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NewsConference 2008 Speeches: Motions Session II: Wednesday 30 July 2008
Date: 30.07.08
Speeches (where available) for Motions Session II
Conference Motion Session II: Wednesday 30 July: 1045-1215
Conference speeches are the personal opinions of those making them and may not necessarily represent current Voice policy. Motions that are carried will go to Voice’s Council (the policy-making body) for consideration.
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Conference welcomes the establishment of cadet forces in maintained schools. Proposed by: Peter Morris
I am annoyed. I am very annoyed. The reason? Because some of our colleagues in other teaching unions are not supporting the brave and courageous members of our armed forces when they visit our schools. For that reason, I welcome the establishment of cadet units in our schools.
Society as a whole is becoming less disciplined. I believe that the discipline, particularly self discipline is an attribute which benefits the whole of society. We as a profession continually complain about the indiscipline of pupils. I have been present when a pupil has barred a classroom door, refusing to allow fellow pupils and the teacher to leave at the end of the day. I have seen a pupil lift a computer monitor above his head ready to throw it at a teacher. I have seen pupils barring the way of a teacher along a corridor. I could go on……….. Pupils are well aware of their rights these days and exercise those rights to the full, often leaving teachers with little or no power to restore discipline. The establishment of cadet units in our schools, will, I am sure help with discipline in our schools.
Cadet units will give pupils an insight into the role of the armed forces where they will have the opportunity to see the excellent work done by our armed forces. No doubt left wingers in our profession will try to sabotage the government’s plan for cadet units, just as many colleagues in another teaching union recently voted to ‘actively oppose’ the army making visits to schools.
The structure which is lacking in the lives of so many young people today is offered by Cadet units, and there is nowhere better to house these cadet units than in schools. These units can work well for high achievers as well as those who will drop out of school early – with the consequential risk of falling into a life of crime.
Yes, members of our armed forces do get killed, maimed and injured whilst making tours of duty overseas in such places as Iraq and Afghanistan, but these are small in number compared to the number of people who learn a good trade in the armed forces which sets them up for the rest of their lives. And what about those young people who are starting to drift into the world of alcohol, substance abuse and drugs?
Cadet forces will inculcate some of the values which we, as a society are missing: self discipline, self reliance, loyalty to one’s comrades, to one unit and to one’s country, courage, respect and integrity and cannot in any way be seen to be ‘glamorising war’ as some of our colleagues in other teaching unions have asserted. I am sure that you do not need reminding that the military isn’t just about war. The military is about helping in the time of crisis, and it teaches the skills necessary to save life and property.
Let’s look at some school uniforms: How can pupils take pride in scruffy polo shirts, sweat shirts, jeans and trainers. Our servicemen and women take pride in their uniforms, pride in their appearance and pride in their work. Just a few weeks ago RAF servicemen and women were advised not to go out in Peterborough wearing their uniform for fear of being exposed to insults and attacks.
Teachers should be trying to re-dress the balance of anti-service feeling which is embracing this country now. We as teachers have a duty of care to our pupils, and that includes presenting pupils with an even handed picture of the relationship between a society and its armed forces, not just the left wing view. Cadet units in schools will go some way to showing pupils life in the military.
Colleagues, I ask you to say that there is a difference between political opposition to the war in Iraq and the role of the army in defending this country. We need the military: This government may not be doing a lot right, but one of the few things that it is doing right, is to set up cadet forces in our schools. And, of course, this ties in nicely with the Extended Schools Initiative!
I commend this motion to Conference.
Conference welcomes the establishment of cadet forces in maintained schools.
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Conference deplores the abuse of teaching assistants by schools that require them to undertake tasks, such as cover, that are outside their job description and against government guidance.
Proposed by: Rhena Sturgess
WAMG’s Guidance for Schools on Cover Supervision defines cover as "any occasion where the teacher normally responsible for teaching a particular class is absent from the classroom during the time they have been timetabled to teach".
It also states that "cover supervision should only be used for short-term absences", either "known in advance" such as "a medical appointment" or "unexpected" such as "illness". "Longer-term absence", such as "long-term sick or maternity leave, should be covered by a teacher".
According to the Guidance, head teachers "must be satisfied that a member of staff has the necessary training and skills" to "provide cover supervision". "When existing members of support staff are carrying out cover supervision duties, formal recognition should be given to the extended role and the terms of their contract should be reviewed. Factors which the head should consider are the suitability of the task to the member of staff’s current role, the impact on their workload, whether additional training is needed and any implications for pay and grading."
"Cover supervision is a responsible role, involving taking sole charge of a group of pupils. Schools should therefore take great care to ensure that staff have the necessary skills and knowledge before being given charge of a class." "It is likely that specific training will be needed". "TA induction training… in itself will not be sufficient. In particular, further training in behaviour management will be required".
The Section 133 Regulations of the Education Act 2002 say that "the National Agreement states that teachers and support staff are not interchangeable and that each class or group must be assigned a qualified teacher to teach them.
"An inexperienced teaching assistant would require direct supervision and should not be left alone with a class, while an experienced teaching assistant who has undergone training and meets the national standards for higher level teaching assistants would not require the qualified teacher assigned to that class to be present at all times.
"Taking on additional roles and responsibilities should not be compulsory but staff may wish to do so with the necessary training and appropriate pay and grading."
In other words, cover supervisors should be trained and paid to do that job.
That’s the theory and many schools follow it. However, in practice, many don’t and here are just some examples of where many of our teaching assistant members are being abused by schools.
Teaching assistants aren’t required to plan lessons and deliver lessons – it is not usually part of their contract or their job description and they shouldn’t be doing that. They aren’t trained teachers or higher level teaching assistants, who are trained to deliver lessons and take whole classes.
Also a teacher earns on average three to four times more than a teaching assistant, so they are paid to take on the extra responsibilities.
I call on schools to stop exploiting TAs and urge you to support this motion.
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Conference calls on the Government to scrap the requirement of the Early Years Foundation Stage that at least one member of staff in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes must be a school teacher, and to ensure that those who have the Early Years Professional Status, but who do not have Qualified Teacher Status, receive due recognition and reward for their training and experience. Proposed by: Deborah Lawson (pdf)
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Conference asks the Scottish Government to recognise the effective contribution nursery workers make to pre school education and to remunerate these staff appropriately.
Proposed by: Kirsti Paterson, Highland and Western Isles Federation, SEC Committee (Scotland)
Chairman, Colleagues
Let me set the scene. Who are these Nursery Workers?
We have Early Years Officers, Early Years Workers, Early Years Assistants, Early Years Auxiliaries, Early Years Educators, delivering the pre-school curriculum attached to a school, partner centre or nursery school.
Their job purpose is to work as an effective member of an early years team, implementing a flexible, high quality education and care-centred service that meets the needs of young children and their families. They work a 35-hour week – 25-hours class contact time, 10-hours non-class contact and are paid to work a 42-week year.
Turning to the evaluation of their effective contribution, firstly let’s examine their initial training and continuing professional development.
Nursery workers’ qualifications – NNEB, BA in Child Studies, SVQ Levels 3,4 – equip them to be appropriately qualified and registered to work in this sector. The regulating professional body, the Scottish Social Services Council, approves Childhood Practice awards and sets out a clear Code of Practice, e.g. Be patient and caring / Work As a team / Be responsible and mature in outlook / Have excellent communication skills.
Nursery Workers are also encouraged to undertake professional development to enhance their skills, e.g. Approaches In Learning, ICT in Early Years, Outdoor Learning, Behaviour Management, or can go on to do part-time/ full-time degrees in Childcare Education. This could be compared with some aspects set out in the recent GTC Code of Professionalism and Competence for teachers.
A visionary comment from the Scottish Government in 2006: ‘Early years workforce is no longer to be perceived as low skilled or low paid.’ I say: ‘Let us retain these well qualified and professional workforce by acknowledging these very comments in 2008.’
Continuing the evaluation process, Nursery Workers’ accountability to pre-school education involves:
We are describing staff with key roles and responsibilities in pre-school education. These will be highlighted by the seconder of this motion.
Now, in Scotland, the driving educational change is the engagement with the A Curriculum for Excellence. This aims to create a world class learning system for every child and young person on a continuum from 3 – 18. There should now be a seamless transition from pre-school to P1. Our nursery workers are providing the fundamental building blocks to the child’s early education and future progress in their school career.
With an emphasis on active learning in ACE, there is much more integration between pupils and professionals from pre-school to P3. There are recognised examples of good practice in Scotland where planning and the delivery of Early Years Curriculum takes place beyond the boundaries of the pre-school physical and learning environment.
Recently, the Scottish Budget highlighted early years in the production of the groundbreaking Concordat with local councils. The Early Years Strategy is to be welcomed, enabling children to be given the best start in life within the Curriculum For Excellence ideals.
Please remember those who are delivering this high quality provision – our Nursery Workers.
Scottish Government has a huge responsibility to rise to the challenge in this motion. If MacDonald’s can develop its own NVQ Level 4 diploma and reward successful employees, surely Scottish Government can recognise the effective contribution nursery workers make to pre-school education and remunerate these staff appropriately.
Please support this motion.
Thank you.
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Conference asks the Scottish Government to recognise the effective contribution nursery workers make to pre school education and to remunerate these staff appropriately.
Seconded by: Catriona Tait (pdf)
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Conference calls on the Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) to review the childcare training and qualification framework in order to ensure that the high level of knowledge and skills required to care for and educate children is retained and recognised. Proposed by: Gail Holland (pdf)
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Full list of Conference Motions
www.voicetheunion.org.uk/conference2008
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