Created on: 01 May 2020
Dear Member,
We hope you and your families all stayed safe during the Easter Break whether volunteering or not.
The EIS nationally has continued to do all it can to ensure you are protected in terms of employment and your safety. There have been updates on SQA, Supply teachers, Health and Wellbeing and updated EIS FQA’s on the national website as well as other key issues. The online query form there if you require it.
We would remind you at this difficult time that no members of staff should be in schools or hubs unless they are part of the agreed volunteer arrangements set up for childcare of key workers. If you are a volunteer remember that gives you the classification of being a key worker.
*If you are not in school as a volunteer on the agreed rota you should stay at home*
The Local Association will be sending out a survey to all members on Contracts and Coronavirus information in the next day or two. We would very much appreciate it if you could complete the survey as the information gathered will be very helpful.
For access to our EIS Coronavirus page please open the following link - https://www.eis.org.uk/Health-And-Safety/COVID19
Please find listed below the list of specific agreements, advice and guidance published during your Easter break period:
1. Working at Home Guidelines - https://www.eis.org.uk/Coronavirus/WFHGuidelines
2. SNCT Supply Agreement - https://www.eis.org.uk/Coronavirus/SNCT-AgreementJS-20-78
3. GTCS Update - https://www.eis.org.uk/Coronavirus/GTCSUpdate
4. SQA Update and EIS response - https://www.eis.org.uk/Coronavirus/SQAStatement
5. FQA’s for Teachers Currently on Maternity Leave - https://www.eis.org.uk/Coronavirus/FAQsMatLeave
6. Guidance for Independent Schools - https://www.eis.org.uk/Coronavirus/IndependentSchools
7. Working from Home Guidelines – IMT’s - https://www.eis.org.uk/Coronavirus/WFHGuidelinesIMT
8. General Coronavirus Updated FQA’s - https://www.eis.org.uk/Coronavirus/FAQs
*If you are not in school as a volunteer on the agreed rota you should stay at home*
Locally we should ensure that the authority is complying with the national guidance etc. Asking teachers to travel unnecessarily, go into schools which should be shut, and to swap paper-based coursework with colleagues is counter to the health and safety imperatives that have been clearly laid out by SG. If teachers are able to assess the work in advance of providing estimates to the SQA within the parameters of WTAS, well and good; if not, this can be done after and will be a potential source of ‘appeals’ evidence post-August. For teacher working at home, any collaboration with colleagues, whether that be for moderation/internal verification purposes should only be done electronically where time has been allocated for such activity within the WTA. SQA have now issues new advice and guidance here stating estimates are not due until 29th May and more guidance on this will be out by 20th April.
Where this is being asked for this should not include time taken for tasks or number of tasks and is not time recording. There should be no unnecessary bureaucracy and the EIS guidance on remote and home working is attached.
The next LNCT meeting takes place soon. Please let us know as soon as possible about any issues which you would like to raise via our local negotiating committee with the Director of Education. The current agenda includes coronavirus updates; Executive Head appointments; and the use of fixed term contracts.
*If you are not in school as a volunteer on the agreed rota you should stay at home*
For any further local EIS enquiries please contact your Local Association Officials on westernisles@eis.org.uk