Supply teachers motion for annual conference

***HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR READERS***
Derek McMillan writes:

Supply teachers have always seemed to me to be the SAS of the teaching profession, parachuted in when there are gaps in the front line, taking classes where the teacher is over-stressed and finding out in five minutes *why* the teacher is over-stressed!Conference Motions should have gone out last term and should be available on thehttp://teachers.org.uk/ website soon.There is a resolution on supply and agency teachers on the agenda in the name of the executive.

It has some pious objectives:"
1) Mount a campaign to build awareness of routes to permanent status for casually employed teachers.
2) Develop campaigning and negotiating strategies to encourage the re-establishment of local authority-wide supply pools.
3) Develop strategies to protect teachers who are not directly employed by local authorities or schools in order that they may access equal rights to pay, pension and other benefits.
4) Build a campaign to promote the employment of supply teachers to provide cover in schools.
5) Encourage and support divisions and associations in developing strategies for organising, involving and increasing contact with supply and agency members

We need to find ways of translating these fine sentiments into positive help for our supply and agency colleagues here and now.Parents must be concerned that their children are not being taught by qualified teachers and their support could be very useful in putting on pressure to ensure "a qualified teacher for every child".

For example:
Amend to read
1 Mount a campaign to build awareness of routes to permanent status for casually employed teachers.
2 Develop campaigning and negotiating strategies to encourage the re-establishment of local authority-wide supply pools.
3 Develop strategies to protect teachers who are not directly employed by local authorities or schools in order that they may access equal rights to pay, pension and other benefits.
4 Make our members in schools aware of the injury to our supply and casual colleagues which is being perpetrated.
5 Use the internet and the local media to expose local authorities who are seeking teaching on the cheap.
6 Build a campaign to promote the employment of supply teachers to provide cover in schools which will involve parents in a campaign for “a qualified teacher for every pupil”.
7 Local associations should be able to seek action up to and including strike action in schools where members and parents want to enforce this policy.
8 Challenge the injustice of the treatment of supply teachers under the law which is clearly discriminatory.
9 Encourage and support divisions and associations in developing strategies for organising, involving and increasing contact with supply and agency members including the use of email and social networking sites like myspace and facebook which are extensively used by teachers.