The below template Council Motion is from the National Education Union calling on the Government to do more to ensure pupils and staff are safe in schools. More information on their campaign can be found here.
You may want to combine this motion with the Lib Dem call for a Covid Catch Up fund. Some materials and extra information on this is here .
The NEUs template motion in full is below:
[Name of Council] notes that:
- Education has been severely disrupted throughout the Covid-19 pandemic which has led to many students missing crucial periods of learning.
- Current Government support and guidance is insufficient to prevent further disruption in schools and colleges. Apart from an allocation of 1,000 units for special schools, the Government have provided just 8,000 air filtration units for the whole of England, despite there being over 300,000 classrooms.
- Schools are particularly struggling with staffing pressures due to increased absence and a lack of availability of supply teachers. This shortage has been caused by structural issues, including low pay and excessive workloads, that have pushed many people out of the profession.
- The current cost of living crisis is going to place additional financial pressures on schools and teachers in [Name of council] which could lead to schools having to resort to additional cost-cutting measures and more teachers opting to leave the workforce.
[Name of Council] resolves to:
- Lobby the Government for the introduction of additional measures to ensure that schools can be kept safe for pupils and staff, including the provision of air filtration units for all classrooms that require them.
- Lobby the Government to deliver a fully funded 8% pay increase for all teaching staff, in line with rising cost of living crisis and the commitment to a £30k a year starting salary.
- Make the case for the removal of practices that place unnecessary workload pressures on teaching staff.