Constitution
| Authority | Department of Education, Sport and Culture |
|---|---|
| Date received | 2020-09-21 |
| Outcome | Some information sent but part exempt |
| Outcome date | 2020-10-19 |
| Case ID | 1480105 |
Summary
The requester asked for the UCM constitution for lecturers and meeting minutes for JCC and JNC committees over the past two years. The authority provided the constitution and JNC minutes with redactions for personal data, but stated that JCC minutes were not held as those meetings do not take place within the Department.
Key Facts
- The request was received on 2020-09-21 and responded to on 2020-10-19.
- The UCM constitution for lecturers was provided but contained redacted personal information.
- JNC meeting minutes for the past two years were provided with redactions.
- JCC meeting minutes were not provided because the Department does not hold them as the meetings do not take place within the Department.
- Personal information was exempted under Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act.
Data Disclosed
- 1480105
- 2020-09-21
- 2020-10-19
- 2020-10-19
- 11 October 2018
- 14 June 2018
- 42
- 3
- Section 25
- Article 5
- Article 6
Exemptions Cited
- Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act (absolutely exempt personal information)
- Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018
- Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation
- Article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulation
Original Request
Can you please provide the UCM constitution for lectures. Also the previous minutes of the JCC & JNC meetings for the past two years from both Lecturers and ESO meetings.
Data Tables (37)
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Minutes. The minutes of the meetings held on 14 June 2018 were confirmed and signed. | |
| 2. | Terms and Conditions for Lecturers – proposed amendments to Appendix 9 re Sessional Lecturers The proposed amendments to Appendix 9 were circulated in relation to Sessional lecturers and once finalised will replace the current Appendix 9. Any comments/amendments to be sent to the HR Business Partner by 31.10.18, so final version can be incorporated into the Terms and Conditions of Service for Lecturers and implemented from 1 November 2018. One amendment was made during the meeting, to change reference to paragraph (iv) to (vi) within the proposed 3b. | All/HR Business Partner |
| 3. | IOMG Retirement Policy, the Equality Act and paragraph 34.5 of the Terms and Conditions of Service for Lecturers and the removal of over 65 from the Redeployment and Redundancy Policy and Procedure. It was proposed that paragraph 34.5 in the Terms and Conditions of Service for Lecturers regarding retirement age is removed and that the date for the removal is aligned with all other DESC employment groups. It was agreed that the views of the other JNCs would be sought at their respective JNCs and then the date for removal would be submitted to the Department in December for their agreement. | Director of Strategy and Corporate Services |
| 4. | Pay Scales for Lecturers, Assistant Programme Managers and Programme Managers There was a discussion about the erosion of the value of threshold payments as a result of the differential pay awards for each pay scale. The UCU representative circulated a paper from 2007 regarding the scales to which threshold payments applied, although in practice a threshold application process has not been required, other than for movement between lower and upper pay spines. |
| There was then a discussion regarding the eroding differential in pay for a lecturer compared to a manager and it was agreed that it would be helpful to review the structure of the pay scales and come forward with a proposal at the next meeting. Options to explore included potentially creating one lecturing pay scale (amalgamating lower and upper pay scale); removing manager pay scale and just having APM and PM pay scales etc although some jobs do sit outside the APM and PM scales. It was agreed this could be incorporated into a draft Pay Policy for Lecturers for discussion at the next meeting. It was also agreed that as there were no lecturers on the senior lecturer pay scale that this scale be removed now. | Director of Strategy and Corporate Services/ Principal/ HR Business Partner | |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | Have your Say Staff Survey & Draft Communication Strategy The UCU representative requested an update on actions from the Have your Say survey. The Principal provided an update on what has been done including: - Internal communication survey - 70 questions of ‘you said’, ‘we did’ - The development of staff ID badges (almost there) - New staff lunch tables were placed in the staff room - A review of sharepoint - Compiling a draft Communication Strategy (circulated at the meeting) - Smaller staff meetings rather than everyone in the hall The UCU representative requested a survey be undertaken tailored for UCM staff. The Principal stated that it was proposed that an annual staff survey was included as part of the draft Communication Strategy. | |
| 6. | Keyll Daree The Principal provided an update on Keyll Daree and relayed that was currently collating information eg student numbers; regulation etc. Any synergies and opportunities would then be considered once this is clear. | |
| 7. | Curriculum Changes Concerns were raised regarding the impact of recent curriculum changes on staff in the Gen Ed team. There was a discussion about some of the areas of concern and the Principal suggested she met with the Gen Ed team. | Principal |
| 8. | Further clarification on aspects of the HE remission hours (no change required for Lecturers’ terms and conditions) There was a discussion regarding the implementation of remission which is currently being applied inconsistently across Programme areas. The Principal circulated a briefing paper to be circulated at the next PMT meeting. Other than one amendment being suggested (to include a maximum of teaching contact being 24 hours). The contents of this paper were agreed. | Principal |
| 9. | 2019/20 UCM calendar Some calendar amendments were suggested. The Principal agreed to consider these with the Vice Principal and then email an updated version to the unions for agreement before the next JNC. | Principal/unions |
| 10. | UCM Selection and Recruitment Panel Composition The Principal advised that the Governors did not have the time available/wish to sit on recruitment panels and preferred instead to delegate their role to a member of UCM SLT (unless the recruitment was for an SLT member of staff in which case they would be involved). This change does not require an amendment to the Recruitment and Selection policy as the facility to delegate is already allowed for. | |
| 11. | Update Threshold Applications The Principal provided an update – 6 threshold applications were received and were considered by the external assessor. 4 of which were successful in meeting the criteria to go through the threshold. | |
| 12. | Update HE Tender An update was given regarding the process for selection of a University partner. It was proposed the successful partner would be known by the end of the year. | |
| 13. | PiP Update Employee and Manager self-service of PiP will go live for DESC staff from 19 November, with training being planned from 5 November. | |
| 14. | Official Secrets Act An update was given that all new starters across IOMG are now required to sign this. | |
| 15. | Next meeting dates: all held in the Principal’s meeting room 21 March 2019 20 June 2019 The meeting closed at 4.30pm. |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Minutes. The minutes of the meetings held on 11 October 2018 were confirmed and signed. | |
| 2. | Matters Arising Terms and Conditions of Service for Lecturers – the agreed changes to Appendix 9 and also paragraph 34.5 regarding removal of retirement age had been done and circulated. Draft Pay Policy – once the draft was ready, it would be circulated prior to discussion. It was agreed an extra meeting would be arranged for this. The HR Business Partner will arrange an additional meeting. HE remission hours – this is carried forward from the last meeting: ‘Further clarification on aspects of the HE remission hours (no change required for Lecturers’ terms and conditions). There was a discussion regarding the implementation of remission which is currently being applied inconsistently across Programme areas. The Principal circulated a briefing paper to be circulated at the next PMT meeting. Other than one amendment being suggested (to include a maximum of teaching contact being 24 hours). The contents of this paper were agreed.’ UCM calendar for 19/20 - this is now on Sharepoint. | HR Business Partner Principal |
| 3. | Terms and Conditions of Service – the wording below was agreed. |
| ‘A lecturer must provide a DBS certificate prior to commencing work, as per 6.1 above and then subsequently, at least once, every 3 years throughout their appointment. Lecturers may wish to sign up to the DBS update service in order to do this.’ The HR Business Partner will update the Terms and Conditions. Further information was sought regarding administration and timescales for these checks. The Vice Principal undertook to find out and circulate this information. | HR Business Partner Vice Principal | |
|---|---|---|
| 4. | UCM Access/ID cards A summary of the content of the draft Policy was shared. The draft document would be circulated following the meeting and then could be discussed, together with the draft Pay Policy, as a two item agenda at the additional meeting being arranged. | HR Business Partner |
| 5. | PiP Update Self-service will go live through ‘PiP lite’ which will be an initial roll out, whereby there will be limited access giving each of us an opportunity to check our entries are correct eg our personal details/line manager are accurate and also time for managers to check the names of their direct reports are correct. PiP implementation dates will be communicated once known. | |
| 5. | Any Other Business Clarity of staffing arrangements and responsibility for 14-16 year olds attending UCM. The Vice Principal and NEU representative advised that there had been several meetings with schools about 14-16 provision and the Vice Principal had a meeting next week with staff to discuss this. Budget line referring to transfer of LEAD staff to DESC - clarity was provided regarding this. Exit interviews – all leaving staff are offered an exit interview but don’t always choose to have one. Draft Communication Strategy - the Vice Principal confirmed that this work was ongoing. New UCM Governor - . HE Tender - The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services provided an update. Recognition Strategy - the HR Business Partner provided background regarding the work underway regarding this. Sessions with UCM staff to seek their views had been arranged for 7 and 8 | Vice Principal |
| May 2019. Review of IOMG Fairness at Work Policy and Guidance - the HR Business Partner confirmed there was a working group looking at this. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 15. | Next meeting dates: all held in the Principal’s meeting room 23 May 2019 (2 item agenda - additional meeting for draft Pay Policy and draft Policy in relation to ID/Access Cards) 20 June 2019 17 October 2019 12 March 2019 18 June 2019 The meeting closed at 3.05pm. |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Minutes. The minutes of the meetings held on 21 March 2019 were confirmed and signed. was welcomed to the meeting as the new representative for NEU. | |
| 2. | Matters Arising DBS checks – the Principal confirmed that lecturers DBS checks were complete and that checks for sessional lecturers were underway. Clarity of Staffing Arrangements and responsibility for 14-16 year olds – the Vice Principal had met with the staff involved and some training had been arranged. Work was also underway with PMT. | |
| 3. | JNC Constitution The JNC constitution was signed by UCU and NEU and, would now be signed by the Chief Executive. The signed version would then be incorporated into the Terms and Conditions of Service for Lecturers so it is easily accessible. The NEU representative left the meeting after this item to attend a prior commitment. | HR Business Partner |
| 4. | Staff Calendar The UCU representatives welcomed the flexibility of the 3 days |
| during August and the Principal confirmed that the calendar will now be put forward for approval at the next Governors meeting. | Principal | |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | Pay Policy It was agreed that a separate meeting(s) would be set up to discuss and agree a Pay Policy for Lecturers, this being the single item agenda for such meetings. Representatives were encouraged to give some thought, in advance of the meetings to - Whether or not to remove threshold? - Whether or not it would be helpful to have one leadership pay scale e.g. for APM, PM, Manager, Deputy Manager Some clarification was also given in relation to the existing draft ie the new pay scales, once agreed, would apply to all new lecturing appointments, including promotions. The Principal also would provide alternative photographs to go on the front of the document (i.e. which are not school based). | |
| 5. | 2018 Pay Award UCU representatives queried whether the pay award had been applied correctly for 2018/19 for APMs and PMs. The HR Business Partner would check how the pay award was applied. | HR Business Partner |
| 6. | Recruitment It was requested that next time a UCM Governor was recruited that they are aware of the time implications e.g. when sitting on recruitment panels. This was agreed. | Principal/ Director of Strategy and Corporate Services |
| 7. | Capability/Sickness Absence Concern was raised regarding capability procedures being progressed without the individual concerned having any prior informal discussion. There was a discussion and it was agreed that capability shouldn’t come as a surprise and the procedures are intended to be supportive and ensure the lecturer is aware of the concern and agree the plan to help them achieve the required standard of performance/attendance. Further management training was also discussed and the Principal outlined a middle leader modular training programme that had been developed with the Education Training Foundation. The HR Business Partner suggested it may be helpful for the DESC HR team to deliver such training, in particular regarding HR procedures to ensure consistency of advice. There was also a discussion regarding Bradford factors and the | HR Business Partner/ Principal |
| Principal outlined how SLT review Bradford factors. The HR Business Partner also relayed the IOMG trigger of 128 (which is detailed in the IOMG Management of Sickness Absence Policy and Guidance document) and that it can help employees to be aware of their own BF score, and the IOMG trigger. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8. | UCM Fees Policy and Regulations Concerns were raised regarding the complexity of the current UCM Fees Policy document and application form. The Principal agreed that a piece of work was necessary on this e.g. in relation to HE students where some market research was needed and lifelong learning etc. She also reiterated the importance of staff directing students to Student Services for fees information and not trying to provide this advice themselves. The Principal confirmed she was taking the fees structure to the Governors meeting in November. | Principal |
| 9. | Marketing of UCM courses There was a discussion about marketing and pricing. It was thought UCM social media presence was now very strong however there was a discussion regarding the greater flexibility of course timings offered by some private providers and that UCM needed to consider how it delivers its offer too. | |
| 10. | Staff Survey It was confirmed that the IOMG Have Your Say Survey will take place again in November 2019. The Principal also stated that a survey of UCM students would also take place this year with QDP undertaking this which she hoped would provide helpful feedback as they undertake student surveys for around 100 other Colleges which will enable some benchmarking/ comparisons to be made. | |
| 11. | HE Tender UCU sought clarity regarding the HE Tender document and the type of HE provider the Department were seeking/hoping to secure. The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services provided an update on the HE tender and in broad terms stated the Department was trying to expand the on-island HE offer with a potential future aspiration being for UCM to secure University status. The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services agreed to send an update on the tender process to UCM staff outlining the timeframes. | Director of Strategy and Corporate Services |
| 12. | Staff Access Cards UCU agreed in principle to the staff access cards, however concerns were raised regarding the current draft policy. The Principal agreed to revisit the wording in the draft document and will send this direct | Principal |
| to UCU, so that it can move forward. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 13. | Next Pay Policy meeting dates: held at 2pm in the Principals Meeting room 12 December 2019 o 19 December 2019 o Next JNC meeting dates: held at 2pm in the Principal’s meeting room 12 March 2019 o 18 June 2019 o The meeting closed at 4.05pm. |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Minutes. The minutes of the JNC meeting held on 24 October 2019 were confirmed and signed. | |
| 2. | Matters Arising JNC Constitution – these are now signed and just need incorporating into the Terms and Conditions of Service document. 2018 Pay Award – still querying the application of the award as the differential between grades is no longer the same. The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services stated that this is the case because a graduated award was applied, in line with the STPCD. going to consider further and send an email with his views. Capability/Absence training – this has been arranged in conjunction with the HR Business Partner. Suggestion that the session is also co-delivered with union reps? Fees and Regulations The Vice Principal is working on a further draft which will hopefully be ready to submit to governors in the New Year. Have Your Say Survey Principal to check roll out timescales for UCM with . HE Tender Minister and Treasury to sign agreement in relation to successful tender | HR Business Partner UCU rep Principal |
| Staff Access Cards To be considered at the next meeting | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3. | Pay Policy The following principles were agreed:- - All lecturers will be recruited on the most current Terms and Conditions of Service for Lecturers, including those posts currently on MPTC terms. - Pay scales will be simplified and no longer than 5 scale points in length - Pay scales will be drafted to remove the threshold A start was made to review and revise the draft Pay Policy with further meetings to be arranged during January 2020. | |
| 4. | Next Pay Policy meeting dates: held at 2pm in the Principals Meeting room o 23 January 2020 o 30 January 2020 Next JNC meeting dates: held at 2pm in the Principal’s meeting room o 12 March 2019 o 18 June 2019 The meeting closed at 4.15pm. |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Minutes. The minutes of the JNC meeting held on 19 December 2019 were confirmed and signed. | |
| 2. | Matters Arising 2018 Pay Award – still querying the application of the award as the differential between grades is no longer the same. The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services stated that this is the case because a graduated award was applied, in line with the STPCD. going to consider further and send an email with his views. Capability/Absence training – this had been organised and delivered by HR in conjunction with the Equality Adviser. Feedback from unions was that it had been well received. | UCU rep |
| 3. | Pay Policy In addition to the principles agreed at the meeting on 19 December, the following further principles were agreed:- - There will be the same pay scale for lecturers teaching HE and FE - The JNC confirmed they wish to continue applying annual pay awards in accordance with those published in the STPCD - There should be an unqualified 5 point scale and a qualified 5 point scale. - APM and PM scales should no longer be used and relevant five point scales applied from the current management scale - Overlaps between scales should be avoided. |
| A further meeting to discuss the draft Pay Policy has been arranged for 30 January 2020. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4. | Teachers’ Trade Disputes There was considerable concern raised by the recognised unions at the JNC about recent press coverage from NASUWT stating 100% of lecturers at UCM were in favour of industrial action when there is no trade dispute about lecturers’ pay, conditions, workload or pension and this union isn’t recognised for lecturers. The JNC, which comprises the two recognised trade unions, UCU and NEU, DESC and the Principal considered that a factual communique to staff at UCM would be helpful. | |
| 5. | Next Pay Policy meeting dates: held at 2pm in the Principals Meeting room o 30 January 2020 Next JNC meeting dates: held at 2pm in the Principal’s meeting room o 12 March 2019 o 18 June 2019 The meeting closed at 4.20pm. |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Minutes. The minutes of the JNC meeting held on 23 January 2020 were confirmed and signed. | |
| 2. | Matters Arising 2018 Pay Award – still querying the application of the award as the differential between grades is no longer the same. The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services stated that this is the case because a graduated award was applied, in line with the STPCD. going to consider further and send an email with his views. | UCU rep |
| 3. | Pay Policy In addition to the principles agreed at the previous meetings, there were further amendments made to the draft document. Draft pay scales were also considered and feedback was that they seemed reasonable. To be confirmed at the next meeting once union reps have given them further consideration. Representatives to meet, prior to the next meeting to consider a draft job description for Assistant Faculty Manager. A further meeting to discuss the draft Pay Policy has been arranged for 2 April 2020. Once finalised, amendments will also be needed to the Terms and Conditions of Service for lecturers to remove references to threshold. | All All reps HR Business Partner |
| 4. | Next Pay Policy meeting dates: held at 2pm in the Principals Meeting room |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Minutes. The minutes of the JNC meeting held on 12 March 2020 were confirmed and signed. | |
| 2. | Matters Arising 2018 Pay Award – still querying the application of the award as the differential between grades is no longer the same. The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services stated that this is the case because a graduated award was applied, in line with the STPCD. going to consider further and send an email with his views. | UCU rep |
| 3. | Pay Policy A further meeting regarding the Pay Policy is scheduled for 28 May 2020. The Principal will provide the pay modelling information regarding the number of existing lecturers who are qualified and on the lower pay spine. | Principal |
| 4. | UCM Academic Calendar The new bank holiday date (28 August 2020) falls on a day which is currently in the academic calendar as an administration day. It was acknowledged that staff still need to work an administration day and that this could be agreed locally between the lecturer and their line manager. | |
| 5. | Faculties The Principal advised that it is possible to now recruit to the two remaining Faculty Manager positions – the Faculty of |
| Creative and Leisure Industries and the Faculty of STEM. There was a discussion regarding the need to respond to the changing shape of industries post Covid 19 which was acknowledged as being an opportunity for UCM and the importance of communicating this sensitively. It was suggested a meeting with the staff concerned, together, with their recognised unions may be helpful. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6. | Appraisal UCU representative suggested it may be helpful if all appraisals included one common objective in relation to working differently post Covid 19. The Principal agreed to give some suggested wording some thought whilst acknowledging that some appraisals were already underway. | Principal |
| 7. | Next Pay Policy meeting dates: held at 2pm in the Principals Meeting room - 28 May 2020 Next JNC meeting dates: held at 2pm in the Principal’s meeting room o 15 October 2020 in Principals meeting room o 18 March 2021 in Principals meeting room o 24 June 2021 in Principals meeting room The meeting closed at 4.10pm. |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | The minutes of the meeting on 21 May were confirmed | |
| 2. | Matters Arising The UCU representative had emailed the information regarding his query in relation to the application of the 2018 pay award and pay differentials | |
| 3 | Advertising for the remainder of this academic year It was agreed that due to time constraints that, once any redeployees have been considered, posts would be advertised internally and externally simultaneously. It was also agreed that adverts for lecturing posts would include the range for both the lower and upper pay ranges. | |
| 4 | Public Accounts Committee UCU were concerned regarding the reference to ‘unions’ in the recently published PAC scrutiny report and wished it to be noted that UCU had worked proactively and positively with UCM during the pandemic. The JNC agreed and recognised the positive work of both the recognised lecturing unions at UCM in supporting students to achieve their qualifications throughout the pandemic and also to help ensure the safe return of all staff and students. |
| 5 | Pay Policy There was then a discussion about the draft Pay Policy | |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | Next JNC meeting dates: • 25 June 2020 • 15 October 2020 • 18 March 2021 • 24 June 2021 The meeting closed at 4pm. |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Pay Policy The meeting had been convened to discuss and further update the draft Pay Policy for Lecturers. Further amendments to the document were made and the final version of the Policy agreed. Next steps are for it to be considered at the Department meeting on 5 August 2020 and once approved, will be implemented from 1 September 2020. | Director of Strategy and Corporate Services |
| 2. | Performance Management and Appraisal Policy This document is within the Terms and Conditions of Service for Lecturers and it was agreed that:- - References to threshold would be removed - References to additional increments would include wording to state this is only in circumstances where there has been exceptional performance - that the CPD log template (to be supplied by UCU) will be included it was agreed that the JNC would meet in the Autumn term as a single item agenda to consider this Policy further in the light of the new Pay Policy. | HR Business Partner HR Business Partner |
| 3. | The meeting finished at 4.10pm | |
| 4. | Next JNC meeting dates: • 24 September 2020 – single item agenda re Performance Management and Appraisal Policy |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| The minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2018 were confirmed. | ||
| 1. | Matters Arising Changes to the Terms and Conditions – these were agreed and included:- - Update of Dept name; updated names eg Inclusion and Safeguarding; Treasury instead of Social Care; OHR etc - Documented specific appeals process - The proposed amendment in relation to procedures continuing during school holiday periods was to make it clear that this would only take place with the agreement of all parties. - Own or child’s degree ceremony was to be included in the special leave provisions. Retirement Policy – the revised IOMG Retirement Policy will be in place from 1 December 2018 removing the retirement age. It was agreed that the retirement age detailed in the Terms and Conditions of Service for Education Support Staff at paragraph 37 would be removed but on the same date as that agreed by the teachers and lecturers. | Secretary Secretary after |
| It was hoped this would be known after the next JNC Teachers which is being held on 30 November. | teaching union mtg | |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | DFM for Primary mainstream Inclusion and Safeguarding staff – presentation given by . An outline of the current situation and the reasons for DFM was provided including that a ‘dry run’ was currently underway in primary using the DFM formula for the academic year 2018-2019 and that, for secondary, discussions were underway with secondary to agree the weightings in the funding formula. The proposed timeline and process to be followed when transferring staff to schools/services was shared in order to ensure DFM was in place for September 2019. Unit staffing and specialist Inclusion and Safeguarding staffing such as PSAC, ESC and sensory will not be transferred at this stage and will, for now, remain centrally deployed. From September 2019, mainstream Inclusion and Safeguarding staff will then be transferred to the school i.e. Inclusion and Safeguarding wont then centrally deploy staff. | |
| 3. | Supply cover – L2 and L3 Sometimes, where short term supply is required, the duties needed covering will not include all the duties of the post eg without planning, preparation and assessment and in these circumstances, a L2 supply may be warranted. If, however, all the L3 duties are required, L3 supply cover is appropriate. Until DFM is in place, it is very important that schools relay the detail of cover duties required to the Inclusion and Safeguarding Division so that the appropriate level of cover can be funded. | |
| 4. | PiP update Pay is being generated through PiP but self-service go live has been postponed. Dates will be communicated once known. | |
| 5. | Official Secrets Act The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services advised that all public servants are deemed to have signed this document and that this now forms part of the pre- employment documentation for all new recruits across Government, including education support staff. | |
| 6. | DBS checks The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services advised that the Safeguarding Board and Internal Audit were uncomfortable with the current practice of DBS checks for DESC staff only being undertaken upon appointment. The Department had considered this and have decided to introduce 3 year rolling DBS checks for all staff as soon as it had operationally been agreed how to organise this. She confirmed the Department would absorb the associated costs. | |
| 7. | Education Bill An update was given regarding the progress of the Education Bill and that consultation was expected to commence in the New Year. Colleagues were encouraged to have a look |
| at it and provide feedback. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8. | English as an Additional Language The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services advised that a review is to be undertaken regarding EAL support in schools. | |
| 8. | Meeting concluded at 11.15 Next Meeting Date – to be held at Ballacottier Primary School commencing at 10am. - 13 March 2019 |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| The minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2019 were confirmed. The meeting wasn’t quorate and so matters are noted (1 employee rep short) and will be ratified either by email with the Employee Reps who weren’t present and/or at the next meeting. | ||
| 1. | Matters Arising Changes to the Terms and Conditions – these had been done and circulated Retirement Policy –the retirement provisions had been updated in the Terms and Conditions of Service for Education Support Staff | |
| 2. | DBS Checks Queries had been raised from Prospect regarding the arrangements for DoI cleaning and caretaking staff and also catering staff. The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services confirmed that catering staff were part of DESC and 3 year checks were being | Director of Strategy and |
| undertaken, as with other DESC staff, with administration being done by either the school concerned or the Catering Manager. In relation to DoI staff, 3 yearly DBS checks were also being implemented but she undertook to find out the timescales/arrangements for doing these from DoI. The proposed revised wording for the Terms and Conditions of Service were agreed by those present (albeit as the meeting wasn’t quorate, it was agreed that confirmation from those absent would also be sought via email, rather than waiting for the next meeting). The proposed wording, which is the same as that recently agreed by the JNC teachers is:- ‘Education support staff must provide a DBS certificate prior to commencing work, as per 6.1 above and then subsequently, at least once, every 3 years throughout their appointment. Education support staff may wish to sign up to the DBS update service in order to do this.’ | Corporate Services Secretary | |
|---|---|---|
| 3. | DFM for Primary mainstream Inclusion and Safeguarding staff provided an update - The ‘dry run’ continued in primary using the DFM formula for the academic year 2018-2019 and - for secondary, discussions continue with a further meeting planned this afternoon. Secondary schools had agreed that mainstream Inclusion and Safeguarding staff would be deployed, from September, to a secondary cluster i.e. could be moved across the cluster once DFM has been implemented (primary mainstream Inclusion and Safeguarding staff will be deployed to the particular school). The SEN Manager outlined the timeline and process to be followed to ensure schools are staffed according to their delegated budget, which would be known around TT week, and also that mainstream I& S staff will then each be sent written confirmation of this transfer by the I&S Division. Unit staffing and specialist Inclusion and Safeguarding staffing such as PSAC, ESC and sensory will not be transferred at this stage and will, for now, remain centrally deployed. From September 2019, Inclusion and Safeguarding won’t then centrally deploy mainstream I&S staff. | |
| 4. | Qualifications There was a query regarding whether there was any consideration to remove the qualification entry requirement for ESO staff given the recent decision to do this for staff employed by the Public Services Commission. The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services stated that there was no intention to do so for teacher/student education support roles but that consideration was being given to a potential transfer of administrative education support staff to the Public Services Commission. If this were to happen, there would be no qualification entry criteria for these roles as they would then be PSC employees. Some concerns were raised regarding flexibility of roles across support staff in schools if this were to be agreed which would then mean they were on different terms and conditions. It was emphasised that no decision had yet been taken and that there was a |
| meeting with secondary Headteachers tomorrow to discuss this. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 5. | PiP update Self-service will go live through ‘PiP lite’ which will be an initial roll out, whereby there will be limited access giving each of us an opportunity to check our entries are correct eg our personal details/line manager are accurate and also time for managers to check the names of their direct reports are correct. PiP implementation dates will be communicated once known. | |
| 6. | Meeting concluded at 10.30 Next Meeting Date – to be held at Ballacottier Primary School commencing at 10am. - 8 May 2019 - 16 October 2019 - 18 March 2020 |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| The minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2019 were confirmed. | ||
| 1. | Matters Arising DBS checks - the proposed revised wording had been agreed by email and had now been incorporated into the Terms and Conditions of Service for Education Support staff. | |
| 2. | PiP ( in attendance) provided an update and stated that PiP lite will go live throughout DESC from 13 May 2019. - Last paper payslip would be issued in August. Electronic payslips are available through PiP - If member of staff doesn’t have a government email address, a letter will be sent to their home address to ask them to contact the helpdesk to set up with a username and password |
| - If a member of staff is on leave when PiP goes live, they can login when they return. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3. | DFM for Primary mainstream Inclusion and Safeguarding staff provided an update including: - The timeline remains as previously advised - SEN registers had been collected and schools had received their data validation reports and queries were being addressed - A briefing paper for primary and secondary colleagues had been circulated before Easter - Face to face briefing meetings were being organised for secondary colleagues given that secondary colleagues had not had a ‘dry run’ as had happened in primary As a result of DFM, some changes are required to the Redeployment and Redundancy Policy and Procedure from September 2019 ie once DFM is in place. The proposed changes were as follows and were agreed:- - 3.3 in relation to the SEN secondary cluster - 5.4.1 to update the name of Services for Children to Inclusion and Safeguarding - 5.4.1 to remove primary and secondary groupings from the Inclusion and Safeguarding list as from September these staff will no longer be deployed by Inclusion and Safeguarding Division - 5.4.2 in relation to circumstances where there may be a SEN funding reduction in primary schools and the education support member of staff based in reception - 9.3 to re-order this paragraph so compensation scheme entitlements appear first prior to references to statutory scheme. | |
| 4. | Proposed New Pay Scales The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services referred to the Equality Act which stipulates age as one of the protected characteristics. The Department is therefore reviewing its payscales, particularly those over 5 scale points in length, to ensure it is compliant. Once the proposals are drafted, she suggested an extraordinary meeting of the JNC was arranged to discuss the proposals further as a single item agenda. It was agreed that this was a sensible way forward and a meeting on 26 June 2019 was arranged. | |
| 5. | Any Other Business Proposed transfer of secondary administrative staff to the PSC This was to be discussed further at a meeting with secondary Headteachers and the Department on 24 June 2019. Time off in Lieu This had been previously raised at a meeting in 2012 and noted that where a member of support staff has time off in lieu, the dates/time for this should be agreed, in advance, between the member of education support staff and their Headteacher/Head of Service. Payscales in Adverts It was noted that adverts don’t always say pro-rata and that this should be raised with |
| the recruitment team. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Meeting concluded at 10.45am Next Meeting Date – to be held at Ballacottier Primary School commencing at 10am. - 26 June 2019 (single item re payscales) - 16 October 2019 - 18 March 2020 |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| The minutes of the meeting held on 8 May 2019 were confirmed. | ||
| 1. | Matters Arising PiP lite – representatives were asked to remind education support staff to log in to PiP lite and reminded that the last paper pay slip would be issued in August, following which payslips are available on PiP. | |
| 2. | Proposed New Pay Scales The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services referred to the paper which had been circulated prior to the meeting regarding the proposed new payscales. Whilst the paper asked for comments prior to the end of term, the Director of Strategy and Corporate Services, extended this and requested comments submitted to her by 30 September 2019. Some initial queries were raised: |
| - Concerns regarding reduced headroom upon promotion, particularly for existing L3 being promoted to L4 roles although this reduction was welcomed by a budget holder - Whether it was being proposed that the new payscales also reduced sick leave entitlement o It was confirmed that no change to sick leave has been proposed - Whether the proposed changes to annual leave would affect existing staff on promotion o It is proposed that upon promotion, existing staff would move on to the new payscales and there would be no change to their annual leave entitlement - Whether the proposed changes affect existing staff staying at the same grade who change their hours o The changes being proposed do not affect existing staff remaining at their current grade and just changing their hours | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3. | Any Other Business Proposed transfer of secondary administrative staff to the PSC This was discussed at a meeting with secondary Headteachers and the Department on 24 June 2019 and some queries were being followed up. The next steps will be communicated once the final decision has been made. | |
| Meeting concluded at 10.25am Next Meeting Date – to be held at Ballacottier Primary School commencing at 10am. - 16 October 2019 - 18 March 2020 |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| The minutes of the meeting held on 26 June 2019 were confirmed. Apologies were provided from as she had a hospital appointment at short notice. The Executive Director of HR was welcomed to the meeting. was also welcomed to the meeting as the new representative for SNHS as had now retired. | ||
| 1. | Matters Arising PiP – representatives were asked to remind education support staff to log in to PiP and reminded that the last paper pay slip would likely now be issued in December, following which payslips would be available on PiP. |
| 2. | Proposed New Pay Scales This proposal had now been superceded by the proposal to transfer all education support staff to the PSC (discussed as next agenda item) albeit no responses had been received by 30 September 2019, the end of the consultation period. | |
|---|---|---|
| 3. | Proposed transfer of education support staff to the PSC The Executive Director of HR attended the meeting to outline the above proposal and answer questions from representatives. He explained that the Public Services Commission had recently received a request from the Department of Education, Sport and Culture for the PSC to become the employer of employment groups within DESC which are not teachers or lecturers. The PSC already employs a wide range of staff across IOMG including civil servants, manual and craft workers, some health care roles, port security etc. The primary group involved in this transfer is Education Support Staff but also includes staff within the youth service and casual workers engaged at the Villa Marina/Gaiety Theatre. The PSC is supportive of the proposal and requested discussions commence with staff representatives to establish the mechanisms for working together on the project. Such a transfer is consistent with the overall policy of enlarging the PSC to cover most of the employment groups on the Island where terms and conditions are not linked primarily to counterpart employment groups in the UK (e.g. NHS, Teachers, Police and Fire). The Executive Director of HR advised that a further driver for the proposal is the introduction of the new equal pay provisions of the Equality Act 2017 and the benefits for employers’ to operate a single consistent job evaluation scheme/pay and grading structure across its workforce. He outlined that some policies and procedures are already the same across IOMG eg Managing Sickness Absence Policy and Procedure; Fairness at Work; Redundancy Compensation Scheme etc. He explained that Tynwald would need to approve the transfer which it is hoped would be implemented to coincide with the full introduction of the Equality Act in January 2020 and reiterated that the terms and conditions of existing education support staff would remain unchanged as this is a requirement of the Public Services Commission Act 2015, which states: 8 (1) A public sector employee who becomes an employee of the Commission by virtue of an order made under section 7 is employed on the same terms and conditions that applied immediately before he or she becomes an employee of the Commission. Once transferred, work would then commence on conducting a job evaluation exercise involving a partnership approach between the PSC and staff representatives, with the aim of harmonising these groups with the overall policies of the PSC except where local requirements need to be respected through local agreements. He stated that a similar job evaluation exercise has been undertaken recently with all manual and craft workers. Until any changes are negotiated with the unions and staff representatives, existing terms and conditions would continue to apply to staff transferred. There was a discussion about the broad breadth of roles within education support staff both within and across schools. Representatives considered it important that staff had an opportunity to attend a |
| meeting where the rationale could be explained to them, together with an opportunity to ask questions. It was agreed that regional meetings would be arranged towards the end of November and that Frequently Asked Questions would be drawn up so these could be circulated. It was requested these were sent out, with the minutes, and regional meeting dates as soon as possible after half term. It was also agreed that it would be helpful to have another JNC meeting prior to March and this will be arranged. | HR Business Partner | |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting concluded at 3.45am Next JNC Meeting Date – to be held at Ballacottier Primary School commencing at 10am. - 18 March 2020 |
| Item | Agenda | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | The minutes of the meeting held on 23 October 2019 were confirmed with the amendment that , Unite had given her apologies for the meeting. It was agreed that minutes would be circulated by email and any amendments submitted within 5 working days to enable the agreed minutes to be available on itslearning for all education support staff as soon as possible after each meeting. | All |
| 2. | Proposed transfer of education support staff - feedback from regional briefings and next steps. The Executive Director of HR attended the meeting and provided a summary of the feedback from the recent regional briefings including that the meetings were well |
| There was a discussion about the number of primary representatives and whether the constitution needed to be reviewed. It was also agreed that it would be helpful to arrange another JNC meeting sometime in February as well as the March meeting currently scheduled. The Chief Executive also offered to attend future meetings, when he could, and this was welcomed by the JNC | HR Business Partner | |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting concluded at 3.10am Next JNC Meeting Dates To be held in the big conference room at Santon Professional Development Centre - 2pm on 5 February 2020 - 10am on 18 March 2020 |
Full Response Text
Corporate Services Division Department of Education, Sport and Culture Hamilton House Peel Road, Douglas IM1 5EZ Telephone: (01624) 685808 Website: www.gov.im/dec Email: dec@foi.gov.im Our ref: 1480105 19 October 2020
Dear ###,
We write further to your request which was received on 21 September 2020 and which states: Your request
"Can you please provide the UCM constitution for lectures. Also the previous minutes of the JCC, JNC meetings for the past two years from both Lecturers and ESO meetings." Our clarification request In order to identify and locate the information that you asked for, we needed to understand and clarify if you would like the constitution for lectures or constitution for lecturers. We also needed to clarify which minutes of the meeting you would like, the minutes for the JCC meeting or the minutes for the JNC meeting. You advised I would like the Constitution for the Lecturers and the minutes of all the JCC meetings and the JNC meetings. Response Our response to your request is as follows: Constitution of lecturers I have enclosed a copy of the UCM (University College Isle of Man) constitution for lecturers. Minutes of the JNC meetings I have enclosed copies of the minutes of the meetings for the JNC (Joint Negotiating Committee) for UCM Lecturers and the Department’s ESO’s (Education Support Officers) for the past two years.
Minutes of the JCC meetings While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find some of the information that you have requested. This is because JCC (Joint Consultative Committee) meetings do not take place within the Department. Redacted content The information received in relation to the constitution for lecturers and minutes of the JNC meetings contained personal information and under section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act (absolutely exempt personal information) is exempt and has therefore been redacted. The reasons why that exemption applies are that: • The Department is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data of which you are not the data subject; and • The Department is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles as set out at Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation as it applies in the Isle of Man pursuant to The Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, namely that the Department of Education Sport and Culture can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions for lawful processing in Article 6 and in this case, none of those conditions have been met.
Please quote the reference number 1480105 in any future communications.
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I will now close your request as of this date.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Coordinator
JNCCollLecMins
1
Department of Education, Sport and Culture
Joint Negotiating Committee
University College, Isle of Man
held in the Principal’s meeting room
on Thursday 11 October 2018 at 12.00noon
Present:
Employee Representatives:
Management Representatives:
In Attendance:
Item Agenda Action 1. Minutes. The minutes of the meetings held on 14 June 2018 were confirmed and signed.
- Terms and Conditions for Lecturers – proposed amendments to Appendix 9 re Sessional Lecturers The proposed amendments to Appendix 9 were circulated in relation to Sessional lecturers and once finalised will replace the current Appendix 9. Any comments/amendments to be sent to the HR Business Partner by 31.10.18, so final version can be incorporated into the Terms and Conditions of Service for Lecturers and implemented from 1 November 2018. One amendment was made during the meeting, to change reference to paragraph (iv) to (vi) within the proposed 3b.
All/HR Business
Partner
3.
IOMG Retirement Policy, the Equality Act and paragraph
34.5 of the Terms and Conditions of Service for Lecturers
and the removal of over 65 from the Redeployment and
Redundancy Policy and Procedure.
It was proposed that paragraph 34.5 in the Terms and Conditions of
Service for Lecturers regarding retirement age is removed and that
the date for the removal is aligned with all other DESC employment
groups. It was agreed that the views of the other JNCs would be
sought at their respective JNCs and then the date for removal would
be submitted to the Department in December for their agreement.
Director of Strategy and Corporate Services 4. Pay Scales for Lecturers, Assistant Programme Managers and Programme Managers There was a discussion about the erosion of the value of threshold payments as a result of the differential pay awards for each pay scale. The UCU representative circulated a paper from 2007 regarding the scales to which threshold payments applied, although in practice a threshold application process has not been required, other than for movement between lower and upper pay spines.
JNCCollLecMins 2
There was then a discussion regarding the eroding differential in pay for a lecturer compared to a manager and it was agreed that it would be helpful to review the structure of the pay scales and come forward with a proposal at the next meeting. Options to explore included potentially creating one lecturing pay scale (amalgamating lower and upper pay scale); removing manager pay scale and just having APM and PM pay scales etc although some jobs do sit outside the APM and PM scales. It was agreed this could be incorporated into a draft Pay Policy for Lecturers for discussion at the next meeting.
It was also agreed that as there were no lecturers on the senior lecturer pay scale that this scale be removed now.
Director of Strategy and Corporate Services/ Principal/
HR Business
Partner
5.
Have your Say Staff Survey & Draft Communication Strategy
The UCU representative requested an update on actions from the
Have your Say survey. The Principal provided an update on what has
been done including:
-
Internal communication survey
-
70 questions of ‘you said’, ‘we did’
-
The development of staff ID badges (almost there)
-
New staff lunch tables were placed in the staff room
-
A review of sharepoint
-
Compiling a draft Communication Strategy (circulated at the
meeting)
-
Smaller staff meetings rather than everyone in the hall
The UCU representative requested a survey be undertaken tailored for UCM staff. The Principal stated that it was proposed that an annual staff survey was included as part of the draft Communication Strategy.
-
Keyll Daree The Principal provided an update on Keyll Daree and relayed that was currently collating information eg student numbers; regulation etc. Any synergies and opportunities would then be considered once this is clear.
-
Curriculum Changes Concerns were raised regarding the impact of recent curriculum changes on staff in the Gen Ed team. There was a discussion about some of the areas of concern and the Principal suggested she met with the Gen Ed team.
Principal 8. Further clarification on aspects of the HE remission hours (no change required for Lecturers’ terms and conditions) There was a discussion regarding the implementation of remission which is currently being applied inconsistently across Programme areas. The Principal circulated a briefing paper to be circulated at the next PMT meeting. Other than one amendment being suggested (to include a maximum of teaching contact being 24 hours). The contents of this paper were agreed.
Principal JNCCollLecMins 3
- 2019/20 UCM calendar Some calendar amendments were suggested. The Principal agreed to consider these with the Vice Principal and then email an updated version to the unions for agreement before the next JNC.
Principal/unions
-
UCM Selection and Recruitment Panel Composition The Principal advised that the Governors did not have the time available/wish to sit on recruitment panels and preferred instead to delegate their role to a member of UCM SLT (unless the recruitment was for an SLT member of staff in which case they would be involved). This change does not require an amendment to the Recruitment and Selection policy as the facility to delegate is already allowed for.
-
Update Threshold Applications The Principal provided an update – 6 threshold applications were received and were considered by the external assessor. 4 of which were successful in meeting the criteria to go through the threshold.
-
Update HE Tender An update was given regarding the process for selection of a University partner. It was proposed the successful partner would be known by the end of the year.
-
PiP Update Employee and Manager self-service of PiP will go live for DESC staff from 19 November, with training being planned from 5 November.
-
Official Secrets Act An update was given that all new starters across IOMG are now required to sign this.
-
Next meeting dates: all held in the Principal’s meeting room
21 March 2019 20 June 2019
The meeting closed at 4.30pm.
Signed ……………………………………………… Date ……………………………………….
Signed ……………………………………………… Date ……………………………………….
JNCCollLecMins
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Department of Education, Sport and Culture
Joint Negotiating Committee
University College, Isle of Man
held in the Principal’s meeting room
on Thursday 21 March 2019 at 2pm
Present:
Employee Representatives:
Management Representatives:
In Attendance:
Apologies
Item Agenda Action 1. Minutes. The minutes of the meetings held on 11 October 2018 were confirmed and signed.
- Matters Arising
Terms and Conditions of Service for Lecturers – the agreed changes to Appendix 9 and also paragraph 34.5 regarding removal of retirement age had been done and circulated.
Draft Pay Policy – once the draft was ready, it would be circulated prior to discussion. It was agreed an extra meeting would be arranged for this. The HR Business Partner will arrange an additional meeting.
HE remission hours – this is carried forward from the last meeting: ‘Further clarification on aspects of the HE remission hours (no change required for Lecturers’ terms and conditions). There was a discussion regarding the implementation of remission which is currently being applied inconsistently across Programme areas. The Principal circulated a briefing paper to be circulated at the next PMT meeting. Other than one amendment being suggested (to include a maximum of teaching contact being 24 hours). The contents of this paper were agreed.’
UCM calendar for 19/20 - this is now on Sharepoint.
HR Business Partner
Principal
3.
Terms and Conditions of Service – the wording below was
agreed.
JNCCollLecMins
2
‘A lecturer must provide a DBS certificate prior to commencing work,
as per 6.1 above and then subsequently, at least once, every 3 years
throughout their appointment. Lecturers may wish to sign up to the
DBS update service in order to do this.’
The HR Business Partner will update the Terms and Conditions.
Further information was sought regarding administration and
timescales for these checks. The Vice Principal undertook to find out
and circulate this information.
HR Business Partner
Vice Principal
4.
UCM Access/ID cards
A summary of the content of the draft Policy was shared. The draft document would be circulated following the meeting and then could be discussed, together with the draft Pay Policy, as a two item agenda at the additional meeting being arranged.
HR Business Partner 5. PiP Update
Self-service will go live through ‘PiP lite’ which will be an initial roll out, whereby there will be limited access giving each of us an opportunity to check our entries are correct eg our personal details/line manager are accurate and also time for managers to check the names of their direct reports are correct.
PiP implementation dates will be communicated once known.
- Any Other Business
Clarity of staffing arrangements and responsibility for 14-16 year olds attending UCM. The Vice Principal and NEU representative advised that there had been several meetings with schools about 14-16 provision and the Vice Principal had a meeting next week with staff to discuss this.
Budget line referring to transfer of LEAD staff to DESC - clarity was provided regarding this.
Exit interviews – all leaving staff are offered an exit interview but don’t always choose to have one.
Draft Communication Strategy - the Vice Principal confirmed that this work was ongoing.
New UCM Governor - .
HE Tender - The Director of Strategy and Corporate Services provided an update.
Recognition Strategy - the HR Business Partner provided background regarding the work underway regarding this. Sessions with UCM staff
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