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The process is a review, throughout England and Wales, of all staff in schools, both teaching and non-teaching 1. Its overall purpose is:
It is about a staffing structure for the whole school, including the replacement of Management Allowances (MAs) for teaching staff with Teaching and Learning Responsibilities (TLRs). Some schools have chosen to look at the role of support staff as part of this remodelling.
It will be implemented in three phases, from September 2003, with a completion date of December 2005 2.
In the context of the school library, it is an opportunity to:
Consultation mechanisms should be in place in every school.
In the UNISON document, The Changing Role of School Support Staff 3, librarians are listed in the NJC advice as part of the ‘Job Family’ included in the curriculum/resource support category of staff. The NJC advice lists three categories of staff in the Job Profiles. These are:
Remodelling is an opportunity for Head Teachers to consider developing senior support staff roles and their inclusion in the Senior Management Team (SMT).
In the majority of schools, school librarians are classed with support staff, although the School Library Association believes that their work is more closely allied to teaching and learning than administrative staff. At no point in the remodelling documentation does the definition of ‘Support Staff’ actually list ‘librarians’ amongst the examples given.
The School Library Association believes that school librarians have a unique and specialist role to play in the school. Their specific skills and expertise make a positive contribution to teaching and learning across the school.
For example:
The Workforce Remodelling Review document states that support staff can be allocated by the Head Teacher to provide ‘cover supervision’ of groups or classes. This can be any level of support staff when there is a need for a purely supervisory role. The School Library Association recommends that school librarians should not be involved in cover supervision simply to release teachers, because their specialist role requires them to be already involved in actively supporting pupils’ curriculum work, in collaboration with teaching staff.
The Review document states that ‘where the duties of existing staff are revised, the suitability of role, workload and contractual hours, training needs, and a review of pay and grading will have to be considered 4. It also states that ‘the grade for any post for support staff in a community school must be selected from the LEA grades 5.The School Library Association recommends that school librarians be given Head of Department status. The current LEA grade could be a starting point for discussions with Head Teachers. The school workforce remodelling process should be seen as an opportunity to ensure that the Senior Management Team are aware of the vital contribution the school librarian makes to teaching and learning across the school.
The Workforce Remodelling documentation states that any changes to job descriptions are to be by agreement between the Head and each member of staff.
Any Job Description should include:
The Review also states that ‘any extension of working hours must be by agreement 6.
After consultation with all staff, ‘the Head Teacher will present to the governing body the draft staffing structure …and the comments received, including formal written submissions from the recognised trade unions or others as a result of the consultation 7.
Any member of staff unhappy with the proposal can submit a paper to the Governing Body for consideration.
The School Library Association recommends that all school librarians view this as a positive opportunity to ensure their job description accurately reflects their work, and that this is reflected in their grading and salary.
At no point in the documentation is there mention of which level of staff should be appointed as supervisors of support staff. The School Library Association strongly recommends that the line manager be a member of the Senior Management Team with curricular responsibility, in order to fully support the school librarian in their role of enhancing teaching and learning, and in raising standards. Line management of this kind is preferable to that provided by a Bursar or Business Manager.
In addition, the School Library Association recommends that the librarian attends Heads of Department and departmental meetings, and provides input into the School Development Plan.
During the recent Ofsted Review of Best Practice in School Libraries (not yet published) the Ofsted English team observed that in the best libraries the librarian is line managed by the Head teacher or a Deputy Head Teacher.
Each local authority also has its own Workforce Remodelling Team, and Remodelling Adviser, who will be able to offer advice to school librarians. Remodelling Consultants and NRT Regional Training Centres also work with LEAs to support schools through the change process.
In addition, there are various websites which will give more information.
The National Remodelling Team has a ‘hub’ site, at http://www.remodelling.org/index.php
A Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group has been set up to manage the process; find out more at: www.remodelling.org/programmes/na/who_wamg.php.
Specific advice for support staff is given at:
http://www.remodelling.org/programmes/na/wdimfm_support.php
The UNISON site (www.unison.org.uk) has further information, including an advice booklet for support staff, available at:
http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/14056.pdf
The Teachernet site (www.teachernet.gov.uk) is also of interest. See in particular: www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/remodelling.
You are welcome to contact the School Library Association office, on 0870 7708894, for any further or more recent information.
The School Library Association is anxious to support its members by sharing experiences of how School Workforce Remodelling has been put into practice. If you have information that could be shared with others, especially about ways in which you have used this process to improve your own situation, please contact Alison Slaven, Advisory Librarian at the SLA office.
1 Review of the School Staffing Structure: Guidance for schools in England, DfES May 2005
2 Raising Standards and Tackling Workload: A National Agreement, Jan. 2003
3 The Changing Role of School Support Staff, NJC Guidance on the School Remodelling Agreement, April 2004
4 Review of the School Staffing Structure: Guidance for Schools in England, DfES, May 2005 para 41
5 para 41
6 para 41
7 Review of the School Staffing Structure: Guidance for Schools in England, DfES, May 2005 para 59
School Library Association, October 2005