Teachers & Educators UCA

Update 20 

12 February 2008

School Development Days - Still the Main Issue

Negotiations around the Teachers and Educators’ Union Collective Agreement continue to be stuck on the issue of School Development Days (SDD’s).

The Government’s position is that these days will improve the quality of education delivered in Territory schools by:

• Giving schools enough time to plan thoroughly for the coming semester
• Allowing professional development to take place in a school context
• Recognising that a large number of teachers return to work prior to the commencement of semester
• Ensuring consistency with school starting times

The Government has shown a willingness to talk about how many of these SDD’s there should be, but it is adamant that however many SDD’s there are, they should occur prior to the beginning of semesters one and two.

The AEU-NT’s current position is that SDD’s should not be mandated outside school term dates. 

There has been a suggestion from the Government’s side, that if agreement about SDD’s can’t be reached, teachers will simply be directed to attend school during stand down to engage in SDD’s, and that this would be a policy implemented outside of the Collective Agreement.

The AEU-NT would strenuously oppose such a move

Email any feedback you are getting from your sub-branch on SDD’s, or any other aspect of the Collective Agreement negotiations, to the Secretary AEU-NT  secretary@aeunt.org.au