The Coalition Government has been determined to break national frameworks of pay and conditions of service
The excessive freedoms and flexibilities granted to schools by the Coalition Government are undermining childrens and young peoples entitlement to a high-quality education service, teachers at the Annual Conference of the NASUWT, the largest teachers union in the UK, have argued.
The increased autonomy given to schools by the Coalition is leading to greater variations and inequality in teachers’ pay and conditions of service and undermining pupils’ entitlement to be taught by qualified teachers who are recognised and rewarded as highly skilled professionals, the Conference, which is being held in Cardiff, has heard.
71% of teachers who responded to the NASUWT’s Big Question survey said they did not believe their headteacher would make fair and objective decisions about their pay progression and 83% did not have confidence that their governing body would make balanced decisions on pay.
By December last year over half of teachers who responded to a separate NASUWT survey said that they had not received the 1% pay award which should have been paid in September 2014.
Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said:
“The rights and entitlements of children and young people to be taught by those who are recognised and rewarded as highly skilled professionals are being compromised by the excessive freedoms and flexibilities given to schools over teachers’ pay and working conditions.
“Flexibilities are being used to depress teachers’ pay, not to raise standards.
“Consequently, teaching has become increasingly unattractive, leading to the current recruitment and retention crisis.
“In a national, publicly funded education service, national frameworks of pay and conditions of service are essential to securing high-quality education for all.
“The Coalition Government has been determined to break up the national framework of pay and conditions of service, yet even supermarket chains recognise the value of having standardised national pay and conditions frameworks to ensure quality and consistency of service for customers wherever they shop in the UK.
“Why isn’t a national framework good enough to support the education of our children and young people?”
