalid when a child moves to attend a school in a different ELB area.

EARLY INTERVENTION

UTU is demanding that the Department of Education and the Department of Health work together to minimise the current delays in providing early intervention by speech therapists and occupational therapists to nursery and Key Stage 1 pupils.

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

UTU is committed to equality of opportunity in education for all children and young people with disabilities and pupils with special educational needs and demands that:

• inclusion should not be introduced without a guarantee of adequate and sustained resources being put in place for special needs pupils when placing them in mainstream schools;

• inclusion will not diminish the teaching and learning of any pupil or teacher;

• inclusion will not compromise the health, safety and welfare of any pupil or teacher;

• all employing authorities, and other agencies, consult with the teacher unions on initiatives arising from inclusion policies.

UTU is lobbying DE and the employing authorities to provide additional units for children with emotional and behavioural problems. It is also lobbying to provide proper funding to enable schools to meet the special educational needs of those pupils in mainstream schools who, although they do not meet the criteria for outside support, are unable to fully access the curriculum without specialised help.

ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES

UTU has always taken a strong line on the non-involvement of members in the administration of medicines to pupils in schools. It has called on the employing authorities to publish agreed guidelines for the administration of medicines in schools that will respect the right of each teacher to refuse to administer medicine to a child or young adult. These guidelines must take account of the increasing numbers of children with special needs requiring medication now attending mainstream schools. UTU is also insisting that the DE and employing authorities indemnify those teachers who voluntarily undertake to administer medicines to children.

SENCOs

UTU is concerned about the ever-increasing burden of unnecessary recording and bureaucracy in all schools. It is particularly concerned about the continuing bureaucratic demands placed on the SENCO, the implications for all teachers such as the increase in workload, the increase in SENCOs' workload, the uncoordinated approach to in-service training and the lack of adequate resources. UTU is demanding that the resources be made available to assist SENCOs to meet the demands placed upon them and will work through the NITC to ensure that all teachers, including nursery and special needs teachers can only be required to complete and maintain essential records.

GTC NI

UTU endorses the work of the GTC NI and its role in enhancing the status of the Northern Ireland teaching profession. UTU is demanding that the DE and the ELBs give full recognition to the role of the GTC NI in planning for Initial Teacher Education and Continuing Professional Development.

HEALTH

UTU is negotiating to ensure that health screening is a central cost to enable teachers to attend appointments during teaching time.

TEACHER WELFARE

UTU recognises the heightened danger of eye strain due to the increased use of computers by classroom teachers and is calling for the provision of free eye tests for teachers.

BULLYING AND HARASSMENT

UTU has called on the employing authorities to ensure that all schools in Northern Ireland have a written anti-bullying and harassment policy for teachers that should include clear guidelines on acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

INSPECTIONS

UTU is demanding that follow-up inspections take place one year after the original inspection. It is further demanding that the follow-up inspection focuses on working with the school on areas of concern, and that these areas are not made available in the public arena.

SUBSTITUTE COVER

UTU deplores the current situation where no substitute cover is made available with regard to half-day courses. UTU is demanding that central funding is made available for teachers to attend these courses.

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER REGISTER

UTU welcomes the commitment of employing authorities to a public-funded substitute teacher register and calls upon schools to use the register in the first instance.

ALLEGATIONS AGAINST TEACHERS

UTU regrets the ease with which false allegations can be made against teachers. UTU believes that employing authorities have a duty of care to their employees and an obligation to protect teachers from false allegations. UTU will pursue, through all available channels:

• anonymity for teachers during any investigation;

• appropriate changes in the law to allow compensation claims to be made against those who falsely accuse teachers; and

• that teachers trained in the "use of reasonable force" be indemnified when using their training to restrain pupils.

HEALTH & SAFETY

UTU is demanding that that the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland use its statutory powers to ensure that the DE should acknowledge and accept its ultimate responsibility for the health, safety and wellbeing of teachers. UTU also insists that the Health & Safety Executive use the same powers to ensure that the employing authorities implement urgent measures with regard to the health, safety and wellbeing of teachers in order to redress the years of neglect of their duty of care in this respect.

POST-PRIMARY REVIEW

UTU welcomes the release of the Costello Report on the future of post-primary provision in NI and will engage pro-actively in the ensuing debate in order to promote UTU policy.

"TOP UP" FEES

UTU noted with alarm the intention of Government to permit "top-up" fees to be charged. UTU is committed to ensuring that there is equality for all students entering teaching and will bring these concerns to the providers of teacher training.

INTERNATIONAL

UTU participated in the Global Campaign for Education with NUT, INTO, NASUWT, OXFAM, ICTU and Save the Children and supports the Global Week of Action. UTU publicises the Union 's work at the British and Irish Group of Unions (BIGTU), Educational International Europe (EIE), the European Trade Union Committee on Education (ETUCE) and Educational International (EI) on behalf of members. UTU recognises the influence of the EC on teachers' conditions of service here and the education provided to pupils and publicises it through UTU News and the UTU website. UTU will continue to support the efforts of EI to ensure teachers' rights are observed throughout situations of conflict in various countries.

HEALTH OF PUPILS

UTU is concerned about the diet and health of many pupils in our schools and is demanding that Government take urgent proactive measures to counteract the short-term and long-term difficulties being caused by the poor eating habits of an increasing number of children. UTU is campaigning for nutritional school meals, access to drinking water for all pupils and increased provision of PE specialists in primary schools.

FUNDING OF SCHOOLS

UTU, while opposing LMS, deplores the delay in the introduction of commonality of funding. UTU is investigating the discrepancies in funding allocations by the five Area Boards and any other anomalies, and will bring these to the attention of the DE.

HOLDING OF INFORMATION
UTU recognises the increasing use of surveillance and monitoring devices in schools and the growing number of records that are held by schools, employing authorities and the DE. UTU is demanding that employing authorities train governors and teachers about the implications of the Freedom of Information Act and that the DE prepare draft guidelines and advice for teachers in the area of Data Protection. UTU is calling for negotiations on this draft with the employing authorities to ensure that the rights of individual teachers under the Data Protection Act are identified and protected. UTU wishes to ensure that the data held on individual teachers is not employed in any punitive process which is detrimental to their pay, terms and conditions or professional development.