Advice and checklist for workplace reps
Introduction
At the NEU, we believe statutory ratios should be strengthened. Members have reported the worsening of adult: child ratios for SEND pupils. Fewer adults for more children will inevitably impact the health and safety of our members and of the children in their care. The worsening of these ratios will also lead to a lower quality of education: high adult to child ratios help provide the additional support that children with SEND may require.
Evidence from ‘Rethinking Class Size’ (Blatchford and Russell – 2020) found that increased class sizes in mainstream led to ‘lower attaining and SEND students being most disengaged in class and experiencing less teaching overall.’
Ratio requirements
The Department for Education doesn’t offer any specific statutory guidance on adult to child ratios in SEND settings. The NEU provides advice on safe staffing levels on its webpage as a guide.
Good practice
The checklist below contains examples of good practice. Use it in a members’ meeting to evaluate effective ratios at your workplace as part of the bargaining flowchart at the end of the checklist.
- Does your school have a clear policy on safe and effective staff: student ratios?
- Are staffing numbers sufficient so that school staff don’t ever need to choose between helping children with personal care and maintaining reasonable ratios?
- Are staffing numbers sufficient to enable students to learn and move safely between different spaces, including outdoors?
- Are staffing numbers sufficient so that volunteers are only ever seen as additional to ratios?
- Are staff, including agency and temporary staff, briefed sufficiently on the children they are supporting and their role in keeping to ratio?
- Are supply and temporary staff sufficiently trained in order to be able to effectively support students in class?
- Are changes to staffing kept to a minimum to ensure children are able to develop relationships with trusted adults?
- Are staffing ratios sufficient to enable safe movement between areas for students? (i.e., movement from classroom to playground).
- In cases of staff absence, are staff covered by others with the same level of qualification?
Using support staff
- Are most duties relating to supporting SEND students assigned to support staff, such as TAs or HLTAs?
- Are most care duties relating to SEND students assigned to support staff?
- Who is responsible for delivering the majority of the provision/interventions for SEND students? E.g. are these led by support staff but designed by teachers, or are support staff wholly responsible for the design of provision?
- What happens to SEND provision if support staff are not available (e.g., absent due to illness?)
- Is there enough time allowed for new staff training to become embedded? (Until training is completed staff should not be counted as part of the ratios.)
- Are staff, including agency and temporary staff, deployed in a manner that best supports learning, safety and the dignity of the students they are working with?
- Are changes to staffing kept to a minimum to ensure children are able to develop relationships with trusted adults?
- Are staffing ratios sufficient to enable flexible movement between areas for students (i.e., movement from classroom to playground).
- In cases of staff absence, are staff covered by others with the same level of qualification?
- Is sufficient staffing maintained throughout the day, including breaks?
- Do staffing ratios reflect the level of support needed by students with hoisting, moving and handling?
- Are ratios and staffing arrangements informed by expertise from supporting internal and external professionals, for example pastoral teams, occupational therapists, SENCOs, speech and language therapists and educational psychologists?
- Do you have sufficient staffing throughout the school day in your class to meet student needs effectively? Are ratios adjusted to allow students to be fully supported and included?
- Do you think that the staffing ratio in your classroom helps foster a safe learning and working environment for students and staff?
If you answered no to any of the questions above you should start by organising a member meeting to discuss. It is likely that other staff members share your concerns and collective action/bargaining can be organised.
If you have anything from your experience that should be added to the checklist, including case studies, please email [email protected].
Bargaining flow chart
Step 1
Hold an NEU meeting and complete the above checklist. Please ensure as many members of staff attend as possible to engage them in the process.
Step 2
As a group prioritise one or two issues. Bear in mind how strongly members feel and the action they are prepared to take.
Step 3
Discuss and agree changes with heads/SLT based on the checklist and the prioritised steps in the NEU meeting, including support from local health and safety officers.
Step 4
Hold a member’s meeting to discuss the outcome of negotiations. Contact your branch or regional office to discuss the support that they can offer:
Outcome A: Congratulations! If your head/SLT agrees to the changes requested by your NEU group hold another meeting to celebrate the success and decide which ratio issues you will prioritise next.
Outcome B: If you come to agreement on some but not all of the issues raised by your NEU group hold another NEU meeting to decide your next steps (accept the outcome or escalate)
Outcome C: Your head/SLT don’t agree any of the changes suggested by the NEU group. You will need to escalate from here.
Step 5
Hold a meeting and go through the options for action. As a group, decide which actions you would be prepared to take to win. This could include signing a collective letter to your head, writing to higher level decision makers such as a governing body, or balloting members for strike action.
Step 6
Get in contact with your local branch about escalating further with your union group.
