Leeds NEU Annual Report to the AGM 4 March 2021 _______________________________________________________________________________ 1 CONTEXT: THE PANDEMIC The last AGM of the Leeds District and Branch took place on March 14th 2020. It is almost impossible to convey the circumstances of the ensuing 12 months except to say that this has been an academic and union year without precedent. The normal functioning of the district was suspended between March and the end of July. The national union ruled that the usual decision-making members’ meetings should no longer take place as we could only meet online. There was no further general members’ meeting (OGM) until October 1st. On the other hand, the number of online meetings, the attendance and the engagement of members all increased beyond any recent measure. This was reflected in significant increases in Leeds NEU membership and workplace rep numbers. We have good reason to believe that we will emerge from this crisis as a stronger and even more effective organisation. 2 LEEDS NEU DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC The union branch and district continued to function since March 23rd but work was completely dominated by the crisis. The office was closed with officers and office administrator working from home. Conference 2020 was cancelled. The work of the branch has focused mainly on Covid-19, at first the lockdown and then the partial reopening from June 1st and the wider reopening in September. The main issues have been: self-isolation, sickness and the treatment of pay and absence, shielding and the vulnerable, attendance at school and rotas, including holiday periods, distance learning, workload and reasonable expectation and supply teachers. The activity of the Union has been conducted online with members, reps and officers taking part in: National webinars for members, reps and local officers. Zoom meetings with our Leeds members. Zoom meetings with the Yorkshire Humber Region. Skype meetings with LCC HR and Health and Safety. Twice weekly local office catch-up meetings. In addition, officers have carried out casework and representation by email, phone advice and support and, where appropriate, online meetings with members and employers. During the first lockdown normal non- essential processes - performance appraisal, support plans, absence management etc, MSR and reorganisation, were suspended in most schools. 3 ENGAGEMENT WITH MEMBERS From the start of summer term we organised weekly online meetings open to all members on Zoom (April 16th to July 16th). These meetings became monthly meetings from the autumn term as most members were back in work and we were permitted to hold OGMs. Following Boris Johnson’s announcement, on May 10th, that schools would be expected to open more widely to pupils from June 1st, interest in, and attendance at, our weekly Zoom meetings increased dramatically. For the three weeks following that announcement over 100 members attended these meetings. We have had a number of ‘guest speakers’ at our members’ meetings to provide additional support, solidarity or advice. These included Richard Burgon, Labour MP for Leeds East, John Puntis, retired LGI Paediatrician, Kauser Jan from the Disability Organising Forum, Chris Dyson, Head of Parklands Primary, Callum Wetherill on SEND and Professor David Shemmings on Responding to Childhood Trauma. This meeting schedule has been supplemented by regular email bulletins to members, mass texting and the establishment of a WhatsApp group for school reps which has enabled very useful live communication between reps and officers during the pandemic. 4 HEALTH AND SAFETY Not surprisingly, the work of our Health and Safety Officers (Mary Owen and Terry Bambrook) has been dominated by issues related to the ongoing pandemic. At a local level the union has been pursuing the 1 following main issues with LCC and other employers: Requesting accurate and timely information on the case count and containment of the virus. Securing adequate protection for members who are in the highest risk categories. Securing better local advice on 3rd trimester pregnant women. Challenging actions which impose unnecessary and excessive additional workload on members, eg learning walks, observations. Ensuring that Covid-related absence is treated appropriately and with no detriment to staff in terms of pay, sick leave entitlement or absence triggers. Challenging those employers who were encouraging staff to ignore the NHS track and trace app. At a national level the NEU called for schools to be included in the second lockdown by opening to key worker and vulnerable children only and using the time to prepare for rotas and blended learning. This call was made after official data showed a dramatic increase in cases amongst school-age children from September to half- term. In the case of secondary-age children cases increased by 500%. Our case was argued in the local media by Membership Secretary, Lisa Walsh, who was interviewed on Look North and the District Secretary, who was interviewed by the YEP after the very high level of positive cases reported to members at our October 15th members Zoom meeting. 5 THE SPRING TERM REOPENING BATTLE Before the start of the spring term (January 4th) a special meeting of the NEC was called in response to some key national developments: The growing evidence that the mass testing plan was not fit for purpose, including the view of the BMJ that it was seriously flawed and likely to increase risk. The SAGE meeting minutes of December 31st which showed that government were told that it was not safe to fully open schools. An Imperial College report which supported this view. The Executive unanimously agreed an immediate plan for action which was then disseminated to officers and reps in online meetings attended by thousands of members: Focus on primary as other schools not due to open fully until January 18th. Empower members to use the threat of section 44 to inform employers that they will not attend work as there is a reasonable belief that it is not safe. Continue to support schools remaining open to critical worker and vulnerable children. The strategy included a series of meetings to win support or understanding from potential allies, including ASCL and NAHT, Unison, the Labour Party and parents. As a result of this decision there was another huge surge in member engagement with the Union and a substantial increase in new membership. Reps from a number of schools in Leeds reported full & partial closures due to members submitting S44 letters. By the end of the day on January 4th the government had performed another U-turn and decided to close schools to all but vulnerable and key worker children until at least Feb half-term. 6 EXAMS AND ASSESSMENT In the government guidance on school reopening in September it was reported that performance tables were suspended for the 2019 to 2020 academic year, and no school or college would be judged on data based on exams and assessments from 2020. The introduction of baseline assessment, which was due from September, was postponed. During the summer break officers were contacted by students who had organised a protest at the decision to ignore centre-assessed GCSE grades (CAGs) in favour of grades generated by an algorithm. Two officers attended their socially-distanced protest at Millennium Square with the Leeds NEU banner and the Secretary spoke to the event to deliver a message of support. On the day of the protest, which was part of a series of national events, the government retreated and agreed to award the centre-assessed grades. 2 7 ACADEMY DEVELOPMENTS For the first period of the pandemic there had been no new academy conversions or TUPE meetings due to Covid restrictions but these restarted in Autumn with a process at Millfield which is to join the White Rose MAT and Micklefield Primary which was to join Delta but is now due to become part of the Elevate MAT. The pause in Ofsted inspections means that no new schools have been placed in categories which would lead to forced conversion. Cardinal Heenan is awaiting a date to join Gregory the Great MAT. Corpus Christi is to convert on 1st March 2021. John Smeaton is being considered by other sponsors as Gorse is expected to withdraw. Royds sponsor is Falcon. Wellspring are requesting further capital funding for NW SILC. South SILC is still on hold. 8 SAD LOSSES FOR THE DISTRICT Tim Hales - The September Committee were informed of the tragic news that our colleague and former Leeds NUT officer, Tim Hales passed away on the evening of Sunday September 6th. Tim will be known to many members as a recent colleague who attended most of our meetings. His role and contribution to the union and our members goes far beyond that. He was the Division Secretary of Leeds NUT for over 20 years and, after stepping down, continued to work as health and safety officer and caseworker. Those of us who worked with him or witnessed his activity will know that he was dedicated and committed beyond measure. He also had a personality and character that made him friends everywhere. Officers sent condolences to his family with personal messages from each of us. The Secretary attended his funeral on Wednesday September 16th where numbers were very restricted due to Covid and his work in the Union was referred to in the eulogy. It is impossible to do justice to Tim in a short report. The family plan to organise a proper opportunity to celebrate Tim’s life at a later stage and the district should be involved. They have also identified two charities to which donations can be made in Tim’s memory; www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk and www.simononthestreets.co.uk. In recognition of Tim’s immense contribution to the Union and significance to our members over many years, the Committee agreed to donate £250 to each charity.