JGS report

There has been a step-change in the Union’s status and role.  At all levels, the Union has moved swiftly to respond to the C19 crisis

The JGSs summarised the various initiatives taken:

• Telephone ‘town halls’; first was attended by c2.5k members; 2^nd by c3.5k members; 3rd for supply members and had 1k and 4th had 700
• Zoom calls to 200 on local officers’ call; 500 on workplace reps call
• Call hub to workplace reps – 4,602 calls attempted so far with 1,544 conversations with reps (33.6% convo rate)
• Three very popular You Tube videos for members and parents
• the launch of a microsite for parents with resources and messaging
• Regularly updated FAQs aimed at different sections of our membership widely shared via social media
• ‘what we say today’ feature updated daily
• regular meetings with our Regional Secretaries and AGS team and of a special Covid 19 response team to coordinate this work
• consciously aiming at a negotiating approach at school and college level – encouraged and led by local officer and workplace rep zoom calls
• Created a ‘winning in the workplace’ web page where we also included examples of good agreements
• encouraging local officers to set up WhatsApp groups for their reps and currently experimenting with Guild groups
• “out there” early on – saying that vulnerable staff and staff who live with vulnerable people should withdraw from work which has proved a real mobiliser – position won widely
• Where no agreement reached, reps encouraged to organise the sending of a letter as an entry level tactic
• we have aimed at moral high ground – calling for volunteers to do the school rotas, speaking about how schools and staff can support vulnerable children
• used the joint union advice to good effect.

In discussions with Government, our approach has been solely evidence based – in contrast with the NASUWT ‘five demands’. Our petition has attracted 180k signatures.  Initial meeting with DFE to be held on 24 April to discuss how and when schools can open safely.

Most challenging areas include independent schools with threat of liquidation for some or parental pressure to re-open prematurely.  Supply members (four cohorts: agency, LA pool, umbrella company or directly engaged) face different challenges. Union pressing for schools to continue to pay supply teachers – easier with long term engagements; umbrella companies resisting furlough due to increased costs of holiday pay; surveying all supply members and responses will inform discussions with Government and advice given.

Finance Matters – Membership income budget has been profiled based on a steady membership throughout the year – more work ongoing to interrogate membership profile and subs income. Overall, year-end projection for headquarters budget is for an underspend against the year to date budget costs (4.1/230420).  The OSG received an initial estimation of identified cost savings due to the closure of NEU offices and our response to the CV19 pandemic.  Lost revenue includes a ‘rent holiday’ for one Hamilton House tenant for Q2 and another tenant will be released from their lease 3 months early –  lost revenue of £15k. Temporary allowance for staff working from home will cost £25k per month; additional £60k cost for provision of online courses for NEU members; increase in equipment/office supplies – current initial estimate for IT spend £20k (to be offset against fall in staff expenses); additional costs incurred for conferences (other than annual) £20k. Savings: the saving from the cancellation of Annual Conference amounts to £586k; the cancellation of other conferences has created a saving of £77k; hotel and travel – average monthly spend of £42k; cancellation of summer term meetings, events and courses – £500k; current estimates show a net reduction in budgeted expenditure of £1.082m. Budgeted deficit for the year was £1.054m, so  estimate small surplus of £28k for the financial year to 31 August 2020. The Hamilton House refurbishment project has been paused during the period of NEU office closures; envisage a small increase in cost of approximately £1,100.00 excl. VAT.

The OSG ratified the subscription increase of 2.75%.

District & Branch elections – there are a small number of districts where for a variety of reasons there is no longer time to carry out an election within the timescales dictated by rule.  The OSG agreed that the elections are held as early as is practicable in the summer term with the support of region/Wales staff to facilitate the participation of all members in an electronic election.  As the term of office does not commence until 1 September 2020 this is possible and it is likely to be viewed by the nominees, their supporters and the membership as the most democratic option.

National Hardship Fund – the OSG agreed the application criteria and process and further agreed to relax £500 cap for District donations – maximum £2k for NHF donations only; that the national Union to underwrite aggregate district donations up to £50k for first month, then review to evaluate application numbers; a paper would be brought to the next meeting with proposals to permit regional/Wales council donations to the Fund. The composition of the Panel was agreed.

TUC delegation – OSG agreed that the 10 Executive places would be filled by seeking nominations; candidates to provide a 250-word statement; if contested, electronic elections; possible need for guarded places to ensure 50% women across delegation.

Operation of OSG as committee of urgency – OSG agreed that vice-chairs can substitute for chairs whilst OSG meeting as committee of urgency and Strategy Committees to continue to meet the day before OSG with consideration given to AGSs being present; members can raise C19 issues within remit of their committee as well as commenting on OSG agenda.  Monthly ‘town hall/zoom’ JGS briefing for full Executive – dates to be circulated.

Executive Review Group – consideration was deferred until the Executive reconvenes.

Enfield – request to amend the state education branch and district election rules was declined by the OSG on the basis of the extant JEC decision that only rules relating to quorum (over 10 minimum) and officer roles could be changed and that the proposed change would blur the distinction between the district and the state education branch.

It was agreed that the crowdfunding request from Care4Calais would be circulated to local districts via the e-Bulletin encouraging support. A paper would be brought to the next meeting with the balance in donations budget and identifying a cache of funding for C19 specific donations.  A request from Lancaster & Morecambe to approve spending of £600 for a new laptop to facilitate operation of the district during lockdown was agreed.

The Officer Steering Group met on 19 March 2020 to discuss urgent matters that would have been considered at the March Executive meeting. A summary of the decisions is set out below.  All reports and papers are on Convene.

The following minutes were all agreed as an accurate record of proceedings:

1. Minutes of EIGHTH NEU Executive Meeting held on 6 February 2020;
2. Minutes of the TENTH Officer Steering Group held on 5 March (Niamh Sweeney wrongly omitted from attendance)
3. Minutes of the EIGHTH Strategy: General Purposes Committee (6 February 2020).
4. Minutes of the EIGHTH Strategy: Union Strength Committee (6 February 2020).
5. Minutes of the EIGHTH Strategy: Bargaining & Negotiation Committee (6 February 2020).
6. Minutes of the EIGHTH Strategy: Member Defence Committee (6 February 2020).
7. Minutes of the EIGHTH Strategy: Policy, Research & Campaigns Committee (6 February 2020)
8. Minutes of the TENTH Action Committee (5 March 2020).
9. Minutes of the International Committee (6 February 2020).
10. Report of the Officers’ Meeting held on 5 March 2020.
11. Report of the Officers’ Meeting – Conference Amendments (11 March 2020) acting as a Committee of Emergency.
12. The Report of the NDC held on 7 February 2020 (to note).

Sixth Form College Action and all local action

The Union has withdrawn notices of all action and cancelled all action ballots with the school closures.  This does not include the Isle of Man where schools are still open and we have a dispute which might result in balloting members for action and Northern Ireland where the action short of strike action continues, pending confirmation that the funding of the pay claim will be finalised.

The OSG agreed the following schedule of meetings for 2021

Executive 

Thursday, 14 January (Final Accounts)

Saturday, 20 February (amendments/subscription rate)

Thursday, 25 March (attitudes)

Saturday, 8 May (TUC delegates/motions)

Thursday, 10 June

Saturday, 17 July

Saturday, 2 October

Thursday, 25 November (Conference motions)                        

Officer Steering Group

Thursday, 11 February (initial consideration of prioritised motions)

Thursday, 11 March

Thursday, 22 April (initial post-Conference discussions)

Thursday, 20 May

Thursday, 1 July

Thursday, 9 September (TUC attitudes – recommendations to delegation)

Thursday, 4 November

Thursday, 16 December

The OSG agreed the Disciplinary Procedures (following review group recommendations) with some slight amendments and a note on the operation of NDC/NAC both in the current crisis and going forward.  A suite of templates/advice notes and standard letters will be available to assist parties to a dispute and their companions.

Covid-19 – urgent decisions

The OSG received a report on business continuity arrangements (GPC 10/2103020). In addition, they agreed that the Advice Line and Membership Helpline would move to email advice only until further notice; that urgent consideration be given to setting up a national Hardship Fund to which districts and members could donate; that we would explore the mechanics of setting up ‘subs holidays’ for members not receiving pay. Information about applying to the Trust Fund would also be cascaded to members suffering hardship. The OSG also agreed that the advice to branches and districts on meetings should be revised in the light of latest advice and that no physical meetings be held until further notice.  Districts to be advised that they should roll over 2019 honoraria decisions.

Under the Financial Report the OSG noted the management response to the audit letter ((GPC 4/4a and 4b /210320) and agreed the appointment of BDO as the auditors following tender exercise.  

Membership subscription rates with effect from 1 September 2020

The OSG received a detailed paper analysing membership trends, budget pressures and competitors’ sub rates (GPC 5/210320). The OSG agreed that the union increase the national subscription rates by 2.75% to match anticipated subscription income with anticipated expenditure levels.  This rate would be reviewed at the next meeting as informed by the on-going budget modelling.  Given the cost savings to the union of withdrawing the offer and the lack of impact on member recruitment, the OSG agreed that the Union would again not provide a special offer for 2020/21.  The new joiner rate will be the published rates for Leadership, Teacher/Lecturer and Support with no local fee payable. 

NEU Conferences

In the light of current advice re public movement/gatherings, the OSG agreed to cancel national events scheduled for the summer and review the autumn conferences by the end of May; staff convenors of OFs and NCs would confer with their groups in the interim and seek to establish regular digital communications including virtual meetings.

Executive by-elections

Following the election of Daniel Kebede and Louise Atkinson as Officers, two by-elections will be required.  The OSG agreed that the elections should be postponed to ensure that districts have the time and opportunity to make valid nominations.

Funding and Donations

The OSG agreed to the following donations/affiliations:

Outdoor Education Advisors Panel (GPC  19-19b/210320) – a donation of £750.

Stand up to Racism – the OSG received a report on the 2019 activities funded by the NEU’s contribution of £68k and agreed a request for £70k funding for detailed list of activities. It was noted that some of this money could be set against the Political Fund, for example a student event with a focus on voter registration.

Staffing matters

The OSG received an update on the on-going pay negotiations and agreed to retain the 2% pay offer to staff; the OSG noted a report from the Executive Project Group on the NEU pension scheme project and agreed not to move to the consultation period given the current situation.

Executive arrangements

The OSG agreed that the Executive meeting in May should be cancelled in accordance with current Government/Union advice. The OSG would meet on 7 May and the possibility of ‘streaming’ the meeting for the Executive would be explored.

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I’m fortunate to have just returned from my second international solidarity delegation to Palestine with the NEU. A lot has changed since I first visited Palestine 2 years ago, the visual reality of how much the settlements have grown is very shocking but the optimism of the Palestinians is still not dimmed …..in fact they are more determined than ever to reclaim their land. After my first visit when I spoke of Palestine I did make the point that there is a system of apartheid in place there but this time that was far more obvious. We saw segregated buses, different roads for Palestinians and Israelis and different coloured number plates on their cars as well as all the permits depending on your ethnicity and where you live. We visited very deprived Palestinian schools where teachers are truly mothers to their children and try to keep the outside from coming into their happy classrooms. The classrooms are cramped, there are attempts to censor their text books to delete their Palestinian history and they are harassed on their journey to and from school ….but still they smiled, thanked us for our solidarity and asked us to tell the world the truth on our return. We also spoke to activists, academics and NGOs about the situation and how important the role of the UK and other Western countries is in being able to fight for Palestinian rights…..they are relying on us and it’s completely unacceptable that their struggle has continued for so long. Similar situations that we couldn’t imagine being resolved have had a successful conclusion…the Northern Ireland peace agreement and the end to apartheid in South Africa are 2 very important instances. We need to increase our efforts for the Palestinians and because I have seen and heard their story, I will continue to bear witness to their experience and increase my efforts to be their voice. #Existenceisresistance #Tearsarenotenough #FreePalestine 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸✊

19People reached

3Engagements

I spent this weekend volunteering at the refugee camps with Care4Calais through the NEU. The only way to describe the experience is heartbreaking. We distributed over 350 coats to refugees in the pouring rain and winds strong enough to knock people off balance. Many of the people we spoke to had no coats, jumpers and were wearing sandals and flip flops as they did not have any footwear. Yet, despite the hardship I was honestly astounded by how positive and generous so many of the people I saw to were.

I spoke to some of the most incredible people from Iran, Sudan, Senegal, Egypt, Iraq and many more. They were fleeing some of the most horrendous persecution and each and every one of them wanted nothing more than to work and to improve their lives.

The day before we arrived, one of the refugees had unfortunately passed away in his tent, and the French had bulldozed a number of the camps with no warning, destroying many of these people’s entire possessions, including their only photos of their families. On the Sunday we visited a former camp full of children’s toys and shoes – this was where Kurdish families had been before being cleared out and scattered across France.

Two people particularly stood out to me. One, an incredible man from Senegal, who worked so hard every day to ensure that the warehouses were organised and that people could fairly receive their donations. He was always the last to sit down and eat and the first to get up and help. Despite the awful experiences, all he wanted to do was help his friends. Another, a man from Iran who spoke beautifully about his love for Britain. He was fleeing huge amounts of persecution and spoke of how it would be the happiest moment of his life if he could get a job in England teaching English to other Iranian refugees.

These people are some of the most amazing people I have ever met, and it is outrageous and unacceptable that our government has sent £55m to France to fund the police that brutally and violently repress talented and caring people who want nothing more than to have a life free from persecution. It beggars belief that we allow this to happen on our borders.

While I do encourage people to volunteer time, give donations and to talk about the conditions at the camps, all of these solutions only provide temporary relief. Without real change of government and challenge to the untrue, damaging narrative that refugees are a threat to our way of life peddled by Farage, Johnson and the like, there will not be a long term solution. Please join me in helping create a better society and protecting those most in need of our support.

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Tracy McGuire, newly elected Support Staff member, was welcomed to her first meeting, as was Dr Bernard Regan, one of the four Union Trustees.

Joint General Secretaries’ report

The (very helpful) feedback from the breakout sessions will be collated and will inform continuing discussions by the Executive and the SMT on the Union’s post-election strategies.

Sixth Form College Pay Dispute 2019-2020

· The Staff Side met with the Sixth Form College Association (SFCA) to continue discussions about sixth form college teachers’ pay from 1 September 2019.

· The Staff Side restated its rejection of the SFCA’s offer of 1.5% increase for September 2019, which was well below the 2.75% increase for school teachers, and not effective until August 2020.

· Both sides decided that they wanted to reach an agreement if possible and agreed to have further discussions with their members before resuming negotiations later in the spring term.

· NEU members working in 34 sixth form colleges will take strike action on Wednesday 12 February, Thursday 27 February and Tuesday 10 March 2020 (the day before Budget day).

· Executive members encouraged to send messages of solidarity on the strike days.

· The current ballot expires in March; indicative ballots currently underway, organised by Regional Secretaries.

OFSTED

· The NEU has launched major new guidance on contractual responsibilities for members undergoing Ofsted inspection in response to complaints about school inspections following the introduction of Ofsted’s new framework in September 2019.

· Primary schools have been particularly affected with teachers taking on curriculum responsibilities without additional pay or time for management duties.

· The NEU wrote to Amanda Spielman, HM Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, referencing the STPCD Statutory guidance on responsibility, accountability and appropriate additional payments (TLRs).

· The new framework has clearly been designed with secondary school management and resources in mind and failed to create a more constructive relationship between inspectorate and workforce although it was noted that ‘mock deep dives’ remained a concern.

· Very significant public statement by Sir Dan Moynihan (Harris chief executive), Dame Rachel de Souza (chief executive, Inspiration Trust) and Martyn Oliver (Outwood Grange Academies Trust chief executive) that Ofsted was “not fit for purpose” and that the framework was unworkable; following a meeting with Amanda Spielman.

The Executive agreed to submit the following Emergency Motion for TUC Women’s 2020 calling for:

i. Affiliates to support the appeal to clear the name of 19-year-old woman found guilty of lying about being raped by 12 men in Ayia Napa;

ii. Campaign to ensure all schools have the capacity and confidence to teach about issues of consent and violence against women and girls, within RSE and through a whole school approach;

iii. Government to properly fund rape crisis services and specialist services so that no survivor is turned away;

iv. Support the campaign ‘‘we can’t consent to this’’; and

v. Support the End Violence Against Women’s Coalition’s judicial review against the CPS to get better justice for survivors of rape.

As part of its key governance role, the Executive noted the Budget v actual variance report to 31 December 2019, the NEU Accounts for the eight months to 31 August

2019, alongside the management and governance report from auditors BDO. The Union’s AR21 has been duly submitted to the Certification Officer (and similar for Northern Ireland). Following an extensive tender exercise, the Executive agreed to award the catering contract for Hamilton House to Graysons (which provide catering services for British Library and the Crick Institute amongst others). With the HQ refurbishment on schedule, and with the final cohort of staff due to vacate the offices at 7 Northumberland Street in the autumn term and move to Hamilton House, it was also agreed to begin the process of selling 7 Northumberland Street.

GPC and Union Strength considered the initial stages of a review into NEU Conferences 2019 and jointly agreed the following principles as the basis for a more detailed set of proposals for further consideration at the March meetings and as the basis for Executive committee amendments to any relevant prioritised conference motions.

A number of amendments were made to Conference Standing Orders to clarify the mechanism for Conference debating and adopting the Annual Report.

The Executive agreed to donate £5000 to the UCU hardship fund to support their current campaign and action in universities and to encourage local districts to also make donations and/or twin with their local striking university.

The Executive agreed that the following Behaviour Statement shall apply to all NEU member meetings, conferences, courses and events, whether national, regional, district, branch or workplace. Both strategy committees have discussed mechanisms to implement the Behaviour Statement at all NEU events as the basis to draft detailed implementation guidance.

Everyone attending a National Education Union (NEU) event has the right to expect a space free from bullying, intimidation and harassment; to be treated with dignity, respect and courtesy and not to be discriminated against. The NEU will not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination. Members attending an NEU event are responsible for their own behaviour and must ensure they behave appropriately showing respect to others during NEU events and social activities. Reports of inappropriate behaviour, including behaviour which brings injury or discredit to the Union, will be treated seriously and acted upon promptly. Any such behaviour may ultimately result in attendees being asked to leave and/or action being taken against members under the Union’s Code of Professional Conduct. The event coordinator will outline how members can report inappropriate behaviour, and the event coordinator has complete discretion to ask individuals to leave the event.

NEU member and school rep at St Bede’s Catholic Primary School, Monika Lufter was one of the victims of the stabbings in Streatham on Sunday 2 February 2020. Monika has been released from hospital and is recovering well. Mary and Kevin have sent flowers to Monika on behalf of all her friends and colleagues in the Union.

The Executive observed a minute’s silence in memory of Richard Garner, former education correspondent on both the Daily Mirror and the Independent and a great friend and supporter of both legacy unions and the education profession.

Joint General Secretaries’ report

· OECD/PISA report published on 3 December:

· UK’s ranking (69 of 72) low but important to note that PISA built on a system of teacher autonomy without inspectorate interference

· reliance on rote memorisation an understandable response to the volume of information to be recalled in high-stakes testing;

· on well-being, 66 per cent of young people said they were sometimes or always worried compared with an OECD average of 50 per cent;

· underlying factors vital – poverty the enemy of learning; children in poverty begin their school lives with a 40% gap which only widens through the key stages; compounded by staffing profile of schools in disadvantaged areas with teachers disproportionately in first 3 years of careers;

· contrast findings with Estonian system where play-based curriculum until 7 years; standard, broad and balanced curriculum; mixed ability teaching; teacher autonomy with no external inspectorate – reflected in high PISA rankings.

OFSTED Guidance

· new OFSTED framework predicated on secondary staffing structures;

· advice to teachers (primary in the main) who are not in the leadership group and who do not receive a TLR payment for responsibility for any subject or curriculum area is that they should not be expected to be accountable for subject area;

· viewed by over 30,000 to date.

General Election Campaign

· Re-launch of School Cuts website with analysis of all parties’ education manifesto promises;

· Model letter emailed to districts with school cuts data for mailing to local press contacts.

Winning the Pay Award for members

· All geographical Executive members provided with contact details for their branch secretaries and where no survey response yet received;

· Important survey data from c80 of 175 branches including where not compliant with the NEU/NAHT advice.

Sixth Form Colleges

· Further day of strike action on 20 November;

· Strategy to win dispute to be evaluated when outcome of election known;

· Agreed to continue to seek a pay agreement in line with the Staff Side pay claim

· Agreed to congratulate the NEC member and members in the sector on their support for the NEU strike action;

· meeting to be convened (in accordance with protocol on national/sectoral action) to include post-16 Executive seat-holder, Chair of Bargaining and Negotiations together with College Reps to discuss the ongoing action strategy into 2020.

Efficient Working and Size of the Executive

Following discussions at the September and October Executive meetings, it was agreed that a proposed Rule change would be included in the Executive report to Conference reducing geographical multi-member seats from 4 members to 3 in English districts.

Bargaining Strategy – The Executive agreed to further development of the proposed NEU school information database, drawing on publicly available and locally sourced information, and initially established for trialling purposes as an internal resource.

The Executive agreed the Submission to School Teachers Review Body on School Teachers’ Pay noting that it would be revised and finalised to reflect the outcome of the General Election and signed off by the Chair.

Mairead Canavan, Sarah Carter and Kiri Tunks were elected as delegates to the TUC Women’s Conference (March 2020) and the text of two motions on families in poverty and celebrating black women and girls in education was agreed. Louise Atkinson and Karam Bales were elected to the delegation to TUC Black Workers’ Conference (April 2020). NEU delegations to TUC equalities conferences will be reviewed to ensure that the Membership and Equality Officer is an automatic member of all delegations.

The Executive agreed the following recommendations from GPC:

· NEU to become a named signatory to the Global investment statement on climate change;

· the NEU engage Electoral Reform Services to provide ballot, election and MAC services for the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 following a tender exercise;

· the subsistence rates for 2020 (uprated by 2% in line with the 2% increase in member subscriptions) and a change to the expenses regulations to allow members to claim an allowance (currently £4 per week £208 per year) if using part of their home as an office;

· proposals regarding the organisation of CPD and breakout sessions at Conference 2020;

· multi-year deals for Conference 2021 -24 in Bournemouth and Harrogate;

· election of regions/Wales delegates to TUC Congress to ensure a delegate balance between women and men more in proportion to that of the Union membership;

· Rule change in relation to the remit of the Professional Conduct Committee for inclusion in the Executive Report to Conference;

· Support for national officers – advice to candidates in national elections.

The Member Defence Committee discussed and approved the existing and intended work on implementation of the Tackling Workload resolution including; the gathering of figures on excessive bullying and workload cases; re-affirming messages to relevant staff in support of an active legal strategy against excessive workload and bullying with a pro-active approach to test cases; ensuring sufficient budget for such a strategy; working with sympathetic trade unions on the strategy; arranging regional conferences/briefings to facilitate discussion between relevant legal and casework staff and members for explanation of and dialogue on the Union’s legal strategy to ensure a concerted national approach. Both Member Defence and Union Strength committees also discussed a range of factors relating to the promulgation and implementation of a Code of Behaviour at Union events that will now form the basis for a set of proposals and recommendations for ratification at the February Executive.

The US Committee discussed a paper setting the framework for guidance to local officers regarding increasing member engagement to sustain locally agreed increases in quorum arrangements. The Executive agreed that more detailed guidance on best practice to foster member engagement in branches and districts will be discussed at the February meeting of the Committee.

The Executive welcomed the fact that local secretaries can now amend member records and noted that members have had this ability to amend their own records via MyNEU since 2017. Local secretaries’ ability to add reps will go live before the end of term and reps’ own ability to amend member records will follow in the New Year.

The Executive agreed an updated version of the NEU/NAHT Avoidance of Disputes Protocol and a Protocol and Guidance on National/Sectoral Action. Both will be available on the website.

Finally, the Executive agreed a resolution to review the election processes at the Executive for referral to GPC.

Seasons’ Greetings to you all – wishing you an enjoyable and restful break.

Joint General Secretaries’ report

Mary began the report by highlighting the disturbing findings of the EPI research commissioned by the Union:

• 24,000 pupils are off-rolled before Y10;
• 7 in ten of pupils who are off-rolled to an unknown destination never return to a state-funded school by the spring term of year 11;
• 75% of the cohort are classified as vulnerable; a third are ‘looked after’;
• No differential between LA and MAT statistics except in the case of MATs with 10+ secondaries where the rate is higher;
• Clear consequence of commodification of pupils;
• Those pupils most in need of secure schooling are least likely to access it;
• Noted the coruscating report from the NAO on the ‘financially unsustainable’ SEND system – following the Government’s reforms in 2014;
• Considering NEU public-facing document combining the EPI, NAO and OFSTED research/evidence to promote the Union’s vision. 

Sixth Form College ballot

• Successful Rally in central London on 17 October; 25 colleges on strike joined by members from Leicestershire on their half term holiday;
• Re-balloting in 17 colleges;
• the next day of action on 5 November – timed for the day before the budget;
• JGSs met the FE minister who claimed that the strikes would harm students; JGSs countered that the 20% cuts in funding harming students.
• The Executive also agreed to endorse rejection of the current 1.5% pay offer and authorised the JGSs to call further days of strike action before the December Executive if necessary.

Consultation on Assessment

• The national Executive agreed that we should consult with 17 districts that passed the ballot thresholds in the electronic indicative ballot on high stakes testing in primary schools to ascertain their views on:
• successfully winning a formal ballot in their area in the event that only some areas were balloted.
• successfully carrying out the boycott if a formal ballot was successful.
• If there are other ways of continuing to develop the campaign in their area – for example getting local councils, governing bodies to call for SATs to end in their Town/borough etc.

The JGSs reported that there were responses from 8 secretaries of which only one felt there was the prospect of a successful ballot for a boycott. There would now be further consultation with that district with a meeting of primary reps called and attended by the JGS to ascertain levels of support for a ballot.

Winning the Pay Award for teacher members

• Just before half term, teacher members emailed and asked to check their pay spine position.  Follow up contact with members in November, when we expect most teachers to receive their backdated 1 September pay increase, asking members to check their pay further and to follow up with workplace reps. 
• 53% click through to website following email to teacher members;
• Pay implementation project also embedding a method of union activity/engagement
• Activity at school level supported by branch/districts – set up on ‘Callhub’ to contact secondary reps;
• Method could be replicated for any campaign priority such as workload.

Agreed to provide Executive members details of branch secretaries within their electoral districts who had yet to respond to the call round; and for them to be registered on ‘Callhub’ so they can demonstrate the simplicity of the system. Pay calculator to be more prominent on the website.

Efficient Working of the Executive – At their meeting on 3 October, the OSG thought it would be useful to get a ‘temperature check’ on the proposals discussed in September.  The resulting survey indicated support for a two-stage process, with the first phase reducing the multi-member seats in England by one from 2021.  Further discussion will take place at the December meeting before any decisions are taken.

Annual Conference – Jerry Glazier, Philipa Harvey, Kim Knappett, Louise Regan, Sheena Wheatley and Iain Windeatt were elected to serve on the Conference Committee.  Revised Standing Orders were also agreed and the Executive endorsed the recommendation that Bournemouth and Harrogate should be the venues for NEU Conference 2022-2025, taking advantage of multi-year deals.  Conference motions on the following topics were agreed;Ofsted, Child poverty & disadvantage, Vision for State Education, Teacher and Support Staff pensions and Supporting Members

The Executive agreed to nominate Heather McKenzie to the TPS Board and support the ASCL/NAHT candidate as part of the teachers’ side slate.

The Executive agreed the Union’s Bargaining Strategy and to recommend inclusion of more information on local bargaining issues & successes in the NEU Bargainers’ Bulletin. The proposed framework for evidence to the STRB was agreed, including the need for an initial increase of at least 7% to start the process of restoring pay. 

The Executive agreed that pooling and averaging travel costs for all centrally run events and conferences be introduced from January 2020, other than for annual conference. Guidance on promotion of nominated candidates in national elections by district secretaries to their members was adopted. The composition of delegation to TUC Conferences (equality and young workers’ events) was agreed – delegates to be drawn from the relevant OF or NC and the Executive.

Donations to Lift the Ban (£1,000) and the Robin Hood Tax campaign (£2,000) were agreed.

Members of the NAC/NDC review group considering the interim disciplinary procedures reported back that the Group had met and has consulted with others including NDC/NAC members and those with experience of disciplinary procedures and equality seat members. The Group was not presently ready to recommend major changes to the disciplinary rules in time for the December Executive and inclusion in the Annual Report to Conference.

The Union Strength and Member Defence strategy committees held a joint discussion about a Code of Behaviour for NEU events and agreed an allocation of elements for each committee to give the matter more detailed consideration at their December meetings to inform concrete proposals to the Executive early in 2020 as part of the wider review of NEU events. 

The Executive ratified the regional/Wales council levies (all bar SE RC which will be set this term). As part of this exercise, SC:US reviewed current Regional/Wales Council activity plans and agreed to more detailed consideration at a future meeting with a view to providing further guidance to Regional/Wales Councils on content of plans. It was agreed to amend the Activity Grant Regulations to stipulate that applications must come from quorate general or committee meetings.

The Executive congratulated Philipa Harvey on her election as Chair of the TUC Women’s Committee.

The Executive welcomed Amanda Martin to her first Executive as President and paid tribute to Kiri Tunks and Kim Knappett as outgoing Joint Presidents.

Joint General Secretaries’ report

Following detailed presentations by the JGS, the Executive agreed:

1.       Plans to prepare for a general election, mobilising voters to vote for education around school funding and child poverty and to mobilise members to vote in addition on education policies.

2.       Funding for that election campaign as recommended by GPC this morning.

3.       In the light of the need this term to prepare for the GE and the uncertainty caused currently by lack of clarity on Government policy on teacher pay, the Executive agrees not to proceed with the indicative ballot on pay currently.  The Joint General Secretaries will, as part of their report to the Executive, bring a proposal on the Conference decision on the indicative ballot on pay to the first Executive meeting after any General Election.

4.       In the light of the results of the pay focus groups, the Executive agrees to request the JGS to come back with plans around continuing a pay campaign, including immediate proposals for pay implementation and medium term pay demands and campaigning.

The Executive endorsed a recommendation from GPC on a general election campaign plan outline and that the NEU budget 2019-20 would be adjusted by up to £1 million additional expenditure, with further work to be done on the detail of the planned expenditure.

The Panel for the Annie Hidgon Award was elected– Mairead Canavan, Katie Lindenberg, Louise Regan, Kiri Tunks and Karen Williams.

Bargaining strategy for the NEU:

The Executive agreed to:

• endorse the principles of the proposed strategy for discussion and implementation including at the DBSB
• endorse a final strategy document at its October meeting which would include the central role of the Districts and Branches: greater emphasis on supporting, training and networking reps and utilising the collective strength of the union to support and defend reps from victimisation for assuming the role; and acknowledgement of the range of circumstances facing the union in workplaces and adapting tactics to this.

Sixth Form Colleges:

Following the industrial action ballot of 6FC members, the Executive agreed:

• the first day of strike action should be in the week of 14 October, with further days of strike action in the weeks of 4 and 18 November and further dates to be determined in due course
• a national event should be organised in London on the first strike day, together with activities for members not taking action to show solidarity;
• further ballots should be held in other selected colleges based on turnout or strategic significance of the college; and
• strike pay should be paid to members taking strike action for all days of strike action.

The Executive agreed a procedure for the approval of budget overspend.  The format and content of the Report of the Executive to Annual Conference was agreed and that the venue for Conference 2021 would be Manchester.

The Executive endorsed updates to the National Rules (following Conference and Executive decisions) and proposals for Rule changes to be put to Conference 2020. The revised model branch rules were also agreed.  The updated Rules to be reprinted during the autumn term.

The Strategy Committee Member Defence discussed the implementation of items (i) and (ii) of the Disability Discrimination Conference Resolution and in particular consideration of what kind of material would meet the aim of the resolution to raise awareness and alert members to further guidance on our strategies and members’ rights as regards disabilities discrimination.  This was referred to the Equalities Committee for detailed consideration.

The Executive agreed to affiliate to the Lift the Ban campaign, and work with the group on a range of actions. The campaign is a coalition of groups which aims to win the right to work for people seeking asylum after six months of having lodged an asylum claim.  Affiliation is free and will mean the NEU logo is on publicity material and the website. There are no cost implications to affiliation.

Following the survey of local officers, the Executive agreed the following in relation to the payment of honoraria

1.       NEU shall make Honoraria available to Local Officers;

2.       Honoraria payments shall be capped at £2,000 per annum;

3.       Local officers undertaking trade union activities shall be eligible to receive NEU Honoraria

4.       Local officers undertaking trade union duties shall not be eligible to receive NEU Honoraria;

5.       No individual shall be eligible to receive more than one honorarium;

6.       In exceptional circumstances, the executive may consider alternative proposals agreed at a quorate local district AGM.

Further guidance on this decision will be relayed to local officers via the e-Bulletin.

It was agreed to establish a TKAT branch with tribute paid to the lead reps who have worked alongside members and reps and organised effective, but unofficial structures, for the purposes of organising and bargaining across the Trust. In order to progress the Conference Resolution on SEND it was agreed that a SEND Virtual Reference Group be established.  The Executive agreed a paper outlining the remit, scope and constitution of section conferences (i.e. equality strands and sectors) for consideration of associated organising forum and national councils ahead of their 2020 section conferences

The Executive agreed resolutions on the following topics:

• ‘Free our Unions’ – welcoming the Labour Party announcement at the TUC and the work undertaken by Laura Pidcock MP, John Hendy and the IER to establish a Shadow Ministry of Employment Rights; supporting Labour’s commitment to sectoral collective bargaining (the subject of one of our agreed resolutions at TUC); the repeal of the anti-trade union laws and genuine equal pay for women.
• Defend our Democracy – opposing the prorogation of Parliament and the imposition of a Conservative ‘no deal’ Brexit without debate and scrutiny and supporting the campaign for a general election.

These decisions will be referred to relevant departments/committees for implementation.

Joint General Secretaries’ Report

At their meeting on Saturday, the Executive agreed the following in relation to the ballot and on-going assessment campaign:

1. These ballot results do not indicate that were we to conduct a formal ballot we would reach the legal thresholds or be able to deliver a meaningful boycott. Only 22% of the ballot cohort voted for the action, when the legislation requires 40%, moreover the analysis of the voting by year group shows a majority of members who would be called upon to deliver the boycott voted against taking action.

2. However, the 97% vote in favour of question 1, which was consistent across all cohorts and demographics, shows the members want an end to toxic testing in primary schools. We must exploit this result to the fullest. It is an endorsement of the Union’s position and the positions of the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green parties. It is a condemnation of the Government’s support for SATs and refusal to countenance change.

3. We will develop a programme of high-profile regional events to discuss the alternative to SATs and high stakes testing in primary schools. This will build member engagement and confidence that there are viable alternatives to the current regime.

4. We will continue to work with all political parties, parents and campaign groups, including More Than A Score, to expose the flaws in the current regime and agree a political programme for its replacement with a primary assessment framework which is professionally focused, educationally sound and with widespread support amongst stakeholders.

5. We will continue to campaign against the introduction of baseline testing.

6. Wecongratulatetheschoolrepresentatives,officersandstaffwhoworkedso

hard to build this ballot.

7. The Executive notes the excellent work done in Districts to build the primary assessment campaign during the indicative ballot. We note that in a number of Districts this work resulted in them beating or coming close to the legal ballot thresholds.

8. The joint General Secretaries should now enter into dialogue with those Districts about whether there is an effective way to further develop the campaign in their areas, with no options ruled out in advance of that dialogue.

AR21

The Union’s AR21 report was published last week and confirms the union’s membership total at 450,156, making us the fourth largest union in the TUC after GMB, Unison and Unite. The AR21 has been submitted to the Certification Officer and the Statement which we are required to provide to all members has been posted on the website. We have also included a link to the Political Fund ‘opt-out’ declaration – again a statutory requirement

TUC matters

The Executive agreed the text for two motions on ‘Sectoral Bargaining’ and ‘Poverty and Privatisation – damage children’s education’ to go forward to TUC Congress. The text agreed on the ‘Climate Change emergency’ and ‘Education Funding’ will form the basis of the two amendments the Union can also submit. Philipa Harvey was elected as the third nominee to the TUC General Council alongside the two JGSs.

Funding Rally

It was agreed that the Union will organise a funding rally in November that builds on the successful “Together for Education” event, to put maximum pressure on politicians in the run up to the budget and spending review, and if necessary to build towards a bigger demonstration in June 2010.

Casework Flowchart

The Executive agreed a report via the Strategy Committee: Member Defence setting out pathways and a chart of distribution of casework. Once finalised, the pathways and distribution of casework will be publicised to local officers and reps and reflected in Union communications.

Approaches to Mental Health

The Union agreed the paper setting out the agreed approach to mental health policy and how the policy will impact on organising, training, activity grants and CPD.

Annie Higdon Award

The Executive agreed the arrangements for nominating to and selecting the first recipient of the Annie Higdon award to acknowledge the work of lay members in challenging sexism and building women’s activity in the union. Elections for 5 members of the Panel will be held in September with Philipa Harvey (GC seat holder) and Chair of the Women’s OF and representative on the TUC Women’s Committee. Nominations will be sought through the autumn term and the Panel will meet on 6 February to recommend the first award winner.

By-election timetable

The Executive agreed a timetable to fill the vacancy for Support Staff Member with nominations sought by the end of October and any election to open on 11 November 2019 and close on 2 December 2019.

Conference Matters

The Executive agreed the timetable for Conference 2020 and that Conference 2021 be held from Wednesday 7 April – Saturday 10 April 2021 to maximise delegate participation. A venue is yet to be decided. The outcome of the digi-votes by NUT legacy delegates at 2019 Conference delegates would be published.

EIS Joint Partnership Agreement

The Executive agreed the joint partnership agreement with EIS in relation to support for members in Scotland. The NEU members on the joint liaison group to be Gordon White (member District 17) and Debra Beale (elected by SC:MD).

Hamilton House Refurbishment Project

The Executive agreed the recommendation by GPC the finalised project costs of £2,734,173 plus a suggested 5% contingency and VAT, at a total cost of £3,445,058.

Fundraising Request

The Executive agreed a donation of £2000 towards the “Together Against Trump” demonstration on 4 June.

Bargaining in MATs:

The SC: Bargaining and Negotiating held a productive discussion on aspects of bargaining approaches in order to inform discussion of overall NEU bargaining strategy in Autumn term.

Pay Negotiations:

• no announcement yet for School Teachers in England or Wales

• 1% offer for SFCs and FE Colleges in England; the Union’s ballot in Sixth Form colleges ongoing and due to close in September.