NUT tell the Coalition to "change tack" on education policy

This latest YouGov survey of a representative sample of teachers is a damning indictment of Michael Gove’s time as Secretary of State for Education. If the Coalition parties want to attract support from teachers at next year’s General Election, they need to totally rethink their policies in 2014 and start regaining the trust of the teaching profession. Some key findings from the survey include:

• 79% of teachers feel that the Government’s impact on the education system over the last three-and-a-half-years has been negative.
• 82% of teachers and 87% of school leaders do not believe the Coalition Government’s academies and free schools programme is taking education in the right direction.
• Morale in the teaching profession continues to fall and three quarters (74%) of teachers say their morale has declined since the last General Election.
• 63% of teachers say that more than a fifth of their workload does not directly benefit children’s learning.
• In one of the richest countries in the world, almost half (49%) of teachers report malnutrition or hunger affecting the ability of pupils to concentrate.
• 87% of teachers would rank Ofsted as inadequate or requiring improvement.
• Teachers and parents share concerns about schools having different term dates.
• 52% of teachers are less likely to stay in the profession as a result of changes to teachers’ pay and pensions, and 57% are less likely to stay as a result of changes to teachers’ conditions.
• 70% of head teachers do not feel trusted by the Government to get on with the job.
• 69% of teachers and 85% of head teachers feel they cannot work until 68.
• The vast majority of teachers (91%) do not believe publicly funded schools should be run for profit, and 93% of teachers believe academies and free schools should employ teachers with Qualified Teacher Status.

Against this backdrop, it is perhaps unsurprising that few teachers would vote for the Coalition Government parties ‘if there was a General Election tomorrow’. Of the 85% of teachers who said they would use their vote, only 12% said they would vote for the Conservative Party, 6% for the Liberal Democrats and 43% would vote for Labour party 24% said they'd vote for another party.

The survey also found that when asked if there was support for the NUT and NASUWT strike action on pay, pensions and conditions, 67% of all teachers supported it. 80% of NASUWT and 81% of NUT members supported the strike action.

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said: “If David Cameron and Nick Clegg are under any illusions that their education policies are going in the right direction, they need to think again. This survey makes it abundantly clear that both teachers and head teachers do not see their policies as being in the best interests of children or the profession." 

Continuing Ms Blower said: "At a time when teacher morale is continuing to fall, it is extraordinary that the Secretary of State for Education refuses to enter into meaningful negotiations with teaching unions. The NUT cannot recall a time over its 144 year history when Government policy has been so roundly condemned by the teaching profession. With a general election round the corner, David Cameron and Nick Clegg need to completely change tack if they are to attract the support of teachers and start improving the life chances of our children and young people.”

NUT and NASUWT confirm further strike action

The two largest teacher unions, the NASUWT and the NUT, representing nine out of ten teachers, are today confirming the next phase of what they call "their jointly coordinated campaign to Protect Teachers and Defend Education". Following the continued refusal of the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, to genuinely engage with the NUT and the NASUWT to seek to resolve our trade disputes with him, plans are in place for the next stage of industrial action which will include

• 1st October - strike action in the Eastern, East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside regions
• 17th October - strike action in North East, London, South East and South West regions

On the strike days teachers will be attending a series of regional rallies to demonstrate their anger, frustration and concern This action follows the successful strike action taken in the North West of England on the 27 June in which thousands of teachers took part. In contrast to Michael Gove, the Welsh Government has been prepared to engage in constructive talks to seek to avoid the escalation of the rolling programme of strike action in Wales. A further announcement will be made on the situation in Wales in due course. Plans are also in place for a one-day, all-out national strike before the end of the Autumn term.

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "At the start of the new academic year, the last thing teachers wish to be doing is preparing for further industrial action. It is a great shame that the Education Secretary has let things get to this stage. With pay pensions and working conditions being systematically attacked and an Education Secretary who refuses to listen or negotiate teachers now however have no other choice. Michael Gove has demoralised an entire profession, it is time that he started to listen for the sake of teachers, pupils and education."

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said: "The attacks on teachers are relentless. The reward for their hard work, dedication and commitment has been a vicious assault on their pay, conditions and professionalism. Teachers will be angered by the recklessness of the Secretary of State's continuing failure to take seriously their concerns and engage in genuine discussions to address them."

Government says that changes to primary education will raise standards for all

The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Schools Minister David Laws will today launch a consultation setting out proposals to reform the way primary schools are held to account and raise standards for all. The new system will be more ambitious, setting out clear expectations of what every child needs to achieve to be ready for secondary school.

In 2010, 60 per cent of 11-year-olds needed to clear a "low bar" at the end of primary school. As more and more children have surpassed this basic level, primary schools will now be asked to raise their game. The Coalition Government proposes that from 2016 primary schools will need to have at least 85 per cent of their 11-year-olds above a new more stretching threshold, and ready for secondary school.

To help schools reach this ambitious goal, the Deputy Prime Minister is announcing the biggest ever rise in the Pupil Premium for primary schools. It will be increased to £1,300 per disadvantaged primary school pupil in 2014/15, up from £900 per child this year. This will help ensure that more pupils are able to achieve higher standards.

Nick Clegg said: "Every primary school should strive to make its pupils ready for secondary school by the time they leave. All the evidence shows that if you start behind, you stay behind. A better start at secondary school is a better start in life. I make no apology for having high ambitions for our pupils. But for children to achieve their potential we need to raise the bar - in terms of tests, pass marks and minimum standards. I am confident that primary schools and their pupils will meet that challenge.

"To help more children achieve this, I am delighted to announce a significant increase in the Pupil Premium at primary level. This increase in money for every eligible primary school child, alongside our reforms to the national curriculum, to statutory assessment and to school accountability for primary schools will help ensure that all pupils are ready to reach their full potential in secondary school. This is a higher bar but with more money to help children over it. This combination will allow all our children to get the best possible start in life."

David Laws said: "It is vital that we set high aspirations for all schools and pupils. Our new targets will prepare children for success. At the moment, pupils are being asked to reach a bar that too often sets them up for failure not success. So that all children - whatever their circumstances - can arrive in secondary school ready to succeed, we are giving significantly more money to primary school pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium. This will support this step-change in ambition."

The consultation document published today outlines proposals for:

• Higher floor standards. These would still be based on a combination of pupil attainment and progress. It is proposed that the attainment element is set considerably higher - with at least 85 per cent of a school's pupils (except those with particular special needs) expected to reach a good level of attainment. But progress will be a key element to reflect the challenging intakes of some schools, and schools will need to be below both measures to be below the floor.
• Updated tests for 11 year olds, in line with the higher expectations of the new National Curriculum. The tests would be in maths; reading; and spelling, punctuation and grammar. The science test for a sample of pupils would also remain.
• Higher expectations of what pupils should achieve. There would be a new "scaled score", which would be the same for all tests and remain the same over years. It would be set at the level at which 11-year-olds would be considered "secondary ready". These "scaled scores" are used in international tests, including PISA, PIRLS and TIMSS. The old system of levels - with Level 4 the expected level - will be removed and not replaced as they are unambitious, too broad and do not give parents a meaningful picture of how their children are performing.
• New school-led systems of assessing pupil performance. In line with the freedom to develop their own school curricula, and the removal of the levels system, schools will be given the freedom to design their own systems of measuring pupil performance, and reporting this to parents, such as through clearer school reports. Ofsted will need to see evidence of pupils' progress but inspections will be based on whatever pupil tracking data schools choose to keep.
• A new reporting method which would see each pupil compared against their peers nationally. Each pupil would be placed in 10 per cent bands, or deciles. Pupils' positions will only be made available to parents and schools.
• A new benchmark. A baseline assessment is needed to measure the progress that has been made by 11-year-olds. The consultation makes no recommendations on this point, and invites suggestions from interested parties on when to take a baseline. For instance, this could be at age seven, as now, where teachers assess pupils; or a simple check of a child's ability in the early weeks of a child's career at school.

Commenting on the announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister on proposals to reform the way in which primary schools are held to account, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT the largest teachers’ union, said: "Every child is entitled to a great education Teachers and schools are ambitious for their pupils and seek to do the very best for all of them. Additional per pupil funding through the pupil premium will of course be welcomed. Schools will, however, need to be assured that this is in fact additional money at a time when schools have been subject to year-on-year real term cuts."

"Schools will also be concerned that as a result of the Government’s changes to the welfare benefits system, fewer families will qualify for free school meals and may miss out on access to additional support. Since the pupil premium’s inception the NASUWT has been calling for measures to ensure that the pupil premium was targeted on those pupils for whom it was intended and not just absorbed into school budgets. We note that the Government has now recognised the need for stronger accountability in this regard."

"The Government needs to be cautious about potential unintended consequences arising from a number of the proposals it has announced today. School level assessments are fine in principle but in the context of current high stakes accountability, with no framework for support or provision of resources, the outcome is likely be a bureaucratic nightmare for teachers which could undermine high standards. The tests at 11, which will determine if pupils are ‘secondary school ready’, could risk establishing a modern-day version of the discredited and deeply damaging 11-plus system."

"Producing performance tables which rank individual pupils against their peers nationally could also result in children being labelled as failures at an early age. The Government should consider carefully whether this sensitive information should be made available to other schools given the risk of a return to an 11-plus system of selection. The Deputy Prime Minister may inadvertently be heralding the expansion of selective education so favoured by the Conservative Party."

NASUWT & the NUT announce further strike action

The two largest teacher unions, the NASUWT and the NUT, representing nine out of ten teachers, are today confirming the next phase of their jointly coordinated campaign is to, as they claim, Protect Teachers and Defend Education. Following the continued refusal of the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, to genuinely engage with the NUT and the NASUWT to seek to resolve our trade disputes with him, plans are in place for the next stage of industrial action which will include:

• Continuation of the current action short of strike action instructions; 
• Further national rallies in September; 
• A second phase of rolling national strike action in the week beginning 30 September; 
• A third phase of rolling national strike action in the week beginning 14 October; and 
• A one-day, all-out national strike before the end of the Autumn term.

This follows on from the day of strike action taken on 27 June in the North West of England which resulted in the overwhelming majority of schools being closed or partially closed. The huge support for the strike is a clear indication that the teaching profession has had enough. Faced with an Education Secretary who refuses to listen, teachers have no option but to continue with their action to defend their profession. 

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said: "The Secretary of State needs to take seriously the very deep concerns and anger of teachers and school leaders. The relentless attack on the teaching profession is damaging the morale of teachers and undermining the education of pupils. The Secretary of State has the opportunity to avoid further national strike action by demonstrating that he is willing to engage seriously on the issues that we have put to him."

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the NUT, said: "Michael Gove is well aware that under his time as Education Secretary, teacher morale has plummeted. Teachers are angry at the Government's continual undermining of their pay, pensions and working conditions. Strike action is always a last resort for teachers and they are very well aware of the difficulties that this causes for parents and pupils. Teachers, however, have been left with no option. If we do not take a stand now to defend the profession, then the consequences for teacher recruitment and education will be disastrous for all."

NASUWT and the NUT announce Notice of Joint Strike Action

The NASUWT and the NUT have now served notice to employers that NUT and NASUWT members in the North West of England will be called upon to take strike action on 27 June 2013 in furtherance of the dispute with the Government over pensions, pay and conditions. This escalation of action is a further step in our ongoing campaign to protect teachers and defend education.

The NUT and the NASUWT say they remain committed to resolving this dispute through negotiation but to date they say the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, has failed to engage constructively. The strike action in the North West is part of a rolling programme of strike action across England and Wales.

Chris Keates, NASUWT General Secretary, said: "Since the Coalition Government came to office the attacks on teachers' pay, pensions, working conditions and jobs have been relentless. Teachers' morale is at an all-time low. The move to strike action is a manifestation of the anger and frustration of teachers at the failure of the Government to seek to address the deep concerns of the profession."

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "This is not a step that teachers take lightly, nor a course of action they would wish to pursue. The policies of this Government, however, leave them with no other choice. The proposed changes to pay, pensions and conditions will strip the profession of any security or incentive. Performance-related pay will leave head teachers in the invidious position of choosing between paying some teachers more or smaller class sizes. This is neither fair nor workable and is not in the best interest of either pupils, parents or teachers. The Government is going down entirely the wrong path for education and teachers. They need to start listening."

Education reforms are a step in the wrong direction

The Green Party has reiterated its opposition to the government’s reforms of teachers’ pay, in the wake of the renewed threat of industrial action from teaching unions. In response to government plans to end teachers’ pay rises in line with length of service in favour of performance-related pay, the National Union of Teachers executive has agreed to “build towards strike action in the spring term,” while the NASUWT has warned that “resistance across the profession” was growing.

Will Duckworth, Deputy Leader of the Green Party, who was a teacher for thirty years at his local comprehensive school, said: "This policy may possibly hold some very short term financial benefits, but we should be looking at the long term interests of our children. The reason this is a particularly damaging measure is because it chips away even more at the status of teaching. It is a profession, but this policy treats it as if it's simply a step to be taken on the way to management. In a real professional career, of course you receive pay increases based on experience and expertise. But this plan removes that from teaching, meaning the only way many teachers will be able to progress is by teaching for just two to three years then entering school management. Others will be even less likely to regard teaching as a profession, and turn to do something else instead. It's a waste of talent that we should be harnessing for the good of our children, and society in years to come.”

Mr Duckworth added: “It's also concerning that this seems to remove one more reward for loyalty and length of service, perhaps in an attempt to make it even easier for Academies and Free Schools, which will be able to raise money from private businesses, to poach the best teachers from LEA affiliated schools by offering them more money. The majority of children will suffer if this is allowed to happen.”