Agenda Document Pack - Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff - 06/02/2024
Renfrewshire Council · 6 February 2024
Back to Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff — 6 February 2024 and its agenda
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31/01/2024 Notice of Meeting and Agenda Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff Date Time Venue Tuesday, 06 February 2024 14:00 Corporate Meeting Room 2, Renfrewshire House, Membership Representing Renfrewshire Council Management Councillor E Rodden; Councillor J Paterson; J Calder, Head of Education/Interim Chief Education Officer; J Colquhoun, Education Manager (Development); K Henry, Head Teacher, St Andrews Academy; J Houston, Head Teacher, Mossvale Primary School; A Hall, Education Manager (Development); M Thomas, Education Manager (Development) (all Education and Childrens' Services); and M Boyd, Head of People & Organisational Development (Finance and Resources) Representing Renfrewshire Council Teaching Staff K Fella/M Russell (Joint Secretary), JP Tonner, T Millar, Y Murray, D Tollan, B Kelly, D Baxter and P Quinn (all EIS); R Kane(SSTA); and L Gibson (NASUWT). Further Information A copy of the agenda and reports for this meeting will be available online at http://renfrewshire.cmis.uk.com/renfrewshire/CouncilandBoards.aspx For further information, please email democratic-services@renfrewshire.gov.uk MARK CONAGHAN Head of Corporate Governance Page 1 of 18
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31/01/2024 Items of business Apologies Apologies from members. Declarations of Interest and Transparency Statements Members are asked to declare an interest or make a transparency statement in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief explanation of the nature of the interest or the transparency statement. Chairperson Consider the appointment of a Chairperson for this meeting. 1 Minute of Previous Meeting Minute of previous meeting, held on 14 November 2023, as agreed by the Joint Secretaries. 3 - 8 2 Matters Arising Matters arising from the Minute of the previous meeting, held on 14 November 2023. 3 Violence and Aggression Update Report by Principal HR & OD Adviser. 9 - 10 4 JNC/20 Scheme for the Appointment of Temporary Teachers to Permanent Posts: (Addendum) Report by Interim Head of Education. 11 - 12 5 Mobile ‘Phone Use in Schools Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side). 13 - 14 6 ASN Provision Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers' Side). 15 - 16 7 In-service Days and Time for Trade Union meetings Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side). 17 - 18 8 Date of Next Meeting Members are asked to note that the next meeting of the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff is scheduled to be held at 2.00pm on 26 March 2024. Page 2 of 18
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Minute of Meeting Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff Date Time Venue Tuesday, 14 November 2023 14:00 Corporate Meeting Room 2, Renfrewshire House, PRESENT Representing Renfrewshire Council Management Councillor E Rodden; J Calder, Head of Education/Interim Chief Education Officer, J Colquhoun, Education Manager (Development), A Hall, Education Manager (Development) M Thomas, Education Manager (Development), K Henry, Head Teacher, St Andrews Academy and J Houston, Head Teacher, Mossvale Primary School (all Education & Children’s Services); and M Boyd, Head of People & Organisational Development and S Fanning, Principal HR & OD Adviser (both Finance & Resources). Representing Renfrewshire Council Teaching Staff K Fella (Joint Secretary), M Russell, JP Tonner, D Tollan and B Kelly (all EIS); R Kane (SSTA); L Gibson (NASUWT); and D Baxter (Adviser to Teachers’ Side). IN ATTENDANCE E Gray, Senior Committee Services Officer and D Cunningham, Committee Services & Licensing Officer (both Finance & Resources). APOLOGIES Councillor J Paterson, T McGillivray, Head of Education (Inclusion and Quality Improvement) (Joint Secretary), T Miller and Y Murray (both EIS). DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND TRANSPARENCY STATEMENTS There were no declarations of interest or transparency statements intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting. Item 1 JNC060224 Page 3 of 18
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1 CHAIRPERSON In accordance with the terms of the local recognition and procedure agreement, which stated that the Chair of the Committee should alternate between the two sides comprising the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff, it was agreed that Mr J P Tonner would chair this meeting of the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff. DECIDED: That Mr J P Tonner chair this meeting of the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff. 2 MINUTE OF PREVIOUS MEETING There was submitted the Minute of the previous meeting held on 5 September 2023. Under reference to Item 8 of the minute, it was agreed that recommendation (a) would be amended to read: "That it be noted that meetings were ongoing between Children’s Services (Education) and Head Teachers around how any changes to qualifications and assessments would be facilitated”. DECIDED: That the Minute be approved subject to the amendment. 3 MATTERS ARISING Under reference to Item 8 of the Minute, Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment, the Teachers’ Side advised they had not had sight of any communication regarding meetings, discussions or developments on this matter. The Interim Chief Education Officer and Head Teacher, St Andrews Academy, both confirmed that communications had been issued, but that the submission date had now passed. The communications would be forwarded on to the Teachers’ Side for their information. Under reference to Item 9 of the Minute, JNC/15 Grievance Procedures, an update was requested by the Teachers’ Side. The Interim Chief Education Officer advised that this area of work remained ongoing. The Teachers’ Side requested that an action log/report be maintained and that this be a standing item on the agenda going forward. Both the Clerk and the Interim Chief Education Officer advised that decisions were already recorded in the Minute of the Meeting. The Clerk advised that this would be subject to further discussion. DECIDED: (a) That the Interim Chief Education Officer would arrange for the communication(s) relating to the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment to be forwarded to the Teachers’ Side; (b) That work in connection with JNC/15 Grievance Procedures remained ongoing; (c) That further discussion would take place in relation to the production of an actions document as a standard agenda item. Page 4 of 18
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4 EDUCATION STANDARDS & QUALITY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2023 AND EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN 2023/24 There was submitted a report by the Head of Education (Quality and Inclusion), Joint Secretary (Management Side), relative to Renfrewshire’s annual Education Standards & Quality Report (September 2023) and Education Improvement Plan (2023/24) which had been developed to align to the National Improvement Framework (NIF) for Scottish Education. The Report outlined the progress made in achieving improvement priorities during the last academic session and demonstrated the commitment to The Promise and how policy and practice had been shaped to improve outcomes for Care Experienced children and young people. The Plan focused on five main priority areas: Protecting vulnerable members of the community; Family supports and early intervention; Mental health and wellbeing; Learning and teaching; and Inclusion. The Interim Chief Education Officer and Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) praised the work of all parties involved in the work outlined in the Report and Plan. There followed a discussion by both sides on various topics contained in the Report and Plan. These included violence and aggression, teacher wellbeing, recruitment, training, supply staff, ICT and access to systems, ASN, Early Years, digital and data and the Imagination Library. The Interim Chief Education Officer and Education Manager (Development) invited the Teachers’ Side to bring to their attention specific examples of areas of concern. DECIDED: (a) That the report and plan be noted; and (b) That the Teachers’ side bring to the attention of the relevant Education Manager specific examples of areas of concern. 5 STANDARD CIRCULAR 57 – SAFEGUARDING AND PROTECTING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE There was submitted a report by the Head of Education (Quality and Inclusion), Joint Secretary (Management Side), relative to a provision of a revised version of Standard Circular 57 to be shared with members of the JNC. The Teachers’ Side advised that the Standard Circulars were not available to view by all staff via Renfo. The Interim Chief Education Officer and Education Manager (Development) advised that they would investigate where these could be located to ensure access for all required parties. Concerns were raised by the Teachers’ Side relative to the safeguarding of pupils categorised as code red and it was suggested that automatic triggers could be added to the SEEMIS system to reduce the chance of them being missed. It was agreed that this would be investigated. DECIDED: (a) That the report be noted; Page 5 of 18
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(b) That the Interim Chief Education Officer and Education Manager (Development) would investigate where the Standard Circulars could be located to ensure access for all required parties: and (c) That the Interim Chief Education Officer and Education Manager (Development) would investigate the addition of triggers within the SEEMIS system to assist with safeguarding category code red pupils. 6 STANDARD CIRCULAR 8 - INCLUDED, ENGAGED AND INVOLVED - A POSITIVE APPROACH TO PREVENTING AND MANAGING SCHOOL EXCLUSIONS There was submitted a report by the Head of Education (Quality and Inclusion), Joint Secretary Management Side, relative to the provision of a revised version of Standard Circular 8 to be shared with Members of the JNC. The Teachers' Side particularly welcomed Paragraph 5.4 of the circular which itemised the occasions when Headteachers could use exclusion. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 7 NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS RESULTS 2023 There was submitted a report by the Head of Education (Quality and Inclusion), Joint Secretary Management Side, relative to attainment in the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) National Qualifications in 2023. The report highlighted that caution required to be applied in making direct comparisons between 2023, which saw the return to the traditional method of assessment, and the previous years during the Covid-19 pandemic which had alternative methods of assessment in place. There was a discussion around the impact of attendance on attainment. The Interim Chief Education Officer and Teachers’ side conveyed their congratulations to all pupils and school communities in the achievement of these results. DECIDED: (a) That the report be noted; and (b) That the efforts of pupils and the school communities in the achievement of these results be noted. 8 LET’S BE HEARD - SCOTLAND’S COVID ENQUIRY There was submitted a report by the Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) relative to the Scottish Covid-19 Enquiry’s listening project, “Let’s Be Heard”. The Teacher’s side requested that this information be distributed to all Renfrewshire Schools and that Head Teachers be encouraged to allow time for Renfrewshire Teachers and young people to be heard as part of the enquiry. Page 6 of 18
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The Interim Chief Education Officer confirmed she was happy to support this and that the Education Manager (Development) would take this forward with the Teachers’ Side. DECIDED: (a) That the information contained in this report be distributed to all Renfrewshire Schools; (b) That Head Teachers would be encouraged to engage with this project and allow time for Renfrewshire teachers and young people to contribute to the enquiry; and (c) That the Education Manager (Development) would take this forward with the Teachers’ Side. 9 SUPPLY TEACHERS' CONCERNS There was submitted a report by the Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) relative to concerns raised by Renfrewshire supply teachers. The report outlined various concerns of Renfrewshire supply staff. These included: the detriment to completion of continuous personal development (CPD) by not having access to in-service training; the negative impacts of the termination of Glow accounts at the cessation of their employment; references required from the most recent school as part of the application process; permanent supply pool; and how cover was allocated and paid. There was a general discussion around these concerns, possible solutions and the pool of supply teachers. The Adviser to the Teachers’ Side suggested that a meeting be held between the Joint Secretaries and relevant colleagues to consider supply staff issues. The Education Manager (Development) advised that a generic Glow account could be provided to attempt to alleviate the negative impacts caused by the termination of the supply teachers’ Glow accounts. It was noted that work around this was underway but it was not yet possible to indicate when it would be rolled out. The Education Manager (Development) provided information relative to the supply pool numbers, outlined that the secondary permanent supply pool could not be replenished and advised she could provide the further information requested by the Teachers’ Side in relation to the numbers and subjects of members registered in the supply pool. The Education Manager (Development) invited the Teachers’ Side to notify the Head of Education (Inclusion and Quality Improvement) of concerns in respect of the application of JNC/11. DECIDED: (a) That a meeting be held between the Adviser to the Teachers’ Side, the Joint Secretaries and relevant colleagues to consider temporary supply staff; (b) That the Head of Education (Inclusion and Quality Improvement) be notified of concerns regarding the application of JNC/11; Page 7 of 18
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(c) That the Education Manager (Development) would provide a breakdown of primary and secondary supply staff to the Teachers’ Side; (d) That the Education Manager (Development) would liaise with Employee Services (ES) and monitor supply staff access to internal Renfrewshire vacancies; and (e) That the Education Manager (Development) would liaise with HR and ES regarding Head Teacher report requirements and update the JNC. 10 HOLIDAY CALENDARS AND CLOSURE DAYS There was submitted a report by the Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) relative to holiday calendars and closure days. The Teachers’ Side required to be consulted regarding future holiday dates and the allocation of closure days. The Interim Chief Education Officer advised she had thought the Teachers’ side had been happy with all dates prior to them being finalised and that she would issue the correct calendar and ensure that SNCT blocking of holidays was complied with. DECIDED: That the Interim Chief Education Officer would issue the correct calendar and ensure that SNCT blocking of holidays was complied with. 11 WEST PARTNERSHIP There was submitted a report by the Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) relative to the West Partnership Improvement Plan. The report highlighted an existing JNC agreement which emphasized that any initiative which emerged from the West Partnership was subject to agreement between the Management and Teachers’ Sides prior to implementation. The Interim Chief Education Officer confirmed that any policy changes implemented regarding the West Partnership Improvement Plan would continue to be brought to the JNC for discussion/agreement. DECIDED: That any policy changes implemented regarding the West Partnership Improvement Plan would continue to be brought to the JNC for discussion/agreement. VALEDICTORY The Interim Chief Education Officer advised the JNC that the Head of Education (Inclusion and Quality Improvement) was leaving her role in the Council. Thanks were expressed by the Committee for the valuable contribution made by the Head of Education (Inclusion and Quality Improvement) both to her Service and to the JNC. DATE OF NEXT MEETING Members noted that the next meeting of the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff was scheduled to be held at 2.00pm on 6 February 2024. Page 8 of 18
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1 Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: 06 February 2024 Report by Principal HR & OD Adviser Violence and Aggression Update ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary This report outlines the work being undertaken to reduce violent incidents in schools since the last meeting of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers (JNC). __________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 This report is for information only and to note that this is a retrospective record of health, safety and well-being activities undertaken by officers within Childrens Services, Environment, Housing and Infrastructure and the FARS H&S team. ________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Following an incident at a secondary school, it was agreed to keep the JNC updated on the progress of actions and plans to reduce the volume and impact of violent incidents within the high school environment. As part of the incident investigation, an action plan has been agreed with CS with specific actions. It was also agreed that any good practice identified, could be shared, and applied within other high school environments. Examples of the work so far include: • A review of the access and egress points around the school, which has led to solutions to control the number of doors open at specific times. • Radio protocols and actions being discussed an agreed with the school SMT. • Discussions have taken place regarding the rear pathway upgrade to segregate, where possible, members of the public from the school grounds. Item 3 JNC06022024 Page 9 of 18
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2 • Discussions with the Civil Contingencies Service about lock down processes are ongoing. 3.2 The work continues on the CS service guidance for managing and reporting distressed and dysregulated behaviour document. 3.3 From the 1 November 2023 and 24 January 2024, there have been 376 violent incidents reported on the Businessworld(BW) system. The Corporate H&S team have weekly discussions with CS H&S coordinator and the main focus is incident reviews, trend analysis which includes staff numbers and volumes. Outputs from this should be discussed at the CS SLT. These has been training for headteachers on BW reporting and recording and work is being done on the BW V&A reporting outputs. The Corporate H&S team are part of a national health and safety working group, looking at strategies to address violent incidents in schools. Page 10 of 18
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Agenda Item .......... Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: 6 February 2024 Report by Interim Head of Education JNC/20 Scheme for the Appointment of Temporary Teachers to Permanent Posts: (Addendum) 1. Background 1.1 Under JNC 20 where a teacher has met the qualifying criteria they may apply for a permanent contract with the Council and will receive confirmation of their entitlement to permanency in writing when the following qualifying criteria are met: • The required period of service or qualifying period is completed. • There is evidence of satisfactory teaching throughout the period of service. 1.2 At present an application must be submitted to HR using the prescribed proforma no later than 30 April in any given year. 1.3 It is intended that those whose applications are successful will if possible be allocated to a vacancy within a school as part of the annual staffing exercise for allocation in August in each session. 1.4 The above submission date does not align well with the key milestones of the annual staffing exercise and therefore does not best serve the interests of temporary teachers nor future staffing needs of Renfrewshire Council 1.5 Management therefore requested a trial period during which a change to the submission date for JNC 20 applications would be implemented to better serve mutual interests and needs; that is a change from 30 April to 20 November. 1.6 Discussion took place with Trade Unions representatives who agreed to the trial period with the proviso that for the first year there could be two submission dates - in April and November - so that applicants were not disadvantaged. 2. Recommendation 2.1. Members of the JNC are asked to: • approve and formalise to make permanent this change of submission date from 30 April to 30 November. Item 4 JNC06022024 Page 11 of 18
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Agenda Item .......... Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: 6th February, 2024 Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) Mobile ‘Phone Use in Schools Background Improving behaviour in schools is one of the key priorities of the EIS Stand Up For Quality Education campaign. It has come to the attention of the teacher unions across Renfrewshire that there is an increasing number of incidents involving the misuse of mobile ‘phones by pupils and that mobile devices are having a detrimental impact on teaching and learning. It is widely felt that mobile misuse is having a detrimental impact on attainment. The teaching unions are therefore seeking an urgent review of the existing policy on mobile ‘phone use in schools and discussions on whether the existing policy is adequate or if indeed the current policy is even being implemented consistently in schools. The Council’s policy on mobile ‘phone use was ratified by JNC on 13th March 2007 and was reaffirmed in Feb 2008. Link to the JNC is attached: https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:35a422ab-b426-3b75- 90f9-307a91abdb82. There have been some serious breaches of the policy and instances of pupils making recordings of other pupils and teachers. Such behaviour is unacceptable and is leading to teacher welfare and wellbeing issues. Moreover, it is reported that teaching and learning is being negatively impacted by the misuse of mobile devices: they cause distractions, lack of pupil focus and can often lead to conflicts in and out of the classroom that are not conducive to raising attainment or positive learning environments. Behaviour in schools has also been the subject of recent national debate. It has been reported widely and debated in the Scottish Parliament and is acknowledged as a priority for education. There has already been Scottish government research into the matter, namely in the Behaviour In Scottish Schools Research which was published in December 2023. It observes: Item 5 JNC060224 Page 13 of 18
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The abusive use of mobile phones and digital technologies was one of the most frequently experienced serious disruptive behaviours among secondary staff, as were general verbal abuse between pupils and towards staff… And The three behaviours that staff identified as having the greatest overall negative impact were all low-level disruptive behaviours: talking out of turn; hindering other pupils; and using/looking at mobile phones/tablets inappropriately… Restricting mobile phone use is regarded by the teaching unions as a vital part of improving behaviour. Limitations on mobile use has been trialled in a couple of schools in Renfrewshire with anecdotal reports describing it as a “positive move”. And, when parents are consulted there is broad support. The issue of mobile ‘phone use in classrooms needs to be considered in the context of raising pupil attainment and the Teachers’ side would urge the Council to reinforce the existing limitations on the use of mobile devices in all educational settings in Renfrewshire. Action: The Teaching Unions request that all schools be reminded of the extant agreement that is already Council policy in an effort to have a more rigorous and consistent implementation of practice in place in all schools. That teachers be supported in their efforts to implement current policy when calling for a curtailment of the use of mobile devices in schools. The Teachers’ side seeks to engage with the Council around the current policy and whether current measures are sufficient or need to be tightened. Page 14 of 18
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Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: 6 February 2024 ASN Provision Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) Background A major strand of the EIS Stand Up for Quality Education (SUfQE) campaign is the under-resourcing of the additional support needs provision which has led to a reduction in the deployment of Pupil Support Assistants and Specialist ASN teachers within mainstream schools and other education settings. This under-resourcing is having an adverse impact on learners’ educational experiences and wellbeing, on the wellbeing of staff and on levels of behaviour. Action The Teachers’ Side is seeking a meeting with the Head of Children’s Services and Heads of Inclusion Services to discuss how a joint approach can help to support teachers in addressing the issues related to ASN provision. Item 6 JNC060224 Page 15 of 18
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Agenda Item .......... Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: 6th Feb 2024 Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) In-service Days and Time for Trade Union meetings. Background There was communication prior to the October 2023 in-service day between management and the EIS about the agendas for that day which necessitated staff relocating to other establishments for training in the afternoons. As well as travelling expenses, the issue of time for trade union meetings was raised because many schools would normally allocate time to unions meetings in the afternoon slot. Many schools however, as a result of the training event, did not incorporate trade union meetings into their agenda for the day. The Teachers’ side noted at the time that teachers’ have an entitlement to trade union time to be allocated during in-service days as agreed in JNC 11 (Revised) Par 3 : 3. TRADE UNION MEETINGS : Two hours will be set aside for trade union meetings. Agreement on the duration and timing of individual meetings should be reached between head teachers and union representatives at school level at some time in the course of the five in-service days. As a result of the October training which took place in the afternoon it was requested that Head teachers be reminded to incorporate trade unions meetings into the morning block but the trade unions are disappointed that not all schools received this communication and so some teachers have not received their entitlement to time for Trade union meetings. Action The trade unions would reiterate the need for time for union meetings in schools during in-service days and expect that headteachers in all sectors will be reminded of that entitlement. And, where time has not previously been given due to other Council business, that this time will be rolled over and added to the subsequent in-service days in February ’24 or May ’24 to fulfil the agreed allocation of two hours per session and thereby allow teachers time to meaningfully engage with their respective trade unions. Item 7 JNC060224 Page 17 of 18
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