Author: flandead

Autumn Term 2012

UNISON IN SCHOOLS

Teresa Connally: Branch Secretary

Dawn Moulton:
School’s Lead
Officer

Welcome to the first edition of the Schools Newsletter for members in UNISON West Cheshire Branch
My name is Teresa Connally and I have been UNISON Branch Secretary for West Cheshire for nearly 3 years. I have been an active union member for 35 years and I can’t stress how important it is to be in a union.
UNISON West Cheshire Branch has a great team that will be visiting schools in the new term, talking to you about the importance of being in the union. UNISON also campaigns to make sure that the vital contribution that you make to schools and education is recognised and rewarded by fighting for:
Better pay and conditions
Improved career structures
Access to training and development
Fair treatment for term-time, part-time and temporary staff
High quality, well-resourced education services accountable to the local community
We also want to develop the schools network and the Schools Forum in West Cheshire and ensure that each school has a steward or a contact. The bigger the numbers the bigger the voice we have, so make a difference.

UNISON members also receive many benefits for example Legal Advice from Thompsons Solicitors, Free Wills Service, cheaper car insurance, Health and Dental Plans just to mention a few. For further information please visit the West Cheshire UNISON website.
We look forward to our UNISON members being involved and active in the local branch. Dawn Moulton who is the Assistant Branch Secretary is the Lead Officer for schools, so if you have any queries her contact details are
dawnmoulton@westcheshireunison.org.uk
Teresa Connally
Branch Secretary
West Cheshire UNISON:
Tel (01244) 346894
Website: www.westcheshireunison.org.uk
E-mail: mail@westcheshireunison.org.uk
Facebook : “West Cheshire UNISON”

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3 Unison Local Organisers are about to start an organising campaign in schools in West Cheshire. Introducing Barney Wakefield, Margie Hill and Adam Flanders.
So far we have undertaken preparatory work, ready for the start of the new school year this September.
We have been conducting a “mapping” exercise, working out how many members, potential members and activists we have, and where they work within West Cheshire.
We have contacted all 159 schools in West Cheshire by post and made follow up calls to around 30 of these.
We are holding some sessions in the first week of term this September.
We aim to visit all 159 schools by February, for a one hour session on how to take part in and access UNISON effectively.
We will also be available for follow up meetings, where they are needed.
To achieve a strong network of support for members we need to update contact information. Please take the time to fill out one of our contact forms when we visit your school.
Another of our aims is to have at least one UNISON representative in each school, to improve ease of access and UNISON organisation in your workplace.
discussing the importance and value of being a member of a trade union
explaining the most effective ways to take part in and access UNISON
recruiting members and representatives
helping to mentor and develop new and existing activists
raising the profile of UNISON in West Cheshire by producing this newsletter and hand outs
If you want to know more about the campaign please contact West Cheshire branch.

STEWARDS CORNER

I became a Unison Education Steward about four years ago, after seeing an email asking Unison members to consider training to support colleagues in their workplace.
I put my name forward as I was already distributing Union communications within my school and I wanted to gather more knowledge to help support the work of Unison. Training was provided locally at the County Offices Club in Chester, three full days with lovely lunches provided! The Trainer from the Unison Manchester Office was extremely knowledgeable and the three days just flew by. I met lots of interesting people from around the country, all doing different jobs, and we were able to share ideas and concerns.
My role as a steward means that I am the first point of contact should our members require advice or help and I also ensure that new staff receive a Unison booklet and application form should they wish to join. I have encouraged all our school support staff to be a member of Unison because not only do Unison support us individually should we have workplace issues but they work tirelessly behind the scenes for better pay and pension deals for us all
(not just members)
I would encourage any school member to consider becoming a steward -the workload is minimal and it is a way of supporting the Unison staff in the work they do.
Susan Booth
Bursar and Unison Steward
Cherry Grove Primary School
Chester

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Administration of Medication

UNISON is aware that an increasing number of school support staff are expected to administer medicines and/or provide medical assistance to children as part of their roles.
From consultations with our members we have found that staff are often pressured into providing medical care without a suitable policy in place that ensures adequate training and recognition in terms of pay and grading.
UNISON is currently working on your behalf to ensure that both staff and pupils are protected by clear policies and procedures and staff feel rewarded for the care they give.
UNISON would ask staff to support our campaign by administering medicines and medical care only if:
It is clearly defined in your contract - vague references such as "personal needs" or "healthcare" are not acceptable.
You have been trained, receive regular updates and are clear about the limits of your responsibilities.
There is a medical policy, system of support and transparent chain of responsibility in the school.
Your pay and grading take full account of medical support duties.
For more detailed information please use the following link and also contact West Cheshire Unison Branch:
http://www.unison.org.uk/file/A14176.pdf
This guide
(Managing Medicines and Providing Medical Support in Schools and Early Years Settings)
will highlight what needs to be in place for your protection.

Make a difference – be the voice for your school

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UNISON’s success is down to our
members – and, in particular, the
UK-wide network of school reps who
ensure that support staff have a voice
in schools. If you don’t have a UNISON
representative in your school, then why
not take the time to become one, and
make a difference at work.
School reps talk to members, distribute
information and get their views; recruit
new members; help members get
advice on workplace problems; and act
as spokesperson or representative for
support staff in your school.
You can do as much or as little as you want. A wide range of UNISON members are reps, whether they are a school
Business manager, librarian, TA or school meals worker – and some reps job-share the role with a colleague.
Your local UNISON branch is on hand to
support you and you will have training to
help you in your role. You are also entitled
to paid release from your job to carry out
your duties. Full details of training courses are available from Dawn Moulton
Email your branch
Schools Lead Officer
dawnmoulton@westcheshireunison.org.uk

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Carol Hodkinson is celebrating
in Australia after UNISON helped her and other members to claim enhanced rates of pay going back up to 6 years.
Carol, who has worked as a Child Care Associate at Hebden Green residential school in Winsford since 1999, contacted UNISON when she realised that she was entitled to enhanced rates of pay for working evening, night and early morning shifts.
Carol had asked about this at school but felt she wasn’t getting anywhere.
“Dawn arranged for us to meet after work one Friday morning and we realised none of us had had the payments which were payable from October 2006. We all filled in Case Forms in case we needed legal representation, but when Dawn started speaking to management at the school, they realised their mistake and within a few weeks they had agreed to pay us what we were owed”, said Carol.
“The pay outs ranged from a few pence in one case to thousands in another”, said Dawn Moulton, West Cheshire UNISON Branch Officer, ‘and we are still negotiating with Cheshire West and Chester Council about the calculation of holiday pay and sick pay for the affected members at Hebden Green and the other Residential Schools within the Borough’.
The lesson for members is that their Head Teachers & managers may not always be clear about how they should be paid, and what enhancements they are entitled to. If in doubt ask your UNISON REP. UNISON is pursuing a number of other issues about pay for standby, sleep-ins and other enhancements when staff are on holiday or off sick. FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT WEST CHESHIRE BRANCH Tel (01244) 346894

Another UNISON Success story
Residential School Staff Claim for Massive
Under-Payment

Carol Hodkinson celebrating
in Australia

Support UNISON members
in Academies

As we know there is a rise in schools wishing to become an academy and the government are desperate to divorce state-funded schools from Local authorities. As part of the privatisations of the school system the Government have commissioned a study of Academies.
The Commission is looking to assess the impact on school improvement, however UNISON are pushing forward to raise concerns about pay, school services, SEN services and other specialist services provided by academies, free schools and redundancies of support staff.
The academies programme has led to a wide variance in the status of schools. This complex web means that the division of responsibilities between the school provider, the inspectorate, and central government is increasingly complicated and is resulting in schools becoming overstretched, facing budget cuts and Support Staff being made redundant.

The growth of Academies is leading to schools becoming financially stretched and thus looking to become part of a group of schools, which is also raising important questions regarding school accountability. Especially, how local communities will be able to hold groups of schools to account, over issues in their schools.
We have also raised concerns that many academies do not have adequate liability insurance in place to cover certain medical procedures administrated to pupils with specific health needs, nor do they have adequate insurance cover to meet any future claims from pupils/staff who have become ill as the result of exposure to asbestos in schools.
Although academies may be structured differently, the issues are the same and it is important that we provide the support you need at work and to make sure your voice is heard in your school. It is vital that we develop a structure in each Academy and we develop a contact structure. If you work in an academy now more than ever you need to be involved!
We are developing a network of good trained, representatives, in schools who have the backing of the branch and full time officers. Support Staff should not be treated any differently than Teachers and academies should treat staff fairly with dignity and respect.
Join UNISON – and encourage your workmate to join.