Staffing, licences could keep pressure on heads

STATES staffing policies could be too restrictive to reduce the workload for head teachers. The staff limitation policy and the need for housing licences could prevent schools employing the mix of staff they need, according National Association of Head Teachers general secretary David Hart. He was in the island yesterday to talk to local heads. 'There is a need to decrease the workload by a range of different measures. It will involve more teachers, support staff and transferring tasks,' he said. But Guernsey is in a quite different situation to the UK with regard to funding. The union fears that hundreds of teachers and support staff could be made redundant across England and Wales as schools struggle with budget shortages. It has become as important a political issue as that of tuition fees. 'The budget for schools in the UK this year was pretty disastrous. We are working closely with the government and are expecting an answer soon as to how to sort out this funding mess,' said Mr Hart. 'Head teachers have full budgetary control and can make a lot of decisions, but they have been badly affected. We have seen job losses at a time when we are trying to introduce workload reductions. 'It is creating a strain between head teachers and the government and if it doesn't produce the answers to the crisis, we are going to see more job losses.' The union also wants head teachers to have more time for planning, preparation and assessment, as well as more leadership and management time. It wants its members to have time to focus on the quality of their teaching. 'We are very concerned for our members, but, at the same time, the educational welfare of pupils is number-one priority,' said Mr Hart. He praised the States' commitment to the building of new and the reorganisation of special and secondary schools. He said that the union must make sure that its members in managerial positions were properly protected in the event of reorganisation. 'I don't think it will be a significant issue the way discussions have gone today, but people do get worried and it is important to protect their status. We will need to watch the situation carefully,' he said. 'The most optimistic news is that it means the island will want more, not less, teachers and it is very pleasing that the States is pumping a lot of money into improving the schools, which will benefit the students.' Mr Hart was last here six years ago. Hautes Capelles Junior School head David Boalch, who used to be assistant director at the Education Council, showed him around. There are 30 members of the union in the island. 'It is very important to keep in touch with the Association of Head Teachers and Mr Hart, who has his finger very much on the pulse of what is happening nationally. All the issues may not have a direct impact now, but they will in the long-term,' said Mr Boalch. Mr Hart added that there was a two-way movement of teachers between the island and England and Wales and that many islanders went to study in the UK, so it was important to keep in regular contact.