University and College Union (UCU) members voted overwhelmingly for strike action last month, to increase pay and improve conditions (81.1%) and reverse cuts to pensions (84.9%) in ‘historic’ ballot. If the dispute remains unresolved, up to 70,000 workers across 150 universities will strike over three days at the end of November.
T-Levels: more vocational courses roll out – but post-16 choices in England are still limited
Today’s Friends of the Meteor article is from two University of Manchester academics, Elizabeth Gregory and Hannah Ruth McCarthy, on the early findings from the first school year group to complete the new T-levels as an alternative to A-levels.
Maura Dooley: ‘ABECEDARIUM’
Inspired by Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Maura Dooley created this poem for inclusion in A Poetic Declaration, commissioned for the Ripples of Hope Festival at HOME in Manchester.
How corrupt is the UK?
Political economist Richard Murphy addresses this question in response to Boris Johnson claiming the UK “is not remotely a corrupt country” after being barraged by questions on ethical standards by journalists at the Cop26 summit, referring to the Owen Patterson lobbying scandal.
Covid hit disabled people hardest in the North
The disproportionate impact of the pandemic on disabled people in England is documented in a report by Manchester’s IPPR North think tank, who call on the government to ‘provide fair access to opportunity for everyone.’
Dozens of library jobs at risk in University of Manchester shakeup
The John Rylands Library, a grade I listed neo-gothic landmark and one of Manchester’s most distinctive buildings, is one of many university libraries quietly undergoing a murky cost-cutting restructure which staff fear may cause lay-offs, and exclude families and young children in the pursuit of research funding.
Q & A with teacher and union organiser Vik Chechi-Ribiero
Vik Chechi-Ribeiro is a science teacher at a Manchester academy and candidate for the National Education Union’s Executive. The union represents over 450,000 teachers and education staff in the UK. Nick Prescott speaks with him about exams, community organising, and the future of education. The highest growth of COVID-19 cases has been within the North […]
Bytes won’t feed a family – the widening educational digital divide during Covid
The Covid crisis is driving a wedge into the digital divide in education due to the growth in online teaching during lockdowns.
Growing unemployment is producing more families that will have to decide whether to buy bytes online to aid their children’s education, or put food on the table.
Pressure grows on Andy Burnham to scrap plans for school-based police officers
Deputy metro mayor Beverley Hughes insists SBPOs will create “positive relationships between young people and the police”. Campaigners say police presence in schools causes “harm”, urging the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to “divest from penal approaches”.
Manchester teachers union slams Burnham for putting more police in schools
Motion passed by teachers union condemns plans for school-based officers and says evidence supporting their use is ‘non-existent’.