WORKING IN NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST ACADEMIES – AN NUT GUIDE (JANUARY 2014)

This guidance document gives a brief overview of employment in Northern Education Trust(NET) operated Academies. It sets out information about:

  • Northern Education Trust Academies and its Academy programme
  • The national trade union recognition agreement
  • Pay and conditions of service
  • Employment policies and procedures

The Northern Education Trust operates common pay and conditions for employees and central negotiating machinery, within which the Union negotiates alongside the other recognised teaching and support staff unions. Arrangements have been established within the NUT for consultation and communication with NUT divisions, Academy representatives and members.

Detailed information about pay and conditions of service in Academies can be found in the NUT document Teachers’ Pay and Conditions in Academies: Guidance for NUT Members at

ABOUT NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST

The Northern Education Trust evolved out of Northern Education Associated who had been undertaking school improvement support.

The Northern Education Trust website is

NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST ACADEMIES

At the time of writing the Northern Education Trust had 15open Academies and isplanning to open more. They are:

  • Barnsley – Kirk Balk Community College (due to open April2014)
  • Bradford
  • RyecroftPrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2012)
  • MerlinTopPrimaryAcademy (open April 2013)
  • Calderdale
  • Mount Pellon Primary Academy (open April 2013)
  • Abbey Park Junior, Infant and Nursery School (open Dec 2013)
  • Gateshead – The Thomas Hepburn Community Academy (open Oct 2013)
  • Newcastle upon Tyne – Hilton Primary Academy (open Dec 2012)
  • Stockton on Tees
  • North Shore Academy (open Sept 2010 – NET Academy since 2012)
  • The OakTreePrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2013)
  • Grangefield School (open Jan 2014)
  • Frederick Nattrass Primary Academy (open Sept 2013)
  • Norton Primary School (open Jan 2014)
  • Northumberland – The Blyth Academy (open Oct 2013)
  • Hartlepool – DykeHouseSports & TechnologyCollege (open April 2013)
  • Bolton
  • KearsleyAcademy (open Sept 2010)
  • The FernsPrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2012)

NATIONAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENT

A national recognition agreement in respect of NorthernEducationTrust came into effect inSeptember 2013. The agreement was signed by the Trust, the teacher unions - ASCL, ATL, NAHT, NASUWT and the NUT - and support staff unions, the GMB, Unison, Unite and Voice.

The agreement provides for national determination of arrangements for pay, conditions of service and working time across Northern Education Trust. It also provides for a joint consultation and negotiation committee in each Academy as well as time off with pay and facilities time for trade union representatives.

The recognition agreement may be found in the pay and conditions>academies section at

PAY AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

In General

All Academies are able to set their own pay, conditions and working time arrangements for newly appointed teachers joining the Academy. In some Academies, pay and conditions arrangements for such teachers are similar or identical to those for teachers in local authority maintained state schools. In others, teachers’ pay and conditions can be very different.

Teachers transferred from predecessor schoolsreplaced by an Academy are covered by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). The TUPE regulations provide that, where an Academy replaces an existing school(s), teachers’ previous pay and conditions entitlements transfer. These include statutory provisions on pay, professional duties and working time and national and local agreements on teachers’ conditions of service, redundancy payments and recognition of the NUT as a trade union. Where the Academy is a new institution, however, all teachers are in the first category of newly appointed teacher and no teachers are protected by TUPE.

Northern Education Trust Academies

The Trusthas agreed with the teacher unions that it will apply STPCD and Burgundy Book arrangements for all its teachers – including newly appointed teachers - across its network of Academies. This means that Northern Academy teachers will be appointed on STPCD pay scales and working-time arrangements and have Burgundy Book provisions in respect of sick pay etc.

EMPLOYMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The Trust wants its own set of corporate HR policies and discussions with the trade unions

are underway. Agreements with the NET have been reached in respect of a capability

procedure, health and wellbeing and social networking policies. It did not prove possible for

the Union to reach agreement with the Trust in respect of a pay and appraisal policy.

NUT representatives should eventually have access to these documents via the Northern Education Trust intranet or policy hub when established.

NUT SSEE Dept.

January 2014

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