COVID- Your rights at work

Black History Month Virtual Event- 23rd October

Watch Unison’s Campaign Video

No going back to normal- Sign the Unison letter and join the campaign

Unison School Members Page- FAQs, Template Letters, advice and support, staff at higher risk- 22nd September 2020

Joint Union Checklist for September- 8th September 2020

Joint Union Checklist for Medically Vulnerable and High Risk Groups- September 2020

UNISON response to Govt Plans to fully re-open schools in September- 3rd July 2020

Government Guidance for full opening of Schools in September 2020

Join Unison in Schools Facebook Page

Covid-19 Response Fund- Financial assistance for members- 19th June

Govt U-Turn on free summer school meals- 17th June

Learning for Unison Members and Activists

NJC Circ Coronavirus and return to work test trace and hospital admission 12Jun2020

Unison free online CPD, Courses, Resources for members

Unison has also created a 1_June_template_letter_for_members for staff to send to your employer should you still feel that your concerns have not been addressed and that it is not safe to attend work.

You can also find a joint union checklist for primary, secondary and special schools (see below) to evaluate whether your school risk assessment covers the main health and safety requirements.

Unison continues to consult with all schools- including special and secondary- to ensure that members health and safety is protected and that you are safe at work.

Ealing Unison Branch officers were be in attendance at the Council and Trade Union Joint Committee on 29th September 2020  and will be pushing councilors including the Council Leader on their response to covid-19 and how best to support schools in Ealing during this time.

If you do wish to get in touch with us for support, advice or representation please email judged@ealing.gov.uk or ealingunison@ealing.gov.uk

Guidance and template letter for vulnerable employees- 28th May

Email to members in Schools- 20th May 2020

Ealing Unison letter to Heads- Risk Assessments- 20th May 2020

Coronavirus Primary Workplace checklist PDF -18th May

Joint union planning guide for secondary schools

Joint union planning guide for special schools

Model-letter-for-school-members to send to Head Teachers

Outcome of Unison National Schools Committee Meeting- 14th May

Find out how Unison’s Charity- There For You- can help

Joint TUC Statement from Education Unions’- 13th May 2020

Unison Short Statement- 11th May

Colleagues, tomorrow we will be working with the other TUC education unions to agree a joint position on returning to schools in response to tonight’s additional guidance from the Department for Education (England) on schools opening. Until then we would advise members not to engage with planning for a return to school on June 1st. Look out for the statement tomorrow

Unison Response to PM’s Statement of 10th May

TUC Joint Statement- 8th May

Unison Local Govt Update- 5th May

Unison Posters and Social Media Graphics

EGFL Gatekeeping Newsletter- 29th April

PPE Not Promises- Unison Advice and Petition- 29th April

NJC Pay Offer and Union Response- 28th April

TUESDAY 28th  April – Is Workers Memorial Day. Please take some time to watch this video made by Camden UNISON.  We would ask all workers to take some time at 11am tomorrow to join with UNISON and all Trade Unionists across the world to think of all those front line workers who have lost there lives not only during this crisis but while doing their job.

Unison National Covid-19 Schools Page

Joint Union Statement on Re-opening of Schools- 16th April

Update on guidance for PPE use in the provision of direct personal care to children with special educational needs

Govt Guidance on Social Distancing in Education Settings-7th April

Govt Guidance on PPE- 12th April 2020

3 April – Covid-19 FAQs school support staff – England and Wales

Visit the News page more information

Ealing Schools Volunteer Database

Volunteer Database – For Schools

Ealing are seeking to establish a database of volunteers from within the current workforce in Ealing Schools who are willing to be deployed to other schools in Ealing should the need arise.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/2LPXSGV

Staff  should not volunteer unless they can be released by their own school and remember that the scheme is voluntary.  Any staff that are already self-isolating or not working due to age or a pre-existing medical condition are not to complete the questionnaire.

Once Ealing LA start to get replies they will be able to download them into a spreadsheet and send this to Heads who request it along with a password to open the spreadsheet.

Of course we will be negotiating with Schools and the Council to ensure that those volunteer staff who work during periods of school closure to ensure that staff are appropriately compensated in this eventuality.

Schools in UK to close to most Pupils from Friday 20th March. Provision

The Government have announced that UK Schools will be closed from Friday 20th March 2020 until further notice.

The Government have said that children of key workers such as NHS staff, Police and delivery drivers will continue to be educated.

The Government also released guidance yesterday evening on:

How Schools will maintain educational provision for keyworker and vulnerable children(Including a list of those considered to be keyworkers)

Continuing to provide free school meals to all pupils who qualify

All maintained Schools in the Borough of Ealing will be open from Monday 23rd March to provide educational provisions for keyworker and vulnerable children only. Unison is clear that schools an the Local Authority should:

• Continue full pay for all staff and guarantee full pay for contractors (catering, cleaning etc) and agency staff during this emergency period;
• Suspend all sickness absence procedures and ensure no detriment to staff;
• Conduct health and safety risk assessments, provide protective equipment and ensure the school is fully stocked with all necessary cleaning products;
• Postpone redundancies, restructures, TUPE transfers and non urgent disciplinary hearings (etc) during this period, to free up resources and to reduce the number of people going into schools;
• Work with unions and employers locally and nationally to help get schools and pupils and staff through the crisis, with both sides recognising the need for flexibility;
• Arrange rotas and schedules to reduce the number of staff required on site while still providing safe care for children who need to attend. With vastly reduced pupil numbers, there is no need for all staff to work on site each day. Home working (where the role permits) for staff not scheduled to be on site will also better achieve the recommended social distancing of staff and pupils in school.
• Adopt the approach of asking for volunteers first on issues of redeployment and additional hours;
• Ensure staff are fully paid for working through the Easter holidays.

1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
2. If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
3. Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
4. Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.
5. Residential special schools, boarding schools and special settings continue to care for children wherever possible.

Ealing LA are finalising their scheme to ensure FSM pupils who are not attending school can continue to have lunch provided for them during this difficult time.

Schools are liaising with their on-site catering services and catering providers to make sure plans are in place to provide free school meals to eligible pupils attending school on site.

Asked whether schools that have already closed to pupils will be forced to re-open to key worker children, the PM says the government will work to ensure that – where necessary – schools will provide facilities for those pupils.

Read the BBC news article on School Closures here

Schools, Charities and Local Authorities will be working together to provide food for pupils on free school meals

Government answer promised after school shutdown confusion

“Not every school [will be] providing the service for key workers and the vulnerable,” he adds.

However, he says that on Monday 23 March vulnerable children and the children of key-worker parents should turn up to their current school as normal.

Ealing Unison and sister Trade Unions will be in close communication and consultation with the Local Authority over the coming days to clarify the Council’s response to these announcements and work out how these measures will be implemented. We will update members as soon as possible via this website and email.