Two Out Of Five Teachers Have Suffered Stress

More than two out of five teachers have suffered from stress-related illnesses, according to a new poll reported by the Workplace Law Network and carried out by Teachers TV – the digital channel for those working in education.

The findings will come as little surprise for those working in the sector. In 2007 ACM’s own survey of members into working time and related issues found that one in eight members had been diagnosed by a doctor as suffering from work related stress within the 12 month period before the survey was undertaken. In addition, four out of five reported their jobs as placing high demands in respect of workloads and targets (one of the HSE’s primary sources of stress).

New Chief At LSIS

Dr David Collins CBE will join the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) as its new chief executive from 1 August 2009.

The president of the Association of Colleges  and outgoing principal of South Cheshire College, will replace Roger McCLure, and serve for a one year period until 1 August 2010.  Further details can be found at FE News.

New FE Resource On Safeguarding Student Volunteering

Volunteering England has produced a new publication in partnership with AMiE and LSIS aimed at helping colleges ensure the safety of students volunteering both on and off campus.

The guide, Safeguarding Student Volunteering in the Further Education Sector,  equips institutions with the practical information to establish and enhance their student volunteering provision. It includes sections on how to recruit and screen volunteers, the vetting of organisations and volunteering opportunities, together with the relevant policy and procedural considerations.

Anger As Employers Fail To Increase Pay Offer

The six further education trade unions – the Association for College Management (ACM), the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), the GMB, the University and College Union (UCU), UNISON and UNITE – today (Wednesday) accused college employers of breaking their promise over staff pay. The unions said that the Association of Colleges (AoC) had failed to improve on its 1% pay offer for staff in further education in England, despite indicating it would come back with a better deal at the previous meeting.

In April the further education trade unions submitted a 6% pay claim for 2009/2010 with a minimum increase of £2,000 for the lowest paid. Further education staff have a crucial role to play in tackling the recession, as people seek to refresh their skills to gain new employment. The unions are urging the employers to come back to the negotiating table with the promised improved offer.

Barry Lovejoy, joint secretary of the trade union side and UCU head of further education said: “This offer at a stroke has halted progress in reducing the gap between school teachers and staff in further education. All the good the work that has gone into narrowing the inequality between college lecturers’ pay and school teachers’ pay could quickly unravel. Colleges are at the heart of our communities, enriching people’s lives, delivering high quality education and providing the backbone for the government’s skills agenda. Staff deserve to be paid a fair wage and not to be treated with such contempt by their employers. The employers need to improve the pay offer and come back for more talks immediately.”

Chris Fabby, joint secretary of the trade union side and UNISON national officer for further education said: “This offer means just 5p per hour more for many of our members. It will go nowhere near helping them to cope with the still high cost of food and fuel as winter sets in. The employers need to get back round the table and come up with a more realistic offer. We have told them time and time again, but it still rings true: you can’t run a world class education system on poverty pay.”