Report April 2014

report

APRIL 2014

THE MAGAZINE FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS & LECTURERS £2.50

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ATL says it is time for a complete rethink on inspection in England

A curriculum that counts

Sharing your innovative approaches to the curriculum

ADVICE Changes to employment tribunals explained 01 Cover.indd 1

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JOIN THE DEBATE TV presenter Maggie Philbin on teaching about technology 01/04/2014 16:05

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Contents

30 Alison Sherratt,

Welcome national president, ATL

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COVER IMAGE: ANJA/ALAMY

W Your ATL

22 Features

04 News Including ATL members at the TUC women’s conference, and the winners of ATL’s rep of the year awards

10 Ofsted: not fit for purpose Why England’s inspection regime needs a radical overhaul and ATL’s vision of what it should look like

08 Noticeboard Information, events and opportunities to get involved

20 Facts of life Report meets Jane Lees of the Sex Education Forum to discuss sex and relationships education

22 A curriculum that counts The launch of ATL’s resource sharing and celebrating curriculum innovation

Help and advice 24 Early conciliation Legal guidance on important changes to employment tribunal cases 25 Contact All the details you need to get in touch with ATL

Resources 26 ATL resources Newsletters, recruitment materials and the new ATL rep app 27 Classified advertisements 29 Crossword Your chance to win £50 of Marks & Spencer vouchers

Report is the magazine from the Association of Teachers & Lecturers, 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD Telephone: 020 7930 6441 Fax: 020 7930 1359 Email report@atl.org.uk or membership@atl.org.uk Internet www.atl.org.uk Managing editor Victoria Poskitt Editors Alex Tomlin, Charlotte Tamvakis Head of advertising sales Stephen Price 01603 772856 Advertising sales Lisa Marrison 01603 772521

03 Contents.indd 3

Join the debate 15 Agenda General secretary Mary Bousted on how a love of reading sets children up for life 16 ATL in Wales and Northern Ireland Philip Dixon and Mark Langhammer give their views on inspection 18 Letters ATL members have their say on treating children as labels, uniting communities, and defying formal learning 30 Final Word TV presenter Maggie Philbin on teaching young people about technology

elcome to this edition of Report, which some of you will be reading in Manchester where delegates are converging for ATL’s Annual Conference to debate, network, learn and set the policy agenda for the coming year.

Conference is the platform for all members to truly have their say on the direction of travel that ATL will take to support professionals and pupils alike. Members in the branches determine the issues for debate by submitting motions. Delegates at Conference debate and decide which motions are passed to go forward for the next year as the policy of ATL. The professional staff use their expertise to help implement the policy and move it forward.

ATL’s national Executive Committee ensures the policy direction is taken. And finally, it is you, the members of ATL, who will benefit from all this hard work.

I have been a Conference delegate since 1996 and am always amazed by the excellent and wellresearched debates inspired by the total commitment of ATL members to their profession and the young people they educate.

This year topics range from Ofsted and targetsetting, work-life balance and the new national curriculum to equal opportunity issues, female genital mutilation, safeguarding of children, and many, many more.

As your president this year, I will have the supreme pleasure of chairing proceedings alongside our senior and junior vice-presidents to listen to all the policy you the members feel is of high importance within the education debate.

I look forward to meeting many of you in Manchester and to reading the comprehensive narrative of Conference in the next edition of Report.

You can follow proceedings at Conference as they happen on the website at www.atl.org.uk/conference.

Increasingly debate is also occurring on social media with delegates and those outside the venue all joining in, via www.facebook.com/atlunion and www.twitter. com/atlunion using #ATLConf2014.

Report is produced and designed for ATL by Archant Dialogue Ltd, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 1RE. Email: mail@archantdialogue.co.uk Production editor Lucy Mowatt, Art editor Claire Leibrick, Creative director Nick Paul, Managing ad production controller Kay Brown, Publishing director Zoë Francis-Cox, Managing director Mick Hurrell Printed in the UK on FSC-accredited stock. Subscription: Non-members, including libraries, may subscribe at the rate of £16 per year. ATL accepts no liability for any insert, display or classified advertisement included in this publication. While every reasonable care is taken to ensure that all advertisers are reliable and reputable, ATL can give no assurance that they will fulfil their obligation under all circumstances. The views expressed in the articles in Report are the contributors’ own and do not necessarily reflect ATL policy. Official policy statements issued on behalf of the Association are indicated as such. All rights reserved. Material contained in this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior permission of ATL.

01/04/2014 16:07

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your ATL / news

(Left to right) ATL staff member Theresa Devenney and ATL members Pat Kyrou and Shelagh Hirst in front of the rest of the ATL delegation at the 2014 TUC women’s conference

Workplace issues faced by women over 50 She described this group as the “sandwich and the sexualisation and exploitation of generation, the squeezed middle” often women were highlighted by ATL members juggling part-time work with caring at the 2014 TUC women’s conference. responsibilities for elderly parents and Pat Kyrou, who was part of a 14-strong young grandchildren, and explained how ATL delegation led by Kim Knappett, the annual survey of hours and earnings told delegates at the conference in March: shows that men are paid more than “Many union officials women through supporting members We think women over the majority of in education 50 are being managed out working life, and that this gap is at a establishments have of their jobs maximum of 18.4% noticed an increase in between 50 and 59. capability proceedings “We are noticing a trend that education lately, and they have also noticed an staff will resign rather than be dragged unexpectedly large number of those are through formal procedures, with the result women over 50. Quite simply, we think that sometimes it can be as little as three women over 50 are being managed out of weeks between a first communication from their jobs.”

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Officer election results ATL’s new national officers covering member governance and policy have been elected by members.

From September 2014, Ralph Surman will take over as ATL’s policy officer and Stephen www.atl.org.uk

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Buck will be the union’s treasurer and member governance officer, following recent elections.

The treasurer and member governance officer will serve for two years, while the

ROD LEON

Female, 50 and forced out of your job management and the end of a decades-long career in education. Employers should be supporting and working with education staff to find how best they can combine their roles as workers and carers,” she added.

The motion, which was passed, calls for the TUC and its affiliates to work with relevant organisations to support older workers, raise awareness of the effects of discrimination in the workplace, promote the benefits of flexible working more widely, and provide resources to support older workers.

ATL member Helen Porter presented a joint motion with the Musicians’ Union, which was also passed, expressing concern over the effects on young women and girls of exposure to pornography, and the culture of demeaning images of, and attitudes towards, women and girls.

The TUC and its affiliates were asked to support the End Violence Against Women coalition and other organisations to campaign on the issue of young people’s inappropriate exposure to pornography, explore the possibilities of age regulations for online music videos, raise awareness of the damage done to young people as a result of exposure to pornography, and condemn the juvenile attitude to female sexuality within the entertainment industry.

The TUC launched its Age Immaterial report, blog and publication in February.

The report highlights the issues facing women over 50 in the labour market, while the blog is a platform to discuss these issues.

See www.ageimmaterial.org for full details of the blog and publication

policy officer serves for one year initially, and thereafter for two years.

These officers, who are ATL members, are part of the six-person officer group elected by members that also includes ATL’s president, vice-president and immediate past-president, and the president of AMiE, ATL’s leadership section.

April 2014

01/04/2014 16:08

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ATL role on expert panel Unity conference

ATL’s national in, but we can focus on what can be official for achieved with other stakeholders in the post-16 the near future. sector, Norman “The focus and support ATL has Crowther, has given to members through our learning been appointed and development programme and onto the expert through our union learning reps shows panel focused what can be achieved in the sector on developing when unions, employers and stakeholders professionalism support workforce development. in the FE sector.

The newly revised teaching standards Speaking after the Education and Training for the sector, albeit in draft form, also Foundation (ETF) announced his show real signs of developing a positive appointment onto its Workforce way forward for FE and skills Development and Professional Standards practitioners.”

Expert Panel in February, he said: ATL recently ran successful training “I’m really pleased to be on the sessions supporting functional skills panel, which works alongside others on delivery at Oldham College, Doncaster knowledge and innovation, leadership College and Derby College, with more and governance, and planned at Petroc vocational education in Devon and at

We hope this and training. We hope Cambridge Regional heralds a new way of this heralds a new way College. ATL is the of partnership working partnership working only education union in the FE and skills to win a tender sector, and through which we can from Unionlearn, the learning and shape policy and benefit those learning skills organisation of the TUC, to and working. support CPD training around delivery “We cannot ignore the political context of apprenticeships, traineeships and and economic restrictions we are working functional skills.

Winning ATL reps Six remarkable reps have been recognised with a 2014 ATL outstanding rep award for the hard work and dedication they have shown in their roles.

Sara Basset, a teacher based in Bristol, has been named outstanding workplace rep for the key role she played in achieving union recognition at the independent school where she works. Abbie Saxby, who teaches at a primary school in East Sussex, has been named outstanding ATL Future rep for her work with student and newly qualified teachers.

Susan Coates has been named April 2014

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outstanding union learning rep for her role within the North East Learning Network, which provides CPD for members across the region. Science technician Corrie Raynor has been named outstanding health and safety rep for the commitment and support she has shown to health and safety issues in the school on the Isle of Wight where she works.

Lecturer Mark Baker and head of department Andrew Ground, who both work at the same FE college in Leicestershire, are the joint winners in the outstanding leadership rep category for members of ATL’s leadership section, AMiE. The winning reps have each won £150 and will collect their awards at ATL’s Annual Conference in Manchester this month. You will be able to read more about our awardwinning reps in a future issue of Report.

Members from ATL, NUT, NASUWT and other education unions took part in a conference on professional unity in March.

Speaking after the conference, organised by the NUT in the light of government attacks on the profession, ATL national president Alison Sherratt said: “At a time when education professionals are not being individually listened to it is even more imperative to speak with one strong, knowledgeable and qualified voice.

“Like-minded people discussed the issues that need to be championed by all education unions together in a collaborative way. I found much in common with my colleagues from other unions and was heartened to discover the strength in unity.”

For more information, see www.atl.org.uk/unitybriefing.

Deregulation dangers ATL is concerned a bill being considered by Parliament will reduce health and safety protection for certain workers.

If passed, the Deregulation Bill would remove self-employed people in some occupations from health and safety protection legislation and would repeal a critical component of the Equality Act 2010 that gives employment tribunals the power to issue recommendations to employers found to have unlawfully discriminated to address the root causes of discrimination.

ATL member adviser Carolina Sankarsingh said: “The bill is yet another attack on health and safety at work legislation by the coalition government.”

ATL is supporting the TUC in its opposition to clauses 1, 2, 61 and 64 of the bill as they weaken important protections for workers and limit the scope of enforcement activities of key regulators such as the Health and Safety Executive. www.atl.org.uk

01/04/2014 16:08

bc600_ld_ad_ecdl_reach_ma 23/01/2014 14:59 Page 1

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ATL Report Half Page Jan 2014 (190x136).indd 1

develop creativity and reward achievement Arts Award develops creativity, communication and leadership skills.

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15/01/2014 17:02:04

your ATL / news

7

Members put education issues on the agenda

ANDREA MARTIN

Members across the country have been meeting their MPs to help shape the political parties’ education manifestos in the run-up to the next general election.

ATL members discussed what is taught in schools, how pupils are tested and how staff need proper training and support when they met Labour MP for Gateshead Ian Mearns in his constituency in March. It was one of a series of meetings that are part of ATL’s Shape Education campaign.

Tristram Hunt hears from members at an ATL conference in Stoke in February

Samantha Tassiker, a teacher based in Gateshead, said: “It was great to talk to my MP about life in the classroom, my concerns and vision for the future of education. The conversation ranged from preparing young people for life, the curriculum, pay and working conditions, assessments, and an education system that is not for profit.”

Mr Mearns said: “I’m delighted to support ATL’s Shape Education campaign. Those of us who truly care about education welcome the opportunity to debate the issues and it is

vitally important teachers and their trade unions have a strong voice in that debate.

I believe a broad inspirational curriculum, a supportive assessment system and collaboration rather than competition are values that should be at the centre of our education system.”

In February, ATL members met with Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central. This followed a meeting between members and Labour MP Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, in Stoke in January. Dr Hunt also took part in ATL’s conference on changes to the national curriculum, ‘A curriculum that counts’, in February, where members asked him how his party would rebuild morale among education professionals and stop relentless attacks on the education system. Dr Hunt said: “These discussions and debates will help us draw up our party’s education manifesto as we share many of the concerns and aims of ATL members.”

Further meetings are set to take place between members and Labour MP Nick Brown (Newcastle East), Labour MP Bill Esterson (Sefton) who serves on the Education Select Committee, leader of the Green Party Natalie Bennett, Conservative MP Aiden Burley (Cannock) and Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset).

Find out more at www.atl.org.uk/ shapingeducation, and take part in the debate on Twitter using #ShapeEducation.

Debating, not demanding Michael Gove has agreed to a series of high level meetings this spring to discuss the implementation of his controversial policies for schools, following representations from ATL and other teacher unions.

These meetings are an opportunity for ATL to argue the strong case for better working conditions and pay, along with greater professional autonomy for the profession.

April 2014

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ATL believes our sensible policies on education and working conditions will do more to raise standards and ensure we continue to attract the best teachers to the profession, instead of the present top-down, out-of-touch approach that is being pursued by the Department for Education and which will put potential teachers off from joining the teaching profession.

Profit warning Bureaucracy surrounding free schools and academies is costing taxpayers millions in consultancy fees, a TUC report has revealed.

The research paper, published as part of the launch of the TUC’s Education Not For Sale campaign, analyses official Department for Education (DfE) figures and was written by ATL’s policy assistant Martin Johnson and education journalist Warwick Mansell. It shows the free school and academy programme has cost taxpayers nearly £80 million in private consultancy fees, which divert money away from children’s education.

The TUC’s campaign calls for a commitment from all political parties that no school should be run for profit; that all publicly funded education institutions be democratically accountable to their communities; that all pupils at state-funded schools be taught by fully qualified teachers; and that all schools must be governed by the national curriculum. It also wants the funding and governance of all state-funded schools to be fully transparent, and a new requirement in FE and HE so public support only goes to educational and training organisations that are not for profit, with tougher regulation for organisations owned by for-profit companies.

ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: “This well-researched report damns the sponsored academy policy. ATL is particularly concerned about schools being taken over by companies seeking to make a profit for their shareholders at the expense of children’s education, and the finding that privatisation produces no improvement in pupils’ achievement and worsens the social mix in schools, as well as reducing accountability and democratic oversight of our schools.

“We want government policy to focus on improving teaching and learning, not on whether a school is an academy, free school or community school. Simply banning sponsorship would end the conflicts of interest, the cronyism, and the distorting of a school’s aims to making a profit.”

See www.atl.org.uk/educationnotforsale for the research report and campaign flyer

www.atl.org.uk

01/04/2014 16:09

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your ATL / noticeboard, get involved

Noticeboard Teachers’ Pension Scheme contributions The government has confirmed the third year of member contribution increases to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), which came into effect on 1 April 2014.

The contribution levels from 2015 onwards are still under discussion.

The contribution rates for 2014-15 are: Pensionable annual earnings Below £14,999 £15,000 - £25,999 £26,000 - £31,999 £32,000 - £39,999 £40,000 - £44,999 £45,000 - £74,999 £75,000 - £99,999 £100,000 and above

Contribution in 2014-15 6.4% 7.2% 8.3% 9.5% 9.9% 11.0% 11.6% 12.4%

Increase (against 2013-14) 0.0% 0.2% 0.4% 0.7% 0.7% 0.9% 1.0% 1.2%

Increase to Teachers’ Pension Scheme and the Local Government Pension Scheme The Pensions Increase (Review) Order 2014, enacting a 2.7% increase, was passed in March. It means pensioners whose pensions were last increased on 8 April 2013 and pensioners whose pensions began on or before 22 April 2013 will receive an increase of 2.7% with effect from 7 April 2014, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).

Those pensioners who retired on or after 23 April 2013 will receive a proportionate increase based on CPI - for a table showing all the pensions increases payable, see www.atl.org.uk/pay/current/pension-bulletin.asp.

New app for ATL reps ATL has created a brand new app for reps, available for iPads, iPhones and Android devices, to make sure you have all the information you need at your fingertips as you perform your role — see page 26 for more information.

New 2014 Local Government Pension Scheme The new Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) comes into force this month, a year before other reformed public sector pension schemes, including the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS).

It was agreed in 2012 with support from employers and support staff unions and avoided contribution increases for most members.

All current LGPS members (and most of ATL’s support staff members are among them) entered the new LGPS on 1 April 2014. Benefits built up to, and including, 31 March will be preserved in the old final salary scheme, and new benefits will build up in the new career average (or CARE) LGPS scheme going forward. Benefits in the CARE scheme will build up 1/49 of your pensionable pay in that year, so each year in the scheme adds 1/49 of actual earnings (whether full or part time) to your

www.atl.org.uk

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pension account. This is still a defined benefit scheme, because you know now what your pension will be based on.

A contribution level, based on your actual (not full-time equivalent) salary, will be determined and you pay that percentage on what you actually earn. This contribution is made before income tax is deducted from your salary, so it will not cost you in practice quite as much as the published percentage. Members earning under £34,000 per annum will pay 6.5% or less. The contribution bands can be found at www.lgps2014.org/content/what-willnew-scheme-cost-me.

When you come to retire, your salaries from previous years will be uprated to account for inflation and, if you leave before retirement, your benefits will also be protected from inflation. You will be able to choose to take some of your pension benefit as a cash lump sum. Life cover (or

“death in service”) and survivor benefits are still features of the scheme.

You can take your benefits any time from age 55, although any benefits taken before your normal pension age (NPA) will be reduced for early payment. Your NPA is the same as your state pension age (with a minimum retirement age of 65). There are protections for members who were within 10 years of NPA on 1 April 2012 and contributing to the scheme on 31 March 2012 in the form of an ‘underpin’, which means your overall benefits will not be less than if the scheme had not changed. More information can be found at www.lgps2014.org/content/underpin.

ATL has produced a factsheet explaining the changes in more detail, The 2014 Local Government Pension Scheme, which is available to download from www.atl.org.uk/factsheets.

April 2014

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Members’ Charter The ATL Members’ Charter has been revised to incorporate changes to the employment tribunal system that recently came into force, most notably the introduction of fees and Acas early conciliation (for more about these changes, see page 24 of this issue of Report). Our charter confirms ATL’s commitment to pay fees for members in claims the union supports. However, members are advised to always discuss any possible claims they think they may have against their employer with ATL before lodging a claim, as ATL is unable to support members who submit claims that have not been assessed and authorised by our solicitor team first.

The revised charter came into effect on 10 March and is available at www.atl.org.uk/memberscharter.

The Right to Go The UK child continence charity ERIC has launched a campaign called The Right to Go, which highlights every child’s right to good care for a continence problem at school and access to safe, hygienic toilet facilities. For ERIC’s Right to Go resource, along with advice from ATL, see www.atl.org.uk/personalcare. For more about the ERIC campaign, see www.eric.org.uk/campaigns/therighttogo.

April 2014

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Mobile offer ADSI is pleased to present ATL members with genuine offers on mobile phone packages. It guarantees you a competitive deal along with full account management throughout your mobile phone contract.

You’ll benefit from impartial advice, your own account manager, a comprehensive monthly bill review and tariff check, a comprehensive range of services and products including mobiles, tablets, broadband, Office 365 and fixed phone lines.

Call Ian Parker on 01268 495555 or email ianp@adsigroup.co.uk today to find out the latest offers, or visit www.adsi.co.uk.

www.atl.org.uk

01/04/2014 16:11

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cover feature / Ofsted

Ofsted: not fit for purpose

www.atl.org.uk

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and often varies with the personal tastes of individual inspectors”; and thirdly that “Ofsted’s approach is based on a narrow theory of human nature, which assumes individuals are self-serving and must be motivated by external sticks and carrots.”

To the response of the man in charge of Ofsted, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw, that “I am not having government or anyone else tell inspectors what they should assess as good teaching,” Mr Green retorted: “If schools are to be given ‘feedback’ and held to account, should Ofsted not do the same?”

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fsted is in the most difficult position since its inception. In its 22 years, many thousands of teachers will have cursed the inspection agency’s name, but lately the attacks have been coming from an unusual direction - the political right.

Among those challenging the inspectorate is think-tank Policy Exchange, co-founded by none other than education secretary Michael Gove. Its research into inspections, published in March after consulting with teachers, heads and inspectors, finds lesson observations of less than 20 minutes are “neither valid nor reliable”.

It also says “many inspectors lack the necessary skills, especially the ability to analyse data, or the experience or specialist knowledge in primary or special needs teaching to make a fair judgement of a fast-evolving and increasingly autonomous education system,” and advises that the number of inspectors contracted to private outsourcing companies should be reduced.

Meanwhile, David Green, director of Civitas, has written in The Spectator of his right-leaning think-tank’s concerns, firstly saying: “Ofsted’s ethos is still influenced by the desire to enforce compliance with centrally imposed targets, rather than to encourage the professional development of school leaders and teachers,”; secondly, that “Ofsted’s imposition of standards is erratic

As the inspection agency comes under attack from all sides, ATL says it is time for a complete rethink on inspection. Words by Alex Tomlin

If schools are to be held to account, should Ofsted not do the same?

These arguments may well seem familiar to ATL members as we and many others have been making them for years. But with concerns also reportedly being raised within the Department for Education (DfE) itself, Ofsted appears to be listening and taking action.

In recent weeks it has announced it will be taking on board teachers’ views on inspection, that it will no longer be making judgements on individual lessons, that it does not promote specific teaching styles, and that

inspection teams should be made up mainly of current classroom teachers and leaders.

ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted believes Ofsted is particularly susceptible at this time. “For the first time there are serious voices at government level questioning the amount of money that Ofsted costs, the effect of the inspection regime and the quality of inspections.

“Ofsted knows it is vulnerable on all those points. And that’s why it’s backing away, not because it wants to be conciliatory to teachers, absolutely not.

Ofsted’s intentions towards teachers stay the same: it wants to remain an inspection agency that produces fear and loathing in the profession. It may not be the intention to produce fear, but it is the effect.”

If it was the intention, Ofsted could comfortably rate itself as outstanding, with the threat of inspection creating a tidal wave of workload and stress across the land. “The misery and workload that have been created by Ofsted’s practices are indefensible,” says Dr Bousted. “Teachers do the most unpaid overtime of any profession, with primary school teachers routinely working 60 hours a week. We’re filling up teachers’ time with ‘busy-work’ rather than the deep thought that should be spent on teaching and learning. And the root cause of the unnecessary and bureaucratic workload is Ofsted.”

April 2014

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We know much of senior and middle leadership time is taken up with preparing for a prospective inspection by conducting ‘practice Ofsteds’ and checking paperwork.

“So much work done in schools is for leaders to be able to say they are monitoring learning,” says Dr Bousted.

“It’s not effective leadership.”

Mark Wright, assistant director responsible for leadership and management at AMiE, ATL’s leadership section, agrees. “It’s one of the perversities of the system that far too much time is spent preparing for the inspection rather than on teaching and learning.”

Considering the weight given to Ofsted results, it is not surprising headteachers want to be prepared, and that they breathe a sigh of relief every day when 2pm passes with no phone call from the inspectorate to announce its arrival the next day. Ofsted is undoubtedly a major factor as to why many schools struggle to recruit headteachers, with potential candidates put off taking over an outstanding school for fear of it losing that status, or accepting the challenge of a failing school and being unable to lift it.

In March The Guardian reported on a leaked policy document from Kent County Council stating that any head in post for longer than two years whose school was found to be failing would be put on April 2014

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gardening leave and replaced.

A poor Ofsted judgement can end careers, and suicides related to Ofsted inspections among heads and teachers are not unheard of. Stress of this kind inevitably feeds down from leadership and classroom teachers to the pupils.

And - considering the consequences - doubt has long existed about the consistency and accuracy of the judgements handed down by the inspectorate. ATL members, in our survey in 2012, highlighted the problem of having their classes inspected by individuals who may not have taught in a classroom for several years, or by inspectors who have no knowledge of the subject or of the stage they are judging.

Members have continued to contact us with the same issues since the survey.

“For 20 years Ofsted has been struggling to get control of its inspection teams and the consistency of their judgements, and has failed to do so,” says Dr Bousted.

“Although it has very belatedly realised the extent and depth of the problem, it doesn’t have the means to deal with it. It’s a lottery whether the team arriving at your school is able to conduct a decent inspection and come to a reasonable and rational judgement.”

ATL members have also suggested some inspectors come into a school having already decided their judgement based on data, dismissing teachers’ views on the

individual circumstances of the pupils.

Along with numerous doubts about the validity of Ofsted outcomes, we must remember that any school wishing to appeal against a judgement has to do so to Ofsted, making the inspectorate its own judge and jury. “Ofsted likes asking questions of everyone else,” says Dr Bousted. “It has never opened up its quality control procedures to external examination.

It’s a highly defensive organisation with highly inefficient and dubious quality control. The numbers of complaints are rising, school leaders are less willing to accept a poor judgement because of the consequences to the school, and Ofsted’s practices are being challenged. That will continue to increase.”

Mark Wright adds: “Many AMiE members I’ve talked to have come to believe it is pretty futile to try and overturn a decision. The complaints procedure is so incredibly narrow in focus that it is more about the process than the result. It takes an awful lot to try and change the actual result, which is why some schools resort to legal action.”

This defensive attitude contrasts with the situation in Scotland, where the new inspection set-up encourages professional dialogue between schools and inspectors, while in Wales the inspectorate Estyn has engaged with ATL Cymru’s views. Sadly, in Northern Ireland the system is moving towards the Ofsted model - you can read more about the situation around the UK on page 16.

Alongside its resistance to scrutiny, there are also questions about the impartiality of Ofsted inspection teams. One concern is the fact most inspectors are not employed directly by the inspectorate, but are instead employed by three private companies, each covering a region of England.

In the Midlands, inspections are carried out by Serco, which describes itself as “one of the leading private sector partners operating within the education and children’s services sectors” and is clearly reliant on the DfE for much of its business.

Likewise, in the north of England, CfBT Education Trust’s revenue is generated by “winning education-related contracts from governments and public or private bodies”, while it also manages a portfolio of free schools and academies. www.atl.org.uk

01/04/2014 16:13

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JANE WILLIAMS/ALAMY

cover feature / Ofsted

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12

A positive inspection system would allow staff and students to grow

Covering the south, Tribal Group proclaims its project managers and educational advisers have worked with the DfE, senior staff and a variety of sponsors, to launch more than 35 academies and free schools.

These close ties with the government, including its well-publicised push to convert local authority schools to academies, raise very serious questions about the conflicts of interests that exist within inspection teams. Ofsted has previously cautioned inspectors against leaving business cards at schools for their employers’ other education consultancy services.

In November, Private Eye reported on one alarming apparent conflict of interest, revealing that the inspection team at the London Nautical School, which was judged as ‘requires improvement’, included Sir Daniel Moynihan who is the CEO of the Harris Federation academy chain that has taken over a number of ‘failing’ schools, including the famous Downhills in the London borough of Haringey. Ofsted did not respond to Private Eye requests for a response to the findings.

However, Ofsted is sufficiently concerned about the idea it is directly or indirectly assisting the government’s academies programme that it has announced a review of its policy of sharing information about problem schools with the DfE. Headteachers www.atl.org.uk

10-12 Cover story.indd 12

have claimed information-sharing is being used to put them under premature pressure to become academies, with some receiving phone calls from ‘academy brokers’, who are employed by the DfE to discuss conversion to academy status, even before headteachers have received any initial draft of the inspection report of their school.

Ofsted responded by saying it has “a long-standing protocol” with the DfE to share information about schools going into special measures, but that it is aware of concerns about brokers contacting schools in this manner, and has “raised this issue with the DfE”. It told The Guardian: “Ofsted does not have a preferred model for schools; we are independent and are not about furthering any political agenda.”

Even assuming Ofsted is entirely impartial and reliable in its inspection outcomes, ATL is adamant its punitive model is incompatible with the professional autonomy teachers need. “A centralised, top-down system of inspection takes away from teachers the scope and confidence to make professional decisions,” says Dr Bousted.

“I would say that Ofsted, far from being a force for school improvement, is keeping standards down. Evidence shows punitive accountability regimes bring up the lowest performers to an acceptable standard, but they always limit high performers. Unless teachers are very confident about what they’re doing, they’re not going to open themselves up to being outside the pale.

They’re not prepared to take risks and this limits innovation.”

So, given the consequences of a poor inspection, it would take a brave school indeed to risk teaching methods outside of the orthodoxy. “One of the issues we’ve seen recently is around small schools,” says Mark Wright. “Because Ofsted reports are published, it means teachers in small schools can be publicly identified. This is the kind of naming and shaming that would not be tolerated in most other professions.”

And why should teachers tolerate this?

Ofsted has recently made announcements about listening to teachers and stopping lesson observations, it is currently on its third inspection framework in two years, and is even now still tweaking that and its associated guidance documents. As Report went to press, Ofsted announced a new blueprint for inspecting good and outstanding schools.

With diminishing support for Ofsted’s inspection system, which costs taxpayers £170 million a year, ATL believes it is time to go a different way. Ofsted must take its chance to reform now before its credibility is beyond redemption. As part of our Shape Education campaign to influence political parties’ manifestos ahead of the 2015 general election, ATL is calling for an end to Ofsted’s national system of inspection, which we believe should be replaced by profession-led local systems of accountability and improvement.

ATL’s vision is of a positive inspection system where staff and students grow with a local, accountable partner. A local system of inspection, led by teaching professionals in the area can do two things: it will fundamentally change the atmosphere teachers work in and children learn in and it will make it easier for schools to react to local and individual needs and improve the education they provide.

By being designed locally with the involvement of current classroom teachers, judgements on teaching and pupil achievement would be respected, unique school circumstances would be better understood, and improvement plans would be relevant and effectively supported.

Since accountability is essential, local authorities would be a part of this new system, providing a democratic link to the local area. And a national body, such as a revised national inspectorate, would have the role of overseeing new processes to quality assure them and provide confidence that schools are properly accountable in these new, local structures.

With a change in culture, and an emphasis on local professional judgement and support, things really could be different.

Schools could be held to account at the same time as helping staff and students grow into excellent teachers and learners, with achievements to be proud of.

To support ATL’s vision for a new inspection regime, take part in our Shape Education campaign at www.atl.org.uk/ shapingeducation. You can also let us know your views on inspection using the details on page 18, or join the debate at www.twitter. com/atlunion or www.facebook.com/ atlunion. We will be launching our education manifesto in the May issue of Report.

April 2014

01/04/2014 16:13

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join the debate / agenda

15

Reading their future Early years teachers need to be given the tools to help all children develop a love of reading at an early age, says ATL general secretary Mary Bousted

April 2014

15 Agenda.indd 15

conclude there is a stark and “worrying” levels of literacy. We know that the divide when it comes to reading. A longer reading fluency is delayed, the survey of the reading habits of 1,500 more difficult it is to acquire. That is adults shows the higher the sociowhy children’s centres in deprived areas economic group someone is in, the more are so important. It is here that those often they read. The survey reveals 42% children who are not read to at home of children from the poorest homes are can begin to learn of the power, and read to every day, with the figure being pleasure, of books and start to acquire 79% for children from the richest the habit of reading for pleasure, which families. The Booktrust study argues leads on to the practice of reading for there are links between deprivation and a purpose. not reading, and that living in poverty So we support Graham Stuart, affects children’s levels of literacy and Conservative chair of the Education their expectation that reading can be an Select Committee, who has recalled the enjoyable activity.

Children’s Minister Liz Truss because The research also shows the of what the committee judges to be an “significant” link between a family’s inadequate response to its report on reading habits and a child’s future children’s centres. Mr Stuart went on attitude towards reading. Essentially, the record to say: “This is a hugely reading for pleasure is a learned habit. important area as it is widely accepted Those children who, from the earliest that the early years are the time during age, are read to, then read with, start which good interventions can make the upon a journey that leads to them most effective difference to children’s becoming independent readers, and a lives. We called on the government to habit that will be a pleasure and a take early years seriously and we feel comfort throughout that the response has life. Conversely, those Early years education failed to engage with children whose parents provides the foundations that challenge.’’ never experienced the ATL strongly for educational access pleasure of reading supports Mr Stuart’s themselves, or who are and progress statement. Early too stressed and years education harried by poverty and all the ills that provides the foundations for brings for family life, leave their children educational access and progress. behind in the reading stakes — and this, It is particularly vital for the most as teachers know, has profound disadvantaged children who may not implications for their progress as find those foundations in their home learners. Reading gives access to the life. And one of the most fundamental whole curriculum, but those children predictors of educational success is a with reading difficulties find themselves love of books. All children, from constantly frustrated and continually whatever background, have the right to hampered in their learning because they learn of the pleasures that are stored in cannot gain access to the information books and, if their parents cannot teach they need to progress. through their example, then early years We know that hugely disproportionate educators must be given the tools to fill numbers of young offenders have low the gap.

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A

s a former English teacher I am passionate about the power of books, in the way they meet a profound need for storytelling shared by humanity. We all tell stories all the time. How difficult it was to get to work because of traffic jams or late trains; how yesterday’s perfectly planned lesson went astray and why. We tell stories about our past — the truth as we remember it — and are surprised when our siblings remember a very different truth and contest our version of events.

So telling stories is something central to human nature. We are unique as living beings in this respect. We tell stories to affirm our fundamental beliefs, to warn against behaving badly, to keep the listener in suspense, or, simply to share a good laugh.

Books are lovely things. No technology can replace the physical satisfaction of turning the page. No e-version can replace the joy of sitting with a young child and, together, sharing the words and pictures of the story. The laughter, the conversation and the shared intimacy of reading together is one of the joys of parenthood. Children get far more out of books than just the pleasure of hearing, or reading, the story. I am sure we can all remember books from our childhood that were read again and again, during the course of which new questions about the meaning of the story or the motivations of the characters within it were reconsidered and re-evaluated. And then there is the simple delight in the interplay between words and pictures.

Feeling so passionately about books, you may understand why I am so concerned to learn about the findings of a survey by the charity Booktrust that

www.atl.org.uk

01/04/2014 16:14

join the debate / Wales and Northern Ireland

Wales Dr Philip Dixon

Northern Ireland Mark Langhammer

Estyn may not be perfect, but it is willing to engage with teachers

We could all learn from Scotland taking the inspection ‘high road’

The attitude, tough questioning from the engagement committee in Wales. Such and approach encounters would be well-nigh of Estyn impossible in England, where it compared seems as if the inspectorate has with Ofsted is lost all credibility and has itself perhaps most become part of the problem. clearly shown by the fact that Recent political shenanigans the speaker at this year’s ATL have only served to make Cymru lecture is HM Chief matters worse.

Inspector in Wales, Ann Keane.

The title of the lecture The invitation to give the ‘So, where do we go from here?’ lecture does not mean we agree is one of the key questions with every judgement that facing educators in Wales. We Estyn has made or think it have had a very rude awakening incapable of improvement. But in the last two or three years. it does mean we respect what Our system is far from being the inspectorate says and are one of the world’s best and we prepared to engage in owe it to our children to make it critical dialogue better. The Chief and discussion.

Our system is Inspector’s talk And I must say among far from being one will, that at every other things, of the world’s best present some of juncture our engagement has and we owe it to the good news been welcomed our children to stories in Wales.

by Estyn, and Her annual make it better our concerns report shows properly we do have recognised and examined. excellence in Wales. We just A few months ago, for need to share it better. instance, the Chief Inspector The lecture is on 11 June and and her two deputies spent you can read about it in a later over an hour taking some issue of Report.

This month’s focus for inspection is open for Report looks discussion, based on the schools’ at Ofsted, own self-evaluations, and on the whose ‘name quality indicators in the ES and shame’ document How Good is Our model School? Inspectors then brief Northern staff on what to expect in a Ireland’s Education and collegiate manner.

Training Inspectorate (ETI) Grades are expressed in levels is sadly veering towards. of ‘confidence’: confident, partially With the Assembly Education confident or not confident. The Committee inquiry into two weeks’ notice is on a par with inspection due to report soon, Northern Ireland, but in Scotland ATL has support is consistently available

The report is made the local aimed at assisting the through case for a authorities’ model closer school to improve quality to Scotland’s improvement system. There, the support officers. amalgamation of the former Prior to the publication of HM Inspectorate with the main results, there is a dialogue with teachers’ support organisation, the school SMT, ES inspectors Teaching Scotland, into the new and the chair of the parent Education Scotland (ES) has council, which is an opportunity sent a powerful message. to challenge the outcomes.

ES appears less threatening Results are announced in a public to teachers: pre-inspection letter to parents, with a fuller ‘evidence’ and data is much confidential report aimed at reduced. Although there is assisting the school to improve. no obligation on ES to take Unlike the English system, account of social circumstance, there are many positive aspects the previous concentration on that we could take from the exam statistics is easing. The Scottish model.

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16

Check out ATL’s brand new curriculum website Find out more about the curriculum changes, view our video case studies of schools taking new approaches to curriculum, access resources and take part in the conversation about curriculum.

acurriculumthatcounts.org.uk www.atl.org.uk

16 Nations.indd 16

#acurriculumthatcounts April 2014

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18

join the debate / letters

Report, ATL, 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD report@atl.org.uk @ATLReport The views expressed in the letters printed in Report do not necessarily reflect ATL policy or opinion.

STAR LETTER

Communities united

Lethal labels This year all I have been asked by my curriculum manager and management team is “who are your pupil premiums?”, “Are your free school mealers meeting their targets?”, “Where do your EAL sit?” and “How do you differentiate for your SEN students?” The government and leaders of our schools seem to be forgetting these ‘pupil premiums’ are children before anything else they happen to be labelled with (EAL, SEN, LAC, AFC, FSM).

On a leadership walk, a manager asked what progress my EAL was making, to which I replied: “Anne (name changed) is a lovely girl who has grown in confidence and come out of her shell. She now joins in class discussions, offers answers and smiles in the lessons. She can spell seven-lettered words rather than the threelettered words she used when she first started. She always tries her best and attempts homework. Her emotional and social intelligence has progressed massively. Oh, and yes, she is meeting her target grade.”

My answer made the manager forget targets and measures and remember why she entered the education profession. Pleased with myself for reminding someone these are vulnerable children, not statistics, I started wondering where it all went wrong with this awful ‘premium’ label.

When the government changed ‘Every child matters’ to ‘Help children achieve more’, I’m surprised they kept the word ‘children’ in the new name. I hope this reminds others why we are here. Yes, we have targets and performance pay, but if we can help children enjoy our lessons, we will enjoy our jobs at a time when it is getting very stressful - one of the ‘Every child matters’ outcomes was ‘enjoy and achieve’.

Name supplied, Norfolk

WIN

This letter wins £100 in book tokens. if you want to voice your opinion on any issues raised in Report or any other aspect of education, please send a letter or email to the addresses above, including your phone number. One star letter will be chosen every issue to win the book tokens.

Determined to play Many thanks for publishing the article ‘Focus on Foundations’ (Report, February 2014). It laid out in very clear language the concerns I have had for more than a year now, but have felt unable to back up with any academic research.

I am a reception and Year 1 teacher in a small village school. Most of our parents completely support our childled and play-based learning ethos.

Our reception and key stage 1 have a ‘whole child’ approach, allowing the children to develop at their own pace and love learning.

Indeed it is these very children who run into class every day asking “What will we www.atl.org.uk

18 Letters.indd 18

facebook.com/ATLUnion

learn today?” As a result, we achieve well above average key stage 1 SATs results, with almost all children attaining level 2b and above.

However, in the last six months I have come under criticism from local authority inspectors for not attaining the required percentage of GLD [good level of development] on the EYFSP [early years foundation stage profile] and for not ensuring Year 1 children are working on directed tasks for a full morning. As a result of the criticism received, I felt six months of my life was taken from me in depression and attempting to teach in a manner I felt was inappropriate for my children.

Some teachers enter the profession because they remember that dynamic teacher who inspired them. Others, myself included, were frustrated by their education and became determined to provide young people with a more exciting approach to learning.

However, over time, the altruism passes as schools become places to pass exams. Sub-levels, predicted grades and booster lessons are served alongside school dinners.

I am a dreamer and I want you to become one too. On Holocaust Memorial Day our Jewish school teamed up with two Muslim high schools. We shared the story of the Jewish Holocaust as well as the story of Muslims who saved Jews in the Holocaust.

The media paints us as two divided communities. We succeeded in showing our students that we can get along and pledge to work together.

The sight of a Rabbi and Sheikh praying together for peace inspired the imagination of all students (and staff) involved.

I would urge more schools to take small steps into unchartered territory and encourage their students to dream.

Rabbi Rickman, Manchester In recent months I have resigned myself to focus on teaching more of the specific areas of literacy and maths, but this has been, without doubt, at the expense of the richness of experience and whole-child observation I had developed previously and had been judged outstanding for.

I will be sharing the Report article with my colleagues and ensuring our practice does not change to formal teaching. Goal-based teaching in the early years and Year 1 is highly inappropriate and the sooner the government understands this the better.

C Down, North Yorkshire

April 2014

01/04/2014 16:16

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20

profile / Jane Lees

Facts of life

Sex education expert Jane Lees tells Charlotte Tamvakis why the subject should be neither dismissed nor dreaded

www.atl.org.uk

20-21 Profile.indd 20

how animals, including humans, are critical element — to be the campaign adapted to reproducing in different priority for the UK Youth Parliament. A circumstances.” recent Sex Education Forum survey of There is also a lot of misunderstanding young people also confirmed SRE is a about what SRE should be about in primary complete lottery, ranging from very good schools, she says. “It’s not teaching in a few cases to utterly sub-standard. five-year-olds about sex. It’s got a number of “It has always been a lottery, but this strands including learning about growing is exaggerated now we’ve got a more up, families and caring for one another. differentiated education system,” says Jane.

Being able to name the sexual parts of the PSHE education is not a statutory subject, body and know they are private to them is but every state-funded secondary school is basic safety information. Children should expected to provide it. Maintained schools learn this in simple terms as soon as they teach the basic sex education included in go to school.” She describes a case of a child national curriculum science, but the who reported sexual abuse but was not relationships strand is left up to schools. understood because the child didn’t know Meanwhile, government SRE guidance the proper terms. Only when another child applies to all state-funded schools and explained was the truth discovered. says some important things, including that “Good quality SRE is more than just the primary schools should be teaching about facts of life, though. When younger pupils how babies are born and about puberty learn about the differences between boys before children experience it. and girls they are also learning about “The current government’s stance is that diversity, that everybody in the class is ‘schools know best’ and should devise their different, and that this is normal and good. own SRE programme. So schools are left to Alongside the biology of growing up, figure out for themselves what to do, using children need to be prepared for the government guidance last updated in 2000. emotional changes of puberty. And I don’t think this is very helpful; schools running throughout the subject is the need clear expectations about what to cover relationships strand, in SRE,” explains Jane. This which is about

Schools need clear means the quality of SRE is friendships, families down to whether or not a expectations about school has “figured it out”, and learning how to what to cover navigate changes in with a lot depending on these over time, leadership and if a teacher learning what boundaries are and learning has come forward wanting to teach it, who who the right people to trust are.” is supported with suitable continuing Jane says it does not have to be a difficult professional development opportunities. subject, but adults sometimes forget “In the best cases, you have a whole staff curiosity about sex and growing up is who recognise how crucial SRE is. After all, natural and normal. “This cultural unease it’s about growing up,” says Jane. “Schools has created a situation in which the subject have a legal duty towards children not just has special treatment, out-of-date in terms of knowledge, but their safety and government guidance and a lack of well-being too. The best SRE programmes resources to support teachers,” she explains. have a clear policy, supported by Indeed, Ofsted’s 2013 report on PSHE everybody, with parents involved and education found SRE to be inadequate in a pupils consulted and competent educators third of schools. At the same time, young delivering it.” people voted for a ‘curriculum that prepares She adds: “Just this week, during the final us for life’ — with SRE identified as a review of a four-day SRE course I run, a

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here’s nothing special about sex and relationships education (SRE),” says Jane Lees. “It can be taught at every age; it’s about getting the level right. Teachers know how to plan progression, how to start with the outcome they want and work back through the steps to reach it. Government ministers don’t always appreciate this.”

Jane’s interest in SRE was sparked during her teacher training at King’s College London. “I had a fabulous tutor who thought we should all know how to teach it. I got interested in the subject then, and that interest never waned.” She started out as a secondary school biology teacher, before becoming an advisory teacher at the former Inner London Education Authority.

She went on to run the specialist centre that provided support and training for schools and was later a specialist inspector.

Jane now provides expert support for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, including SRE, for local authorities, schools and other organisations, and is also the chair of the Sex Education Forum, which is a group of organisations and individuals committed to improving SRE for children and young people. ATL sits on the forum’s advisory group. Jane believes problems arise with SRE when teachers haven’t been given the right tools to teach it.

“Hardly anybody is trained to teach SRE in their initial teacher education. Ofsted is very clear; it says good SRE and PSHE depend on having specialist teachers,” Jane explains. “Primary teachers can vary enormously in their basic biological understanding, but this is easily addressed.

You have to know enough, a few basic concepts; you don’t have to know everything.

“I do an activity called ‘match the baby with the parent’, with pictures of a tadpole and a frog, a chick and a bird, things like that. Discussing the connections, similarities and differences between animals gives a good foundation for understanding sex, how it has evolved and

April 2014

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PHOTOGRAPH BY TORI MIDDLETON

them, you’re offering a programme they recognise they’ve had input into and you’ve made some accommodation for different groups, they are more likely to find the lessons interesting and enjoyable.” For example, boys do not always have their needs met and may like tackling things in a different way. “While it’s useful for boys and girls to work together on most issues, they could also choose different activities.”

Does Jane have any advice for teachers facing school leaders or parents who are reluctant to get involved in SRE? “Pupil voice is a good way of approaching this. If you canvass the views of young people, it’s a good way of showing parents where there are unmet needs.

Using something simple like an anonymous question box, a teacher can collect questions from a Year 5 or 6 class and show them to parents saying ‘these are the questions your children are asking; we can help answer them if we can have a planned programme’. Parents will most probably be surprised by some of the questions and this can be very powerful.”

So why does the government have this stance on SRE? “You only have to listen to the current spat between the Department for Education and Ofsted to realise the department is not keen on things that don’t have a clear academic outcome,” says Jane.

“SRE is regarded as ‘soft’ curriculum, and probably at the heart of this is a view it doesn’t have a place in schools, that it’s something parents should be doing. It has also required a decade-long effort to convince politicians SRE does not sexualise children; quite the reverse, because the research is very clear on this. Young people who have had a good quality SRE programme will start having sex at an older age and are more likely to use contraception.

The evidence also says SRE works best when home and school are involved, and there are lots of ways schools can work in partnership with parents.”

teacher said ‘I’ve read the reports, I’ve looked at the resources, but until we actually had a go at teaching it ourselves on this course, I could not imagine what a lesson would be like’. That’s what proper training gives you. It’s an opportunity to plan and deliver aspects of SRE as part of a group and to receive feedback, and in my experience this is the most effective way of training teachers. Feedback repeatedly shows they might be nervous beforehand, but training gives them confidence and SRE becomes something they look forward to teaching.”

But without the right support and training, teachers struggle. “I still see secondary school schemes of work that say they’re going to have a ‘lesson on contraception’,” says Jane. “Well, what are they going to teach? There are 1,001 things you could teach on contraception. Lessons are more likely to be useful if they not only include the pros and cons of different methods and how they work, but also talk about access to young-people-friendly services, look at relationships and communication skills, and explore what to think about before you’re in a sexual situation.”

Teaching methods should be active, participatory, use group work and be set in a climate that is open, non-judgemental, safe and respects people’s privacy, she explains. “This will help to avoid disruptive behaviour. When pupils know you’re taking it seriously because you’ve discussed it with April 2014

20-21 Profile.indd 21

It is on the basis of this “half-heartedness” from the government that the Sex Education Forum, in partnership with sexual health charity Brook and the PSHE Association, published supplementary advice for schools in February, SRE for the 21st Century. “This is an interim measure to fill a gap. It’s not to replace the government guidance, which still needs updating,” explains Jane. “It gives a much-needed steer on how to teach about issues that affect children and young people today, such as pornography, sexting, social media and consent. It also explains how to make SRE inclusive and address LGBT issues that have a history of being neglected. These should all be addressed in a comprehensive SRE programme.”

Jane recounts how, when she became chair of the Sex Education Forum in 2008, the government at the time said it would make PSHE, including SRE, statutory. “The schools minister, Jim Knight, announced it at our 21st birthday conference. It was absolutely thrilling; people cried. But then an election was called, and it disappeared in the wash-up. It was a tragedy.” Since then, the consensus in support of SRE has become even clearer. “We have heard Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg speak of his commitment to teacher training for SRE, and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has promised to make it statutory if Labour returns to government. Teaching unions and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner have also pledged support, and the Sex Education Forum will go on campaigning for a guarantee for better SRE in all schools.

“But regardless, a good school will take its well-being duty, and children’s and young people’s entitlement to SRE, seriously,” says Jane. “They will see it as part of the education of the whole person and will identify teachers who would like to specialise in it.”

The Sex Education Forum is keen to hear from teachers with examples of good practice in SRE and has produced a curriculum design tool that sets out a baseline of questions to explore with pupils at each age and stage. For this, the supplementary advice for schools, details of membership for schools and how to get in touch, see www.sexeducationforum.org.uk. www.atl.org.uk

01/04/2014 16:17

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your ATL / curriculum website

acurriculumthatcounts.org.uk New approaches to the curriculum shared by education professionals for education professionals

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n the playground pupils gather around an £80,000 Audi supercar borrowed from a local showroom and discuss how to create an advertising campaign for it. Elsewhere in the same school, another class works out ways of helping a teaching assistant sleep through World War II air raid sirens.

Meanwhile, in the forest school area another group makes a bear cave and works in the animal hospital before checking on the situation in their eco greenhouse and doing some digging in the school’s allotment.

These are just some of the innovations that have occurred at Cherry Orchard School in Worcestershire after the school decided to take a fresh look at the curriculum.

Cherry Orchard is one of the in-depth case studies on the new A Curriculum That Counts website, which ATL has launched to celebrate and share the great work of education professionals in delivering the curriculum to pupils, as well as to help teachers deal with upcoming changes to the curriculum.

ATL has been actively involved in the debate about changes to the national curriculum coming into effect in September 2014, and we have highlighted members’ concerns to the government. We welcome the fact that there were some significant changes between the first and final versions of the curriculum, such as: • in English, spoken language skills are now included • the list of languages at key stage 2 has been removed so schools have a free choice • climate change is now included at key stage 3 in geography

www.atl.org.uk

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• history has been revised considerably — the programme of study has been slimmed down, and more world history is now included • major revisions have been made to design and technology — with greater flexibility and a broader range of industrial applications and high level technical skills.

However, concerns remain. There is little acknowledgement from the government about the amount of planning, resources and time that are needed to bring in a new curriculum for pupils in all age groups at the same time, and there is still too much detail in the primary programmes of study — another example of Michael Gove not trusting teachers to teach.

This is where ATL’s new curriculum website comes in. Despite the potential for the new programmes of study to squeeze out teacher innovation, despite government rhetoric about coasting schools, despite the existing accountability system and highstakes testing — all of which could inhibit schools — we know many education staff are still delivering fantastic teaching and learning to students up and down the country; the curriculum that really counts.

Rather than just complaining about government changes, we also wanted to provide a resource to help make the best of them, by showing how education professionals can still teach fantastic lessons despite government interference.

ATL’s new website showcases a number of schools that are taking innovative and inspirational approaches to the curriculum.

Using a range of video, images and downloadable resources such as planning documents, examples of pupils’ work and lesson plans, the site explores the very different approaches of three schools.

The case studies include video footage of conversations with headteachers about planning the curriculum; classroom teachers talking about delivering the curriculum and its impact; footage of classroom activity to April 2014

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show their methods in action; and pupils talking about what they like and what works best for them. The site also includes links to a range of other curriculum resources, for example around PSHE and equalities issues, and new links will be added over the coming months. We chose three primary schools to get the ball rolling, ahead of changes to primary curriculum later this year and primary assessment in 2016. Over the next few months, we’ll be doing the same in secondary schools (for details of how to take part, see below).

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This site is about all education professionals taking part in the conversation While some of the ideas won’t suit every school — not everyone has access to an £80,000 supercar — the key messages will apply to every situation. The schools told us: • Believe in what you are doing in your school — and don’t let a piece of paper change your mind.

• Collaborative planning is important so teachers can bounce ideas off each other.

• When you are thinking about the school curriculum, get outside your comfort zone — experiment and take risks.

• Have a clear vision from the top and be organised and plan what is to be taught across the whole school.

• Be prepared to change the curriculum — it is the lifeblood of the school, and we should not become too set in our ways.

• Develop a culture in the school where observing each other teach is not seen as threatening but about sharing expertise.

• Be a listening school — leaders need to promote honesty and humility, and a safe environment to ask questions and suggest ideas.

April 2014

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• Have a positive attitude to the unknown — it’s what pupils are asked to do every day.

We also want to spread the word and grow the site — and that’s where you, the education professionals, come in. We’d like you to visit the site, have a good look around and comment on what’s there. But more than that, we want you to share your own ideas, by posting a link to a resource you have found particularly useful, posting your own ideas or tips, or even uploading a short video of you or a colleague explaining what you do to plan the curriculum in your school.

A 30-second video recorded on a phone could inspire others, just as you might be inspired by something a fellow professional has posted.

We are also looking for more in-depth case studies, particularly in secondary schools, so if you feel your school’s approach to the curriculum is worth sharing, please contact us via the ‘Get in touch’ section of the website. We could then come and spend a day filming and talking to everyone involved in planning and teaching the curriculum.

Above all, this site is about all education professionals taking part in the conversation — a genuine profession-led response to curriculum change. By sharing ideas and being inspired by each other, education professionals can take back control of the curriculum and show the curriculum that really counts is the one you teach in your classrooms.

Share details of acurriculumthatcounts.org.uk with friends and colleagues (non-members too), via Facebook, Twitter (using the hashtag #acurriculumthatcounts) or other social media. www.atl.org.uk

01/04/2014 16:18

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help and advice / legal

Tribunal changes A change to the way employment tribunals work means claimants will need to contact Acas as part of the process. ATL solicitor Kehinde Adeogun explains how your union can support you through this

www.atl.org.uk

24 Legal.indd 24

conducting your claim; keep those details An Acas officer will seek to conciliate safe as you will need to refer to them at a between the parties for a period of one later stage. month (with the option to extend the When you have been notified that ATL period by a further 14 days). It is important will support a possible claim relating to that ATL has your up-to-date contact matters such as unfair dismissal, details as we may need to liaise with you discrimination, redundancy payment or a during the conciliation period, especially dispute regarding selection for redundancy, if there is a possibility of a settlement. deductions from wages or holiday pay, If conciliation has not resulted in a rights to time off or flexible working or settlement, or if either party does not wish equal pay claims, you must notify Acas to take part in the conciliation process, either by telephone or by filling out an then an EC certificate will be issued by early conciliation (EC) form, which can Acas. The certificate will set out: be completed online. ATL will ask you to • the name and address of prospective confirm you have made contact with Acas. claimant and respondent The regulations state you are obliged to let • the date the EC form or telephone call was Acas know your name, address and contact received by Acas number as well as the name, address and • the unique reference number given by Acas contact number of the employer/ • the date the EC certificate was issued and respondent. You do not need to provide sent to the prospective claimant and details of your claim to Acas at this stage. respondent.

Submitting an EC form or telephoning Acas with the required information will It is likely the certificate will be sent directly ‘stop the clock’ on the time period for a to your ATL solicitor; however if you receive prospective claimant to submit their claim. it direct from Acas you must forward it The employment tribunal has strict without delay to your ATL solicitor. time limits for The EC certificate issuing claims; for is a very important

If ATL is supporting most claims it is document because it your claim we will need to three months less confirms Acas has been know that you have complied contacted and that early one day from the cause of action. conciliation has been with the new rules Once Acas has attempted. Without it, your details you will an employment be contacted by an early support officer tribunal claim cannot be issued. The ‘clock’ who will start the conciliation process with will also start to run again from the date on you. The officer will only make contact which the certificate is issued by Acas. between 8am and 6pm. If ATL is The early conciliation system has not been supporting your claim you should simply piloted, so all prospective claimants and tell the officer you are represented by ATL respondents will be testing the system ‘live’. To and give the name and contact details of ensure any possible claim is not thwarted by a the ATL solicitor conducting your case. failure to follow the new regulations, ATL asks It is important that you forward the that you follow the directions of your regional ATL solicitor’s details because when a official and appointed solicitor. prospective claimant is represented, You can contact the ATL legal team using the Acas will make further contact with the details on page 25. representative.

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n 6 April 2014 a new system was introduced that changed the way in which an employment tribunal claim is made in England and Wales. The procedure is set out in The Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2014. This article highlights the steps you will now need to take as a prospective claimant in employment tribunal proceedings.

As from April 2014, an individual who believes they have an employment tribunal claim must notify the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas). If ATL is supporting your claim we will need to know that you have complied with the new rules, as failure to follow them may mean you are unable to pursue your claim through a tribunal.

If you have been receiving assistance with your dispute from your ATL regional official they will have notified you that an ATL solicitor will make an assessment on the merits of any possible tribunal claim.

If an assessment has been made, you will have been given details of the ATL solicitor

April 2014

01/04/2014 16:26

help and advice / contact

25

Help and advice If you need help with matters related to your employment, your first point of contact should be your school or college ATL rep, or your AMiE regional officer if you are a leadership member. You can also contact your local ATL branch for advice and support. If they are unable to help, contact ATL using these details:

General enquiries 020 7930 6441 Email: info@atl.org.uk Website: www.atl.org.uk London: 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD. Belfast: 16 West Bank Drive, Belfast BT3 9LA. Tel: 028 9078 2020. Email: ni@atl.org.uk Cardiff: 9 Columbus Walk, Brigantine Place, Cardiff CF10 4BY. Tel: 029 2046 5000.

Email: cymru@atl.org.uk AMiE members: 35 The Point, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 7QU. Contact your AMiE regional officer (contact details at www.amie.atl.org.uk) or call the employment helpline 01858 464171.

Email: helpline@amie.atl.org.uk

Membership enquiries 020 7782 1602 Email: membership@atl.org.uk

If you are not a member of ATL and would like to join, please contact us on 0845 057 7000 (lo-call)

Pension enquiries 020 7782 1600 Out-of-office-hours helpline 020 7782 1612 Monday to Friday, 5-7.30pm during term time.

ATL’s regional officials are available to speak to you about work problems.

Remember to pass your copy of Report to colleagues who may be interested in it!

Personal injury claims 0800 083 7285 Call Morrish Solicitors LLP, ATL’s appointed solicitors, or go to www.atlinjuryclaims.org.uk. This service is open to members and their families, subject to the rules of the scheme.

ATL should be your first port of call in the event of work-related issues. If you feel you need emotional support, Teacher Support Network is a group of independent charities and a social enterprise that provides emotional support to staff in the education sector and their families. Their support lines are available 24 hours a day:

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Terms of ATL’s support are outlined in our members’ charter, available via www.atl.org.uk. When emailing ATL from home, please include either your membership number or home postcode to help us deal with your enquiry more efficiently.

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April 2014

25 Contact.indd 25

www.atl.org.uk

01/04/2014 16:32

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resources / training

ATL resources and training Newsletters The Being a Rep newsletter has been sent to all reps and contacts, and leads with details of the School Teachers’ Review Body’s decision to go against Michael Gove’s suggestions by recommending working hours and conditions stay mostly the same. There is also ATL’s reaction to ‘unworkable’ government advice on trade union facilities time, members meeting MPs as part of the Shape Education campaign, and the launch of ATL’s new rep app (more of which below).

In the section for health and safety reps, there is an explanation of employees’ rights and responsibilities on occupational health referrals regarding extended periods of absence.

There are also details of ATL’s campaign to introduce, as summer approaches, a legal maximum temperature for workers, as well as details of how to tell ATL if you believe you have ever been exposed to asbestos.

For union learning reps, there are

accounts of reps enlisting the help of local galleries and museums to support learning in their region, while others put on training in basic British Sign Language. There is also news of training on spotting the signs of mental health issues in young people.

Members working in the independent sector will have received the Independent Schools newsletter, which explains ATL’s call for a fit and proper persons test for owners of independent schools to reduce the risk of them closing at short notice and leaving staff and students in the lurch.

Also included are some interesting results from the independent sector’s Shape Education survey, a chance to join the independent members’ advisory group to influence ATL policy in the sector, and a fond farewell to the retiring Malcolm St John-Smith, ATL lead member for the independent sector.

Both newsletters can be downloaded as PDFs from www.atl.org.uk/publications.

Student posters and postcards We have sent copies of our new poster and postcard for student recruitment to all reps. More copies can be ordered using the details below, using the code MF076 for the postcard and PS070a for the poster. Both are available to download from www.atl.org.uk in the ‘publications and resources’ section, under recruitment materials.

Your CPD with ATL Leading behaviour improvement to outstanding 22 April, London Practical solutions for dyslexia and dyscalculia 24 April, York; 18 June, Milton Keynes Managing extreme behaviour starts 28 April, online Level 2 safeguarding online for schools starts 5 May, online

Taking care of behaviour 14 May, Liverpool Taking care of behaviour starts 19 May, online Effective classrooms: teamwork, communication and assertiveness 3 June, London Managing extreme behaviour 11 June, Manchester Creativity in the curriculum 25 June, Leicester

There is a nominal charge for courses to minimise the number of members not turning up: £45 for all standard members, £25 for standard support members and NQTs. It is our expectation that employers should cover the cost of attending.

Three ways to order

www.atl.org.uk

Publications & resources section

despatch@atl.org.uk Quote product code where possible

0845 4500 009

Quote product code where possible

New app for ATL reps ATL has created a brand new app for reps to make sure you have all the information you need at your fingertips as you perform your role. The app will feature answers to the most frequently asked questions reps have, from your rights, how to run effective union meetings and recruit new members, through to what you should do when members come to you about issues such as flexible working, grievances and occupational health.

You will also be able to access ATL’s factsheets and publications in an easily downloadable PDF format, look up details for your key ATL contacts, book yourself onto ATL reps’ training, join up a new www.atl.org.uk

26 Resources.indd 26

member and keep up to date with the latest news from ATL via our new reps’ Twitter feed, which can be found at www.twitter.com/atl_reps.

The app will be available for iPads, iPhones and Android devices and phones. You can download the app by searching for ‘ATL Rep App’ in the App Store or Google Play, or go to www.atl.org.uk/repapp for more information.

You can also find the above content and more at ATL’s newly designed rep zone at www.atl.org.uk/repzone.

If you are interested in finding out more about being an ATL rep, see www.atl.org.uk/getactive.

April 2014

01/04/2014 16:28

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Short summer placements of 2-3 weeks are available as well as year-round placement of 1-4 weeks. Good rates.

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Prize crossword

Across 9 Unexpectedly, ATL and I met the Queen — it shows how high we are! (9) 10 Former President got nothing, no backing (5) 11 Manchester University changes fit of clothes worn instead of uniform (5) 12 First class name for infants? (9) 13 Not clearly defined, like a comedy show? (7) 14 Former spouse has a kind of explosive to test students’ knowledge (7) 17 Extraordinary heroism without limits for Laurie’s drinking partner (5) 19 and 20 Salvages change from gambling centre (3,5) 21 Notebook to pack away in Cornish port (7) 22 Type of cake to prohibit and hide underground (7) 24 Perhaps top men, etc, are thus ably qualified (9) 26 Taking advantage of part of campus in games (5) 28 One who possesses endless renown, in a way (5) 29 Most intelligent sort of verse, etc, left (9)

Down 1 During medical, matron is unruffled (4) 2 To restrain creativity is felt to be wrong (6) 3 Tom North is nice, organised, and knows everything! (10) 4 Put right in the headmaster’s room, solidly built (6) 5 Continues with the money raised (8) 6 Break into children’s card game? (4) 7 Leaving the stage without corpsing initially is thrilling! (8) 8 Soon gets a negative answer on national leadership (4) 13 Something left over from playground fight? (5) 15 Unhappy Dave is faced with dreadful unrest, but they’re thrilling experiences (10) 16 Written composition on beginnings of Stone Age, by the sound of it (5) 18 Men’s diet is poor — the dregs! (8) 19 Clear new translation of English novelist (8) 22 Wartime Minister of Education in the pay of the upper classes? (6) 23 B rings together parts of an educational course, including ‘End of Empire’ (6) 24 Sh — not in school! No problem! (4) 25 They enable you to listen in to the rehearsal (4) 27 Graduate loses 50% of entrance money (4)

The winner of the April crossword competition will be announced in the June issue of Report.

Congratulations to M Fisher, winner of the February 2014 crossword competition.

April 2014

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WIN!

One lucky reader will win £50 worth of Marks & Spencer vouchers. Simply send your completed crossword, with your contact details, to: ATL April Crossword Competition, Archant Dialogue, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 1RE. Closing date: 19 May 2014.

If you have an ATL membership number, please include this

Terms & conditions: Please include your full name, address and telephone number. The winner will be picked at random from the correct entries on 20 May 2014. The editor’s decision is final. No purchase is necessary.

The prize is non-transferable. Employees of ATL and Archant are not eligible for the prize draw.

!

WIN £50& of Markser Spenc vouchers

Last month’s solution — March 2014 Across: 8 Botanist 9 Issued 10 Stay 11 The 12 Course 13 Hangar 15 Lipgloss 17 Regatta 19 Destroy 22 Pastoral 24 Honest 25 Handel 27 Vac 28 Turn 29 Duties 30 The Backs Down: 1 Software 2 Cary 3 Bitter 4 Othello 5 Disciple 6 Esau 7 Census 14 Grant 16 Let on 18 Tireless 20 On strike 21 Elevate 23 Abacus 24 Hockey 26 Dais 28 Team

www.atl.org.uk

01/04/2014 16:29

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join the debate / final word

Time for technology

T Maggie Philbin Maggie Philbin has worked in radio and TV for more than 30 years and is co-founder and CEO of TeenTech CIC, an award-winning organisation helping young people

www.atl.org.uk

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he first piece of tech I remember using was my dad’s reel-to-reel tape recorder. It was the very early ’60s and my dad worked in farming, so I’ve absolutely no idea why he bought what was then a very expensive piece of kit. But I do remember being completely fascinated, as were all of my school friends, as we recorded our voices using an oblong Bakelite microphone and played them back. Dad invested in that equipment years before we were allowed a record player, so in a funny kind of way, my sister and I became creators before we were ever allowed to be consumers of tech.

The idea of encouraging young people to be ‘digital creators’ is now a hot topic. We’ve recognised the yawning gulf between the enthusiasm and confidence young people have for using technology and the way they are missing out on opportunities in an ever-expanding digital world.

Witness the present irony of over 900,000 young people out of work, having jumped through all the educational hoops as requested, while the growth of companies is frustrated because they say they can’t find ‘the right people’.

ILLUSTRATION: PHIL WRIGGLESWORTH

TV and radio presenter Maggie Philbin on why we need to showcase technological careers and encourage young people to develop their tech talents The fast-changing nature of technology makes it hard for any formal curriculum to keep up to date. We need to look for additional ways students of all ages can tap into resources that keep their skillsets fresh and relevant. This isn’t something that should just be parked in front of teachers and seen as the sole responsibility of formal education. All of us — parents, teachers and businesses — need to consider how we could do more to encourage young people, and help them to understand and develop their own talents.

The new computing curriculum, initiatives like Hour of Code and Year of Code, organisations like Code Club, Young Rewired State, Apps for Good and, of course, our own TeenTech, are trying to address this issue: helping students, teachers and parents understand why certain tools will make a significant difference to employment prospects in an exciting landscape.

It was only when I joined Tomorrow’s World in 1982 that I had any sense of just how broad the world of science, technology and engineering really was, and how there were many different entry points that led to deeply rewarding careers. Like far too many teenage girls, I’d only had veterinary science or medicine in my sights as possible ways to use my love of science.

It’s certainly true of opportunities within technology, whether within companies who are producing or using tech, that most of these jobs are completely invisible or incomprehensible to outsiders. As a parent I singularly failed to realise my own daughter would thrive in the software industry. She’s there despite of rather than because of me. We need to get better at showcasing these opportunities because the perceived image of ‘working in tech’ clearly isn’t working, especially when it comes to attracting women.

So what can we do to make the whole educational experience better and more relevant for those who are currently falling through the net? If you had complete freedom, how would you be teaching? What role could business play to support schools, teachers and students?

How do we deliver completely up-to-date career information in a way that’s inspiring, accurate and meaningful to young people? These are some of the questions I’m tackling with the UK Digital Skills Taskforce and we’d love you to get involved. Please complete our survey, details below, and let us know if you’d like to make a difference.

You can complete the teacher survey for the UK Digital Skills TaskForce at www.surveymonkey.com/s/CB9YJY8.

April 2014

01/04/2014 16:29

GREAT EVENTS for your school to enjoy

The nation’s heart charity has two fun activity-based fundraising events that your school can take part in the summer term.

Jump Rope For Heart For 5-13-year-olds

A hugely popular event that encourages children to learn skipping skills either individually, in pairs or in groups. Skipping is great fun and a superb way to get children active.

33 skipping ropes, teaching resources, skipping skills DVD and a great organiser’s guide are provided in its pack worth over £100.

Ultimate Dodgeball For 7-18-year-olds

A great way for children of different ages and abilities to have fun and get active. Just choose your teams, create a team identity and organise your own fun event.

Three dodgeballs, teaching resources, posters, sponsorship forms and a great organiser’s guide are provided in its pack worth over £30.

Everyone wins Your children win – They learn how to improve their heart health through fun physical activities.

You and your school wins – These events are simple to organise and you get a comprehensive teacher’s pack with resources worth up to £100. Your school also gets to keep 20% of the sponsorship money raised, to support its work.

Your community wins – One in every 180 babies born in the UK has a heart defect and every seven minutes someone in the UK dies from a heart attack. The money you raise will help us fund research to prevent, predict and try to cure heart disease.

For more information, visit bhf.org.uk/everyonewins or call 0300 330 3322. To register online visit bhf.org.uk/register © British Heart Foundation, a registered charity in England and Wales (225971) and in Scotland (SC039426)

ALT report BHF advert.AW.indd 1

ATL1404

24/3/14 18:43:07

V Certs - All the great benefits of vocational study for your pupils plus performance table recognition for your school.

Talk to us 0191 239 8000 schools@ncfe.org.uk @NCFE ncfe.org.uk/vcerts

03512-ncfe-ATL Schools ad.indd 1

16/01/2014 10:04