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Message from the General Secretary
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Dear Colleagues
I hope you had a good summer break with plenty of time for rest and recuperation. 2026-27 promises to be another busy year!
We’re determined to complete the task of implementing the class contact reduction for teachers that was agreed back in March- the deadline for Primary is less than a year away. Class contact reduction is no silver bullet, though- Working Time Agreements still matter.
Meanwhile we’ll continue to campaign for greater resourcing for Scottish Education with all class sizes capped at a maximum of 20, reversal of cuts to teacher numbers in Early Years, enhanced ASN support and universal free school meals. The research that we commissioned from IPPR, Scotland demonstrates that this is affordable and would save a lot of public money in the long-term, so is more than worth the investment.
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In FE, we’ll continue to press for sustainable public funding and good governance in the interests of the communities that our colleges should serve; and we’ll continue to support our members at City of Glasgow College as they fight disputes in pursuit of health and safety protections, and against aggressive management styles that undermine rather than uphold Fair Work.
And in HE, the battle against cost-saving redundancies has moved to Glasgow Caledonian University where our members are being forced to take strike action to defend 100 jobs that the University has earmarked for elimination while they have hundreds of millions in cash and assets that evidence the lack of justification for job losses. Our EIS-ULA members will have the full backing of the EIS as they stand up for jobs.
As always, the success of this campaigning will rely on the work of our reps in schools, colleges and universities- organising and mobilising our members. As always, it will be our collective strength that will deliver collective benefit for members, and deliver benefit for our pupils and students- the working conditions of teachers and lecturers are the learning conditions of our pupils and students.
And once more, at the start of this academic year, we look forward to securing yet more wins for Scottish Education, together!
In solidarity
Andrea Bradley, General Secretary
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Working Time Agreement (WTA) 2026-27: Monitoring and Reviewing
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Working Time Agreements are ordinarily signed-off before the close of the summer term. But agreement is only part of the process, as the negotiated terms need to be monitored and enforced to ensure teacher workload is effectively managed.
Reminders:
- Actual hours associated with tasks in the school’s WTA should be tracked and any issues logged and raised with the Headteacher.
- Any modification to the WTA or school calendar should be subject to agreement between the HT and EIS branch, not unilaterally imposed.
- Guidance and resources are available online. Your EIS Organiser will be able to talk you through these resources to support local monitoring of your WTA.
Action for Reps: If your school’s WTA and calendar have not yet been signed off, please contact your Local Association for urgent support.
- Continue to monitor WTA implementation in your school, and seek support from your EIS Organiser and Local Association as appropriate.
- Circulate the resources above to colleagues, especially the WTA tracking form.
- Consider arranging a branch meeting later this term to review the effectiveness of this year’s WTA.
- Look out for updated workload materials soon to follow.
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Welcome New Colleagues to Your Branch!
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The first weeks of term are a key time for engaging new colleagues at your school, and to welcome any new staff, probationer teachers and/or trainee teachers to your Branch.
Provisionally Registered Teachers (PRTs aka Probationers) can access free EIS membership throughout their probation year to Christmas 2027, with further discounts available if they provide direct debit details before Christmas 2027.
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Action for Reps:
- Approach probationers in your school to inform them of the EIS membership offer for probationers.
- Approach other new starts in your school to encourage them to join the EIS and/or update member details on MyEIS
- PRTs/ Probationers who are already EIS members should be encouraged to update their membership details on the EIS website. Review your branch membership list on the EIS database.
- Reps can also update the membership database directly; a video guide for doing so is available on our website.
- For support on using the EIS membership database please contact your local Organiser.
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‘Disrupt Disinformation – Let's Change the Story in your School’
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‘Disrupt Disinformation – Let's Change the Story in your School’ is a new project collaboration by the EIS and TIE (Time for Inclusive Education), drawing on each organisation’s expertise in tackling prejudicial disinformation and fostering constructive social dialogue for equality.
In these sessions, staff will learn about evidence-based good practice in addressing prejudicial narratives and navigating difficult conversations with adults in the school community.
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Action for Reps: Please visit the EIS webpage on Disrupting Disinformation for further information on the project collaboration and highlight this professional learning opportunity to members.
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AI Guidelines and Guardrails
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The Scottish Government’s 'Scottish Guidelines and Guardrails for the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Schools', produced in collaboration with the EIS, are now live and apply to all use of AI in schools. Detailed EIS advice to members and Reps will be issued shortly.
Action for Reps:
In the meantime, Reps are asked to:
- Bring the Guidelines and Guardrails to the attention of all members, with particular emphasis on Section 1 (which is summarised in the May edition of the SEJ).
- Discuss the Guidelines and Guardrails at your EIS branch meeting.
- Table the document for initial discussion with school management and at consultative committees.
- Direct any concerns about the use of AI in schools to your Local Association Secretary in the first instance.
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Implementation of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for Accessing Membership Lists
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The EIS is introducing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all EIS Representatives who log in to access EIS membership data on our website. This is an added layer of security to ensure that only authorised users can access sensitive member information. This provides stronger protection against unauthorised access or data breaches. MFA will require you to confirm your identity through a second verification step- this can be an SMS sent to your phone, an email or an authenticator app.
Guidance and support will be provided to Reps on how to set up MFA ahead of the new data protections being rolled out.
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The EIS ‘Welcome Packs’ are designed to inform migrant, refugee and asylum seeker children, young people (and their parents) of their rights as pupils in Scottish education and convey a positive, welcoming message about Scotland as their new home.
The booklets included in the packs aim to give newly arrived children, young people and their families some information about school education in Scotland, as well as some background about Scotland itself.
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The EIS ‘Welcome Packs’ are available for the following stages:
- Early Years (‘Mochara Goes to Nursery’ storybook)
- Primary 1 – Primary 4
- Primary 5 – S3
- S4 – S6
And in the following languages:
- English and French
- English and Polish
- English and Arabic
- English, Dari, and Pashto
- English, Russian, and Ukrainian
The Packs can be found on the EIS website. Hard copies of the ‘Welcome Packs’ can be requested by emailing the Education and Equality Department. For more information, please contact John Harris in the Education & Equality Department.
Action for Reps: Please make members and school leaders aware of these resources which are available free of charge by contacting the Department.
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Upcoming PACT Training Days
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The EIS will be offering a series of national poverty-related professional learning sessions as part of the PACT Programme.
PACT is a professional learning offer for educators in Scotland, rooted in the principles of social justice and equity. It is designed to support educators to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the nature, causes, and consequences of poverty; its impact on learners, families, and wider communities; and how school-based policy and practice can make a positive difference.
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For information about the times and dates of sessions, as well as guidance on how to register, please visit our website. PACT offerings can also be tailored for local delivery to schools. To explore a local tailored session, please get in touch with your LA Secretary or the Education and Equality Department.
Action for Reps: Please consider coming along to one of the PACT sessions and share details of the sessions with members you think would be interested in attending.
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Save the date: EIS Organising Conference, Saturday 3rd October, Glasgow
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Building on the success of last year's EIS Organising Conference,all reps and activists are invited to attend this event in October.
The Organising Conference will feature interactive workshops and seminars designed to build the skills and confidence of EIS reps. Attendees will hear from a variety of speakers on key areas of EIS campaign work nationally,strengthen their understanding of how to increase member participation,advance the organising agenda in schools,and win for members locally.
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Action for Reps:Please save the date Saturday 3rd October in your diary for attendance at the conference and encourage interested activists to attend with you.
Registration for the conference will open once details are finalised in the coming weeks.
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Professional Learning in Early Years:Save the Date
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Save the date:Friday,6 November,for a day of Early Years focused professional learning,in the Glasgow Radisson Blu.
Information on topics and speakers will be announced shortly.
Action for Reps:Please highlight this date to members.
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We train Reps to be effective,knowledgeable and confident in their work. We also train activists so that they may support members and Reps in our schools and workplaces,and eventually become Reps themselves.
Dates for the forthcoming round of Reps’ Training will be published shortly.
Action for Reps:Please attend the EIS Stage 1 for Reps Course if you have not already done so or if you wish to have a training refresh and keep an eye out for further training dates. For more information and to register your interest,please see the EIS Website.
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Engagement with Local Association and EIS Organisers
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EIS Reps should have two-way communication with their Local Association – to share what is happening in their school and to hear what is happening at the local authority level.
We also have a team of EIS Organisers who support their own Local Associations and who visit branches to discuss our latest national campaigns,local campaign issues and to support reps.
Action for Reps:Please engage with your Local Association Secretaryand attend LA meetings if you can. Please reach out to your local EIS Organiserto attend a branch meeting or if you want support as a Rep.
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