Received from: NASUWT
Congress notes that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused huge disruption to education across the UK.
Congress celebrates the work of the education workforce in responding rapidly, flexibly and sensitively in exceptionally difficult circumstances to the challenges the pandemic has created.
Congress acknowledges that significant challenges remain and that the pandemic has impacted differentially on communities, families, and schools and colleges.
Congress is particularly concerned that disadvantaged children and young people have experienced the greatest losses and inequalities and that inequities have widened as a result of the pandemic.
Congress confirms that it is vital that action is taken to support education recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic for the benefit of pupils, the school and college workforce and local communities.
Congress calls on the General Council to lobby the government to develop recovery strategies that:
i. support the workforce to meet the needs of children and young people, including through action to end the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, promote good staff mental health and wellbeing and tackle excessive and unnecessary workload
ii. secure the rights of children and young people to a high-quality education, including access to a broad and balanced curriculum and the right to be taught by qualified teachers
iii. address the educational, development and social impacts of the pandemic on children and young people through significant additional investment in schools and colleges and wider children and young people’s services
iv. tackle the racial, socio-economic and gender-based disparities that have been exposed and further exacerbated during the pandemic.
NASUWT
Amendment
In paragraph 6, delete “lobby the government to develop recovery strategies” and replace with “campaign for an adequately funded package of recovery measures”
In sub-paragraph i. delete “support” and replace with “enable” and after “retention crisis,” add “ensure properly paid additional education staff,”
Insert new sub-paragraph iii.:
“iii. offer sufficient support for staff suffering from long covid, including employment protection while unable to work and more flexibility when they resume work”
Renumber existing iii. and iv. as iv. and v.
Add new sub-paragraph vi.:
“vi. end unnecessary restructuring leading to dismissal of education staff.”
National Education Union
Amendment
Add at the end of paragraph 2:
“Congress recognises that the early years are a critical part of children’s lives and that young children have particularly lost social skills, with the worst effects on the most disadvantaged.”
In paragraph 6, add new sub-paragraph v.:
“v. ensure high-quality early years provision is available to all children to support them to have a good start in life.“
Community