Councillor Rodden, S Fanning, Strategic Partner Lead (Finance & Resources).

There were no declarations of interest or transparency statements intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting.

In accordance with the terms of the local recognition and procedure agreement, which stated that the Chair of the Committee should alternate between the two sides comprising the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff, it was agreed that Councillor Paterson would chair this meeting of the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff.

DECIDED: That Councillor Paterson chair this meeting of the Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff.

There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of this Committee held on 11 June 2024.

Under reference to Item 8 - School Holidays, the Minute of the previous meeting held on 11 June 2024, the Teachers’ Side requested that the minute be changed to record that the “consultation regarding the change of date had been agreed, not that there had been agreement on the change of date” and this be recorded in the minute. The Clerk confirmed that this would be amended.

DECIDED:  That the Minute be approved subject to the above amendment.

Under reference to Item 3 of the Minute of the previous meeting held on 11 June 2024, Matters Arising, in relation to the Violence and Aggression Policy, the Head of Education advised that an operational update would be sent to Head Teachers for use on in-service days when completed,  and communicated to staff advising of the training dates, format and time allocated.  This information would also be sent directly to the Trade Unions at the same time.

Under reference to Item 3 of the Minute of the previous meeting held on 11 June 2024, Matters Arising, in relation to Additional Support Needs provision/funding the Interim Head of Education advised that he would provide further information on this matter to future meetings of the JNC.

Under reference to Item 3 of the Minute of the previous meeting held on 11 June 2024, Matters Arising, in relation to the Council’s policy on mobile phone use in schools the Interim Head of Education advised that final guidelines would be submitted to the next meeting of the JNC scheduled to be held on 12 November 2024.

Under reference to Item 4 of the Minute of the previous meeting held on 11 June 2024, Action Log, the Head of Education and Joint Secretary (Teacher’s Side) agreed that they would discuss and update the Action Log going forward at their pre-meeting, and forward information timeously to the Clerk in order to have the most current information on the Log on the agenda for each meeting.

Under reference to Item 11 of the Minute of the previous meeting held on 11 June 2024, Seesaw and Implications of Digital Platforms, the Interim Head of Education advised that conversations have begun with ICT, these were at an early stage and further meetings would be arranged to discuss digital platforms, and further updates would be submitted to meetings of the JNC.

DECIDED:

(a) That the operational update on the Violence and Aggression Policy be issued to Head Teachers for use on in-service days when completed,  and communicated to staff advising of the training dates, format and time allocated.  This information would also be sent directly to the Trade Unions at the same time.

(b) That further information be provided in relation to the ASN provision/funding;

(c) That the policy on mobile phones be submitted to the next meeting of the JNC scheduled to be held on 12 November 2024;

(d) That the Action Log be updated by the Head of Education and Joint Secretary (Teacher’s side) at their pre-meeting and passed timeously to the Clerk for inclusion on the agenda; and

(e) That updates of progress with regard to Seesaw and implication of digital platforms be submitted to future meetings of the JNC.

The action log for the JNC was submitted.  It was advised that some items had not been updated on the Log, and it was agreed that for future meetings of the JNC the Head of Education and the Joint Secretary (Teacher’s side) would update the Log at their pre-meeting, and forward the updated Log to the Clerk, for inclusion on the agenda.

DECIDED: 

(a) That updates be forwarded to the Clerk after the pre-meeting between Head of Education and the Joint Secretary (Teacher’s side) for the updated Log to be included on the agenda; and 

(b) That the action log be noted.

There was submitted a report by The Head of Education relative to Staff Circular 16 – Appointment of Staff.

It was advised that several Standard Circulars had not been reviewed for some time and to ensure an open and transparent approach the Head of Education would advise members of the JNC of this work. Standard Circular 16 provided general information and guidance regarding the appointment of teachers to permanent posts.

DECIDED: 

(a) That it be agreed that the Joint Secretary (Teacher’s Side) would consult with the Head of Education regarding the review of the Standard Circular 16 in relation to appointment of staff; and

(b) That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Head of Education relative to the updating of Absence Management/Supporting Attendance (Teachers) Policy which had not been reviewed for some time. To ensure an open and transparent approach the Director of Education would advise members of the JNC of this change to the policy. 

The Absence Management/Supporting Attendance Policy had not been updated since 2001. In 2024 this policy was updated for local government employees. This had resulted in establishments working with two different sets of procedures in relation to absence management. Members of the JNC were asked to support this policy being updated to ensure clear and consistent absence management and supporting absence processes and procedures for Local Government and teaching employees.

DECIDED:  

(a) That it be agreed that the Joint Secretary (Teacher’s Side) would consult with the Head of Education regarding the updating of the policy on Absence Management/Supporting Attendance; and

(b) That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Head of Education relative to the updated JNC 14/15  Policy which had not been reviewed for some time. To ensure an open and transparent approach the Director of Education would advise members of the JNC of this change to the policy. 

The Policy had not been updated since 2006 and Members of the JNC were asked to support this policy being updated to ensure clear and consistent discipline and grievance procedures.

DECIDED:  

(a) That it be agreed that the Joint Secretary (Teacher’s Side) would consult with the Head of Education regarding the updating of the policy on discipline and grievance procedures; and

(b) That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Joint Secretaries relative to job sizing. The report requested that Headteachers be reminded of the terms of Appendix 2.3: Job-Sizing Review with specific reference to the two points in the year at which a review could be triggered.

DECIDED:  

(a) That Headteachers be reminded of the two points in the year when a review could be triggered; and

(b) That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) relative to the new print strategy in schools which had been introduced without consultation with the teaching unions.

The report advised that the Teachers’ side sought reconsideration in the reductions on individual and departmental printing quotas, a recognition that the new print strategy might place unnecessary burdens in respect of planning and limit flexibility of teachers to react to learners’ needs. The Teachers’ side was sought assurances that the administrative aspects of gaining access to copiers would be dealt with by administrative staff and that this would not fall to individual teachers to contact ICT helpline as time taken to do so reduced time available for preparation and correction.  It was noted that the location of printers was also an issue at some schools.

The Interim Head of Education advised that the amount of printing in schools last year was very large and due to the environmental impact and costs, this amount of printing was required to be cut over a three-year period.

DECIDED:  

(a) That it be agreed that issues with the location of printers should be discussed with Headteachers; 

(b) That it be agreed that large scale issues with printers could be reported to the Education Support Managers in the first instance, for them to contact ICT; and

(c) That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) regarding changes to schools’ digital infrastructure.

The report advised that there were concerns regarding the time it took for matters, which had been logged with the ICT helpdesk, to be resolved, in many cases the need was urgent and immediate. ICT problems were an unnecessary source of stress and were having a significant impact on staff wellbeing and workload adding to the routine challenges that were already present for teachers.

The Teaching Unions requested that the Council: investigate the many difficulties staff were reporting when trying to access online and digital resources;  commit to having access issues resolved quickly; conduct an audit of teaching time and/or teachers’ non-contact time lost to resolving digital problems; ensure that ICT support was readily available and that the helpdesk treated calls as a matter of urgency ensuring problems were dealt with as quickly as possible; and that the affected staff need to be contacted directly to update when their issues were resolved to assist them in effective planning.  The Teacher’s Union also requested that  problems which could not be resolved with a single call that an administrative liaison link was assigned in each establishment who could resolve matters for staff rather than have teachers engaged in time consuming access issues because there was an expectation that the infrastructure should be in place to facilitate teachers in their work rather than have individuals responsible for reporting and discussing such problems.  The Teachers Union indicated that the time-consuming tasks detracted from teachers’ non-contact preparation and correction time.

DECIDED:  

(a) That the Interim Head of Education investigate the process for logging calls with the ICT Helpdesk; and

(b) That the report be noted; and

There was submitted a report by Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) regarding the emerging practice of ‘dual entering’ S4 learners for National 4 and National 5 qualifications in the same subject. 

This was resulting in double workload for teachers as well as stress for learners and was being carried out despite the Cabinet Secretary for Education having expressed the view that it would only be appropriate in a ‘very limited number of exceptional circumstances’ which should involve dialogue with young people and their parents/carers.

DECIDED:  

(a) That Teachers, in discussion with learners and parents, should decide, as early as possible, the correct level of study for the pupil;

(b) That pupils should only be presented for one level of study per qualification eg National 4 or National 5, except in exceptional circumstances;

(c) That finalising of unit assessments and reassessments in the month of May should accommodate learners who had already completed some units or parts of units at a particular level and required only limited time to complete the outstanding assessments to achieve a qualification; and 

(d) That the report be noted.

It was noted that the date of the next meeting of the Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee was scheduled to be held at 2.00pm on 12 November 2024.