Shrewsbury College strike meeting numbers 'a significant underestimate'

The comments come after members of the National Education Union started six days of strike action at Shrewsbury Colleges Group.

The action, which is the result of a dispute over proposed changes to the organisation's lecture observation policy, started on Wednesday and Thursday last week.

Further action will follow today , Thursday, and March 13 and 21.

In a statement Shrewsbury Colleges Group has said it believed around 32 people were present for the final vote on whether to go ahead with the action.

Andrew Brown, president Shropshire & Telford Trades Union Council on behalf of the NEU, rejected the claim and also said that members had not at any point voted to accept the new framework.

He said: "The number quoted, '32', is a significant underestimate. We never release what happens in union meetings because we pledge that our union members can expect confidentiality in meetings and communications.

"In addition, the sharing of any information passed to management would go against the spirit of the ACAS code.

"Secondly, members never voted to accept the new framework, only to postpone the action whilst they considered whether the new proposal met their demands. They voted overwhelmingly that it did not.

"Our members did not vote to accept the parameters, only to postpone."

Merger

SCG was created by a merger between Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology and Shrewsbury Sixth Form College in 2016, and previously had two policies for observation of lectures.

Following the merger the college has sought to introduce a uniform policy.

The proposal is to have an observation system where lecturers are given five days’ notice and are graded from one to four – one being outstanding and four being inadequate.

Jean Evanson, of the NEU, said they are concerned about the impact of grading on teacher welfare.

She said: "We have put forward the need for, and agreed to work towards, a qualitative, developmental system of lesson observation that results in a constructive discussion rather than a label.

"We would welcome the opportunity to make this a truly beneficial system for both teachers and students. The employer has continued to insist they must attach a grade/ category to the lesson.

“NEU remains concerned for the welfare of our members and the impact that grading can have in this respect. Teachers report high stress levels over the observation period. A negative grade can both damage self-esteem and cause sickness absence and be career-ending."

College Principal, James Staniforth, has expressed disappointment over the strike.

Speaking last week he said: “Across the country colleges are under increasing financial pressure as a result of funding cuts and increased costs, resulting in courses being cut, staff redundancies, teachers having to work more hours and no pay awards.

"Despite this national context, following the merger, we took the decision to employ all our teachers on sixth form college contracts which has meant significantly improved terms and conditions for most of our teachers. In addition, all of our teaching staff have received national pay awards and there have been no redundancies.

“I am therefore hugely disappointed that the NEU have decided to take strike action over a minor change to the existing college system for observing lessons."