UNISON school and early years staff have made their voices heard, casting their votes to strike as part of the local government pay dispute. The results, revealed today, means nearly 2000 union members will walk out in a bid to secure a better pay deal for all local government workers.
In this ballot, a resounding majority of school and early years workers from City of Edinburgh Council voted in favor of strike action, demonstrating their strong resolve to secure fair compensation. This outcome contributes to UNISON’s strongest ever strike mandate in local government across Scotland.
While the call for strike action has been resoundingly answered by school staff, trade union regulations stipulate that a 50% turnout is required for strikes to take place. Notably, City of Edinburgh Council’s school and early years staff have exceeded this threshold, reflecting their unwavering commitment to bringing about change.
City of Edinburgh Council stands alongside 23 other councils across Scotland where the union achieved the 50% ballot threshold. UNISON’s local government committee is set to convene shortly, with an announcement of the forthcoming industrial action, expected in the autumn, to follow.
UNISON City of Edinburgh branch secretary, Tom Connolly said: “Strike action is a last resort. However, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, our members deserve to be rewarded fairly for their dedication and essential contributions.”
UNISON is the only union within Edinburgh Council that achieved a mandate to strike in schools, our members have shown their unwavering commitment. As the largest union in the council, our members are determined to deliver for all local government workers.
COSLA must address our members’ calls for improved fair pay that recognises and reward them for the vital work they do in our city.
Thank you to UNISON members for voting, as your collective action will pave the way for a fair pay rise for all council workers.
UNISON’s Scottish Secretary Lilian Macer said: “This is UNISON’s strongest strike mandate ever and shows you the anger of staff in local government in Scotland.
“Of course, UNISON will do all it can to get back around the table with COSLA as we are well aware that school staff want to be in school working with children – not out on picket lines closing schools.
“But Scottish government and COSLA must be no doubt of the resolve of UNISON members to take strike action for an improved pay deal for all local government workers.”
UNISON is the largest representative body of local government workers by far, and if we have to take industrial action schools will close in 24 councils across Scotland.
The National Deaf Children’s Society has launched a new five-year strategy, Every Moment Counts, which aims to ensure all deaf children across Scotland receive the support they need during their early years (0-5), or as soon as their deafness is identified.
The charity is shifting the focus of its campaigning to early years as it strongly believes that families need first class support during this crucial period, so they feel empowered to make informed decisions and champion their deaf child.
For all children the early years is a crucial time, but the National Deaf Children’s Society says this is even more so for deaf children, given the impact deafness can have on language development, communication, and social skills.
Missed opportunities to spot deafness and provide the support deaf children need can lead to lifelong impacts, according to the charity.
It says a deaf child without good language and communication development in the early years, be it spoken, sign, or a mixture of both, can experience ongoing challenges. They may struggle to listen and follow instructions in the classroom, or miss conversations with their peers, leading to feelings of isolation and a sense of ‘missing out’.
Kirsten Abioye’s son was not diagnosed as deaf until he was almost three due to failures at their local heath board’s paediatric audiology service.
Kirsten said: “Our experience of early years was really hard. The audiology department was unhelpful and dismissed me as an anxious mum. We experienced delays and a general lack of communication which left us in a difficult position. We knew something was going on with our son but did not know how to support him. His diagnosis brought overwhelming relief.”
Teachers of the Deaf can help bridge this gap, by providing specialist support to deaf children of all ages once their deafness is identified. They play a vital role in deaf children’s lives, particularly during the critical early years – helping to reduce their chances of them falling behind developmentally, socially and educationally.
But a report published by the Consortium for Research into Deaf Education (CRIDE), shows Teachers of the Deaf numbers across Scotland have fallen by 40% in a decade and almost half (45%) are due to retire in the next 10 years. The fall in numbers is twice that of other parts of the UK.
This means thousands of deaf children across Scotland are not getting the support they need in school. Deaf young people in Scotland are already twice as likely as their hearing classmates to leave school with no qualifications and half as likely to go on to university.
Against this backdrop it comes as no surprise that some parents of deaf children in Scotland are concerned that their deaf child does not have enough support from health and education services. Having access to information and advice is crucial in helping families make tricky decisions about how their child will communicate, which technology they’ll use and what type of school they’ll attend.
Kirsten describes her family’s Teacher of the Deaf as an “advocate, support system, teacher, encourager, source of information – all in one woman!”
She said: “Her support has been a lifeline, and she works closely with our son’s nursery who also provide excellent support.”
But even with a great Teacher of the Deaf and nursery, Kirsten’s family still struggled, as the specialist support their family urgently required was simply not available to them.
Kirsten continued: “It was a very isolating, stressful time because we just wanted to be able to support our child. I contacted the National Deaf Children’s Society and had a chat with a member of staff, who was really understanding. She listened and understood my panic that we had missed the opportunity for language learning and were really behind.
“She helped me fill in an application for a family learning course, funded and run by the charity, which kick started our British Sign Language (BSL) learning. She’s been with us through various different parts of life since, most recently our difficulty finding accessible swimming lessons.”
The National Deaf Children’s Society warns that unless action is taken urgently things will only get worse. It is calling on local authorities across Scotland to commit to returning qualified Teacher of the Deaf numbers to 2011 levels over the next decade.
At their annual congress in May, The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA), Scotland’s second largest teaching union, unanimously agreed a motion backing the charity’s call on the Scottish Government to address the dramatic drop in the number of qualified Teachers of the Deaf, as “matter of urgency”.
The charity also calls on the Scottish Government to develop and deliver a Scotland-wide workforce strategy for Teachers of the Deaf, and to ensure they are properly paid for the extra responsibilities they take on, in recognition that their specialist expertise is valued.
Mark Ballard, Head of Policy and Influencing for Scotland with the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “Deaf children are just as capable as their peers when they have right support in place, ideally from the very beginning. But many families in Scotland are struggling to access this support.
“It means that deaf children just aren’t being given the opportunity to thrive in those crucial formative years. Once they fall behind, it can be incredibly hard to catch up and this can have a lasting impact that affects them throughout their lives.
“Every moment counts, from the time a child’s deafness is identified, to their first day at school and beyond. We owe it to deaf children to give them the best start in life.”
For more information about Every Moment counts, visit:
More than seven out of ten children in Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) are now receiving the full 1,140 funded hours.
The number of children has risen by 10,510 since February – an increase from 65% to 72%.
The latest data from the Improvement Service shows that at the end of April 2021, 118,068 children were accessing funded ELC. Of these, 102,410 children (87%) were accessing more than the statutory entitlement of 600 hours, and 84,606 children (72%) were accessing 1,140 hours.
Children’s Minister Clare Haughey said: “These figures show we are well on the way to offering all eligible children 1,140 hours of funded ELC from August 2021 – a transformational policy that will benefit families across Scotland.
“Despite the pandemic having an impact on the construction of ELC facilities and recruitment plans across the country, local authorities have continued to make good progress in expansion plans.
“At the centre of these plans is the drive to improve children’s outcomes and help close the poverty-related attainment gap, to improve the health and wellbeing of children and parents, and to support parents into work, study or training. I’d like to thank local authorities and all those who are continuing to work at pace to meet our target.”
Councillor Stephen McCabe, COSLA Children and Young People spokesperson, said: “I welcome the progress that has been made towards the implementation of the 1,140 hours ELC expansion by August. This report shows that significant progress has been made by councils despite the continued challenges of the pandemic, including the national lockdown.
“We know that the additional hours will be transformational with children provided with more time to play and learn, while parents and carers will have more opportunities to work, study or volunteer. We are pleased we are on track for delivery later this year”.
Funded early learning and childcare (ELC) is available to all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds. From August 2021, the entitlement will increase to 1,140 hours a year (30 hours a week if taken term time).
The expansion of funded ELC, originally intended for August 2020, was paused in April 2020 to give local authorities the flexibility to focus on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New awards recognise Early Learning and Childcare success
A nursery where children built a car out of old tyres and recycled wood is among the inaugural winners of a new awards scheme to boost the quality of childcare.
Other winners of the Scottish Government’s Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Innovation Award include a nursery where children set up a café for parents and a nursery where children now grow their own food for lunch.
All six winning nurseries set up new creative experiences to challenge children and improve their social and language skills and self-confidence.
The six are:
Clober Nursery, East Dunbartonshire
Menstrie Nursery, Clackmannanshire
Village Nursery, West Linton, Scottish Borders
Bowhouse Early Learning and Childcare, Falkirk
Treetop Family Nurture Centre, Fife
Innerwick Early Years Setting, East Lothian.
All of the winning nurseries will receive £5,000 to further develop their innovative ideas.
Children’s Minister Maree Todd visited Clober Nursery and said: “Every winning nursery has gone above and beyond to give their children outstanding opportunities to learn and develop.
“Staff have come up with amazingly creative and fun ways to develop children’s understanding of the world around them, with great results already for the children, their families and staff.
“As quality is at the heart of our expansion plans, the awards will showcase best practice and encourage nurseries to share success with each other.”
Louise McHugh, an ELC practitioner from Clober Nursery, said: “Outdoor learning is an exciting and daily part of Clober Nursery.
“We strive to provide children with opportunities to learn and develop their risk-taking strategies, educate them to understand where food comes from as well as providing them with the opportunity to use their imagination with loose part play.
“We are only at the beginning of our outdoor learning journey and we cannot wait to see where the children’s investigations take us.”
A new fund to help support children, young people and families has been announced by Deputy First Minister John Swinney – but grants won’t be available until June next year. This fund will replace the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Empowering Communities Fund, which comes to an end next March.Continue reading Swinney announces new early intervention fund
Every child attending a funded early learning and childcare (ELC) session will receive a healthy meal, Minister for Children and Young People Maree Todd has announced. Continue reading A meal for every child
The public spending watchdog has questioned government plans to fund increased nursery provision in Scotland. The Accounts Commission says in a new report (below) there is a “significant risk” councils will not be able to resource the government’s ambitious plan to double early learning and childcare hours by August 2020.Continue reading Question mark over government’s nursery places plan
The First Minister has announced her intention to appoint Maree Todd as Minister for Childcare and Early Years. Subject to approval by the Parliament and Her Majesty the Queen, Ms Todd will begin to undertake some Ministerial duties immediately.Continue reading Maree Todd is new Minister for Childcare and Early Years
“Transformational” expansion of free early learning and childcare
Spending on childcare will double to £840 million a year by 2021-22 in a bid to transform the life chances of children in Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced yesterday. The funding boost has been welcomed by local MSP Ben Macpherson.Continue reading Scottish Government to double childcare spending
