UNISON's
approach
UNISON Scotland believes that a mixture of high quality
care and education provided for all children from birth
to school age. UNISON Scotland is committed to the modern
comprehensive principle rooted in our belief in a decent
society. Every child should have a genuinely equal chance
of the best education in their local school.
Support staffs play an increasing
role in our schools and colleges. Their contribution to
educational standards should be fully valued and recognised
through better training and improved pay and conditions.
There should be a significant expansion
of early years education provided by local authorities and
led by qualified early years professionals. Scotland’s
colleges should have a national bargaining framework.
Support staffs in education, like
other parts of the public sector, tend to be the lowest
paid and least valued, and many of them are women. These
inequalities must be addressed.
BACKGROUND and OUTLOOK
Education in Scotland is delivered by a whole team of people.
Too often, politicians and the media focus on professional
staff, like teachers and lecturers, and forget about the
rest of the team. A whole range of professional, technical
and administrative staff ensure that education in Scotland
achieves a high standard.
The quality of education provision will be boosted by involving
all staff in the process of change. Substantial work needs
done to improve the qualifications, career prospects and
rewards of early years and childcare workers. Further steps
need to be taken to gain stronger recognition and integration
of the work of school support staff into the life of education
establishments; the qualifications, career pathways and
personal development of these staff; and to consider the
potential implications of this work for pay and conditions.
Past discrimination on equal pay needs to be recognised
and provision made to ensure local authorities make provision
to meet their equal pay obligations. UNISON Scotland has
advocated developing a national framework of job roles,
to ensure proper recognition for the role and responsibilities
of classroom assistants, revisiting the job evaluation of
classroom assistant roles and carrying out equal pay audits
using a non-discriminatory job evaluation system.
A Scotland wide training and qualifications framework
for education support staff should be put in place to ensure
a path for career development and progression. The
development of a new ‘Support for Learning’
Higher National Certificate, to develop and promote the
role and progression of classroom assistants will support
this aim.
A system of registration for classroom assistant
jobs in Scotland should be developed, to raise standards
and promote their education and training. The General Teaching
Council is not an appropriate body to carry out this work.
Stronger links need to be put in place between our careers
service and our schools making the careers service an integral
part of the school while retaining independent advice and
a strong commitment to an all-age careers service.
The recent development of early years provision
has been prompted by both the increasing numbers of working
mothers and by evidence of the benefits of education for
pre school children. There is though an ongoing spilt between
care and education. We need an integrated service disposing
of the illusion that those who provide education for early
years children don't care, and those who care don't educate.
This is a fallacy. It is impossible to do one without the
other.
Nursery nurses are the early years professionals.
Their qualifications cover working with children from nought
to eight years. It includes theory and principles of children
as active learners and child development (physical, emotional
and social). Many also embark on further qualifications
a BA in early childhood studies or the SVQ Level 4. All
are involved in continuing professional development. All
facilities should be led by someone with that level of qualification,
not necessarily a teacher.
UNISON believes that we need a mixture of high quality
care and education for all children from birth to school
age. Childcare should be provided by trained and valued
staff. This should be provision which suits the working
lives and pockets of UNISON members and all parents.
Over 21,000 people work in Scotland’s colleges, but
with separate bargaining arrangements in the 41 colleges,
levels of pay for lecturers and support staff vary considerably
between colleges. Scotland’s colleges should
have a national bargaining framework to ensure fairness
for all staff in the sector.
KEY QUESTIONS
How can the class size issue be made into a debate about
education and not simply teachers?
How can progress on equality be maintained?
How do we ensure that expansion of services is matched
by resources?
What mechanisms should be advocated to integrate support
staff further into educational establishments?
Draft published: 5 December 2009
Current version updated: 20 January 2010
Members and branches can help to develop these
policy ideas further.
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voices for change - PUBLIC WORKS!
