NEWSLETTER - JANUARY 2006
Happy New Year...Eid Mubarak...Happy New Year
NUT FIGHTING
PAY-CUTS
Hipperholme and Lightcliffe School
Bradford NUT has been working to prevent teachers from losing money in the management re-structuring process. Members in some Bradford schools are considering taking industrial action if their concerns about pay are not met – at present the situation at these schools is being moved forward by negotiation.
Nationally, NUT members have gone on strike in a number of schools, including Hipperholme and Lightcliffe in Calderdale, and Boston Spa and Crawshaw Schools in Leeds.
If you face a pay-cut in the change-over from Management Allowances to TLRs, get in touch.
NEXT GENERAL
MEETING
The next meeting is the Annual General Meeting on January 24th. It’s upstairs at the International Restaurant on Morley St. at 5pm, followed by a free meal at 6.30. The restaurant is 400 yards up the hill from the Alhambra Theatre. All members are very welcome.
Items on the agenda include motions for conference, the White Paper, Re-structuring and TLRs, Salary safeguarding, and Academies.
PPA TIME MEANS
PPA TIME
We have received some complaints from Bradford teachers that they have faced pressure to sacrifice their PPA time. This has most commonly been in the form of meetings suggested by managers. They tend to be unofficial, called for example by a Head of Department, which the teacher feels obliged to attend. This could be a result of a mis-understanding of the purpose of PPA time.
Remember, PPA time is yours. So if you want to have a meeting, that’s obviously your decision.
There should be no pressure on you to do anything other than your own preparation, planning and assessment work.
PPA time should have become a fact for every teacher last September. If you are concerned that it is still not working properly in your school, please contact the Union office.
LBGT HISTORY MONTH . . . . .
February has been designated LGBT History Month, when teachers may like to focus on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gendered people. There are some useful web sites for resource material, including the Schools Out site at
www.schools-out.org.uk
Click onto teaching pack
. . . AND RESEARCH
There is an opportunity for Bradford teachers to take part in research following the introduction of the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003. It is being conducted by The Centre for Equality Research in Business at London Metropolitan University. The research aims to examine the experiences of LGB people at work, taking account of gender, race, disability and age.
If you would like to find out more about this project, please contact
Fiona Colgan at London Metropolitan University,
tel: 0208 8306734 or 07914658301 or email:f.colgan@londonmet.ac.uk,
by 30th January 2006.
Further details are available on the web at http://www.workinglives.org/docs/Multiple_discrim_projectpagedoc.doc
SUPPORT FOR
EARTHQUAKE
VICTIMS
At the General Meeting on December 13th a representative from Islamic Relief described the hardships being faced by the people of Kashmir as a result of the earthquake.
Following a discussion of the best way to offer help immediately and in the long term, the meeting decided to donate £500 to Islamic Relief’s Appeal and to adopt a school in Kashmir. The idea is to assist the school with re-building and re-equipping, and through this activity to build links with schools in Bradford.
If you would like to help with this project in any way, please contact the Union office.
Bradford NUT,
22 Edmund St, BD5 0BH.
Tel:01274 414664 - Fax:01274 414665
e-mail: "name"@bradfordnut.org