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INTO conference: Teachers have `no confidence' in inspections

The INTO is holding its annual northern conference in Newcastle
The INTO is holding its annual northern conference in Newcastle The INTO is holding its annual northern conference in Newcastle

TEACHERS involved in a long-running industrial dispute have no confidence in inspections, a conference has heard.

More than 150 members of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) are attending the union's northern conference in Newcastle this weekend.

Delegates are discussing issues including pay, working conditions, workload, budget cuts and unregulated 11-plus tests.

The INTO has been involved in industrial action over pay and has already staged a half-day strike.

All main teaching unions are angry, having rejected a pay offer that would see staff receive no across the board pay rise for 2015/16, and a 1 per cent cost of living uplift for 2016/17.

A conference motion yesterday said the union "deplored" the pay offer and urged members "not to hesitate to enact further work stoppages".

The union then announced it would stage a second strike on March 23 and protest on the grounds of Stormont.

INTO chairman Seamus Hanna said teachers would converge on Parliament Buildings "to shout out loud that we are professionals to be valued, our profession and our schools are to be valued".

"Whoever is going to sit in those offices needs to take note, we are not going away and we are not going to be fobbed of," he said.

"To you the activists and representatives of all our branches, go back and support your colleagues and bring them back to Stormont.

"The presence of teachers taking strike action demonstrated the anger of teachers who have worked hard, produced results and yet remained the only group within the education sector to be denied a pay increase."

Mr Hanna added that teachers were all graduates and professionals who left universities and started work on a salary that was on average £7,500 below UK peers.

"Teachers are continually compared to other OECD countries. News headlines announce our comparative ranking and position and DENI uses such data to benchmark our teachers. However, compared to these countries teachers in the north are paid on average 16 per cent less," he said.

As part of their industrial action, INTO members are also refusing to cooperate with the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI).

The first two motions on the agenda focussed on the ETI.

The first read: "Conference instructs northern committee to inform the chief inspector that she no longer enjoys the confidence of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation.

A second said the union "deplores the ETI's current practice of reporting on school inspections on areas where inspection failed to take place".

Since action began in January, inspectors have begun their visits and reported as usual, but many reports have gaps and contain no overall grade. Inspectors are reporting that they have been unable in some instances to assure parents "of the quality of education and safeguarding being provided for the children".

The conference heard that members were unhappy at the "current practice of the chief inspector changing the overall outcome of inspections; the threat to schools of immediate inspection

by the ETI after legitimate industrial action by members.

Members agreed to continue non-cooperation with ETI "until pay demands are met".

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PRIMARY schools staff should take no part in coaching pupils for the 11-plus, the INTO conference has urged.

Former education minister Peter Weir lifted a ban on 11-plus coaching in school - a move criticised by teachers and rival politicians as `immature' and `out of step'.

Grammar schools have run unregulated entrance exams since the last state-sponsored 11-plus was held in 2008.

The INTO conference said it "condemns the announcement by the then minister of education, in relation to the preparation of pupils for the unregulated transfer test".

A motion by the union's Derry city branch continued that the unions "once again condemns the continuing use of unregulated transfer tests which exclude children from some post-primary schools".

"Conference calls on the Northern Committee to instruct members not to take part in preparing pupils directly for such tests and establish a coalition of interests to campaign anew for the abolition of academic selection," it added.