Bulletin 384/02 18 March 2002

1. LIFE MEMBERSHIP
   
   The Committee of Past Presidents has agreed to confer Life Membership on Isabel Martin, Fife District; Ivor Sutherland, former Registrar of GTC and Willis Pickard, former Editor of TESS.
   
   These awards will be presented at Congress on 10-11 May 2002.
   
2. COUNCIL 2 MARCH 2002

1. District Business

   Council agreed to a request from Central Area that it disaggregate into its three constituent districts – Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling. This change will take place with immediate effect.

   Council also noted a change in name for Western Isles District. The Association District will now be known as Eilean Siar, reflecting the title of the local authority.
   
2. McCrone Agreement

   Council heard reports on the latest stage of implementation of the McCrone Agreement. It was noted that progress was slow on many issues, and that there were concerns about the use of external consultants for the job sizing proposals, the use of temporary contracts and methods of payment for temporary staff.

   Proposals on salaries for music instructors were agreed at the SNCT on 28 February, and proposals for salaries for Advisors and Psychologists were tabled at the same meeting.

   The SNCT had also agreed a Salary Placement Regulation for use from August 2002.

3. "Winding Down" Arrangements
   
   Council heard that the proposals for "Winding Down" had been agreed and that the scheme would be in effect from summer 2002.Details of the scheme will shortly be sent to schools.
   
4. Headteachers' Advisory Panel

   The following members were elected to the Headteachers' Advisory Panel.

   George Milne Peterhead Academy

   Fiona Hewitt Forres Academy

   David Meek Queen Anne High School

5. ICT Committee

Anne O'Kane, Kirkland High School, was elected to the ICT Committee.

7. Dates for Council
   
   The future dates for Council meetings are as follows.
   
   5 October 2002 7 December 2002

   1 March 2003 7 June 2003

8. District Motion

The following motion was approved by Council:

"That this Association communicates to the Scottish Executive its concern at the tight timescale within which Councils were required to work to secure funding for pupil support bases."

The Association wishes to commend the Afghanistan Appeal launched on 1 March by the TES and UNICEF.

Full details of the appeal appeared in the TES on 1 March in the form of a pull out poster and information leaflet. Details are also available at www.tes.co.uk/afghanistan and on 0870 606 3377.

Donations can be sent to "The TES and UNICEF Appeal", Room TES2, FREEPOST, Chelmsford, CM2 8BR.

4. HEADTEACHERS' ADVISORY PANEL

The Headteachers' Advisory Panel advises the Association on the perspective of school managers in policy matters, and advises HTs of Association policy and how it affects them. It provides a forum for discussion of management issues and produces advice for HT and other SMT members, such as the recent advisory leaflets on Absence Management and Handling Bereavement in Schools, which have been issued to support the work of Senior Management Teams in schools. The Panel also organises an annual training day, open to HT and DHT members, offering seminars and advice on current issues.

The Panel hopes to keep up-to-date with management issues, and therefore, invites HT members to refer matters which they wish the Association to discuss to Head Office for the attention of Barbara Clark.

5. STUC CONGRESS 15-18 APRIL 2002

The following three motions have been submitted by the Association.

a) That this Congress commends the Scottish Executive's initiatives in social inclusion, and recognises the central role of the education system in promoting inclusion.

Congress further recognises the importance of the education system in promoting good relations between the gypsy traveller and settled communities, and therefore urges the Scottish Executive Education Department to issue guidelines both on Initial Teacher Education and Continuing Professional Development, that clearly identify gypsy travellers as an ethnic group, in order to promote equality, social justice and anti-discriminatory practice.

b) That this Congress expresses its concern about the number of workers employed by local authorities on temporary or term-time contracts and who continue to be among the lowest paid members of the workforce.

Congress calls on all Local Authorities to desist from employment practices which discriminate against and exploit these workers.

c) That this Congress condemns the sectarian violence currently afflicting the citizens, workers and children in Northern Ireland. Congress recognises the fundamental importance of education in diminishing sectarianism and, therefore, expresses its total support for teachers and other education workers in Northern Ireland, some of whom have been the subject of intimidation by sectarian groups.

Congress condemns the continuation of sectarian attacks and in particular those directed recently at a range of public service workers in Northern Ireland. Congress applauds the clear and unequivocal leadership given by the ICTU and its Northern Ireland Committee in the Campaign for peace and progress for all.

The SQA are still looking to appoint markers for 2002. Vacancies still exist for many subjects including Administration, History, Physical Education and, due to the volume of candidates, English.

The SQA website includes a section to dedicated to Markers and can be visited at www.sqa.org.uk. The website contains further information on becoming a marker and the chance to contact subject team members and fellow markers.

Anyone interested in applying to be a marker should contact SQA by email at appointments@sqa.org.uk or telephone 0131 561 68 25. Applications can also be posted to SQA Appointments, Ironmills Road, Dalkeith, EH22 1LE.

7. NOTIFICATION OF MEMBERSHIP CHANGES AND RETIREMENTS
   
   School representatives are asked to inform the Association offices of any changes of membership in their schools. These would include retirements (and sadly, notification of the deaths of any members). This can be done by telephone or using the special reply paid postcard provided.
   
   It would be of assistance to school representatives if members leaving school reminded their representative of the fact and gave details of any new school to which the member is transferring.

8. MEMBERSHIP

   Reminder letters have been dispatched to members who have yet to renew their annual subscription. Payment should be made by return to this office in order to ensure continuous membership.

   Due to exceptionally high levels of recruitment, it is possible that some schools have run out of application forms for new members. If you are aware of any colleague who is unable to obtain the necessary forms, please let your school representative know immediately. Alternatively, those wishing to join the Association may do so via the website: www.ssta.org.uk .

GEORGE STURROCK, President

DAVID EAGLESHAM, General Secretary

In need of legal advice? Unsure where to go? Telephone Lawline for free and confidential legal advice on provision of your membership number.

Lawline is a telephone legal advice service operated for the SSTA by Robson McLean WS, Solicitors. Simply telephone the Lawline number and quote your SSTA membership number.

• Friendly and expert advice on a wide range of legal (non-criminal) issues
• Service operates Monday – Friday from 8.30 am until 10 pm
• Facility to leave a message outwith those hours and receive call-back within 24 hours
• Where appropriate, call-back with more in-depth advice from a suitably qualified specialist, within 24 hours

Robson McLean have enjoyed a long association with the SSTA and offer the following benefits to SSTA members

We are pleased to announce that from 10th May, the Lawline advice service will also be available via email. Details of our Lawline email address to follow!

Philip Williams & Co Insurance Management offer a unique Travel Insurance Scheme to SSTA members. Due to the tragic events of September 11^th the existing underwriters of the SSTA scheme were offering unacceptable renewal terms. The scheme has, therefore, moved to new underwriters. Pre-existing customers of the scheme should be aware of some changes which have occurred.