Information and Support for NASUWT Tutors

Note for Tutors about the NASUWT's industrial action

Training courses are a crucial component of the NASUWT’s organising activity and tutors are at the front edge of empowering, skilling up and motivating existing representatives, as well as encouraging new ones to become more active in their Union. With sustained and imminent action needed to defend and protect our conditions of service, it is necessary to take every opportunity to spread the Union’s key messages. As NASUWT tutors you are ideally placed to do this.

In introducing courses in 2012, the National Officers would like you to remind participants that we face unprecedented challenges, caused predominantly by a Con-Dem coalition in Westminster intent on pursuing an ideologically–driven assault on public services, including savage expenditure cuts and an attack on the very idea of a public education service. Undermining and devaluing pensions, imposing a pay freeze, the relentless promotion of unaccountable academies and free schools, a punitive inspection regime, undermining professional status and sniping about supposedly failing schools are only some of the issues faced by teachers. Add to that a pay freeze across the UK, the McCormac Review in Scotland, the ‘transformation' agenda in Wales threatening 14-19 education and colleagues in Northern Ireland still being denied parity with colleagues in the rest of the UK. 

Now that the Union is engaged in 'action short of strike action' to secure contractual entitlements, a stand-alone module is available for use on NASUWT Training Courses. This can be found in the 'Tutor Resources' section on this page. 

Draft protocol for non-standard courses

At its meeting on December 2011, the NASUWT's Training and Trade Union Education Committee adopted the following protocol for 'non-standard' training courses: 

1. Regional/National Training Committees are encouraged to formulate ideas and submit them to the Training and Trade Union Education Committee; it is recognised that they are well placed to evaluate gaps in existing provision and formulate ideas for new courses.

2. A basic course outline should be submitted by the Committee via staff in Regional /National Centres. This should cover: subject; methodology; timings; anticipated outcome(s); costs; external organisations/people involved.

3. The Training and Trade Union Education Committee of the National Executive is empowered to consider and approve requests, and may ask for clarification or additional information in order to make a decision.

4. If the course is agreed, the Tutors should provide the Committee with an evaluation of the Course, including any student comments and two specific recommendations: 1. whether the course should be offered again?; and 2. whether the Union’s National Training Programme should include the course?

5. If ‘yes’ to the second question, all relevant materials should be sent to the Equality and Training Team, including tutor notes, for production and incorporation.

6. If materials are not received within a month of the course and the Equality and Training Team are aware of the Course, a request will be sent to the regional/national centre for copies of the materials.

Credits and qualifications

The Qualification Credit Framework (QCF) forms the new structure for adult qualifications and is aa new way of recognising achievement through the award of credit for units and qualifications. It provides flexible routes to gaining full qualifications, and enables qualifications to be achieved in small steps. The TUC (and therefore the NASUWT) programme is located within the QCF with new arrangements for qualifications. All learners registered on TUC Education programmes will be eligible to work towards qualifications, meaning that all credits achieved on courses will build towards awards, certificates and diplomas, issued through our awarding body, the National Open Credit Network.

NASUWT members will therefore be awarded credits under the Qualification Credit Framework so work on a training course is part of national qualification framework. Credits can now be accumulated to achieve an award, certificate or a diploma in the ‘Trade Unions Today’ pathway.

For the achievement of the NOCN Award in Trade Unions Today, the learner must achieve a minimum of 6 credits at a particular level.

For the achievement of the NOCN Certificate in Trade Unions Today, the learner must achieve a total of 18 credits.

The Diploma is a higher level award that generally requires 48 credits; the TUC offers courses leading to a diploma.

Most NASUWT courses involve the award of 3 credits.