IT is not “realistic or reasonable” to try to introduce new management structures into schools by August, a national conference in Airdrie was warned this week.
Gordon Mackenzie, immediate past president of the Headteachers’ Association of Scotland, demanded the retention of the “vast majority” of subject principal teachers and the jobs of assistant principal teachers of guidance, whose vanishing posts continue to concern secondary heads.
Mr Mackenzie, head of Balwearie High, Kirkcaldy, described the lack of transitional arrangements as a “major flaw” and called for action on several critical issues. It was unacceptable for timetablers not to know what their management structure would be next session, a point that drew warm applause at the inaugural conference run by Edinburgh University’s centre for educational leadership.
“You need a time-scale that is realistic and reasonable, plus detailed planning so that people know exactly what is happening - a good phased programme,” Mr Mackenzie said. “You need continuity of provision for youngsters and not a big bang approach that leads to deterioration in provision.”
But Ginny Thorburn, an employers’ adviser in the McCrone negotiations, replied that “the agreement is the agreement” and rejected the suggestion of a big bang next August. The full package would not be put in place overnight and may not be fully implemented by August, although there was a need to be clear about the position of APTs and senior teachers.
Mr Mackenzie appealed for APTs guidance to be retained. “There is a need for pastoral care by well-trained, highly motivated guidance staff and this must include APTs. Let’s not lose sight of guidance as a resource,” he said.
Ronnie Smith, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, argued that all APTs guidance could be subsumed within principal teacher posts though not all would have the same job.
“Fairness can be injected into the system with different sized jobs and different remuneration,” Mr Smith said. He acknowledged “a point of tension” between the need to secure sufficient staff at an appropriate grade and the constraints felt by authorities over the unknown costs of restructuring and job-sizing.
But Donald Henderson, head of the Scottish Executive’s teachers’ division, defended the distribution of pastoral tasks from promoted to unpromoted staff, referring to annex B in the McCrone agreement which says that it is appropriate for teachers to provide advice and guidance on education.
“That may not encompass every activity that guidance teachers undertake but it certainly seems to cover a number of core activities,” Mr Henderson said.
