Recruitment, Re-deployment and Voluntary Severance Strategy for the
Creation of ESA Senior management
NAHT (NI) Response to Proposals
NAHT (NI) has supported the development of a single education organisation
to serve the needs of schools and their pupils. This support was predicated on
the release of funds to front-line services i.e. to classroom teaching and to the
enhancement of local autonomy for schools. The current proposals for the
creation of a senior management fail to meet this basic premise and
consequently cannot be supported by NAHT (NI).
Transfer of Staff
NAHT (NI) has stated for some time that there is an urgent need to reform
and re-direct many aspects of current service. In particular, the provision of
training and support services to school staff needs overhauled. For too long
schools have been unable to fund and organise the training that they identify
for their needs. Training has been provided on a “table d’hote” fashionschools take what they are given irrespective of need. An “a la carte” system
must be created whereby a school can select specific training to meets the
needs of its own development plan and the needs of its teachers as identified
through the PRSD process. In many cases schools wish to be “self catering”
i.e. to organise their own training. ESA staff involved in the organisation and
provision of training must be themselves fully conversant with the needs of a
modern school. Support for school leaders must be both credible and
visionary and trainers must have recent and relevant experience to secure the
confidence of teachers and leaders. Clearly, the general transfer of existing
staff will serve to maintain much of the existing status quo and cannot meet
these objectives.
If the principle of accountable autonomy is followed then schools can only be
held accountable to the degree they are autonomous. The proposed
structures will provide little autonomy therefore accountability will be
accordingly limited.
Eight Director Posts
NAHT (NI) remains opposed to the creation of a multitude of Director posts
and the associated departments that will be created beneath these posts. If
an objective is to free money to front line services this is not the way to
achieve it. As envisaged by these proposals, and those in Paper 20, the
current 5 ELBs and 3 funded support bodies will be replaced by 8 director
posts, up to 4 support bodies and a body to “own” the school estate.
Surely a better way ahead would be to calculate how much money should be
spent on administration etc. as based upon the best and most efficient
examples of the commercial world and set the figure for how much we are
prepared to spend – perhaps as a percentage of the total resources available
and then tailor the number of jobs to the resources in hand. The model
currently proposed puts the “cart before the horse” i.e. it is decided how many
administrative jobs are wanted and salary levels set, only after this is the
remaining money given to schools. This is thinking from a past age.
Remember the Minister’s words – “institutions must serve our children not our
children serve the institutions”.
Redundancy Terms
NAHT (NI) gives qualified support to the proposed arrangements for salary
protection and redundancy payments for redundant ELB and support
organisation staff. Natural justice would indicate that similar arrangements
must be provided for school staff who are also redundant due to educational
reorganisation. The unilateral withdrawal of premature retirement
arrangements for teachers is grossly unfair, a fact made even starker by the
creation of a £50 million fund to support reorganisation, redeployment and
redundancy arrangements for ELB etc staff. How the Department could have
planned to severely cut teacher pension arrangements and embark on the
most radical school amalgamation / closure programme in living memory
while giving administrative staff the biggest golden handshakes ever beggars
belief.
NAHT (NI) demands that the DENI review the plans to cut teacher premature
retirement compensation payments.
Conclusion:
NAHT(NI) wishes to support the development of a single organisation to
administer school education in Northern Ireland. It is therefore with regret that
NAHT (NI) can not agree with the proposals in their present form.
The general transfer of existing staff to ESA will militate against the
development of a credible and visionary support service for schools.
The creation of eight ESA departments is excessive, will lead to over
administration, increased bureaucracy for schools and the siphoning of funds
away from frontline services.
Finally, the creation of a fair redundancy and premature retirement scheme for
administration staff whilst simultaneously closing down schemes for front line
staff is grossly unjust.
Aidan Dolan
Education Director NAHT(NI)
aidand@naht.org.uk