Black Medical Consultant and vaccination expert's plea to Brent BAME Community: 'Please take this vaccine'

 

 

Medical Consultant with expertise in vaccines, Dr John Licorish has recorded this message for Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in Brent. If you have any questions about the COVID Vaccination Programme, please speak to a trusted person, such as your GP, or visit www.nhs.uk

Step Up Hub Covid-19 BAME Impact Survey

Step Up Hub would like to hear from local Black Asian Minority Ethnic groups (BAME) to ascertain the impact of the Covid 19 crisis is having on our communities in Brent.

The on-line form can be accessed HERE

NEU on the situation of BAME workers in our schools

The National Education Union has now published the item below on the situation of BAME workers in education. Reader's won't need telling that this is a significant issue in Brent with its large number of black and ethnic minority workers in our schools.

1.  The Government’s plans for a wider opening of schools are reckless and not supported by the NEU. We are calling on the Government to re-think their timetable urgently. The NEU is deeply concerned by the emerging data about the disproportionate effects and number of deaths due to COVID-19 for Black1 NHS staff and Black populations. The Office for National Statistics’ findings show a greater impact of the virus in areas of the country with wider health inequalities and higher rates of poverty and on Black communities even after health and deprivation is accounted for.
    
2. Black staff are more likely to work in schools which serve deprived communities. The NEU wants this unequal level of risk to be a major consideration within the Government’s response to Coronavirus and its plans to suppress transmission.  Nearly 70% (1733) of Black staff who responded on May 10th to a snap NEU poll, said they would feel ‘very unsafe’ about returning to the workplace.
    
3. The NEU is engaging with the Department for Education (DfE) about the implications of the evidence on racial disparities, both in terms of the importance for public health of not opening schools until it is safe to do so; and the implications for Black educators, alongside other staff who may be vulnerable. The NEU petition demanding that schools should not open until safe to do so has attracted more than 400,000 signatures.
    
4. We are discussing with the DfE advice about specific risks for Black staff, which will need to be updated as evidence emerges from the Government’s inquiry into these risks.
    
5. The NEU is calling on the Government to share the data and models on which it is evaluating the timeline for commencing a phased return for more students. An essential part of this planning must be to take account of the emerging research findings and ensure risk assessments for Black staff who have underlying health conditions or live with someone who is shielding or who are pregnant. This must remain the case regardless of the Government’s announcement about wider opening.
    
6. Black staff with an underlying health condition who are being pressured to go into work (rather than work at home) should speak immediately to the NEU workplace representative or contact the NEU Advice Line. We expect headteachers to continue to negotiate the rotas in use currently with NEU members. We are asking and advising leaders not to start planning for 1 June as we do not think it is safe to do that at this stage and are in urgent talks with the DFE.
    
7. The NEU thinks the Government Inquiry into the disproportionate effect and rate of deaths for Black  people is necessary and urgent to save lives. The remit of the Inquiry will need to incorporate the role of racism within workplaces and the effect of racism on workers’ ability to secure safe working conditions, learning urgently from concerns from some Black staff in the NHS that it was harder for them to obtain PPE than their peers. PPE also needs to be adaptable to fit over turbans, hijabs or beards.
    
8. Black workers regularly face stereotyping, bias and attitudes at work which make it hard to raise concerns or highlight aspects of workplace culture which are exclusionary. It is important that the racial disparities within the pandemic are not discussed in schools in ways which reinforce stereotypes, such as stereotypes about migration or globalisation causing Covid-19. However, this does not mean silence about race or racism is the right way forward - we need to acknowledge the existence of racism in workplaces.
    
9. The NEU thinks that schools need to be alive to the concrete increase of racism during the pandemic and the risk that negative attitudes about race and immigration could grow because of fear and uncertainty. The NEU has published a  poster for schools to share with parents/ carers which signposts organisations to which parents or students can get a range of help including where to report racist harassment, incidents or attacks.
    
10. The NEU also wants to capture the hundreds of positive community initiatives which members are leading and co- ordinating. See the NEU’s free Create box idea. We are urging members to share these ideas, and other community responses, across their Union networks to inspire others and share great practice. 

Brent governors should support the teaching unions' demands before any return to school

National press looking forward to Monday

This article is my personal view but based on my experience as a governor and former headteacher and teacher.

While the national press was trumpeting an end to lockdown last week I received notice of a meeting scheduled for Tuesday afternoon for Chairs of Governors with the Brent Strategic Director of Children and Young People 'to discuss the anticipated government announcement about the phased reopening of schools in the second half of this term.'

Following the unprecedented joint  statement by 10 teacher unions setting out conditions for re-opening I hope that phased re-opening will be delayed or extremely limited. LINK

This is because as governors we have a duty of care to our staff and must ensure that their workplace is safe. The lack of clarity from government ministers and press speculation over re-opening has taken its toll on headteachers faced with seemingly impossible demands that at the extreme may mean life or death decisions. LINK  They have to weigh up the damage to children of not attending school, including those without access to on-line learning, help from parents, space to study or access to a garden and the responsibility to ensure that their school does not become a hot spot of infection.

The NEU has sought evidence based justification for government decision making which as yet has not been answered: (Click bottom right square for full page view)

 I believe that governors should support the 5 tests put forward by the NEU that need to be met before any return to school:

Our five tests

We want to begin to reopen schools and colleges as soon as we can. But this needs to be safe for society, for children and their families and the staff who work in them.
We have these five tests which the Government should show will be met by reliable evidence, peer-reviewed science and transparent decision-making.

Test 1 : Much lower numbers of Covid-19 cases

The new case count must be much lower than it is now, with a sustained downward trend and confidence that new cases are known and counted promptly. And the Government must have extensive arrangements for testing and contact tracing to keep it that way.

Test 2 : A national plan for social distancing

The Government must have a national plan including parameters for both appropriate physical distancing and levels of social mixing in schools, as well as for appropriate PPE, which will be locally negotiated at school-by-school and local authority level.

Test 3 : Testing, testing, testing!

Comprehensive access to regular testing for children and staff to ensure our schools and colleges don’t become hot spots for Covid-19.

Test 4 : Whole school strategy

Protocols to be put in place to test a whole school or college when a case occurs and for isolation to be strictly followed.

Test 5 : Protection for the vulnerable

Vulnerable staff, and staff who live with vulnerable people, must work from home, fulfilling their professional duties to the extent that is possible. Plans must be specifically address the protection of vulnerable parents, grandparents and carers.

Plans in Brent need to take account of the local context where cases and deaths are running at one of the highest levels in London (precise figures change daily) and where the ONS (Office of National Statistics) locality statistics reveal hot spots within the borough. LINK

Latest figures are that nationally Brent is the second highest are in the country with 141.5 per 100,000 population. Second only to Newhan at 144.3.  The total number of cases in Brent (with the caveat that because of lack of testing there are probably many more) is 1405 and 52% of all recorded deaths were Covid related.

The ONS also report on the comparative incidence of death from Coronavirus in different ethnic groups. This anaylsis is quite old now and the latest suggestion is that the risk has worsened if anything:




This means that in any phased return to full school opening governing bodies should be aware that their BAME  (Black and Minority Ethnic) staff and BAME parents are at additional risk and need to take account also of the statistics within their local community.

As with the NHS this governors need to ensure that staff have access to Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).  So far, and rightly, the NHS and Care Homes have been priortised by the local authority but PPE will need to be provided to schools if they re-open.  So far schools have only received gloves and the argument has been made that masks would frighten young children. In fact with the increasing use of masks and the likely introduction of a requirement to use them on public transport, children will soon be used to them.

Although there are BAME staff at every level in our schools the numbers are higher amongst support and premises staff.  They are more likely to live within the borough and thus exposed to infection locally.  If they live a distance away from the school they are more likely as low paid workers to use public transport rather than own a car. Travelling on public transport during rush hour is also likely to expose them to infection. Should we be considering changing hours to avoid peak travel periods.

Another consideration is if children return how will schools handle the transition. Many children without access to a garden will be suffering from the side effects of lockdown and separation from their peers. and perhaps from tensions in the home caused by isolation in the family unit. Despite the best efforts of school staff to provide learning packs and on-line  education, some will lag behind more fortunate peers.  The children's mental health will be paramount and schools may well decide that a return to  formal curriculum will have to be gradual with plenty of time for outdoor learning and creative activities in the first weeks of return.

Practical considerations will be paramount.  How to organise classrooms and pupil numbers so that social distancing can be maintained in the playground as well as the classroom.  Many classrooms are small so may comfortably accommodate only 8-10 children at social distancing of 2 metres. If a Year 6 class is split into 3 or 4 classes each will require a space and staff - how practical is that?  If priority is given to children  without access to on-line resources teaches will be dealing with both the physical and virtual classroom and the interactions involved. Workload is a consideration.

There has been discussion about a phased return perhaps prioritising Years 5 and 6 and othjers returning later as well as suggestions of one week on, one week off shifts or 8.30 to 11.30, 12.30-3.30 sessions.

It will be important for schools to share what has worked for them during the partial closure when they were dealing with key worker and vulnerable children.

Governing boards will have much to discuss and plans and risk assessments to complete before any return to school. 

Cara Davani presenting Brent's Equalities Strategy on Wednesday

Regular readers will perhaps find it ironic that Wednesday's General Purposes Committee will be considering reports from Cara Davani, Director of Human Resources at Brent Council, on Equalities Strategy and Equalities Policy.

Brent Council has taken no action regarding Cara Davani's role in the Employment Tribunal's finding that Brent Council discriminated against an employee on grounds of race and was responsible for victimisation and constructive dismissal.  They again failed to take action a second time when the Tribunal found no grounds for the Appeal that Brent Council launched.

The last General Purposes Committee heard a report from Cllr Michael Pavey on his inquiry into the role each person had in Brent Council 'to make it the best possible place to work' - not an inquiry into the Human Resources department as such. LINK

The latest argument I have heard regarding the lack of action is that this is not a matter for councillors but for Christine Gilbert, Acting Chief Executive Officer.

The General Purposes Committee consists of the Cabinet minus Cllr Mashari, plus Cllr Kansagra, leader of the official Conservative opposition. Consideration of thr Equalities issue would perhaps carry more weight and be more robust if some Cabinet members stepped aside in favour of substitutes who are members of the BAME community.

 The Agenda blurb on the Equalities Strategy says:

The new Equality Strategy 2015 – 2019 sets out a refreshed vision and approach underpinned by the values of fairness, respect for people, valuing diversity and excellence in all our services. The strategy sets out Brent’s determination to be an exemplar of good practice in equality, diversity and human rights by achieving an ‘excellent’ assessment in the Equality Framework for Local Government in 2015 

The Action Plan includes the following outcomes:

·      All council employees receive equal pay for work of equal value

·      Progress towards a living wage for all who live and work in Brent

·      Equality is integral to all employment processes and practices

·      The council workforce is representative of the local community at all levels

·      Increased proportion of BAME senior managers

·      Our employees feel engaged in the development and work of the council

·      Positive outcomes from staff surveys

Pavey Review won't lance Brent's boil but points to future improvements

 

The Pavey Review which was published last week has this key sentence:

0. It is important to note that the review was not a review of our HR department. It is about the role each person has to play in making Brent Council the best possible place to work. There are clear recommendations in relation to employment policies and practice, and these require the action of the entire organisation and crucially managers at all levels.
   

This limitation is why Brent Green Party and others called for an independent investigation into Brent Council, not only in the racial discrimination, victimisation and constructive dismissal that an Employment Tribunal found against first respondent Brent Council and second respondent Cara Davani, but into the previous working connections of senior staff. The latest example of the latter is the appointment of Lorraine Langham as Brent's Chief Operating Officer who like Christine Gilbert and Cara Davani previously worked for both Ofsted and Tower Hamlets Council. LINK

In any other organisation disciplinary action would have been taken against a manager found guilty of such conduct. Muhammed Butt, when challenged by members of staff on the issue at Brent Connects said the council had to follow 'due process' and make an Appeal.

Some Councillors suggested to me that disciplinary action could only take place when the Appeal process had been exhausted. A Judge found that the Council had no grounds for an Appeal but still no action was taken. Two legitimate opportunities to lance the boil missed.

Some have claimed that disciplinary action in itself would amount to victimisation or even a 'witch hunt',  or would be to succomb to political pressure. This is  a red herring. The Council owes a duty of care towards its employees and this includes ensuring that they are treated fairly in their day to day employment regardless of race, gender etc. Brent Council should have confidence that their own disciplinary procedures are robust enough to withstand such pressures.

Now the Council is in the position of having someone in charge of HR who has been found guilty of the above offences but is nevertheless in charge of recruitment and redundancies policies. Long term mprovements in processes and procedures does not address immediate issue.

Michael Pavey has done a thorough job within his limited remit, consulting widely with staff and apparently winning their confidence. One glaring ommission is consulting with the staff who have left the Council and examining any gagging clauses that were imposed. They, after all, are possible victims of poor employment and practice.

However, given the comments I have received on this blog regarding working conditions at Brent Council (many unpublished so as not to reveal identity or due to gagging clauses) as well as emails and telephone calls, soemtimes distraught,  the following comment seems emollient:

This review finds that Brent is generally a happy and inclusive place to work. But there is plenty we can do better.

Although Cllr Pavey recognises that Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) statistics in Brent are better than some other London local authorities, he says they are far from satisfactory.  What is missing from his report is the connection between those statistics and the operation of the HR department (Proportion of BAME employees in Brent is 62%, Female employees 65%):

Both show higher proportions in the lower grade and I assume that BAME and Female would be higher still at tScale 3 to P2, and lower at the Hay grade.

Im terms of HR practice the reasons for leaving are also important and for both BAME and Females dismissals are higher (second column)

These are perhaps some of the most important recommendations:

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Finding: Generally, feedback from staff themselves suggests that practice is good; however, improvements can and should be made to employee management practice to achieve a more collaborative and inclusive culture. 


Engagement with staff suggests inconsistent application of policies and procedures, including as regards flexible working. There has clearly been great progress in implementing good management practice, but the Council should also seek to ensure that internal communication explain expected practice, underpinned by a clear explication of staff and manager competencies and behaviours.

·      At present, there are few reported incidents of bullying and harassment. The Council has an emphasis on informal resolution: according to the LGA this represents good practice. Consideration should be given to ensuring consistency, support and follow up within the informal resolution framework. 


·      The Council lacks a systematic Council-wide approach to learning from HR and legal processes when complaints are raised; whilst this is not uncommon, we have an opportunity to make improvements. In addition, this may give rise to inconsistent management responses. Thus, though HR takes the lead, individual managers are responsible for learning from ETs and grievances, and reviews take place with HR and within departments. Improvements should be made in terms of cross-organisational learning, peer review and Council-wide improvements. 


·      The Code of Conduct does not at present adequately articulate the behaviours and practice expected of managers and staff. Such behaviours should be clearly articulated, communicated and reflected in: 


·      recruitment and selection processes


·      ongoing team and line management

·      
appraisal processes

·      learning development processes and interventions.

Addressing this presents an opportunity to emphasise the significant priority the Council attaches to valuing diversity.

·      Evaluation of practice and understanding of staff experience should be regular and Council-wide. 


·      Internal communications should be strengthened to become a two-way flow of information. It is critical for senior management to be able to communicate values and good practice to the wider workforce. But it is equally important that communications enables the wider workforce to articulate their experiences to senior management. In two staff focus groups, more than half had not seen a copy of their service or team plan and participants suggested that improvements could be made to internal communications, including the ability for greater staff engagement and management visibility, for example through senior managers attending team meetings. This is increasingly important given the scale and pace of change. Managers themselves need to be supported to communicate effectively, but must also play the key role in staff engagement. Given the current and future constraints on funding, it is important that central advice and strategy is complemented by good practice within departments. 


The Full Report can be found  HERE

Bonfire night fireworks for a Brent senior manager?

There is an intriguing item on Brent Council's General Purposes Committee agenda for November 5th:

Senior Manager Restructuring Proposals 

This report outlines proposals for a further restructuring with two aims: refocusing the Council’s senior management and corporate centre to meet the substantial challenges the organisation must manage over the next period and inevitable reduction in staffing; further streamlining to deliver a £1.4 million saving in senior management costs.

Clearly £1.4m is a substantial sum so the proposals could be far-reaching. They come only a little over 18 months since the last restructuring LINK.

Unfortunately the Council has decided that the proposal must remain concealed from the public by virtue of paragraph(s) 1, 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. This protects proposals relating to an individual and which reveals the identity of the individual.

On the same agenda is a new policy on Learning and Development authored by Cara Davani. Cara Davani was the second respondent in the Employment Tribunal case against Rosemary Clarke, former head of Learning and Development.

The Watford Employment Tribunal found that Clarke had been racially discriminated against, victimised and constructively dismissed.

Brent Council is appealing the Employment Tribunal's judgment.

The new policy abolishes employees' access to funding to gain job related professional qualifications. It states:

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Key changes include a consistent approach to work experience and internships, the latter of which must be paid. Given the budgetary pressures the council is facing, the council is no longer able to support funding for professional qualifications, although paid time off may be available in accordance with the council’s Time Off policy.

Funding will still exist for specific initiatives, such as BAME Senior Management Development programmes

The proposed full policy document can be found HERE