GMB part of new trade union education forum in Waltham Forest
GMB part of new joint trades union education forum set up in LB Waltham Forest to deal with cuts in the education sector
This joint union forum intends to link up with other trade unionists and the wider public to oppose education cuts says GMB
GMB, the union for support staff in schools, is part of a new joint trades union forum that has been set up to deal with cuts in the education sector in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The first meeting was held on July 4th.
The unions attending include GMB, Unison, Unite and NUT. (See notes to editors for copy of the letter to the council on the forum.)
The following issues were identified at the July 4th meeting in the following schools:
1) George Tomlinson Primary School, Leytonstone:
The loss of long standing teaching assistant’s (TA) last year and the fact that they seem to have been replaced with agency workers.
2) Rushcroft Foundation School, Rushcroft Road:
Proposed re-structure to admin and TA’s roles and the knock-on effect this will have on the workload of teachers. There were anomalies in the restructuring and consultation process which gave the appearance of rushing the process.
3) South Grove Primary School, Walthamstow:
Deletion of 5 teaching posts where long-standing, experienced teachers gave extra support to children across the whole school range. This is very likely to result in extra work for class teachers and TA’s, and, more importantly a very possible fall in school standards
4) Whole of Waltham Forest:
Very high teacher turnover at many primary and secondary schools in Waltham Forest. Twenty-five teachers are leaving Buxton School, Leytonstone, and a further twelve are leaving Chingford Foundation School.
5) Highams Park School, Handsworth Avenue and Heathcote School Chingford:
There is a proposed extra hour being added to the timetable which teachers believe with be detrimental to both staff and students.
6) Barn Croft Primary School, Walthamstow:
Out of nine TA’s, seven were made redundant this year, resulting in extra pressure on existing staff.
7) St Mary’s Primary School, Chingford:
Ongoing consultation that could see the loss of at least five TA’s.
Anna Meyer, GMB Regional Organiser said
"This joint unions forum intends to link up with other trade unionists and the wider public to oppose education cuts.
“This forum will reflect how these cuts will become evident at school level and look to the relevant authorities to put a stop to them, through a mixture of public campaigning and trade unionism."
ENDS
Contacts: Anna Meyer, 07974 251 808
Notes to editors:
1) Copy of letter sent to Councillor Clare Coghill, leader of the council, and local John Cryer, MP for Leyton and Wanstead and Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow.
I am writing to inform you of a new Education forum set up by Trade Union members who organise in schools across Waltham Forest. In attendance at the first meeting on 4th July were representatives from UNISON, GMB, UNITE, and the NUT.
The meeting reflected the general anxiety of a significant number of school staff due to cuts and deteriorating working conditions. This first meeting was timely because a recent article in The Guardian Newspaper reported that a quarter of all teachers who qualified in 2011 have now left the profession. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jul/08/almost-a-quarter-of-teachers-who-have-qualified-since-2011-have-left-profession?CMP=share_btn_link
All trade unions representing staff in schools are experiencing a spike in enquiries and request for support with personal cases based on, what we believe, is an unnecessary and premature rationing of resources.
The Joint Unions’ Forum is very concerned that this pattern will intensify if the three billion pounds worth of education cuts, (voted for before the general election) is implemented at school level. However, the meeting felt that the sentiment to oppose schools budget cuts is one that chimes with public opinion. Parents from across Waltham Forest recently hosted a big local demonstration on 26th May 2017, which was supported by our local MP, Stella Creasy, who spoke in opposition to cuts.
It is for these reasons outlined that we would like to give notice that this joint unions’ forum intend to link up with other trade unionists and the wider public to oppose education cuts. This forum will reflect how these cuts will become evident at school level and look to the relevant authorities to put a stop to them, through a mixture of public campaigning and trade union activity.
On that note, I would like to inform you of the following issues raised at the Joint Union Education Forum;
1) George Tomlinson - The loss of long standing teaching assistants last year and the fact that they seem to have been replaced with agency workers.
2) Rushcroft - Proposed re-structures to admin and TA roles and the knock-on this will have on workload for teachers. There were anomalies in the restructuring and consultation process which gave the appearance of rushing a process.
3) South Grove- Deletion of 5 Teaching posts where long-standing experienced teachers gave extra support to children across the whole school range. This is very likely to result in extra work for class Teachers and TAs, and more importantly a very possible fall in school standards
4) Whole of Waltham Forest- very high teacher turnover at many primary and secondary schools in Waltham Forest. Twenty-five teachers are leaving Buxton School and a further twelve are leaving Chingford Foundation school.
5) Highams Park and Heathcote - There is a proposed extra hour being added to the timetable, which teachers believe will be detrimental to both staff and students.
6) Barncroft - Out of 9 TAs, 7 were made redundant this year, resulting in extra pressure on existing staff.
7) St Mary’s Chingford- an ongoing consultation that could see the loss of at least 5 TAs in the school.
We will be publicly campaigning on these issues and will be raising them on the various consultative bodies, but in the meantime, please be advised that we do not accept that the cuts are desirable or necessary and will endeavour to coordinate school-based industrial action to prevent cuts.
The meeting reported that some schools have already set deficit budgets to avoid making cuts. We are requesting that the Local Authority, with the support Local MPs, licence and support agreed deficit budgets to avoid redundancies to school staff and work together to demand that the government fund the education of our children based on their needs.
Yours sincerely,
Steve White (NUT Secretary)
on behalf of the Joint Unions Forum
