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West End Extra - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 30 November 2007

Is 30 minutes too short for a school lunch break?

• COUNCILLOR Richardson’s letter of November 20 is a gross misrepresentation of the facts and most unhelpful.
The consultation by the school was not done by secret ballot so the results are not open to public scrutiny. It would be illegal for the NUT to go on strike on such a premise.
The only two options given was the 45-minute lunch break to be reduced to 20 minutes or 30 minutes. The status quo was not on offer. Therefore most staff who responded opted for 30 minutes rather than 20 minutes. A clear majority of staff did not tell you that they wanted a change to the lunch break but the minority who responded opted for the lesser of the two reduced lunch times on offer. It is disingenuous to claim otherwise.
The NUT has 60 or so members at the school – not 140 – and all of these members were issued with ballot papers. More than half the members voted and of those more than two-thirds were in favour of industrial action.
Every year councillors win elections with less than a third of the electorate casting a vote. Cllr Richardson’s logic if applied to these elections would mean no councillor getting elected, as the two-thirds who regularly do not bother to vote would be considered to be having no confidence in any councillor. A democratic society could not function on that basis.
Staff are entitled to a reasonable lunch break under law and 30 minutes is far too short. The NUT has a duty to protect the working conditions of its members and Westminster City Council has a duty of care towards its employees.
Cllr Richardson’s attempt to misrepresent the reality of the situation is quite disgraceful conduct on her part and a deliberate ploy to inflame rather than help diffuse the situation.
GARY KIRK
NUT H & S rep
Pimlico School

• I HAVE a copy of Cllr Richardson’s press release which despite being emailed some five hours prior to the arranged meeting sought by NUT representatives to discuss a compromise that would achieve a workable solution for staff at Pimlico school is able to predict the outcome of the discussion.
I note Cllr Richardson’s claim that “break time has been increased “Prior to the change [the introduction of which was brought forward by four months with no explanation] break was from 10.55am to 11.15am.The break time is now 10.25 to 10.45 am.
Cllr Richardson’s other statements display an equally tenuous relationship with the truth. The truth behind her “a clear majority told us they wanted to change the lunch break” is that parents received an incomprehensible document with references to Consortium lessons, asking us to choose between an 8.40am start with two 20 minute breaks or an 8.30 start with a 20-minute morning break and 30 minutes for lunch.
I will not go into the difficulties caused for all in the change to the school day – I am sure that most people can imagine the logistics of providing school meals for a student population of 1,300 in such a tight time slot (hot food was an early causality) or the impact on travel arrangements for students of which over 60 per cent live outside Westminster. But if Cllr Richardson is unable to do simple arithmetic perhaps she’s not the best person for us to “work with to provide a first class education”.
GLORIA GATELY
Pimlico parent
Barry Road SE22

• I HAVE seen a copy of Cllr Richardson’s letter to you and at the risk of becoming a serial letter writer, I have to correct some factual inaccuracies.
1. Cllr Richardson states that a clear majority wanted to change the lunch break. This mis-states the facts.
Parents, staff and students received a consultation document offering two proposals to change the school day with effect from January 2008 to make the building process easier.
Crucially the option for the day to remain the same was not offered.
Unless this is put to the test it is factually inaccurate to state that the vast majority wanted change. The start date of the changes was also inexplicably brought forward to September, before planning permission is granted and without detailed consultation or negotiation.
2. Of the 140 school staff, no more than 90 will be teachers – probably less. The rest will be support staff whose terms and conditions are materially different to teachers. While this in itself may not be desirable, it is factually inaccurate of Cllr Richardson to use them in this comparison.
3. Of 60 NUT members, 33 voted. This is a 55 per cent turnout – probably higher than the voter turn out at the local elections which returned Cllr Richardson. Of those who chose to vote, virtually 70 per cent were in favour of strike action. This is a clear majority.
4. Cllr Richardson talks about the day starting and finishing earlier and a longer morning break, hinting that teachers are in fant working a shorter day. This is a factual inaccuracy. The working day remains the same for teachers. Teachers in Community and Foundation schools have nationally recognised terms and conditions and the days and hours taught are prescribed. The Pay and Conditions agreement also states that teachers must have a reasonable break between 12 and 2.
One needs to ask whether 30 minutes is a reasonable break. Academies, of course, are exempt from the nationally agreed terms and conditions for teachers.
MICON METCALF
Parent, Pimlico School
Uffington Road SE27

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, West End Extra, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@westendextra.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Wednesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number.
Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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