28 April 2018
The Waltham Forest branch of the NEU (Formerly NUT) wrote to candidates asking for their position on a number of issues affecting teachers in the borough. The questions and our responses are below.
Green Party policy on education covers and supports much of what WF NEU/NUT is asking, so our answers would apply to Redbridge as well.
Our response:
We are entirely opposed to academisation and agree that it is a form of privatisation. We also think it is more expensive and less well monitored than LA oversight. We would support all the suggestions to convene a meeting to agree to balloting of parents at any school where academisation is proposed. We would support a campaign to bring all academies back under local authority control.
Our Response:
We would resist and stop all school cuts. We would campaign for more money for Education in Waltham Forest. Needs Budgets are a good way to avoid masking the impact of cuts, so we would support setting these.
Our Response:
We are in full agreement and would support boycotts and non-implementations - at the very least, refuse to implement any sanctions at local level
Our Response:
We are not entirely sure of the arguments for a whole London pay scale. Though Waltham Forest [and Redbridge] would certainly benefit from a level playing field, we believe that there still remains a significant difference in the cost of living between inner and outer London.
The bigger issue to us seems to be that both inner and outer London boroughs simply aren't paid enough, alongside other pressures facing teachers. We suspect the pool of educators is shrinking due to these pressures, and that a single pay scale would reduce the "drain" of teachers into inner London, but we'd like to see the arguments for and against before backing this campaign.
Finally, while we are unsure whether elected councillors could publicly support a strike by council employees, we are clear that Connaught staff are within their rights to take legal industrial action and back them in this.