Whatever the reason given by the school, it is simply unfair to deny staff the pay progression and cost of living increases they deserve.

Denial of pay progression and refusal to pay even inadequate cost of living increases add to the pay cuts suffered by staff and deepen the serious teacher supply problems.

We can help you to counter any arguments put by the school and to collectivise the issue to make a real difference for members.

Please complete the form right to let us know you will be sending the letter below.

You can see the full copy of the letter below.

Dear (chair of Governors),

As you know, the Covid-19 crisis has created many challenges and changes in our school. Since the lockdown in March, the whole staff of XXXSCHOOLXXX have been working tirelessly in school and at home to support our learners. This has included the need, often at very short notice, to:

·       XXX Add, Amend or Delete to suit your setting XXX

·       Transfer content online

·       Arrange telephone / video tutorials

·       Attend training

·       Plan and prepare changes

·       Deliver virtual lessons

·       Feed vulnerable children

·       Support children through trauma

I am sure you will agree that all staff have worked exceptionally hard in tough circumstances to ensure that vulnerable children and those of key workers have had a safe environment in which to learn throughout the pandemic and that other students have been supported to the best of our ability.

We believe that objectives set in October 2019 bear no relevance to the work that has had to be done during this academic year. As such, they should be disregarded for the purposes of pay progression. When decisions are taken this year on pay progression, we believe it would be in the interests of the school for every eligible staff member to receive pay progression

We believe that maintaining PRP arrangements and denying any staff member progression on that basis would be even more demoralising this year than it has been in previous years. The process would also be an unwelcome addition to the already significant additional workload created by the evolving situation and the need to implement Government recommendations. From September, we will all need to be engaged fully in redeveloping the curriculum to suit the new school environment and ensuring that the school continues to thrive, not spending valuable staff and management time on administering PRP.

To reiterate, it is our belief that all staff eligible to progress should progress. Through our discussions as a National Education Union school group, we know that this would be welcomed by all members of staff and would have a significant impact on morale.

As a group of staff, we have also been made aware of the local authority/MAT position or recommendation which mirrors our own. If XXX School Name XXX were to ignore this precedent, we would be compelled to take further advice from our union.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this in more detail with yourself and members of the pay committee of the governing board.

We look forward to your reply.

Signed