Agenda item
Items raised by the Teachers' Panel
(i) Health and Safety in free schools, and in particular, lessons to be learnt relating to Michaela Free School situation
(ii) The Council's attitude and possible actions regarding new academies and free schools
(iii) Michaela free school: allocation of pupil places for September 2015
(iv) Pay progression in maintained schools
(v) Asbestos policy and actions
(vi) Strengthening the partnership criteria
(vii) Human Resources review
Minutes:
Hank Roberts, on behalf of The Teachers’ Panel welcomed the opportunity to meet with members and exchange views. He also put the view that it was the role of councils to question central government policy when appropriate and not to take blame for issues for which the council was not at fault. The Teachers’ Panel raised the following concerns.
(i) Health and Safety in Free Schools, and in particular, lessons to be learnt relating to Michaela Free School situation
Hank Roberts referred to Michaela Free School in Wembley Park which had been found to have Health and Safety issues and over which the council had usefully intervened. He questioned whether the council had any residual role regarding health and safety such as a legal responsibility and, if so, to what extent.
The Strategic Director, Children and Young People, Gail Tolley confirmed that the advice regionally and nationally was that responsibility lay with the school’s Trust and the Department for Education. The local authority did not have any statutory responsibility or obligation for school premises. The LA would raise concerns and seek to influence but not intervene. The Director reminded the Teachers’ Panel that funding for Free Schools had been passed from local authorities to the schools however the council would pass on concerns in the spirit of partnership.
The Teachers’ Panel felt that it would be helpful if the position could be clarified in writing.
(ii) The council's attitude and possible actions regarding new academies and free schools
The Teachers’ Panel referred to the Kilburn Grange School due to be opened in 2015 and asked to receive information on the number of places that would be allocated for Brent students. They also heard that Gateway School was not proceeding and that while Gladstone School had submitted plans to the DFE and the council’s planning department, there was discussion of the number of forms of entry. The earliest it would open would be September 2016 possibly on a temporary site.
The Teachers’ Panel highlighted the action being taken around the country against the government policies on Free Schools and Academies and that parents were becoming increasingly aware that the justification for the introduction of the policies was not related to increasing parental choice. They called on the council to do the minimum required to comply with legislation but to join teachers’ unions in pointing out the shortcomings of the policy and make parents aware of the council’s position. The Chair asked it to be recorded that discussion on this was taking place within the Labour Group.
(iii) Michaela Free School: allocation of pupil places for September 2015
The Teachers’ Panel made enquiries of the number of places at Michaela School in Wembley Park and heard that there had been 321 applications for 120 places of 4FE.
(iv) Pay progression in maintained schools
The Teachers’ Panel raised the issue of pay progression in maintained schools, stating that pay increases were sometimes held back by performance management and the end of automatic progression. They felt that head teachers should be informed that the approach was not conducive for retention and that pay progression should be an entitlement for good teachers.
Cate Duffy (interim Operational Director, Early Years) advised that a model pay policy had been put before schools for school governing bodies to adopt but was not enforceable.
The committee heard that in some cases performance management targets were inconsistent and unachievable and that there was a need for an overview of how it was conducted in Brent, citing examples of good practice provided and where improvements could be made. The Teachers’ Panel felt that the current practice was a contributory factor in the decline in the number of experienced practitioners joining the teaching profession. They also suggested that there was a disproportionate adverse impact on the progression of particular sections of the teaching staff such as women, older women and black staff and questioned whether it was possible to collect data as evidence. Cate Duffy undertook to ask HR colleagues if the authority held any data on the protected characteristics of teachers joining and leaving schools in Brent.
The committee heard that often new teachers were not aware of the requirements for performance related pay target and felt there should be more training to ensure that targets were SMART (specific, measurable, achievable realistic and time bound). The Teachers’ Panel added that new teachers were overwhelmed, reluctant to challenge and increasingly fearful of the schools losing funding. The chair drew attention to evidence that indicated that performance related pay had little impact on student performance.
In response to question on the position regarding local authority representation on Academy governing bodies, the Strategic Director stated the council had changed its appointment process however whether to appoint was a decision for Academies[1] Trusts.
(v) Asbestos policy and actions
The Teachers’ Panel drew attention to the outcome of recent case of a local teacher who had successfully claimed compensation from the council for having contracted mesothelioma after having been exposed to asbestos in a local school. The Chair, in querying the responsibility for the asbestos policy in Brent and how widespread the problem was thought to be, was advised that policy was dealt with by the council’s health and safety committee and that detailed information on the extent of the problem was held by HR. The Teachers’ Side placed responsibility on central government for not making school asbestos management mandatory.
(vi) Strengthening the partnership criteria
The Teachers’ Panel circulated a partnership document sent to schools in Brent which they welcomed and highlighted one particular aspect strengthened namely item 5: ‘good employment practice advising that in at least one Free School, staff were discouraged from joining teaching unions. They hoped the council would make clear at the outset that union recognition was the preferred option.
Cate Duffy contributed that there was a need for clarity on where non union membership was due to teacher choice or school policy. She asked the Teachers’ Panel for their preferred wording so discussion could take place on how to proceed.
(vii) Human Resources review
The Teachers’ Panel referred to departure of the former Director of HR, Cara Davani, and the review of HR referred to by the Leader of the Council. They felt that in the past, the Teachers’ Panel had worked well with HR staff however the staffing levels had been reduced. They questioned who would be involved in the review and were advised that the Leaders’ office would be asked to liaise.