News

Teachers reject six-term year plan

Members of the second-largest teaching union have reaffirmed their opposition to the introduction of a six-term school year in England. At the NASUWT's annual conference in Llandudno, north Wales, last week, deputy general secretary Chris Keates said the union's membership was 'steadfastly opposed' to the plan and would 'continue to resist piecemeal approaches by individual local authorities to change the pattern of terms'.
Members of the second-largest teaching union have reaffirmed their opposition to the introduction of a six-term school year in England.

At the NASUWT's annual conference in Llandudno, north Wales, last week, deputy general secretary Chris Keates said the union's membership was 'steadfastly opposed' to the plan and would 'continue to resist piecemeal approaches by individual local authorities to change the pattern of terms'.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has recommended a standard school-year framework to all local education authorities. It said the terms of roughly equal length, with a fixed break at Easter, regardless of when the religious occasion occurs, would 'prevent excessively long Christmas or summer terms which can lead to higher levels of stress and absences among teachers and pupils'.

LGA chairman Graham Lane said, 'We are hopeful that as many LEAs as possible will adopt the framework next year, but this is a local decision.'

Responding to the NASUWT's concerns, he added, 'Deciding whether or not to adopt a standard school-year framework is no more piecemeal than the current system where each LEA sets its own term dates.'

Education secretary Charles Clarke has gone on record backing the change. A Department for Education and Skills spokeswoman said, 'We support the move in principle, but it is right that school terms are set locally so that they can take account of local circumstances and traditions. We encourage authorities to bring their term dates into line with one another where possible.'

But Mr Keates said any change to school terms should be made at national level to an agreed standard pattern. 'Without a national pattern, teachers, pupils and parents will go through local changes to equalise the year, yet such changes will perpetuate all the anomalies that exist in the current system,' he added. He called on Mr Clarke to 'intervene to co-ordinate the approach to stop the chaos and confusion which has been caused by the LGA's proposals'.

NASUWT members in Hampshire are due to vote shortly in a consultative ballot for industrial action against the LGA proposals.

Mr Lane described threats to strike over the implementation of the standard school year as 'irresponsible' and said they only served 'to hinder what the NASUWT is requesting - the national adoption of the proposal'.