ACTION SHORT of STRIKE ACTION Q&As

DEVELOPING THE CAMPAIGN – PROTECTING TEACHERS, DEFENDING EDUCATION

This guidance has been developed for division and association secretaries to assist in building on the early victories which have been achieved to develop the campaign across schools and colleges in England and Wales. It includes guidance about the expected implementation of the action instructions, and some Questions and Answers to help with responding to members’ queries. It will be up-dated as and when further issues emerge.

It is being published on Hearth rather than the Union’s website as it includes tactical advice which it is best not to make available publicly or to employers. It is, therefore, important that this advice is not circulated widely in a way which could lead to it becoming publicly available.

It is important to note that the action is taken in furtherance of our disputes with the Secretary of State and the Welsh Government Minister for Education over the pay and conditions of service of teachers, although it is inevitably taken in schools and colleges. The action is however aimed at seeking the agreement of the Westminster and Welsh Governments that the relevant statutory powers will be exercised to ensure teachers are offered decent pay and working conditions of employment in all schools and colleges.

Since our action was launched on 3 October, we have been receiving reports of successes and advances as schools and colleges win agreements through members’ collective response. We want to be able to publish as many stories as possible, to show what can be achieved. You can see these on the website at Please encourage NUT school representatives to send in their success stories to .

Now that the action is beginning to get underway in schools across the country, you are bound to receive lots of questions from members and school representatives about what the action instructions mean and how they should be interpreted. Although individual queries can be dealt with, a better approach is to get as many school representatives as possible together in meetings to share experiences. Such meetings could be organised on a division or regional basis, or could be aimed at particularly categories, for example primary or secondary members. At such meetings we would encourage local officers to urge NUT representatives to hold school level meetings to discuss how the instructions will be implemented. Some divisions and associations are already planning a regular programme of meetings, which is a sensible strategy to keep the campaign invigorated.

ROLE OF SCHOOL/COLLEGE REPRESENTATIVES

The role of the workplace representative is critical to the campaign, so where there is no named or active NUT representative it will be important to identify a member of staff willing to take on the role of facilitating and coordinating activities within the school or college. They will be responsible for calling meetings of members, coordinating with their NASUWT counterpart, and conveying the school group’s views to the head teacher. They will also contact you regarding any issues that need your assistance to be resolved.

The hope is that each representative will call a meeting at an early stage to discuss the action and to consider what steps need to be taken. This will include discussion of the circumstances within the school relevant to each instruction, for example clarifying whether the appraisal and observation process meets the requirements of the NUT/NASUWT checklist (see Instruction 1 below), whether there are any known plans for a mock or commissioned inspection, or whether there is an existing requirement for planning to be handed in.

It is important to be clear that all instructions apply in every school, academy and college. The role of the division/association secretary and NUT representative is to encourage members to see the benefits of the action. However some of the instructions will be more relevant to some school/college situations than others (for example if there is no management requirement to hand in planning, Instruction 12 will not be relevant), so groups will inevitably focus on those instructions which deal with matters of concern to them.

As the action progresses, it will be important for NUT representatives to hold meetings regularly with members to discuss progress, celebrate success and identify areas for further action. It will also be important that there is active co-ordination with NASUWT representatives to ensure that NUT and NASUWT groups are acting in concert.

Where NUT representatives encounter a matter that they are not easily able to resolve without assistance they will contact you for help. In general where there is resistance to the Union’s demands, we would expect the representative to contact you so that you:

-can advise on how to progress the situation, which may involve advising the representative that the Union will support escalation of action unless the matter is resolved;

-attend a meeting of members at the school and meet with the head teacher if necessary to assert the Union’s position; and

-discuss the matter as necessary with the relevant NASUWT officer.

Please ensure that your regional/Wales office is kept informed, in particular if there is likelihood that the matter will be referred urgently to the Union’s Action Sub-Committee with a view to the escalation of action, including strike action, unless the employer backs down.

Set out below is the procedure that should be followed so as to ensure that requests for escalation to strike action can be processed as quickly as possible.

ESCALATION OF ACTION PROTOCOL

Step one

The NUT representative to contact the division/association if problems are developing that might require escalation to strike action.

Step two

The division to notify the regional/Wales office of the situation using the attached pro forma (see appendix 1).

Step three

The division to undertake a membership check for the school.

Step four

The division to work with their NASUWT counterpart to seek both a meeting with members to confirm support for strike action, if the issue cannot be resolved, and a meeting with school management. At the meeting with members a paper ballot to be undertaken to establish that there is firm support for the action (see appendix 2).

Step five

Once it is confirmed that support is firm, the division to request action from the regional/Wales office.

Step six

The regional/Wales office to make a recommendation to the Assistant Secretary: Organising and Membership, who will seek to co-ordinate action where possible with NASUWT and seek approval from the action officers who act on behalf of the General Secretary in approving action.

Please note that strike action will be sustained, however prior loss of pay through salary deductions will not be reimbursed.

The following are queries that have been raised in relation to the action instructions generally. They will be expanded as and when further issues are raised. They are followed by questions specific to certain action instructions.

What is the best way of ensuring that the action instructions make a difference?

We stand the greatest chance of bringing about a culture change in schools if as many members as possible take part. All members should be encouraged to take part in all the collectively-agreed actions. There may be actions which collectively in a school are not appropriate because arrangements in the school are satisfactory. For example, if in a particular school there are no more than three observations taking place each year over no more than three hours, then there is no need to raise this as an issue. Whilst we want to encourage members in all schools to take on all of the instructions, where members prefer to focus, for example, on achieving success in a couple of areas and building their confidence, before moving on to other areas, then we support them as they take on more.

Why is the action taking place at school level if the dispute is with the Secretary of State/Wales Government Minister for Education?

The action is directed at the Secretary of State and Wales Government Minister for Education, to force them to use their statutory powers to ensure good working conditions across all state-funded schools. However, teachers work in schools so that action has to be taken at school level.

Why are members in academies and sixth form colleges who may have different conditions of service also taking the same action?

The Union’s dispute is with the Secretary of State for Education (in England) and the Minister for Education and Skills (in Wales) and is on behalf of all members of the Union employed in state funded schools including local authority schools and academies. One of the Union’s demands is that the ministers exercise their respective statutory powers so as to effect the application and enforcement of the contractual terms of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document. This, therefore, applies equally to our members in local authority schools and those in academies, whether on STPCD conditions or not. The action notices have been sent to all employers, including academy chains and single academy establishments with a copy of the action short of strike actioninstructions. The instructions apply to all our members in these schools, including those where there is a ‘two-tier’ teaching workforce.NUT representatives should arrange a meeting for members in the school and discuss the instructions and how they will be implemented across the academy/college. Any differences between the working time arrangements of TUPEd and other staff should not affect the implementation of the action short of strike action instructions across the academy/college.

I’ve been told that action will be a breach of contract so should I be worried about this?

Most industrial action is, by its very nature, a breach of contract but we do have legal protection through our ballot. Head teachers will be aware of this in relation to their own recent industrial action on SATs and pensions. Some aspects of the action would not constitute breach of contract anyway, as they are simply about asserting existing contractual rights.

The agreed sanctions stop short of strike action and as members are otherwise working normally we do not expect them to suffer a loss of pay. We anticipate that most employers will accept participation in this action and not make any deductions from pay as it will not impact on the majority of duties. However, we are aware that some schools and local authorities have threatened to make deductions from pay based on the assertion that these sanctions amount to breach of contract and partial performance of duties.

In our view these threats are simply an attempt to bully and intimidate members into not participating in this industrial action and so any threat of deductions from teachers’ pay in this regard will be robustly challenged. Where employers seek to deduct wages for incomplete performance of duties, or where members are subject to disciplinary action, then we will have to defend members by urging them to take paid strike action.

The Union will also consider any legal action that may be possible but inevitably collective action rather than a legal solution will be the way forward in such circumstances. Head teachers need to be aware that such deliberate provocation will result in swift escalation to strike action, resulting in genuine disruption to pupils and parents.

Can members be disciplined for taking part in the action?

Similarly, collective escalation will be the primary response. Where individuals are singled out, there may be an opportunity to consider a legal response in addition.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE SPECIFIC ACTION INSTRUCTIONS

Where can I find the checklist and protocol?

On the NUT website at: There are separate versions for England and Wales.

What if a school’s appraisal process does not meet these minimum standards? What does ‘not participate’ mean in this context?

The aim of this instruction is to get a good appraisal policy, alongside limits to observation and an agreed application of the Teachers’ Standards. Once it has been established at a meeting of NUT members what the problems are with the policy (and this can be done by checking it against the NUT/NASUWT checklist), in the first instance representations should be made to the head teacher to seek to secure changes. The joint NUT/ATL/NAHT model appraisal policy (available at: together with the NUT/NASUWT Classroom Observation Protocol and NUT Teachers’ Standards Protocol,complies fully with the NUT/NASUWT appraisal/performance management checklist. Where one or both of these protocols is missing, action should focus on achieving their adoption, in addition to what has already been achieved.

Where such representations are unsuccessful,escalation tostrike action is the best option, where this is the wish of members. Local officers should gauge the strength of feeling among members for strike action. There is no need to undertake a postal indicative ballot but it is advisable to conduct a workplace meeting paper ballot. Where we know that members will respond we will authorise strikes quickly.

Some employers have threatened teachers that their pay progression will be affected. The absence of a formal appraisal review does not of itself preclude pay progression but remember – a policy that does not comply with the NUT/NASUWT checklist could well have a detrimental impact on pay progression. Collective escalation will be the best response in these circumstances.

The NUT Teachers’ Standards Protocol is available at:

What should members do if head teachers indicate that they are not prepared to abide by this limit?

NUT and NASUWT school representatives should seek to reach agreement with head teachers on the joint classroom observation protocol. Where head teachers refuse to discuss further, NUT representatives should hold a meeting to consider the strength of feeling for escalation to strike action, and discuss with NASUWT colleagues.

Where head teachers do not immediately refuse and are willing to open discussions, while consultation is underwayit is suggested that members keep a tally of the amount of time for which they are being observed. The NUT representative, in consultation with NASUWT colleagues, should set a deadline for a response from the head teacher. If, by that date, agreement has not been reached, or when the first member has had three observations, the division secretary should be alerted and ameeting of NUT members should be called as soon as possible to discuss escalation to strike action,where this is the wish of members.

It’s part of a line manager’s role to conduct observations. How can they be made to feel part of the action?

They will feel part of the action if theyact collectively with their fellow NUT and NASUWT members who are in the same position. Excessive lesson observation is one of the biggest concerns of NUT members. A two-pronged approach, therefore, with both observers and the observed insisting on a specific limit, is the strategy with the best chance of success. The NUT accepts the need for observation but believes that three per year per teacher within an overall limit of three hours is a reasonable amount to undergo. For teachers who are expected to observe large numbers of colleagues, such a limit is sensible in order to prevent excessive workload. Of course most teachers who carry out observations will also be observed themselves as well.

But is the NUT still in favour of ‘Pupil Voice’?

The NUT has promoted consistently the participation of pupils in ‘Pupil Voice’, not least in its work on school self-evaluation, including that undertaken on behalf of the NUT by John MacBeath. Pupils’ views in the context of bottom-up school self-evaluation exercises, focused on teaching and learning and conducted confidentially, with the consent of teachers and other staff, provide valuable information, which can be used to facilitate school improvement.