THE MAGAZINE FROM ATL, THE EDUCATION UNION
WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
APRIL 2017 £2.50
Cutting
data
down to size Report looks at how you can reduce time spent on unnecessary data
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LEARNING STYLES
Are you basing your teaching around unscientific ideas?
PROFILE
DAVID LAWS
The former schools minister gives his views on education today
NEWS
NEW UNION
ATL and NUT members vote to form the National Education Union
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Contents UPFRONT
5
UPDATE
ATL comments on teacher shortages, the Government’s workload report, and school funding
9 AGENDA
Nothing new in Government’s workload report, says Mary Bousted
11
WALES AND NORTHERN IRELAND
Rachel Curley and Mark Langhammer on the importance of tackling unnecessary workload
18 MYTHS OF THE MIND
Many education professionals are working with ‘learning styles’ that have no basis in evidence, says Professor Bruce Hood
19 GUIDE
Putting a plan in place in the event of student suicide
30 FINAL WORD
Education journalist Richard Garner reflects upon 30 years of covering the sector
F E AT U R E S
12
DATA AND WORKLOAD Getting rid of needless data to cut your workload
16
PROFILE
Former schools minister David Laws gives his views on education policy today
Report is the magazine from ATL, 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD Tel 020 7930 6441 Fax 020 7930 1359 Email report@atl.org.uk or membership@atl.org.uk Website www.atl.org.uk Editors Alex Tomlin and Charlotte Tamvakis Report is produced and designed for ATL by Think Publishing, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London NW1 5DH Tel 020 3771 7200 Email info@thinkpublishing.co.uk Sub-editor Justine Conway Art editor George Walker Designer Alix Thomazi Advertising sales Michael Coulsey or Anthony Bennett 020 3771 7200 Account manager Kieran Paul Managing director Polly Arnold
Y O U R AT L
21-29
Use the USEFUL CONTACTS to get in touch; get expert LEGAL ADVICE on the Disclosure and Barring Service; read other MEMBERS’ VIEWS; complete the PRIZE CROSSWORD to win a £50 M&S voucher; get the latest union events and info in NOTICEBOARD; plus a selection of ATL’s CPD offerings in RESOURCES
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 articles in Report are the contributors’ own and do not necessarily reflect ATL policy. Official policy
statements issued on behalf of ATL 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.
Welcome SHELAGH HIRST, ATL NATIONAL PRESIDENT
As ever in education, we live in interesting times. The yes vote in our recent ballot to amalgamate with the NUT will influence our discussions, decisions and actions, internally and externally, particularly over the coming years, as will the important debates on issues raised by members at ATL’s Annual Conference in April. Get involved in your branches, regions and nationally to make sure your voice is heard as we develop and grow. See page five for more details of the vote. This Report, as always, is packed full of useful information and interesting features. I would like to particularly draw your attention to the feature on managing your data, which you may find useful to begin the conversation in your workplace to address workload issues around the collection and value of data. You may find interesting the interview on page 16 with former minister for schools, David Laws, now executive chairman of the Education Policy Institute, a body which produces impartial, evidence-based research to influence and inform debate in areas such as recruitment and retention, workload and early years education. Lastly, who do you consider to have been the best or worst secretary of state for education during your career so far? See if you agree with education journalist Richard Garner’s view of the past 30 years in education on page 30.
Cover illustration: Neil Stevens
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UPDATE
Nearly three quarters of members who returned ballot papers voted yes to create a new union with the NUT Members’ backing for the National Education Union (NEU) comes after nearly three years of careful negotiations with the NUT to create a new union, with the combined resources and expertise to support members in the maintained, academy and independent sectors, working in every role from support staff to leader, teacher to lecturer. There was a 73% yes vote on a 25% turnout. In a separate ballot, NUT members also voted yes. ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: “This is an historic moment for ATL. I’m proud members have chosen the NEU as they know it will be a game-changer in the level of support and influence we can offer education professionals.
“Working together in the NEU, we will engage with every role and sector, offering a whole-workplace approach for support staff, teachers, lecturers and leaders to improve their working lives; listening to members’ ideas so we can develop policy; and using members’ voices to shape, not react to, Government initiatives. She added: “On our own, ATL provides members with excellent advice, support and development, and we have made progress in influencing education policy. Now, however, we have the chance to end the division of six unions and make a greater difference to education professionals’ lives. “With nearly half a million members, the NEU will combine ATL’s diversity of members and policy
expertise with the NUT’s strength of local activity to provide the strongest voice for the profession and the children, young people and adults they support.” ATL and the NUT will continue as separate unions until 1 September 2017 when they will start the transition into the NEU. Members currently in ATL or NUT will continue to be supported by their union’s current staff and lay officials from now until the end of the transition period on 1 January 2019. The new union has rules around industrial action that mean ballots will only be conducted and action taken with the significant backing of members. The rules also ensure specific support will continue for members working in the independent or post-16 sectors, and working as support staff or leaders and managers. For more details, visit www.atl.org.uk/newunion.
Reliability report ‘first step’ ATL has welcomed Ofsted’s reliability study on short inspections – but still believes a full independent investigation of the body is needed The study, published in March, looked at inspections where two inspectors were sent to the same school, to see if they gave the same judgment. It found inspectors agreed on outcomes in 22 of 24 short inspections. Mary Bousted, general secretary of ATL, said: “Ofsted is to be commended for initiating research into the reliability of its inspection judgements and this report is welcome as a first step. However, it has taken an unusually long time to publish outcomes of research started in September 2015. A small number of primary schools were involved, and this was further constricted by the fact all the schools were previously judged as good.” WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
She added: “In secondary schools, where a greater range of subjects are taught, inspectors have to make an overall judgement of the quality of a whole school. Given there is much greater variation in teaching quality within schools than between schools, ATL questions how valid and reliable these inspection judgements really are. Unfortunately, the long-delayed results of this study provide no answer to this key question. “The time is overdue for an independent investigation of Ofsted. The questions must be answered – does Ofsted inspect schools in different areas, with different social intakes, fairly? Do inspectors inspect the right things and do they come to accurate judgements?”
IN BRIEF UNIONIST REMEMBERED ATL general secretary Mary Bousted took part in the unveiling of a new English Heritage blue plaque at the former home of Mary Macarthur, who spearheaded the campaign for equal pay and was a champion of working women and the union movement in the first half of the 20th century. In her role as TUC president, Dr Bousted attended the event at 42 Woodstock Road, a semi-detached house in Golders Green, north London, which was Macarthur’s home at the height of her reputation and where she died in 1921.
UNDING FOR ALL, F NOT FEW All schools should have sufficient funding – not just a chosen few, ATL has warned. The spring Budget in March announced extra cash for free schools and grammar schools. Commenting on the news, ATL general secretary Mary Bousted, said: “Teachers and heads in the thousands of existing state schools in the UK facing realterms cuts in funding for their pupils will be dismayed to see the Chancellor throwing more money at free schools and grammar schools. “These spending pledges are totally insufficient to tackle the funding crisis the Government is inflicting on schools by forcing them to make over £3 billion of savings by 2020. We urge the Government to rethink and increase the overall amount of funding for schools through the national funding formula so it can do its job and ensure every child has the opportunity of a good education.”
APRIL 2017 | REPORT 5
IMAGE: LUCY MILLSON-WATKINS/ENGLISH HERITAGE
ATL members vote yes for a new union
U P D AT E
Workload report ‘nothing new’ A long-awaited report into teacher workload shows nothing new – and the Government must now accept responsibility, ATL says A Department for Education (DfE) report on the findings of its March 2016 survey into teacher workload was published in February this year. It found teachers are working an average of 54.4 hours a week – “markedly higher” than the 45.9 hours per week recorded in the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) into secondary teachers’ workload. Mary Bousted, general secretary of ATL, said: “The DfE’s report shows us what we already know, and have been saying for some time – education professionals are struggling under unrealistic workload pressures. ATL’s #Make1Change campaign has been working in schools supporting professionals to reduce their workload, but the problem is vast, and the Government needs to accept its culpability as a driver of workload. “It has been a year since this data was collected; a year longer for pay to lose its value, a year more of implementing flawed Government policy, a year in which funding cuts are increasingly being felt in schools, and the recruitment and retention crisis continues. The growing imbalance
between workload and reward is driving teachers from the profession and harming the education of children.” The survey found almost a third of part-time teachers work 40% of their total hours in the evening, early morning and at weekends, and primary teachers with less than six years’ experience work a total of 18.8 hours a week outside school hours. “This report shows that the DfE recognises the severity of the problem for teachers, and we welcome its approach to improve support for the early years of teachers’ careers, but the action plan published today is unambitious and will struggle to change cultures or to make an impact on workload levels,” Dr Bousted added. “The Government has failed to heed the warnings of its previous research about what drives workload – accountability, Ofsted inspections, and Government policy change. These things continue to be the major drivers of workload and there is little sign of a Government plan to effectively tackle the root causes of the problem.” Secondary school senior leaders reported longer total working hours than those in primary schools, at
62.1 hours, compared to 59.8. Across all schools, senior leaders reported an average total of 60 hours. ATL-AMiE research into leaders’ workload found 81% reporting their workload has increased, with around 62% attributing the rise to the Government’s breakneck approach to policy implementation, which leaves school leaders to pick up the pieces. Dr Bousted concluded: “The Government needs to better support leaders and make national level interventions relating to the things in its power. The Government must tackle the key driver of workload and reform its school accountability structures and systems. And the Government must conduct workload impact assessments for all policies, and control the cumulative effects of policy change and implementation.” You can read more about workload in the article on page 12, which explores ways of reducing the burden of data collection, the subject of the third of the three DfE reports on workload released last year. See www.atl.org.uk/abouttime for more about ATL’s work-life campaign, or join it on Twitter using #Make1Change.
Grammars must close gap ATL has warned that the Government has failed to provide evidence that more selection in schools will improve education for all children, following a House of Commons Education Committee report. Published in February, Evidence Check: Grammar Schools concluded the Government must demonstrate creating a wave of new grammar schools will help close the attainment gap between poorer children and their better-off peers. It also called on the Government to publish a thorough assessment of the impact of introducing new grammar schools on the wider school system and said it has yet to demonstrate how an admissions system could be designed in a manner that would be immune to gaming or the ability to pay.
6 REPORT | APRIL 2017
ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: “The Government has failed to provide evidence that more selection in schools will improve education for all children and not harm the majority. Before expanding grammar schools, it is essential the Government demonstrates how this would help social mobility and close the attainment gap between and within schools, not just for individual pupils. “It must also ensure any selection test is tutorproof, so that pupils unable to afford tutors are not disadvantaged. When budgets are under pressure, as shown by ATL and the NUT’s www.schoolcuts. org.uk, and there is a teacher recruitment crisis, the Government should concentrate funding on the priorities rather than an unproven pet project.”
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UPDATE
VICE PRESIDENT ELECTED Members have elected a vice president of ATL, who will become president in 2018, in the union’s 2017 officer elections. In February, Kim Knappett was elected ATL vice president, and will take up the role in September. Ralph Surman was elected unopposed to the position of policy officer. Lesley Tipping was elected unopposed to the role of AMiE vice president. AMiE is the group for ATL’s leader members. VIEWS ON APPRENTICESHIP ATL called for representation of further education (FE) teachers and lecturers at all levels of the organisation in its response to a Government consultation on the Institute of Apprenticeship’s strategic plan in February. While the FE workforce has expertise on the pedagogy of apprenticeships, ATL warned that this is at risk of being marginalised because of the current emphasis on employer-led design and delivery in training. ATL’s response also called for a clear definition of good-quality apprenticeship programmes and referred to ATL’s policy, which identifies the features of good-quality programmes to support teachers advising young people of their future career options. WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
ATL LOBBIES MPs TO STOP SCHOOL CUTS ATL has urged MPs to contact headteachers in their constituencies to find out how the new funding formula would affect their schools
0 Tim Farron MP at the joint union event on funding cuts in March
ATL, the NUT and the NAHT explained to MPs how much money schools in their area may lose by 2020 at an event held at the House of Commons in March. Leader of the Liberal Democrats and MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, Tim Farron, and former children’s minister Maria Eagle were among 25 MPs who attended. Labour MP for Batley and Spen Tracy Brabin said she was “shocked” to discover her schools may
lose £9.5 million in the new funding formula under consultation at the time of the event. “Headteachers were telling me that even before this new funding formula they were struggling. Now they are saying they will have to lose staff,” she said. “It feels like we are turning back the clock and returning to the '80s when we had schools where buckets were used to collect water from leaky roofs because there was no money for repairs.” Shadow minister for foreign affairs and MP for Heywood and Middleton Liz McInnes said she had been contacted by a number of headteachers who were very concerned about the money they stand to lose under the new funding formula. “My constituency is within the area covered by Rochdale Council, where 420 teachers’ jobs are at risk because of cuts,” she said. ATL policy adviser Anne Heavey, who spoke to MPs at the drop-in session, said: “We urged MPs to speak to heads to find out what they will lose per student and what that will mean in terms of staff redundancies, bigger class sizes, school repairs and so on. “We also want heads to contact their local MP to tell them what more cuts will do to their school and their students’ education.” See www.schoolcuts.org.uk for more about the funding formula and how it will affect schools around the country.
Statutory secondary sex education ATL has welcomed an announcement that sex and relationships education lessons are to be compulsory in all secondary schools. Education secretary Justine Greening told Parliament in March of her plans to extend compulsory sex education to all secondary schools and introduce relationships education for all pupils from the age of four.
ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: “We particularly welcome this announcement as we have long called for compulsory sex and relationships education to be taught in our schools. We believe sex and relationships education is essential, as it ensures young people receive vital understanding and skills to make positive and healthy choices throughout their lives.
“Making these lessons mandatory is only the start; it needs to fit with a complete whole-school approach where life skills are embedded across a broad and rich curriculum, supported by professionals who have the skills to deliver lessons on the often complex issues involved. Training needs to be available from the early stages of professional education, with teachers having access to ongoing professional development.” The Government said it will amend its Children and Social Work Bill so all secondary schools, including academies and independent schools, must teach sex education from September 2019.
APRIL 2017 | REPORT 7
PHOTO: JESS HURD
IN BRIEF
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AG E N DA
WITH STUNNING SENSE of irony, the Department for Education (DfE) published its teacher workload survey on the same day as the TUC’s ‘work your proper hours day’. As teachers work more unpaid overtime than any other profession, the concept of ‘proper hours’ is a foreign one. It took the DfE over a year to publish the data it had collected – an inordinate delay, explained, most probably, by the fact that the results are so embarrassing for the Government. What they show is that, despite Nicky Morgan’s ‘workload challenge’, things have not improved for teachers, who work on average 54.4 hours per week, or for school leaders, who work on average for 60 hours weekly. Unsurprisingly, 93% of respondents to the survey said workload was either a very serious or fairly serious problem. So what is causing this workload epidemic? It is not the hours teachers spend doing what it says on the tin – teaching. The average teaching timetable of 21.6 hours is no longer than that in other OECD countries. The tasks that pile on the hours in England and cause the pressure, exhaustion and stress are those undertaken to ‘support’ teaching. In particular, lesson preparation and marking. These each take the average teacher more than eight hours a week to complete – the equivalent of two full working days. This is completely ridiculous. The elaborate recording of lesson plans and the detailed documentation surrounding assessment does not improve the quality of teaching and learning. Rather, it is a symptom of a desperate drive for the profession to prove it is doing its job to a good (or outstanding) standard. The problem is, however long and detailed the planning and assessment frameworks are, they still fail to capture the complexity and richness of classroom discourse where, in an hour’s lesson, teachers will ask about 100 questions, consider the answers, generate group activities, evaluate pupils’ understandings, respond to pupil misconceptions, deal with non-cooperation and WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
Accountability drives workload The DfE’s severely delayed report adds more evidence to the picture of ridiculous workloads battering the profession, says Mary Bousted misbehaviour, chivvy, jolly, instruct, explain, and, generally, keep the show on the road. I have thought long and hard about the fundamental drivers of the teacher and school leader workload crisis. I conclude that, at its heart, is an accountability system that drives the profession to believe it has to document everything it does. Put bluntly, Ofsted inspection judgements, school league tables and floor standards rule the roost. School leaders have become, justifiably, terrified of a poor inspection judgement, or of a fall in the league tables. Their fear is passed down in the school to their teaching staff, who labour to prove, by reams of useless documentation, that they are doing their job properly. And while Ofsted has made welcome moves to publicise that it does not expect to see lesson plans or marking in a particular format, it is not able to give the profession a clear idea of what it
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does want to see. If inspectors are not wedded to particular lesson plan formats or marking frameworks, then just what is required of school leaders and teachers? They are left scratching their heads, anxious and insecure about whether their documentation will be acceptable to the inspection team walking through their school door. The accountability framework for England’s schools drives perverse outcomes – the worst being an under-confident, empirically impoverished teaching profession. The sad truth is teachers, with their noses to the planning and marking grindstone, desperately trying to prove they are teaching effectively, have no time to access effective CPD. It is this that would give them the confidence, based on evidence, to ask difficult questions and, if necessary, to stand up and be counted, and refuse to implement the latest daft idea dreamt up by politicians in their endless drive to demonstrate they are fearlessly driving forward their agenda. The results of this epidemic of overwork are clear for all to see. Teachers are being driven from the profession, scarred by stress, exhaustion and illness. I keep using one statistic, because it is so telling: over half of England’s teachers have less than 10 years’ experience. The profession is being hollowed out as early and midcareer teachers look at what lies ahead of them, and decide to do something different, with a chance of a normal life. So, what to do? The DfE has published a poster designed to tackle unnecessary workload. Put this up on your staffroom noticeboard. Hold a meeting of ATL and NUT members and discuss what is driving up workload, then stop doing it – or do it in a way that is more time efficient and effective. Remember that you have professional expertise and agency. Use it to improve your working life, and the education of your pupils. You can access the DfE poster via our workload campaign page at www.atl.org.uk/abouttime. APRIL 2017 | REPORT 9
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THE VIEW FROM… WALES/NORTHERN IRELAND
Wales
Northern Ireland
RACHEL CURLEY
MARK LANGHAMMER
Workload must be considered during reforms
Battling needless work and low trust
ATL MEMBERS ACROSS Wales will know, from daily experience, about the relentless pace of reform under way in every section of our education system. Whether it is assessment and accountability, the implementation of the Pupil Deprivation Grant, reform of initial teacher education, or the implementation of the Hazelkorn review into further education, wherever you look there are changes that affect the working lives of ATL Cymru members. The relentless increase in unsustainable levels of workload is having the greatest impact. Of course, one of the biggest areas of reform is the development of the new
curriculum. We have heard recently that 25 more schools have been designated as pioneer schools and will now be involved in this work. The Welsh Assembly’s Children, Young People and Education Committee has also recently published its conclusions of how the development of the new curriculum is proceeding. The committee recognises that the vision of Successful Futures is widely supported but that it is also only largely conceptual: “It is apparent that there are difficulties and challenges in translating that vision into tangible implementation… the Committee believes the hard work of implementation very much lies ahead.” ATL Cymru agrees with this assessment. If the hard work of implementation is to be successful, the impact on the workload of all education professionals needs to be addressed as an urgent priority by Welsh Government. Time and resources also need to be made available for high-quality training and professional development to support the rollout of the new curriculum.
PERHAPS THE BIGGEST issue facing teachers is the extent of nugatory, needless, unproductive work. ATL’s industrial action for decent pay and time for teaching targets needless accountability, scrutiny, bureaucracy and administration. Members regularly tell us the joy of learning is being wrung out of teaching by an ever-increasing range of low-trust accountability practices, designed mainly for box-ticking or backcovering purposes. I recently visited a grammar school in Belfast where members presented a school management memo on gathering evidence of pupil learning. It read: “Using your phone/tablet, take pictures of pupil work and email to your C2K account. Save the files onto your USB pen. Transfer your files from your USB pen to your FHE folder on OneDrive using ‘drag and drop’.” This was one of a number of similar instructions. This sort of moronic practice doesn’t simply waste teachers’ time, it is indicative of a widespread low-trust,
One change can make a difference ATL’s work-life campaign is already having a positive impact in improving workload in schools and colleges. n Share
using #make1change the one thing you would change to improve your work-life balance
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our work-life tracker to track your working hours and analyse what drives your workload
n Check
Time to tackle workload WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
out our help and advice on managing your workload better
www.atl.org.uk/abouttime #make1change
low-discretion culture in schools. Our children are tested, assessed, tracked, monitored, and examined to exhaustion. The CBI is not wrong to warn of the dangers of our schools turning into “exam factories” with pupils ill-prepared for the world of work. Excessive weighing and measuring is the direct result of a system responding to narrow performance targets. Focusing on narrow targets encourages gaming the system. Teachers have to control and protect their valuable time in the face of such practice. Taking control means using your professional judgement, and judiciously saying ‘no’ more often. ATL’s industrial action on needless accountability and scrutiny helps you do just that.
it’s about time...
make 1 change ATL’S WORK-LIFE CAMPAIGN
APRIL 2017 | REPORT 11
SPOTLIGHT ON… WORKLOAD AND DATA
Cutting data down to size If you, like so many education professionals, feel like you are drowning in data, there are ways you can begin to tackle it. Words by Edie Mullen
ILLUSTRATION: NEIL STEVENS
THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS solving a problem would usually be to find out everything you can about it – the strengths, the weaknesses; where it begins and when it ends. But what if you can’t quite define, or don’t fully understand, the thing you want to improve? What if you don’t even know why the problem exists? That’s the issue that education professionals all over the UK are facing when it comes to collecting data. The seemingly infinite spectrum of possibilities – of what it’s collected on, how often it’s collected, who needs it, how it’s recorded and reported – means teachers are up against a lack of definition, purpose and process with little scope for doing anything differently. With teachers telling us they’re collecting information for their own use, then more for their headteachers, then even more ‘for Ofsted’, the feeling is that supplying data to parties other than themselves is starting to eat into the time spent on the actual business of teaching. DATA, DATA EVERYWHERE “When gathered correctly, and used well, data is vital for the running of a school,” explains ATL’s assistant general secretary for policy Nansi Ellis. “It’s used to track attendance rates, the number of pupils who attract the pupil premium, or how many SEND pupils 12 REPORT | APRIL 2017
the school has. But the scope of what we can collect in schools is immense. “For example, a school has to know how many SEND pupils it has. But if that’s two pupils in a class and you’re tracking their progress, how helpful is it to know that 50% are meeting the expected level, every six weeks? A teacher would know that fact without having to crunch any numbers. It’s easy to lose sight of why information should be collected, or how often.” A teacher we spoke to about her workload issues agreed. “Data in my school is currently collected and analysed half termly,” she told us, “where we have to use SIMS to assess the progress of each category of children. This includes boys, girls, pupil premium and non, SEND and non, to name but a few. We have to calculate percentages and points progress for each group.” ATL’s workload tracker, part of its wider workload campaign, has been filled in by more than 3,000 education professionals, so the union knows exactly which issues to focus on. Of the activities you have said are making excessive demands on your time, three came up repeatedly: marking, lesson planning and data collection. These were also key within the Government’s workload challenge. You can read about the first two in the June and September 2016 issues of Report respectively, see www.atl.org.uk/report.
The overwhelming sentiments expressed were of frustration, mixed with confusion over the volume and quality of data required – especially from teachers whose specialisms do not involve an aptitude for statistics. More than four in five (82%) members in ATL’s workload survey told us their headteachers require them to perform data entry and analysis, but only 23% believe that data benefits pupils. “This is time that I could be using WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
the year the data will be out of date.” “Analysing data is fine if it helps to give helpful and relevant evidence to help improve results,” said another teacher. “The main problem is that we are expected to work out the data and input ourselves, which takes hours if you are not strong on maths.” “I feel data analysis is a job that is paid very well, with good reason, and is not the job of a teacher,” added another. The Government’s Teacher Workload Survey 2016, taken from a February 2016 survey but not published until February this year, shows the problem of excessive data has not gone away. The activity ‘recording, inputting, monitoring and analysing data in relation to pupil performance and for other purposes’ took up an average of more than two and a half hours for classroom teachers, while more than 70% said the activity was ‘a burden on their time’.
to plan, and to work with other students,” sums up one member. And while some larger secondary schools will employ data managers to help with the process, most primaries and smaller secondaries do not. Referring to the volume of work required of them, one teacher said: “Data entry of 1,800 milestones – 60 per child, for 30 children – just for maths is ridiculous. We have to enter 50 per week to ‘manage’ it, but by the end of WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
DATA FLOWS UPWARDS In the report of the independent working groups on workload, the data management working group concluded “all parts of the education system have been culpable in allowing the development of a culture of excessive data collection and all have a role to play in redressing the balance”. It went on to call on those parties to ensure that “every data collection has a clear purpose, and that the process is as efficient as possible”. So who are those parties, and why do they all need your teaching data?
The highest-up source of pressure on data-related workload comes from the Department for Education (DfE), and from two different sides at that. The DfE collects data from schools, but changes to the curriculum and to assessment mean that systems have had to change, with little support from the Government. This adds to teachers’ and headteachers’ workload. The working group recommends: “Government should ensure that national curriculum policy does not place ill-considered demands on schools in relation to tracking progress.” On the next rung down is Ofsted – which is, at least, one problem we can solve right away. The working group refers us to Ofsted’s own framework, which states it doesn’t need to see data in any kind of format other than the one already used by schools. “If your headteacher is telling you they need special extra data to show Ofsted, let them know that this isn’t the case,” advises Ellis. If you need any further support with this, ATL can offer training and advice – details can be found on page 15. This leaves us with senior management staff, who have also told us data management is a drain on their time and resources. Could part of the disconnect between what information is necessary and what actually gets collected lie in leaders’ lack of confidence in data? Mark Wright, director of AMiE, ATL’s organisation for leaders in education, thinks so. “Data has too often been used as a security blanket by some school leaders to reassure themselves that they have evidence that learning is taking place,” he told us. “They need to question the extent to which this is leading directly to improved teaching and learning. Is there an imbalance toward ‘weighing the pig’ rather than ‘growing it’? Can we provide evidence of learning by simpler means, such as formative assessment that doesn’t require capturing?
“DATA HAS TOO OFTEN BEEN USED AS A SECURITY BLANKET BY SOME SCHOOL LEADERS” 3 APRIL 2017 | REPORT 13
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SPOTLIGHT ON… WORKLOAD AND DATA
ATL's work-life campaign ‘It's about time...’ is about giving you the help and advice you need to start taking action – for yourself and with colleagues. There is a workload tracker, advice and guidance on managing your workload. See www.atl.org.uk/abouttime. Follow the campaign on Twitter using #Make1Change. Read ATL general secretary Mary Bousted's TES blog responding to the Government’s workload survey results at www.tes.com/news/ school-news/breaking-views/whatshould-be-empowering-upliftingprofession-has-become-a-prison.
“Prioritisation is a key aspect of leadership, so, as workload issues become ever more problematic, there’s a real need to constantly review data capture. AMiE is urging our members to be brave and take the pruning shears to data.” CAN YOU MAKE A CHANGE? There are still parts of the process that need wholesale improvement, such as the provision of training for both the people asking for and those supplying the data. ATL members have reported having to upload to as many as four different systems at the same time, so some kind of synchronisation of all the different IT systems and databases used would make everyone’s lives easier. “This would be a gigantic endeavour and would require the Government to work with a multitude of private sector providers,” explains Ellis, “which would definitely raise some issues about what information was exchanged with which companies. But at the end of the day, these systems could collect a huge amount of data or a strategic amount – it’s up to the person running it to decide how a system is used.” Will the DfE, Ofsted and your school or college’s management all take the working group’s recommendations and solve your workload problem between them? The Government accepted the recommendations, and has recently published summaries of the working group reports (although chances are they’re not going to lay off further WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
curriculum changes), while Ofsted has already stated its position on what data it’s asking for. The biggest area for change – the removal of unnecessary work – sits with your own workplace’s management. If you’re not working at management level, chances are you feel you can’t make a difference to your workload when it comes to data. But what you can do is act as a voice of reason and ask challenging questions. You can help the people above you on the data chain by pinpointing the factors they have the power to change, but might not know are there. The working group has recommended four tactics that will help leaders to make those judgments: • Be streamlined: eliminate duplication. • Be ruthless: only collect what is needed to support outcomes for
children. Always ask why the data is needed. • Be prepared to stop activity: do not assume that collection or analysis must continue just because it always has. • Be aware of workload issues: consider not just how long it will take, but whether that time could be better spent on other tasks. If you’re gathering, uploading, analysing or reporting data, look out for any opportunity to suggest the above. Senior managers tell us that data processing eats into their time, while the 2016 workload survey showed middle leaders spending more than two and a half hours a week on the task, and senior leaders more than four hours a week. Your offer of help might just fall upon extremely receptive ears.
Tackle your workload with these three big data questions The working group recommends that anyone dealing with data – from top to bottom – should ask the following before continuing.
1
Am I clear on the purpose? Why is this data being collected, and how will it help improve the quality of provision? Is this the most efficient process? Have the workload implications been properly considered and is there a less burdensome way to collect, enter, analyse, interpret and present the information? Is the data valid? Does the data actually provide a reliable and defensible measure of educational attainment?
2 3
HERE TO HELP If you’ve pinpointed an area of data management that you think should be approached differently, bringing this up with school leadership might well feel like a challenge. ATL is here to support you in asking questions about data at your school. If you’re not confident approaching leadership with your concerns or ideas, we offer advice and training.
You can download a factsheet on assertiveness at www.atl.org.uk/assertiveness and read more about handling difficult conversations at www.atl.org.uk/difficultconversations. Details of national and local training can be found at www.atl.org.uk/learningzone or by emailing learning@atl.org.uk. The Government and education unions have produced a poster and pamphlet on reducing teacher workload – download them from www.atl.org.uk/abouttime.
APRIL 2017 | REPORT 15
AFTER A CAREER that has taken in roles both as Liberal Democrat spokesman for education and schools minister in the coalition Government, David Laws has a good understanding of the intricacies of education policy-making. He is no longer in Parliament, but is still in Westminster, and, as executive chairman of the independent Education Policy Institute (EPI), leads an organisation he hopes will improve education policy. “Lots of policy-making in education and other policy space tends to be based on political hunch, ideology and, often, statistics distorted for political purposes. There’s too much based on ideology and faith, and too little on the basis of serious analysis and quantification. We felt there was a need for an organisation that had a clearer focus on data analysis,” he explains. Laws wants EPI to be for education what the Institute of Fiscal Studies is for economic policy, an influential organisation that tries to improve outcomes by improving policy and the quality of debate and analysis. With a focus on education and young people’s mental health, from early years to lifelong learning, since it formed last year it has produced a series of evidence-based reports on issues including academies and multi-academy trusts, grammar schools and social mobility, and inspection. “In all policy spheres, there’s a tendency for people to leap from partial evidence and quantitative analysis to big bold policy conclusions that often don’t bear the weight of supporting evidence. One good example is a lot of the structural reform we’ve seen over the past 10 or 20 years – academies, university technical colleges, free schools, and so forth. A lot of policy has been driven by partial analysis of the data and political ideology, rather than by proper measurement and analysis of what’s actually happening.”
LAWS OF EDUCATION
Former MP and education minister David Laws speaks to Charlotte Tamvakis about his priorities for education and his time in politics
LOOKING BACK These structural reforms are resonant for Laws – they are something he wished he had been able to have more of an influence over during his time in the coalition. “I found it frustrating I wasn’t able to persuade Michael Gove of what I saw as the risks and weaknesses of the academies programme. “There was too much of a focus on creating loads of new academies, rather than on how you actually deliver better education in schools,” he says. There was too much of an assumption on the Conservative side that if you liberate schools from local authority control, they would automatically do better. I always thought what really made a difference was whether you could improve the quality of leadership and teaching in schools.” He also would have liked to have done more for early years. “Towards the end of Parliament, we announced the introduction of an early years pupil premium, and that was a good thing. But education policy was too disconnected between early years and schools, which were under separate ministers. If I’d had another five years in Government, I would have loved to do much more on early years education.”
Among Liberal Democrat “gains” within the coalition, he cites the pupil premium, free infant school meals and new attainment targets. “Delivering the pupil premium not only put a lot of money into schools in disadvantaged areas, but also created a much clearer focus around progress and attainment for disadvantaged pupils that wasn’t there before,” Laws explains. “The move away from the five A*-C GCSE target to Attainment 8 and Progress 8 widened the focus of the curriculum, and put more emphasis on progress rather than just measuring schools’ raw attainment without figuring out the contribution of the child and parental background. I was also very proud to deliver what I thought was a good social and educational policy, universal infant free school meals.” What of the unions; of ATL? “ATL is a union I’ve always respected, not least for the leadership of Mary Bousted, who I admire as somebody who is very thoughtful, very passionate about education, very involved in policy issues, and absolutely unafraid to give you her views. Nobody bangs on the table louder than Mary when she feels strongly about something, and she does so in a way that you know what she’s saying is what she really believes, and is in the best interests of children. “At the end of the day, one of the most crucial factors in determining the quality of education has to be whether we can attract, retain and develop our teaching workforce. The Government has an interest in attracting the best and retaining and developing teachers, and the
16 REPORT | APRIL 2017 WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
IN PROFILE… DAVID LAWS
CHALLENGES AHEAD Teacher recruitment and retention, along with structural changes to the school system, post-16 vocational education and early years, are what Laws considers the biggest challenges for the sector, and, among a lengthy list that also includes the new funding formula and variations in performance around the country, are what EPI’s work will focus on in the months ahead. “We know from our reports last year that we have a problem with teacher workload in England, and with retention and low levels of professional development for teachers. There tends to be far too little thought given by policy-makers in the UK to what we can do to improve the recruitment, retention and development of the teaching workforce in comparison to structural changes such as academisation and so forth,” Laws says. “Although all countries aspire to attract top graduates into the teacher workforce, and we should aspire to this as well, the truth is that teaching is a very big profession – you need hundreds of thousands of people, and not all of them can be, by definition, the elite. You need to think about how you have a training and professional development system that supports all teachers to be able to do their job incredibly well, rather than relying on getting exceptional people come into the education system and simply assuming that if they’re brilliant, they will manage to train and develop themselves.” EPI is also continuing its work on structural changes in education and on early years. “We know 40% of the
IMAGES: SARAH TURTON
unions have an interest in improving the terms, conditions and professional development of their workforce, so there ought to be scope and necessity on both sides to have mature, productive relations,” he says. “Sometimes, in Government, I could be frustrated by the teacher unions because there was too much grandstanding and too little serious engagement in some policy issues, but I think we politicians could equally be to blame for that at times. The teacher unions have some good points to make about the heavy workload of teachers in England, the retention problems we’ve got, the squeeze on the real pay levels, and the failure to properly support the development of its workforce. “Politicians need to think about and engage with those issues, because the evidence, including evidence we’ve produced at EPI, shows a lot of these things are well grounded, and mark England’s education system out in a bad way from other countries. Unless we take some of these issues seriously, we’re going to struggle to deliver the world-class education all politicians say they want.”
disadvantage gap emerges before children even get into the school system, and not all early years education seems to be very effective in making a reduction in that gap,” Laws says. “We want a more in-depth look at what’s going on and whether there are effective practices for narrowing the gap that could be rolled out.” The last major issue on its radar is the post-16 vocational and technical agenda. Laws explains: “We have a system that delivers relatively clear academic pathways, but one in which options for vocational and technical education post-16 are often not clear, with poor careers advice and guidance – sometimes there are difficulties in getting young people the right advice when the institutions they are in might have a self-interest in particular pathways. We also have difficulties in the ways we’re funding technical education compared with more traditional routes.” Should education be free of party political influence to create long-term stability? “I think a lot of things in education can never be completely out of party political influence; for example, the money spent on education is always going to be a political issue, and it’s understandable that education, as a very important policy area, will be an area of debate where politicians and the public want to have their say at elections,” Laws says. “But we need to recognise that changing large parts of education policy at short notice runs the risk that changes are based on short-term analysis and political prejudice, rather than on evidence, data and rational long-term policy-making. There are some elements of policy where there needs to be a greater break to avoid short-term political lurches – particularly curriculum and qualifications.” Lastly, what if he were 6 David Laws schools minister now? addressing ATL’s Annual Conference “My priorities would be as schools minister the same areas I’ve just in 2014 mentioned. What are the design changes we need to see, given the halfbaked system we’ve been left with today, which is neither a fully academised nor a local authority system, a reform programme that’s well under way but where the destination isn’t yet that clearly worked out? How do we improve the quality of post-16 technical and vocational education so it’s a genuinely high-quality route? “We need to look at how we improve early years education for disadvantaged youngsters and narrow the gap on entry to school, how we deliver a school-led system of improvement, and how we retain, develop and improve the quality of our teaching workforce and improve the quality of CPD. Teachers are one of the biggest professional groups in England, so having a serious programme of development for them, something that looks the equivalent in quality and time to the best education systems in the world, is necessary if we want a world-class education system.”
“ONE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL FACTORS IN DETERMINING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION HAS TO BE WHETHER WE CAN ATTRACT, RETAIN AND DEVELOP OUR TEACHING WORKFORCE”
WWW.ATL.ORG.UK APRIL 2017 | REPORT 17
JOIN THE DEBATE LEARNING STYLES
Many education professionals are working with ‘learning styles’ that have no basis in evidence, says Professor Bruce Hood
2 Professor Bruce Hood is the chair of developmental psychology in society at the University of Bristol and founder of Speakezee. www. speakezee.org
BOTH TEACHERS AND PARENTS want to provide the best learning experience for children, so are constantly looking for any new research that promises to improve the way we educate. It’s no wonder that education is at risk from folk theories and practices that are more to do with wishful thinking than evidence-based research. One common belief is the application of neuroscientific research to improve education. Most of these constitute ‘neuromyths’ – beliefs and practices supposedly based on sound, scientific brain research that, in reality, have no valid, reliable evidence. One common neuromyth is ‘learning styles’, which advocates identifying individuals’ preferred way of processing sensory information based on self-reports and then matching or ‘meshing’ their styles with educational materials in the same format. Our survey of 108 headteachers at independent schools indicated 85% believed in learning styles, with 66% using them in their schools. The estimated costs ranged from very little to over £30,000 a year for external consultants and teacher training courses. Learning styles are also seen in state schools but it is more difficult to get a measure of how prevalent they are. Learning styles seem intuitively plausible, even having Government backing from the previous Department for Education and Skills 10 years ago, which issued guidelines stating: “Through an understanding of learning styles, teachers can exploit pupils’ strengths and build their capacity to learn.” Learning styles are a gross simplification of the complexity of brains operating in classrooms and the multimodal nature of lessons.
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WWW.ATL.ORG.UK 18 REPORT | APRIL 2017 WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
SHUTTERSTOCK
Myths of the mind
Despite their intuitive appeal and prevalence, there is no credible scientific evidence to support them. If learning styles really did work, then one would expect to find a particular pattern of test performance in the data. Students classified as visual learners would perform significantly better on visual material compared to auditory material, and the opposite pattern should be found for those whose preferred learning style is auditory. The gold standard for scientific scrutiny is called meta-analysis, where all the available studies are assessed to ascertain whether there is a reliable effect and, if so, how strong that effect is. In both cases, meta-analysis of learning styles has come up empty handed. There is neither reliable nor strong evidence for the practice. Of course, there are many individuals who support the efficacy of learning styles, but their evidence is anecdotal or a misunderstanding of what is meant by learning styles meshing. Undoubtedly, the practice will continue, as this is not the first time that the issue has been raised publicly. However, we should recognise it is potentially damaging. It is not just the financial cost of unsupported practices, but also the problem of categorising individuals that leads to the assumption of fixed or rigid learning style, which can impair motivation to apply oneself or adapt. What is the best way to educate? First, don’t worry about the brain. Neuroscience is fascinating, but the chasm between our understanding of how the brain works and how best to educate is too great to have any real application at the moment. In most typical children, interventions that draw attention to their learning will have beneficial effects, but not because they are matching materials to their supposed learning style. Rather, expectations and awareness about learning are generally beneficial. Learning should be engaging, which means that variety is desirable. These are basic principles of good teaching that come from education and not neuroscience. One way to introduce variety and engage pupils is to let them hear from experts outside the school system. My organisation, Speakezee, has been working with the Independent Schools Association (ISA) and the Independent State Schools Partnership (ISSP) to link independent and state schools with their local universities by sending academic speakers into schools to talk about their research using language pupils can understand. Many of the 1,800 speakers are young female graduate students who can be good role models for some children.
GUIDE communicate news, provide information and how/where to seek support.
Coping with student suicide Having a plan in place can help deal with the difficult aftermath of the suspected suicide of a student or pupil, says Samaritans education service development manager Karen Harvey NOBODY LIKES TO THINK about a death in school. While suicide is rare, it is the leading cause of death for young people in the UK and Ireland. The Office for National Statistics found that 249 young people aged 10-19 took their own lives in 2015. Research shows the way a school handles the aftermath of a suicide, also known as ‘postvention’, plays an important role in the recovery of the community. Postvention activities, such as ensuring safe messaging about suicide, identifying those who have been affected by the death, and providing or signposting to appropriate support, can help to reduce feelings of distress and suicidal thoughts by ensuring proper support and appropriate information are provided. In this way, it is possible to see how postvention can be part of suicide prevention. The suicide of a schoolmate can increase the risk of suicidal thoughts or attempts among young people. A Canadian study suggests this effect can last for up to two years following the suicide and this impact was even greater than the suicide of a family member. We know that contagion, when a suicide triggers suicidal behaviour in another, is more likely to occur in young people, who are more vulnerable because they are at a stage where there is a need for acceptance, belonging, and approval by peers. Aside from increasing the risk of suicide, attempts and thoughts in those bereaved WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
by suicide, the death of a student can leave family, friends and schoolmates with many difficult emotions. Creating a response plan Organisations with plans to respond to a suicide are best equipped to deal with it if it happens. It can be helpful to begin with forming a team of people who will have key roles to play in responding, communicating and supporting the community in the event of a suspected suicide. This team can then plan the following out in detail, allocating people responsible for each aspect of the plan. Breaking the news • Plan how you will communicate what has happened to the community – informing key members of staff first, allowing time for discussion and ensuring support is available. • Break the news, wherever possible, face-to-face, in small groups, especially to those likely to be more affected. Be factual and avoid excessive detail about the act itself. Rumours may be circulating and people may ask directly, but try not to disclose details about the method used, whether there was a suicide note, or its contents. • Develop template scripts, emails and messages that can be used to
Support • Consider how to identify young people who may be vulnerable, and what additional support can be made available. • Arrange support for those who need it as soon as possible. • Talk to young people about how to support one another. • Provide information about support and bereavement for the community. Media • Appoint a single media spokesperson for the school and discourage other students and staff from making public comments or using social media to discuss issues. • Encourage respectful, supportive online behaviour and encourage peers to report any postings they are concerned about. Funerals and memorials • Care needs to be given to funeral and memorial arrangements. Every effort should be made not to glorify or glamourise the suicide. • Try to manage any outpouring of grief by large groups of young people. Adults should supervise and support commemorative events. • Memorials should be time-limited, visible, yet not impossible to avoid. Routine • Try to strike a balance between sensitivity to those who are grieving and in shock, on the one hand, and the need to maintain the school routine, on the other. Samaritans’ postvention service, Step by Step, has a team of trained volunteer postvention advisers who are available to offer practical support, resources and advice to professionals and management teams who work with young people, face-to-face, by phone or by email. Support and advice is free and available for as long as needed. There is no one correct way to respond to a suspected suicide of a student. However, by not addressing what has happened you can increase the stigma. Facts may be distorted by rumour or speculation and those affected may not seek help due to feelings of isolation and blame. For further information contact stepbystep@samaritans.org, call 0808 168 2528, or see www. samaritans.org/stepbystep. APRIL 2017 | REPORT 19
YOUR ATL… CONTENTS AND CONTACTS
Your ATL
REMEMBER TO PASS YOUR COPY OF REPORT TO COLLEAGUES WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN IT
EXPERT ADVICE, TEACHING TOOLS, MEMBER BENEFITS – AND YOUR RIGHT TO REPLY IN THIS SECTION
23
24
LEGAL GUIDE
YOUR VIEWS
Our legal team explains the Disclosure and Barring Service
ATL members on grammar schools, workload in independent schools and the realities of pay progression
23 25
CROSSWORD
DBS √ checks
Take up the challenge of our cryptic crossword for the chance to win a £50 Marks & Spencer voucher
27 NOTICEBOARD Get involved in a research project into ability grouping and campaign for FE, plus details of ATL’s summer conferences for reps
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USEFUL CONTACTS 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. If they are unable to help, contact ATL member advisers on the general enquiries number below, or you can call our out-of-hours helpline between 5pm and 7pm Monday to Friday on 020 7782 1612. General enquiries: 020 7930 6441 info@atl.org.uk Belfast: 028 9078 2020 ni@atl.org.uk Cardiff: 029 2046 5000 cymru@atl.org.uk
AMiE members: Call the employment helpline on 01858 464171 helpline@amie.atl.org.uk Membership enquiries: membership@atl.org.uk Pension enquiries: 020 7782 1600
Resources
ATL’s CPD on tackling workload, teamworking and being a brilliant NQT
If you are not a member of ATL and would like to join, please contact us on
0845 057 7000 (lo-call)
Personal injury claims: 033 3344 9616 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.
TERMS OF ATL’S SUPPORT ARE OUTLINED IN OUR MEMBERS’ CHARTER, AVAILABLE VIA WWW.ATL.ORG.UK/MEMBERSCHARTER. WHEN EMAILING ATL FROM HOME, PLEASE INCLUDE EITHER YOUR MEMBERSHIP NUMBER OR HOME POSTCODE TO HELP US DEAL WITH YOUR ENQUIRY MORE EFFICIENTLY.
WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
APRIL 2017 | REPORT 21
Get Year 4 reading with Story Hunters The new programme from the UK’s largest children’s reading charity BookTrust. Each pupil is given a personalised pack of books and activities, every month from October 2017 to March 2018.
For just £99 per child Maximise your Pupil Premium and sign up today
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Trade Union Services
INJURED AT WORK? AS A UNION MEMBER, WE’LL GUARANTEE YOU 100% OF YOUR COMPENSATION Changing government legislation means many legal firms now keep up to 40% of your Personal Injury compensation to cover costs. But at Morrish Solicitors, we believe that every penny you’re awarded should go to you. As an ATL member, you can enjoy friendly, professional legal advice from Morrish Solicitors, including our FREE Personal Injury service. So if you’ve been injured and it wasn’t your fault, talk to us today. For your FREE Personal Injury Service call
033 3344 9616
Complete a claim form at atlinjuryclaims.org.uk Or for more member benefits visit morrishsolicitors.com/atl
YOUR ATL… LEGAL GUIDE
THOSE WHO APPLY for jobs working with vulnerable groups, including children, will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, which help employers to make safer recruitment decisions. There are three types of DBS checks: • Standard checks provide details of convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings. • Enhanced checks include the same details, plus any additional information held by local police that is reasonably considered relevant to the role being applied for. • Enhanced ‘with list’ checks include all this information, plus a check of the DBS barred lists. February 2017 saw the publication of data from a Freedom of Information Act request on information gleaned from DBS certificates issued between 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016, following checks on those who applied for the positions of headteacher, deputy headteacher, head of year, teacher (including trainees), classroom assistant and substitute/ agency teacher. During that period, the DBS despatched 284,501 disclosures, which contained information relating to 9,960 convictions for criminal offences. By far the highest recorded offences were for driving a motor vehicle with excess alcohol (1,325), followed by theft/shoplifting (726). The DBS was unable to confirm if, as a result of the information being included on the certificates, any of the individuals were employed. It is for the employer to make the recruitment decision and the DBS has no involvement in the matter. Not all criminal convictions will result in someone being barred from working with vulnerable persons (see below). Job applicants can appeal to the DBS if they believe the enhanced certificate contains incorrect or irrelevant information on convictions, or a mistake in the personal information. After speaking to applicants, employers can also appeal. The appeal should be lodged within three months of the issue of the certificate. Before deciding on the appeal, the DBS will contact the police. If the police do not agree that there has been a mistake, the appeal is referred to the Independent Monitor for the Disclosure and Barring Service, but only on the basis that the information: • is not relevant to the position that has been applied for, or • should not be included in the certificate. If the appeal is upheld by the Independent Monitor, the enhanced certificate will be corrected. WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
DBS checks √
burd ATL solicitor Sharon Li nd explains the detail behi g Disclosure and Barrin Service checks
It is an offence to knowingly employ someone who has been barred by the DBS. It is also an offence for a barred person to apply for work or to work with the vulnerable group from which he or she has been barred. The DBS has two ‘barred lists’ of individuals: one for those who work (referred to as regulated activity) with children; the other, with different rules, for work with adults. Anyone convicted or cautioned for certain serious offences, such as sexual offences, will be automatically barred, subject to the consideration of representations, where permitted. Employers have a legal duty to refer to the DBS someone who has been working in a regulated activity (eg an employee or volunteer) who has been dismissed/ removed or would have been removed (had they not left) following harm to a child or vulnerable adult. Harm is not defined legally, but it includes physical, sexual, emotional, verbal and psychological harm, as well as neglect.
“NOT ALL CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS WILL RESULT IN SOMEONE BEING BARRED FROM WORKING WITH VULNERABLE PEOPLE”
Once a case is referred to it, the DBS undertakes an assessment process, during which information and evidence is gathered. The DBS would expect employers to provide them with minutes of disciplinary hearings, witness statements, dismissal/ suspension letters, records relating to any safeguarding investigation as well as details of any police involvement. The burden of proof in assessing all DBS referrals is the ‘balance of probabilities’, which means whether something is more likely to have happened than not. This is a lesser burden than ‘beyond reasonable doubt’, used in criminal cases. If the DBS concludes that a risk of harm to a vulnerable group has been identified, it will write to the individual to say it has reached a ‘minded to bar’ position. The individual is invited to make representations to the DBS, within eight weeks, as to why he or she should not be barred. The case is reassessed after receipt of the representations and the person is notified of the final decision. Where a decision to bar has been made, the person is notified of the right to seek an appeal/review. An appeal can be made on the grounds of an ‘error’ of fact or law. A review can only be requested after a minimum period has elapsed, which is 10 years if the person was aged 25 years or over when barred.
Contact ATL, using the details on page 21, for advice on matters relating to the DBS. APRIL 2017 | REPORT 23
YOUR ATL… YOUR VIEWS
Letters STA R L E T T E R
arrived in a school where they were, it was too late. As a result, I could not read English or history at university because I didn’t have a modern foreign language, Latin or Greek. The young graduate teachers at my final secondary school were what finally saved me. They realised I had potential, encouraging me to study subjects I found motivating and enjoyable. If Theresa May gets her way, more children like me will be written off at 11, and some of them will not be as lucky as I was. J Cheesman, Wiltshire
NO MORE SQUARE PEGS Please don’t allow Theresa May to reintroduce secondary modern schools. As someone who attended four different secondary moderns in three separate counties, I don’t feel I was well served by that system. I have no doubt that if she succeeds in creating more grammar schools, a second tier, probably called comprehensives, will be created in those areas. I spent my whole time at secondary school feeling like a square peg in a round hole. I had The author of this letter wins no aptitude for £100 in book tokens. If you want to INDEPENDENT woodwork, voice your opinion on issues raised in Report or any other aspect of education, EXCESS metalwork, please send a letter or email to the Regarding the technical addresses below, including your “excessive drawing or any phone number. One letter will be chosen extra hours” of the other every issue to win independent practical subjects the tokens. teachers work we were taught. I (Report, January 2017), was asked by a careers I have first-hand experience of officer what I wanted to do the demands that can drive you when I left school. When I said out of a job. Having just moved I’d like to be a pilot, he snorted, back to the state sector, I know saying my maths wasn’t good from both sides of the fence enough, and anyway I was at a that teaching requires constant secondary modern. hard work and commitment. I appreciate that some people But I also saw how little some probably enjoyed their time at independent schools do towards secondary moderns and found achieving real work-life balance. the practical activities useful. The expectation to run extraHowever, I am sure others, like curricular activities every week, me, would have been better the frequency of evening suited to more academic activities and the scheduling of studies. No languages were weekend commitments with taught at the first two schools no reference to normal family I attended, and by the time I
SHUTTERSTOCK
WIN!
24 REPORT | APRIL 2017
routines – all have a cumulative draining effect. In term-time, it became almost impossible to have anything resembling a family life. Like many independent schools, mine paid above the national pay scale, but in exchange an open-ended commitment to almost anything the school chose to stage was expected. Fee-paying parents had high expectations of round-theclock activities and enriching experiences, but it was the same tired teaching body that was expected to deliver the goods after school. The pressure to run eye-catching trips compounded the problem, with some staff crawling towards the end of term exhausted, only to see half the holiday vanish in a far-flung trip, with no chance to recharge before it all began again. It doesn’t have to be like this. I have known independent heads who think carefully about who is required for what, and whose turn it is to get home and see a spouse, a child or a friend. Many parents – both state and independent – have an “on call” mentality the leadership team may do nothing to discourage, but other heads set clear expectations about when and how staff are contactable, and when school business may have to wait to the next appropriate school day. It’s about setting reasonable expectations and valuing your most important asset – not parents, but teachers. Name supplied THE REALITIES OF PAY PROGRESSION This is what I imagine a brutally honest letter from my SLT about pay progression would look like…
JOIN THE DEBATE…
You are eligible to apply for pay progression; however, the school is short of money and we are seeking ways to reduce spending. Therefore, we have decided pay progression is an area where the school can make real savings. Although we would like to give you the idea we have a transparent, no surprises policy, we have decided that pay progression will only be available to core subject teachers, or where we really have no alternative. In your case we have no intention of giving you a pay rise, but we cannot tell you that to your face, so we are going to put you through the process, even though we have already decided your department’s results are poor enough for us to justify a case so we don’t need to follow through on it. We really do understand that you’re not actually responsible, but we trust you will realise this is not relevant in our decision. Just to cover ourselves, we’re also going to add some unwritten suggestions that we’re concerned about your teaching, though these have never been promulgated to you in any way, just to make sure you cannot win an appeal (but please don’t make us have to fudge this ‘evidence’ as we leaders are very busy people). On top of that, we’re so embarrassed about putting you through this, that we’re not even prepared to tell you that you haven’t been successful. You can just sweat it out waiting to see if you actually get back pay. Please don’t make a fuss; we really like you, and we’re going to dangle the idea that you can always re-apply next year. Just be quiet and take one for the team. Name supplied
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YOUR ATL… PRIZE CROSSWORD
WIN!
Prize crossword ACROSS 4 Not happy about some of Chancellor’s address (3) 8 Make small adjustments to improve very good melody? (4-4) 9 Four included in new role for musical (6) 10 He takes subjects such as music and literature in a suit (6) 11 Get Latin translation for ‘Cornish castle’ (8) 13 Indian nationalist using the letters between F and J? (6) 14 At end of lunch I shaped a new top position in school (8) 15 Requirement for some genuine education (4) 16 OU in dreadful mess about dessert (6) 18 Cambridge University exam is the most endearing! (6) 21 Release with no charge (4) 22 Got BA – done it, surprisingly! (8) 24 L ast of children in place before the due time – almost! (6) 26 Reveal record, but fail to win (8) 29 Endlessly study or revise from Henry VII to Elizabeth I (6) 30 Grow old, and change meeting programme (6) 31 Arranged paid term, and passed on knowledge (8) 32 There’s a great deal in the allotment (3)
A £50 Marks & Spencer voucher
DOWN 1 Nice changes before The Graduate is screened here? (6) 2 Lowers the quality of the two exam levels below C? (8) 3 So the uni resolved to be much better than others (8) 4 & 5 Expelled from university? Dons went crazy! (4,4) 6 Last exams – unfortunately fails, a point in it (6) 7 State handouts – maybe it’s been about families, initially (8) 12 Starting it carefully, each doughnut is thus finished? (4) 13 PE hall put up in Army garrison (3) 14 Caught the sound, the sound of many cows (5) 17 Combined universities might also be known as Camford? (8) 18 Perhaps teach piano, including small number prominent in Whitehall (8) 19 Do a front flip, backwards and forwards (2,3,3) 20 Oddly tardy to make an effort (3) 21 Following France, witness return of money paid for tuition (4) 23 Way of pronouncing language, etc, can be altered (6) 25 Use bottom half of cellar, colder as a food store (6) 27 Type of exam taken by a student or a learner (4) 28 Former information technology on the way out? (4)
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HOW TO ENTER
Send your completed crossword with your contact details to: ATL April crossword competition, Think Publishing, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London NW1 5DH. The closing date is 18 May 2017. If you have an ATL membership number, please include this here: The winner of the April competition will be announced in the June/July issue of Report.
LAST ISSUE’S SOLUTION ACROSS: 1 Russell 5 Dreamer 9 Chemist 10 Bed 1 1 Rip 12 Temptress 14 Whole 15 Lines 17 Academies 19 Novelists 21 Taboo 24 Tired 25 Classmate 27 CEO 28 Ado 29 Nastier 31 Dresser 32 Dungeon DOWN: 1 Recital 2 Sue 3 Edict 4 Lutherans 5 Debts 6 Endowment 7 Marconi 8 Repress 13 Men 16 Salad days 18 Abstained 19 Noticed 20 Verbose 22 Bra 23 Overrun 25 Choir 26 Susan 30 Ire CONGRATULATIONS TO FEBRUARY’S WINNER – JO THORPE, SOUTHAMPTON
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YOUR ATL… NOTICEBOARD
NOTICE BOARD ATL REP SUMMER CONFERENCES 2017
PETER SMITH SCHOLARSHIP
Save the date for ATL’s reps’ summer conferences 2017. These sessions will provide a combination of CPD, topical issue workshops and networking opportunities to support you in your role to organise and represent members in your workplace. They are open to all workplace reps and contacts from all sectors.
ATL members can apply to the Peter Smith scholarship scheme for assistance returning to full- or part-time study in areas that will help their professional or personal development. The closing date is Friday 12 May 2017. For more information and an application form, see www.atl.org.uk/atl-scholarships.
Regions and dates: London and south east South west Northern North west Midlands Eastern
FE: LETTER FOR MPs 21 June 23 June 26 June 27 June 30 June 4 July
More information is available at www.atl.org.uk/summerconferences.
ABILITY GROUPING RESEARCH PROJECT ATL has commissioned research into ability grouping in reception and key stage 1 from Alice Bradbury and Guy Roberts-Holmes at UCL Institute of Education. The project aims to explore current practices of grouping by ability and setting/streaming in reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in primary schools. We want to find out how schools have responded to recent changes in policy, such as the phonics test and assessment without levels, in terms of how they organise how children are taught. We also want to find out how teachers decide which groups children should be placed in and how this relates to assessments, and how often they are moved around. We want to speak to class teachers, phase leaders and headteachers about ability grouping, setting and streaming, whether their school uses these systems or not. All information collected will be anonymous – so contributors’ names and school names will be changed. Members working with or leading these phases who would like to share their experiences should contact a.bradbury@ucl.ac.uk or g.roberts-holmes@ucl.ac.uk.
WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
ATL is asking members in the FE sector to write to their MP highlighting a range of issues facing FE provision in their constituency. The letter outlines all the issues facing the sector locally, including the impact of funding cuts and mergers, the area reviews, the apprenticeship levy and the Skills Plan. The letter encourages MPs to meet with ATL reps at their local college or their Westminster constituency office to find out more. To get involved, and for a model letter to use in your constituency, email ATL education policy adviser Janet Clark at jclark@atl.org.uk.
PARTNER OF THE MONTH
FINANCIAL PEACE OF MIND IN RETIREMENT There’s a lot to consider. How much money do you have? What can you do with it? What can’t you do with it? How can you get the income you need? And pass more on to your family and loved ones? Lighthouse Financial Advice offers practical, affordable guidance about arranging your finances in retirement in a way that suits your objectives. To book a complimentary, no obligation appointment with one of their professional financial advisers, call 08000 85 85 90 or visit www.atl.org.uk/plus.
TUC LGBT+ WORKPLACE SURVEY The TUC is running a major new survey into how lesbian, gay, bi, trans and other sexual and gender minorities (LGBT+) find working life in the UK. Despite changes in the law that should have brought an end to discrimination and prejudice, the TUC is concerned LGBT+ people are still experiencing difficulties at work: • In 2013, Stonewall reported that one in four (26%) LGBT+ employees were not at all open with colleagues about their sexual orientation. • More than half (53%) of trans workers have also felt the need to hide their status from colleagues, according to Totaljobs. • If you’re a lesbian or bisexual woman, you may be at risk of sexual harassment as well as homophobic abuse. TUC research into sexual harassment found that more than half (52%) of women said they have experienced sexual harassment at work. As a result, the TUC is carrying out a thorough investigation into the experiences of LGBT+ people at work, and will use the findings to campaign on the issues most affecting LGBT+ people in the UK right now, produce training material for union reps to ensure they can best protect and represent their members, and help employers create a more inclusive work environment – including training for staff, getting the correct policies in place to prevent discrimination, and supporting LGBT+ staff if things go wrong. You can complete the TUC survey at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LGBTworker. The closing date is 5 May.
TPS MEMBER CONTRIBUTIONS The salary bands for TPS contributions have been increased by one per cent from April 2017, but the percentage amounts have not changed. ATL advises members to check their payslips regularly to ensure the correct amount is deducted. All contribution bands are now based on your actual earnings, not full-time equivalent.
APRIL 2017 | REPORT 27
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YOUR ATL… RESOURCES
TACKLE YOUR WORKLOAD WITH ATL CPD Whether you are new to the profession or have a few years’ experience, these two ATL courses could help you manage your workload Assertiveness and time management: making every second count Do you feel that you never have enough time? That work is constantly building up and you’ll never manage to get through it all? If your answer is yes, you’re not alone. Excessive workload is one of the most serious issues facing the education profession. Not only can it affect the quality of teaching and learning you deliver, it can also have a hugely detrimental impact on your health and well-being. This one-day workshop is aimed at anyone who needs help organising their work and dealing with the increasing demands being made on them. How can you manage your time more effectively? How do you learn to say no? This practical workshop will address both questions, and also: • help you review your current workload and related issues • introduce you to techniques to help you prioritise your work and make the most of your time • show you how to say no and raise concerns in an assertive way.
Trainee and newly qualified members should also check out these exciting learning opportunities…
PHOTOS: PETER FOTHERGILL
The art of being a brilliant NQT (parts 2 and 3) Part 2 Coventry – Saturday 6 May Part 3 Birmingham – Saturday 10 June Everything you always wanted to know about starting your teaching career but never dared to ask! You don’t need to have attended part 1 to attend these courses. See www.atl.org.uk/brilliantNQTpart2 for part 2 and www.atl.org.uk/ brilliantNQTpart3 for part 3.
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Who this course is for: • NQTs • support staff • teachers • leaders/managers. When and where? 17 May 2017, Cambridge
Effective team working
• explore what a good team looks like • understand why working in teams can be challenging and how you can overcome these challenges • understand the dynamics of team behaviour • explore strategies and tools you can use to help you get the best out of working in a team.
Every education professional, from those in senior management to the classroom teacher to those who provide learning support, is required to work in one or more teams; the classroom, the department, the whole school or college. Effective teams accomplish far more than would be possible by individuals on their own. Team members learn from each other, their individual strengths are utilised and they feel connected to and supported by their colleagues. Belonging to an effective team can also help sustain and engage us through the difficult and challenging times of working in education. So how do you build an effective team? This practical workshop will help you:
Who this course is for: This one-day workshop is aimed at anyone who works in a team including: • NQTs • support staff • teachers • leaders/managers.
Getting the most out of induction
Teachers and the law
London – Saturday 20 May Practical tips and planning exercises to enable you to get the most out of your induction and how to plan ahead for the first month, how to build constructive relationships with mentors, colleagues, students and their families, and provide suggestions where to go for help and support. See www.atl.org.uk/NQTinduction.
South west – Wednesday 24 May An excellent overview of the legal responsibilities of a teacher, which covers the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document, an overview of legislation and child protection. See www.atl.org.uk/teachersandlaw.
New teacher conference Newcastle – Saturday 13 May Our new teacher conference is packed with useful and inspiring sessions for new teachers. See www.atl.org.uk/newteachernewcastle.
When and where? 18 May 2017, Bath 15 June 2017, Nottingham
Costs: £50 – all AMiE members and standard teaching members, £30 - all trainee and newly qualified members, £30 – all standard support members.
ATL Future summer event Bristol – Wednesday 21 June A full-day event covering a range of areas to fully prepare you before taking up your roles in September. It covers induction, professional boundaries, pensions, lesson observations, and dealing with parents. See www.atl.org.uk/ATLfuturebristol.
APRIL 2017 | REPORT 29
FINAL WORD… RICHARD GARNER
Caught in the crossfire
Education journalist Richard Garner on the politicians and policies that shaped education during his career
ILLUSTRATION: PHIL WRIGGLESWORTH
ONLY ONE EDUCATION secretary
decided they were not up to the job during the 36 years I reported on the subject, and sadly it was Estelle Morris – the one whom the teaching profession had most confidence in. But I can think of others among the 15 people who held that office during my time as an education correspondent whom I wished had come to that conclusion. Morris resigned largely because of a pledge she made in the early years of the Blair Government to do so if ministers did not meet ambitious targets for improving primary literacy and numeracy. In the event, they did not, but nobody can deny they were behind a significant improvement in those standards. Coupled with that, she was also putting up with media prying into her private life and knew the next item on her agenda was top-up fees for students – something she was
not keen on, and in an area in which she lacked expertise. My book The Thirty Years War looks at the reforms of the past three decades and analyses which have been for the better and which have not worked. It also rates the performances of those 15 education secretaries. Those with the highest commendation in the book are Kenneth (now Lord) Baker and Labour's David (also now Lord) Blunkett. Ironically, when Blunkett was asked for his assessment of the education secretary who had made the greatest contribution to education, he picked Baker. Baker is praised for presiding over the introduction of the national curriculum (guaranteeing the disadvantaged a standard of education they received in schools) and local management of schools, giving heads control over their own budgets so they did not have to wait
Richard Garner is a former education editor of The Independent and the Mirror, and news editor of the TES.
months for simple repairs. He also brought to an end the long-running teachers’ dispute of the 1980s – securing something from Margaret Thatcher that his predecessor Sir Keith Joseph was unable to ask for: more money. His biggest claim to fame, though, may well have been the introduction of city technology colleges – now succeeded by the university technical colleges programme – guaranteeing 14- to 19-year-olds a highly skilled vocational programme, a far better alternative for their future than Theresa May’s espousal of more grammar schools. As for Blunkett, he was the man behind that rise in literacy and numeracy standards in primary schools; the first improvement in standards since the Second World War, according to the National Foundation for Educational Research. He also oversaw a massive increase in education spending – much of which went on boosting the school building and repairs budget. As the book explains, the idea was that if you gave pupils decent conditions in which to learn, it showed them how much you valued giving them a decent education and how much respect you had for them. As for those who should have come to Morris’ conclusion; the award for the worst education secretary is given jointly to John Patten and Ruth Kelly. Patten was dubbed ‘the invisible man’ because of the number of key education conferences he refused to address. He always cited pressure of work, but on one occasion was caught out, being lunched by a journalist. In Kelly’s case, it was her lack of confidence in her subject that let her down – she was always dodging the media. It is difficult to think of a lasting legacy she has left the education system with, save perhaps her membership of Opus Dei, the Catholic sect that embraces – among other things – contriteness through pain. The Thirty Years War is available from www.johncattbookshop. com/the-thirty-years-war-mylife-reporting-on-education.
30 REPORT | APRIL 2017 WWW.ATL.ORG.UK
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