UNION PREPARES FOR BIG CHANGES IN SCHOOLS

The new schools negotiating body for England will mean changes facing our members, national secretary Christina McAnea, told UNISON's local government conference in Brighton, as the bill goes before parliament to bring the body into existence.

It had been a long slow process but as a "pay review / negotiating body hybrid" whose agreements will be statutory, it will be an important tool in achieving the "equity and fairness" UNISON is committed to, she said. . While one delegate wished teachers well with their new agreement to "rarely cover" for their colleagues' absences, Mike Foster from Kirklees spoke passionately about the recent schools guidance on support staff covering for teachers' absence.

Many delegates welcomed the workforce agreement monitoring group's advice on "covering" but all regretted that it would be implemented "school by school".

Conference agreed that schools should adhere to the guidelines and branches refer abuses of cover to the local monitoring group and that appropriate and consistent rates of pay should apply to cover supervisors and higher level teaching assistants.

First time speaker, Michele McKenna from Durham county welcomed the "clear advice" and said the it isn't exploiting UNISON members - head teachers are.

A "realistic and co-ordinated" strategy on organising in schools must be developed with the service group executive working with regions and branches to organise and increase the number of stewards in schools, conference agreed.

Pamela Lamb from Durham said that as soon as she asked people, they wanted to join the union because "staff are struggling with all the changes" in schools.

Head teachers were again cited as the problem when stewards couldn't get facilities time, but Paul Thompson from Durham welcomed the the "planned, systematic approach" that conference agreed.

In a "massively shifting environment", with increased powers for governors, more academies opening and the new negotiating body coming on stream "our members require us to be very well organised", he added.