EIS annual conference to discuss teachers’ concerns

The 69 motions touch on nearly every aspect of the working lives of teachers, and one emergency motion serves as a clear condemnation of planned teacher cuts, along with a warning to councils that industrial action could follow in response.

For a breakdown of what union delegates will discuss, here are five key themes up for debate at the AGM.

1. Provision and funding for Additional Support Needs teachers and pupils

Recent investigations have highlighted growing concerns about how pupils with ASN, their teachers and families are being negatively impacted by schools that are not equipped to meet their needs.

The Holyrood Education, Children and Young People Committee’s inquiry into ASN provision found that a majority of ASN pupils are not having their needs met, and this at a time when the number of ASN teachers is down, while the number of ASN pupils has reached an all-time high (hitting a ratio of one ASN teacher per 89 ASN pupils).

At this week’s conference, EIS delegates will debate motions calling for:

• An investigation into how the Scottish Government’s presumption of mainstreaming for ASN pupils is impacting teachers in mainstream settings.
• An investigation into how separate local authorities handle requests from parents for a specialist school placement.
• Lobbying the Scottish Government and Local Authorities to increase awareness and implementation of legally binding Coordinated Support Plans to help schools and councils meet the specific needs of children with ASN.
• Lobby the Scottish Government for more funding for ASN posts in schools.

2. Reporting and preventing disruptive or violent behaviour

Struggles to handle disruptive pupil behaviour, including violence, verbal abuse and persistent absence, has dogged Scotland’s education system for years. In 2023, the EIS released a report on the levels of violence and aggressions faced by Scottish teachers.

Read more: EIS teacher report reveals scale of violence in Scottish schools

The findings were clear: 63.2% of respondents said that there are “daily” incidents of pupil-on-teacher violence or aggression in their school. Rates were higher in primary schools (63.7%) than secondary schools (56.9%), but highest in additional needs schools (90.4%).

And more recently, there have been concerns raised over persistent student absence across the country, prompting a government investigation and report on growing absence rates in local authorities.

At this year’s AGM, EIS members have raised a number of motions dealing with disruptive classroom behaviour, including calls for:

• More consistent methods and guidelines for reporting violent incidents.
• Support for young people who regularly display violent behaviour.
• Government guidance on mobile phone use in schools, including guidance to help protect teachers from abuse online and abuse through AI technology.
• Surveying members to determine what resources are needed to implement restorative practices and promote positive relationships in schools.

And the delegates from Midlothian have submitted a motion calling for each EIS Local Association to develop an action plan based on the union’s recent behaviour studies.

3. Investigating teacher workloads and the health and wellbeing impacts of overwork

Discussions about teachers’ workloads will form the core of this year’s AGM, with the conference coinciding with the release of an independent investigation into rising teacher workloads nationwide.

EIS commissioned a team from the University of the West of Scotland, Birmingham City University and Cardiff Metropolitan University to conduct the research, which found that teachers involved in the study worked an average of 11.39 hours beyond the 35-hour working week stipulated in the 2001 Teachers’ Agreement.

In connection to concerns over teacher workload, the EIS delegates will discuss a series of motions to:

• Call on the Scottish Government to implement its manifesto promise to reduce class contact time to 21 hours per week.
• Investigate and report on any increase in non-teaching duties that have fallen to teachers as a result of cuts to support staff.

Read more: Research finds teachers regularly work well beyond contracted hours

4. Promoting funding for more teacher numbers, including finishing probationers and registered ELC teachers

In 2021, the Scottish Government made a pledge to increase teacher numbers by 3,500 by 2026. According to Scottish Government census data, however, the number of teachers in Scotland has fallen by 252 since 202.

First Minister John Swinney – who was Education Secretary in 2021 –failed to recommit to the promise of hiring more teachers when pressed during a recent Holyrood debate, and an independent report commissioned by the government suggested that sticking to the pledge would have “significant implications for cost and sustainability.”

In response to falling teacher numbers nationwide, the EIS AGM will discuss:

• Methods for pressuring the Scottish Government to increase funding for teacher recruitment and retention
• Formally rebuke the government for the loss of teachers since the pledge of 3,500 new teachers was made.
• Requiring the government and local authorities to fund enough placements for finishing probationary teachers.

5. Opposing budget cuts impacting teacher numbers, library services and other educational resources nationwide

The EIS’s final focus highlights the reality that, although some councils are struggling to recruit or retain teachers, or are losing out on probationers to the central belt, some teaching posts are being lost as a result of cost-saving measures.

In addition to calls for investigations into the impacts of closing libraries on staff and students, this week’s AGM will close out with an emergency motion serving as both a condemnation and a warning for the future.

The motion “condemns Glasgow City Council’s planned cut of 450 teachers’ posts over the next three years, starting with 172 teachers’ posts to go this August, and also deplores the previous loss of 125 teaching posts in Glasgow.”

The motion calls on the EIS council to raise their concerns over Glasgow’s teacher cuts with the Scottish Government. It also issues a warning to other local authorities that “any moves to replicate these cuts in the other 31 local authorities will be met with a robust response, up to and including the declaration of disputes and industrial action.”

Andrea Bradley, General Secretary of the EIS, said that this year’s AGM will cover a wide range of topics across the school and further education sector.

“Scottish Education is facing many challenges at the present time, with yet more threatened cuts to education provision, teacher numbers, and the length of the learning week, in various parts of the country.

“The long-running dispute over pay in the Further Education sector continues, with the result that lecturers will once again be on picket lines rather than classrooms this week. It is clear from the motions for debate that our members are committed to standing up for equitable, quality education as the cornerstone of a decent, socially just society.

“The EIS AGM will shine a light on all the key issues facing our schools, colleges and universities, and act as a powerful mouthpiece for Scottish Education, its learners and its teaching professionals.”