ATL Report March 2017

THE MAGAZINE FROM ATL, THE EDUCATION UNION

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

MARCH 2017 £2.50

Your future, your vote re your future VOTE YES for a new union to secu and strengthen your voice

GUIDE

BODY CONFIDENCE

Discussing body image and self-esteem in the classroom

PROFILE

FINAL WORD

AWARD WINNERS

TALKING TO TEENAGERS

Two ATL members explain the secrets of their success

Author Nicola Morgan on the highs and lows of visiting schools

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Contents UPFRONT

4

UPDATE

ATL finds support staff increasingly being used to teach pupils, and calls for Government to go further to improve mental health

9 AGENDA

Mary Bousted on Michael Gove’s legacy coming home to roost

11

18 RUN FOR IT

National charity parkrun bringing fun exercise to all

19 GUIDE

Top tips on discussing body confidence in schools

30

FINAL WORD

Author Nicola Morgan’s experiences of visiting schools and talking to teenagers

WALES AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Rachel Curley and Mark Langhammer on the case for creating a bigger, stronger union F E AT U R E S

12

NEW UNION

The key facts about industrial action rules and sectors of membership in the new union, plus ATL members on why they are voting yes

16 PROFILE

Report meets two award-winning teachers and finds out the secrets of their success

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 sickness absence; 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 ATL’s support and training for reps in RESOURCES

ATL accepts no liability for any insert, display or classified advertisement included in this publication.

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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

If you’re eligible, by now you will have received your ballot paper to vote on the creation of the National Education Union (NEU) with the NUT. Please take the time to vote in this ballot to secure ATL’s and your future in the NEU – this is not a foregone conclusion and your vote matters.

I recommend the article on page 12, which outlines the arguments for the NEU and some key facts about it. You can also find out why ATL members are intending to vote yes in the ballot.

I am voting yes because the NEU will be the biggest and strongest voice speaking out for education on behalf of our profession and our students.

It will be the union for all education professionals across all sectors and settings, from trainees to senior leaders.

I urge you to check out the information at www.atl.org.uk/ newunion. You will find a video of ATL’s general secretary Mary Bousted making a strong case for why a new union is needed to protect and support our members as we face the challenges to education and our profession.

If you are eligible to vote and have not received your ballot paper, email newunion@atl.org.uk or call 020 7782 1616. Then vote yes on your ballot form and post it back as soon as possible to ensure your vote counts.

I am reminded of the quote: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

Please vote yes to create the best future for education and yourself.

Cover illustration: Jorge Martin

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U P D AT E

MARY BOUSTED AMONG EDUCATION’S MOST INFLUENTIAL ATL general secretary Mary Bousted has been named among the 20 most influential people in British education.

In January, Debrett’s published its ‘500 List’ of the most influential people in the country, which is divided into 22 categories, including a section for education.

Dr Bousted is also currently president of the TUC. Others on the list include David Laws, 0 ATL general secretary Mary executive Bousted chairman of the Education Policy Institute, Andreas Schleicher, director of the Directorate for Education and Skills at the OECD, NUT general secretary Kevin Courtney and Dame Alison Peacock, chief executive of the Chartered College of Teaching.

Support staff increasingly used to teach classes

73%

of support staff work extra hours for no pay

An ATL survey has found that more than three quarters of support staff members acting as cover supervisors are performing the same duties as supply teachers The number of support staff members asked to act as cover supervisors, but who believe the work they do is identical to that of supply teachers, has increased to 76%, a rise of 12% since ATL’s survey a year ago.

At the same time, 73% of those who took part said they do not believe it is possible to supervise a class without delivering a lesson, while 40% said they do cover supervision as part of their role. A cover supervisor’s role is to supervise pupils’ work, but not to teach.

A teaching assistant (TA) in a primary academy in Buckinghamshire said: “We are expected to deliver high-quality lessons, not just supervise the class.” Another member, a higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) in a secondary school in Durham, said: “We are told sometimes five minutes or less beforehand that we are covering lessons.

We are expected to teach students.”

Almost half the respondents, 48%, said the number of support staff in their school has decreased, with many stating anecdotally that staff are not being replaced when they leave. An HLTA in a secondary academy in Gloucestershire said: “As staff are leaving they are not being replaced, and other already overworked staff are being asked to take on more duties.”

A cover supervisor in a secondary academy in Lincolnshire said: “When

teaching staff leave they are not being replaced, and more supply staff are brought in. We have gone from five cover supervisors to just two.”

Almost three quarters of support staff, 73%, said they work extra hours for no extra pay, and 75% of this group said they do so because their workload demands it. Almost half, 48%, work between one and three hours over their contracted hours, while more than a third, 35%, said they work more than four hours extra each week.

A TA in a primary school in Bath said: “I am very much expected to work extra hours and have been led to believe I would lose my job if I didn’t work extra without pay.”

ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: “As these results show, support staff are feeling the pressure to actually teach lessons and to plug the gap in staff shortages when teachers leave and do not get replaced. As the Government continues to squeeze school budgets, there simply aren’t enough funds to replace staff.

“Support staff are struggling under excessive workloads as much as teachers, and this survey shows that, sadly, support staff feel overused and undervalued.

It is unacceptable that so many support staff are working longer hours and are not being paid for them.”

PHOTO: DANNY FITZPATRICK

Lost opportunity to tackle teacher shortage ATL has expressed its disappointment over a report into the labour market for teachers that concluded there is no occupation-wide lack of nursery, primary, secondary and special needs teachers in the UK. The Migration Advisory Committee report, which was commissioned by the Government, says only Mandarin and general science teachers should be designated as “shortage occupations”.

ATL general secretary Mary Bousted responded: “We are deeply disappointed by the Migration Advisory Committee’s failure to recognise the growing teacher shortage crisis, despite compelling evidence from ATL and other unions.

4 REPORT | MARCH 2017

“This crisis will get worse with the bulge in pupil numbers, making it hard for schools to find a teacher for every class, and risking the quality of education for children and young people in England. We currently need trained and qualified teachers from other countries to enable schools to put enough excellent and prepared teachers in front of our classrooms.

“While overseas teachers are only one piece of the strategy to ensure we have enough teachers in our schools, we cannot afford to lose them. Excessive teacher workloads and salaries that are not keeping pace with inflation are the biggest contributors to the crisis in teacher numbers, and will soon mean that shortages of teachers for maths and sciences are just the tip of the iceberg.”

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

U P D AT E

Sex discrimination case settled with ATL support An ATL member who was refused part-time work following maternity leave saw her case settled by her employer days before it was due to be heard at an employment tribunal The primary school teacher appealed against her school’s refusal of her request to return to work part time on a job-share basis after her maternity leave, but her appeal was rejected and her employer said she must return to full-time employment – despite other teachers in the school working in part-time, job-share roles.

ATL’s solicitors prepared a claim of indirect sex discrimination to be heard by an employment tribunal. This argued the reasons given by her school for refusing the request could not be justified and resulted in discrimination. The school then decided to settle the claim before the case was heard.

ATL’s deputy head of legal and member services, Jayne Phillips, said: “Women have the right to ask for flexible work after maternity leave, and are also protected against unfair treatment, unfair dismissal

and discrimination because of pregnancy, childbirth and maternity leave, as well as being protected from sex discrimination at work.

“We will support our members when there is evidence of discrimination in any of these areas and are working on a number of similar cases. We are keen to hear from other members who may have experienced something like this case.”

For more information about flexible working, your rights around maternity leave and working part time afterwards, see ATL’s factsheets on these subjects, available at www.atl.org.uk/factsheets.

ATL’s advice is not to use the flexibleworking route, but to request a permanent change to part-time hours. To get in touch with ATL, use the contact details on page 21. Please note that there are time limits on filing legal claims.

Swift action needed on sex education ATL has called for sex and relationship education (SRE) to be made compulsory in schools after a report into how personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) and SRE are inspected revealed that, despite the greater focus on personal development and pupil welfare in the inspection framework, this is not filtering through to inspections or schools’ PSHE delivery.

Commenting on the report Healthy, Happy, Safe? by the British Humanist Association – an investigation into how PSHE and SRE are inspected in English schools – ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: “ATL calls for sex and relationship education to be made compulsory. The Government should stop stalling and take swift action.

“Ofsted inspections alone are clearly not enough to ensure our children and young people get the information, guidance and support to make good decisions about sex and relationships in an increasingly complex world.The British Humanist Association has carried out timely and essential work in establishing how PSHE and SRE are inspected.

The findings are stark and should be of concern to the Government.”

ATL is a member of both the Sex Education Forum and the Accord Coalition, and wants SRE and PSHE to be compulsory in schools.

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

JOIN THE DEBATE… report@atl.org.uk

@ATLReport

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TEACHER APPRENTICESHIP CONCERNS Large employers will be required to pay the new apprenticeship levy from April as part of the Government’s plans to raise £3 billion a year for apprenticeships.

The levy will apply to employers with a payroll of more than £3 million a year – but this will include nearly all maintained schools, as the employer is the local authority, as well as most multiacademy trusts and some larger standalone academies.

Schools will be able to access funding to pay for training for apprenticeships to recoup some or all of the levy payment. Currently, schools can take on apprentices in several occupations, including support, administration and facilities roles, although there is concern that there are not enough relevant apprenticeship frameworks or standards to enable schools to recoup all of the levy.

This could change when the teacher apprenticeship comes in, which is currently under development.

ATL policy adviser Janet Clark said: “The worry is that the enthusiasm for teacher apprenticeships will be based on an urgent financial imperative, rather than on any professional evidence that this route will meet the critical need to increase both recruitment to, and retention in, the profession.

“Apprentice teachers will require a large amount of support from their leaders, mentors, colleagues and department heads, yet more than half of teachers have been in the profession less than 10 years, with many already taking on extra duties, and many reaching breaking point.

“If there should be a teacher apprenticeship route, it must be robust, high quality and, most importantly, meet the needs of those on that route, as well as those of employers.”

For blogs from ATL on this and other education issues, see www.atl.org.uk/speakout.

MARCH 2017 | REPORT 5

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UPDATE

Mental health plans fall short New Government plans to improve mental health support treat the symptoms not the causes, and will not be enough to make a real difference in schools, ATL has warned In January, the Government announced measures including offering mental health first aid training to all secondary schools, and a review of mental health services for children and teenagers.

Commenting on the plans, ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: “It is good that the Government has recognised the extent of the mental health issues affecting children and adults, and is planning to do something about it. However, this is just a first step.

“Training one teacher in every secondary school by 2019 is inadequate for the scale of the problem. Half the school staff in our 2016 survey said they had to provide support to pupils with emotional or mental health issues every day.

“Without significant funding behind them, the Government’s plans will be little more than a paper exercise, particularly since chaotic restructures and chronic underfunding in the NHS,

social care and for schools have already led to support being cut for children and young people with mental health issues.”

ATL believes the Government needs to tackle the root causes of mental health issues for young people – including the increasing number of primary tests, end-ofcourse GCSE and A-level exams, and an overly academic curriculum – rather than simply treating the symptoms.

Member’s campaign Negotiations secures life-saving continue equipment A support staff member who succeeded in her campaign to get a defibrillator installed at her school is encouraging other ATL members to do the same Sonia Oliver-Brown, 52, a higher level teaching assistant at Derby Moor Community Sports College, which has 1,200 students, said: “I decided it was vital to get a defibrillator installed at work after I saw a woman go into cardiac arrest when I was on a train. A doctor at the scene said if there had been a defibrillator on the train, it may have saved her.

“Derby Moor is a big place, and I was shocked to find that we didn’t have one. I was told we were so close to the hospital, we didn’t need one, but that seemed crazy.

I went to the head about it, then I spoke to a few people and we decided to fundraise to get one.

“Thanks to our persistence, the school has managed to get one installed. We might never have to use it, but we’ve got one, and that makes me feel like I’ve achieved something.

I’d encourage other members to raise the issue in their schools.”

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

ATL member adviser Carolina Sankarsingh said: “Wider access to defibrillators will save lives.

The more school staff who are trained and have access to use defibrillators, the safer schools will become. While using these devices should be voluntary, for members who want to use them, training should be undertaken first.”

There is no legal requirement to have a resuscitation device or defibrillator, but the Department for Education (DfE) strongly suggests schools purchase one. There is a reduced rate through the NHS supply chain for schools wishing to do so.

The DfE has published guidance on the issue, which is available at www.gov.uk/ government/uploads/system/ uploads/attachment_data/ file/519994/AED_ guide_for_schools.pdf.

ATL member, Sonia Oliver-Brown

Teaching assistants (TAs) in Durham decided to postpone action short of strike action in January while negotiations over their pay continue.

ATL support staff members and colleagues employed by Durham County Council took strike action in November and December, after the local authority announced plans to cut their pay by as much as 23% while re-employing them on new contracts, and had been taking action short of strike action following the strikes.

The council has since suspended the dismissal notices TAs received, and is currently reviewing all TA jobs in Durham.

Richard Marshall, ATL organiser in the northern region, said: “This was a difficult decision, a decision led by members. We continue to meet with the employer and we informed them that members are still very concerned about the continued uncertainty over their jobs and their income.

“We will continue to work Richard Marshall, on our members’ behalf and ATL organiser, will consider the options as the northern region review continues.”

You can follow the campaign on Twitter using #ValueUs and @TAs Durham.

Follow ATL activity @ATLnorthern and @ATLunion.

MARCH 2017 | REPORT 7

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AG E N DA

THERE IS A SAYING – ‘marry in haste, repent at leisure’. I would alter this saying slightly and direct it at education ministers, to ‘make policy in haste and repent at leisure’. Thinking about it, though, most ministers don’t stay in the job long enough to repent the many unintended consequences of their policy initiatives.

And so it was that Michael Gove, who, in the cause of ‘rigour’ and ‘higher standards’, unleashed a torrent of GCSE, AS- and A-level reforms, was moved on before the consequences of his rushed and unfunded dash for timed, linear exams became clear. Now, while Mr Gove is ruing what he himself calls the “car crash” of his leadership bid, teachers are dealing with their own crash.

Those teaching the new GCSE, AS- and A-level English and maths qualifications tell me they are ‘shooting in the dark’ – without practice test papers and lacking detailed guidance on the requirements of the syllabus.

It is not just teachers who are floundering. My most recent television highlight was Fern Britton’s interview of Michael Gove, when she rounded on him. Having been to her daughter’s parents’ evening, the teacher, she complained, had to explain the new numerical (9-1) grading system that will, gradually, replace the alphabetical A–G grades.

Fern is not the only parent who is confused about whether a 1 or a 9 constitutes the top level of achievement in the new system.

Employers complain that they do not understand the new grading system for GCSEs and A-levels. Nor does anyone, and most importantly the teaching profession, know what will constitute a pass mark. Is it a level 4 or level 5 at GCSE? The situation becomes even more uncertain, if this were possible, because post-16 providers will be able to make their own decision about whether a level 4 or 5 will constitute the required standard to access their provision.

The problems do not end with widespread confusion about WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

Another fine mess Michael Gove might be long gone, but the effects of his policies are hitting hard now, says ATL general secretary Mary Bousted the grading of the new qualifications. What Michael Gove did not foresee, and what the exam boards are now forecasting, is that the excision of coursework from GCSEs and A-levels, replaced by timed exams, will require a mountain of new examiners to mark the exam papers. Cuts to coursework in England will see the time length of exams extend by an hour.

About 34,000 examiners currently set and mark eight million GCSEs and A-levels for two million students in the UK. As pupil numbers rise, and as qualification reforms kick in, it is estimated that approximately 20% more examiners will be needed.

It is not just the time, but the content of the exams that will change – as candidates will face questions that require less knowledge recall and more analysis. This will require examiners who are highly skilled subject experts and who have the knowledge not just of the subject, but also of the standards that can be expected,

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at different levels, from students in the 16–19 age range.

This is a massive challenge.

Already exam boards are finding it difficult to recruit examiners.

Having been one myself, I can say it was a real challenge, after a full day’s teaching, to sit down to a pile of exam papers and mark them to the best of my ability – accurately and fairly – within the time allocation allotted by the exam boards.

Nor has the recent change to online marking been without major problems. Examiners tell me of delays in the log-in process; bureaucratic procedures are required to be gone through again and again, if you take even a short break; and the illegibility of student scripts online.

Even more serious questions have to be raised about the accuracy of the grades awarded through the examining process, particularly for subjects that require analysis and for which questions do not have one definitive answer. A recent study by the exams regulator Ofqual revealed that nearly half of pupils in English literature are not awarded the correct grade because of marking inconsistencies and the design of the tests. This report did not get the attention it deserved, because if parents knew just how inaccurate the marking of largely arts subjects like English literature and history is, they would complain loudly.

Unforgivably, the pupils sitting the new qualifications this summer in English and maths are being used as guinea pigs in a badly designed and poorly executed experiment.

Teachers are left to cope without having the information and the guidance that should be theirs in order for them to confidently, and to the standards they require and expect, be able to prepare their students for the qualifications that will have such a profound effect on their lives.

This is no way to run an education system. Mr Gove, I have not forgotten that you walked away from the mess you created.

MARCH 2017 | REPORT 9

THE VIEW FROM… WALES/NORTHERN IRELAND

Wales

Northern Ireland

RACHEL CURLEY

MARK LANGHAMMER

A strong voice is needed on professional standards

The Assembly and new union ballots will have an impact on your future

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has opened a public consultation on new teaching and leadership professional standards for school teachers.

They will link closely to other major changes taking place in Welsh education, such as the ongoing development of the new curriculum, and changes to initial teacher education.

It is very important that any system of professional standards is inclusive within workplaces and across the education workforce. We have had assurances that formal consultation will begin this year on new professional standards for school support staff and for

the FE workforce. There is an incontrovertible argument about the need to recognise their professionalism.

ATL Cymru wants to ensure the standards are used in a way that enhances the professionalism of education professionals, rather than being used as yet another arbitrary form of measurement or set of boxes to tick. We are talking to the Welsh Government about how its principal focus should be professional growth, aspiration and development.

We will therefore be looking for firm commitments on funding for continuing professional development and the timescale for implementation, to ensure these are developed with the profession and not imposed in an unrealistic or unmanageable timeframe.

The implementation of professional standards for all education professionals in Wales will be a major area of work over the next two years.

Teachers, support staff and FE staff need a new union to provide a stronger voice for education professionals on this, as on so many issues.

WITH THE RENEWABLE heating scandal presaging another election to the devolved Assembly, ATL members in Northern Ireland also have a ballot of their own to consider. This ballot, opening on 27 February and closing on 21 March, seeks to set up, with the NUT, a new union – the National Education Union.

Both polls are important.

From an ATL perspective, voting to elect an Assembly characterised by ‘vetoes all round’ may seem frustrating. The lowest common dominator often prevails. However, building political consensus in education is vital to facilitate long-term, stable, planned, systemic progress. Successful international education systems have at their core a settled understanding and consensus on their purpose.

In Northern Ireland, our education system is contested at the political level, on post-primary transfer in particular, and is deeply segregated by social class and sector. This is a point made cogently in the CBI’s thoughtful report

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

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out our help and advice on managing your workload better

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Step Change: A new approach for schools in Northern Ireland.

You can hear more on this at the annual ATL lecture with David Gavaghan, chair of the CBI in Northern Ireland, on 18 May in Belfast.

Contact Theresa Devenney at tdevenney@atl.org.uk for details.

The ballot to set up the new union is also critical.

It will make you a part of the largest education union in the UK, which will be better resourced, with better services to members, and a more powerful voice to Government. ATL’s Executive has strongly recommended a yes vote, and the matter is firmly in your hands.

Please use your vote.

it’s about time...

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MARCH 2017 | REPORT 11

SPOTLIGHT ON… NEW UNION

Your future, your vote

ILLUSTRATION: JORGE MARTIN; PHOTO: DANNY FITZPATRICK

Vote yes for a new union to secure your future and strengthen your voice IN THE 12 YEARS that I’ve been general secretary of ATL, the power of the Government has grown, while the ability of the education profession – teachers, lecturers, leaders and support staff – to contribute to the education debate has diminished.

Despite our best efforts, many illconsidered policies have been imposed upon us and our students by successive Governments while our concerns have been dismissed and ignored.

Now we find ourselves in the midst of a recruitment and retention crisis, which the Government shows no sign of addressing.

It was caused by excessive workload, comprised largely of bureaucratic tasks that do nothing to help the students and pupils we came into the profession to work with.

Against this backdrop, it is little wonder that ATL and the NUT have been coming closer together over recent years to develop and promote policies for the benefit of staff and students.

Our closer working led to a proposal to create a new union – the National Education Union (NEU) – to secure your future and strengthen your voice.

“WE NEED A GAMECHANGER TO IMPROVE OUR WORKING LIVES AND WHAT WE CAN DO FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE”

12 REPORT | MARCH 2017

I hope you have taken the opportunity to read the information we have provided on the new union and the reasons why we have decided to ballot you. Having looked at all the information and thought carefully about how best to protect you and your students, I want you to vote yes.

The challenges we face could not be greater. The mountain we have to climb to get good working lives for education professionals could not be higher. The barriers placed in our way by the Government could not be stronger.

We need a gamechanger to improve our working lives and what we can do for children and young people. For me, the game-changer is the NEU, and I want you to vote for it.

Please do take the time to vote – it is a minute’s work to put a cross in the box on your ballot paper and post it back in the freepost envelope. Do not consider this proposal a done deal.

Take this opportunity to influence your future.

Mary Bousted, ATL general secretary WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

KATHY TATTERSFIELD I'm ATL branch secretary for Derbyshire and Derby city. I'm voting yes because I know I can't represent members sufficiently in this world where the Government is restricting our time and our ability to do our job. We need a bigger union so we can support our members more efficiently.

ROBIN BEVAN I’m a headteacher at a secondary school in Southend, Essex. Looking at the history of trade unions, there is barely a union in the UK that is not an amalgamation of former distinct associations. These progressive amalgamations have, almost invariably, brought greater professional status for members, more influence on policy and a reduced level of workplace disruption.

KEVIN MORRIS I'm a deputy campus manager at an FE college in mid-Wales. I'm also an AMiE UK council member.

I'm voting yes because I believe, like the musketeers, in all for one and one for all. It's very important that we have as much depth and breadth of knowledge, skills and opinions going forward as we possibly can. I think having such a principle behind us will set us up to achieve something great.

KATIE HARRISON I'm a teaching assistant and I'm voting yes for the new union because I believe a bigger voice will mean we can tackle the issues that affect us, like professionalism and pay, to make things better for the children whom we work with.

PHILIPPA KEARNS I work in a Hertfordshire school, in the nursery. I'm going to vote yes because a bigger union will allow us to regain our professionalism, which is a really important thing for me.

ROGER TROWBRIDGE I teach in the independent sector. I also taught for 23 years in the state sector, so I have a view on both of these areas of education.

I will be voting yes to the new union because I believe there is far more that unites us than divides us, and together we will be much stronger.

GEOFF PYE I work in a large independent school in Essex and I'm voting yes because I want the very best for ATL members.

I know that, in the independent sector, several members are concerned we will be swallowed up by the NUT and forced to go on strike. I honestly believe this is not the case.

The new rules for the transition protect our interests.

JULIA NEAL I'm a leader at a secondary school and president of AMiE, and I believe we should have a new union because there's far more that unites us than divides us. We all care about protecting our staff and our teachers, and the quality of education in this country, which is being eroded by cuts.

DEBBIE POLWARTH I'm a support staff member in Newcastle upon Tyne. I believe we should all vote yes, because all teachers, all support staff – all education professionals – should work together for the benefit of our pupils.

3 WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

MARCH 2017 | REPORT 13

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Visit www.schofieldandsims.co.uk/grammar to order a Taster Pack containing all six pupil books and teacher’s guides for only £40

SPOTLIGHT ON… NEW UNION

JOE LORD I am training to be a primary teacher, and as a trainee member of both ATL and the NUT, I receive information from both. I can see the similarities between campaigns and the areas where we would be much more effective working together. This is an opportunity to pick the best from both unions to develop a structure that will recruit, support, and develop trainee and newly qualified teachers, which will ensure the strength of the union in the future.

ANDY WOOD I’m a teaching assistant and I think the new union is a fantastic opportunity to work together: heads, teachers and support staff. I know support staff; we value our colleagues’ backing, and working together with the union will greatly benefit the children in our schools and colleges.

A new union: key facts With the ballot on the new union about to begin, make sure you're fully informed before you make your decision

STEPHEN BUCK I'm a science teacher and I work in Scunthorpe.

Over the past five years our work-life balance has got worse and worse. Assessment and the curriculum are in chaos. Trying to get things done, speaking with six different voices from six different unions, just isn't working. We need one unified voice. Please vote yes .

JULIA ELLIS Although I’m retired, I can see how all teachers, especially those new to the profession, will need a larger union to support them. The amount of paperwork seems to be escalating for tracking, recording and reporting progress.

The perpetual scrutiny of performance must be putting a strain on self-esteem. The new union could protect everyone’s interests more effectively.

JULIE HUCKSTEP I'm a secondary school teacher in Kent.

I'm voting yes because a larger union will give more CPD opportunities, particularly locally. A larger union will enable people from different sectors and phases to come together to share experience and expertise.

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

1

What a new union means

Enhanced support and representation in the workplace and with employers through existing, combined reps’ teams.

A stronger voice in the education debate, with all sectors and all roles speaking together for the benefit of students.

2

Why the NUT? Why now?

3

Independent, post-16 and support members

4

Leadership members and AMiE

Closer working led us to the proposal to create a new union.

It will be neither ATL nor the NUT, but will bring together the best elements of both.

Guaranteed seats on Executive, sector-specific conferences, events and CPD, motions to Annual Conference and dedicated staff. Independent membership will grow by as much as 50%; we will be the biggest union in sixth form colleges. Increased support staff and FE membership will strengthen our status and clout.

5

Industrial action

6

The result

The new union rules say indicative ballots to gauge support must be held before action can be taken, and no member will be forced to take action or be penalised for not taking action.

The rules also contain a conscience clause, meaning members are not obliged to take industrial action and cannot be penalised for not doing so. Members whose terms and conditions are not affected by the dispute would not be eligible to take action.

The result will be announced on 22 March via ATL’s website www.atl.org.uk, on social media and in an email to members.

If both unions vote yes, the National Education Union forms on 1 September 2017, with a transition period until 1 January 2019. A new union does not form if one or both unions vote no.

Queries

Continuation of ATL’s leadership section, AMiE, with a dedicated Executive sub-committee, conference, CPD, events and staff. Our leadership section will triple in size.

If you have any queries about the new union or the ballot, or if you do not receive your ballot paper soon after 27 February, email newunion@atl.org.uk or call 020 7782 1616. See www.atl.org.uk/newunion for more information.

MARCH 2017 | REPORT 15

Winning Thinking outside the box-ticking ATL member Debra Higginson, a Year 6 teacher, tells Charlotte Tamvakis how she received a silver award for teacher of the year in a primary school WHEN THE TEACHING AWARD judges came to see Debra in action, she drew on a Hindu tale involving a king and a game of chess.

“Krishna came disguised as a traveller and the king bargained on what would happen if he was beaten. Krishna said he’d want one grain of rice doubled on each of the squares of the chess board,” she explains.

“The children worked through the problem, and the least able could count one, two, four grains of rice on the squares and see a pattern, while the most able said: ‘Well, it’s going to be 264-1.’ The days of making a worksheet for the below average and giving the exciting stuff to the above average are well and truly over. It is about what we can do for all children, making them positive about an experience that was not always as positive for their parents.”

It is this sort of low-threshold, high-ceiling task, encompassing all the children in the class, along with an evident passion for teaching, that led to Debra receiving her award. The 58-year-old has been at the same school since she graduated with a BEd in 1979. “I now teach children of the children I taught when I first came here, it’s lovely.

It doesn’t matter what happens with the curriculum and it doesn’t matter what changes, what keeps you going is the children challenging you and coming up with their own ideas, which gives you a

“THERE IS NO MAGIC RECIPE AND THERE IS NO DEFINITION OF AN OUTSTANDING TEACHER, AS MUCH AS OFSTED TRIES TO MAKE ONE”

different perspective. That’s what keeps it alive.”

During 37 years in teaching, there have been plenty of changes and challenges.

“As the initiatives come through, you need to be open to trying them. If it works for you, brilliant; if not, then change it,” she says. “There is no magic recipe and there is no definition of an outstanding teacher, as much as Ofsted tries to make one. It’s your personality, your approach. You see people coming through who are exceptional teachers in their own way.”

Her experience gives her plenty to draw on. “I have a huge advantage over NQs now, because I can remember the time when I could walk in and think: ‘What shall I do this afternoon?’ I really feel for colleagues who haven’t had that freedom. If you start from a position of constraint, it’s hard to think outside the box,” she says.

What does she think of the most recent curriculum changes? “If they’d said they were going to introduce a new curriculum from reception to gradually filter through, it would have been easier. But they didn’t, and it is not such a problem for the most able children. The least able don’t have the catch-up time. But I love the broadening we’ve seen. I suppose it’s our job to make it as smooth a transition as possible and keep as much joy in the learning as we can within the confines of a curriculum.”

The inspection regime has also changed dramatically. “When I started, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate would occasionally visit schools. We had one. They had a quick look around, spoke to the head, and that was it,” Debra says. “I was here for the first Ofsted, the big stick. Three months to prepare, everybody was here for hours; a huge amount of paper used producing evidence.

“But it is getting better. They’ve eased off a lot, they look at the broader picture. Yes,

we get lesson observations, that’s part of the head’s job, but you don’t feel your entire performance is based on one 20-minute observation.”

What are the challenges facing the profession now? “There’s a problem with recruitment and retention. It’s a horrible statistic; people are lasting about four years,” Debra says. “All that training, all that effort; people who’ve thought about teaching as a vocation, a commitment, and after four years they’re burnt out and can’t do it anymore.

“It’s a combination of things, including workload. We’re lucky here, our headteacher is very good at looking at what needs to filter down. She rigorously looks at what we can reasonably be expected to do and builds in time and energy for us to be able do it.”

Debra sees box-ticking as “abhorrent” because it doesn’t do anything for the children, but she believes marking is important because it brings them forward.

What would she say to those starting out in the profession? “Find the joy among the rhetoric. If you do things reluctantly, as a tick-box exercise, it becomes a chore. If you do things because you can see the effect it has on children, there’s the joy.

“You can be overwhelmed by pressures, but what you’ve got to see is those little ones; their imagination and wonder. Growing people, not just statistics, that’s the thing.”

16 REPORT | MARCH 2017 WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

IN PROFILE… TEACHING AWARD WINNERS

teachers An explosion of opportunities ATL member Raphael Heath tells Alex Tomlin of the potentially transformative benefits of technology for students and staff alike

WITH ITS TURRETS and towers looming out of the fog, approaching the Royal High School Bath feels like stepping into a bygone age. However, I am here to meet a teacher recently named one of the best in the country for his use of the most state-of-the-art technology.

Head of geography at the Girls Day School Trust (GDST) school, Raphael Heath won a teaching award for outstanding use of technology in education last year, for his use of digital mapping tools that allow students from across the GDST network and beyond to participate in a global collaborative mapping activity.

The Map-Off, based on the dramatic theme of ‘Ashcloud Apocalypse’, allowed thousands of students to work on a geographic information system (GIS) to assess the risk of a potential mega-volcanic erruption. Raphael, always a keen follower of the latest technology in his subject, explains that as GIS technology became more available online, it created “an explosion of opportunities”, one of which was the chance to get GDST students to work with students from all around the world on a shared project.

“Geography is all about analysing spatial patterns. I thought it would engage students if they could enter local data into an online map and then compare this with WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

others from around the world. Using social media to promote the annual event, we have attracted almost 28,000 contributions over the last three years and produced some amazing maps for students to analyse.

“Doing this has really opened my eyes and horizons, because we are so busy as teachers, so distracted by the busyness of every day, and it was the same for me for a long time,” he continues. “It takes an effort, a leap, but when you do expand your horizons, you get this extra inspiration from all these people.”

Raphael believes teachers can benefit from this collaborative approach too. He advocates sharing good practice across the profession, by making use of social media such as Twitter, where increasing numbers of education professionals are sharing ideas. He compares this to the approach of The Masked Magician, who gives away the secrets of The Magic Circle, with the justification that it means professional magicians will have to up their game to enthral audiences.

“I take the same attitude to teaching,” says Raphael. “It is very tempting to closely guard the resources we have spent so much time creating. However, I feel that if you share them you encourage a community of collaboration between teachers, which ultimately helps us all learn new ‘tricks’ and makes us better teachers. There is a huge community of teachers doing this now.”

Despite the undoubted success he has had using technology in the classroom, Raphael is far from evangelical on the subject.

“There’s been an ongoing debate about technology in education – whether it’s transformative, a minor enhancement or a distraction,” he says. “I think it has huge potential to be transformative where you select certain tools effectively.”

As well as his own use of industry-level GIS technology that simply wasn’t accessible five years ago, Raphael points out many advantages of technology for use both generally and in specific subjects.

These can range from quiz applications that provide immediate feedback on students’ understanding, collaboration tools that help students share ideas and connect with experts, inspiring tools like virtual reality to engage students, and professional authorship tools like video creation.

However, Raphael recognises the barriers many teachers and schools can encounter, be that lack of hardware, software, wi-fi, or the ability to keep up with a fast-changing field. He admits the old ways are sometimes the best, and there are a wide range of non-digital methods that are highly effective and important to preserve within our approaches to teaching.

“We shouldn’t be questioning teachers who don’t use technology, because you can look at those who do and question if they are using it effectively,” he concludes. “It can be distracting and time-consuming.

You need to use your judgement to be able to select whether to use technology or not. It’s having the choice. It’s an interesting challenge.”

“THERE’S BEEN AN ONGOING DEBATE ABOUT TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION – WHETHER IT’S TRANSFORMATIVE, A MINOR ENHANCEMENT OR A DISTRACTION” MARCH 2017 | REPORT 17

JOIN THE DEBATE PARKRUN

Run for fun As warmer weather approaches, Glen Turner of parkrun UK explains how the running charity wants to create more opportunities for young people to take part in physical activity IT’S AN IMAGE that has become part of running folklore: 13 regular people standing in London’s Bushy Park on an overcast day in October 2004, about to take part in the first 5k ‘parkrun’, and setting off a movement that now extends to almost a thousand parks and open spaces across 14 countries every weekend.

Six years after that iconic moment, on another start line only a few metres away, a lesser-known but equally important chapter in parkrun’s evolution was beginning. Nine youngsters were embarking on the first ‘junior parkrun’.

The inspiration for junior parkrun came from Paul Graham, a regular parkrunner.“There were several reasons for establishing a junior parkrun,” he says. “There were big waiting lists at some clubs, many schools were either focused on performance or not doing sport at all, and 2k is more achievable than 5k for many young people. We wanted to develop a suitable model that promoted habitual and regular participation and, most importantly, we wanted kids to have fun.”

The first incarnation of junior parkrun was a monthly event that ended up lasting for three years, but it wasn’t until Chrissie Wellington came on board in early 2013 that a strategy was developed, including robust safeguarding procedures, allowing the concept to expand.

Wellington, a four-time Ironman world champion and former civil servant, brought a wealth of experience and a passion for engaging women and children in sport and physical activity.

Shortly after, junior parkrun was relaunched as free, weekly, 2k runs for four- to 14-year-olds on Sunday mornings.

The concept of junior parkrun is simple, with each course measured at 2k, consisting of between one and three laps. The core volunteer team is DBS-checked before a new event can begin, and during the run, every part of the course is in sight of a marshal.

Participants register online before their first run and print off a barcode – their passport to any parkrun (junior or 5k) anywhere in the world, on any weekend. Barcodes are scanned by a volunteer after the child finishes, generating a time that appears on the parkrun website.

There are no ‘winners’ at parkrun events, with the emphasis on fun and participation. Milestone wristbands are awarded to participants when they reach 11 junior parkruns (half-marathon distance), 22 (marathon) and 50 (ultra marathon).

Like the 5k model, junior parkrun grew organically, with local communities approaching parkrun HQ for support in developing their own events. Word of mouth only reaches so far though, and in 2015 junior parkrun began a three-year project to specifically target children and families from disadvantaged areas, encouraging them to run and/or volunteer.

“It’s easy to look at the numbers of children participating at junior parkrun each weekend – currently around 12,000 across 125 events – and say that in itself is a sign of success,” says Tom Williams, chief operating officer for parkrun.

“But the real impact is reaching people who are the least likely to take part, and have the most to gain by engaging with a movement that promotes regular physical activity and volunteering.

“One of the aims of junior parkrun is to create an environment where children feel safe and happy, and experience the joy of running, walking or skipping their way around the course – to the extent that they take this love and enjoyment of physical activity into adulthood.”

This vision has led to a partnership with the London Youth Games and the pilot of SchoolsRun, a programme that aims to increase the activity levels of London’s schoolchildren. It has been designed to work as well in schools without green spaces as those with them, ensuring a lack of access to playing fields will not prevent schools taking part. The objective is to use the fun and positive environment for physical activity in schools to encourage young people to continue participation beyond their school years.

“Over the past 12 years we have built the world’s largest community of runners. Every week, we see more than 150,000 people walk, jog, run or volunteer across our 970 locations in 14 countries,” says Tom. “It’s been an amazing journey. As junior parkrun gathers momentum we can see that it has the potential to change an entire generation’s attitude to physical activity.”

For more details on junior parkrun, go to www.parkrun.org.uk/events/juniorevents.

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

GUIDE

Real body confidence

Mental health campaigner and panel member of the Be Real Campaign, Dr Pooky Knightsmith, offers advice on teaching body confidence YOU MAY FEEL ANXIOUS when asked to teach about body confidence and selfesteem. These issues tap into our own personal insecurities, and it’s a topic many teachers have never been trained in.

There’s no doubt it’s an important topic for schools to consider. Against the backdrop of a growing youth mental health crisis, the YMCA has released new research showing a third of young people isolate themselves due to body image anxiety. More than half of all 11- to 16-year-olds worry about the way they look, and more than a third will do whatever it takes to look good.

The research also shows that 76% felt more positive about themselves after lessons addressing body image. As educators, we’re in a great position to support pupils in tackling these thoughts and feelings to develop a more positive outlook.

We can act as models of body confidence by following a few simple rules: talking respectfully about others, focusing on qualities rather than appearance, encouraging acceptance of diversity, and challenging media images of ‘perfect’ appearances.

It’s important to avoid discussing weight.

It’s also important to develop a wholeschool approach, which can be introduced through the PSHE curriculum, or through form time, assemblies and teacher training.

With that in mind, the Be Real Campaign has launched its new Body Confidence Campaign Toolkit for Schools, designed to support the development of a whole-school approach to body image anxiety.

The long-term impact will be beneficial to all pupils and can be seen in the form of increased class participation, increased uptake of extracurricular activities and a higher likelihood of students pursuing academic and employment goals.

Here’s some guidance I provide in teacher training sessions for schools and individual teachers when approaching a whole-school programme of body confidence teaching.

1. Start with you Students tend to remember more of what we do than what we say. By teaching one thing and doing another, we send a mixed message than can undermine the lesson.

Teaching adolescents to be accepting of natural changes to their bodies will be

more effective if we’re able to embrace rather than bemoan our grey hairs!

2. Don’t forget boys Body image anxiety is often considered to be a ‘girl problem’, but we know that isn’t the case. Boys are taking an increasingly keen interest in their appearance and experience a similar set of judgements from their peers. They’re also less likely to feel comfortable discussing these issues, so it’s important that they develop an appropriate vocabulary to do so.

3. Promote open discussion Creating an environment where pupils can openly and honestly explore their experiences is an effective way to break down stigma. It enables us to explore common misconceptions and is conducive to problem-solving. Explore appropriate ground rules with pupils and signpost relevant sources of support.

4. Pay better compliments Listen out for the compliments you hear every day; they’re almost always superficial. Try to pay more meaningful compliments – and teach your pupils to do the same. Think about celebrating effort rather than attainment, and character rather than appearance.

5. Think outside the box Try to help students understand how relevant body confidence is to their own lives and encourage a broader conversation. For example, when looking at airbrushing in the media, we may relate it to our own carefully orchestrated selfies.

The next step is to discuss how people can airbrush their lives on social media.

Pupils refusing to do PE for fear of being bullied about their weight; being too selfconscious to answer a question in class; refusing to try new activities for fear of rejection; struggling to socialise – these behaviours aren’t healthy for the pupil or for society as a whole, which is why teaching on body confidence and self-esteem should be an integral part of our work in schools.

Be Real’s new Body Confidence Campaign Toolkit for Schools is now available to download for free at www.berealcampaign.co.uk/schools.

Follow the campaign on Twitter @BeReal_Campaign #BeRealSchool.

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

MARCH 2017 | REPORT 19

Helping you implement the new D&T GCSE in Sept 2017 CPD – Spring and Summer term 2017 Ensure your schools’ training programme is in place.

What’s happening and where

Book places on our exciting programme of CPD for 2017.

Image copyright of Redpix

D&T Summer School - Primary and Secondary 6th & 7th July 2017, De Montfort University Two-day event to support teachers implementing the new D&T GCSE, develop subject knowledge and pedagogical skills.

The Textiles Industry: A Focus on High Performance Textiles & Footwear 2017 10th & 11th April 2017, De Montfort University Exciting residential course which will expand your textiles knowledge on materials and material properties, differences between fashion and high-tech fabrics and the diversity of careers.

Planning to teach the new GCSE in design and technology Course runs: London 23/03, Liverpool 02/03, Nottingham 28/02, Plymouth 21/03, Wolverhampton 16/03

Electronics and Programmable Components for KS3 & GCSE Course runs: Nottingham 09/05

D&T Futures – George Clark Design Lecture 27/04/17 – Imperial College, London

£195 (members) and £250 (non members) – per person per day If you can’t find your required course at a venue near you, please contact us. Hosting a course at your school may be an option.

For more information go to www.data.org.uk, or call us on 01789 470007 or email on events@data.org.uk

Resources to support D&T Find over 300 resources on our website to help support D&T teaching Many items are free to D&T Association members. We stock books, CDs, DVDs as well as downloads covering all aspects of Design and Technology. Here is just a sample:

Preparing a GCSE Scheme of Work Are you ready for the new D&T GCSE? Members – £118.50 Non-members – £162.00 Seven CPD resources including a scheme of work for a five-year course and a number of ‘tools for change’ to help address all aspects of the new D&T GCSE. Includes contextual challenge, control systems, choosing materials, new technologies and generating design ideas.

Projects on a Page – six additional primary planners A national scheme of work for design and technology at KS1 and 2 Members – £19.98 Non-members – £30.00 Six additional planners to supplement the original fifteen Projects on a Page. Two can be taught as alternatives to existing planners and each should be read alongside Side 2 of the equivalent planners in the original scheme of work.

Look out for CPD on: • Subject Leadership • Teaching STEM • Iterative design process • Planning schemes of work for KS3 & GCSE • Engineering workshops

Iterative Designing in Action Critical to students’ understanding of the process of good design Members – £99.00 Non-members – £123.00 A flexible collection of CPD resources to support key aspects of the new D&T curriculum.

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 on your rights to sickness leave and pay

ATL members on workload, sex education, and the new union

25 CROSSWORD Your chance to win a £50 Marks & Spencer voucher by solving our mind-bending cryptic crossword

27 NOTICEBOARD

23

Details of the global Send my Friend campaign, plus the chance to get involved with the London Pride march, attend a conference on asbestos, save the date for ATL’s support staff conference, and nominate a colleague for a teaching award

29

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

REP TRAINING

Discover the range of training and support ATL offers to its team of reps

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

MARCH 2017 | REPORT 21

Trade Union Services

HAVE YOU HAD AN ACCIDENT? AS A UNION MEMBER, WE’LL GUARANTEE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY 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 and your family members 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

MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE • CONVEYANCING • WILLS AND PROBATE • FAMILY MATTERS

YOUR ATL… LEGAL GUIDE

Illness at work ATL solicitor Jayne Phillips explains your rights if you are unable to work because of sickness

THERE IS NO legal right to be paid your normal salary if you are unable to work due to sickness. If an employee is absent from work for more than four days in a row (including non-working days), they are entitled to receive statutory sick pay (this is currently £88.45 per week). This is paid by the employer for up to 28 weeks.

However, many employers do provide an occupational sick pay scheme – you should always check your contract and/or the staff handbook. It is a statutory requirement that your contract includes any terms relating to absence through illness or injury, including any terms relating to sick pay. It is also important that you comply with any requirements set out in respect of reporting sickness absence, as failure to do so could lead to sick pay being withheld.

If you are a teacher in the maintained sector, your sick pay entitlement is contained within the Burgundy Book (the collectively agreed terms and conditions for teachers).

If your school has converted to academy status, you will need to check whether the Burgundy Book terms and conditions WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

apply to you. If you are employed in the independent sector, in FE or in HE, you will also need to check the terms of your contract to see what sick pay your employer pays.

Under the Burgundy Book, how much sick pay you receive depends on your length of service. Entitlement is as follows: First year of service Full pay for 25 working days.

Half pay for 50 working days.

Second year of service Full pay for 50 working days.

Half pay for 50 working days.

Third year of service Full pay for 75 working days.

Half pay for 75 working days.

Fourth year of service Full pay for 100 working days and subsequent years.

Half pay for 100 working days.

For support staff employed by local authorities, there is a scheme contained

within the local authority collective agreement, known as the Green Book.

There are also additional provisions in the Burgundy Book that extend sick pay in certain circumstances. In particular, if the absence is due to an accident, injury or assault that arose out of, and in the course of, a teacher’s employment, the teacher is entitled to receive six months’ full pay (paragraph nine of the Burgundy Book) and thereafter the sick pay entitlement .

There is also entitlement to additional sickness absence payments if there is “evidence to show a reasonable probability that an absence was due to an infection or contagious illness contracted directly in the course of the teacher’s employment” (paragraph 10 of the Burgundy Book).

In both circumstances, an “approved” medical practitioner must attest that the injury, accident, assault or illness arose in the course of the teacher’s employment.

The Burgundy Book does not explain what “approved” means or whether a GP’s letter is sufficient. These additional rights are important, but, as is often the case with legal matters, entitlement is not a straightforward issue; advice from ATL should always be sought.

It is important to remember, however, that the provisions in the Burgundy Book, and entitlement to a certain amount of sick pay, do not prevent an employer beginning capability proceedings if the employee appears unlikely to be fit to resume work in the foreseeable future. It is not the case that an employee is entitled to remain employed until their sick pay entitlement has been exhausted. An employee who is incapable of working may be fairly dismissed, even if they are disabled within the definition in the Equality Act 2010.

The fairness of the dismissal on ill-health grounds will depend on the facts of the individual case.

If you are off sick, it is always advisable to cooperate as far as possible with any request from your employer for information regarding your absence and when you expect to return to work. You may be asked to attend a consultation with your employer’s occupational health physician or a nominated consultant, and you should comply with such a request.

Members are advised to seek advice from ATL if they are absent from work due to long-term ill health. Contact details are on page 21.

MARCH 2017 | REPORT 23

YOUR ATL… YOUR VIEWS

Letters ‘for girls’, and will police these STA R L E T T E R with a sense of righteousness.

CHEEKY LADS AND This is set in for life, in girls as LITTLE ANGELS well as boys, despite the sexism UK Feminista has issued a that they experience as survey about subconscious teenagers or adults. sexism in our Gender stereotyping upbringing of is passed on children. I’d like The author of this letter wins through to contribute a £100 in book tokens. If you want to everyday few thoughts voice your opinion on issues raised in Report or any other aspect of education, language and here as it’s a please send a letter or email to the experience, big concern addresses below, including your subconscious of mine. phone number.

One letter will be chosen expectations, The casual every issue to win preconceptions comments we the tokens. and language. habitually make to Further, this is chiefly boys and girls, which indoctrinate them with their own from parents – usually unintentionally and implicitly. sexism from a very early age, In my previous school, I used include ‘Who’s a cheeky lad to long to bring this up in staff then?’ to boys, contrasting with meetings, but felt too shy.

‘Don’t be a cheeky madam’ to We all need to examine girls; and similarly, ‘Little angel’ our presumptions. contrasting with ‘Little monster’.

R Williams-Wandoch, These, or worse, are on Cambridgeshire commercial T-shirts and drink bottles too – commerce STANDING TOGETHER has invested in sexism.

I taught for 37 years. The first 15 Simple studies, such as were maybe the best. I could gain reported in books like Natasha experience and confidence in an Walter’s Living Dolls, replicable unpressured way, experiment by anyone observing children, and make decisions about what I have shown reception pupils taught, how I taught it and how I are already certain of some assessed it. behaviours that are ‘for boys’ or

WIN!

The introduction of the national curriculum was when the de-professionalisation of teaching began. Everything had to be measured and if it couldn’t, it wasn’t a proper subject. The good thing to emerge in the 1980s was GCSEs, but unfortunately, as teaching and learning became better and grades improved year on year, the tabloid press started shouting about ‘dumbing down’.

Then the education secretary joined the denigration bandwagon. The profession had to be controlled and told what to do, with draconian measures for failure to comply (Ofsted). Into the new century, and pupils and teachers were subject to unprecedented testing and examining, intolerable stress and pointless tasks.

Mr Gove managed what no other education secretary had managed to do – get all three main unions on strike together for the first time. I’ve always wondered why there isn’t a single professional association, and I’m encouraged by ATL and the NUT’s move to create a new union. The Government is bent on avoiding any professional expertise in its decisions. We need to make it listen. If it doesn’t, we need to be able to say no to its outrageous demands.

P Ingleton, Kent PERSONAL CHOICES I am extremely troubled by the opinions put forward by Ms Khorsandi in her article

JOIN THE DEBATE…

‘No laughing matter’ (Report, January 2017). Yes, we need to talk to our children about sex in an age-appropriate way. I do not agree that this means it should be a compulsory part of the curriculum. This is not an ‘11 is too young to be taught about sex’ rant. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ms Khorsandi has entirely missed the point as to why many parents would want their children to opt out of sex education classes.

Whatever your background, there is no escaping the fact that sex has deep moral and cultural values attached to it. Parents have every right to nurture and instil morality in their children as best they see fit. Parents who opt out of sex education for their children are not doing it to keep their children ignorant of sex.

The parents opt out because teaching about sex is too important a topic to be delegated to anyone else.

The kind of talk about sex I hear from my colleagues in the staffroom often makes my skin crawl. These are precisely the sort of people I do not want teaching my children about sex – people whose morals and values are so far removed from my own. I don’t believe I am alone in preferring my children to learn about sex within the moral structure and safety of the family.

I am well aware that my children will be exposed to sex outside the home; however, when that happens, I am confident that they will be sufficiently prepared to make healthy decisions, and comfortable enough to ask their parents any questions.

Name supplied

report@atl.org.uk @ATLReport facebook.com/ATLUnion

Report, ATL, 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD

24 REPORT | MARCH 2017 WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

IN YOUR P R OATL… FILE PRIZE CROSSWORD

WIN!

Prize crossword ACROSS 1 What cattle thieves do, we hear, in leading university group (7) 5 Dear me – religious leader could become a visionary (7) 9 Scientific researcher – I’m back in the box! (7) 10 Where a graduate teacher sleeps? (3) 11 Tear beginning of research into pieces (3) 12 Flirtatious girl might be term’s pest! (9) 14 We get round short vacation in one piece (5) 15 Tells fibs about fitness centre – written punishment (5) 17 Unusually, I made case for new types of school (9) 19 They write books about lions and vets, maybe (9) 21 Thanks! Three-quarters of volume is a prohibited subject (5) 24 Weary? Fresh diet is about right (5) 25 Sam Castle might become fellow pupil (9) 27 Company boss gets a bit of a onceover (1,1,1) 28 Content of Lorna Doone causes fuss (3) 29 Tries an alternative that is less pleasant (7) 31 One who helps an actor with a piece of furniture? (7) 32 Sir leaves strange resounding underground cell (7)

A £50 Marks & Spencer voucher

DOWN 1 Musical performance by Claire T., perhaps (7) 2 Start legal proceedings with university in south-east (3) 3 Official order found in Cambridge Dictionary (5) 4 These Protestants shan’t rule falsely (9) 5 Performs in public for the first time without uniform – amounts owed (5) 6 Money to establish a university post?

Won’t need million, perhaps (9) 7 Radio inventor and crazy romantic with no end of zest (7) 8 Concerning newspapers – subdue by force! (7) 13 Soldiers in the regiment? (3) 16 Oddly, Dad says, ‘Al, that was a time when I was young and inexperienced’ (5,4) 18 Dean’s a bit muddled and decided not to vote (9) 19 Became aware of cake lacking frosting? (7) 20 Half of book squeezed into poem – too wordy (7) 22 Item of ladies’ underwear turns up in garbage (3) 23 Go on longer than allowed, and get single after six balls? (7) 25 Oxygen-rich mixture for singers (5) 26 Girl’s name in Southern States and North (5) 30 Anger when I take Religious Education (3)

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HOW TO ENTER

Send your completed crossword with your contact details to: ATL March crossword competition, Think Publishing, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London NW1 5DH. The closing date is 10 April 2017. If you have an ATL membership number, please include this here: The winner of the March competition will be announced in the May 2017 issue of Report.

LAST ISSUE’S SOLUTION ACROSS: 1 Detached 5 Mother 9 Upstairs 10 Sandal 12 Dish 13 Prosaic 17 Ineptitude 19 Nit 21 Cut 22 Jam session 24 Benefit 25 Hair 28 Adonis 30 Multiple 31 Kernel 32 Gendarme DOWN: 1 Drum 2 Test 3 Chariots 4 Earth 6 Orator 7 Hid 8 Relocating 11 Spades 14 Aeneid 15 Pitch black 16 Newton 18 Toasts 20 Assisted 23 Of fire 25 House 26 Spar 27 Bede 29 Our CONGRATULATIONS TO JANUARY’S WINNER – MRS C BEAL, HAMPSHIRE

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SEPTEMBER 2014 | REPORT 25

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Act by 5 April Organising your finances taxefficiently is part of sensible financial planning – the government actively encourages us to use legitimate tax reliefs and allowances such as ISAs, pension contributions and other personal allowances.

An ATL+ partner, we offer practical, affordable advice specific to education professionals about being tax aware.

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Making your money work harder LIGHTHOUSE FINANCIAL ADVICE www.lighthousegroup.plc.uk/affinity/atl Tax advice which contains no investment element is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Lighthouse Financial Advice is a trading style of Lighthouse Financial Advice Limited. Registered in England No. 04795080. Registered Office: 26 Throgmorton Street, London, EC2N 2AN. Lighthouse Financial Advice Limited is an appointed representative of Lighthouse Advisory Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Both are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Lighthouse Group plc. 2017-01-18 17.0360

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YOUR ATL… NOTICEBOARD

NOTICE BOARD CONFERENCE: ASBESTOS IN SCHOOLS – REVEALING THE HIDDEN KILLER

SEND MY FRIEND TO SCHOOL CAMPAIGN 2017 Education is powerful and transformative – for individual children and their families, but also for whole communities, countries and the world. It’s a key solution to many of the world’s problems. Imagine the power of a world in which every child is in school, learning and aspiring.

World leaders have promised every child a quality education, but a key piece of the puzzle is not in place – the money to pay for this education – leaving the global picture with 263 million children missing out on school.

That’s why the 2017 Send My Friend to School campaign is calling on the UK Government to increase its investment in the power of education across the world.

Thousands of schools across the UK will be taking part, with young people from every corner of the country making eye-catching paper jigsaw pieces to send to their MP to call for action.

The power of young people coming together in chorus across the globe is an unstoppable force. Get your school involved in the Send My Friend to School campaign today by downloading your free teacher’s pack with everything you need to take part at www.sendmyfriend.org.

ATL SUPPORT STAFF CONFERENCE 2017 This year's ATL support staff conference will take place on Saturday 20 May in central London. Look out for the next edition of ATL’s Support Staff News, the newsletter emailed to support staff members, which will include details of the agenda, CPD options and how to book your place.

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

Nearly 90% of schools in the UK contain asbestos, and poor asbestos management poses risks to the health of pupils, teachers and school staff. This conference, hosted by the Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC), will inform participants of the hidden dangers and risks to health posed by asbestos in schools and discuss the steps to take to manage asbestos.

Speakers include Rachel Reeves MP, chair of the Asbestos in Schools group in Parliament, representatives from the Health and Safety Executive and the Department for Education, and medical practitioners.

JUAC is a non-party political campaign group that aims to make UK schools and colleges safe from the dangers of asbestos.

The members of JUAC are ASCL, ATL, GMB, NAHT, NASUWT, NUT, UNISON, Unite the Union and Voice.

The conference will take place on Tuesday 4 July at Hillscourt Conference Centre in Birmingham. Tickets are £40, including lunch and refreshments. Please go to www.juac.org.uk for further information and booking details.

TEACHING AWARDS 2017 The Pearson Teaching Awards, often known as the ‘Oscars for teachers’, recognise and celebrate the exceptional and life-changing work of teachers across the country. Teachers change young people’s lives, often in the most challenging circumstances, and their work cannot be valued highly enough.

The Teaching Awards give you an opportunity to celebrate, with your peers, students and parents, the brilliant work that takes place in schools across the country.

Nominate a colleague today who you see making an exceptional contribution to children's lives. The deadline for entries for a 2017 award is 24 March – see www. pearsonteachingawards.com/enter.

You can also simply ‘thank a teacher’ and Pearson Teaching Awards will send them a thank-you card from you, for free – see www.pearsonteachingawards.com/ thank-a-teacher.

You can also download free posters for the awards and to thank a teacher from www.pearsonteachingawards.com.

LONDON PRIDE ATL will be joining the London Pride march on Saturday 8 July 2017. You can only join the march if you have a wristband, so if you would like to march with ATL please email ATL senior policy adviser Simon Stokes at sstokes@atl.org.uk as soon as possible.

More details will be available nearer the time.

ATL will not be able to pay travel expenses for attendance at London Pride.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH

ATL Protect: Over the years, too many ATL members have faced financial hardship through loss of salary as a result of being unable to work due to illness or accident.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with Irish Life and its appointed representative, Affinity, to put together a solution to this problem: ATL Protect – an innovative plan tailored specifically for ATL members, which can provide vital protection for members who lose their salary through illness.

Call 0800 138 1690 or visit www.atl. org.uk/plus.

MARCH 2017 | REPORT 27

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IN P YOUR R O F IATL… LE REP TRAINING

ATL REP TRAINING

PHOTOS: PAULA DUCK

You don’t have to be an expert to be a rep – that’s why we’re here. You just need the enthusiasm to help your colleagues and we’ll support you with everything else. It doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment, but it is a vital one With unprecedented change in education, you and your colleagues need to make your voices heard.

ATL provides a whole range of training courses for new and existing reps. All courses take place in a friendly and supportive environment and are designed to equip you with the skills, knowledge and confidence to be an effective rep.

ATL will meet all reasonable travel and subsistence costs incurred in attending rep’s courses, including overnight accommodation.

Health and safety rep

Follow-on training for workplace reps

This is for all new health and safety reps, as well as workplace reps who have an ATL responsibility for health and safety or just want to know more. You will gain an understanding of the legal rights of an ATL health and safety rep, identify some of the health and safety legal duties of employers, and consider how to organise around issues in the workplace. This is a three-stage course (one day per term).

Workplace rep

This is for all new and existing union learning reps, as well as workplace reps and branch officers who have an ATL responsibility for union learning or just want to know more. The course covers what the role involves, your legal rights, promoting the value of and access to learning and skills within the workplace for members and staff, working with employers, and organising around learning issues.

These courses are for all workplace reps who have completed the induction and three-stage course, but at the very minimum have completed three out of the four days’ training.

Handling a disciplinary case: This two-day course will enable you to develop the knowledge and confidence to support members through a disciplinary process.

Dealing with capability issues: This one-day course will take an in-depth look at advising and representing ATL members in relation to capability issues around performance.

Dealing with workplace ill health and sickness absence: This one-day course will look at advising and representing ATL members in relation to ill health and sickness absence.

Getting the most out of negotiations: This one-day course will develop your confidence in dealing with negotiations.

These courses cover the role of the rep, your rights, building the union, handling casework and negotiating skills, as well as providing you with an opportunity to meet other reps in your region and discuss local issues.

Induction: If you are a new rep you should register for ATL’s one-day workplace rep’s induction course in your region. This will give you a general introduction to the role of the rep and allow you to meet others at the same stage as you.

Three-stage course: On completion of the induction, you should progress on to ATL’s three-stage course for workplace reps in your region, which consists of three separate days (one day per term).

Union learning rep

Equalities training This one-day course is for all reps who are interested in exploring equalities issues in the workplace. The course will cover the law, how to identify equality issues and give support to members, and how you can get more involved in ATL’s equality work.

Time off for training School and college representatives, including health and safety and union learning representatives, have a statutory entitlement to time off with pay, during working hours, for training related to the role.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.ATL.ORG.UK/REPZONE

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

SEPTEMBER 2016 | REPORT 29

FINAL WORD… NICOLA MORGAN

Talking to teenagers Author and expert on the teenage brain Nicola Morgan explains what it’s like to visit schools to talk to teens

ILLUSTRATION: PHIL WRIGGLESWORTH

IT IS A TRUTH universally

acknowledged that teenagers are tough audiences. Even though I know enough about the teenage brain to have a scientific understanding of why, my knowledge does nothing to diminish that frisson of fear and self-doubt as I approach an audience of 200 15-year-olds.

So, what is it like and, far more importantly, why do it?

After hundreds of visits to secondary schools, I have learnt to remind myself of the following: 1. In the audience are some who are looking forward to my talk. For very few of those, this is because they have heard of my books and/ or are genuinely interested in what I might say. For the rest, it’s because they are happy to be missing PE/history/French/whatever.

2. There are also some (at times many) who are not. Some believe a middle-aged woman can’t have anything interesting to tell them.

Others are unhappy – for reasons that are nothing to do with me, but with life/school/peer groups/ themselves/all of the above.

Adolescence can do that. I empathise.

3. Some students will look negative even if they’re not.

4. Some who start off negative will actually enjoy it – that’s my aim.

Others won’t, as it will take more than a middle-aged woman talking for an hour to change anything.

Nicola Morgan is 5. Some from each category – an award-winning perhaps few or perhaps many – novelist and will take some of what I say and international expert on the teenage be changed in ways that they brain. See www. may or may not notice. nicolamorgan 6. Some will tell me so, and that .com is the most wonderful feeling.

This is how it is, in one form or another, for every visit by authors to secondary schools. The thing I am only getting slightly better at is this: although 9599% of students will pay avid attention once they realise I’m not preaching, and I’m either telling them gripping gory stories or something fascinating about their brains (and sometimes gory stories about their brains), between one and five per cent will not pay attention – and it is those few I will notice.

There’s another difficult thing though, something I’ve never seen in the many pieces of advice to schools about author visits.

Because staff usually sit behind the students, they don’t see their faces. Staff see the fidgeting of the one-to-five per cent. They don’t see the wonderful, focused, eager faces of the rest – and they don’t see that sometimes the fidgeters are listening. Somehow – though I’m not sure how this can happen – it would be great if the teachers could see what I see.

What’s the point of doing this?

If it’s mentally and physically exhausting and often whittles my self-esteem, why do it?

Because it’s not about numbers.

It’s about individuals. It’s about students like the one who emailed after a talk about teenage stress, saying: “Thank you for settling my mind.” The boy who thought he hated reading who read Fleshmarket after my visit and told his school librarian: “I didn’t know books were like that.” The A-level student who emailed to say my talk had been “inspirational”. All authors get such responses. They are silent but huge. They matter.

This is the point of author talks and why organising them is one of the important things school librarians do. All the little individual changes we make inside young brains that set them on a better, positive, fulfilled, more thoughtful course are countless. The effects are immeasurable and every one counts.

30 REPORT | MARCH 2017 WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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