WORKING IN NAVIGATE ACADEMIES TRUST – AN NUT GUIDE

This guidance document gives a brief overview of employment in Navigate Academies Trust operated Academies. It sets out information about:

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

The Navigate Academies 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 NAVIGATE ACADEMIES TRUST

The Navigate Academies Trust was established in 2011. Its Academies are located mainly in Yorkshire and the Tees Valley.

The Navigate Academies Trust website is

NAVIGATE ACADEMIES TRUST

At the time of writing the Navigate Academies Trust had 9open Academies and 8 due to open. They are:

  • Barnsley
  • GooseacrePrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2012)
  • The HillPrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2012)
  • DearneCarrfieldAcademy (open Sept 2012)
  • DearneHighgatePrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2012)
  • The DearneAcademy (due to open April 2013)
  • Dearne Advanced Learning Centre (due to open July 2013)
  • LittleworthAcademy (open Sept 2013)
  • DearneGoldthorpePrimary School (due to open April 2013)
  • Netherwood Advanced Learning Centre (due to open July 2013)
  • DarfieldValleyPrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2013)
  • Bradford
  • Buttershaw Academy (due to open April 2014)
  • Reevy Hill Primary School (due to open April 2014)
  • Redcar and Cleveland – DormanstownPrimary School (open Sept 2013)
  • Sheffield
  • Walkley Primary Academy (due to open Sept 2013)
  • Springfield Primary School (due to open unknown)
  • Middlesbrough
  • BramblesPrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2012)
  • PennymanPrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2012)

NATIONAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENT

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

The agreement provides for national determination of arrangements for pay, conditions of service and working time to apply across all Navigate Academies. 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, conditions and pensions>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.

Navigate Trust Academies

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

Discussions will be taking place on a Trust pay policy for teachers.

EMPLOYMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

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

on a number of employment policies are underway.

Pending discussions and agreement on other employment policies, however, predecessor local authority policies will remain applicable to staff transferred by way of TUPE to Navigate Trust Academies.

NUT representatives should have access to these documents via the Navigate Academies Trust intranet or policy hub when established.

NUT SSEE Dept.

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