report
APRIL 2012
THE MAGAZINE FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS & LECTURERS £2.50
ATL and AMiE rep awards The outstanding reps of the last year
No sale Why schools should be for pupils, not profits
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Academies
Report looks beyond the rhetoric
ADVICE All new rules around employment tribunals
JOIN THE DEBATE CBBC presenter Cerrie Burnell on being dyslexic
www.atl.org.uk
Contents
30
10
Welcome
Alice Robinson, national president, ATL
W 24 Your ATL 04
News Including a sex discrimination case win for an ATL member, and Mary Bousted speaks out against poverty
07
Noticeboard Advice, information, events and opportunities to get involved
Help and advice 24
25
All change for employment tribunals ATL’s legal team on new considerations when starting a claim
Features 10
Academies: behind the rhetoric Report looks at the impact of the academies programme
18
Rep awards: the winners ATL’s outstanding reps of the year talk about their roles
Join the debate 09
Agenda Deputy general secretary Martin Johnson on the weak arguments in favour of running schools for profit
14
ATL in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland Alec Clark, Mark Langhammer and Keith Robson on Welsh education keeping its identity, redundancy, and Annual Conference
17
Letters ATL members have their say on student bursaries, socalled outstanding schools, and the fun going out of teaching
30
Final word CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell on dealing with dyslexia
Contact All the details you need to get in touch with ATL
Resources 26
ATL resources Useful newsletters, publications and factsheets
26
Info directory A selection of free resources for teachers and lecturers
28 29
Classified advertisements Crossword Your chance to win £50 in Marks & Spencer vouchers
Report is the magazine from the Association of Teachers & Lecturers, 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD Telephone: 020 7930 6441 Fax: 020 7930 1359 Email report@atl.org.uk or membership@atl.org.uk Internet www.atl.org.uk Managing editor Victoria Poskitt Editor Alex Tomlin News editor Andrew Robbins Head of advertising sales Samantha Overton 01603 772520 Advertising sales Lisa Parkinson 01603 772521
elcome to this month’s Report magazine. As ATL prepares for our Annual Conference in Manchester, I have been able to reflect on the major developments that have taken place since our 2011 event in Liverpool. The pensions campaign was without doubt the biggest single issue that ATL had to address, but there were of course others, not least the issues around the government’s academies programme. Both of these topics have taxed many of our members in schools, but none more than our reps, who were crucial in getting information to our members and supporting them during the pensions campaign, at a time when many members felt under pressure from some headteachers not to go on strike. Reps are crucial to ATL, as the article on page 18 demonstrates. They are members’ first port of call when they need help or advice. They are our unsung heroes and ATL really appreciates the work that they do and I look forward to meeting the winners of our Rep Awards at Conference. Their profiles are inspiring and give a real insight into the work that they do and how they have helped to ‘grow’ ATL in their workplace, either through the support they have given to members or through raising the profile of ATL in other ways. I would like to thank all those who took the time to nominate their school reps for consideration. If the government had its way then all schools would become academies. The article on page 10 focuses on some of the significant concerns that ATL has about the programme. There still remains a large amount of uncertainty around many aspects of pay and conditions, and the policies to be used, to mention but a few. There have, of course, been a number of other very worrying developments, including the attack on facilities time and the proposals around regional pay. When ATL responds to any significant issues, we rely on our members to let us know their opinions. Thank you to everyone who has let us know their views; your responses are crucial to ATL.
Report is produced and designed for ATL by Archant Dialogue Ltd, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 1RE. Email: mail@archantdialogue.co.uk Production editor Catherine Page, Managing art editor Nicky Wright, Art director Nick Paul, Managing ad production controller Kay Brown, Client services director Chris Rainer, Publishing director Zoë Francis-Cox, Managing director Mick Hurrell Printed in the UK on FSC-accredited stock. Subscription: Non-members, including libraries, may subscribe at the rate of £16 per year. ATL accepts no liability for any insert, display or classified advertisement included in this publication. While every reasonable care is taken to ensure that all advertisers are reliable and reputable, ATL can give no assurance that they will fulfil their obligation under all circumstances. The views expressed in the articles in Report are the contributors’ own and do not necessarily reflect ATL policy. Official policy statements issued on behalf of the Association are indicated as such. All rights reserved. Material contained in this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior permission of ATL.
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your ATL / news
Sex discrimination win for NI teacher A teacher whose sex discrimination case was supported by ATL and the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland has been awarded £5,000 by an industrial tribunal. The tribunal ruled that Larne Grammar School’s decision that Julie Muldrew had to give up her year head role because she worked reduced hours amounted to indirect sex discrimination. “I’d been a year head at the school since 2001,” said Muldrew. “After my second child was born, I applied to reduce my days from five to four, as part of a temporary variation of contract (TVC). “Part of the TVC conditions was that I’d
give up my year head post. When I applied for another TVC last year, the same thing happened. I decided to fight and brought in my ATL rep to help.” Muldrew added she was delighted the tribunal had acknowledged the need for employers to give fair consideration to the needs of women working part time. “Challenging this was a very difficult experience,” she said. “But I feel it’s been worthwhile — not just for me, but for other part-time workers as well. I’m also grateful for the support of ATL and the Equality Commission. The school will now need to adapt its outdated working practices
Julie Muldrew
to meet the needs of 21st-century parttime workers — most of whom are female — and I’m very pleased about that.” The ruling has implications for other part-time teachers in Northern Ireland, according to Mark Langhammer, ATL director, Northern Ireland. “It will affect Teachers’ Negotiating Committee procedures — particularly the current teaching allowances arrangements, which were imposed without negotiation in 2006 and vigorously protested by ATL at the time,” he said. “Julie Muldrew deserves great credit for contesting this tribunal to its conclusion.”
Poverty issues cannot be Summer ignored, says Dr Bousted school plan ATL general secretary Mary Bousted has called for politicians to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence of the links between poverty and educational performance when shaping policy. In a recent speech to the Progress think tank at Portcullis House in London, Dr Bousted argued that school performance does not exist in isolation from wider socio-economic forces. “An evidence-based policy approach must take account of social class,” she said, citing an Ofsted/RSA study, which found that ‘satisfactory’ schools had higher intakes of disadvantaged and working-class pupils, compared to ‘outstanding’ schools. Despite these findings, Dr Bousted argued that politicians fail to tackle the issue of unbalanced school intakes, as such a move would be to take on the middle-class parents who vote. Dr Bousted also contrasted the UK’s education system with the much-praised Scandinavian system — saying that “when www.atl.org.uk
we look at Scandinavian countries, we [overlook] potentially the most important factor in their educational success — that Sweden and Finland have far less wealth inequality, fewer children living below the poverty level, and far more balanced school intakes. “I contend that it is difficult for evidencebased education policy to have any traction in this country, where the educational debate is so toxic and polarised; where to speak of the effect of poverty and inequality upon educational performance is to run the risk of being accused of low expectations.” Dr Bousted also backed shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg’s call at the same event for a new ‘Office for Educational Improvement’ — while warning that any such body should have strong guarantees of independence to make it credible. These themes of educational performance and poverty will be developed in Dr Bousted’s keynote speech at the 2012 ATL Conference in Manchester.
A £50-million government summer school scheme will not be enough to counter the effects of cuts and social inequality on disadvantaged pupils, says ATL. “It’s remarkable that a government so drastically intent on cutting back on welfare, benefits and public services believes that £500 per pupil and two weeks of summer school is all that’s needed to undo the inequality within our education system, and close the persistent attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their more affluent peers,” said ATL general secretary Mary Bousted. Her comments came as the government launched its summer school fund, designed to help disadvantaged children prepare for secondary school. “The government needs to recognise that it is inequitable school structures, funding mechanisms, access and resourcing of educational provision, rather than individual pupils, which lie at the heart of much of this inequality. The summer school fund is just a drop in the ocean.” April 2012
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Pensions opt-out threat to the TPS ATL is warning the government to take action if increased opt-out rates from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) threaten to jeopardise its future viability. Mary Bousted, ATL general secretary, used a speech at a recent pensions conference to state that opting out was “the most crucial issue” facing the TPS — and added that contribution increases had been imposed by the government without negotiation and without ATL’s backing. “We remain acutely concerned that contribution increases, which, for the next three years, are going to fund the Treasury deficit, will make it entirely likely that young teachers, paying off their student loan, national insurance and tax, will decide not to opt into the pension scheme, as this is the only cost that they can stop if they are employed,” said Dr Bousted. “Career averaging makes the non-payment option even more attractive, as there is an incentive to opt into the scheme later in your career, when you are earning more and building up your pension pot more quickly. “We continue to believe that opt-out is a real danger to the future security of the TPS,” she added. “And we understand that the Department for Education is worried about this too. We need to find an acceptable means to monitor and act, should opt-outs increase to an unacceptable level.” In her speech, organised by labour law think tank the Institute of Employment Rights, Dr Bousted also pointed out that in 2007-2008 — the last year for which figures are available — the government paid more subsidy to private sector pension providers, in the form of tax relief to individuals and corporations (£37.6 billion), than was paid out in private sector pensions that year (£35 billion). “In other words,” said Dr Bousted, “the entire cost of private sector pensions in the UK in that year were made at direct cost to the UK government. And to provide further contrast, in that year £25 billion was paid out in public sector pensions.” For the latest on the negotiated TPS settlement visit: www.atl.org.uk/pensions
April 2012
Teacher pay ‘to be reviewed’ The School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) — the independent body that makes recommendations on the pay of school teachers in England and Wales — has been asked by Michael Gove to consider how maintained sector teachers’ pay can be made ‘more market facing’ in local areas. The new remit asks the STRB to consider how to compare teachers’ pay to the salaries paid by local, non-educational private sector employers. The STRB is also asked to consider a closer link between pay and performance, and, if any changes are needed to teachers’ pay and conditions, to raise the status of the profession and support the recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers.
“ATL sees this remit as an attack on national pay scales, a move we believe will allow schools to depress teachers’ pay,” said ATL policy adviser Simon Stokes. “The remit also seems to indicate more performancerelated pay, including a move to the end of the current arrangement where a teacher progresses on the main pay scale unless service has not been satisfactory.” ATL’s Executive is consulting on the union’s response. “ATL will robustly defend the national pay scales, and resist an increase in the link between progression and performance,” added Mr Stokes. “We will be looking to work closely with the other unions in submitting evidence to the STRB.”
ATL criticises youth schemes ATL has suggested that different government schemes to help young people into work or training lack clarity, are not properly funded, and can even work against each other in some cases. Adrian Prandle, ATL education policy adviser, questioned whether the £126 million of new funding for the ‘Youth Contract’, announced recently, made up for cuts in similar schemes elsewhere. The Youth Contract aims to help 16- and 17-yearold NEETs (not in education, employment or training) by paying businesses and charities to help them into work or training on a payment-byresults system. “Genuinely new money aimed at helping these young people is to be welcomed,”
said Mr Prandle. “But there would be less need for it if the government hadn’t removed money and support for young people in the first place — from a dismantled careers and advice service to the abolition of the education maintenance allowance.” Mr Prandle drew attention to a TUC report, Generation Lost. “The report states that the Youth Contract’s annual £333million budget is less than half the £770-million cuts made to programmes supporting young, unemployed people,” he said. “Getting charities and businesses to provide support for unemployed youngsters outside the education system can undermine the likelihood of success — given the poor track record of third party providers of such services.”
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your ATL / news
Academy and free school struggle looms in Oldham Fierce competition to attract pupils between academies and free schools in Oldham could prompt a wasteful overprovision of places and staff redundancies, ATL has warned. And the situation in Oldham could be replicated in local authorities across England, said ATL deputy general secretary Martin Johnson. “The academies and free school policy is economically inefficient,” said Mr Johnson. “If you’re creating new schools, or expanding existing schools where there are surplus places, you get far-from-full schools that cannot afford the staff or equipment they need.” Two new proposed secondary free schools, Phoenix and Collective Spirit, are aiming to set up in the Oldham Unitary Authority from September 2013 — in two different catchment areas already served by secondary academies. Both are leafletting parents. In one area, Waterhead Academy is already struggling to attract pupils for 2012-2013, and
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last year made almost 50 education staff redundant. Phoenix has applied to set up in the same catchment area. “Waterhead is moving to new premises in 2013, halfway between its two existing campuses, and Phoenix wants to move into one of its old buildings,” said Iain Windeatt, ATL branch secretary for Oldham. Elsewhere, The Oldham Academy North (TOAN) and Collective Spirit face potential competition for pupils within the same catchment area. “TOAN is moving to a site about two miles from its existing premises, so the community it serves will have to travel further,” said Mr Windeatt. “Collective Spirit would look attractive, as it would be easier for parents to reach.” For more information on academies, visit: www.atl.org.uk/academies
New ATL junior vice president Mark Baker has been elected as the new ATL junior vice president (JVP). Mark Baker In the election, held earlier this year, Mark outpolled fellow candidate Geoff Pye by 5,891 votes to 4,041. Mark will serve as JVP for a year from September 2012, followed by a further year as senior vice president. He will become ATL president from September 2014, serving until August 2015.
April 2012
your ATL / noticeboard, get involved
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Noticeboard FE safety tool launched The Further Education Safety and Health Forum (FESH) has produced a new occupational health and safety assessment tool to help FE colleges meet their health and safety responsibilities. Produced with the help of AMiE, ATL’s leadership section, the tool is the result of a partnership between FE employers and employee representatives, and has been designed to complement the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) strategy for the health and safety of Great Britain. FESH has provided an interpretation of each HSE strategic goal, together with recommendations on how evidence for that goal might be obtained for evaluation by college corporations. The tool itself is a simple table of benchmarks, with space for each goal to be assessed and action points recorded. Members can download it from the health and safety section of the AMiE website, www.amie.uk.com. David Green, AMiE’s director of employment services and chair of FESH, said: “This assessment tool is simple to use; and with the commitment of senior managers, it will help colleges meet their safety responsibilities. I hope that AMiE and ATL health and safety reps will promote the tool through their safety committees, and ensure it becomes a regular feature on the safety agenda.”
ATL releases new video
Go for gold for global literacy
ATL has produced a short film, to be launched at Conference 2012 in Manchester, in which members explain how and why they got more involved in the union’s campaign work last year, the different things members can do to get involved, and the challenges ahead. You can find out what they have to say at www.atl.org.uk/ whycampaign when the video goes live on 2 April 2012. If you are not coming to Conference this year, you can catch up on all the latest news and debate at www.atl.org.uk/conference2012 or by joining our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ atlunion and Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/atlunion.
The ‘Send my friend to school’ campaign, of which ATL is a part, is inviting UK pupils to ‘go for gold’ by taking part in its special Olympicthemed campaign to promote literacy in developing countries. 2012 is Olympic year, offering athletes the chance to test their abilities. Every child should have the opportunity to achieve all that they can, and education is the key to that. The campaign includes a range of creative learning, campaigning and fun activities to engage the whole school during the summer term of 2012. Teachers can visit www.sendmyfriend.org to download a schools pack, which includes a teachers’ guide, story posters and links to online films. There’s also a whole host of other resources, including comprehensive lesson plans, factsheets and the Go for Gold game.
April 2012
AMiE leadership seminar 2012 AMiE, ATL’s leadership section, will hold its annual one-day leadership seminar in Manchester on 9 May 2012. The seminar, ‘Managing change in an uncertain future’, aims to equip education leaders and managers with the knowledge and skills to lead their teams through uncertain times. The day will begin with an introductory address to members by ATL general secretary, Dr Mary Bousted. Professor Frank Coffield, emeritus professor of education at the Institute of Education, University of London, will deliver a keynote address and workshop on coalition education policy. There will also be an interactive workshop, focusing on different reactions and responses to change. To secure a place at the seminar, complete the booking form at www.amie.uk.com or call 01858 461110. The seminar is free to members. Non-members may attend at a cost of £25 plus VAT. Bookings should be made by 30 April 2012.
Training and events with ATL Scotland An ATL Future training session, ‘Protecting your professional identity’, will take place on Saturday 21 April at the Edinburgh Training and Conference Venue. To book a place, call 0131 272 2748 or email Scotland@atl.org.uk. The Scotland ATL branch AGM will take place on Monday 14 May at the ATL Scotland office in Edinburgh, with ATL president Alice Robinson as guest speaker. Members will also be able to stand for election to the Scotland branch committee, and for election as a branch representative for the 2013 ATL Annual Conference. www.atl.org.uk
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join the debate / agenda
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For profit? No sale Arguments in favour of running schools for profit are weak and full of holes, explains ATL deputy general secretary Martin Johnson
T
he think tank Policy Exchange recently flew a kite for the policy of allowing for-profit companies to run state-funded schools, but the kite had lost the breeze even before the end of the launch event. A majority of platform speakers opposed the idea, and there was precious little support from the floor. I was dismayed at the poor quality of research and argument in the Policy Exchange report, Social Enterprise Schools; the phrase ‘economical with the truth’ could have been invented for it. It contends that “there is already substantial private provision within the state education system”, but its own evidence is limited to half of early years care and a tiny proportion of alternative provision. It contends that “there is clear evidence that independently run schools are outperforming state-run schools”, but the soundest judgement on that came from the Conservative Chair of the House of Commons Education Select Committee, Graham Stuart, who said that the jury is out. The two main testbeds for profit-taking in state schools are the free schools in Sweden and some charter schools in the US, with Chile also increasingly quoted. Sweden has suffered such a drop in those apparently important PISA international league tables that a managerial sacking is expected any time, and the Miami Herald newspaper recently published a substantial feature on the horrors found in some Florida charter schools, where fraud and lawsuits abound. Also worrying is the very poor quality of arguments for using private providers. The first is that they could inject additional investment into schools as we head into a shortage of primary places, but the returns on this investment can only come from the public purse, which of course politicians claim to be empty. The second April 2012
is that the private sector could open are a completely different kettle of fish. more new free schools than the voluntary These are generally owned by charities sector, producing more ‘good school and their focus is the parents who pay places’. But one of ATL’s objections to free the fees, which is widely believed to schools is that they are being established be an upward pressure on quality.) regardless of need, and therefore Even Policy Exchange recognises expensively. The third, frighteningly, is that there is little popular support for to accelerate the departure from national running either the health service or pay arrangements. education institutions for profit. That What strikes you about these ideas? said, current ministers Michael Gove What strikes me is their lack of and Nick Gibb firmly believe in the connection with ATL members’ working mantra that competition between lives. What has all this got to do with schools and school chains would raise schools’ enforced obsession with raising achievement, and are relaxed about the (narrowly defined) achievement profit. They also now have a record of every one of of pursuing policies their pupils? I was that are not Michael Gove and encouraged to hear supported by Nick Gibb have a record research evidence. two MPs from the Select Committee say of pursuing policies As long ago as something similar. 2010, ATL produced not supported by Graham Stuart and England’s Schools: Lisa Nandy (Labour) research evidence not open for business were in heated (available at agreement on the platform. They both www.atl.org.uk/notopenforbusiness), know that the key characteristic of highwhich predicted the growth of chains performing education systems is a and the potential for their exploitation high-quality teaching force. Recruit the by privatising companies. A recent best you can, support them to keep on report from the National College for learning from each other, and let them School Leadership charted this growth, get on with the job — without daily counting 170 chains, of which nine sniping from politicians and the media. have 10 or more schools. It outlined Both MPs said that high-performing the dangers of rapid growth with systems do not employ the profit motive, consequential overstretching, but the and proposals for privatising our state evidence globally is that in education, schools are irrelevant to the big issue big money is only to be made from — how to keep on improving the quality large-scale expansion. of teaching and learning. For many ATL members and others, ATL would go a bit further. As Mary opposition to making money from Bousted said recently on Newsnight, state-funded schools is ethical; profit for-profit schools are for profit, not for diverts resources from pupils. But there pupils. In the long run, the expectations is another big issue. Who should ‘own’ of shareholders for dividends will drive our schools? Pupils and parents are down costs and quality, assuming transitory, but schools are permanently that income is fixed by means of the part of their community. Those who government’s funding formula for control schools should be accountable all state schools. (In case anyone is to that community. They should never wondering, our independent schools be beholden to shareholders.
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cover feature / academies
Academies: behind the rhetoric E ducation secretary Michael Gove greeted 2012 with a headline-making speech in which he described anyone against the academies programme as ideologues who are “happy with failure”. At the same time he announced nearly half of all maintained secondary schools in England have either opened as, or are in the process of becoming, academies. The Department for Education (DfE) claims it processes 20 conversion applications a week because, says Gove, “becoming an academy is a liberation. It gives heads real freedom to make a difference. Longer school days; better-paid teachers; remedial classes; more personalised learning; improved discipline; innovative curricula — these are just a few of the things academy heads are doing to give the children in their care the best possible education.” Undoubtedly some have converted for exactly those reasons but, in a survey of ATL members conducted in the second half of 2011, most suggested it was the carrot of extra funding that persuaded them. “The head was initially cautious and felt the government was moving too fast with academies,” secondary teacher Andrew Cansfield* explains, “but didn’t want to leave it too long either and miss out on the financial incentives.” For Marie Loates*, a support staff member in a former independent school: “Conversion was to avoid financial ruin. The school was becoming hard to fund in a poor local area. It was academy or bust!” For other schools, it’s been less about the carrot and more about the stick. Through powers previously the preserve of governing bodies, Gove can now force a school to convert if it has had a warning notice from
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the local authority (LA), requires significant being kept. We asked to see the accounts to improvement or is in special measures justify some redundancies, but they were just — and the DfE is specifically targeting lists of figures with no indication of what they 200 primaries it has identified as the were for.” lowest performing. There are signs that such examples are not This has resulted in a number of highly isolated. A report by the cross-party Public publicised spats, such as at Downhills Accounts Committee at the beginning of Primary, north London, in which 2011 found that “there are already signs of campaigners — backed by parents, pupils, potential financial and governance instability, governors and staff — claimed that Gove even at this early stage in the development of was illegally attempting to force them into the academies programme”. academy status, and that attainment records Procurement for services previously and an interim Ofsted report last September handled by the LA has been a particular suggested standards were improving. Since struggle for some. “I know of an academy in the most recent Ofsted report placed the Lancashire that has found itself paying three school in special measures, the future times more for IT provision than before it looked bleak for the campaigners at the converted,” says Alice Robinson, president time of going to press. of ATL. “The trouble is, Whether the current it’s very time-consuming If national pay and funding advantage will and you don’t get the continue is one of the big conditions go… chains economies of scale.” questions. It seems Private sponsors may well feel more able unlikely as academy appear happy to step to do their own thing funding is based on LA into the breach. budgets, which look set According to press to go down. And the sometimes generous reports, Gove recently gave the go-ahead funding for early converters was based on old to a Swedish company to manage a Suffolk formulae currently being reformed by the school under a £21-million, 10-year contract, government, which has stated its intention and potentially other ambitious bidders are for all schools to be operating on a level waiting in the wings. What this will mean for playing field by August next year. education staff is too early to judge. Around While the sweetener of additional funding a fifth of respondents to ATL’s survey has allowed some schools to complete muchreported an increase in the visibility of needed building works or address staffing commercial partners since their school levels, for others being masters of their own converted, and not always in expected ways: destinies is not all it’s cracked up to be. while most comments centred on new Wendy Perris*, a secondary teacher in an uniforms and rebranded stationery, some academy in the south of England, says: “We have found themselves having to buy their had all this money coming in — millions to own equipment, pay for photocopying or not rebuild the school — but no proper accounts having appropriate books. “As the academy
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April 2012
67PHOTO/ALAMY
The answer to England’s failing schools or expensive and unnecessary exam factories? Report looks into what is really happening in academies
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is being run as a business, the pennies have to be saved somewhere,” said one member. Another area in which sponsors are increasingly offering their services is the curriculum. In ATL’s survey, 39.7% of respondents said there had been changes to the curriculum since conversion, although this was considerably higher (68.2%) in old-style academies that have had longer to implement such changes. The kind of change varied enormously: some academies have made only slight tweaks to the established curriculum; many have introduced the English bacc, which potentially would have happened regardless of academy status. For each academy Gove holds up as a model of innovation, there are other examples that tell a different story. In Wendy Perris’ academy, they made music and drama teachers redundant, ditched citizenship and humanities as separate subjects, brought in a new curriculum called Infinity, and sent everyone on a course. “Infinity was taught in masterclasses of 120 children. We had one situation on a Friday when a double class was held in the library, with lots of TAs. The kids could hear one teacher but so could everyone else!” In the event, she continues, “Infinity only lasted a few weeks and was scrapped for a version of the national curriculum.” April 2012
Head of ATL’s education policy and research team, Nansi Ellis, is not surprised by this example: “A quick look at the websites of sponsors who are developing their own curriculum reveals at least one talking about preferring depth over breadth. But international evidence suggests what works is not structures imposed from the top — whether that be the sponsor, the LA or Whitehall — but teachers having autonomy over what they teach, how they teach it and how they assess it. This is why ATL is looking at what we can do to support members with curriculum planning.” Unions have been particularly alarmed over Gove’s determination to give academies the ability to set their own pay and conditions to allow headteachers “to attract and reward the best”. Leaving aside arguments about whether the measurement of teacher performance through pupil attainment is a sound basis for a pay structure, ATL has long expressed concern that such a breakaway from national pay and conditions might result in an FE-style culture, where a similar move saw colleges reduce staffing costs by employing lecturers on casual term-time and short-term contracts. When ATL asked this question of academy members in the survey, around a fifth said their pay, terms and conditions were better before the school became an academy, with
the rest suggesting terms were similar. This figure rose to more than a third for those working in old-style academies. Changes generally related to arrangements for pay and teaching and learning responsibility allowances, and to sick, maternity and redundancy pay. Many of these changes appear to be relatively inconsequential so far, with some notable exceptions such as an attempt in one member’s academy to implement zero-hours contracts for part-time staff, which unions successfully challenged. Secondary teacher Felix Davies* in Cumbria reported that support staff in his academy were better off after conversion because they were not subjected to the singlestatus pay cuts that the LA imposed on others. However, for Mary Tuffnell*, a rep in an academy that converted in 2008, external training is now a rarity and PPA time is under threat. “I feel we’re starting to drift away from the Burgundy Book, which we are supposedly following. Then it becomes easier further down the line to change things. And for new staff, especially NQTs, they don’t know any different.” Threats to PPA time and increased work without remuneration were more common. Evidence from ATL’s pay, conditions and pensions (PCP) team also suggests that some academy chains are lengthening working time; ARK has lengthened the school day and Harris has raised the number of days per term. A significant number of members used the www.atl.org.uk
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cover feature / academies
survey to complain about pay increases for leadership teams. “We worked really hard to get an outstanding Ofsted report and we were all really pleased,” says Marie Loates. “Shortly afterwards, management all got promotions and pay rises, and we got a tin of biscuits in the staffroom.” Whatever the current situation, the concern for head of ATL’s PCP team, Martin Freedman, remains what the future may hold: “At the moment, academy chains largely keep in line with national pay and conditions so they can compete effectively for staff. If national pay and conditions go — and all indications are that this is the government’s intention — those
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you need to fix it, but there’s not much indication given as to what you need to do.” Education provision dominated by autonomously run academies also raises issues like place-planning. Although LAs have responsibility to provide places, they will not have the power to create them. Academies and free schools can create places for pupils without any regard for where additional places are most needed. With a rise in birth rate predicted to put an extra 20% pressure on primary school places by 2020, “there is a strong prospect that many parents will not be able to find primary school places for their children come 2020”,
We don’t have rose-tinted glasses about LAs … but there has to be local accountability same chains may well feel more able to do their own thing.” ATL will, he says, be keeping a close eye on pay trends, “not least because a downward trend may have ramifications for recruitment into the sector”. Morale is another issue that attracted a lot of member comment. For one respondent to the survey, “morale is better — the school was in danger of closing prior to becoming an academy, now we have a full school and secure jobs”. However, over three-quarters of respondents in old-style academies — dropping to 43% for recent converters — felt morale had suffered since conversion. On the back of new leadership, new rules, an anti-union sponsor, redundancies and then impending inspection, says Wendy Perris, “staff were told to forget all Christmas activities and focus on high-quality lessons. Then we were told there were to be no Christmas cards, celebrations or even ‘secret Santas’. I think this was the point when many people realised it was never going to be the happy working place we had known.” So if the picture is mixed within individual academies so far, what about the wider implications of Gove’s “liberation” from the controlling hand of the LA? Some, such as Mary Tuffnell, have felt the loss of local support services: “Instead of getting the local authority in to do the pre-Ofsted test, the academy employs consultants and I feel it’s a less supportive environment. The LA would come in and say this isn’t working, we need to fix it; the consultants say you aren’t working,
www.atl.org.uk
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says ATL general secretary Mary Bousted. “And if parents start complaining, and LAs say academies aren’t talking to them, who will have responsibility for sorting it out?” If each academy acts as its own admissions authority, it is also unclear what kind of admissions process parents will be required to go through. Would parents have to apply to each academy separately, for example, and what checks and balances would be in place in terms of selection? Gove claims the proportion of pupils on free school meals (FSM) in academies is now comparable to that in state-funded schools, after the National Audit Office reported a drop in pupils eligible for FSM at academies in 2010. Gove also claims 23% of pupils in secondary academies have non-statemented special needs, compared to 19% for all secondary schools, and that the percentage of pupils with statements in secondary academies is in line with the national average. In ATL’s survey across both old- and new-style academies, a quarter said theirs was able to select its pupils. Nevertheless, around twothirds felt its school was doing all it could to ensure it has a socially balanced intake. What does seem to be unequivocal is an even greater emphasis on results in academies. “They have to be seen to achieve,” says Mary Tuffnell. “That is pressure on the principals, which is then pressure further down the line.” For nearly a quarter of members, this pressure has come in the form of a new ethos and culture, including
increased discipline. “We were told we had to enforce the uniform and a whole set of new rules that were printed and put in all classrooms,” related Wendy Perris. Has this translated into more pupils being excluded in academies? Statistics suggest academies exclude three times more pupils than the national average. The experience of ATL members appears to back this up: 15.3% of respondents to the survey suggested that there had been an increase in pupil exclusions since their school converted. Concern remains about who will be responsible for overseeing things like admissions, exclusions, management and performance. “We don’t have rose-tinted glasses about LAs — some were better than others, just like schools — but there has to be local accountability and if it’s not LAs, then who will it be?” says Dr Bousted. “Will the Secretary of State be dealing with complaints from parents about their child’s school? Can Mr Gove really monitor thousands of schools from a huge variety of local circumstances from Whitehall?” Gove’s answer, of course, would be that schools are accountable to the market. If they don’t perform, market forces will dictate they fail and close. “But”, continues Dr Bousted, “children aren’t cans of beans. It’s not so easy to just ship them to another shop.” However academies interpret the freedoms afforded them and whatever the risks of leaving education to market forces, debate continues to focus on whether they raise standards. The cornerstone of Gove’s January 2012 speech was his claim that in the 166 sponsored academies with results in both 2010 and 2011, the percentage point increase in pupils achieving five plus A* to C, including English and maths, was double that of maintained schools. Widely reported analysis of the data by Dr Terry Wrigley, visiting professor at Leeds Metropolitan University, suggests that academies’ results are being inflated by excessive use of vocational equivalents (which allow vocational courses to be the equivalent of four GCSEs). Wrigley claims that in all maintained schools, 59.1% of pupils got five good GCSEs, including English and maths, and equivalents. When equivalents were not included, it dropped to 53.2%, a gap of nearly 6%. For academies, 50.1% got the benchmark if equivalents were included, but without equivalents it dropped to 38.3%, April 2012
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good teaching and learning. “Culture filters down through the school from leadership,” secondary teacher Elizabeth Noble* believes. “Our first head’s [pre-conversion] influence did and the school was turned round. The new principal shows no support and that also filters down. All schools, not just academies, need a good system from the top that shows pupils where they stand.” “But,” she continues, “the senior management team have a lot more power in an academy, and that power is open to abuse that a local authority would have been able to stop.” Yvonne Fleming, leadership and management officer at AMiE — the leadership section of ATL — suggests: “Leaders should consult widely on a proposed change to academy status with their school communities, communicate in plain and honest terms not only the benefits but also the risks and ensure, through any change, that they adhere to the code of practice the TUC recognition agreement provides. “Working with union representatives also ensures that good practice is adhered to and problems mitigated before they have damaging effects on the life of the school and the young people it serves,” she concludes. The TUC standard recognition agreement is intended to promote and assist in, among
other things, jointly agreed pay and conditions, good health and safety practice, effective resolution of disputes, facilities time for reps, and discussion of professional issues around teaching and learning. Many of the members who responded to ATL’s survey were not sure if their academy had a recognition agreement in place. For Mary Tuffnell, an ATL rep at her academy, it’s vital to find out. “Our principal won’t formally recognise unions because he doesn’t want to be tied down to formal meeting schedules. But the key thing is we don’t know where we stand. In one way the recognition agreement is just a bit of paper; in another, it’s a tool for telling both sides where we’re at.” ATL has secured recognition agreements with many academy chains such as ARK, E-ACT, Harris Federation, Oasis Community Learning and the United Learning Trust, and is working with others to secure more. The importance of union recognition and representation is backed up by a report from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) last autumn, which showed a sharp increase in calls to mediate over employee disputes in academies during the previous school year. While the expansion of academies could explain a rise, an Acas spokesperson commented: “[Academies] like to change the terms and conditions of their employees, so this can increase the chance of us being called out to them.” “Ultimately,” says Dr Bousted, “it is ridiculous to argue about whether academies are good or bad — some will be good and some not good enough, as is the case with LA-maintained schools. Our concern is what the impact will be on the education system as a whole.” She continues, “Whether you work in an LA school, are going through conversion, or are in an academy or independent school, ATL is committed to supporting and representing our members.”
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nearly double the gap for state schools. Schools Minister Nick Gibb subsequently announced the government’s intention to massively reduce the number of equivalents that will count for league table purposes from 2014, effectively scrapping the basis for its argument that academies perform better. The DfE says that many new academies in deprived areas have begun by concentrating on the basics, but will move to more academic subjects once they are better established. The debate reignited in March when The Observer published analysis, which the DfE refutes, suggesting academies are underperforming compared to state schools, even when academies and schools with similar intakes are compared. Whichever side of the debate you come down on, this suggests academies are by no means a guarantee of success. “It’s not a magic bullet,” says Dr Bousted. “The fact that there are failing and coasting academies, just as there are failing and coasting maintained schools, indicates it isn’t about structure. It’s about good teaching and learning, which can be found in all sorts of schools.” This begs the question of whether spending £18.6 million on conversion grants at a time when schools’ budgets are being cut is an effective use of money. For many members it comes back to who they are working with to deliver that
April 2012
ATL provides information, resources, networks and CPD for our academy members and specialist training for our academy reps. You can find out more, including information about TUPE and guidance on recognition, at www.atl.org.uk/academies. Please also keep telling us about your experiences via email at report@atl.org.uk or debate the issues on Facebook at www.facebook.com/atlunion. * Names have been changed. www.atl.org.uk
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join the debate / Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
Scotland Keith Robson
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It is an opportunity to gain new knowledge and develop new skills
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Looking forward to ATL’s Annual Conference in Manchester
Annual Conference is always one of my favourite times of the year in the ATL calendar; old friendships are renewed and new ones are forged, for members and staff alike. It is also an opportunity to gain new knowledge and develop new skills during the break-out sessions. First and foremost, Annual Conference is the opportunity for ATL to display its well-thought-through yet often radical and innovative policy positions on key educational issues. We have the media spotlight on us and us alone for a few days, which is why the policy agenda you set at Conference is so important. Education may be devolved across the four administrations in the UK, yet there are common threads such as attacks on members’ terms and conditions. Last year, members from across the UK came together to campaign against the attacks on teacher and support staff pensions, not just at Conference but in the workplace and on the streets too. The work of ATL does not start and finish with the pensions campaign, as important as it is. There is much more for you to get involved in. One key motion from Scotland covers the shocking changes to the terms and conditions of support staff as a result of cuts. Our delegation would very much welcome your collective support on this issue. If you’re going to Conference, I hope you enjoy joining in the debate and having your say. If you see me passing you in the corridor, say hello. Enjoy Conference!
www.atl.org.uk
Wales Alec Clark ATL is the moderate voice of reason in the education debate With Offa’s Dyke becoming ever more a line of demarcation in terms of educational policy and provision, one could ask: where next for Wales? The cynical would argue that it is only a matter of time before the English brand of ‘edu-nomics’ prevails. ATL has fought hard in Wales to mould the education policy agenda, and the Welsh Education Minister, Leighton Andrews, is firmly supportive of state provision and control of education. ATL Cymru supports his stance and will continue to be the moderate voice of reason in this debate. But one wonders how long it will be before the insidious influence of the Westminster coalition starts to influence stakeholders, particularly parents, so that they begin to demand a free-market education for their
children. To counter this, ATL supports the desire of the Welsh government to raise educational achievement in Wales and negate the effects of poverty on aspiration and success. ATL will continue to place its emphasis firmly on the needs of the learner and support policies that strive to improve the outcomes for the next generation in Wales. Wales doesn’t just need to catch up. We also now have to show that the models of local democratically accountable community education can deliver better for every child in Wales than any free-market model. If we wish to continue with a model of truly comprehensive and community-led education, we must all strive to make it the best, not only in the UK, but in Europe and the rest of the world. ATL Cymru firmly grasps this challenge and will seek to support and shape policy to make it a reality.
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ATL has fought hard to mould the education policy agenda
Northern Ireland Mark Langhammer Some mitigating factors may soften the blow of redundancy With stark budgetary cuts in the education service, the now annual process of redundancies within schools has been a particularly painful one. That said, collaboration between teachers’ unions, education employers and the Northern Ireland Executive has been characterised by significant cooperation to mitigate the scale of the problem. The decision on 12 January by the Executive to provide additional funding of £120 million over three years to go towards the Aggregated Schools Budget (ASB) has helped reduce, to a degree, the number of redundancies. This has effectively reduced the cuts imposed in schools in the first year from a cut in funding of 2.9% (of the ASB) to a cut of 0.3%.
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Minister O’Dowd announced on 18 January 2012 that teachers taking redundancy will be able to leave with a severance package of up to 90 weeks’ pay (more than three times their statutory entitlement) with an allocation of £167 million to make the offer to school staff taking voluntary redundancy from April 2012 onwards. In addition, in response to the specific proposal of ATL, a new ‘clearing house’ system has been agreed which, for the first time, affords a degree of protection to teachers in voluntary grammar schools, grant-maintained integrated schools and gaelscolaíochta (Irish medium schools). While the protection afforded to these teachers is minimal, by bringing the grammar, integrated and gaelscolaíochta ‘into the tent’ there is a measure of protection previously not afforded and augurs well for enhanced cooperation under the new Education and Skills Authority. Half a loaf, maybe, but better than no loaf at all. April 2012
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How to protect your school from Cyberbullies Cyberbullying and child protection, what school leaders need to know Friday 20th or Saturday 21st April 2012 Manchester Central
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join the debate / letters
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Send your letters to: Report, ATL, 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD or email report@atl.org.uk The views expressed in the letters printed in Report do not necessarily reflect ATL policy or opinion.
STAR LETTER
Moving the goalposts I write to endorse D Curley’s concern (‘Bursary dismay’, Report, February 2012) as a parent of one of those presently studying for a PGCE with no bursary — despite one having been promised prior to the start of the course. The offer of a bursary was the deciding factor in enabling my daughter to train because she was determined not to borrow further funds from her parents. It was only after being accepted on the course that the government withdrew the bursary — apparently for the current year only. The renewal of bursaries for the coming academic year adds insult to injury, and has rendered it very difficult It was only after being for my daughter and her fellow students accepted on the course to cope with the financial strains. that the government I believe that the PGCE course is one withdrew the bursary of the most demanding years that anyone will encounter and the students should not be experiencing the extra hardship incurred by the withdrawal of, in my daughter’s case, £4,000. Borrowing money after the financial constraints of a three-year degree course is surely not conducive to a positive approach to preparing for a teaching career. My daughter has expressed her opinion that teaching is the best career in the world — when one is feeling positive and well. To hear her now consider having to leave the course due to financial hardship has been simply distressing. Her parents enabling her to continue leaves her feeling further indebted — but we have no choice. She is over halfway through the course and on track to enter a career in which she will — as all teachers do — contribute greatly to the development of young people. I worry, though, that graduating PGCE students this year will be completing the course with low self-esteem and in varying degrees of financial hardship — not the happiest way to start a new career, where they are expected to be vivaciously enthusing youngsters. I fully agree with D Curley that the present cohort feels abandoned and ignored, and I cannot understand why the government has failed to recognise and to rectify the situation.
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C Hames, Surrey
WIN
C Hames wins £100 in book tokens. If you want to voice your opinion on any issues raised in Report or any other aspect of education, please send letters to the address above, including your phone number. One star letter will be chosen every issue to win the book tokens.
Dreading the rocky road As I read Mary Bousted’s article, ‘A rocky road ahead’ (Report, March 2012), my heart became ever heavier. I have been thinking about returning to teaching at key stage 1 and foundation stage after a six-year career break of bringing up my family. Is teaching really that bad, or going to be as gloomy as Mary predicts? I used to love my job and if teaching has changed that much I am not sure I want to go back. I was in a April 2012
happy and supportive school, where everyone — children and staff — were seen as important and valued members of the community. I don’t want to work in an environment where mistakes can’t be made and risks can’t be taken. How can we teach children that we need to support each other and take risks to learn if we can’t do that ourselves? E Hall, Northampton
Outstandingly awful I want to highlight an issue possibly facing many teachers in all types of schools. I recently moved to an academy from a mainstream school. My first mistake was to be mesmerised by its outstanding building, outstanding results and outstanding press coverage of its yearly successes. My second was to be delighted by their job offer and, after a nine-hour interview day, feeling pressured into signing my contract on the day. Nothing seemed unusual about the contract — no requests for weekend or evening work, no longerthan-usual hours, still on the main pay scale. These are the things we have been advised to look for. But what about a contract that discounts one’s entire previous teaching service and, in return, refuses to pay sick pay for the first year and any other benefits a teacher would have been entitled to as a teacher in their sixth year of teaching under the Burgundy Book? That is what this outstanding academy can provide for its new staff. When I became very ill in my first term at the school and was signed off work, I received no sick pay and, as no cover staff were employed (as supply staff cannot do a decent job, I was told), I was expected to continue preparing lessons and writing reports while absent. Upon returning to work, I carried out my usual duties and also covered periods for other absent staff. The school’s policy to remunerate teachers for losing PPA time (in my contract) was then not applied to me because of my time off work. This was not in my contract, but in a further ‘handbook’ I had neither seen, nor signed. Should I have had my union rep fight my case? I would have, if the school recognised membership of a union. I eventually resigned due to ill health and feeling extremely undervalued. An outstanding school with outstanding teachers and outstanding results did not treat its staff as outstanding in the slightest. Name withheld See page 10 for a full exploration of the academies programme. www.atl.org.uk
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feature / rep awards
Rep awards: the winners
ATL and AMiE’s outstanding reps of the year talk about what the role means to them. Words by Alex Tomlin
A
TL is proud to announce the results of its second annual Rep Awards to recognise those individuals who have successfully represented their colleagues in the face of what has been an enormously challenging year for education staff. The high standard of entries meant the Awards Committee, made up of branch secretaries and members of ATL’s Executive Committee, had a very difficult job judging almost 100 nominations. However, the winners were finally selected for the contribution they make and the support they give their colleagues, going well above and beyond the call of duty.
Katy Ryder Outstanding workplace rep of the year Katy Ryder, 34, was nominated for fighting tirelessly to unify her colleagues and achieve recognition for ATL at Richmond Upon Thames College. In a challenging environment of restructure and redundancy, she has been personally available for members and met everyone’s needs to the best of her ability. I’ve been a rep since 2006 officially and it was incredible to win. Back then there were only four of us. At the time it was just one of those things where there was a gap that needed to be filled. Someone said it was just sending a few emails and I thought that sounded easy. As I became more aware of what the role entailed I picked it up and ran with it. The best thing is communicating with members, finding out what they need or where there are issues. Or alternatively where things are going really well, things you can implement throughout the college. It’s the member base that makes it worthwhile. Being a rep on such a large site means you get to go round and learn www.atl.org.uk
how the college works, which you wouldn’t normally as just a teacher. Achieving recognition has got to be my proudest moment; it was such a long haul but it was phenomenal. There were so many people involved that it was rewarding for everyone. We were told to build a member base of 20 and when we had done that we were told it had to be 40. Now it’s over 50. With all the issues in FE — workload and redundancies — it was great to be able to represent our members as well. Doru Athinodoru [regional official] and Norman Crowther [national official for FE] came in and helped with an event. The advice they gave was fantastic, as we were all new to the ATL structure. The way it works at ATL makes the role very enjoyable. It’s very much member-led rather than having a rep who decides what to do and then talks to members. The biggest challenge has been finding common ground with [the other union at Richmond] UCU and showing that we’re not in competition, we’re actually side by side. At the end of the day we want staff to be less stressed, have more job security and a good pension — now we work with UCU and can achieve so much more as a united front to represent staff as a whole. The days of action on 30 June and 30 November were amazing because it felt like we were very small when we started here [at the college] and then we got up to London and we realised how important our little bit was in the grand scheme of things. It was amazing to march through London and to talk to other ATL members from all over the country, and to be so focused on the one goal — it was really inspirational. I realised how important our work locally is. It wasn’t just that I was doing something for ATL, but I really feel like ATL has taught me a lot. A lot of people see it as hard work, but it’s not. It becomes very natural to talk to members and find out what they want. It’s a very rewarding experience. April 2012
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Keith Buncle Outstanding health and safety rep of the year Keith Buncle, 52, a secondary IT teacher and data systems leader at South Bromsgrove High School in Worcestershire, was nominated for his campaigning to improve safety in the school, raising awareness of staff well-being, his willingness to support others and his phenomenal knowledge of legislation. It’s extremely flattering and humbling to win. I see my role as supporting the well-being of staff and students. The school I teach at has gone through a lot of change over the past six or seven years, moving into a new private finance initiative (PFI) build with issues relating to ventilation, and management of staff and students in the new building. A key member of the senior leadership team and I worked together to set up the health and safety committee — in retrospect, essential in a PFI school. I’ve been a workplace rep for around 15 years, and became health and safety rep as well in 2006. Before I became a teacher I worked in industry and I had my own business for a few years; it became obvious that a lot of people in education weren’t really clued up on health and safety. Teachers who are managers are expected to be experts in managing, and teachers in general are expected to be experts in general health and safety, but without formal training. How is this possible?
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Health and safety rep is a very rewarding position. It empowers you in many ways: it makes you feel more confident that you know what to do in certain situations
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At the moment we’re looking at well-being, at how [Secretary of State] Michael Gove’s agenda is affecting staff workloads and stress levels. Colleagues are concerned about how the future impacts on their work-life balance. One colleague recently commented: “What work-life balance? It’s a work-work balance.” Well-being is a challenge, especially as the teaching population ages; we’re going to be kept teaching until age 66 and 68. I try to increase my knowledge by reading the legislation; I’m a knowledge buff. A lot of what I do is not about instant April 2012
results. Getting the health and safety committee together was a very positive achievement. People were sceptical at first, but then they took information from the meetings that they didn’t know they needed to know. They are more aware of simple things like keeping doorways clear when rearranging the classroom, putting scissors out of sight, keeping classrooms ventilated and not blocking fire exits. Much is common sense, but needs saying. Health and safety rep is a very rewarding position to have. It does empower you in many ways: it makes you feel more confident that you know what to do in certain situations. A senior leader told me recently that he couldn’t imagine me taking risks because I was the health and safety rep. I recalled the times I’ve been climbing in the UK and the Alps, jumping off boats and helicopters off the coast of Nigeria, and the support my colleagues and I have given to Gold Duke of Edinburgh expeditions to illustrate my point. I explained that it is not about being risk averse, but about effectively managing risk.
Geoff Rudge Outstanding union learning rep of the year Geoff Rudge, 63, a retired secondary school science teacher, was nominated for being the driving force that brought ATL and Solihull College into partnership to provide training, as well as for promoting the role of union learning reps (ULRs) in the West Midlands. The award is a reflection on all the colleagues I’ve worked with, particularly on the partnership with Solihull College. I’ve been involved as branch ULR since 2005 because I wanted to give something back at the end of my career that would help younger members in Solihull and beyond. Learning has always been an important aspect for me. When I first started teaching in 1970, there seemed to be a lot more opportunities around then compared to 2005, so I wanted to restore the balance. The partnership with Solihull College was signed in 2010 and was the culmination of a lot of work. That was my proudest moment. I first went into the college 15 years ago and I could see the potential then for members in the branch and in the West Midlands. It’s on our doorstep and was facing almost a total rebuild. The facilities they can offer today are amazing. The challenge has been to help members cross the threshold into the college. We all know the pressures that teachers and teaching assistants are under. Just to have a few hours out from the pressure of school life to do a www.atl.org.uk
feature / rep awards
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course that will be of value to them, that’s what I’m trying to do. Once they have gone, the pattern is that they certainly want more. I’m delighted when people respond to courses they have been on and say it’s helped and encouraged them in their teaching; that’s the reward. The support I had from my branch secretary, Tony Martin, even from before day one, was very important. He spoke on my behalf in the local authority and that got me off to a good start. As the net widened I got support from colleagues in the West Midlands, the ULR West Midlands meetings, the steering group with ATL training manager Kate Quigley, then national recognition, so all the way along I have received support. To anyone thinking about becoming a ULR I would advise they get advice from people doing a similar role. ATL are very proactive in promoting the role of the ULR and there are courses around the country, so get on one of those. Talk to the learning organiser in the region, gain as much knowledge and expertise as possible. Once you’ve done that groundwork, you can go forward in the way that works for you.
Paul Campbell Joint ATL Future activist of the year Paul Campbell, 20, is in the final year of his BEd in Scotland to become a primary teacher. He was nominated for being a “fantastic ambassador for ATL Future and ATL” after speaking at numerous events, writing ATL documents, and chairing the panel discussing young people’s issues at the 2011 ATL Conference. It was really nice to win and to know that what you do is recognised and is having an impact. I became a rep in the second year of my course. I just wanted more of a say in education. I saw the influence that ATL has, not just on teachers, students and NQs, but also on the wider context of education policy. ATL’s position goes quite well with my own opinions, so it seemed quite natural to get involved. ATL comes across more as a professional body than a trade union and its stances seem to be considered and representative of the members. Everything is grounded in children getting the best experiences and outcomes, whether it’s education policy, teacher recruitment or pensions. Being able to collaborate with a wide range of people is great and helps you construct your own opinions, to bounce ideas off other people, and informs what you do in the classroom. April 2012
I found chairing the fringe at the 2011 Conference challenging but rewarding. I went to a round table meeting with Simon Hughes MP as well, where I initially felt inadequate; then I realised that I had every right to be there representing the views of a lot of students and NQs, but it was still nerve-wracking. ATL Future is responsive to the needs of students and NQs. We’re taking their opinions and concerns, whether it’s consistency in mentoring, or this year focusing on the potential effects of technology for learning and teaching. We take that feedback to Conference, where it influences the motions, and those help decide the work we do for the following year. The support network of peers in ATL has been the most useful thing — the opportunity to speak to people at the same stage of their career as you, but also to speak to those who have already done it. We already have a good variety of opinions, but I’d like to get a wider demographic of students involved at an earlier stage. I’m not political, but it’s a chance to get involved in the wider policy of education. I’d definitely advise other people to get active in ATL. The role’s not what you think it might be. It is a unique opportunity to have a wider scope of influence than just the classroom you’re in. At least look into it because it may not be exactly what you think.
Caroline Gray Joint ATL Future activist of the year Caroline Gray, 25, is on the second placement of her primary PGCE, and will be qualifying this July. She was nominated for “blowing away” the ATL Future Steering Group with her campaign for PGCE students affected by government changes to bursaries. She was described as resilient, determined and inspiring. I was completely surprised to find out that I had won the award, but it was nice on a personal level to be acknowledged for the time and effort I’ve put in. I originally became involved with ATL in the summer of 2011 because of the bursary campaign that I was and still am working on. After that, a member of ATL staff approached me about becoming a rep. As ATL has been of great support to me in regards to the bursary campaign, becoming a rep was an opportunity for me to be able to give something back, while still helping myself and my fellow trainees. Becoming a rep for ATL has a few different benefits. Firstly, there’s a great deal of training and support, so that you can become an effective rep, but this training has wider benefits outside of that role. I believe that it www.atl.org.uk
Child Protection Project: Legal Advice Line Tel: 0207 636 1245
Cats in the Early Years
9:30am-5:30pm, Monday to Friday Coram Children’s Legal Centre has launched a new telephone line offering FREE legal advice and information to frontline practitioners provided by a family law solicitor experienced in child protection and safeguarding issues. This new advice line is aimed at providing information and legal advice on child protection and safeguarding issues to the full range of professionals, volunteers and staff that make up the children’s workforce as well as those in other sectors who also have a duty to safeguard the welfare of the child, including but not limited to those working in: • Education • Health • Social, family and community support • • Early years and child care • Youth, Sport and culture • • Justice and crime prevention • Adult services • • Managers and leaders • In addition to the telephone advice line, an innovative website with monthly newsletters is planned to launch in April and online and in-person training will also be available. For more information about the CPP contact:
E: CPP@essex.ac.uk T: 01206 877932 www.childrenslegalcentre.com
A new, free resource that provides: z Information about Cats Protection z The aims of the pack z Curriculum links for all the fun activities z Comprehensive teachers’ notes The Cats Protection CD-ROM is a new, free resource for Early Years teachers to educate the under 5s about responsible cat care. It covers the whole EYFS curriculum across the UK. To obtain your free resource, email your name and nursery address to education@cats.org.uk
www.cats.org.uk/learn Reg Charity 203644 (England and Wales) and SC037711 (Scotland)
feature / rep awards
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develops you as a person and professional, and it’s really increased my confidence in being able to talk to people. The fact that ATL pays the expenses for this is, as a student, a real benefit, as otherwise I probably wouldn’t be able to afford to do it. I know there are a number of people that I could contact within ATL if ever I needed support or advice, not only on issues related to me as a rep, but also more personally with issues related to teaching. Before agreeing to become a rep I had to consider whether, during my PGCE, I would have the time to take on any extra commitment, but in reality, there hasn’t been a problem. Although there are commitments and responsibilities, they don’t take up a great deal of time and I can fit them around my other commitments. My advice to other students would be to see what shortfalls your university has and see if ATL can help you fill them. For example, I know that my uni hasn’t covered the recent changes to Ofsted at all. I know it’s a concern that many of my fellow trainees share — that they feel unprepared for a new Ofsted framework. But ultimately, just get as involved as you can; it has benefits for you as well.
Michelle McCaughley Outstanding AMiE rep of the year Michelle McCaughley is head of corporate communications and marketing at Belfast Community College. She was nominated for representing and supporting members in redundancy cases and increasing the number of members from four to over 30. I was absolutely delighted to win the award; it was a wonderful endorsement. I joined AMiE just under two years ago and became a rep around 18 months ago. It’s a great management association. It’s been very good working with Mark Langhammer [regional officer and ATL Northern Ireland director] and the regional team. Belfast Community College is the fourth largest college in the UK and the largest in Northern Ireland. We’ve undergone significant restructuring that’s affected all staff, so it’s really nice to have the combination of our academic and support managers in ATL and AMiE, which link well together. We’re all fundamentally facing the same problems, so it was nice to be united and to work together on common issues. I came from the private sector to FE seven years ago. Mark Langhammer had been dealing with a couple of my colleagues and he asked if I would be interested in being a contact point for AMiE. After seeing the work that he had done I thought it would be a really good thing to do. It’s great to have a reflective body to support colleagues. April 2012
I think the work that AMiE does is very good in giving advice and guidance. It promotes good industrial relations and it’s good to be a part of that and try to help our members become better informed on matters affecting them in the workplace. I’m in the whole area of communication, so I think it’s important to keep staff informed on any issues in the workplace and that they can have some means of communicating with me. It’s good to be able to support managers, especially when we’ve been through such a big change. Now we’ve set ourselves a challenge to be a grade one college within three years. It’s my job to make sure people have support through the challenges and opportunities that arise from this. One thing that AMiE has done really well over the last couple of years is the publications, the best practice guides. I’ve been circulating those — it’s useful to have those to support you in your everyday work. Being a rep is not a big time commitment. I’m helping AMiE to help me and help my colleagues protect the future of our profession. It’s nice to give something back. I believe we provide a vital link between AMiE and the members. You don’t have to be an expert and you do get a lot of support locally.
Special mentions go to… As the quality of nominations was so high, the committee also awarded highly commended workplace rep awards to: Highly commended outstanding workplace rep: David Wiles, Bedfordshire Peter Keeffe, Leicester Sara Bassett, Bristol Paul Wikeley, Wiltshire Alvin Wood, West Yorkshire Rick Raumann, Dorset Highly commended health and safety rep: Patrick Ryan, Wolverhampton (Patrick was also commended in the ATL Future activist category) Gary Fletcher, Blackpool Highly commended ULR rep: Susan Coates, County Durham Carole Horstead, London Congratulations to the winners and those who were highly commended, and thanks to all of you who nominated colleagues. What is clear is the vital role ATL’s rep community plays, particularly when the profession is under attack locally and nationally, and how much the role of rep can benefit the individual, colleagues and the education sector. If you would like to talk to someone about becoming a rep in your workplace, please contact ATL’s organising team at organise@atl.org.uk or see www.atl.org.uk/getactive. www.atl.org.uk
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help and advice / legal
Employment tribunals: all change Significant changes to employment tribunal proceedings will have to be considered by employees looking to make a claim, explains ATL solicitor Kehinde Adeogun
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t is always difficult and stressful for employees who feel they have been mistreated at work to decide whether to bring employment tribunal proceedings. Now, in addition to assessing whether or not there is merit in a claim, the coalition government has undertaken a review of the employment tribunal service, which will affect every employee’s decision-making regarding the issuing of a claim. The review looked at a number of issues such as: the minimum qualifying period for bringing a claim for unfair dismissal; the increase in deposit orders; fees for bringing claims in the tribunal; and the removal of wing members for some hearings.
Qualifying period for unfair dismissal From 6 April 2012, in order to bring an unfair dismissal claim, an employee will have to have been employed continuously for two years. Prior to 6 April 2012, an employee had a right to challenge a dismissal if they had been employed for one year.
Deposit orders If an employment tribunal thought there was little merit in continuing with a claim, they could order a claimant to pay a deposit if they continued with their case. If the case went ahead and was lost then the deposit would be forfeited. The current maximum
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deposit is £500; as part of the employment tribunal review it is likely that the maximum deposit will be increased to £1,000.
that succeed at hearing, those claimants may not recover all their financial losses arising out of a breach of their employment rights. The median award for unfair dismissal claims in 2011 was £4,591. Tribunal fees The median award for discrimination The employment tribunal service was claims, excluding age, was between £5,000 introduced in the 1960s to provide an and £6,500. The median award for age informal, quick and cost-free way of discrimination claims was £12,697. resolving employment disputes. As yet there is no decision about However, since the introduction of the actual fees to be charged, with industrial tribunals (now employment implementation due in 2013/14. tribunals), there has been a When fees are introduced, ATL will major increase in the discuss with members legislation governing who have potential It is likely the the relationship claims to be issued between employer in the employment maximum deposit and employee. tribunal not just the will increase from National and merits of the claim but £500 to £1,000 European legislation also the cost involved covers wide-ranging in pursuing a claim. and complex issues like discrimination, working time, wages, industrial relations Wing members In all unfair dismissal cases, the employment and business transfers. tribunal hearing a case will consist of Because of the plethora of claims that an employment judge, who is a qualified can be brought, the current tribunal service and experienced lawyer, and two wing is unable to cope. In the year to 31 March members. The wing members are 2011, the tribunal service in England and experienced small business owners, Wales received 218,100 claims. Within union representatives or HR professionals. those, there were 382,400 separate issues They have in the past provided balance to to be determined by the tribunal service. the decision-making as they understand In the year to March 2011, the employment the world of work and can assist a legally tribunal disposed of 122,800 cases. Of that qualified chairperson whose area of number, 32% were withdrawn, 29% were expertise is the law. conciliated by Acas and 12% were successful Wing members are paid on a daily at tribunal. basis for sitting at employment tribunals. To try and reduce the number of claims In order to reduce the costs of the tribunal that are presented to the employment service, the government is consulting on tribunal, the coalition government is removing wing members from unfair consulting on the level of fees to be charged. dismissal claims. The fees would be incurred at the time at ATL has been involved in this consultation which a claim is made and subsequently process. Although cost savings may be when a hearing date is issued. made, we believe that wing members All employees will have to consider provide an essential balance to the decisionfirstly whether to issue a claim, and then making process. on receiving a notice of hearing, whether ATL will continue to update members to continue with the claim. on the changes that are taking place within Employment tribunal awards show the employment tribunal service. that even for the limited number of claims
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April 2012
help and advice / contact
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Help and advice If you need help with matters related to your employment, your first point of contact should be your school or college ATL rep, or your AMiE regional officer if you are a leadership member. You can also contact your local ATL branch for advice and support. If they are unable to help, contact ATL using these details:
Membership enquiries 020 7782 1602
General enquiries 020 7930 6441
Monday to Friday, 5-8pm during term time. ATL’s regional officials are available to speak to you about work problems.
Email: info@atl.org.uk Website: www.atl.org.uk London: 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD. Belfast: 16 West Bank Drive, Belfast BT3 9LA. Tel: 028 9078 2020. Email: ni@atl.org.uk Cardiff: 1st Floor, 64B Newport Road, Cardiff CF24 0DF. Tel: 029 2046 5000. Email: cymru@atl.org.uk Edinburgh: CBC House, 24 Canning Street, Edinburgh EH3 8EG. Tel: 0131 272 2748. Email: scotland@atl.org.uk AMiE members: 35 The Point, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 7QU. Contact your AMiE regional officer (contact details at www.amie.uk.com) or call the employment helpline 01858 464171. Email: helpline@amie.atl.org.uk
Email: membership@atl.org.uk
Pension enquiries 020 7782 1600 Out of office hours helpline 020 7782 1612
Personal injury claims 0800 083 7285 Call Morrish Solicitors LLP, ATL’s appointed solicitors, or go to www.atlinjuryclaims.org.uk. This service is open to members and their families, subject to the rules of the scheme. ATL should be your first port of call in the event of work-related issues. If you feel you need emotional support, Teacher Support Network is a group of independent charities and a social enterprise that provides emotional support to staff in the education sector and their families. Their support lines are available 24 hours a day:
If you are not a member of ATL and would like to join, please contact us on 0845 057 7000 (lo-call) Remember to pass your copy of Report to colleagues who may be interested in it!
England: 08000 562 561 Wales: 08000 855 088 Scotland: 0800 564 2270
Terms of ATL’s support are outlined in our members’ charter, available via www.atl.org.uk. When emailing ATL from home, please include either your membership number or home postcode to help us deal with your enquiry more efficiently.
April 2012
www.atl.org.uk
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resources / info directory
ATL resources and training Newsletters Spring’s issue of Academy News has been posted out with this issue of Report to all members working in academies. It leads with the latest facts and figures on how many academies are now open, including
numbers of pupils now being educated in academies, plus the split between converter and sponsored academies. There are also interviews with three ATL reps working in academies, who explain what issues they have faced and overcome under academy status. Elsewhere there are updates on the
Your CPD with ATL Improving achievement through coaching and mentoring: 3 May, Manchester Supporting yourself: 12 May, London; 9 June, York Early years — child-initiated play: 16 May, Manchester Leadership: managing teams: 17 May, London Behaviour management for support staff: 14 June, Bristol Protecting your professional online identity: 20 June, Birmingham Fantastic questioning = great learning: creative enquiry in the classroom: 28 June, York Leadership: understanding leadership and management: 29 June, Manchester Preparing for retirement*: 7 July, Bristol Unless otherwise specified, ATL courses are free to members. For more information, go to www.atl.org.uk/training. * £40 for attendees and £40 for spouses.
latest recognition agreements with academy groups, and warnings on changes to performance management and admissions codes. ATL Support is also out now and has been sent to all support staff members. It leads on the perennial issue of support staff having to deal with children who have not been toilet trained.
the important role of libraries, accounts of successful training sessions and more to come, plus the opportunity to follow ATL Support on Twitter. Academies and supply teachers online
How to order ATL resources There are a number of ways you can access the range of publications, newsletters and position statements ATL provides: Website: you can download PDFs of most of our publications or place your order using an online form via the ‘Publications & resources’ section of our website at www.atl.org.uk Email: you can email your order using despatch@atl.org.uk (quoting the product code, wherever possible)
There are also updates on the ongoing negotiations around the Local Government Pension Scheme, ATL activity in the independent sector and maintained sector pay for 2012/13. Finally, there is an emotional plea to recognise
ATL has updated the help and advice sections of its website with dedicated sections for supply teachers and for staff working in academies, offering employment advice on your rights and working conditions. The academies section can be found at www.atl.org.uk/ academies and the supply section is available at www.atl.org.uk/supply.
Telephone: you can phone our publications despatch line on 0845 4500 009 (quoting the product code, wherever possible).
Information directory Teacher’s pets The RSPCA has produced a new resource that enables key stage 2 pupils to take action to promote responsible pet ownership. The new interactive tool ‘Animal Action: Pet Respect’ features video and audio-led activities and is free to use. It challenges pupils to work as editors to produce exciting online magazines about the different issues surrounding pet ownership. The resource is crosscurricular, but with strong links to literacy, and is a fun way of introducing the concepts of responsibility and value of life to young people. It can be found at www. rspca-petrespect.org.uk. The RSPCA aims to promote kindness and prevent cruelty to animals and its education team also provides support and help to schools so they can become more animal-friendly through ITT and INSET training, as well as through lesson plans and other
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teaching resources. For more information, log on to the RSPCA’s education website at www.rspca.org.uk/ education or email education@rspca.org.uk. Holey history A new ‘teachers’ kit’ launched by English Heritage’s education team invites teachers visiting castles in English Heritage’s care to look at the masonry ruins in a whole new light
by encouraging their children to look into an array of holes that can be found in any historic fortification. ‘Castles — the hole story’ is a free resource that uses the idea of holes of all kinds to help children understand the workings and functions of a castle, from the essential
wells that provided water to keep the castle’s defenders hydrated during a siege, to the ‘murder holes’ through which boiling water or oil could be poured to repel invaders, and even the garderobe — the medieval castle’s very own privy! The guide is aimed at key stage 1 and 2 teachers, and can be downloaded at www.english-heritage.org.uk/ publications/castles-holestory-tk. For more information on free educational visits to English Heritage sites around the country, call the dedicated education booking team on 0870 333 0606 or visit www.englishheritage.org.uk/education. Child protection film A new film to support teachers to help parents and families going to child protection conferences has been released online by advice charity Family Rights Group. The film helps teachers reflect on their role in child protection conferences and prepares parents and
families for the process. The video reconstructs a child protection conference, explaining what it is all about, demystifying the process and the possible outcomes.
Family Rights Group identified a clear need for the film, as one in four calls to its helpline are about child protection. Explaining what happens in a conference over the phone can be a complex task for advisers as they clarify the difficult process families face. The film shows key participants at the conference, including a social worker, deputy headteacher, health visitor, drug and alcohol worker, personal adviser and police officer. To view the video go to www.frg.org.uk/films.
April 2012
flexible accessible measurable now for ages 7+
develop creativity and reward achievement Discover
Explore
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Arts Award develops creative, communication and leadership skills. Use the flexible framework to support curriculum activity or to structure enrichment and inclusion programmes. Arts Award’s well-established qualifications are now joined by Discover and Explore enabling anyone aged 7–25 to take part. ‘Since doing Arts Award we see that students have started to take more responsibility for themselves and there has been a marked improvement in their behaviour.’ Mark Morrall, Headteacher, Chingford Foundation School
Find out more at www.artsaward.org.uk/7plus or book training to get started at www.artsaward.org.uk/training 020 7820 6178 enquiries@artsaward.org.uk John Hansard Gallery working with Cherbourg Primary School photo Ronda Gowland–Pryde
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resources / classified To advertise here please contact Lisa on 01603 772521, or email lisa.parkinson@archantdialogue.co.uk England
France
Wensleydale C16 cottage, sleeps four, cosy and comfortable with log burner. No smoking. Dogs permitted. www.lightfoothouse.co.uk Tel: 01954 202938
North Brittany near Val André Well-equipped, stone cottage in large garden, coastal hamlet. 3/4 of a mile to beach, all amenities nearby. Ferry discount available. Tel: 01525 872107 Vendee Cosy Cottage Sleeps 4-7. Coast 45 mins. La Rochelle/Nantes airports 1hr. Lakes, market towns, historic sites, spectacular Puy du Fou nearby. Ideal for walking/cycling. Something for everyone.
Scotland Scotland/Berwickshire coastline Dramatic sea views, beautifully converted coastguard’s cottage, three beds, sleeps six, central heating. Harbour, pub, beach five minutes. Tel: 01661 886234
Italy Self-catering in Tuscany Restored medieval house in mountain hamlet near Lucca – sleeps four. Superb views, ideal for walkers, art/history lovers, food/wine enthusiasts. Tel: 01226 753050 email: barmax@globalnet.co.uk or visit www.tuscanyproperties.co.uk
Greece
Tel: 07980 921071 Email: almahhubbard@hotmail.com PICARDY Regniere-Ecluse. Comfortable cottage (sleeps 6) in tranquil village near Crecy Forest. Coast 20 mins. Le Chunnel 55 mins. Tel: 01159133449 Email: pturville@hotmail.com DORDOGNE Privately owned cottage in pretty village near Duras. Sleeps five; secluded garden with pool. www.lapetitegrange.com Tel: 01634 573993
Cephalonia
Insurance
All-inclusive breakdown cover • • • •
All-inclusive cover from just £60 An EXTRA 3 months cover FREE* 50% discount on additional cars** European cover from just £10 extra
Incredible value for ATL members
For more details, or to join, call us on: 0845 602 2374 today (local call, quoting 'ATL') or visit www.autonational.co.uk/atl.php * 15 months for the price of 12 is available in the first year only to new members. ** 50% discount for second and third cars kept at the same address. All legal drivers of the specified vehicle are covered. Offer ends 31st December 2012. Product details and prices subject to change without notice. Full terms and conditions available on request. Autonational Rescue is a trading name of Equity Direct Broking Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Autonational Rescue is administered by Equity Red Star Services Limited (an appointed representative of Equity Syndicate Management Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority) for Equity Direct Broking Limited. Registered Office: Library House, New Road, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 4GD. Registered in England and Wales No. 2661753 (Equity Red Star Services Limited) and No. 6710272 (Equity Direct Broking Limited).
Recruitment
Barbados
Trapezaki Bay Hotel. The Vacationers Paradise. No children. Website: www.trapezakibayhotel.com Email: info@trapezakibayhotel.com
Barbados Spacious one-bedroom apartment on beautiful west coast. See www.portstcharles.com, apartment 254 overlooking lagoon, beach/sea. Teachers 60% off quoted price. Email: margaret975@hotmail.com
Affordable Solos Holidays at Serenity Retreat, Greece – for those on a spiritual or self-development journey. No sharing, no supplements. Optional courses, on-site massage therapist and space! www.serenityretreat.co.uk or Kim on 07921 520166
Airport parking
Looking for a new challenge? Recently retired but still have something to give? Or perhaps you are seeking a fresh challenge before settling down? World City Links is looking for qualified teachers to teach English in schools and colleges across Thailand. You do not need to be an English/CELTA teacher, but you do need to hold qualified teacher status and have a current CRB check. Good terms and conditions, private, public and vocational schools and colleges, urban or countryside, secondary or primary. World City Links is an organisation that shares good education and curriculum practice between the UK and countries around the world. Established in 2001, we have partnerships between schools and colleges in China, Thailand, Brazil and Canada.
Spain
For more information and terms and conditions, please email: rachel@worldcitylinks.net or tel: 0207 9606348
www.worldcitylinks.net
Walk with “Muddy Boots” in Northern Spain. Full-board, walking holiday in superb mountain setting with collection from airports or docks. All rooms en-suite. No single surcharge! Brochure on request to: muddyboots@inicia.es
Resources THE STICKER FACTORY
Tel: (0034) 942 706208 or visit www.muddy-boots.co.uk
Recruitment
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1 ate 20
2
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Customise Cust u omise o i online online l e orr call a for for o details det d ails a s
www.thestickerfactory.co.uk www w w w.tthe h stic tii ke kerr fact a torry.co c .uk . k Call for Call for o a brochure b broc chur h e or p phone ho one o or orders d r FREEPHONE ders FREEPHONE: R P N 0 0800 800 0 05 055 55 6121 1 Teachers required to host and teach adults and/or teenagers from Europe, Russia and Japan in their home on total-immersion English language courses or GCSE/A-Level revision courses in maths, science and business/economics. A professional qualification is required, comfortable home and enthusiasm for sharing your language, culture and location. Short summer placements of 2-3 weeks are available and also year-round placement of 1-4 weeks. Good rates. Tel: 0117 9042483 or email: info@livingenglish.com
Business opportunities Do something amazing! £500 a month? £500 a week? £500 a day? The choice is yours! For free information call David on: 01462 835132
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Resources
BOOST YOUR SCHOOL OR CLUB FUNDS BY HOLDING A FREE ‘PHIL’ THE BAG RECYCLE DAY
Special needs/disability posters Visit www.multicultural-art.co.uk and see our specially designed selection of posters to promote inclusion. Choose from our range of role model posters of individuals who did not let their disability hold them back or of children playing and learning together. Truly inspirational images suitable for all settings. Great for crosscurricular work. Excellent citizenship resources. Browse our many themed galleries today! Tel/fax: 020 8691 4563. Email: positiveimages@aol.com. Pass it on!
Official Textile Recycling Partner of Eco-Schools We are a family-run textile recycling company, founded over 80 years ago and a member of the Textile Recycling Association Visit us on FACEBOOK – ‘Phil’ the Bag We can also recycle your BOOKS!
FREE ‘Phil’ the Bag sacks are provided to the children to take home and fill with their unwanted items of clothing & shoes The children bring in their bags on your Recycle Day, the bags are then weighed and a certificate and cheque land on your doormat before you know it. It’s that easy! No need to be continually approaching parents for financial support to buy important resources, just ask them to ‘Phil’ the Bag – an easy and fun way to raise funds through recycling Only a small school or group? It doesn’t matter as we pay by the kilo – so every item counts! We are now paying up to £600 per tonne! As well as your school or club, the environment will benefit too – because by recycling your clothes for people to re-use, you will be helping to reduce landfill ‘Phil’ also offers FREE fridge magnets, FREE Assemblies, FREE Lesson Plans & Links Abroad, Loyalty Bonus Payments, Competitions and regular Promotions!
www.philthebag.co.uk
EMAIL info@philthebag.co.uk OR CALL 01795 424404 FOR A REGISTRATION FORM
April 2012
WIN £r5k0 in Ma cser & Speners vouch
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Across 1 Ah, teacher upset — the anguish of love! (9) 8 In came moving pictures (6) 9 Scared of a loud sudden attack (6) 12 Cut that’s rough for poor journalist? (4) 13, 14 and 25 across I chose writer I’d translate — something by Laurie Lee (5,4,5) 17 Crying out for a vocation? (7) 18 Not as old as Sir Jimmy and the Queen (7) 19 One who has a drive to be taught? (7) 22 On which to keep books, including Extremely Selfish Fairy Folk? (7) 24 Quick exam — middle of section is in French (4) 25 See 13 across 26 To jab or prod is all right in PE (4) 29 It helps you to see about Miss Turner (6) 30 It’s very unpleasant to be first of 12 or half of 7 (6) 31 Elements of grammar given to criminals? (9)
Down 2 Always in reverse (4) 3 Studying a subject at university town in Thames Valley region (7) 4 Awful day came when this new type of school was established! (7) 5 Heads of Harrow and Roedean play an instrument (4) 6 Relating to government revenue, some relief is called for (6) 7 Cycling in old Yorkshire? (6) 10 Teach cool new set about sweet bar? (9) 11 I join The Corrs, maybe, as a singer (9) 15 and 16 Sadly ruin a note after start of passage — get him to adjust the pitch? (5,5) 20 Some Etonians were asked for a reply (6) 21 Is it read to the mob in a South American city with sensitivity? (4,3) 22 Saint gets 14 involved in immoral act (7) 23 Instrument for inserting fresh oil in French wine (6) 27 Wicked behaviour might be placed before university chancellor (4) 28 Religious Education is iron-bound, yet liberated (4)
The winner of the March crossword competition will be announced on the ATL website. Congratulations to Anna Oughtred, the winner of the February crossword competition.
April 2012
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WIN!
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Last month’s solution — March 2012 Across: 1 Adolescence 9 Chippings 10 Peril 11 Seesaw 12 Diplomat 13 Darwin 15 Asteroid 18 Cul-de-sac 19 Access 21 Argument 23 Caesar 26 Thorn 27 Gallivant 28 Aberystwyth Down: 1 Accused 2 Olive 3 Emphasise 4 Cane 5 Nastiest 6 Expel 7 Deleted 8 Primrose 14 Religion 16 Eucharist 17 Carnegie 18 Chatter 20 Stretch 22 Mania 24 Scary 25 Ally
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Ideas in the mist
ILLUSTRATION: PHIL WRIGGLESWORTH
Dyslexia can be a positive experience, says children’s television presenter Cerrie Burnell, on her experiences of learning to read and write
I Cerrie Burnell Cerrie Burnell is a presenter on BBC CBeebies. She was named in The Observer’s list of the top 10 children’s presenters of all time and featured in The Guardian’s list of the 100 most inspirational women.
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went to Crofton Primary School, Kent, one of the biggest schools in England. It was a lively, colourful place, a hive of activity, swarming with children. It was always full of noise; no matter which corridor you turned down you could always hear someone laughing. I had a peg with my name on. Not that I could read my name, but it had a picture I could recognise and that was exciting! For the first three years of my school life I couldn’t read or write anything. I wouldn’t be able to keep letters within the lines on the page. Somebody would draw a letter and I could copy it, but five minutes later I wouldn’t be able to recognise it again. I can remember sitting among other children and seeing them writing and reading, and thinking “how are they doing that?” My teacher would write on the board what we were doing: reading, writing, art and discovery, but in a different order every day. I worked out that ‘art’ was the shorter word, but I couldn’t read it. And for me ‘reading’ and ‘writing’ both started with an ‘r’, but on the board one started with a ‘w’ — it didn’t make any sense.
I was moved down a year and pulled out of classes, and I had to go on a funny bus to get extra help. But nothing was working. My parents were brilliant, I never felt as if I was failing because they recognised that I was bright. I always had a love of telling stories, threading words together and slowly spinning a web. And I quickly became a good communicator, perhaps to compensate for the fact I couldn’t write or perhaps because I just liked to be heard. Because I wasn’t taking in letters or numbers, I was absorbing everything else, listening to snippets of conversation, inventing names for my teacher’s shoes, studying people’s expressions, watching a bird build its nest and developing my imagination. I was focused, just never on the paper in front of me. I’d always have amazing stories that I’d want to write down but they just came out as squiggles and I could never remember the word I had wanted the squiggle to represent. I had one fantastic teacher, Sylvie, who I’m still in touch with, who would sit in with me over her lunch break while I narrated stories. She would write them down so I could have my work on the wall like everyone else. We discovered I was dyslexic when I was eight, but my mum read to me every night until I was about 10, so I never missed out on books or the world of story, and when I finally was able to read I had an interest. I’ve recently started to work with the charity Volunteer Reading Help. I love it because it gives children access to books, regardless of whether they can read or not. You shouldn’t miss out on the world of reading, which is part of your cultural identity. Fairy tales that every child knows are a reference point. Stories are the way you learn to recognise your history and heritage. Though my dyslexia is fairly severe, my experience of it has been wonderfully positive. I know that’s not been everyone’s experience, but for me it meant that education was about life skills and imagination, rather than academia. A lot of creative people are dyslexic; it’s like being trapped in a mist of confusion, but the ideas within the mist are brilliant. Everyone learns at their own pace, and sometimes it’s a question of finding the key, and the key is different for everyone. If you teach or have a child who is struggling to read, focus on what they’re good at — whether it be drama, running, cooking or giving out pencils. And keep reading out loud to them — their reading and writing will come. April 2012
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