Report October 2016

THE MAGAZINE FROM ATL, THE EDUCATION UNION

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

OCTOBER 2016 £2.50

Special delivery Positive and ambitious SEND reforms are being let down by a lack of resources

AG E N DA

LET IT FLOW

Why meaningful workload is more manageable

001_ATL_COVER Oct-Final.indd 1

PROFILE

FINAL WORD

NATASHA DEVON

SERIOUSLY PLAYFUL

How to make education a happier place to study and work

Teachers need to have fun to help children learn

29/09/2016 09:55

Nutritional benefits of breakfast programmes ®

Since 1998 Kellogg’s has helped to create school and community breakfast programmes which provide children from lower socioeconomic groups with a nutritional breakfast in the morning before school. The programme which started in the UK has now expanded to Ireland, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Russia. In all of these countries Kellogg’s works with partners to ensure that each breakfast project is run according to local cultural and educational needs.

Children and young people from lower socioeconomic groups: Are more likely to be overweight or obese Are more likely to miss breakfast in the morning Eat less fruit & vegetables In children and young people, evidence of low intakes and/or status exists in some European countries for one or more micronutrients.1 These include: help build bones

contributes to normal cognition

Breakfast plays an important role in providing children with these essential micronutrients; including children who

come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.4 A 30g serving of Kellogg’s Cornflakes and 125ml of semi-skimmed milk will provide an 11 year old girl with:

30g

+

125ml

12% of daily calcium 55% of daily vitamin B2 26% of the vitamin D they need every day

Vitamin D & calcium

help energyyielding metabolism and support the immune system

Iron & folate

Iodine

Riboflavin

contributes to normal energyyielding metabolism

Evidence suggests micronutrient intakes and/or status may be less in lower socioeconomic groups compared to higher socioeconomic groups.2 Evidence of Hidden Hunger exists in some European countries. The re-emergence of rickets in the UK is an example.3 Hidden Hunger is a chronic lack of micronutrients, the effects of which may not be immediately apparent and which may result in long term negative health consequences.

1. Mensink GMB et al (2011) Mapping low intake of micronutrients across Europe. Br J Nutr 110: 755 -773 2. Novakovic R et al (2013) Socio-economic determinants of micronutrient intake and status in Europe: a systematic review.

Pub Health Nutr 17: 1031-1045 3. Spiro A & Buttriss J (2014) Vitamin D: an overview of vitamin D status and intake in Europe. Nutrition Bulletin 39: 322-350 4. Holmes BA et al (2011) The contribution of breakfast cereals to the nutritional intake of the materially deprived UK population. Eur J Clin Nutr 66: 10-17

IFC_ATL_Oct16.indd 1

20% of their daily folic acid needs 22% of the iron they need every day A bowl of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (30g) excluding milk contributes 3% of a child’s Reference Value for sugar (based on the EU maximum recommended level of sugar of 85g/day)

A breakfast project meal that provides fruit like bananas, apples, oranges and wholemeal bread will also help children and young people get the magnesium, potassium, vitamin C and fibre that they need.

School and community breakfast programmes like those provided by Kellogg’s and its partners helps kids and young people get the ffood and nutrients they need!

Breakfasts for

Better Days

™

© Kellogg Company 2016 www.kelloggsnutrition.com

29/09/2016 12:41

Contents UPFRONT

4 UPDATE

ATL leads the debate on grammar schools at the TUC Congress

17 MANAGING MELTDOWNS Advice from autism specialist Esther Thomas

SHELAGH HIRST, NATIONAL PRESIDENT

6

AGENDA

Nansi Ellis on the many problems created by excessive workload

7

WALES AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Members put their views to the Welsh education secretary, and new SEN regulations in Northern Ireland get a cautious welcome F E AT U R E S

10 SPECIAL DELIVERY

Report investigates how the positive ideas behind SEND reforms are not translating into practice

14 PROFILE

Mental health campaigner Natasha Devon on well-being in schools

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 Editor Alex Tomlin News editor Edie Mullen 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 Laura Dean-Osgood 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

003_ATL_Oct16_CONTENTS.indd 3

Welcome

30 FINAL WORD

Bo Stjerne Thomsen of the LEGO Foundation on the power of playful teaching Y O U R AT L

19-29 Use the USEFUL CONTACTS to get in touch; meet an award-winning rep in ULR PROFILE; learn what makes work a chore in WORK OR WORKLOAD?; get LEGAL ADVICE on umbrella companies; hear from ATL members in YOUR VIEWS; complete the CROSSWORD to win a £50 M&S voucher; get up-to-date events and union info in NOTICEBOARD; nominate your rep and hear about new courses with 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 to the October issue of Report.

After your first few weeks back at work, I suspect many of you are already looking forward to a break at the end of this month to recharge your batteries.

In my president’s speech in September, I talked about the negative impact of the education system on the lives of those working within it.

I identified three areas to focus on to reduce that impact.

I want education professionals to have hope – hope that our views and concerns about education policies and initiatives will be heard, recognised, valued and acted upon by the Government, and hope that all our hard work and dedication will make the necessary difference to the lives of the students in our care.

I want us to have good health – good physical health with time to rest and relax; good social health with time for our families and friends; and good mental health so we can be productive, effective and successful in our work.

I want us to be happy – happy in our work and family lives, in our relationships with students and their parents. I want us to feel motivated, enthused, encouraged and supported in the demanding role we have.

Finally, I challenged our new secretary of state, Justine Greening, to work with us in developing an education system that focuses on the best interests of all pupils and students.

Cover illustration: John Holcroft

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22/09/2016 15:58

PHOTOGRAPHY: DANNY FITZPATRICK

U P D AT E

Grammar school threat tackled at TUC ’16

0 Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner spoke about her own experiences in the education system

Shadow education secretary followed Parliamentary debate with ATL/NUT fringe appearance The first full day of this year’s Trades Union Congress took place in Brighton while Parliament debated the Government’s newly unveiled plans for grammar schools – a subject which dominated discussions at the ATL/ NUT joint fringe event the next day and prompted ATL to submit an emergency motion to Congress.

ATL general secretary Mary Bousted launched the discussions, stating, “I'm sure that not one of us in this room is fooled by the smoke and mirrors that Theresa May and Justine Greening are trying to put round this policy. Justine Greening argued in the House yesterday that poor children can achieve social mobility by going to a grammar school.

But the fundamental problem with this argument is simple: less than three per cent of the children who go to grammar schools are on free school meals.”

Speaking of the social inequality created by grammar schools, NUT general secretary Kevin Courtney cited a study from the Institute of Fiscal Studies that found four times as many children from fee-paying primary prep schools are in grammar schools as children who are receiving free school meals. “At NUT and ATL,” he said, “we already know there are huge challenges ahead, including a fundamental challenge to the notion of a public service education.” However, 4 REPORT | OCTOBER 2016

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he expressed his confidence that both unions have “the evidence to defeat this”.

Melissa Benn, chair of secondary education campaigning group Comprehensive Future, spoke about how the 11-plus entrance exam for grammar schools can be passed more easily by pupils whose parents can afford to pay for additional coaching. She commented: “It can’t test natural ability; it tests existing learning and advantage.”

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner concluded the event by speaking against the “segregation, segregation, segregation” of the grammar school intake process in an address that drew upon her own experiences and ended in a standing ovation from delegates: “I was that poor-quality student,” she said. “I wasn't thinking I could be a doctor, a scientist, an MP ... My mother loved me just as much as any parent loves a child, but she was just not equipped to give me those skills that I required in my early days to get me through an 11-plus.

“The people who are going to find the cure for cancer, or solve the climatechange problem – history tells us they could be anywhere. They could be the kid in the council estate who's not being fed properly, that we're neglecting ... That could be the person who, potentially, is going to unlock what we need in our society. So we should invest in all our kids.”

On the final day of Congress, ATL’s emergency motion ‘Congress notes that there is no evidence that grammar schools provide a route for poor, academically able children to achieve better life chances’ was passed. It called upon the TUC to work with “all the education unions, and all stakeholders, including parents, to oppose any increase in academic selection”.

Other ATL motions debated during Congress included ‘Undermining education professionals harms pupils’ from Mary Bousted on the threatened removal of QTS; and a composited motion on the mental health of children and young people by new ATL president Shelagh Hirst.

You can read the ATL motions in full at www.atl.org.uk/TUC16.

1 ATL general secretary Mary Bousted argued against grammar schools

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

29/09/2016 11:31

UPDATE

TUC HONOUR FOR ATL GENERAL SECRETARY ATL general secretary Mary Bousted was elected as president of the TUC by the General Council on the final day of the 148th Congress.

She takes over from UNISON assistant general secretary Liz Snape, and will serve in the role until the 149th Congress in Brighton in 2017.

Dr Bousted emphasised the importance of education at every level of working life, commenting: “The challenge for the UK is to create a high-skilled economy with opportunities for all. Teachers and lecturers work every day to improve the life chances of the children and young people in their classrooms. I will make education a key priority of my presidential year – across all sectors, and including adult skills development, which unionlearn has championed so successfully.”

ATL DATA REVEALS DAILY TWO-HOUR EXCESS FOR TEACHERS

0 ATL and the NUT held a joint exhibition stand at Congress, which invited participants to share tributes marking the lifelong impact of their favourite teachers

ATL addresses Government failings behind GCSEs dip Numerous ATL members working in secondary education have been getting in touch with us to obtain advice or express their frustration over this year’s dip in average GCSE results.

ATL education policy adviser Jill Stokoe congratulated students for the hard work they put into their GCSEs this year, adding: “The Government must acknowledge that its policy to force 17-year-olds to retake English and maths until they obtain a pass grade is not in the best interests of students. It is clearly not working, because fewer students are passing their resits now that they are compulsory.

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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This policy is having an impact on the overall results for English and maths GCSEs, as this year almost 40% of students didn't achieve A* to C.” She went on to link the impact of curriculum changes with the recruitment and retention issues that the Department for Education currently faces: “The Government's plans to make 90% of students study EBacc subjects ignore the fact that there is already a shortage of teachers for most of the EBacc subjects – English, maths, physics, history, geography and modern foreign languages.”

The latest results from the ‘It’s about time…’ campaign’s online workload tracker have pointed to participants logging, on average, over two hours a day – every day of the week, each day of the year – on top of their contracted hours.

The data, examined in more depth, also revealed a sizeable difference between the results for full- and part-time staff. Fulltime respondents reported an average of 54 hours worked a week, with 16 of these hours (30%) taking place outside normal working hours. Part-timers’ extra hours were calculated to be as high as 38%.

The highest excess workload was found in trainee and NQ teachers, who work an average of 19 extra hours a week outside their allotted hours – a worrying statistic in light of the Government’s current recruitment statistics for teachers.

Nansi Ellis, ATL assistant general secretary for policy, commented: “While the commitment to ongoing talks on workload from the Department for Education can be seen as a positive, it remains a fact that ministers are directly responsible for much of the unnecessary workload pressures that our members face. The continuing reform whirlwind is proving to be not only chaotic and fragmented, but also at times educationally inappropriate. We saw, this year, primary teachers and leaders bending over backwards to get their children successfully through writing and reading assessments, which we know were poorly designed. Until ministers accept their share of responsibility, tackling workload will remain a huge challenge.”

ATL needs your information to continue highlighting workload issues on behalf of teachers nationwide. Go to www.atl.org. uk/workloadtracker to register and start logging your hours – you could find the results help you see where you can make changes of your own.

OCTOBER 2016 | REPORT 5

22/09/2016 16:14

GOVERNMENT HAS a problem.

Ministers want to raise standards, to put England’s education on a par with the best in the world, and in order to do that we need a strong workforce. But everywhere you turn, teachers are leaving.

Or they’re burning out, getting sick or having to choose between work and family. And it’s all about workload.

What’s interesting about workload is that it’s not only about time. Obviously, if you’re working well into the night every night, and most of the weekend, that’s a problem. But workload is about more than that. When you’re engrossed in work that you choose to do, that is stimulating and meaningful, then time almost doesn’t seem to matter.

You’re in what Mihály Csíkszentmihályi calls ‘a state of flow’ and it seems to be when people do their best work. The opposite happens when work is imposed, when it seems to have no purpose, or doesn’t match with your values, when you plod through the same actions over and over again with no real learning or engagement.

Flow is different for different people. Some will really get into organising the timetable, looking for patterns in data, others find meaning in long-term planning or in-depth assessment. But it’s hard to find flow in writing out plans for every lesson, on a form that’s been designed to suit the reader and not the planner; entering data from tests of aspects of learning imposed

by Government; or teaching children to unpick and name the parts of sentences.

So, workload is about meaning – doing things that fit with your values and your beliefs about children and their learning. And it’s about choice; being able to plan in a way that works for you, teaching concepts as the children are ready to be challenged by them. It can also mean reflecting on your choices, because every choice you make is a choice not to do something else.

But nobody, no teacher, no school leader, gets up in the 6 REPORT | OCTOBER 2016

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Let it flow Workload is about much more than time, says assistant general secretary for policy Nansi Ellis

morning thinking ‘I’m going to make life difficult today’. So why does it happen? Often, it’s about accountability. School leaders feel a weight of pressure to make sure everything is as good as it possibly can be – and that can lead to monitoring everything, checking lesson plans, frequent ‘book-looks’, observations that require extra paperwork and seating plans. School governors can get in on the act too, scrutinising the minutiae of the assessment policy and its attendant data, or expecting reports in particular formats at times to suit them.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

There are school leaders out there who monitor their teachers’ workload in a sustained way.

There are governing boards that provide strong support for headteachers, both to maintain their own healthy work balance and to help their staff. There are teachers and support staff who make small changes in their own practice, and who find ways to work together to make bigger changes that will benefit the

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whole school. There are schools that have made big changes to their curriculum and assessments while keeping a close eye on workload. You can find these people’s stories in my new book, Managing Teacher Workload, which was published in August. And if you’re inspired to make your own changes, there are suggestions and questions to get you started, which fit neatly with ATL’s workload campaign, which has been running since last November.

But workload is also about Government policy. Politicians want to make a difference. They have a limited time to do it. And they have a voracious media wanting headlines. So, time after time, ministers fall into the trap of announcing something new that will make all the difference: a new curriculum; new tests and exams; new ways of grading exams; new ways of teaching. They announce it with great fanfare, and then move on to the next thing, leaving teachers struggling to make sense of it all, and trying to change everything while keeping things stable so that children will still learn and make progress. What we know, of course, is that the most important policy to support improvement of teaching and learning is investment in the continuing learning of teachers, and yet this seems too hard for politicians to grapple with.

The Department for Education (DfE) is making a start on workload: the working group reports are a step on a long journey. And ATL is working with the DfE on a workload protocol that could offer proper implementation time in school for new policies. But Government must take responsibility for its own part in creating workload, and choose to focus on policy that will make a difference to teaching, rather than add burdens to teachers. They would do well to listen to what you, professionals in classrooms, need.

Find out more about Nansi’s book, Managing Teacher Workload, on page 21.

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22/09/2016 15:46

THE VIEW FROM… WALES / NORTHERN IRELAND

Wales

Northern Ireland

RACHEL CURLEY

MARK LANGHAMMER

Members put their views to new education secretary

New SEN regulations anticipated

SINCE BEING appointed cabinet secretary for education, Kirsty Williams has made a number of welcome statements about the need to engage with the education profession, ensure time for high-quality CPD and tackle workload.

Lead members from the ATL Cymru committee met recently with Williams and Alun Davies, minister for lifelong learning and Welsh language. Our meeting focused on the five key asks of ATL Cymru’s ‘Put Education First’ campaign.

The discussion reflected the scale, scope and pace of reform across education in Wales, and included issues and concerns about

the funding crisis in FE colleges, curriculum and qualification reform, the use of the Pupil Deprivation Grant and the Additional Learning Needs Bill.

ATL Cymru supports the implementation of the Donaldson Review and we believe curriculum reform must be done once and done well. However, the education system needs the capacity to implement such wideranging reform. It needs proper resources in terms of finance, staff time and CPD. When ATL Cymru members responded to our ‘Put Education First’ survey earlier this year, 90% thought their job had become more of a challenge since they started working.

Three quarters said this was due to workload. These results were consistent across teachers, leaders and support staff members in schools and FE colleges.

This puts all new initiatives at risk.

We will be looking to Kirsty Williams to ensure she continues to listen to, and involve, the profession, and takes urgent action to address excessive workload.

ATL HAS BEEN formally consulted about the new special educational needs regulations. Finalised regulations will now be presented to the Assembly.

The proposed changes build on the 2005 regulations and provide for extensions to the rights of the child over compulsory school age.

The new SEN regulations, together with the SEND Act 2016 and a revised code of practice, are intended to form a more responsive framework for children.

So what should teachers look out for?

Regulations 8 and 9 are likely to set out requirements about the qualifications and experience of learning support coordinators (LSCs), which replace the SENCO designation. The LSC will be a qualified teacher, working in the school and meeting the specifications of the education authority. Boards of governors will be required to ensure that LSCs have the necessary training and time to do the job effectively, as well as the opportunity to report directly and regularly to the governors.

The views of the child are bolstered within the assessment process and the timelines for assessments will reduce. There will be enhanced support, enabling children over compulsory school age to exercise their rights. The regulations will also provide a new mediation service for appealable decisions, with stricter time limits for the completion of mediation.

Existing statements will remain statutorily binding.

ATL is generally welcoming of the draft regulations, but concerns remain about the resourcing of them within a constrained budgetary environment.

Is your rep a winner?

Does your workplace rep deserve recognition for what they have achieved for you or your colleagues over the last year? If so, nominate them now at www.atl.org.uk/repawards

2017

No rep or contact in your workplace?

Why don’t you consider getting involved? Email organise@atl.org.uk for more information.

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22/09/2016 15:45

Are Breakfast Clubs Making a Difference?

By Laura Street Nutritionist, Kellogg Company

®

In 1998, the first breakfast club supported by Kellogg’s was established in the UK. Since then, Kellogg’s has enabled over 2,500 school breakfast clubs to open their doors in the UK by providing cash grants, donations of food, equipment and training for school staff.

These results reinforce the findings of the Low Income National Diet and Nutrition Survey (LINDNS), which previously reported both low intake and poor status for a number of key micronutrients, including vitamin D, iron and riboflavin among lower income groups.7

Research shows that diet quality may be lower in lower socioeconomic status (SES) groups, impacting on nutrient intakes.1,2 In addition, initiatives such as breakfast clubs hold greater potential benefits both nutritionally and academically in deprived areas.3 The breakfast club aspect of the Breakfasts for Better Days* initiative focuses on schools in areas of greatest need: where over 30% of children are entitled to free school dinners. Breakfast clubs typically provide cereal and milk, bread and fruit, which individually or combined can make a significant contribution to the micronutrients known to be low in the diets of children’s in lower income households.

School breakfast clubs are just one initiative that can help to tackle hidden hunger in the UK.

What is clear is that the number of children in lower SES households with intakes of vitamins and minerals below the lower reference nutrient intake (i.e. at very high risk of symptoms of deficiency) is a concern; including for riboflavin where one in seven boys and one in five girls aged 11-18 years are deficient; and iron where 39% of 11-18 year old girls are deficient.6 In addition, average intakes of vitamin D are worryingly low among all children, irrespective of income compared to the new SACN recommendation of 10µg vitamin D per day.8 Average daily intakes of vitamin D among lower SES groups have been reported to be 38% of recommended intake for girls and 44% for boys aged between 2 to 18 years.7

Diet quality & socioeconomic status Breakfast skipping is more common among low SES groups. For example, the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HSBC) study reported that two thirds of children living in more affluent households eat breakfast every weekday (65%) compared to less than half those living in the least affluent households (49%).4 Obesity is also linked to SES with the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) reporting the number of obese children in the most deprived 10% of the population to be around twice that among the least deprived group.5 Fruit and vegetable intakes are also influenced by socioeconomic status with 4-10 year old children in higher socioeconomic groups consuming an extra portion of fruit or vegetables each day (60g) compared to those in households of lower SES.2 The impact of SES on intake and/or status of micronutrients (folate, vitamin B12, iron, zinc, iodine, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, selenium and copper) among children, adults and the elderly in Western Europe has recently been measured.6 Lower values for all micronutrients were reported in the lower SES category, with the exception of vitamin B12. The largest differences were seen for calcium, vitamin C, folate and vitamin D.

008_009_ATL_Oct16.indd 8

Nutritional contribution of Breakfast Clubs Foods provided at breakfast clubs can make an important contribution to intakes of key nutrients that may fall short in lower SES groups. Foods typically include breakfast cereal, milk, fruit and bread.

Ready-to-eat cereals are one of the most popular breakfast choices for children,9 and have been shown to make a valuable contribution to nutrient intakes of children.10 The contribution of a single 30g bowl of fortified breakfast cereal with 125ml semi skimmed milk to Dietary Reference Values (DRVs)11 for an 11-year-old girl is provided in Figure 1. In this example, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes provide between 16% and 32% of the DRV for vitamin D, riboflavin and iron, and the addition of milk supplies calcium and iodine. Further analysis of the LINDNS also supports this valuable contribution of fortified breakfast cereals to dietary intakes of lower socioeconomic groups.12 Many breakfast clubs also provide fruit, which can help to boost intakes of other micronutrients including magnesium, potassium, vitamin C and fibre. ®

Breakfasts for

Better Days

™

© Kellogg Company 2016 www.kelloggsnutrition.com

22/09/2016 15:36

Figure 1: Percentage contribution of a bowl of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and semi skimmed milk to DRVs of vitamins and minerals for an 11-year-old UK female 100 94

90 80 70

%

60 50 30 20

53

51

40 25

25

33

32

34

35

39 25

28 16

10 0 Vitamin D

Vitamin B2

Niacin

Vitamin B6

30g Corn Flakes

Folate

Vitamin B12

Foods consumed at breakfast clubs, such as cereal and milk can make a significant contribution to nutrient intakes of school aged children

Iron

11

0

2

Calcium

Iodine

1

6

Magnesium

1

8

Potassium

1

6 Zinc

30g Corn Flakes + 125ml of semi-skimmed milk

The association between socioeconomic status and intake of micronutrients, fibre, fruit and and vegetables may prompt further research, and have implications for public health policy in addressing previously reported socioeconomic dietary inequalities in Europe. Breakfast skipping remains a considerable

Kellogg’s has supported the creation of over 2500 school breakfast clubs in the UK

18

17

problem among school aged children in the UK, affecting not only nutritional status but also academic performance.3,9 School based breakfast clubs may form a useful part of a multi-pronged approach to address socioeconomic dietary inequalities.

Key Points Intakes of some micronutrients are lower in lower SES groups.

Significant proportions of children and/or teenagers in lower socioeconomic groups have low intakes of vitamin D, riboflavin and iron.

School breakfast clubs are one useful part of a range of initiatives needed to tackle socioeconomic dietary inequalities

*Breakfasts for Better Days is Kellogg's global social investment programme which aims to provide food to children and families in need by creating community based breakfast programmes and by donating food to food banks and food redistribution organisations.

The programme launched in 2013 with the aim of providing 1 billion servings of cereal and snacks (at least 50% of which are breakfast foods) by the end of 2016. By March 2016 Kellogg had reached 1.41bn globally with 141m provided in Europe. More information can be found at www.kelloggs.co.uk

References: 1. Darmon, N, and Drewnowski, A. (2008) Does social class predict diet quality? Am J Clin Nut 87: 1107–17. 2. Bates B et al. (2014) National Diet and Nutrition Survey, Results from Years 1, 2, 3 and 4 (combined) of the Rolling Programme (2008/2009 – 2011/2012): UK Department of Health, Food Standards Agency. 3. Defeyter MA et al (2010) Breakfast clubs: availability for British schoolchildren and the nutritional, social and academic benefits. Nutr Bulletin 35: 245–253. 4. Gavin A et al. (2014) The Irish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study 2014. Available at http://health.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/HBSC2014web2.pdf 5. Growing Up in Ireland (2011) Overweight and obesity among 9-year olds. www.growingup.ie 6. Novakovic R et al. (2014) Socio-economic determinants of micronutrient intake and status in Europe: a systematic review. PHN 17: 1031-45. 7. McCartney D et al. (2014) Socio-Economic Differences in Food Group and Nutrient Intakes Among Young Women in Ireland. Brit J Nut 110: 2084 - 2097 8. Nelson M et al. (2007) Low Income Diet and Nutrition Survey. London: The Stationery Office. 9. Food Safety Authority of Ireland (2015) Vitamin D Accessed at www.fsai.ie/faq/vitamin_d.html 10. Food Safety Authority of Ireland (2011) Scientific recommendation for healthy eating in Ireland. FSAI Dublin. 11. IUNA National Childrens Food Survey see www.iuna.net 12. Hoyland A et al (2012) Breakfast consumption in UK schoolchildren and provision of school breakfast clubs. Nutr Bulletin 37:232-240. 13. Michels N et al (2015) Ready-to-eat cereals improve nutrient, milk and fruit intake at breakfast in European adolescents.

EJ Nutr 55: 771-779. 14. Holmes BA et al (2011) The contribution of breakfast cereals to the nutritional intake of the materially deprived UK population. EJCN 66: 10-17. 15. Food Safety Authority of Ireland. (1999) Recommended Dietary Allowances for Ireland.

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22/09/2016 15:36

ACCORDING TO statistics published by the Department for Education (DfE), over 1.3 million schoolchildren and students in the UK (15%) have been identified as having special educational needs or disabilities, known as SEND. This term covers the range of obstacles to a child’s learning, from attention deficit disorders or learning disabilities, to those encountered by pupils with physical disabilities, who may find it difficult to access classrooms, materials or facilities as easily as classmates (if at all). Mental health support for pupils is also an increasingly commonplace requirement, with a staggering one in 10 children aged five to 16 medically diagnosed with a related condition.

The SEND code of practice (COP) is the Government’s framework for identifying, assessing and supporting children and young people with SEND, and it was updated in 2014 with the aim of putting them at the heart of the decision-making process.

The foreword of the COP summarises the aims of the updates: “For children and young people … their special educational needs and disabilities will be picked up at the earliest point with support routinely put in place quickly, and their parents will know what services they can reasonably expect to be provided.”

Many ATL members welcomed the expansion of its remit to provide support from birth to 25 years, and the replacing of the old ‘statements of SEN’ – which only covered learning – with education, health and care plans (EHCP) outlining additional provision where required.

However, we have also heard concerns from members that, despite their best efforts, learners are still slipping through the cracks of the system; with delays in identification and increased bureaucracy. ATL set out to investigate

how the reforms aren’t reaching the children and young people who need them.

ATL concerns ATL’s current research into SEND stemmed from a motion proposed by members Dr Jo Toovey and Charlotte Neild, which was passed at the 2016 ATL Annual Conference. It asked “the Executive Committee to investigate if there is a UK-wide decrease in specialised identification and support for SEND students within education”, before calling on ATL to take any significant findings to the DfE and press for effective solutions.

Toovey, a classroom teacher who also specialises in inclusion, explains why she felt compelled to take action.

“Charlotte, a special needs coordinator (SENCO), and I teach students who are identified as having SEND and those who have not been identified but clearly do have some issues,” she says. “We felt that, despite our best efforts, we were unable to provide the level of support to students that they need to access school life as their peers do. We felt that this could be a wider issue – and if that was the case then we needed to highlight it.”

ATL held a series of policy focus groups and interviews with SENDspecialist and non-specialist members.

We also drew upon the full spectrum of our member base, through consultation with both the Support Staff Member Advisory Group and the AMiE school leadership council, to inform the approaches and themes of a survey that went out to ATL’s entire membership.

The results were alarming, with fewer than one in 10 respondents agreeing with the statement: “I believe that the current system in England enables all children with special educational needs to be supported appropriately.”

Special delivery

A new ATL member survey reveals ambitious SEND reforms are still failing learners WORDS BY EDIE MULLEN ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN HOLCROFT

10 REPORT | OCTOBER 2016

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SPOTLIGHT ON… SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

“THE SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO DELIVER ON THE STRONG PROMISES”

WHAT’S EXPECTED OF YOU? When applying for assessment for pupils with potential SEND, teachers and support staff have to provide evidence that they have already exhausted the following approaches, set out by the 2014 COP:

 Know the learner’s needs,

development and progress.

 Listen to the views and

insights of parents/carers and learners.

 Hold high expectations

for all learners.

 Stretch and challenge.  Track progress.  Assess regularly.

 Be prepared to make

reasonable adjustments.

 Use evidence-based

interventions with a measured impact on learner progress.

 Involve SENCO when

there is evidence that, despite ‘assess – plan – do – review’ of reasonable adjustments, there is inadequate progress.

ATL policy adviser Anne Heavey, who worked on ATL’s investigation, says: “The COP’s foreword emphasises how ambitious and optimistic this reform was intended to be, and it is impossible to argue with these aims. However, two years on from implementation it has become increasingly clear that the system is currently not able to deliver on the strong promises.”

Lost in the system Under the updated COP, if a child is identified as having SEN by a local authority (LA) he or she will be granted a level of care known as SEN support and WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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assigned a SENCO at school. The LA will allocate a fund of £6,000 for each student out of a ‘notional SEN budget’ held by the school, in order to pay for the adjustments they need to access a quality education.

These adjustments can include special learning programmes; extra help from a teacher or assistant to work in a smaller group; observation in class or at break; help with class activities or extra encouragement in learning; or support with eating, getting around safely and using the toilet.

Should these adjustments prove not to have led to ‘expected progress’ in the

child’s learning, then a parent, teacher, SENCO, students themselves aged 16-25, or any other concerned party can apply to the LA for a more in-depth assessment and action plan with further funding attached – the EHCP mentioned earlier.

On paper this sounds like a comprehensive system, but 43% of ATL members told the survey that many children with SEND are not eligible for Government funding and support. “There is a significant cohort of learners who appear to have SEND but are not recognised as such by the new system – these learners are being let down,” adds Heavey. “The subjectivity of an assessment of a SEND student is dependent on the assumption that the class or subject teacher has the time and relevant expertise to reflect on the individual performance of their pupils, and that the SENCO has the time to coordinate the experiences of those different subject teachers.”

The COP defines the identification criteria as: “Where pupils continue to make inadequate progress, despite highquality teaching targeted at their areas of weakness, the class teacher, working with the SENCO, should assess whether the child has a significant learning difficulty. Where this is the case, then there should be agreement about the SEN support that is required to support the child.”

The expectations stated in this paragraph have caused some concern for teachers; almost half (49%) of respondents said they have not been able to access the support and training they need to enable them to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. Barriers to classification Once a learner with potential SEND has been identified by a parent, teacher or SENCO, the next step of assessment isn’t always as simple as it should be.

ATL’s survey showed the process for identifying SEND was not clear, and that attempts to refer pupils for assessment were ignored.

An early years teacher told the survey: “It’s frustrating to see the amount of children not getting even adequate support due to lack of money and the system’s reticence to actually put a child 3 OCTOBER 2016 | REPORT 11

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SPOTLIGHT ON… SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

on the SEN register.” Seventy-one per cent of respondents also said the new system does not enable children to be identified fast enough, leaving many without support for too long.

“With limited resources available, only students who demonstrate the worst symptoms are being assessed to receive an official diagnosis,” says Toovey. “In some cases assessments can be delayed for up to two years as there is little funding available – that’s a crucial window. We have seen students who have waited over 18 months when we have been concerned that they have a mental health issue.”

The capacity of many leaders to meet the duties set out under the COP, and address SEND adequately, is undermined by a combination of reduced budgets, high-stakes accountability, staff shortages and rapid change across a range of areas.

“Some of the members we spoke to reported actions and decisions on the part of leaders that amount to the illegal exclusion of children with SEND,” Heavey says. “The manifestations were varied, ranging from ‘encouraging’ parents to home educate, to suggesting at open evenings that ‘school X is far better at dealing with that need than we are’. We also heard about learners with SEND being categorised as ‘naughty’ and managed via the behaviour policy instead.

“When a school is judged so exclusively on results – and can be subject to forced academisation after poor overall performance – it does seem as if leaders are being penalised for inclusive behaviour,” says Heavey.

“More than three quarters of pupils in alternative provision have SEND, with many of them not identified as such until they had arrived. How did so many SEND learners end up there?”

System clashes and bureaucracy Other factors determine the probability of successful identification at SEN support level. For example, parents can play a huge part in the process or none at all, which gives rise to accusations of a postcode lottery for SEND children.

ATL RESOURCES Achievement

for all

Working with children with special educational needs in mainstream schools and colleges

You can read more about the 2014 SEND code of practice at www.atl.org.uk/send.

ATL has created Achievement for All, a 64-page guide packed with practical information and ideas to help you teach pupils with special educational needs in mainstream schools and colleges. You can download it for free at www.atl.org.uk/achievementforall.

Professional development series

Members can access a range of ATL courses on various aspects of SEND teaching in schools and colleges. We will also be running a number of short CPD courses in the new academic year with YoungMinds, the mental health charity for children and young people. Visit www.atl. org.uk/learningzone for more information.

A frequent theme from the survey was that parents with certain characteristics were more likely to secure a diagnosis for their child.

Parents just starting out trying to find help for their child face myriad hurdles. A cursory examination of various councils’ ‘local offering’ web pages reveals often internally focused terms and lack of signposting. The chances of securing assessment often depend on a great deal of persistence and research – a challenge for parents who might not have much spare time, full access to the internet, or have English as an additional language.

For the students themselves, different educational settings can influence the chances of assessment; under the COP’s definitions, a low-performing child in a high-performing class would be more likely to be assessed as needing support than a low-performing child in a low-performing class. Once they have been classified at SEN support or EHCP level, and placed at the centre of their own educational development, they can find their next steps at odds with an increasingly prescriptive mainstream school system that offers little choice to any other pupil. For example, the strict measurement criteria for KS1 and 2 make no allowances for writing impairments;

“WHEN A SCHOOL IS JUDGED SO EXCLUSIVELY ON RESULTS – AND CAN BE SUBJECT TO FORCED ACADEMISATION ... IT DOES SEEM AS IF LEADERS ARE BEING PENALISED FOR INCLUSIVE BEHAVIOUR” WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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statutory primary assessments rate handwriting and spelling as a ‘limiting factor’, even if the writer has dyspraxia or dyslexia.

And it isn’t just the parent or the child who has to contend with the system. A busy, under-resourced SENCO can find him or herself ploughing through over 30 pages of forms per application – with numerous long, qualitative answers – to try to progress a SEND student to EHCP level. A successful application for an EHCP also depends on a SENCO having the time to gather evidence from the student’s classroom teachers, while those teachers also need the time and training necessary to produce it. On top of this, the child cannot be considered until the £6,000 ‘nominal funding’ from their SEN support arrangement has been exhausted – a challenge when a school is in no rush to spend precious budget. “Often the allocated funding is not used to support the individual in need of it,” a support staff member told us, “and the children are placed in mainstream school without the resources to support their needs.

The impact from this is considerable.”

The future for SEND The efforts made to include SEND pupils in mainstream education shouldn’t be regarded as a further burden on workload, and the role of SENCO is a highly skilled and often rewarding one with multiple career paths – if it is underpinned by both supportive leadership and fully trained classroom teachers. The 2014 changes were an ambitious and well-intentioned reform, but without the training and support of teaching professionals to back it up, a flawed provision of SEND support can be highly detrimental to the futures of the most vulnerable learners.

“The code of practice has the potential to significantly improve the outcomes for children and young people with SEND,” says Heavey. “However, it is clear that there is a resources crisis undermining its success. Until sufficient funding, training and time are made available to education professionals, then unfortunately SEND students will continue to be let down.” n ATL needs your updates so we can continue to put pressure on the DfE to increase its provision of SEND training and resources.

Are you experiencing any issues around SEND? Email us at report@atl.org.uk.

OCTOBER 2016 | REPORT 13

22/09/2016 15:44

Mental health

MISSION

Campaigner, writer and, briefly, DfE mental health adviser, Natasha Devon tells Alex Tomlin how to make education a happier place to study and work “WE NEED TO start understanding mental health on the same level as physical health,” says Natasha Devon MBE, who knows from personal experience that a lack of awareness among young people and school staff can have dire consequences.

As a teenager, Devon didn’t realise that she had an eating disorder because she was never as thin as the photos of anorexic women she saw in magazines. “The mental health education I had was very much focused on the extremes,” she recalls. “But you don’t wake up one morning ready to be sectioned; that’s not how it works.”

In 2012, she, along with friends Grace Barrett and Nadia Mendoza, set up the Self Esteem Team (SET) to make conversations about mental health more universally relevant by going into secondary schools and discussing issues with young people.

Literacy is key, she says, explaining that SET explores the layers of mental health, from prevention through healthy habits, to spotting early symptoms, through to medical intervention and responding to someone in a crisis.

Having mental health weaved into the school day would raise awareness for everyone, she adds, as would quality PSHE taught by specialist teachers. “PSHE covers everything from mental health to budgeting to FGM; that’s a really wide remit for one person to cover,” Devon says. “The Government does research showing children hate PSHE – well, of course they do; it’s crammed into half an hour on a

Friday with a teacher who doesn’t really want to be doing it.”

Recent research showing increased unhappiness among children in England has sparked calls for action on mental health for young people, with the Children’s Society reporting in August that girls in particular were more unhappy.

Devon agrees unhappiness is a major issue, but believes it’s equal for boys and girls.

“Worries are different for boys and girls. There are different shame triggers: if you’re a woman, the number one trigger is beauty, so if you want to shame a woman, you call her ugly. For men it is strength, so if you want to shame a man you call him weak. We live in a world of media, where those vulnerabilities are continually preyed upon. Boys think they can’t talk about how they feel and constantly have to demonstrate how masculine they are. Girls learn that if they look a certain way they have no value.”

Body image is still a major issue today, but Devon believes it has been surpassed by academic and exam stress, caused by a testing regime that she describes as “hideous”.

“A certain amount of challenge and stress works, but then it impedes your ability to function, or in kids it can impede their cognitive development,” she says. “Tests that are deliberately made hard and being told that their value is tied up in their academic performance; that’s not helpful stress. The whole education system is broken. We need to start again from scratch.

“I think we have to have a really serious discussion about what education is for, because, for me, things like discovering your passion and looking after yourself should be fundamental,” she adds.

Devon’s strong views on the mental well-being of England’s schoolchildren and high profile in the media prompted the Department for Education (DfE), in the summer of 2015, to appoint her as the (unpaid) ‘mental health tsar’. The role was sold to her as “a real opportunity to influence policy”.

Sadly, as Devon has discovered through a subject access request for all correspondence at the DfE concerning her, the person who made that promise immediately emailed colleagues to say that Devon should under no circumstances be allowed to influence policy.

This was followed by the DfE repeatedly chastising her for criticising the Government on Twitter and in her TES column.

“They were using me to get into Cosmopolitan and Good Morning Britain,” Devon states. “They thought I was a useful idiot.”

Speaking just days after discovering the truth, Devon says, “I’m angry because they’re in charge and so closed off to anything but

“I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT ACKNOWLEDGED THAT TEACHING IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT JOBS ... AND MAKE IT A MORE ATTRACTIVE PROFESSION”

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IN PROFILE… NATASHA DEVON

their own agenda. They’re consulting with people but not listening to what they’re saying, so I feel massively frustrated because I feel nothing is going to get any better anytime soon.”

A major cause of her frustration is the gap between her perception of education and the Government’s.

“David Cameron talked about children leaving school with the skills for the jobs that are there. He obviously sees education as more of a recruitment process. I don’t think of children as just being teeny-tiny potential taxpayers.

“You can argue that healthy and happy people are less likely to be a drain on the NHS and more likely to be productive taxpayers. And you can argue that well-being and academic attainment go side by side, but it annoys me that the value of well-being even needs explaining.

It’s exhausting having to explain yourself again and again to people who never get it.”

If one person represents the total antithesis of Devon’s philosophy, it is former education secretary Michael Gove, whose very name counts as swearing in her house, thanks to decisions such as refusing to sign a mandate for a minimum of two hours’ physical education a week for state school children and, in her opinion, squeezing out vocational subjects. “He was so far removed from what was happening on the ground,” she says. “You have to trust the voice of teachers if you are education secretary, but the fact he just stuck his fingers in his ears and went ‘la, la, la, la, not listening’ really annoyed me.”

If she were education secretary, Devon would conduct a genuine consultation to hear the views of a range of teachers and educational psychologists (as well as Sir Ken Robinson, who she believes would be a great education secretary). Her top priority, however, would be to deal with teacher well-being.

“That is the most important thing right now,” she says, “Teachers are ready to crack and they’re holding together so much. I feel they’re absorbing a lot of the consequences WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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to cuts to CAMHS, social services, libraries and youth clubs. They’re trying to be everything to everyone.

“A lot of the teachers I talk to want reassurance that what they’re doing is right. Particularly in mental health; I spoke to one who’s got a kid who is suicidal, coming to talk to them. The teacher has no idea if they’re doing more harm than good. They need a bit of professional guidance. Some money would be good to recognise all those hours they’re putting in.

“I don’t feel like teachers are valued in terms of how they’re spoken about in the press. I would like to see it acknowledged that teaching is one of the most important jobs there is and make it a more attractive profession to go into.”

Is Natasha Devon, secretary of state for education, a realistic proposition; would she go into politics? She pauses a moment before answering: “I would love to, but… it sounds daft, but politics is so political, and I learned from my time with the DfE that I can’t say things I don’t mean. There is part of me that says ‘Just put me in charge, I’ll sort it all out!’ but in reality I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

With columns in national magazines and more than 15,000 followers on Twitter, Devon acknowledges that she is seen as a role model to many, a label with which she is fairly comfortable.

“I didn’t set out to be anyone’s role model, but I don’t think I’m a bad one,” she says. “There are things about me that make people question my role-model credentials – I have loads of tattoos and I swear on Twitter. But I’m healthy and happy, and kind and brave, and I think those are qualities worth emulating.”

Devon wants to use her influence to get young people more interested in politics and to use their votes.

“A lot of people I worked with are now of voting age, but traditionally that group hasn’t voted,” she says.

“It doesn’t matter who they vote for; they just need to make it known that their vote is up for grabs and they will find that politicians will start

3 Natasha Devon: Trying to fix a broken education system

protecting the needs of young people, the way they do with pensioners. We need to get that point across. That’s my mission.

“Young people don’t understand the system,” she adds. “It has never been properly explained to them.

If politics was taught in schools, you’d have less misinformation like around Brexit. You could learn that sometimes politicians lie. You need critical thinking.”

And not just in politics. “There are certain narratives we just take for granted,” she says. “And yet when you examine them they are just beliefs and you have to question where they come from. A big part of what [SET] do is ask why you think certain things and have you been led to think that because it’s best for you or because it’s best for someone who wants to make money out of you? You can think whatever you want; all I’m asking is to be flexible on that. There is no point having a mind if you never change it.”

OCTOBER 2016 | REPORT 15

22/09/2016 15:39

Trade Union Services

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As an ATL member, you and your family members can enjoy friendly, professional legal advice from Morrish Solicitors, including our FREE Personal Injury service.

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GUIDE

Autism meltdowns Autism specialist Esther Thomas offers advice on helping education professionals deal with autism meltdowns What is a meltdown?

It is a loss of behavioural control and inhibitions that can happen to any child or adult – but here, we’re talking about a child or young person with autism.

A meltdown can take many different forms, such as shouting, screaming, pacing up and down, kicking, destruction of property, or self-harming behaviour such as headbanging. Some can last a few minutes, while others last over an hour.

It can be frightening to watch, but remember that it’s also frightening for the child, who can experience complete sensory shutdown and lose the ability to comprehend what is being said to him or her.

What is the difference between a meltdown and a tantrum?

A child may have a tantrum to get some sweets or a toy, and once he or she gets it, will quickly calm down. A meltdown is a complete loss of control; the child can’t calm down, even when getting the thing he or she wants.

What causes a meltdown?

It can happen for many different reasons; for one child it might be about not getting something he or she wants. For another, it might be a difficult task he or she can’t do. A meltdown can start as a tantrum and escalate, or it could be an immediate response.

Sometimes a meltdown happens because of sensory overload, such as excessive noise or stimulation in places like school assemblies. It can be triggered by struggling to effectively communicate needs, wants or emotions. Alternatively, it might have been prompted by a change to a familiar routine.

How can I manage a meltdown?

It very much depends on the individual.

However, your priority is to make sure the child is safe and calm – remove anything nearby that can be thrown. In a classroom, you could move the child or the rest of the class; whichever is safest and causes the least disruption.

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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If you see a potential meltdown occurring you could use a distraction or redirection activity, such as asking simple questions or doing a puzzle, before praising the child to reinforce any good behaviour.

Look for signs that the child is ready to talk – such as a change in breathing, reduction in aggression or some form of eye contact or vocalisation. It’s important to stay calm and reassure the child. If the child is still not ready to communicate, then give him or her more time and space.

Can I do anything to prevent meltdowns?

You should try to know as much as possible about what causes each individual’s reactions.

If a noisy environment is a trigger, you can teach the child to take a break or move to a quieter area. Consider planning and preparing activities in advance, and adjusting the environment as required.

If a child is prone to meltdowns over difficult tasks, set them at the right level for the child to be successful, or break tasks down into stages. Encourage the child to ask for help and ensure you are there to answer questions.

With any child having a meltdown, it’s important that you prevent them from feeling anxious. Ultimately, teaching communication

skills – verbal and non-verbal – should be a priority.

Do children grow out of meltdowns?

With the right strategies you can teach most children to self-manage, which can prevent some meltdowns; children who have learned to communicate effectively experience fewer incidents. Finding out what causes a meltdown can be difficult and timeconsuming, but the rewards are enormous.

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to a teacher dealing with a meltdown?

Always remain calm. Don’t take anything personally; the well-being of the child is paramount. The meltdown will eventually pass, but it’s important that you, the responsible adult, don’t show any fear and are ready to provide reassurance when the child is ready.

Esther Thomas is a senior behaviour analyst, trainer and consultant at Ambitious about Autism, the national charity for children and young people with autism, and teaches at the charity’s TreeHouse School. For more information, visit www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk.

OCTOBER 2016 | REPORT 17

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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

20

23

25

ULR PROFILE

LEGAL ADVICE

CROSSWORD

Award-winning rep Sundus Alzouebi on the power of learning

Our legal team on the mysterious and murky world of umbrella companies

Your chance to win a £50 Marks & Spencer voucher with our brain-teasing cryptic crossword

21

27

WORK OR WORKLOAD?

NOTICEBOARD

The factors that turn engaging work into a chore

Information, events and opportunities to get involved

24

29

YOUR VIEWS

RESOURCES

ATL members on work/life imbalance, concerns over primary school burnout and the positives of social media

A chance to nominate your rep for an award, plus a new course on teaching core skills

20

“ATL HAS BEEN FANTASTIC TO WORK WITH AND I REALLY ENJOY WHAT I DO. I WOULD WHOLEHEARTEDLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO BECOME A UNION LEARNING REP!”

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 for advice and support. If they are unable to help, contact ATL using these details: 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

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

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OCTOBER 2016 | REPORT 19

22/09/2016 15:17

IN PROFILE… SUNDUS ALZOUEBI

Whether it’s workplace, health and safety or union learning, if events – ensuring that they're you’re thinking about becoming a well-organised and constructive, rep you can visit that they clearly answer a www.atl.org.uk/becomingarep question (such as ‘How can to find out how to get involved, learners with autism be supported and the training ATL offers in the classroom?’) and are for the role.

4South Yorkshirebased union learning rep Sundus Alzouebi

I JOINED ATL during my PGCE year and attended a number of CPD sessions while training. One particular event, ‘Emotional intelligence in the classroom’, was delivered in South Yorkshire just after I completed my PGCE, and it was brilliant. Realising just how beneficial these workshops were, and seeing their potential to enhance my teaching practice, I got involved myself and signed up as a union learning rep (ULR), helping to put on similar events for fellow teachers.

Reps have an important role in the workplace because they’re the first port of call for colleagues with queries.

A ULR role can, however, often stretch beyond the workplace through the organisation and delivery of CPD. So, you’re a rep in your immediate workplace, but you also interact with teaching staff on a city and regional level at wider training events.

I teach English to speakers of other languages in the adult education

sector in Sheffield, working with post-16 students who wish to develop their language skills for work, further study, and social and/or integration purposes. Many of these students aspire to go on to further or higher education, while others who enrol on our courses are qualified professionals in their home countries who need greater fluency in English to be able to work in the UK. I thoroughly enjoy my job and find it genuinely rewarding.

A year after completing my PGCE, while still teaching, I set off on a Master’s degree in English by research. This entailed an in-depth, year-long research project in a field of personal interest – language teaching – and I've since found it extremely useful to regard the organising of CPD events as a form of research.

All research should essentially be methodical, answer a question and be accessible. In turn, if we apply these three concepts to the planning of CPD

Training for success

Union learning rep and ATL Rep of the Year award winner Sundus Alzouebi shares her insights on CPD

delivered at the most accessible time and place to accommodate the greatest possible number of delegates – then we can deliver the most effective training for ATL members.

Time is one of the most precious resources we have. The fact that attendees are hard-working teachers giving their valuable free time to take part in your CPD event pushes you to make it the best it can possibly be. To make sure we get it right, we need information and feedback – and we get this by asking members what they want, in person and through surveys.

As a ULR, I help to organise a range of CPD training days, and, more recently, have begun to deliver workshops at these events.

At our South Yorkshire ATL spring conference in May, I enjoyed eliciting teachers’ experiences of supporting EAL learners in workshops, and sharing some of my own practical strategies for promoting student progression and engagement in learning.

My advice for anybody who is considering becoming a rep is to go for it – without a doubt. Some may initially be deterred by the thought of dedicating more time to an ‘extra-curricular’ activity, but they will quickly see the value for themselves and colleagues, and the experiences they are gaining in return. It’s not taxing and it's always great to interact with teachers from other sectors and subject areas who you may not otherwise have the opportunity to meet. ATL has been fantastic to work with and I really enjoy what I do. I would wholeheartedly encourage you to become a ULR! Sundus’ work on behalf of members was honoured with a Rep of the Year award at the 2016 Annual Conference. Can you think of a dedicated and hard-working rep you’d like to put forward for 2017?

Go to www.atl.org.uk/repawards to let us know who your choice is, and why – nominations close Friday 16 December 2016.

20 REPORT | OCTOBER 2016 WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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BOOK EXTRACT MANAGING TEACHER WORKLOAD

Work or workload?

In this extract from Managing Teacher Workload, executive director of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham Heath Monk explains the difference between work and workload

THE PERCEPTION OF excessive workload is caused by two main factors: the extent to which work is imposed on a teacher and the extent to which it is seen by that teacher to be lacking in intrinsic value.

Daniel Pink’s Drive: the Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us suggests that deep motivation is made up of three elements: mastery, autonomy and purpose. Imposed, pointless work goes against the latter two of those elements. When we are not motivated, every minute seems like an hour. Activities are painful and resented – we imagine how much better this time could be spent, if only…

In contrast, there are times when we feel a sense of ‘flow’ in our work, as described by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in his book Flow: The Psychology of Happiness. What we are doing is deeply engrossing – time seems to race by and we wish we had more of it to devote to the activity in which we’re engaged.

The difference cannot be measured in time.

By way of example, the National Agreement had mandated that teachers should no longer put up classroom displays. It was felt that this was a time-consuming task that could be undertaken by someone else. However, I met many teachers who told me that they loved putting up displays – it sent a powerful signal to their classes about the value in which their work was held and it was an intrinsically satisfying experience. They were determined to carry on, even if it meant coming in at weekends.

The same was rarely true for data entry.

In part, that is because great displays also engage in one of Daniel Pink’s drivers: mastery. There is great satisfaction in learning to be really, really good at something; in developing genuine expertise. At School 21 in Stratford, the curriculum is based around the creation of ‘beautiful work’; its values include craftsmanship.

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Compliance or craftsmanship?

However, for many teachers (and students), school has become more about compliance than craftsmanship. School policies on lesson planning and marking are imposed at a whim (on the basis of something someone overheard about the new Ofsted framework at a conference), without considering the cost in terms of motivation. What had been a positive experience (how best can I introduce this concept to my class?) quickly becomes a pointless chore (have I filled in the pro forma?). Consider the difference between trying to make the perfect cake for a birthday party and cooking family dinner for the fifth day in a row.

Takeaway Work becomes workload when it is seen to be pointless and when it is imposed.

Genuine development takes place through professional dialogue, practice, feedback and reflection: to make time, you need to remove unnecessary activity and reduce compliance training to a bare minimum.

Edited by ATL assistant general secretary for policy Nansi Ellis, Managing Teacher Workload brings together leading educationalists to discuss real, practical ways to solve the biggest problem in the profession, excessive workload. ATL members can buy it at a reduced rate of £8 via www.johncattbookshop. com/managing-teacherworkload. Simply enter the code ‘ATL8’ when prompted for the discount to be applied.

Questions What is the balance of compliance and craftsmanship in your own practice? In your school? In the CPD you undertake?

Is this view of the balance commonly held by your colleagues? Are you happy with it?

What motivates you and gets you into a state of ‘flow’? What CPD would help you to develop or share your skills in these areas?

Can you audit your school’s CPD against these five elements?

1. access to genuine expertise 2. freedom to take risks 3. feedback 4. time for reflection 5. trust.

OCTOBER 2016 | REPORT 21

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Make ATL Protect your backup plan Visit affinity.co.uk or call our team at 0800 138 1690 to find out more.

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It’s a great role for teachers and we hope you decide to join us, so you too can: • enhance your teaching skills and knowledge of assessment • strengthen your knowledge of reformed specifications • earn extra income ahead of the holiday period.

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29/09/2016 12:43

YOUR ATL… LEGAL GUIDE

Umbrella companies ATL solicitor Jayne Phillips explains what they are and what members should look out for IT IS ESTIMATED that over 200,000 people in the UK are employed by, and paid through, umbrella companies. But what should ATL members be aware of if they decide to work for one? This article aims to explore and address some of members’ key concerns.

Typically, an umbrella company slots between a worker and the organisation he or she works for. The umbrella company formally contracts with the organisation to provide work and employs the worker to do it. Work is unlikely to be guaranteed but rather offered on an ‘as and when’ basis.

As the employer, the umbrella company deducts Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax, and both employee and employer national insurance contributions from the worker’s pay packet (25% of eligible earnings). The umbrella company typically charges a fee, which is often as much as £30 a week.

On joining an umbrella company you legally become an employee of that company, with a contract and all the rights and responsibilities this entails.

Accordingly, you should be entitled to the full range of employee benefits, including holiday, statutory sick pay and maternity and paternity benefits. You should always insist on having a copy of your contract.

So how do you become an employee of an umbrella company and how are you paid? Typically, the process is as follows: • You join an umbrella company either through its website or over the phone.

• You sign a contract between yourself (the employee) and the umbrella company (the employer).

• At the end of the week, you submit your hours and expenses to the umbrella company using its online portal.

• The umbrella company invoices the client.

• The umbrella company pays you through PAYE, after the deduction of allowable business expenses.

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• At the end of the tax year, the umbrella company gives you a P60 and P11D (for any expenses paid).

You should ask for a detailed written breakdown of what you are liable for and exactly what the umbrella company will be paying you. And you should ask about any hidden costs, eg a financial penalty for leaving the company, which may not be included in the pay breakdown.

Pay dates depend on when the umbrella company gets paid by the client. This is always after the employee submits his or her time sheet, and depends on the payment terms negotiated between the client and the employee’s umbrella agency. Consequently, you may not have a fixed weekly or monthly pay day.

ATL believes that umbrella companies should strive to transfer funds on the same day that they receive payment or very quickly afterwards.

Members often ask what, if any, expenses they can claim when working for an umbrella company. HMRC rules on the taxation of expenses and allowances are extremely complex and you are advised to check www.hmrc.gov.uk/ incometax/tax-allow-ees.htm. The final decision rests with HMRC. You should be careful about relying on information provided by the umbrella company as you are ultimately responsible for paying any tax liability.

When it comes to holiday pay, ATL advises that you read your contract thoroughly. Many umbrella companies withhold an amount of money for holiday pay to be paid at a later date. Some may also make deductions for other benefits such as pensions, sick pay or child care vouchers. If any ‘holiday pay’ is to be deducted and paid later, you should confirm that this forms part of the written contract and ensure that you receive the payment when it is due.

It’s fair to say that unions have a range of concerns about umbrella companies.

Investigations have shown that many employees of umbrella companies are paid only the national minimum wage.

Holiday pay (again, frequently paid only at the rate of the national minimum wage) is often ‘rolled up’ in breach of the Working Time Directive. Pension contributions are lower because of the under-recording of wages, so that employees can end up with much smaller pension pots than they were expecting. And a common concern is that payslips can be so complex that it becomes difficult to understand the deductions from the pay the employee receives.

So, to summarise, we advise that you get as much information as possible in writing.

You should ask for a detailed breakdown of costs incurred by accepting employment with the umbrella company and watch out for any hidden costs. If you are unsure of anything on your payslip, then contact the umbrella company promptly. If there is a concern about tax you should contact HMRC directly. Finally, always keep a log of your paperwork.

You can contact ATL using the details on page 19.

OCTOBER 2016 | REPORT 23

22/09/2016 15:13

YOUR ATL… YOUR VIEWS

Letters STA R L E T T E R

OLD HABITS I read your article ‘A plan for the future’ (Report, September 2016) and the advice on making lesson planning less onerous and more effective. It struck me how simple and relatively obvious it was.

“Planning should not be done simply to please outside organisations”; well, on the face of it, why would you do such a thing?

Sadly, even though this very sound advice has come straight from the Government itself, I am less than hopeful that it will make much of a difference to teachers’ working lives.

There are many reasons for my scepticism, not least that, as the article points out, headteachers are positively obsessive about knowing what their staff are doing. I believe many of them realise that this obsession actually impedes teachers in doing their jobs effectively, yet they, the headteachers, seem utterly incapable of breaking out of this destructive habit.

I believe this is also true of workload more generally; it is a habit, deeply ingrained and selfperpetuating. A teacher who has worked eight hours over the

the standards have been raised and that reception children have to “get off to a flying start”.

I can see how that might appeal, but I can’t help but feel that this flying start is likely to lead to burnout for such young children who have so many years of education ahead of them, and for whom simply being at school can be exhausting.

Education is a marathon (or maybe should be a fun run?) not a sprint. A more gentle, enjoyable, settling-in process would reap longer-term gains as children develop a love of education, rather than a resentment.

A worried mother, Derbyshire POSITIVE SOCIAL MEDIA I’d like to deplore the advice by Jayne Phillips (‘Stay safe online’, Report, July 2016) that one should not have ex-pupils as friends on social media. I am now nearing retirement and use Facebook with due discretion, but when my tutorial pupils and students have gone off to university I have always been more than happy to accept a friend request as a way of keeping in touch.

The fact that such a request is made is indicative of their taking their proper place in the world as an independent adult.

It has been wonderful to follow academic careers, years abroad, adventurous holidays and now, marriages and children. Our continuing contact is a sign of the positive social bond that education contributes to a civilised and trusting society.

To stifle this because of new media is to privilege suspicion over human kindness, and I believe no decent teacher should make any concession to it.

J Hubbard, Dorset

and I was reading about your weekend will hear of a colleague workload campaign. Speaking as who has worked 10 and will ‘up the mother of a child who has just their game’ accordingly, completed her reception year, I regardless of the effect on their am appalled by the pressure work or personal welfare. the teachers at my It is a sad fact of daughter’s school teaching life that appear to be teachers are The author of this letter wins £100 under, even often their own in book tokens. If you want to voice teaching this worst enemies. your opinion on issues raised in Report or any other aspect of education, young age.

Working all please send a letter or email to the I am the first hours has been addresses below, including your to stress the part of school phone number. One letter will be chosen every issue to win importance of a culture, in my the tokens. good education, but, experience, for so from my outsider’s long now that it will be perspective, I fail to see how a very hard habit to break. pushing four- and five-year-olds How would I cope with the sensation of having completed all so hard to learn to read will benefit them in the long run. My own my tasks and being able to daughter began by being excited happily relax in the knowledge of having nothing I had to do? I find it about being able to read but then lost her enthusiasm for it as her hard to imagine, yet I will teacher kept giving her more and experience it personally in just more books and pushing her to under two years when I retire. I read them. When I queried why fear my younger colleagues will this was necessary, I was told that have to wait until they draw their own pensions before they know how that feels. report@atl.org.uk L Smith, North Yorkshire

WIN!

PARENT VIEW I hope you don’t mind me writing to you, as I am a parent, not a teacher, but I happened to see my friend’s copy of your magazine

JOIN THE DEBATE…

@ATLReport facebook.com/ATLUnion

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

24 REPORT | OCTOBER 2016 WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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22/09/2016 15:12

YOUR ATL… PRIZE CROSSWORD

WIN!

Prize crossword ACROSS 1 Oddly, claims ‘une’ is not feminine! (9) 6 Legal actions involving accusative and nominative? (5) 9 Head of department to study a subject with great apprehension (5) 10 He’s off with Ben Orr to Dorset school (9) 11 and 12 Two MAs later, perhaps, from one’s old university (4,5) 13 Formal agreement for piano performance (4) 16 Two articles sit awkwardly with one who doesn’t believe in God (7) 17 Everyone is in exam, higher than any other (7) 19 Had ambitions, but also dreadful despair (7) 21 Dock bar wrecked within 60 minutes (7) 22 and 24 Where the master and fellows eat – big health crisis! (4,5) 25 See 20 down 29 Beating produces skin irritation during restless night (9) 30 A female teacher? Not quite right (5) 31 Such an easy, undemanding job is removed from frantic US hysteria! (5) 32 Creates prices for units of heredity? (9) DOWN 1 Assume diagram includes press and TV (5)

A £50 Marks & Spencer voucher

2 ‘Vessel and pies’ maths problem (9) 3 Starting up, research department uses Asian language (4) 4 Immediate intestinal upset – no lie! (7) 5 Always set out for the highest peak (7) 6 Country for Cambridge University graduate… (4) 7 …and one that turns up in a fairy story (5) 8 One who watches for change in a sport, etc (9) 14 New term – I go in with bishop’s headdress (5) 15 Give warning of beer, porter at heart (5) 16 Displaying no enthusiasm, I teach Pat carelessly (9) 18 Comes in to revise Keynes, perhaps (9) 20 and 25 across Chamber in a large house – or the art department? (7,4) 21 He embraces unusual goal of finishing with nitrogen as an element (7) 23 Pupils of St Trinian’s went off wrestling, strangely! (5) 26 Considers thoughtfully the goddesses of arts and sciences (5) 27 Catch sight of Philby, perhaps, after Cambridge final (4) 28 Hard tune from ’60s musical? (4)

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HOW TO ENTER

Send your completed crossword with your contact details to: ATL October crossword competition, Think Publishing, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London NW1 5DH. The closing date is 29 November 2016. If you have an ATL membership number, please include this here: The winner of the October competition will be announced in the January 2017 issue of Report.

LAST ISSUE’S SOLUTION ACROSS: 9 Accompany 10 Evens 11 Faddish 12 Shelves 13 Time 14 Dramatists 17 Rectory 18 Proctor 20 Blackboard 23 Anon 25 Chapter 26 Holy See 28 Shear 29 Sassenach DOWN: 1 Half 2 Academic 3 Email 4 Fatherly 5 Gypsum 6 Detention 7 Leavis 8 Isis 13 Throb 16 Bookstore 18 Purchase 19 Tunisian 21 Abates 22 Onrush 24 Blues 25 Cast 27 Echo CONGRATULATIONS TO JULY’S WINNER – MRS P CARTER, WITNEY

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22/09/2016 16:03

Get closer to the subject you love Becoming a BTEC Standards Verifier is a great opportunity to enhance your teaching career, and gain a valuable insight into the world of assessment whilst continuing with any full time commitments you may have.

To find out further information, please visit www.edexcel.com/aa-recruitment

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Illustration by Lauren Rolwing

20/09/2016 09:58

22/09/2016 15:46

YOUR ATL… NOTICEBOARD

NOTICE BOARD GOT A PROBLEM? GET ADVICE ATL advises members on a wide range of key employment concerns including pay, workload, contracts, bullying and maternity and paternity rights. We recognise that it may be difficult to reach ATL during core work hours, which is why our member advisers can now be contacted from 9am-7pm, Monday-Friday, term time and during the holiday periods. So, if you want to speak with one of our advisers, please call 020 7930 6441 or email info@atl.org.uk.

ATL REPS’ TRAINING 2016/17 ATL has a packed programme planned for the coming year, with a range of courses for both 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. Whether you are a workplace, health and safety, union learning or equalities rep, there is something for you; we also offer follow-on courses for those who have completed the initial training. To find out more and book a place, visit www.atl.org.uk/repscourses.

RE-EMPLOYMENT AFTER RETIREMENT If you are planning on returning to work after retirement, or have already done so, remember that you must complete a certificate of re-employment and submit it to Teachers’ Pensions – and make sure you know what your earnings limit is if you have taken age retirement from the final salary pension scheme. Also, you must take at least one day out of service before returning to employment. Call ATL’s pension advisers on 020 7782 1600 if you need any clarification.

STUDY IN THE STATES Each year, ATL sponsors one teacher member to research an aspect of the WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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education system in the US on a twoweek study scholarship via the Walter Hines Page Scholarship, overseen by the English Speaking Union. Applications opened this September with interviews taking place in London next March.

For further details or to apply, contact Monique Lowe at mlowe@atl.org.uk.

More information is available at www. atl.org.uk/scholarships.

PENSIONS AND THE LIFETIME ALLOWANCE (LTA) Members wishing to apply for certain forms of protection from the LTA are now required to do so online at www.gov.uk/guidance/ pension-schemes-protect-your-lifetimeallowance. Visit www.atl.org.uk/LTA for more information.

2016 ATL INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS CONFERENCE This year’s conference will be held on Saturday 26 November, from 10am–4pm, at Etc Venues, 155 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3YD (five minutes from Liverpool Street station).

Speakers include ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted; our new president, Shelagh Hirst; and author Ed Hollamby, creator of the SUMO approach to resilience and decision-making. The event will also be the first opportunity to hear the findings of ATL’s independent sector pay and conditions survey 2016. For more information, visit www.atl.org.uk/ independentconference.

OVER-50S ACCIDENT INSURANCE The financial impact of an accident for an older person can be considerable.

Union Insurance Services can arrange over-50s accident protection cover for ATL members.

“I had to have two operations and ended up being off work for nine weeks.

Luckily I had taken out accident cover” – a Union Insurance Services over-50s accident cover customer.

Have peace of mind for you and your family with Union Insurance Services’ range of insurance policies including 12 months of £5,000 FREE accidental death cover, funeral plans and female cancer cover. Find out more at www.atl.org.uk/plus.

PARTNER OF THE MONTH Did you know that ATL members can earn unlimited cashback on their everyday shopping?

Shopping online or in-store, members can earn up to six per cent cashback at bigname retailers, including Sainsbury’s, ASDA and Boots with the ATL Prepaid Plus card.

Plus, it’s different to a credit or debit card - you can only spend what you load, so there’s less chance of getting carried away. How much cashback will you earn?

Visit www.ATLprepaid.com to get yours now!

REP OF THE YEAR 2017 Do you feel that your rep deserves recognition for the effort that he or she puts in on behalf of ATL members? Let us know! We’re looking for the most dedicated and hard-working reps to honour at our 2017 Annual Conference. Nominate your rep at www.atl.org.uk/repawards before Friday 16 December 2016.

OCTOBER 2016 | REPORT 27

29/09/2016 11:32

CPD Autumn 2016 – Deliver the new D&T GCSEs with confidence Ensure your schools’ training programme is in place, preparing you to teach the new D&T GCSE from September 2017.

Book places on our exciting programme of CPD for Autumn 2016 and into 2017.

Becoming an excellent secondary D&T subject leader

Product design for KS3 and GCSE

Course runs: Liverpool, Birmingham, London, Plymouth

BBC micro:bit workshop for teachers, parents and pupils

Planning to teach the new GCSE in design and technology Course runs: London, Birmingham, Haverhill, Sunderland, Liverpool, Nottingham, Bristol

What’s happening

Course runs: Redcar, Sufolk, West Midlands

Course runs: Lincoln, Nottinghamshire

Putting D&T into STEM Course runs: Rugby, Liverpool, London

Relevant textiles content for KS3 and GCSE product design

Electronics and programming for KS3 and GCSE

Course runs: London, Liverpool, Birmingham

Warwickshire

£195 (members) and £250 (non members) 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 or to book your place go to www.data.org.uk, call us on 01789 470007 or email on events@data.org.uk D&T_ATL_Oct_16.indd 1

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Gain QTLS:

Advance your career A new enriched QTLS available from September 2016 The benefits of QTLS · Career progression · Recognition of your status as a professional teacher or trainer · Both new and current QTLS hold legal parity with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) · Members with QTLS can use these initials as a designation

Apply for QTLS before: 31 October 2016* https://set.et-foundation.co.uk/qtls

* To be eligible to apply for QTLS, you need to be a member of the Society for Education and Training (SET).

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22/09/2016 15:16 29/09/2016 12:46

IN P YOUR R O F IATL… LE RESOURCES

ATL’s rep awards are now open for 2017 and 2017 we invite you to nominate those individuals who you feel deserve recognition for what they have achieved for you or your colleagues over the past year.

Maybe your rep has led a campaign to improve conditions in your workplace? Directed members to learning or made your workplace safer?

Encouraged particular groups of staff to get involved in ATL or AMiE - support staff, students, newly qualified or leaders?

Or helped build membership in your school or college?

Reps can make a difference in a variety of ways. They might

be outstanding in any of the following rep roles: F workplace rep F health and safety rep F union learning rep F leadership (AMiE) rep.

We have sent a postcard out to all members who have a rep or contact in their workplace, to make it easier to nominate your outstanding workplace, health and safety, union learning or leadership reps. You can also nominate at www.atl.org.uk/ repawards. The information you provide on this form will be used to judge the awards, so you will need to provide specific examples of how your nominee has made a difference to you and your colleagues.

The closing date for nominations is Friday 16

PHOTOGRAPHY: SARAH TURTON

ATL AND AMiE REP AWARDS 2017

The winners of the 2016 Rep Awards at Annual Conference

December 2016. Winners will be awarded £150 and will be presented with a certificate during ATL’s Annual Conference, which takes place between Monday 10 and Wednesday 12 April in Liverpool. Winners will also be invited to attend ATL’s Conference dinner on the

evening of Tuesday 11 April (all expenses paid). All winners will be notified after the closing date. This year’s awards are supported by Aviva.

If there’s no rep or contact in your workplace, why don’t you consider getting involved?

Email organise@atl.org.uk for more information.

CORE-SKILLS TRAINING Choose from six skills packages to support your classroom practice ATL’s unionlearn project is delighted to be working with training company Creative Education to offer a set of British Council core-skills courses across England under the new ‘Connecting Classrooms’ programme.

The programme is designed to support your classroom practice and develop your ideas with like-minded teachers internationally.

The ‘teaching the core skills’ training packages give teachers the knowledge and approaches they need to effectively integrate the teaching of core skills in the classroom.

Core skills are those that young people need to be fully prepared for life and work in a global economy. Sometimes referred to as deep learning skills, they introduce young people to new ways of working, thinking and living in a global world.

The programmes are suitable for any qualified teaching staff working in a state-funded organisation in England, from all sectors ranging from early years

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Courses can lead to professional partnerships with overseas peers

to FE, including special schools and pupil referral units.

There are six core-skills packages: F citizenship F collaboration and communication F creativity and imagination F critical thinking and problem solving F digital literacy F student leadership and personal development.

Each programme is taught over a nineor ten-week period, with two face-to-face

sessions at the beginning and end, and webinars and online support throughout.

Once you have completed the training, you can move on to develop an international professional partnership with an overseas school. The professional partnerships will allow you to seek support on embedding the core skills in your curriculum.

For further information on either hosting a programme or attending a regional event, contact us at ulfproject@atl.org.uk.

OCTOBER 2016 | REPORT 29

22/09/2016 15:09

FINAL WORD… BO STJERNE THOMSEN

Seriously playful

ILLUSTRATION: PHIL WRIGGLESWORTH

LEGO Foundation’s Bo Stjerne Thomsen advocates for a playful paradigm shift in school pedagogy

IT ALWAYS PUZZLES me when I meet people who find it hard to take playful people seriously. In our roles as adults, we often feel that we should not be playing.

We have serious obligations and responsibilities for people, products and budgets – or, as teachers, for children, their education, growth and future success - and should not waste our time taking risks, experimenting and coming up with new ideas.

But when we opt out of playing, it is an immense disadvantage to children who, due to academic challenges or other circumstances, are not given time to engage in activities that they find meaningful. We know that children do not all learn in the same way and we need to recognise that playfulness, enjoying what you do and being actively engaged, help children develop critical skills and achieve academic success. So allow me to argue for combining the joy and engagement of playing with the seriousness of teaching.

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Playful teachers are more likely to achieve the best results. A new Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (www.educ.cam.ac.uk/ centres/pedal) at the University of Cambridge is exploring the evidence and examples for play in education.

One of the recent research projects, conducted by researchers together with teachers, describes how collaborative playful activities, where children build and express their ideas, are more effective to support language, creativity and collaborative skills (www.vimeo. com/142506730).

A playful approach to school pedagogy with teacher-designed activities, use of a variety of media, a collaborative environment, meaningful activities and time for discussions in a playful and relaxed environment worked wonders in the Cambridge research. What is also very clear is that the children who benefitted the most were the ones who started out the least able.

It takes a lot of support and playfulness from school leadership,

Bo Stjerne Thomsen is global head of research and learning at the Lego Foundation

support for teachers’ workgroups and teacher guides to get approaches that are more playful into teaching.

Our new project with Harvard Graduate School of Education and the International School of Billund (ISB) is a more radical step towards advocating for a pedagogy of play in the school. Through a playful and participatory approach to breaking down the tensions between playing and learning in the culture of the school and teaching, we now see how the ISB teachers take more risks in their teaching, observe children more deeply, have become more reflective in their practice and play around with ideas in their study groups. They are learning through play in their role as teachers, through playing with the content of their lessons, and through sharing multiple perspectives in their relationships with colleagues.

This paradigm shift in the teacher role requires recognition and support across the educational system, because introducing a more playful school environment is a major cultural challenge. Many tensions exist between playful learning and the way teaching and learning are currently structured in most schools and it is difficult to achieve immediate short-term benefits of a change.

The key here is the importance of inviting teachers to be playful, and recognising them as also being curious and eager to understand, test and improve their own practice.

Allowing teachers to try out their own ideas and be playful on the same level as children benefits children to be intellectually, academically, socially and emotionally competent as adults.

This is a paradigm shift, because the competences children need in the future are no longer relying on memorising facts and standardised outcomes. Teachers hold the key to create positive change by having a playful mindset that unlocks the potential of children’s interest and enjoyment in learning for the rest of their lives.

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

22/09/2016 15:06

TEACH HEART DISEASE A LESSON

FREE: OVER £100 WORTH OF SKIPPING ROPES for your school when you help raise money for

our life saving heart research and your school.

Skipping is a great way for boys and girls of different ages and abilities to have fun and get active.

Over 250,000 children took part in Jump Rope For Heart last school year. Find out how your pupils can also benefit at bhf.org.uk/jumprope

© British Heart Foundation, a registered charity in England and Wales (225971) and in Scotland (SC039426) ATL0316

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REMORTGAGING? TAKE A CLOSER LOOK...

LOWER MORTGAGE RATES MAY BE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK Following the Bank of England announcement in August, we passed on the interest rate reduction in full to all of our variable rate mortgages.

• We can consider lending to teachers working on a contract or supply basis • Our in-house underwriters assess each case individually and do not rely a computer-generated response • We support the Help to Buy and Shared Ownership schemes

To find out more, call us on 0800 378 669

Can you guess what this image is?

Visit teachersbs.co.uk/remortgaging to find out.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Register no 156580)

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