Month: Mar 2013

Jan Murray’s feature on Frank Coffield in the IfL’s InTuition journal caught my eye recently. (See http://bit.ly/ZxtgNz). Its title, ‘Just suppose this man ran education’, was a nod to the title of his influential 2008 research paper ‘Just Suppose Teaching and Learning became the first priority’.

Frank Coffield’s 2002 contribution to the Association of Colleges (AoC) annual conference became a landmark speech after he pointed out that, ‘there is nothing about teaching and learning in this whole conference, it’s all about finance and businesses and estates…’. He spoke on the subject of ‘Education before Business’ at the WEA Yorkshire and Humber Region’s Annual General Meeting in Leeds in 2009 and his passion for teaching and learning was all the more infectious because of his modesty and gentle humour as a speaker.

It’s a good time for reflection as a long weekend break approaches, so, in the spirit of Coffield…

–…

The real “wasters” are the employers who, by their irresponsible employment practices, cost “the hard-working taxpayer”, “hard-working families” and “the long-suffering unemployed taxpayer”, millions of pounds in compensation, not to mention the pain and suffering that results from employer behaviour.

The NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, secured £15,610,924 compensation for members in 2012.

The figure represented an increase of 24% compared to the 2011 figure of £12,625,509.

The compensation was awarded for successful claims for unlawful deduction of wages, unfair dismissal, breach of contract, constructive dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, disability, age and trade union activity.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said:
“It is clear from these cases that if employers operated good employment and health and safety practice, then teachers would not have had to face these traumatic events and there would not be costs of millions of pounds to taxpayers.

“These employers deliberately flout the…

As the UK breaks up for Easter weekend most people are quietly ignorant, by circumstance or choice, of the beginning of the end of the welfare state, which begins on Easter Monday.  Today we take a look at what will be happening, how people will be hit, and what we can all do to bring it to a full stop.

The New Poll Tax

As of April, anyone currently claiming Council Tax benefit will see a rise in their annual council tax bill of up to £600 a year.  The stated purpose of the cut is to reduce the current Council Tax Benefit bill by 10% and is in no way based on the reality of the need for financial support of the groups who currently rely on it.

Council Tax Benefit currently supports 5.9 million UK households, 3.2 million contain working people.  It is payable to pensioners, the disabled…

This letter has been sent from us to all Birmingham Labour Councillors;

“Dear Labour Councillor,

We are writing to you asking you to take action to defend your residents and tenants from the Bedroom Tax.

There are solutions. It would be easy for Birmingham city council to pledge not to enforce the tax. Dundee (SNP) & Brighton & Hove (Green) councils have already announced that they will not be evicting tenants who do not pay the tax.

Chair of Brighton & Hove Green Party, Rob Shepherd, said: “This government is willing to see people thrown out onto the streets purely because they can’t pay their bedroom tax. They can be sentenced to homelessness simply for trying to maintain a normal, liveable family home. The Conservative and LibDem coalition government should be ashamed of itself, and as Greens we will have no part of it”.

We congratulate these councils on their…

The updated version for our estate work can be viewed here.

This is well worth a read: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2298146/I-refuse-surrender-Marxist-teachers-hell-bent-destroying-schools-Education-Secretary-berates-new-enemies-promise-opposing-plans.html 

Yes it’s written in the name of Michael Gove. Yes it’s in the Mail. Not sure which day. Just read it.

Then when you’ve read it, read it again, calmly and carefully.

When you have stopped laughing ask yourself this question: how can this be written by someone who holds a position  in the government of this country?

It really is incredible.

The two largest teacher unions, NUT and NASUWT, representing 9 out of 10 teachers, are today announcing the next phase of their jointly coordinated campaign to Protect Teachers and Defend Education.

Following the refusal of the Secretary of State to genuinely engage with the NASUWT and NUT to seek to resolve our trade disputes with him, plans are in place for the next stage of industrial action which will include:

• continuation of the current action short of strike action instructions;
• national rallies across England and Wales in April and May;
• escalation of the national action short of strike action;
• a rolling programme of national strikes commencing with local authority areas in the North West of England on 27 June; and
• unless the Secretary of State responds positively to the unions’ demands, a rolling programme of strike action will continue into the Autumn term and will include a one day…