A Scottish teaching union will today try to ramp up pressure for a far better pay offer than that previously put on the table.
Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA), will tell the union’s annual conference in Stirling today that a “restorative” deal is essential.
After the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers had submitted a claim in January for a 6 per cent rise across all SNCT grades, Mr Searson will remind delegates, an offer of 3 per cent was made and “quickly rejected”.
Any subsequent pay offer, he insists, “must be inflation plus a restorative component to help teachers’ salaries return to the value in the past”.
Protecting teachers’ salaries
Mr Searson, who is due to speak late this afternoon, will add: “We will consider a multi-year deal, but the numbers must protect teachers’ salaries during the period of the deal.
“We understand financial pressures. [Local authorities’ body] Cosla has said it is at the limit but delay leaves teachers feeling undervalued and ignored.”
He is also “concerned about the failure to implement the promised reduction in teacher class-contact time”.
Reducing contact time should be a priority for local authority employers, Mr Searson believes, because it will lead to “reduced workload for teachers, better prepared lessons, better outcomes for our children and a better chance of retaining the teachers we have”.
Mr Searson will address teacher shortages and “a recruitment crisis in our secondary schools”, at a time when many teachers are “stuck on temporary contracts”, job shares “rejected” and phased retirements “discouraged”.
With many secondary schools reporting vacancies, there are “fewer teachers in classrooms helping to tackle the ever-increasing pupil behaviour challenges” and to support pupils with additional needs.
The SSTA general secretary will also call for education funding to be ring-fenced: “When the Scottish government allocates money for education, it must be spent on education, not absorbed elsewhere.”
He will add: “Teacher numbers must not only be maintained - they must be increased with time and funding for professional development and teaching resources.
Mr Searson will also focus on the imminent replacement of the Scottish Qualifications Authority by the new body Qualifications Scotland and the division of Education Scotland’s inspection and curriculum functions.
“Why do we not offer a wide, balanced curriculum for all young people to the age of 18,” he will ask.
“Why do we force our young people through a senior phase that is like a qualifications factory with no real time to enjoy and cherish learning? With more time spent on preparing for exams and moderation and verification of coursework than teaching and learning?”
Putting faith in teachers
Qualifications Scotland must “end the constant craving for evidence” and put faith in “the teacher’s professional judgement in assessing children”.
He will argue that “inspectors must see their role as supporting teachers and developing the system, not punishing teachers and schools”, adding: “The fear of inspection is real. It’s used to suppress innovation and dampen enthusiasm. It stifles creativity and learning - all in the name of data and exam results.”
Mr Searson will call for the inspectorate to shift its focus from individual schools to local authorities.
“If we are going to have an inspection system, let it inspect those who actually hold the power - the ones controlling the funding, the staffing and the curriculum,” he will say.
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