Elm 2013 10

October 2013

Education Leader and Manager

In this issue

2

Staying safe on social networks – your questions answered

4 Raising aspirations and attainment 6 AMiE’s new President: Lesley Tipping 8 Dwindling employment rights 10 MindFull: promoting mental health 12 School and college governance 14 The view from Northern Ireland 2 4 The last word AMiE is the leadership section of ATL

Cover story Staying safe on social networks – your questions answered

I am responsible for 14–19 provision in a further education college. Recently a member of staff became involved in some unpleasant exchanges with students and parents through Facebook. Some rather nasty allegations were made, and it took many months to resolve the situation. I want to ensure that there is never a repeat of such activity. What can I do?

2 There are perhaps three important aspects of social networking that may result in a problem.

David Green, Director of Employment Services, AMiE

1. Posting online is usually instant. Unless your comments are subject to review by a site moderator, they will be available immediately for others to see. What’s more, once you post online, it may be too late – and very difficult – to remove what you have said.

2. Nothing on a social networking site is private. Once your posting is visible to others, they can copy it and pass it on.

the agreed standards of use of social networking media throughout the school or college.

1 Ensure that staff who use social media as part of their job are properly trained in its use.

1 Where staff use social networking as a means of communicating with learners or parents, ensure that it is through official school or college channels (e.g. the school or college’s own Facebook page), and that such use has been approved by the appropriate manager.

3. Education professionals cannot say whatever they wish without constraint.

Members of staff in schools and colleges have always had to model appropriate behaviour, including outside the institutional environment. Social networking and modern technology have not changed that.

1 Ensure that any school or college networking

Clear guidelines

1 As part of the policy, introduce a system for

A robust policy can set standards for good practice. Your policy should offer clear guidelines regarding appropriate online activity, use of school or college social networking accounts, confidentiality and staying within the law.

The policy should also contain a procedure for reporting and investigating misuse, and should set out the appropriate disciplinary penalties. As such, when developing the policy, we recommend strongly that you consult and reach agreement with the relevant trade unions.

A robust policy can set standards for good practice

1 Raise and maintain awareness of your policy and

AMiE also recommends that the policy should cover learners as well as staff. One way to do this, where learners are of appropriate age, is to ask the students themselves to help draw up an ‘acceptable use’ charter that they can sign and/or adopt. It may also be helpful to seek the support of parents in this process.

We also advise you to take the following steps.

sites and accounts have sufficient security.

1 Even when comments are moderated by the appropriate person, ensure that the school or college’s own networking sites and blogs state that individual comments are not necessarily representative of the official views of your organisation. reporting and logging potential misuse.

1 Don’t forget to include in your policy the appropriate home use of school or college laptops.

1 Where offensive material has been posted and is aimed at the school or college or at individual staff members or learners, then report it to the website host immediately and ask them to remove it.

AMiE has produced a model that could form the framework for a school or college that wishes to introduce a new policy. You can download a copy from the Online Resource Bank on our website: www.amie.atl.org.uk Social networking can be a very effective way of communicating, but a number of high-profile – and sometimes tragic – cases have demonstrated how it can be misused. AMiE hopes, therefore, that you find this advice helpful.

Follow David on Twitter: @DavidG_ATL_AMiE

Union services

A

i

M

E

We’re here to help Pauline Rodmell, AMiE Regional Officer (Northern Region)

AMiE can help its members to deal with a wide range of workplace problems.

Here are a few examples.

Some time ago, a member at a school contacted me, asking for assistance in writing a resignation letter. I asked why she was resigning, and the member explained that she had made an informal request for flexible working, only for her employer to say no. Talking to the member, it was clear to me that the employer had not met with her and had not given any reason for rejecting her flexible working request.

Giving advice I then advised the member to make a formal request and to submit this, before taking any steps to resign. She agreed. I assisted in drafting the letter, and reminding the employer that, legally, a meeting must be arranged within ten days to discuss the request.

Performancerelated pay progression: guidance for school leaders

Negotiating with employers I went along to the meeting with our member; and initially, the employer refused the application. However, after some negotiation it was agreed to try out the new suggested work pattern for one term.

It worked well and the member has now permanently changed her working pattern to the requested one. She is very happy with the support she received from AMiE.

Arranging voluntary redundancy Sometimes, though, members simply do not wish to stay with the same employer.

In one particular case, a member contacted AMiE desperate to leave her employment for various reasons. I was aware that the employer was about to announce a restructure, so I contacted the employer, asking that the member be allowed to take voluntary redundancy, therefore freeing up a post and avoiding compulsory redundancy.

The employer agreed, and the member was able to leave without any fuss or stress.

Representing members in grievance investigations Not unusually, managers are the subject of a grievance from one of their direct reports. In a typical case, a member contacted me, asking for help over a member of staff she managed.

The member of staff had lodged a grievance against our member for bullying. After looking at all the submitted evidence, it was clear to me that the member was simply doing her job. Together we produced a list of counterevidence, including emails and performance records, plus details of one-to-one meetings held with the member of staff. I represented the manager at the investigation and supplied all the collated evidence. The result was ‘no case to answer’, and the member was very pleased with her support from AMiE.

In case you missed it, AMiE has produced guidance for members on introducing performance-related pay progression for teachers covered by the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document.

The guidance, which complements that already sent by ATL to branch secretaries, is available from the Online Resource Bank on the AMiE website: www.amie.atl.org.uk

3

Research findings

Raising aspirations and attainment Helen Barnard, Poverty and Education Programme Manager, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Is there a culture of low aspirations among low-income young people and families?

4

In recent years, politicians and the media repeatedly cite low aspirations as a major barrier to young people achieving in education.

This seems to have become a truism.

Over several years, a programme of research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation examined the role of children’s and parents’ attitudes, aspirations and behaviour in shaping their educational outcomes.

The first key finding is that aspirations are actually very high across all social groups.

When children are born, 97% of mothers want them to go to university.1 The big difference between parents and children from richer and poorer backgrounds is their belief that they will be able to achieve such goals.

By the time young people are 14, only 53% of low-income parents believe that their children will go on to university, compared to 81% of higher-income parents.2 (This is not to suggest that all young people should aim for university; only that many do hold this traditionally ‘high’ aspiration.)

This reinforces the importance of high-quality careers advice, to help young people make the right choices for them

The research found the same evidence of high aspirations in relation to jobs. In a large study across three deprived areas,3 most young people aspired to professional or skilled work – far more than the current labour market could provide. However, they had a striking lack of knowledge about what paths they needed to follow in order to fulfil those goals. Many were making choices about subjects and exams, without realising that these would prevent them from reaching their desired destinations.

Loic Menzies4 argues that there are two models for approaching the issues of aspirations and attainment, as illustrated on page 5.

Moving from model A to model B enables schools to focus on helping young people and their parents to understand the choices that will enable them to achieve their goals and to develop the skills and capacity to do so.

Two major international reviews5 examined the evidence for interventions raising attainment through addressing attitudes, aspirations and behaviour. These showed that many have very little evidence to support them, but a few are fairly well supported. The type of work with the best evidence is parental involvement: building parents’ ability to support their children’s education. Specific types of mentoring and extracurricular activities also show some promising results, but are not yet proven to be effective.

A new toolkit6 from the Education Endowment Foundation provides broader evidence of what works in raising attainment for low-income pupils.

It shows that raising aspirations per se does little, but there is a lot that schools can do to help students to maintain and fulfil their goals.

Finally, returning to the question of aspiring to university, a fascinating recent study from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)7 examined what happened to financial rewards from higher education between 1993 and 2008.

The research found that it is still the case for most young people that a degree will bring higher pay, but that this has become a lot more variable and dependent on which areas of work they do.

There is a much bigger range of wages being earned by graduates in recent years, with a bigger overlap with non-graduates. This reinforces the importance of high-quality careers advice, to help young people make the right choices for them.

The recent select committee report8 on careers advice pointed to a worrying trend in diminishing quantity and quality of careers advice in schools. The evidence suggests that this needs to be reversed, if young people from all backgrounds are to achieve well academically and successfully move into work.

Figure 1: Raising attainment through understanding aspirations Model A

Model B

Pupils’ attainment is low

Problem

Cause

Pupils’ aspirations are low

Action

Raise pupils’ aspirations

Outcome

Pupils’ attainment is increased

Problem

Cause

Action

Outcome

Pupils’ attainment is low and they cannot achieve their (high) aspirations Pupils do not know how to achieve their aspirations Pupils lose faith in their ability to achieve their aspirations because their attainment is low Focus interventions on those that help pupils understand how to achieve their aspirations and which raise their attainment

Pupils know what they need to do to achieve their aspirations and their attainment increases

Source: Menzies, L. (2013) Educational Aspirations: How English schools can work with parents to keep them on track, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

References 1 Dex, S. et al. (2004) Millennium Cohort Study, Fourth Survey: A user’s guide to initial findings, Centre for Longitudinal Studies.

2 Goodman, A. and Gregg, P. (2010) Poorer Children’s Educational Attainment: How important are attitudes and behaviour?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

3 Kintrea, K. et al. (2011) The Influence of Parents, Places and Poverty on Educational Attitudes and Aspirations, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

5 Carter-Wall, C. and Whitfield, G. (2012) The Role of Aspirations, Attitudes and Behaviour in Closing the Educational Attainment Gap, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

4 Menzies, L. (2013) Educational Aspirations: How English schools can work with parents to keep them on track, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

6 http://educationendowment foundation.org.uk/toolkit

Black men and boys in FE Dr Sheine Peart, a Network for Black Professionals member, has published Making Education Work: How Black men and boys navigate the further education sector (Trentham Books Ltd, November 2012).

This is essential reading for anyone interested in making a difference to the academic and life chances of these students.

Through the students’ narratives, the book examines the institutional cultures and the taught curricula of schools and colleges, and reveals how young Black men take control of their educational careers once they get to college.

To order a copy, call Central Books on 0845 458 9910 or email mo@centralbooks.com

7 Brynin, M. (2013) The Financial Rewards of Higher Education, ESRC. 8 House of Commons Education Committee (2013) Careers Guidance for Young People: The impact of the new duty on schools: Government response to the Committee’s Seventh Report of Session 2012–13, The Stationery Office.

5

Profile By the mid-1980s, Lesley had completed the City & Guilds 730 Certificate and was successful in gaining a full-time post in a mid-Wales college that was completely different to the college where she had been working. They offered Lesley the opportunity to study for the Certificate in Education over the next two years. Despite the fact that the daily return journey was to be over 120 miles – on some of the narrowest mountain roads ever built – Lesley accepted the position.

Lesley moved colleges again four years later to a similar position, but slightly closer to home (80 miles daily), and for the next 20 years progressed in her career from lecturer to operational manager and then to faculty director. She has recently changed job roles, and is now the Curriculum Director within the recently formed Grwp Llandrillo Menai (with responsibility for such diverse areas as 14–16 vocational education, Welsh Baccalaureate and higher education).

6

AMiE’s new President:

Lesley Tipping

Lesley Tipping took up office as President of AMiE on 1 September.

Lesley was born in North Wales and has lived all of her life within the North Wales area.

Although she is not a native Welsh speaker, she understands the language and empathises fully with the needs of a nation that works bilingually.

Lesley left school at 16 and attended the local college for the next three years, studying beauty therapy and hairdressing. She had always wanted to teach, and within the first few weeks of being on the programme realised that her future teaching career was to be in further education. Lesley completed her course, gained employment immediately and went on to run her own successful business.

Lesley is a great believer in parity for all in education

However, she had made her ambitions known to her tutors, and several years later she received a telephone call out of the blue, asking if she wanted ‘a few hours’ of teaching! Lesley began teaching at her old college in 1982, starting out with two hours once a fortnight for a term.

Within eight months she was teaching about 26 hours a week. Isn’t that how many of us started in the FE sector all those years ago?

During Lesley’s educational career she has studied a variety of leadership and management qualifications, including an MA in Leadership and Management (for FE). Her employers supported her development and allowed her to undertake a variety of external roles, including being an examiner and verifier for several different awarding bodies, which led to her becoming a senior verifier in Key Skills, marking Level 3 Communication for several years and sitting on the standardisation boards on behalf of the awarding organisation.

As the internal role has developed and changed, so have the external roles. This has been particularly significant, partly due to the increasingly devolved nature of Wales and the emphasis by the Welsh Government on education. Lesley chairs a panWales group for one of the vocational sectors, and sits on a variety of committees and groups that drive post-16 education within Wales. She works closely with several sector skills councils both in Wales and nationally across the UK, especially within the post-16 sector, driving forwards qualifications agendas in many different areas. Wales is currently restructuring its post-16 funding methodology, and Lesley has been on the steering group throughout the development of the new methods, which will be implemented in September 2014.

Lesley has also worked as an associate assessor (and is currently a peer inspector) with Estyn (Wales’ equivalent to Ofsted) since 1994. She has been part of many college inspections in Wales for nearly 20 years.

Union membership Quite early on in her teaching career Lesley became involved with a teaching union – initially NATFHE – and became the chair of her college branch in the early 1990s.

After incorporation, there was a merger with another local college, and the union representatives were critical to the success of the local negotiations required at the time.

Holiday Inn London, Bloomsbury

Friday, 28 March 2014

When Lesley became a manager, she wanted to join a union that would support her new role and was advised to join ACM. She was then asked to form a college branch, along with another new manager, who was ex-NATFHE. The branch was formed and succeeded in ensuring that over 95% of the management tier became ACM members.

Shortly after the start of the branch, the AMiE Wales Committee was formed. Lesley was an inaugural member and is still an active member. She was then elected onto the AMiE National Council in 2010.

Supporting young people

7

Lesley is a great believer in parity for all in education, and in giving an opportunity to individuals who want to develop their skills and knowledge and to improve themselves educationally.

She has been heavily involved in developing programmes that allow opportunity for people who otherwise could not have accessed education, and has worked closely with education and employers to ensure support for such individuals.

She recognises that accurate, impartial guidance and advice for young people is vital to their success, and that academic and vocational education need to work together much more closely for the benefit of the learner – rather than the benefit of the institution, targets and performance measures.

For all these reasons, Lesley believes strongly that pre- and post-16 educational institutions need to work together, to provide the best education possible to prepare our young people for their adult lives and for them to become active social citizens.

AMiE on Twitter Follow AMiE on Twitter to keep up to date with the education agenda:

@atl_amie

AMiE Leadership Seminar 2014 Theme: ‘Held to Account: Governance, Inspection and You’ Join us for our annual seminar, which will look at effective governance from the perspective of leaders and managers.

It will also encompass what works and what needs reforming in terms of inspection, and will consider ways in which you may fairly be held to account in your role.

Details about speakers will be published nearer the time.

Past evaluations have deemed these events to be well worthwhile, so please do take the time to attend. The seminar is free to ATL/AMiE members (£250 for non-members).

For further details and to book a place, please email: jpearson@amie.atl.org.uk

Employment matters

Government policy changes employment rights Awards capped David Green, Director of Employment Services, AMiE

8

When the Government increased, from one to two years, the qualifying service needed by an employee before they gained protection from unfair dismissal, it claimed that the change would help to create jobs.

Now, I try to keep up with economic news, but I do not recall any employer saying that they have taken on extra staff because it is now easier to sack people. In my view, this was more about reducing the employment rights of employees, and reducing the scope for claiming unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.

Redundancy consultation period What’s more, it is now also easier for employers to make large-scale redundancies. Indeed, the length of the statutory collective consultation period has been halved from 90 to 45 days when an employer proposes to dismiss more than 100 employees due to redundancy.

Discrimination data

Being a trade union officer, you would expect me to say this. But, in my defence, let’s look at what this Government has done since then.

Further change is coming, which is likely to make discrimination claims even more difficult. The statutory questionnaire procedure for discrimination cases is a useful process that allows employees to obtain information from their employer about possible discrimination. It has been a useful way for potential claimants to access statistical data and consider the merits of their case.

It will be scrapped, possibly in April 2014.

Fees for employment tribunals

Fitness to work

Most significantly, it has introduced a fee regime for employment tribunals, making access to justice an expensive business.

Another planned change concerns employees on sick leave. In future, GPs will no longer be trusted to make decisions about an employee’s fitness to work. Instead, anyone who is on sick leave for more than four weeks will be referred to a new Independent Assessment Service (IAS).

The IAS would assess a person’s capacity to work or not, and would make recommendations about their ability to return to work immediately (or with workplace adjustments).

Assuming that you have the two years’ service necessary to claim unfair dismissal, you now need to put down £250 when you submit the claim, and a further £950 if the case goes to a hearing. Similar fees exist for other tribunal claims.

The current administration is clearly not averse to ignoring opinion

But tribunal fees aren’t the end of the story.

Barely reported by the media, the maximum award that can be made for unfair dismissal is now capped at one year’s salary or £74,200, whichever is the smaller – and this despite the fact that the median award made for such claims last year was just £4,560.

For employers though there is no charge. The fee regime is aimed entirely at the claimant who, even though they may be out of work, will have to pay – unless the fees are met by their union.

Even when a claim is successful, employees receive no refund (although the tribunal has the power to order the unsuccessful party to reimburse the fees paid by the successful party).

Such a service could be beneficial to smaller employers who have no access to occupational health services; and it may even help to promote better occupational health. However, with a commitment to cut the welfare budget, my cynical side is suspicious of the Government’s true motives behind this measure.

9

A new type of employment contract Of course, all these changes to the law start with consultations with stakeholders.

However, the current administration is clearly not averse to ignoring opinion.

For example, they have introduced a brand new way to restrict employment rights with the introduction of a new type of employment contract.

In return for giving up rights to unfair dismissal protection, statutory redundancy pay, and a right to request flexible working, employees can opt to become employee shareholders in return for between £2,000 and £50,000 worth of shares.

When the Government consulted on this matter, of the 184 replies they received, just three were in favour of the proposal. Despite this clear lack of enthusiasm from employers and unions alike, the law became effective on 1 September 2013.

Health and safety regulations Had enough yet? The Government hasn’t: Section 47 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 has been amended. Effectively, the Government has removed civil liability on the part of employers for a breach of health and safety regulations contained within the 1974 Act. This means that no civil claim can be brought for breach of a health and safety statutory duty unless the regulation expressly provides for it – thereby reversing the current position. An employee’s only option will be to prove that the employer was negligent.

This change is expected to come into force on 1 October 2013 and will only apply to breaches that occur after the commencement date.

Union membership data Finally – for now at least – the Government is interfering further in how unions manage their membership data.

The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Membership Bill will introduce new conditions on unions, compelling us to audit your membership data, and making such data available if necessary to the official certification officer and anyone appointed by the certification officer to investigate the integrity of this data.

How unions use membership data is already subject to the Data Protection Act; and no other membership organisation is being singled out for these additional requirements. The aim, according to the Government, is to make sure that the data that unions hold is accurate, despite the fact that unions take all sorts of steps to get members to inform them of any changes.

So what is the point of this measure?

The Government says that the public needs to be confident that voting papers and other communications are reaching union members.

However, since union membership data will always only be as good as the data supplied by members, I fail to see how this measure can possibly work. Perhaps the real motive is to help employers facing industrial action?

In a case last year,1 the High Court dismissed an interim injunction application by Balfour Beatty against the union Unite. The employer argued that some employees entitled to vote had not received a ballot paper, while others not entitled to vote had been sent one. However, the court accepted that Unite had gone to ‘painstaking lengths’ to verify its membership information. But in future, with extra hoops for unions to jump through, painstaking lengths may be insufficient, and employers may find it easier to secure such injunctions.

Of course, none of us expected this Government to be friendly. But what we have witnessed in the last few years, coming on top of cuts to public sector pensions, is further deregulation at a time when pay rises are low and job insecurity is high.

1 Balfour Beatty Engineering Services Ltd v Unite the Union [2012] EWHC 267 HC.

Mental health programme for young people

‘Good mental health doesn’t start in hospital or in a treatment room. It starts in our workplaces, our schools and our communities...

In fact, everyone has a part to play.’

10

Ed Miliband MP, 2012

MindFull: promoting mental health in schools Francis Burrows, Director of Operations, MindFull

The Department of Health estimated in 2012 that at least 850,000 young people suffer from a diagnosable mental health problem, equating to three children in every classroom.

According to a 2012 London School of Economics report, almost 75% of young people get no treatment for mental health problems, due to extensive waiting lists or, in some cases, the absence of services altogether.1 In the last three years, we have seen consistent cuts to child and adolescent mental health services, resulting in an increase in waiting list times for psychological support, leading to longer duration and increased severity of mental health problems that could have been treated earlier. All too often, young people who have struggled to find the courage to step forward and ask for help are then cast aside to languish on waiting lists, unable to get the help they need and failed by the system that is supposed to support them.

MindFull is a national programme helping young people to improve and sustain positive mental health, emotional resilience and wellbeing. MindFull believes that all young people should be able to access information, advice and support related to their emotional wellbeing and mental health. It creates a community where young people can talk to other young people – trained peer mentors, who understand, have gone through similar issues and can provide empathy and advice.

The programme provides 11–17 year olds with tailored support to improve their mental health and wellbeing. Designed by young people, for young people, it reduces the stigma associated with accessing support, enabling young people to understand and articulate concerns about their mental health. The programme has involved young people at every stage of its development, and is tailored to meet their specific needs.

An online counselling service MindFull offers a comprehensive online counselling service, using a pioneering framework of intervention that includes robust safeguarding procedures. Through the provision of counselling services, it reduces the prolonged suffering experienced by young people who are currently left on waiting lists for often extended periods of time, by enabling them to access the help they need, there and then.

To aid a cultural shift in the behaviour and attitude towards mental health and wellbeing, MindFull is training mentors across the UK. This programme involves the intensive training of young people to become mentors, providing empathetic peer support for other young people.

Young people are best placed to begin the conversation about mental health with other young people. The power of peer support cannot be underestimated, and having other young people to talk to and approach for advice can be the beginning of accessing a range of support services.

A whole-school approach MindFull provides a whole-school approach to mental health. It should not just be seen as the responsibility of the school nurse or pastoral staff. Every member of the school community has a role to play, and by changing the way that we approach and discuss mental health, the quicker we can break down the barriers and the stigma that young people face.

We all have mental health, and it is from this standpoint that MindFull approaches its work.

By promoting conversations about mental health, promoting support and ensuring that it is easy to access, the greater the improvements will be throughout the school.

The impact of changing the culture towards mental health in schools is significant, and can be seen in many different aspects of the school community.

Improvements in mental health can lead to: 1 improved attainment 1 better attendance 1 improved relationships within the school 1 enhanced wellbeing.

By developing a mentoring programme within a school, we can immediately provide access to support and enable students to begin to talk about how they feel, and then get a referral through to counselling services, if that is what they require.

1 How Mental Illness Loses Out in the NHS, LSE, 2012

A focus on prevention It is imperative to focus on prevention, and to educate young people about the importance of mental health and wellbeing, providing them with advice and guidance on positive coping mechanisms. In addition, services need to be able to address problems as soon as they arise.

Early on in life, young people face significant pressures, including the transition to secondary school, the stress of exams, and issues such as bullying. Providing help for young people when low-level issues first surface can prevent them from developing into something more serious, and is a key part of the general guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Early support can also reduce the financial costs to the individual and to society further down the line.

11

Young people should have access to support when they need it, and be reassured that support is available for a sustained period of time.

No young person should feel isolated or not know where they can access the support they need.

For further information, please visit www.mindfull.org or contact: Francis Burrows, Director of Operations, MindFull (francis. burrows@mindfull.org; tel: 020 8768 2166).

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE SERIES

‘Data gold’ for college managers

Da ta gold The impo

rtance of management systems data for colle ges

by Russell Pearson

and Steve Ormrod

College managers will shortly receive a copy of the latest AMiE publication: Data gold: The importance of management information systems data for colleges.

AMiE is ATL’s section

Published as part of AMiE’s new ‘Outstanding Performance Series’, the guide focuses on the principles and culture necessary for a successful data-based performance culture in colleges. It heralds AMiE’s drive to help colleges remain data-savvy, and to support MIS roles in colleges.

Further online resources are being made available for those, such as MIS managers, who wish to understand the application of data at a more granular level.

Other managers, such as school business managers in academies, may also benefit from this publication.

These colleagues should email amie@atl.org.uk if they would like a copy.

for leaders in education

School and college governance

Leading without reins Mark Wright, National Official: Leadership and Management, AMiE

12

1 www.publications. parliament.uk/ pa/cm201314/ cmselect 2 www.modern governor.com/ wp-content/ uploads/2013/07/ The-EducationCommitteeSecond-Reportof-session-201314-on-the-roleof-SchoolGoverningBodies.pdf 3 www.gov.uk/ government/ publications/ further-educationand-sixth-formcollegegovernancereview 4 Contribution of Senior Staff to College Governance, by Ron Hill and Ian James, available at: www.lsis.org.uk/ government/ publications/ further-educationand-sixth-formcollegegovernancereview cmeduc/ 365/36502.htm

In the relentless drive for improvement, school and college governance has increasingly come under the spotlight over the past year.

The word ‘governance’ derives from a Greek verb (κυβερνάω [kubernáo]), which means ‘to steer’ and was used for the first time by Plato.

Governing was originally related to steering a horse or a boat, and this sense of steerage eventually came to be applied metaphorically to organisations. Crucially, the steering of a horse or a boat entails a close responsiveness to the pull of the horse’s reins or the pressure from the boat’s tiller. Thus, to govern implied a need to be ‘in touch’ with what is being steered.

In the context of schools and colleges, governance is a very important area, but is often overlooked and underappreciated. It deserves to be explored, improved and recognised.

Perhaps governance might be refocused, so as to encourage governors to be in close touch with the culture and atmosphere of their schools, and to develop a deeper knowledge.

Governance in schools In July, the House of Commons Education Committee released a report entitled The Role of School Governing Bodies,1 which highlighted the important leadership role of governors. However, it also pointed to the 11% vacancy rate, and the variable quality of the work carried out by governing bodies. While the work of many governing bodies is of a high standard, others offer insufficient support and challenge to their institutions.

Excessive workload and paperwork are cited as key barriers to recruitment. Also, what is expected of governors has only increased since governors have come under Ofsted’s spotlight, and many governors find this a difficult pressure.

Governors must, of course, tackle underperformance in their school. There are serious consequences if the school is deemed weak by the inspection process. Indeed, in cases where schools are judged to be failing their pupils and are placed in ‘special measures’, governors may be dismissed and replaced by an interim executive board. Thus, pressure to raise the quality of governance is high.

Primary schools tend to have higher vacancy rates for governors than secondary schools. They also perform less well: for example, Ofsted currently rates governance to be good or outstanding in 71% of special schools and in 64% of secondary schools but in only 55% of primary schools.2 So what help is needed to address this challenge? The Government is calling for better training, more peer-to-peer governor support, and a move to professionalise the role of clerks. But it has so far ruled out remuneration, except where governors use particular business skills to improve performance.

In sixth forms and FE colleges The recruitment issues and uneven quality of school governance are mirrored in the further education sector.

The relative autonomy of colleges adds importance to the role of their approximately 8,000 college governors, in assuring standards within their institutions. Nevertheless, we are still some way off consistently high-quality governance across the whole sector.

In July, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) published a Review of Further Education and Sixth Form College Governance,3 which focused on three key themes:

1 recruitment, succession and the composition of governing bodies

1 recognising the status of governors 1 governor remuneration.

The report noted that: ‘a consistent characteristic of successful colleges is strong leadership and management, and the importance of the governing body in achieving this cannot be overstated’.

Reviews of college governance The Association of Colleges has commissioned Susan Pember (former college principal and senior civil servant at BIS) to undertake a wideranging review of college governance, taking account of the importance of how governors interact with leaders and managers. The review is expected to report this autumn.

This is a welcome step, and AMiE has already contributed to the general debate about effective governance. Last year, AMiE (working in partnership with the Learning and Skills Improvement Service) found that, amid some good practice, there were too many instances of ineffective governing boards working with our leaders and managers.4 Examples included:

1 lack of mutual appreciation and understanding of respective roles

1 lack of involvement in governance planning

The governor role has become more demanding, and excellent leadership skills are critical to success. The more successful governing bodies tend to be those that are most ‘in touch’ with their organisations, as good leaders should be. They are able to offer their leaders the appropriate measure of support and challenge through a strong grasp of performance data, along with an ability to get at the stories behind the figures. They proactively impact on future data, by having constructive conversations with leaders and managers about both quantitative data and qualitative information.

Governance can be critical to the success or otherwise of your institution

Governors offering evidence-based challenge tend to be more of a feature in schools than in FE. In colleges, there is a risk of governors remaining remote from what are often large-scale institutions, precisely because of the size of the colleges.

1 lack of CPD for governors 1 a need for greater dialogue between governors and leaders

1 senior staff being unaware of governors’ responsibilities.

Raising standards Both the Department for Education and BIS are actively seeking to raise standards.

The National Governors’ Association in the schools sector and the Governors’ Council in the further education sector have done good work in helping to raise governance standards, but there is still some way to go.

AMiE is seeking to ensure that managers as well as senior leaders are visible on governors’ radars.

Governors need a rich and accurate picture of the health of an institution, so that they are able to offer wise counsel. After all, they can’t help to steer the institution to a healthy future, unless they are firmly in touch with the current reality.

Governance is important – it can be critical to the success or otherwise of your institution. We all have a stake in wanting to see strong and effective governance.

SecEd ad 190x136_Layout 1 29/08/2013 10:20 Page 1

education innovation CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

hro ug h T t n e m Achieve ion Inno vat ference Free Con ion & Exhibit

✓

✓

D Free CP d Certifie Sessions

AMiE Supporte d by nning ru who w ill be e hub an MIS advic at the event

✓

✓

Manchester Central – 27th & 28th February 2014

www.educationinnovation.co.uk #EICE

13

The view from Northern Ireland

Interview with Trevor Carson Chair of the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) in Northern Ireland

Mark Langhammer, AMiE Regional Officer, Northern Ireland

14

Trevor Carson was recently appointed Chair of the CCEA following a rigorous public appointments process.

Trevor joined ATL early in his career and spent almost two decades in the classroom, teaching in both post-primary and further education college settings. In recent years he has been working in the world of business and training.

Mark Langhammer (ML): Firstly, congratulations on your appointment as Chair of CCEA. It’s a high-profile role, in the public eye. What attracted you to the post?

Trevor Carson (TC): It’s an opportunity to make a difference. CCEA’s wide remit means we have the potential to impact upon teachers and learners across schools, colleges and training organisations. I want to play my part in ensuring we’re providing the best possible support to those we serve. I was also familiar with the work of CCEA through a number of previous roles: as a principal coursework moderator for GCSE sciences; subject committee membership; and as an assistant examiner and assistant reviser.

My biggest wish for the education system here is to get to a place where all our efforts are clearly focused on improving educational outcomes for all learners

ML: There are quite a few challenges facing CCEA – what are your priorities as Chair?

TC: It’s an exciting time to be joining the organisation. We’re at a point where we can plan for the future in a way we haven’t been able to do for some time.

Our corporate plan for the next three years is now completed. Once approved, it will provide essential strategic direction for all that we do. Successful delivery of the plan will require the right people, with the right skill sets, doing the right jobs.

Trevor Carson, CCEA Chair

I will want to ensure that CCEA staff are developed and supported to their fullest potential and, where appropriate, fresh thinking is brought to the organisation. And all of that ties in to leadership. I have an immediate priority to lead the process of recruiting a permanent Chief Executive for CCEA. As things stand, we would hope to have that individual in place for early 2014. The successful candidate will be CCEA’s first permanent Chief Executive in seven years.

ML: What are the effects of Michael Gove’s educational ‘revolution’ in Northern Ireland? Can our examinations, for instance, retain currency?

TC: It’s absolutely right that we keep qualifications under review, to ensure they meet the needs of our young people, society and the economy.

However, I believe that in taking this work forward, we have to ensure the views of all key stakeholders are reflected and consider best practice from at home and across the globe.

I think it is regrettable that, on GCSE and GCE qualifications, the Secretary of State for Education in England has acted in such haste and with little or no consultation with the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland and Wales.

The Minister for Education here [in Northern Ireland] has taken a more consultative approach and his actions to date show that he is listening to the teaching profession. At the end of June, following an intensive period of consultation, CCEA provided advice to the Minister on the future of GCSEs and A levels here. We look forward to his response. I have no doubt whatsoever that whatever the Minister decides, Northern Ireland qualifications will continue to be highly regarded and much sought after by both employers and higher education institutions. CCEA looks forward to playing its part in making that happen.

ML: I’ve just read Finnish Lessons by Pasi Sahlberg, the last Finnish chief inspector.1 Finnish kids play until they’re seven; all attend common schools with no streaming or setting, do very little homework, and no exams until the end stage at 18. They have no inspectorate, no school league tables, a lighttouch curriculum, with teachers’ professional autonomy sacrosanct, reasonable workloads, no private tuition industry. Yet Finland consistently features at or near the top of international educational performance tables. What’s not to like? Is our system too sclerotic, too stressed?

Do we weigh and measure too much?

TC: In a previous post I brought a senior education official over from Finland to talk to our annual conference about improvement and accountability.

Our discussion included an illuminating chat about professional autonomy. In undertaking the revision of the curriculum back in the early noughties, CCEA looked carefully at the Finnish system and concluded it had many positive aspects.

The revised Northern Ireland curriculum has a relatively small statutory core, allowing teachers to use their professional expertise to tailor lessons to their pupils’ needs. The revised curriculum also introduced a less formal start to learning, recognising that young children arrive at school at different stages in their development. I think there is no doubt that we need to look very carefully at the volume of change that school leaders and teachers have to deal with and, if change is necessary, ensure that it is carefully planned in consultation with the profession.

Closer to home, getting pupil assessment right is a huge challenge. We clearly have a tension between an assessment system whose outcomes are based on teacher assessment, but also used for accountability purposes.

Efforts to ensure that such a system is sufficiently robust have led to concerns that the process has become overly bureaucratic.

More work is taking place between CCEA, the Department [of Education Northern Ireland] and school leaders to find an agreed way forward.

ML: If you were granted three wishes for Northern Ireland’s education system, what would they be?

1 Sahlberg, P. (2012) Finnish Lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland? The Series on School Reform, Teachers’ College Press

TC: Wouldn’t that be wonderful! I don’t know about three wishes, but I have one big wish for our system here. I became a teacher because I believed, and still do, that education is the key to the future happiness and prosperity of individuals and our wider society. Therefore my biggest wish for the education system here is to get to a place where all our efforts are clearly focused on improving educational outcomes for all learners, and where every learner is supported to reach their fullest potential. That’s a massive challenge, not just for education, but for all of us who live here.

Visit AMiE’s new-look website

www.amie.atl.org.uk Over the summer, we took the opportunity to refresh our website, applying our new brand and making the website more user-friendly and accessible.

The new site includes advice on many issues, including grievance and disciplinary problems, redundancy, health and safety, as well as the latest on pay and pensions.

You will also find details of AMiE’s CPD events and courses, and the site features our Online Resource Bank, an area specially for members, which is dedicated to useful publications, good practice, resources and links.

We hope you like it.

Please email your views to: amie@atl.org.uk

15

New research centre

CRADLE: a national research for teaching and learning Alan Thompson, Publishing and Editorial Adviser, Institute for Learning

A national research centre for teaching and learning in further education and skills has been launched.

16

Set up jointly by the University of Wolverhampton and the Institute for Learning (IfL – the professional body for teachers and trainers in further education), the Centre for Research and Development in Lifelong Education (CRADLE) will be a repository for research into FE policy and on teaching and learning practice, as well as a hub for knowledge transfer across the FE and skills system.

Headed by Denis Gleeson, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Warwick, the centre will have a particular emphasis on teachers and trainers in their early years of practice, but it will also incorporate postgraduate research and development activity for more experienced practitioners.

The aim of the new centre, which is based at the University of Wolverhampton’s renowned School for Education Futures, is to feed research findings back into the FE sector in order to support the work and careers of professional FE teachers and trainers and, thereby, to improve outcomes for learners.

Wolverhampton is one of the UK’s leading centres for initial teacher training in FE, for continuing professional development (CPD) and for research into post-compulsory teaching and learning.

CRADLE will be a repository for research into FE policy and on teaching and learning practice

Raising the status Speaking at the launch event on 1 May, Professor Geoff Layer, Wolverhampton’s Vice-Chancellor, said: ‘We are very pleased to have a formal partnership with the Institute for Learning, as we share its values and its commitment to teachers and trainers in FE and skills being trained and supported to be world-class professionals.

‘IfL has a major role to play in the professional development and status of teachers in our colleges and training providers. CRADLE will build on the considerable success of our post-compulsory education department, which oversees the provision of initial teacher education and CPD, and on our strong regional partnerships with FE colleges and providers in the West Midlands and beyond.

‘By working with the university, IfL will continue to help raise the status of teachers and trainers in FE and skills, and empower them to engage with policy research and carry out their own workbased research and development projects.’

A landmark development Professor Gleeson said: ‘The launch of CRADLE is a landmark development at the University of Wolverhampton, reinforcing the university’s strong commitment to promoting and developing vocational education and training in the region and the UK. ‘With its sector partners – colleges, schools, employers and IfL – CRADLE is being launched at an opportune time, when the demand for high-quality vocational education and training is high on the policy agenda for improving the life chances and employment opportunities of young people and adults.’

More support for vocational teaching and training IfL is the UK’s only independent professional body for teachers, tutors, trainers and student teachers in the FE and skills sector. IfL members will help to inform CRADLE’s priorities and will also benefit from the professional development opportunities it generates.

Toni Fazaeli, IfL’s Chief Executive, believes that CRADLE will build on and extend IfL’s existing and productive partnerships in further and higher education, which focus on supporting teachers and trainers in their professional practice and their development as teaching professionals. CRADLE will also lend more support for excellent vocational teaching and training, as identified recently by the Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning, chaired by Frank McLoughlin.

Ms Fazaeli said: ‘Each year, millions of young and adult learners depend on expert teachers and trainers to help them develop the skills and capabilities needed in our economy.

About AMiE

h centre

AMiE is the leadership section of ATL. We provide specialist support for leaders and managers in colleges and schools.

We have extensive knowledge of issues faced by members, and have developed top-quality services to address these:

‘Learners and employers rightly expect the practice of teaching, training and learning to be expert; that practitioners are qualified; and that their practice is based on sound research and evidence of innovations that work.

‘IfL has long advocated evidence-based practice, and that evidence informs CPD. This aligns closely with CRADLE’s participatory approach to research and development, and the idea of teachers and trainers being empowered to take ownership of their professional learning and to develop applied research skills early in their career.’

Continuing a proud vocational tradition Also at the launch, Dame Christine Braddock, Principal of Birmingham Metropolitan College, said: ‘The University of Wolverhampton is located in the heart of the area that gave birth to the Industrial Revolution and continues to champion its very proud vocational tradition and strong commitment to vocational education, so it is very fitting that it should work with IfL to focus on more research to support teachers and trainers in further education and skills.

‘We have been working closely with both institutions for some time as part of our commitment to supporting trainees and teachers in developing excellent teaching practice, and are very excited about the creation of this new research centre.’

A crucial partnership initiative Lynne Sedgmore, Executive Director of the 157 Group of leading FE colleges, commented: ‘This university and IfL partnership initiative is a crucial one for the sector and one the 157 Group fully supports. We have huge hope and confidence that CRADLE will add powerful value, evidence and innovation for the professionalism and excellence of our teachers.’

CRADLE is one of ten projects at Wolverhampton to receive a share of a £6 million pot of money aimed at growing research capacity in the university.

The launch event, held at the University of Wolverhampton, was chaired by Professor Gleeson, and speakers were followed by an interactive panel-based question and answer session and debate.

1 help and advice through a confidential helpline 1 direct access to AMiE regional officers dedicated to supporting managers and leaders

1 pensions advice, including information leaflets on important topics such as improving your pension prospects

1 publications sharply focused on contemporary management issues

1 employment relations leaflets providing advice and guidance from a manager’s point of view

1 CPD courses and seminars specifically for managers and leaders of today and tomorrow

1 education news updates direct to your desktop 1 a leadership council that considers and debates key educational issues and consultations, providing a comprehensive view from a leadership perspective

1 policy influence in political circles 1 good deals on insurance and discounts on many services and products through ATL Plus.

Who can join AMiE? Colleges: AMiE welcomes managers at all levels in further education colleges, sixth form colleges and adult education providers.

Schools: We warmly invite school headteachers (including those in academies), deputy headteachers, assistant headteachers, acting headteachers, bursars and business managers to join AMiE. We also have many members in national organisations, training organisations and other areas of the education sector, including higher education.

To join Join AMiE online via our website www.amie.atl.org.uk or by calling 020 7782 1602. For further information, please email membership@atl.org.uk

17

Union matters

AMiE rep: could it be you?

Did you know that a growing number of members are becoming AMiE reps? Has someone come forward in your workplace to represent members? Are you interested?

If there are other AMiE members at your workplace, then electing a rep can add extra value to your union membership.

Having an AMiE rep usually means that members’ views are heard more effectively, problems are dealt with more quickly, new members are recruited and, importantly, more information is shared with members.

18

But is it a role for you?

We certainly hope so. You don’t have to be an activist to become a rep. Nor are you expected to represent AMiE members who have a workplace problem such as a grievance or capability issue (as this is done by the AMiE regional officer).

In fact, what you do as a rep depends very much on you. Here are some ideas.

1 Share information with other members.

1 Go to meetings to find out what is happening.

1 Organise a members’ meeting at least once a year.

1 Consult members to obtain their views.

1 Liaise with any ATL reps.

1 Recruit new members.

1 Refer members with problems to the AMiE regional officer.

Just having someone to attend meetings when change is afoot can be invaluable. Members can find out quickly what is happening; responses can swiftly be made; and if later you need your regional officer to get involved, the rep can bring them fully up to date.

Is there a catch?

The simple answer is: no. You will be able to call on your regional officer for advice and support, and we provide a range of useful guides and briefings for reps on the AMiE website. What’s more, you will be sent a reps’ handbook and will be informed of any forthcoming training opportunities. We can even visit you at work to provide one-to-one coaching, as appropriate.

The only real problem faced by reps can be one of time. Although the law says that trade union reps should receive paid time off in order to perform their duties, in practice it can be less straightforward. Indeed, for many reps their AMiE activities have to be juggled with their day job. We therefore advise reps to speak with their line managers and to come to some suitable arrangement. The local union recognition agreement may prove helpful in informing you both of what is expected. That said, well over 130 AMiE reps are currently able to support members and continue their work as effective college managers.

You are not alone Of course, by being an AMiE rep you are not alone.

When you go to meetings, you are representing all the AMiE members at your workplace.

But you are also part of ATL; and where there is a local ATL rep, we hope that you will share information and work together where possible.

Indeed, keeping yourself informed, and liaising with other union reps can be very beneficial.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of being a rep is knowing that you are helping your colleagues.

Whether you are simply passing on news and information, or speaking up for managers at a consultative meeting, you are ensuring that AMiE has a purpose and a presence in your workplace.

Just express an interest in the role to other members, and unless anyone else comes forward to trigger an election (or in the unlikely event that members say they don’t want you to be rep), then the role is yours.

Recently, both AMiE’s Wales Committee and AMiE’s Employment and Services Committee discussed the role of AMiE reps, and even considered alternatives to the term ‘AMiE rep’. The view was one of great support for our reps whenever it was needed, and the outcome of the discussions was: no change.

Alternatively, you may wish to wait for the current rep to step aside, or to put yourself forward for election at a future meeting of members.

We greatly appreciate the support that our reps provide to AMiE members, and we hope that you find the role rewarding.

Becoming a rep is easy The greatest benefit of being a rep is knowing that you are helping your colleagues

However you become the rep, please don’t forget to let your regional officer know or email amie@atl.org.uk. We will then advise your employer and make sure that you are added to our mailing list.

Help AMiE to recruit new members

For lists of members in yo ur workplace, to obtain recruitment le aflets, to arrange a rec ruitment presentation or for success stories, please email amie@atl.org.u k or telephone 01858 411 541

Are your leadership and management colleagues in a union?

The more members we have, then the more significant we are as an organisation – and the more influence we have over issues that are important to members, including employment-related matters.

1 Demonstrate the relevance of

Research shows that the most common reason for not belonging to a trade union is that an individual has not been asked.

So, here are some tips to ensure that all leaders and managers in your workplace are aware of the benefits of AMiE membership.

If you do not have any local examples, contact us for some national stories.

1 Publicise AMiE successes.

1 If you have a human resources department, ask them if you can arrange a presentation about AMiE to leaders and managers at your workplace.

Invite your AMiE regional officer or someone from head office to come and speak (see page 23 for contact details).

1 Contact the AMiE office (see page 23) and they will send you a supply of recruitment leaflets and posters.

1 Explain the benefits of AMiE membership to your colleagues, especially in terms of local workplace issues.

1 Pass your copy of this newsletter to a non-member colleague, when you have finished with it.

AMiE to colleagues’ roles with information about our leadership publications, representation services, policies and influence.

In post-16 establishments, any colleague with managerial responsibilities is eligible to join AMiE; they do not have to be on the management or leadership spine.

In schools and academies, any member of the senior leadership team is eligible to join AMiE. For full details of who is eligible to become a member, please see page 17.

Interested in becoming a rep?

If there is no AMiE rep in your workplace and you would be interested in this role or in becoming a contact for AMiE 1 Publicise our online joining facility: members in your workplace, http://amie.atl.org.uk/about-amie/ please contact either your your-membership/how-to-join.asp regional officer (see page 23 for 1 If you are an AMiE workplace rep, their contact details) or David or are prepared to act as a contact Green, Director of Employment point, we can supply you with a list Services, AMiE (dgreen@amie. atl.org.uk; tel: 01858 411 540). of members at your workplace.

‘Apart from the highly contentious objectives of Michael Gove’s proposals, their sheer number and timing should be ringing alarm bells throughout the high command of the coalition. If we only lived in a democracy, all the main partners would have to be consulted – teachers, parents, employers and students.

In our elective dictatorship, successive secretaries of state since 1988 have simply imposed their policies on those who must enact them. In doing so, however, they fatally weaken any claim they have to democratic legitimacy.’

Frank Coffield Emeritus Professor of Education, Institute of Education, in a letter to the Guardian, 28 January 2013

19

Conference report

‘Seizing Success’ in challenging times

20

Mark Wright, National Official: Leadership and Management, AMiE

The National College for Teaching and Leadership has been through a big upheaval, resulting in the loss of many of its experienced leadership staff.

‘A leader takes you further than you’ll go on your own’

Nevertheless, the National College has maintained its tradition of holding a firstrate annual ‘Seizing Success’ conference in June. Over three days in Birmingham nearly 2,000 heads and senior leaders took the opportunity to hear some very good speakers and enjoyed a chance to network with their peers.

1 Sir Terry also spoke of

Below are some of the useful nuggets from this year’s ‘Seizing Success’ conference.

Good relationships between governors and leaders and managers are vital for success

1 Each context is different, but success is all about relationships and people.

1 Governors need to aspire to a ‘no surprises’ culture.

1 If school standards appear

Leaders have a vital role in ensuring that education addresses economic, social, cultural as well as the personal needs of young people

good, then the chair of governors is less likely to offer challenge. But this is not good practice.

1 Annual peer review of the effectiveness of the governing body can provide helpful analysis to use as the basis for improvement planning.

1 Good relations between governors and school leaders are aided by clear expectations of all roles, school visits and helpful information.

1 Sir Terry Leahy, former Chief Executive of Tesco and responsible for a staggering uplift in the performance of that company, attributes this success to trusting staff, and to being totally wedded to meeting the real needs of customers. the need to be curious, to observe and determine what drives people.

But this qualitative view needs to be equally balanced by the priceless nature of good data, which reduces subjectivity.

Both perspectives helped Sir Terry to develop his business understanding.

Are schools designed around extroverts?

1 Research shows that between a third and a half of children are introverts who often have to play at being extrovert. While extroverts need stimulation, introverts require more time to be quiet and reflective.

Open-plan learning areas, therefore, can be less than ideal learning environments for introverts.

1 We need to think about meetings, leadership and diversity in light of the learning needs of introverts.

1 It is worth reconsidering the perception of the heroic extrovert head as the pinnacle of leadership.

In his 2001 book Good to Great, Jim Collins suggests that the best leader may be shy, modest, unassuming and relaxed.

‘Education leadership is about maximising innate potential, rather than producing widgets’

1 Sir Ken Robinson, author and highly respected advisor on education, highlighted the crucial leadership role in establishing a climate for learning. This includes ‘allowing’ what is okay and setting boundaries for what’s not okay.

1 Leaders have a vital role in ensuring that education addresses economic, social, cultural as well as the personal needs of young people, helping them to ‘find their element’, where they can happily become themselves and make a positive contribution.

1 We mythologise our CVs and hide the chaos of life in a more palatable narrative. The challenge is between governments who treat education as a linear process and the reality – backed up by research and plain observation – that it is nothing of the sort.

The Chief Executive of the National College, Charlie Taylor, talked of a new cadre of young heads and claimed that ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’, despite growing concern about the rapid advance of some teachers into leadership roles. Time will tell if training can take the place of years of experience. Time will also tell if the National College is good enough to successfully facilitate the birth of an effective schoolled system rather than a centrally led system.

Let’s stay in touch…

Moved house?

Changed your job?

If so, please email your up-to-date contact details to: membership@atl.org.uk

Union news

AMiE rep award 2014 Call for nominations We are looking for the AMiE rep of 2014.

If you feel that your union rep deserves recognition for the work that they do on behalf of AMiE members, then please let us know.

The 2013 winner for outstanding AMiE rep was Neil Coates, 14–19 Development Manager, South Essex College of Further & Higher Education.

To nominate your AMiE rep, please visit: www.atl.org.uk/repawards The closing date for nominations is Friday, 6 December 2013.

Employment matters

Beware of moving jobs in college companies Take heed regarding jobs in college companies.

It is not uncommon for FE colleges to set up new companies, either as a subsidiary of the college or in partnership with other organisations.

College staff who take up jobs in the new company are at risk, unless they are covered by TUPE, of losing any continuous service they have with their original college.

Indeed, you would have no employment protection rights for two years, meaning that you could be dismissed, unfairly, at any time during that period. Also, you would no longer qualify for a redundancy payment until two years have passed. Any previous service you may have built up in the sector may be lost for redundancy purposes.

So, if you are offered a post in a new company, check the details of your contract before signing. Better still, contact AMiE in plenty of time, so we can advise you and press for your previous service to be protected.

21

Editorial

Farewell to ELM

ader Education Ler e and Manag July 2013

Having worked in the further education sector for 40 years, I remain as convinced of its centrality to our national justice and economic agendas as I was when I was a young teacher.

In this issue

1–3

inspection

Education Leader and Manager AMiE is the

on of ATL leadership secti

February 2013

22

Rigour and responsiveness in skills

essful team to a succ 6 Leading your g: your rights 8 Restructurin rding update 10 Safegua ect proj partnership 12 Tanzania Wales lopments in 15 Key FE deve ters loyment mat 17 Q&A on emp m onal curriculu nati new 20 The

Other than through my own and my children’s education, I had less knowledge of the schools sector. Two experiences changed this. When AMiE changed its membership boundary to admit school leaders, through the Association’s council and other fora, I met numerous new colleagues. I saw in these school leaders the same dedication, moral purpose and high levels of expertise that I was so familiar with in the college sector. Becoming a primary school governor – and then a chair of governors – confirmed these observations.

In this issue

1–3 4 Taking boys seriou sly Colleges 6 FE in Wales 8 Celebrating divers ity ger now Mana free and 10 Safeguarding updat Education Leader e to recruit 12 Managing work-related stress students 13 The Coalition’s mid-term review 14 The view from Scotla nd from 14+ 16 The reputa tion of FE

A joy and a privilege

June 2012

AMiE is the leaders

hip section of ATL

In this issue 4

Legal matters

6

7

School funding reform No-notice inspections

10

FE loans

12

The Women’s Leadership Network

14

Academy chains

Professionalism under scrutiny

16

STEM strategy

AMiE is the leadership section of ATL

All of which is by way of a preamble to explain why it has been a joy and a privilege to edit ELM for these many years – it has been an honour to serve such a great constituency. ELM has, at all times, sought to articulate, reinforce, publicise and celebrate the values that AMiE stands for and has always stood for: excellence, professionalism, inclusivity and justice.

From December, a new editor will take over ELM, and will, I am certain, continue to inform, support and champion education leaders.

AMiE Leadership Seminar

8

I have much admiration for the sector’s workforce, but particular affection and respect for college managers. Of course, this arises partly from my own experience as an FE manager, but equally from my role with ACM/AMiE for the past decade or so, the central purpose of which was to champion and support the interests and professionalism of college leaders and managers. I consistently observed that college managers have high levels of skills and expertise, are professional and committed, and work with moral purpose.

Bob Vesey, President, AMiE

t from the The interim repor w of the independent revie tation of regulation and facili FE and the in alism ssion profe 1 has inevitably force work skills debate. of deal great a led to

panel (see also the Lord Lingfield’s review ion proposes that regulat article on page 18) ing ations and continu regarding the qualific d ment of staff is replace develop ional profess advice’ to employers. with ‘discretionary and – backward step Some see this as a ining the improving one that risks underm rs. provide skills and FE status of the debated at the recent These issues were nce. There was largely ATL annual confere was a continuing a consensus that there in the system to need for staff working d, and for the be professionally qualifie to CPD for those continuation of a right institutions. sector’s the in employed

Contact details for our freelance editorial colleagues Kevin Ashill Graphic Designer thingswedo.com Tel 01297 444 403 kevashill@mac.com

Yvonne Percival Editor and Proofreader Tel 01732 464 812 yvonnepercival@ tiscali.co.uk

I must end by praising and thanking the present editorial team of Julia Pearson (newsletter co-ordinator), Kevin Ashill (design and layout), Yvonne Percival (copy-editor and proofreader).

Three more creative, professional, talented and friendly colleagues than Kevin, Julia and Yvonne I have yet to meet, and working with them over many years has been a great pleasure. Let me record here my appreciation and send my warmest good wishes to them. (Professional contact details for Kevin and Yvonne can be found at the end of this article.)

Readers of ELM will be familiar with our regular contributors.

Happily, their news and views will continue to reach you in future issues of the newsletter. To them, my thanks and good wishes for their hard work, patience and good humour.

To all ELM’s readers, my warmest good wishes, gratitude and respect.

Nadine Cartner, Editor, ELM (editor@amie.atl.org.uk)

Contacting AMiE Contact ELM

AMiE office

Members are warmly invited to contribute to this newsletter.

We welcome pieces for inclusion in ELM – especially articles about good or innovative teaching and learning or on key policy issues, plus letters or photographs of student activities.

AMiE 35 The Point Market Harborough Leicestershire LE16 7QU Tel 01858 461 110 Fax 01858 461 366 www.amie.atl.org.uk

Please email all contributions to Sheila Greaves at sgreaves@atl.org.uk The copy deadline for the next issue is Thursday, 7 November 2013.

National helpline Tel 01858 464 171 helpline@amie.atl.org.uk Clare Atkinson Office Administrator Tel 01858 411 541 catkinson@amie.atl.org.uk David Green Director of Employment Services Tel 01858 411 540 Mobile 07711 929 043 dgreen@amie.atl.org.uk

Julia Pearson Administration Manager Tel 01858 411 542 jpearson@amie.atl.org.uk Sara Shaw Head of AMiE Tel 01858 411 546 Mobile 07545 438 061 sshaw@amie.atl.org.uk Mark Wright National Official: Leadership and Management Tel 020 7782 1530 Mobile 07436 805 330 mwright@amie.atl.org.uk For membership queries, please contact the Membership Department on 020 7782 1602 or email membership@atl.org.uk Follow AMiE on Twitter: @atl_amie

AMiE regional officers Eastern Liz Salisbury Tel 01572 720 467 Mobile 07595 099 617 lsalisbury@amie.atl.org.uk

Central Louise Scarff Tel 01604 810 980 Mobile 07918 741 030 lscarff@amie.atl.org.uk

WALES Hilary Mason Tel 01591 620 700 Mobile 07435 970 063 hmason@amie.atl.org.uk

South East Steve Cooper Tel 01983 856 362 Mobile 07436 549 565 scooper@amie.atl.org.uk

EAST ANGLIA Darren Smith Tel 01502 217 584 Mobile 07570 670 411 dsmith@amie.atl.org.uk

NORTHERN IRELAND Mark Langhammer Tel 02890 782 020 Mobile 07918 195 070 mlanghammer@atl.org.uk

London Kalbinder Herr Tel 01865 765 454 Mobile 07711 929 038 kherr@amie.atl.org.uk

Northern Pauline Rodmell Tel 01204 660 440 Mobile 07711 929 037 prodmell@amie.atl.org.uk

Scotland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man Contact the national helpline: Tel 01858 464 171 helpline@amie.atl.org.uk

South West Rachel Jennings Tel 01752 839 643 Mobile 07738 641 689 rjennings@amie.atl.org.uk

23

The last word

Mary Bousted, General Secretary, ATL

Change can be a very good thing, but it usually requires careful handling, thorough preparation and, often, a bit of luck.

Those proposing a new way of doing things get their way more often, and more successfully, if they take a collaborative approach. Everyone likes to feel that they have a say in how change will be managed, that they have something to contribute to the conversation and that their ideas and views will be heard, if not always accepted.

24

Sometimes things need to change right now and there may be little opportunity for discussion and debate. Good managers know when to command and when to collaborate. They are flexible. They acknowledge where things are not going to plan, and they adapt. They are prepared to be tough with cynics and wreckers.

Good leaders and managers are also prepared to admit when a new approach just isn’t working or needs major modifications. Humility, and the ability to acknowledge that your bright idea wasn’t, in retrospect, very bright at all, goes a long way. Everyone gets things wrong and no one should be ashamed to admit that they are fallible.

Edited and designed by thingswedo (thingswedo.com).

Illustrations by Keith Sparrow.

Printed by Blackmore Ltd, Shaftesbury. © AMiE 2013.

All rights reserved.

This is a time of unprecedented change in education. In a recent letter to Glenys Stacey, Chief Executive of Ofqual, the qualifications and exams regulator, I laid out the scale of the change challenge facing schools: ‘…Throughout my ten years in post I have never been so concerned about the morale of the profession. Teachers are exhausted with an unremitting workload largely caused by a quality assurance and inspection framework which produces perverse outcomes and leads to teaching to the test.

‘However, looking ahead to 2015 I see teachers in secondary schools faced with an impossible agenda. They are going to be required to teach a new national curriculum at key stages 3 and 4; new GCSE syllabuses, new stand-alone AS levels and new A levels.

‘I have made representations to ministers that change on this scale is unprecedented and reckless. It risks failing pupils and teachers alike as they struggle to cope with an understanding of what is being demanded of them.

‘I am also extremely concerned that the GCSE exams to be sat first in 2017 will fail to provide UK employers with the skills sets needed of school leavers, and will fail to meet the needs and legitimate aspirations of pupils, parents and society, focused as they are to be on timed exams and long written answers.

‘I am sure that you are keenly aware that other countries, with better national performance, do things very differently and that qualification changes are the subject of proper consultation and detailed development over a long period before change is implemented.

Thus colleagues charged with implementing ‘I would very much welcome a meeting with change need support. Some colleagues will you to discuss these matters and to learn be confident to embrace new ways of working; what steps Ofqual is prepared to take to others much less so. Those with low levels of safeguard the validity and reliability of future professional confidence will be anxious about GCSE, AS and A level qualifications.’ change and may lack the belief that they can make it work. So the reasons for change need to There is a challenge in the last sentence. Will be thoroughly explained and repeated regularly; Ofqual carry out what it promised in a letter strategies to achieve change need to be clear and accessible. Managers must have at the forefront of to Michael Gove: to delay the start date of the new qualifications, if Ofqual is not convinced their minds that colleagues have busy workloads that the new exams are fit for purpose? and pressing professional concerns, and will rarely When I meet Ms Stacey, as I am to do shortly, jump for joy when asked to do things differently.

I will add primary education to my list of Managers must provide hard evidence that concerns.

What does Nick Clegg mean when change will improve matters, and offer practical he promises a test for 5-year-olds to establish support for successful change to be implemented. a baseline for pupil progression? What will The best change emphasises continuity and the new, more rigorous tests at 11 actually takes colleagues on a journey. Proposals that look like?

If the Government is to introduce trash what went on before (which was the radical reform on this scale, it has a duty to outcome of the best thinking at that time) are know the answers to these questions. usually resented and resisted. No one likes to hear that something they have expended time and energy upon was a waste of time. Change presented as a new dawn, wiping clean all that went before, is unlikely to be successful.

Even more seriously, the Coalition Government’s reckless drive for change at any cost now threatens to undermine and harm England’s education system.