Report April/May 2015

THE MAGAZINE FROM ATL, THE EDUCATION UNION

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

APRIL/MAY 2015 £2.50

Shape Education: how the parties’ pledges square up against ATL’s manifesto Join the debate #ShapeEducation GUIDE

TIME TO THINK

Thinking about your practice can make a difference to students

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CON FERENC E 2015

KEY SPEECHES Pre-election messages from ATL’s Conference

FINAL WORD

SOWING SEEDS Getting children into the garden

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Contents UPFRONT

Y O U R AT L

4 UPDATE

USEFUL CONTACTS

ATL sets out its vision for inspection and fights against FE cuts

9

NORTHERN IRELAND AND WALES

Mark Langhammer and Philip Dixon’s views ahead of the Westminster election

F E AT U R E S

11

22

How to get in touch with ATL

23 LEGAL ADVICE

Updated guidance on disqualification by association

24 YOUR VIEWS

ATL members on woodwork for creativity, collective worship and David Cameron’s plans for more academies

25

CONFERENCE CATCH-UP

General secretary Mary Bousted, ATL president Mark Baker and Labour education spokesperson Tristram Hunt’s speeches from ATL’s Annual Conference

CROSSWORD

Your chance to win a £50 M&S voucher with Report’s competition

27

NOTICEBOARD

Information about insurance cover, pension flexibilities and working in European schools

15 USE YOUR VOTE

ATL’s manifesto and what the political parties are saying on education ahead of the election

21 GUIDE

The benefits of taking time to become a thinking teacher Report is the magazine from ATL, 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD Tel 020 7930 6441 Fax 020 7930 1359 Email report@atl.org.uk or membership@atl.org.uk Website www.atl.org.uk Editors Alex Tomlin, Charlotte Tamvakis Report is produced and designed for ATL by Think Publishing, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London NW1 5DH Tel 020 3771 7200 Email info@thinkpublishing.co.uk Senior sub editor Rachel Kurzfield Art director Darren Endicott Designer Alix Thomazi Advertising sales Michael Coulsey or Anthony Bennett 020 3771 7200 Account manager Kieran Paul Managing director Polly Arnold

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29 YOUR RESOURCES

Newsletters for reps and members in independent schools, plus summer events especially for reps

30

FINAL WORD

Gardening guru Adam Frost on getting children into gardening

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

While every reasonable care is taken to ensure that all advertisers are reliable and reputable, ATL can give no assurance that they will fulfil their obligation under all circumstances.

The views expressed in articles in Report are the contributors’ own and do not necessarily reflect

ATL policy. Official policy statements issued on behalf of ATL are indicated as such. All rights reserved.

Material contained in this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior permission of ATL. Cover illustration: Sherry Design

Welcome MARK BAKER, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, ATL Christmas came and went. Easter’s come and gone. Next stop, summer!

ATL’s Annual Conference has set our direction for the next 12 months and, as it always does, has provided solutions, celebrated success and reaffirmed our professionalism and commitment.

There’s still one uncertainty but at least it should almost be over. What will be our new political direction? You can’t get away from it just yet as Report (p15) seeks to maximise this brief moment in time to use our voice, hold the politicians to account and influence education policy. This opportunity will soon disappear for another five years.

We argue, coherently, for an education system that offers hope, that prepares young people for the outside world and which helps every child and young person to achieve the best they can to live fulfilled lives. Let’s hope the politicians have listened.

We also await with anticipation the challenges ahead. Austerity, change and more change have been the watchwords for the past five years. I suspect they won’t disappear. One thing is sure: the adversity we face is bringing our profession back together. The more we stand together and work together, the stronger our voice.

We are becoming more emboldened to face up to those who do us down.

On that note, in response to Ofsted’s ongoing travails, ATL has produced a new vision for inspection (p4), one which supports, improves and will actually work. A good read indeed; enjoy.

JOIN THE DEBATE…

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

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

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U P D AT E

IN WORDS

ATL’S A NEW VISION FOR INSPECTION IN SCHOOLS IS AVAILABLE AT WWW.ATL.ORG.UK/VISIONFORINSPECTION

JOIN THE DEBATE… report@atl.org.uk @ATLReport facebook.com/ATLUnion Report, ATL, 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD

Inspection or improvement?

ATL’s series of pre-election debates about education ended with a look at inspection, featuring opinions from across the political spectrum and that very few high-performing countries have an inspection system like ours.

Jonathan Simons, head of education at think tank Policy Exchange, agreed with Mary about the weaknesses of Ofsted, but said improvement could be a by-product of inspection. “We want to know how individual schools are doing, we want to show progress … and have a knowledge of the system overall,” he said.

“Inspection should be about ‘good’ and ‘not good’,” he added, suggesting we should be less concerned about the difference between ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’.

The final panellist, David Simmonds, chairman of the Local Government Association’s children and young people board, was concerned about a culture where “what gets measured gets done”.

“Teachers look at what Ofsted measures and do it. Does that serve our children?” he asked, concluding that “Ofsted focuses too narrowly on a set of outcomes”.

See more about this at www.atl.org.uk/ shapeeducationdebates. Download ATL’s A New Vision for Inspection in Schools at www.atl.org.uk/visionforinspection.

ATL general secretary Mary Bousted speaks at ATL’s debate on accountability in February (L to R) Mary Bousted, ATL; David Simmonds, LGA; Zoe Williams; Jonathan Simons, Policy Exchange; Sean Harford, Ofsted

PHOTOS: SARAH TURTON

Held at the RSA in London in February and chaired by journalist Zoe Williams, the question posed to panellists was ‘What’s the top priority: inspection or improvement?’

Sean Harford, national director of schools for Ofsted, took exception to the question, saying it contained a false dichotomy and one only had to look at the evidence to see that “inspection and improvement go hand in hand”. He claimed that inspection, among many other factors, had driven improvement in education over the past 20 years, and a better question would be to ask what kind of inspection is needed.

ATL general secretary Mary Bousted responded by saying “the current model of inspection is causing chaos”, and then going on to demonstrate the link between Ofsted and excessive workload and the consequent “looming teacher supply crisis”.

“Teaching has become incompatible with normal life,” she added, voicing her concern that the most important factor in education, the quality of teaching, is going to suffer.

Flagging up ATL’s alternative vision for locally based inspection, she said that it is a nonsense to give a single grade for a school,

Members persuading the politicians

(L to R) Paul Ronayne, ATL Wirral district president; Angela Eagle, MP for Wallasey; and Jeff Bevan, ATL Wirral district secretary

4 REPORT | APRIL/MAY 2015

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Members continued to meet their MPs as part of ATL’s Shape Education campaign in the runup to the election.

In February, members of ATL’s Wirral branch met Angela Eagle, Labour MP for Wallasey and shadow leader of the House of Commons. Among the issues they discussed were fundamental British values, management structures, the role of teacher-governors, school finances, academies and free schools.

The branch raised the importance of re-establishing the social partnership and a support staff negotiating body, while Ms Eagle

talked about how schools could be returned to local democratic control.

In early March, members from a primary school met Caroline Nokes, Conservative MP for Romsey and Southampton North and member of the Education Select Committee, with whom they discussed their concerns on a number of issues, including plans to introduce reception class baseline testing.

One member said: “It is important for the development of these children that the teacher is allowed the time to get to know each child before formally assessing them.”

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U P D AT E

IN NUMBER S

“IT WAS ENCOURAGING TO HEAR FROM THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO HAVE BENEFITED FROM FANTASTIC APPRENTICESHIPS”

Appreciating apprenticeships ATL took part in meetings exploring the issues around apprenticeships early in 2015 Lessons from ATL’s innovative Union Learning Fund (ULF) project for 2014-15 were highlighted by ATL at The Voice of Apprenticeships Conference in March.

ATL’s national official for post-16 education, Norman Crowther, joined ATL ULF project workers Rebecca Poorhady and Miranda Harr to talk about the lessons learned through collaborative working after the first year of the project.

Dr Crowther explained: “ATL is the only teacher trade union with a nationally funded ULF project to support apprenticeships, traineeships and the teaching of English and maths.

“The project was about identifying where we could add value to colleges’ current provision. More than 2,000 staff in colleges and schools accessed our targeted workshops.”

Other speakers at the event included Yvonne Fovargue MP, who spoke about Labour’s plans for apprenticeships and careers advice, and representatives from awarding organisations and employers.

In February, ATL policy adviser Janet Clark took part in a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships, where results of the Industry Apprentice Council’s annual survey were unveiled, showing careers advice about apprenticeships is not as readily available as advice on university and college applications. The meeting was attended by key stakeholders, including current apprentices, employers and training providers.

Ms Clark said: “It was encouraging to hear from the young people who have benefited from fantastic apprenticeships, and the employers who are committed to delivering high-quality schemes. There are, however, gaps in the careers advice in schools. This area is underfunded following Government changes.”

ATL would like to hear from members delivering and/or managing apprenticeships in FE colleges and careers advice in schools and colleges to establish networks in these areas to ensure their voices are heard: email jclark@atl.org.uk.

Independent influence ATL’s collective voice in the independent sector continues to grow as more schools are recognising ATL for collective bargaining and representation.

In February, members at Berkhamsted School in Hertfordshire signed a recognition agreement with their employer for ATL to collectively represent all staff – and with ATL membership at the school now well over 100, it is vying to be one of the largest ATL school memberships.

Laura Redman, the ATL rep at the school, said: “Once the executive team and governors accepted that staff wanted professional backing from ATL in negotiations, they became supportive. The voluntary recognition agreement has helped to re-establish the sound working WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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relationship that both the staff and the executive team were looking for. We have negotiated a generous pay rise for staff in September and are looking at ways to enhance working conditions.”

Meanwhile, at the Coventry School Foundation, which includes King Henry VIII School, King Henry VIII Preparatory School, Bablake Senior School, Bablake Junior School and Bablake Pre-Prep School, discussions are progressing to extend existing collective negotiation agreements to include support staff.

If you would like more information, speak to ATL’s national official for the independent sector, John Richardson, on 020 7930 6441 or email jrichardson@atl.org.uk.

24%

The cut in adult FE funding for 2015-16

Fighting the FE funding cuts

ATL wants the Government to reconsider its decision to cut the adult further education budget in England by almost a quarter.

In February, it was announced that funding for non-apprenticeship adult education in England would decrease by 24% in 2015-16.

ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: “ATL had hoped the FE and skills sector would not face any further budget cuts in the coming year; however, this announcement makes it clear this will not be the case.

“FE has borne the brunt of a massive reduction in funding, particularly for education and training for over-19s. This looks like nothing less than a deliberate attempt to destroy the sector.”

ATL is supporting a petition, so far signed by more than 30,000 people, that calls for the Government to rethink the cut, which will leave millions of the most vulnerable adults without access to education.

For more on the petition, see www.ucu.org.uk/fefunding, or follow the discussion on Twitter using #LoveFE. To get involved, see www.atl.org.uk/fecuts.

Berkhamsted School hands members the keys to their new ATL office after signing a recognition agreement at the school

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UPDATE

IN PIC TURES

ATL’s delegation at the TUC women’s conference in March

IN BRIEF

PHOTO: ROD LEON

Campaigning for carers ATL called for more support for carers at the TUC women’s conference in March.

The union had a 17-strong delegation at the event in London, led by ATL Executive and Equality and Diversity Committee member Avie Kaur, where it seconded a composited motion on women and young carers that was carried unanimously.

ATL Derbyshire joint branch secretary Cathy Tattersfield, who spoke to the motion, said: “A major issue is that carers, both young and old, don’t recognise in the first instance that they have taken up this role, and that it is impacting on their income, education, social networks and wider families.

They therefore do not look for help.

Carers don’t fit stereotypes.”

The motion explained how three in five of us will become a carer at some point in our lives, that more than two thirds of young carers have been bullied because of their role, and that just one in six organisations have policies to help carers.

It called for guidance for reps supporting those with caring responsibilities along with work to raise awareness among carers of their rights, as well as among employers and schools of what it means to be a carer.

Young Carers in Schools are new partners in ATL’s Safer Schools Network – for more information see www.saferschools.org.uk.

NORTHERN IRELAND ACTION More than three quarters of members in Northern Ireland schools have voted to take industrial action short of strike action over pay.

In a ballot, 84% voted to take the action with fellow unions UTU and INTO over breach of contract, notably the loss of automatic incremental progression and the proposal to impose performance-related pay. The action, due to start on 30 March, aims to protect classroom learning and teaching, while targeting “mindless” accountability, duplication, bureaucracy and administration.

Mark Langhammer, director of ATL in Northern Ireland, said: “Members have given us the message ‘enough is enough’.

This work-to-rule action is designed to build boundaries around teachers’ time and workload.”

ATL has offered schools the option of disabling the action in return for a root-andbranch review of accountability, bureaucracy and administration, driven by teachers.

Pay rise appreciated, but concerns remain

ATL has welcomed the decision to award teachers a one per cent pay increase, but has warned it is not enough to prevent a recruitment and retention crisis in teaching The Government accepted the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) recommendations for the pay rise for teachers in England and Wales, which also include a maximum two per cent rise to the top of the teachers’ main pay scale. The recommendation is currently out for consultation, closing in late April.

Responding, ATL general secretary Mary Bousted, said: “ATL congratulates the STRB for breaking the one per cent cap on public sector pay awards. However, the STRB is clear there is a problem with recruitment and retention and that it is getting worse.

“As well as addressing this acute problem, the Government has to be prepared to raise pay as the economy improves - the British public expects this as part of the deal following years of austerity.”

ATL believes pay is an important element in making teaching an attractive profession so pupils have access to the best-qualified

teachers. However, the exact pay of teachers in the maintained sector is set by schools within nationally agreed levels, while the additional cost of these increases has to be met by existing school budgets.

Dr Bousted added: “Pay awards should be fully funded so some teachers don’t suffer while others gain. All teachers deserve a pay rise and they must not be held back to fund higher increases for a favoured few.

Sadly, this award does little to address the 12% fall in teachers’ pay in real terms since 2010.

“We must also ensure teachers see today’s award in their pay packets and that it is not just a headline figure ignored by schools when making these decisions. With today’s children and teenagers under more pressure than ever, the Government has a responsibility to ensure there are enough teachers, who are well rewarded, to provide an excellent education.”

EARLY YEARS SCRUTINY Instead of baseline assessment and phonics testing, the focus for four- and five-year-olds should be making sure provision is play-based and led by qualified specialist teachers, says ATL. ATL outlined its concerns about the Government’s evidence to an Education Selection Committee inquiry into school starting age and summer-born children in its own response to the committee.

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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Nansi Ellis, ATL assistant general secretary, policy, explained: “The Government’s policy response to the evidence on school starting age and summer-born children simply does not go far enough. By introducing a baseline assessment and continuing with the phonics test, the Government continues to overly formalise the foundation stage curriculum and heap pressure on four- and five-year-olds.

“The Government needs to do more to ensure that, when children do start school, the provision is right for them - that it is play-based, led by qualified early years teachers and supported by qualified support professionals. School leaders should also have a strong understanding of how the youngest children learn and develop.”

You can read this and all ATL’s responses to consultations at www.atl.org.uk/responses.

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THE VIEW FROM… NORTHERN IRELAND/WALES

Northern Ireland Wales MARK LANGHAMMER

DR PHILIP DIXON

Northern Ireland’s votes could have a real impact on 7 May

Ask the politicians about their intentions on education spending

THE GENERAL ELECTION presents a choice between austerity and austerity-lite, but is enlivened by the likelihood that no party will secure a majority.

Even Northern Irish votes, normally quarantined from UK politics, may count.

The UK boasts the fifthlargest economy in the world but is in deep trouble: it has one of the biggest budget deficits in the G20, with borrowings in the last eight years reaching more than in the rest of the state’s 300-plus-year history. The economy is not productive, with shrivelled manufacturing incapable of taking advantage of the devalued currency. Tax evasion and banking fraud are widespread, and the

UK’s money creation policies bear comparison to those of the Weimar Republic. That is the electoral context.

George Osborne set out his vision in the October Budget statement, with £23 billion in cuts across the public service in the next Parliament. The Office of Budget Responsibility estimated this would shrink the state to 35.2% of GDP by 2019-20, the lowest since 1938. This will be reflected in the Northern Ireland block grant, with around 2,500 teaching jobs to be lost and redundancies among support staff.

Ed Miliband’s alternative, with less-severe cuts over a longer period, offers little solace either. Labour looks ‘frit’ cautious, with a paucity of ambition demonstrating a disconnect with the public mood. It is possible that an SNP landslide in Scotland will lend backbone to a centre-left coalition, perhaps with the Greens, Plaid Cymru and the Northern Irish SDLP. Meanwhile, ATL’s election manifesto in Northern Ireland is at www.atl.org.uk/ Images/atlni-manifesto.pdf.

THE WESTMINSTER election is not far away. Because education is a devolved matter, how members in Wales vote will not directly affect what goes on in our schools and colleges. That will be decided in National Assembly elections next year.

That is not to say that this election does not matter; far from it. The future direction of the UK – and possibly the future of the UK itself – will be decided as almost never before. It will be interesting to watch the horse-trading for coalition partners that now seems inevitable. Coalitions may still be relatively new in

will impact education spending in Wales as well as the rest of the UK. Given that Wales has been consistently underfunded for more than a decade by the ruling regime – with the periodic connivance of all the other political parties – any new budget restraint is very bad news for our schools and colleges.

It is not for your union to tell you how to vote. But when the politicians come a-calling please grill them all on where they stand on education spending. Don’t let them pass the buck. Would they vote to spend more on education? Yes or no – it’s quite simple.

“ANY NEW BUDGET RESTRAINT IS VERY BAD NEWS FOR OUR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES” Westminster, but they have been more the norm than not in the devolved territories, and most of the rest of Europe for that matter.

As Mark Langhammer says in his column on this page, the choice at this election is not the best, with nearly all the main players offering some version of austerity.

Cuts to public expenditure

Our manifesto, your vote Share our manifesto with colleagues, parents, governors, MPs and decision-makers www.atl.org.uk/manifesto Find out how you can get involved at organise@atl.org.uk Join the debate #ShapeEducation @ATLUnion @ATL_AMiE

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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CON FE R E NCE 2015

ATL Conference 2015

REPORT ROUNDS UP THE KEY PREELECTION SPEECHES FROM ATL’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN LIVERPOOL

// End of term review

ATL GENERAL SECRETARY MARY BOUSTED’S CONFERENCE 2015 ADDRESS EXAMINED A SPEECH BY MICHAEL GOVE FIVE YEARS AGO TO SEE HOW WHAT HE PROMISED COMPARED TO WHAT HE DELIVERED

Mary Bousted used the last ATL Conference before the upcoming general election to take a look back at former education secretary Michael Gove’s time in office. Reminding delegates that Mr Gove had not attended ATL’s Conference since 2010, she took another look at his speech to members that year to see how his pre-election promises from five years ago panned out.

One claim that stood out, Mary noted, was that Mr Gove said he rejected ideologies and believed in evidence. He told ATL’s 2010 Conference: “What’s backed up by evidence and success in the classroom is worth building on.”

But then, as Mary pointed out: “Michael Gove proved himself to be an unparalleled ideologue. The first act of the coalition was to pass the 2010 Academies Act ... which enabled the explosion of academy schools, the establishment of free schools and the appointment of unqualified teachers in academy and free schools.”

And has this change to the education landscape raised standards? The jury is out, Mary said, with no clear evidence either way in these relatively early days.

However, she did cite the Public Accounts Committee’s February 2015 report on school oversight and intervention, which revealed 18 academy chains have been prevented from expanding further because of concerns about standards.

She also drew attention to the committee’s conclusion that confusion over the responsibilities of the Department for Education, the Education Funding Agency (EFA), local authorities and academy sponsors has allowed some schools to fall through gaps in the system, with safeguarding, finances and governance potentially compromised.

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“But one thing is for sure,” Mary went on, “if you are an entrepreneurial school leader, beware being lauded by Michael Gove.” She recalled how Mr Gove praised Sajid Hussain Raza, founder and former head of the Kings Science Academy in Bradford, who is now facing multiple allegations of fraud, false accounting and obtaining money by deception.

Patricia Sowter, executive head of Cuckoo Hall Academy Trust, was also one of Mr Gove’s favourites - but the trust has recently been served with a financial notice to improve from the EFA, which records serious breaches of safeguarding regulations. Furthermore, Mr Gove’s “favourite headteacher”, Sir Greg Martin, is executive headteacher of Durand Academies Trust, which has recently been served with a financial notice to improve by the EFA. Looking more widely, Mary told members about the National Audit Office qualifying the DfE’s accounts “because the DfE has to ‘hypothesise’ – or ‘guess’ – what academies spend for seven months of the year”.

“Conference, this is what happens when you set schools free but fail to put in place the systems to hold them to account,” she continued. “I warned Michael Gove, repeatedly, that it would not be possible to run schools from Whitehall. He ignored this warning and the consequences are clear for all to see.

In essence, our education system is being run on a wing and a prayer.

“It is crying out for a locally based, democratically accountable body that provides oversight and support to schools and gives parents and pupils a place to go when they have issues or concerns.” This middle tier would broker

school collaboration, and oversee the commissioning of new schools and school places, and, crucially, school inspection and improvement.

This last aspect is essential because “the evidence is overwhelming – Ofsted isn’t working”, Mary said. “Ofsted is plagued with quality-control problems and has, not a credibility gap, but a credibility chasm with the teaching profession.”

Mary outlined ATL’s alternative vision for a local inspection system overseen by a national body (see www.atl.org.uk/ visionforinspection). “ATL’s vision for inspection is mould-breaking,” she said.

Returning to Michael Gove’s 2010 speech, she recalled his statement that “the single most important thing in any education system is the quality of teaching.” He went on to say that the bestperforming countries are those where teachers are given autonomy over how they do their job, and that he wanted to give teaching professionals in England that freedom.

However, at the end of the coalition’s term, there are record numbers of teachers leaving the profession and a crisis of teacher supply. “Why are we losing the next generation of teachers?”

Mary asked. “Is it that they learn as they work with exhausted and stressed colleagues that teaching has become a profession incompatible with a normal life? Teaching has become a profession monitored to within an inch of its life.” 3 APRIL/MAY 2015 | REPORT 11

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This is where Michael Gove’s successor Nicky Morgan, who did not accept ATL’s invitation to speak at Conference, missed “a golden opportunity to do something tangible about excessive teacher workload”, Mary said, referring to the Workload Challenge. “More than 44,000 teachers told her accountability and bureaucracy are the two main drivers of workload,” yet she has failed to do anything about the main cause of those two factors: Ofsted.

Moving from Ofsted to Ofqual, Mary described “a tsunami of curriculum and qualification changes threatening to engulf schools and colleges as Ofqual, the qualification agency, marches on – leaving dismay and devastation in its wake.

“Ofqual is staffed by fundamentalists,” Mary continued, “true believers who worship the exam. It ignores the concerns of subject experts, subject associations, teachers, and employers who argue that qualification reform is travelling smartly in the wrong direction. Ofqual ignores the CBI ... which is extremely concerned about the assessment of school-leavers’ practical skills and abilities.”

Mary went on to highlight the absurdity of GCSE results being tied to a cohort’s key stage 2 results from five years previously, meaning that it is impossible to demonstrate system-wide improvement in teaching.

“So, are we downhearted?” Mary asked. “Well, if I am to be honest, I am, sometimes. It is immensely frustrating to predict there will be trouble ahead and to be ignored. But when I am feeling a little down, I remember just what an immensely privileged position I hold: general secretary of ATL, the best education union.”

She concluded with a message to those vying for our votes on 7 May. “I want politicians to ... use evidence-informed policy rather than policy-informed evidence. I want politicians to respect the motives and expertise of education professionals, not assume we are in it for ourselves. Let me remind politicians that they do not raise standards. It is us, here in this hall today, education professionals, support staff, teachers, lecturers and school leaders who raise standards of education for all.

“And if you do not take better care of us, you will reap the bitter reward of parental fury when there is no teacher for their child. This is a crisis of your own making. You have been warned. Will you listen? And will you act?”

12 REPORT | APRIL/MAY 2015

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// Freedom to thrive

LABOUR’S TRISTRAM HUNT SET OUT HIS PARTY’S PLANS FOR EDUCATION AT ATL’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN MARCH. ALL THREE MAIN PARTIES HAD BEEN INVITED - BUT ONLY LABOUR ATTENDED

Labour’s education spokesperson told Conference far-reaching reform of Ofsted is needed, before adding his support to ATL’s new vision for school inspection. He also committed to ending the “exam factory” model of schooling, the burgeoning bureaucracy and political interference in education.

Mr Hunt told delegates: “I want to see an inspectorate that moves beyond box-ticking and data-dependence … that allows heads with a strong track record the space to innovate and develop a richer criterion of school achievement … that is free from even the merest suspicion of politicisation and political interference.

“I want to see consistency and support in the assessment of teaching and learning, with no prescriptions made on pedagogy. I want to see an end to the nonsense of further education experts inspecting primary schools, and other equally absurd misallocations. What I really want is to see an inspectorate that carries the full confidence of the profession, parents and business.”

Referring to a speech by Ofsted’s national director for schools, which suggested that in a decade the inspectorate’s role would be moderating judgements and assessing peer-reviews, he said: “This is a vision for Ofsted that unquestionably resembles Mary Bousted and ATL’s idea of a supportive, light-touch, profession-led, centrally moderated, peer review system of inspection. The Labour Party backs this emerging consensus – and is committed to making it a reality.”

To applause from delegates, Mr Hunt also described how heads and teachers are doing great work “despite the system, rather than because of it”. He added: “The days of education by diktat are over. It does not work. The next Labour Government will get out of the way, will roll back the frontiers of bureaucratic central control, charting a course away – carefully and consensually – from the ‘exam factory’ vision of recent years. No more rewriting the curriculum over a long weekend. No more changing assessment criteria in the middle of a school year. No more removing [a] work of fiction from the syllabus

“THE DAYS OF EDUCATION BY DIKTAT ARE OVER. IT DOES NOT WORK” because it does not fit my world-view. No removing levels then bringing them back again under the radar.”

Labour’s approach would be based on collaboration, trust, creativity and innovation, he said, while academy freedoms would be extended to all schools. Mr Hunt said his party would also protect the education budget, including early years and post-16 spending, end the free schools policy, and ensure all children receive excellent, age-appropriate sex and relationships education. Teachers should be qualified and be supported by a “far better national architecture” for training and development, he said, while the School Support Staff Negotiating Body would be reinstated.

He concluded: “We can put an end to the ceaseless ‘initiative-itis’. As someone who has had the privilege to educate young people, I fully understand its liberating power, that it is about skills and understanding, about gaining a cultural inheritance, about training one’s mind, about creativity, socialisation and enjoyment, about academic and emotional capacity, about character, happiness, well-being and resilience. But most of all it is about freedom, granting young people the freedom and power to shape their own lives.

“Teachers and professionals need that freedom to thrive too. I hope to ground the next chapter of English education reform squarely in that tradition, and remove this centrally controlling, targetobsessed Government from inflicting five more years of evidence-free market mania on our children’s future.”

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CON FE R E NCE 2015

// History repeating itself

PHOTOS: SARAH TURTON

MARK BAKER, ATL PRESIDENT, CALLED ON MEMBERS TO STAND UP FOR CHILDREN’S LIFE CHANCES AND FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS

“For me, teaching is the best job in the world,” ATL president Mark Baker told ATL members in Liverpool.

Reflecting on his career working with children with special educational needs, he recalled: “I was lucky enough to work ... with some of the most gifted children you could ever meet; wise beyond words, stoic yet often so vulnerable. Like so many of us I found a sense of purpose, a sense of community and was rewarded by the difference I could make.”

However, looking back at the beginning of his career in the early 1980s, Mark found uncomfortable parallels with the present day: banking crises, wholesale job losses, a stagnant economy, social discontent, an agenda of indiscriminate privatisation and cuts in public services, all with a backdrop of anti-trade union legislation and the most vulnerable in society bearing the greatest pain.

“The life chances of young people depend upon successful teaching and learning,” he said, “and last September, I laid down a challenge to policy-makers to either up their game and listen to the profession or stand aside as they are ruining the life chances of too many. Well they didn’t, and they haven’t, and today we reap the rewards.

“We have seen an unprecedented rate of change imposed upon education by a Government driven by dogma, cronyism and privilege, and with apparently no understanding of the real world in which everyone else lives.”

This is a world, he went on, in which a recent Children’s Society survey found around a quarter of a million children have had their school chosen for them by their parents based on the cost of its uniform.

“As austerity and the long-hours culture take their toll upon schools and parents, the impact on our children and young people is no less damaging,” he said. “Our children are the most tested in the world.

The pressure of SATs is demoralising and sapping confidence at an early age, where trying your very best isn’t good enough.

“There’s no opportunity for children to play, develop or learn of the real world in which they live, constrained as they are by a narrow curriculum, one which disenfranchises and sets so many up to fail.”

He added the fixation with data and league tables causes schools to ask how WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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children can meet the needs of the school’s league table position rather than how the school can meet the needs of the child.

Mark also queried the coalition’s commitment to “Michael Gove’s pet academies project” despite the Commons Education Select Committee saying there is no evidence at all that academy status raises standards. “Some succeed, usually at the expense of neighbouring schools, but others fail spectacularly,” Mark stated.

“Most are set up by faith groups or big academy chains with no local authority oversight over their agendas. They are a drain on resources for the benefit of a few at a time of spending cuts in education and youth services for everyone else.”

However, Mark did praise the former education secretary for one accomplishment. “Michael Gove may or may not have gone to lurk in the shadows,

“OUR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES SHOULD BE FREE FROM THE WHIMS OF TRANSIENT POLITICIANS”

but there is one thing he achieved above all the chaos and adversity he created. He has brought our profession together like no one else. Through his own failings, be it narcissism, arrogance, narrowmindedness, an addiction to novelty or just incompetence, his flawed policies have emboldened us, restored our confidence and strengthened our voice. He has empowered us. This is Michael Gove’s legacy and one of which he should be rightly proud.”

Mark warned delegates this legacy must endure, “because if it does, our profession will go from strength to strength and so will the provision for our children and young people, their life chances enhanced.

“Our schools and colleges should be free from the whims of transient politicians who so often appear more concerned with their own egos and expenses than providing coherent and inclusive highquality education policy.”

He concluded: “We must continue to look far, far ahead from where we are now.

We must look to meet the needs of those who have yet to join our profession.

“The opportunity is here for us to take back ownership and it would be a damning indictment indeed were our epitaphs to read ‘we saw it coming and yet did nothing’.” n Coverage of motions, debates and events at ATL’s Annual Conference will feature in the June issue of Report.

APRIL/MAY 2015 | REPORT 13

10/04/2015 10:44

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09/04/2015 16:55 12:41 26/03/2015

SPOTLIGHT ON… 2015 ELECTION

MORE THAN A THOUSAND of you came to regional conferences where you told us what matters to you and your hopes for education. This shaped ATL’s education manifesto, launched in the House of Commons in May 2014. ATL’s manifesto for education was formed from the experiences and opinions of ATL members - teachers, lecturers, support staff and school leaders.

Our manifesto is just one element of ATL’s Shape Education campaign, which has seen members debating the issues raised in the manifesto by writing to their MPs and attending MPs’ surgeries alongside ATL conferences, CPD events and meetings.

Its themes were also debated in a recent series of high-profile ATL debates by panels of expert speakers.

ATL’s first key manifesto theme is that children and young people need a broad and balanced curriculum that focuses on skills development as well as academic excellence and prepares them for life. So many exams are taken that the system is creaking. Schools have lost faith in the ability of exam boards to award the right grades and appeals have risen.

Yet the coalition Government’s return to an over-reliance on testing through final exams, which assess just a small part of pupils’ achievements, and its drive to promote a narrowly academic curriculum, ignore the skills and attributes young people need and the skills employers say they need: communication and analytical skills; IT skills; creativity; interpersonal skills; resilience; a strong work ethic; and empathy.

ATL’s second manifesto theme demands young people get a better deal – including access to further education, training and development so they can develop the skills and dispositions they need for fulfilling working lives in the 21st century. They also need good careers guidance to show what opportunities, qualifications and experiences are available to them.

The third theme is that education must be valued as a social good. We do not want our schools to be run for profit, but we know that this is already happening, as board members of academy trusts and free schools make full use of related transactions to provide ‘services’ to their schools – HR, estate management, IT – all meant to be provided ‘at cost’, but with no apparent means to ensure this is the case.

ATL wants every penny of public money spent on schools to be for the benefit of students, not to line the pockets of academy trustees or their relatives. No Government can run thousands of schools from Whitehall, as the recent financial scandals in some academy trusts and free schools demonstrate all too clearly.

ATL’s fourth manifesto theme concerns working lives. We argue that unless better care is taken of those who work in education, standards of pupil achievement will fall. We want a serious response to the issues blighting teachers’ working lives and an end to the spiralling workload pressures that make teaching an unattractive and unsustainable profession.

Standards in education systems are built on teaching quality – but the fact is we are starting to run out of teachers. One in 12 leave the profession every year, citing workload, pressures of inspection and the pace of change as key factors in their departure. And there is a looming teacher supply crisis, with, last year, 5,000 fewer entrants to initial teacher training than in 2011. This all comes when pupil numbers are rising – by 18% in primary schools in the next eight years. Where are the nation’s teachers going to come from if all they can be offered is unremitting pressure and average working weeks of 58 hours?

Which leads us to our last manifesto theme: ATL believes the current inspection system run by Ofsted is not working.

Ofsted has a credibility problem with the profession and with politicians; the agency is no longer trusted to make accurate and reliable judgements on individual schools. It is essential we replace the current Ofsted inspection system, which oversimplifies the nature of teaching practice while failing to build consensus about what effective practice is and how research informs it; generates workload without supporting teaching and learning; limits teacher and school leader innovation; and uses ineffectively trained additional inspectors.

ATL proposes a new approach to inspection: one tailored to school improvement; proportionate in its impact; working with, not against, teachers; conducted by subject/age phase experts; and that results in judgements that are valid and reliable.

Follow the debate #ShapeEducation @ATLunion @MaryBoustedATL.

WITH THE ELECTION DAYS AWAY, ATL GENERAL SECRETARY MARY BOUSTED OUTLINES ATL’S PRIORITIES FOR EDUCATION AND WE COMPARE THE POLITICAL PARTIES’ PROMISES AGAINST THESE KEY THEMES

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SPOTLIGHT ON… 2015 ELECTION

USE YOUR VOTE 1

WHAT THE PARTIES ARE PLEDGING

ATL: YOUNG PEOPLE NEED AN ASSESSMENT SYSTEM AND A BROAD AND BALANCED CURRICULUM THAT FOCUSES ON SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND PREPARES THEM FOR LIFE

Conservatives R Plan to make the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) compulsory; say every child should learn the core knowledge in English, maths and science, because those are the subjects universities and employers value.

R Want to create an additional three million apprenticeships by the end of the next Parliament.

R

experience at 14-to-16, and compulsory age-appropriate sex and relationships education in every school.

Would also guarantee two hours of organised sport a week, strengthen creative education in schools and after-school clubs, and lower the voting age to 16 alongside a redesigned curriculum for citizenship education.

Liberal Democrats R Would establish an independent Labour R Wants a broad and balanced education standards body removed curriculum to be an Ofsted criteria. from ministerial interference, R Would redress attempts to downgrade responsible for curriculum content the creative subjects. and exam standards.

R Would lower the cap on tuition fees R Would aim to eradicate illiteracy to £6,000. and innumeracy.

R Would guarantee an apprenticeship R Would introduce a minimum to every school leaver. curriculum entitlement – a slimmed R Wants to raise the status and quality down core national curriculum – to of vocational education and skills. be taught in all state-funded schools, R Would transform vocational education which would include curriculum in schools and colleges, with a new for life – including financial literacy, gold standard technical baccalaureate citizenship, and age-appropriate sex for 16- to 19-year-olds, including and relationships education.

R Would improve the quality of rigorous vocational qualifications, vocational education. accredited by employers, a highquality work placement and English Greens and maths to 18.

R Would give children the creativity, R Would replace national curriculum character and resilience they need to with a set of learning entitlements, succeed, including compulsory work and learners and teachers would

R

R

R

develop curriculum content to suit their needs and interests together.

Want children’s opinions on what and how they are taught to be taken into account in accordance with UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Want an agenda for citizenship determined by an independent body such as the Politics Association, not by central Government.

Would see children from the age of seven learn at least one language in addition to English.

UKIP R Wants to remove tuition fees for students studying science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine on the condition they live and work in the UK for five years following graduation.

R Would scrap the 50% university target.

R Would have one exam board for GCSE and one for A-level to stop the perception of ‘easier’ papers.

R Would create an apprenticeship qualification option to take the place of four GCSEs and be carried on to A-level.

R Would return to the three Rs in primary school.

R Would scrap sex and relationships education for under-11s.

THIS INFORMATION WAS DRAWN TOGETHER FROM PUBLISHED POLICIES, INTERVIEWS AND SPEECHES FROM THE PARTIES IN THE LEAD-UP TO THE ELECTION, AND WAS CORRECT AT THE TIME THIS ISSUE OF REPORT WENT TO PRESS.

16 REPORT | APRIL/MAY 2015

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YOUNG PEOPLE NEED A STAKE IN SOCIETY; THE TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL TO FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION AND TO THE WORLD OF WORK MUST BE HELPED THROUGH FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND EXCELLENT CAREERS GUIDANCE AND INFORMATION 2

Conservatives R Would be likely to continue with the new careers and enterprise company they launched in late 2014 to transform careers education and advice for young people and support greater links between employers and schools/colleges.

Labour R Would cut the cap on tuition fees to £6,000 for all undergraduates from September 2016, including for students who are part-way through a course.

R Would increase the full student grant to £3,800, benefiting students who have a household income below £42,620.

R Believes high-quality careers advice in schools and colleges is essential to help all young people make the right choices, and to ensure students are given quality information on academic and vocational qualifications and apprenticeships.

Liberal Democrats R Would improve provision of independent careers information, advice and guidance for all, including through job centres for people seeking new options later in life.

Greens R Are considering a change in schooling at the age of 14, because social and emotional development suggests this is a good time for a new start in a more adult atmosphere and aptitudes and likely career paths are easier to diagnose; from this age education may be provided in cooperation with workplace learning/training.

R Want it to continue to be compulsory for all young people to be educated between the ages of seven and 16, and from 14 this may be provided through a variety of contexts including through skills and practical training, vocational placements and at youth schools.

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PUBLIC MONEY FOR THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE USED TO MAKE PROFITS FOR PRIVATE COMPANIES OR INDIVIDUALS WHO RUN OUR SCHOOLS 3

Conservatives R Want to increase the number of pupils attending both academies and free schools, and have committed to another 500 free schools opening.

R Would wage a ‘war on mediocrity’, with any school rated ‘requires improvement’ to be turned into an academy.

R Do not believe there is a place for the profit element in education.

Labour R Rejects the profit schools model it says has done so much damage to education standards and raised inequality.

R Would promote ‘parent-led’ academies in areas in need of new schools.

R Would end the free schools programme.

R Would claw back excessive academy reserves.

Liberal Democrats R Would not allow schools to be run for profit.

R Would allow a local authority to select a school sponsor when this is not the local authority.

Greens R Would oppose any attempt to privatise state-funded schools or to enable them to become profit-making.

R Would integrate free schools and academies into the local authority school system.

R Believe grammar schools should gradually be integrated into the comprehensive system.

R Believe no publicly funded school should be run by a religious organisation.

UKIP R Believes in “a grammar school in every town”.

R Supports the principle of free schools that are open to the whole community and that uphold British values.

EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS NEED A BETTER WORKING LIFE WITH AN END TO UNJUST ATTACKS THROUGH A NATIONWIDE SYSTEM OF TEACHER TRAINING LEADING TO A PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION, AND A CONTRACTUAL RIGHT TO CPD 4

Conservatives R Support a College of Teaching.

Labour R Would reintegrate the role of higher education into teacher training.

R Expects teachers to undertake regular CPD throughout their careers and revalidate their expertise at regular intervals.

R Would ensure all teachers in state schools become qualified and can continue to build their skills throughout their career, with more opportunities for high-quality professional development.

R Supports plans for a profession-led College of Teaching so teachers can take more ownership of their development and practice.

Liberal Democrats R Would require all teachers in state-funded schools to be qualified or working towards qualification.

R Would increase the number of teaching schools.

R Would require trainees to have a grade B in GCSE maths and English, allowing the abolition of separate maths and English tests.

R Would establish a profession-led College of Teaching, to eventually oversee QTS and professional development.

R Believe teaching should be put on a more equal footing with other high-status professions like law and medicine.

R Believe in a clear and properly funded entitlement to CPD for all teachers.

R Would require all nurseries to have at least one qualified early years teacher by 2020.

Greens R Believe teachers are the key resource within education and they need first-class initial preparation and CPD. R Would require all teachers to have QTS. UKIP Would replace current teacher training with “more on-the-job training”, and insist on higher qualifications for aspiring teachers.

R

APRIL/MAY 2015 | REPORT 17

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SPOTLIGHT ON… 2015 ELECTION

TEACHERS NEED A GENUINE CAREER PATH THROUGH A NATIONAL PAY STRUCTURE AND AN END TO EXCESSIVE WORKING HOURS. WE WANT SUPPORT STAFF TO HAVE A NATIONAL PAY FRAMEWORK AND AN END TO EXPLOITATIVE CONDITIONS 5

Conservatives R Are committed to reducing unnecessary teacher workload, after launching the Workload Challenge in late 2014.

R Would continue with performancerelated pay.

Labour R Would ensure teachers can progress in their careers, with more highquality training and new career paths including new Master Teacher status.

R Believes a fair, consistent national pay system is important in retaining and recruiting well-motivated teachers; would maintain the national conditions and review body structure for teachers and extend this to school support staff by reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.

R Says its plans for better professional development for teachers, including school leaders, would help ensure headteachers do not create excessive or unnecessary paperwork for classroom teachers.

R Would restrict zero-hours contracts.

Liberal Democrats R Would be likely to continue performance-related pay for teachers.

R Have consulted on banning exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts.

Greens R Would protect the pay, conditions and status of professionals in education.

R Oppose performance-related pay.

R Believe zero-hours contracts should be banned.

6

SCHOOLS NEED A PROPER ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM BASED ON COLLABORATION AND SUPPORT, WITH LOCAL INSPECTION ARRANGEMENTS AND A NEW ROLE FOR OFSTED

Conservatives R Regional school commissioners would have powers to immediately intervene in any state school ruled inadequate

by Ofsted.

R Would create a centrally funded national teaching service to send high-quality teachers to poor-performing schools.

R Would give additional powers to schools commissioners to remove failing headteachers, pair failing schools with good ones and change the curriculum if it is not considered up to scratch.

Labour R Would introduce local oversight of all schools through new directors of school standards in every local area, responsible for intervening in underperforming schools so standards are raised, and supporting schools to work together, with Ofsted working as an external inspector. These new directors would broker collaboration between schools, bring in school improvement services and outside expertise, help draw up school improvement plans and listen and act on the concerns of parents.

R Believes in an independent inspectorate that focuses on raising children’s performance through intelligent, consistent inspections carried out by professionals.

R Would bring in a new standards challenge in every area, setting a tough target to raise performance in every school, modelled on the London Challenge.

R Would give every headteacher the key freedoms currently given to academy headteachers.

R Believes Ofsted should inspect academy chains.

Liberal Democrats Would abolish unelected regional school commissioners.

R Would encourage local headteachers with a strong record to play a key role in school improvement through a local headteacher board, working with schools and local authorities.

R Local authorities would regain powers to intervene in struggling academies.

R Responsibility for improvement would be handed from the Department for Education to a middle tier of local authorities and academy chains, backed by successful schools and headteachers, who would be rewarded for helping local underperforming peers.

R Would allow Ofsted in to inspect local authorities and academy chains.

R

Greens Would replace Ofsted with a system of local accountability using continuous assessment of schools.

R Say monitoring would be undertaken by local authorities, which would in turn be monitored separately.

R Would strengthen local authorities through adequate funding and enhanced local democratic accountability while the powers of the education secretary would be reviewed and reduced.

R Would abolish SATs and league tables.

R Say all teachers would be employed through local authorities.

R Would return planning of school places and other planning roles to local authorities.

R

UKIP Would give parents more power – an Ofsted inspection would be triggered when 25% of parents or governors sign a petition expressing concern.

R

UKIP R Would accept mass redundancies in the public sector.

R Would repeal the Agency Workers’ Directive [which gives agency workers the right to the same basic employment and working conditions as if they had been recruited directly by a company/organisation].

18 REPORT | APRIL/MAY 2015

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GUIDE

Time to think A former schoolteacher and university lecturer in education, author Oliver Quinlan explains how to think deeply about your practice to really make a difference to your pupils

IN THE PRESENT WORLD of complexity, political pressure and fast change, it is more important than ever that we have teachers who are deep thinkers.

Thinking teachers can navigate the many competing requirements with which they are faced to create the most powerful learning opportunities.

But how do you become a thinking teacher? By its very nature, it is not about being told what you should or should not do. Yet there are approaches you can take to create opportunities for the kind of thinking that can develop you as a teacher.

Make the time Busyness is the enemy of thinking.

The kind of hectic juggling of tasks required of most teachers makes it hard to dig deeper with the thinking underpinning your teaching. Set aside some time each week, or each day if you can, to reflect on how your work is developing and revisit your priorities.

So often, such time gets stolen and thinking devalued by a task with a more tangible outcome that needs doing. Don’t let this happen; see this time as an investment in the quality of your teaching, not the quantity of things you get done.

Start with ‘why’ With a whole class in front of you all dependent on you to direct their activity, the focus immediately turns to what you are going to get them to do. In my time training primary teachers, I saw how trainees shift from focusing on the ‘what’ of activity that keeps students busy to the ‘why’ of learning.

We’ve all been through that kind of

experience, but the more work that gets put on you, the greater the tendency to revert to not questioning in a bid to simply get things done.

Always take a moment to ask ‘why’ before carrying something out. At worst, it helps assess how much effort and time it is worth; at best, it makes you keep the focus on the learning.

Reading deeper Education is full of assumptions, norms that we question rarely, if ever.

It’s easy to rest on these unless you seek out alternative points of view that challenge the way that you think.

So often, we get excited about reading things that reinforce what we think already. Really developing thinking requires engaging with the other side.

The huge number of teaching-related blogs can be an excellent source of these competing ideas. The Education Echo Chamber blogsite (www. educationechochamber.wordpress. com) is a great place to start for this as it republishes articles from a wide variety of perspectives.

Discussing more Reading is good, but discussion is often an even more powerful way of developing your thinking. If you can, make dedicated time with colleagues in school that you can use to really dig into your different approaches to teaching. This will be more focused if you have set a particular topic, key question or all read a particular article or blog post. This grounds discussion in something concrete rather than something general everyone would agree with. If it doesn’t fit within your

“THINKING CAN CHANGE HOW YOU APPROACH EVERY TASK AND HAVE A LASTING EFFECT ON LEARNING” WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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school day, try getting involved with education discussions on forums such as Twitter. The Thursday night #ukedchat (www.ukedchat.com) is a great place to start, with teachers from across the UK discussing teaching and learning online.

Aim for impact Everyone goes into teaching to ‘make a difference’, but one of the hardest questions to answer is exactly what difference you make. Professor John Hattie’s research shows that almost everything we do has an impact, so the challenge is choosing initiatives that make the most impact possible. Any thinking teacher will know there is no straight answer to this question.

Challenging yourself to attempt to answer it will result in developing the parts of the job that make the difference you came into teaching to make.

Developing your thinking as a teacher is one of the least tangible, but most important things you can do.

Getting a few more tasks done only impacts on those tasks. Thinking can change how you approach every task and have a lasting effect on learning.

So make space and invest time. Take up the challenge of developing as one of the many thinking teachers young people so greatly need.

In The Thinking Teacher, Oliver Quinlan encourages the reader to question the assumptions we hold about education, and develop a questioning mindset that affects learning, both in students and teachers themselves. It is available from www.thethinkingteacher.com.

APRIL/MAY 2015 | REPORT 21

14/04/2015 14:16

YOUR ATL… CONTENTS AND CONTACTS

Your ATL EXPERT ADVICE, TEACHING TOOLS, MEMBER BENEFITS – AND YOUR RIGHT TO REPLY

IN THIS SECTION

23

LEGAL ADVICE

ATL solicitor Kehinde Adeogun explains disqualification by association

24

YOUR VIEWS

ATL members on the value of woodwork and on collective worship

25

PRIZE CROSSWORD

Your chance to win a £50 M&S voucher

27

NOTICEBOARD

ATL’s northern rep seminar will be at Lumley Castle Hotel on 26 June

29

LEARNING ZONE

ATL IS HOLDING A SERIES OF FREE REGIONAL SEMINARS FOR REPS AROUND THE COUNTRY THIS SUMMER

Details of ATL’s insurance cover, new pension flexibilities and information for members who have taught in the European Schools system

29

RESOURCES

Newsletters for reps and those working in the independent sector

USEFUL CONTACTS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY

If you need help with matters related to your employment, your first point of contact should be your school or college ATL rep, or your AMiE regional officer if you are a leadership member. You can also contact your local ATL branch for advice and support. If they are unable to help, contact ATL using these details: General enquiries: 020 7930 6441 info@atl.org.uk BELFAST: 028 9078 2020 ni@atl.org.uk CARDIFF: 029 2046 5000 cymru@atl.org.uk

Membership enquiries: 020 7782 1602 membership@atl.org.uk

AMiE MEMBERS: contact your regional officer (details at www.amie.atl.org.uk) or call the employment helpline on 01858 464171 helpline@amie.atl.org.uk

ATL’s regional officials are available to speak to you about work problems Monday to Friday from 5pm to 7.30pm during term time.

22 REPORT | APRIL/MAY 2015

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Pension enquiries: 020 7782 1600 Out-of-hours helpline: 020 7782 1612

If you are not a member of ATL and would like to join, please contact us on

0845 057 7000 (lo-call)

Personal injury claims:

033 3344 9616 Call Morrish Solicitors LLP, ATL’s appointed solicitors, or go to www.atlinjuryclaims.org.uk. This service is open to members and their families, subject to the rules of the scheme.

TERMS OF ATL’S SUPPORT ARE OUTLINED IN OUR MEMBERS’ CHARTER, AVAILABLE VIA WWW.ATL.ORG.UK. WHEN EMAILING ATL FROM HOME, PLEASE INCLUDE EITHER YOUR MEMBERSHIP NUMBER OR HOME POSTCODE TO HELP US DEAL WITH YOUR ENQUIRY MORE EFFICIENTLY.

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

14/04/2015 14:16

YOUR ATL… LEGAL GUIDE

Disqualification by association

PHOTOGRAPHY: SHUTTERSTOCK

Guidance has been issued on staff being disqualified by association with someone who has certain criminal convictions. ATL solicitor Kehinde Adeogun explains

IN THE FIRST TERM of the 2014-15 academic year, schools had difficulty attempting to implement the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) guidance on disqualification by association, also known as disclosure by association. This guidance was issued in October 2014 as an amendment to disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006.

The guidance covers maintained schools, independent schools, free schools, PRUs and academies, and relates to safeguarding issues for those working with children under the age of eight, either as employees or volunteers in a school environment.

ATL received many enquiries from teachers suspended by their school because of the guidance; on many occasions, schools made suspensions reluctantly. Governing bodies and employers felt they were bound to suspend any member of staff who had informed them somebody in their household had previously received a conviction, warning or caution that could have been seen to affect the safeguarding of children.

Many difficulties arose as a result and ATL, along with other teaching unions, lobbied the DfE and entered into consultation over amendments to the guidance. As a result of this, amendments were made that came into force on 26 February 2015.

The main point that employees and volunteers should be aware of is that the guidance relates to the teaching or providing of childcare during and outside of school hours for children up to the age of five, and relates to providing childcare in a school setting but outside of school hours for children up to the age of eight. This includes breakfast and afterschool clubs and activities.

The guidance does not apply to any employee who works with children over five but under eight in a situation where they are only providing teaching.

The guidance places an obligation on schools to ensure they are aware of any employee or volunteer who may be deemed unsuitable to work with children WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

023_ATL_Apr15_legal.indd 23

because someone in their household has been convicted or cautioned for relevant offences such as murder, rape, manslaughter, kidnapping, false imprisonment, GBH, ABH, indecent assault and various sexual and violent offences against children.

Employees are obliged to provide information, to the best of their knowledge, about individuals in their household who have those types of convictions or cautions.

Unfortunately, there is no definition of ‘household’. ATL’s view is that it includes anyone who shares a house/home that an employee lives in.

Schools no longer have to issue checklists to staff to obtain that information. Their duty is to make employees aware of the disclosure obligations. Employees do not have to reveal the spent convictions or cautions of individuals in their household. That differs from the requirement for staff employed in school to disclose all of their own convictions or cautions, whether spent or not.

When a school has such information about an individual in an employee’s or volunteer’s household they must notify Ofsted, which has responsibility for determining whether a waiver should be granted to that member of staff, enabling them to continue to work with those under eight.

ATL and other unions continue to lobby Government as it is generally accepted that

Ofsted is not best placed to carry out this role.

As soon as ATL is aware of any further changes in the guidance we will let members know.

It is up to the school to decide to put an employee or volunteer on special paid leave or to redeploy them to work with a different age group while awaiting the outcome of Ofsted’s decision over a waiver.

We are aware that employees in schools were being suspended while awaiting Ofsted’s decision; ATL believes suspension is inappropriate and that special paid leave should be used if redeployment is not possible. Members should contact ATL for advice if suspensions are still happening.

The guidance relates to the Childcare Act 2006 and only applies to England. However, it is likely any member who lives in any of the other home countries who seeks to work in England will have to comply with the disqualification by association requirements. It may also be that anybody who is disqualified from working with children under the age of eight as a result of disqualification by association may have their disqualification applied in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Our factsheet Disqualification by Association (ADV79) has more detail and is available to download from www.atl.org.uk/factsheets. If you need more information, contact ATL using the details on page 22.

APRIL/MAY 2015 | REPORT 23

10/04/2015 10:48

YOUR ATL… YOUR VIEWS

Letters finished examples as guides for their work. At the end we were all buzzing with creativity.

WOOD WORKS FOR Creativity is not a new subject CREATIVITY for discussion in schools. In We have all had INSET days with 2006, Sir Ken Robinson said larger-than-life experts who creativity is as important as regale us with anecdotes and literacy. Yet it is still not given the promises to revolutionise our prominence it needs within the practice. The format is fairly national curriculum. To embrace standard: they feed us the lines creativity and unleash it on our and we sit politely, nodding and overly guided and timetabled laughing on cue, all the time children presents thinking what we’ve teachers with a heard works well in dichotomy. We theory, but The author of this letter wins are teachers, couldn’t work in a £100 in book tokens. If you want to paid to teach, real classroom. voice your opinion on issues raised in instruct and There was Report or any other aspect of education, please send a letter or email to impart our no reason to the addresses below, including knowledge believe an your phone number. One letter in ways INSET on will be chosen every issue to that enhance woodwork would win the tokens. children’s be any more knowledge and ability to beneficial. Therefore, learn for themselves. By instinct, what a relief to find myself in a situation when I might actually and with the best of intentions, we believe we are doing our job learn new skills with real value. as we point out mixing blue and Whether nailing wood together yellow paint won’t make pink. is your thing or not, there What we are actually doing is are lessons to be learned starving creativity of its oxygen: from woodwork.

We were given no instructions, the freedom to explore, get things wrong and learn from just an open-ended invitation to experiences. We need to let create. I was wracked with selfchildren explore, unhindered by doubt and fears of lacking in our own creative limits, or fears creative flair, until I remembered of assessment. That’s why Salvador Dalí, who stated: “Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never something like woodwork is so valuable in developing skills that reach it.” It took the pressure off, kick-started my creative process, are not as easy to achieve in other subjects. The creativity and and made me think about those thinking skills may be unspoken, moments when I must have but they will be present. inadvertently undermined some S Boydell, Bath children’s creativity as I held up STA R L E T T E R

WIN!

JOIN THE DEBATE…

report@atl.org.uk @ATLReport facebook.com/ATLUnion Report, ATL, 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD

CLARIFICATION ON COLLECTIVE WORSHIP I don’t usually make any kind of response to articles that I read other than head-nodding!

However, I felt the article ‘Make assemblies count’ in January’s Report (p19) required clarification.

Much of what Will Ryan recommended I wholeheartedly agree with, especially the concept of integrating a school’s values and ethos into its daily assembly. However, the assembly also makes a considerable contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. While I agree with the idea of bringing assemblies into the 21st century, it is also worth drawing attention to what the law calls “acts of collective worship”.

As an adviser for primary RE (and also for collective worship), it is my experience that schools find interpreting the legal requirements for collective worship tricky, to say the least, and it seemed to me a lost opportunity not to make this clear within the article. Many would consider the law needs changing, but this is a moot point since successive Governments have left it untouched.

The reference in the law to assemblies in local authority maintained schools being “wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character” is also confirmed as a requirement by Ofsted. This might seem narrow, but does, in fact, give schools a wide scope for variety, reflecting the religious and non-religious traditions of those who form a part of the school community.

The issue of it being ‘worship’ is also contentious, and has been discussed long and hard by schools, advisers and SACREs up and down the country.

Overheard ATL members respond on Facebook to David Cameron’s plans, announced earlier this year, to convert another 3,500 under-performing schools to academies, despite three separate reports questioning some academies’ effectiveness and financial probity.

Alison Sherratt: These are Gove’s philosophies based on fiction, not research and evidence. And so the fight to regain respect and honour for our profession continues and who will suffer ultimately?

The young people of course!

A teacher in Cumbria: I know first-hand of academies that, after millions of pounds, and changes of management and sponsor, are still not successful after seven years.

Ralph Surman: Few things make me angrier than some out-of-touch prime minister saying that some schools are coasting. That’s a flatout lie and it’s disrespectful to the tens of thousands of educational professionals who support children and want them to succeed every single day.

Recent guidance issued by our local SACRE to schools about collective worship states: “Collective worship should create an opportunity for pupils to worship. The key word here is ‘opportunity’. There is no compulsion to worship, and schools should make this clear to all who lead collective worship.”

In summary, acts of collective worship are about all the elements in the article, but they are also a way of creating some all-important ‘sacred space’ to step outside of a busy day, a way of opening a spiritual window and allowing pupils to engage with the mysterious.

R Boxer, Guildford

24 REPORT | APRIL/MAY 2015 WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

024_ATL_Apr15_letters.indd 24

10/04/2015 10:34

YOUR ATL… PRIZE CROSSWORD

WIN!

Prize crossword ACROSS 9 Sir, teach University new communion service (9) 10 It’s straight out of a geometry set! (5) 11 Child’s family produce a kind of leather (7) 12 A room for scientific experiment and a graduate found in this state? (7) 13 Partially ascribe error to alcohol! (4) 14 Principles concerning appreciation of beauty – unexpectedly teaches it to bottom of class (10) 17 She’s in the play, but reacts badly to direction (7) 18 Go beyond the allotted time to get six balls, then a single? (7) 20 Two dine in a different location all over the country (10) 23 Miliband, heartless guy, tense and irritable? (4) 25 Lad, dreadful nerd inside, but not at all wet (4-3) 26 We left Bridewell rough and badly brought-up (3-4) 28 It’s a mistake turning back into a lecturer or researcher (5) 29 ‘Crazy lunatic’, eh? Not morally correct! (9)

A £50 Marks & Spencer voucher

DOWN 1 School furniture taken up by Bucks Education Committee (4) 2 Maybe dictates that this will prove the matter conclusively (4,4) 3 German once earned these points for correct answers (5) 4 She grows very tall in stages, perhaps (8) 5 In the end, thickhead follows map-book (2,4) 6 To reach a point where profits cover costs is not odd after playtime (5,4) 7 Bit of chalk (a limestone) turns litmus paper blue (6) 8 All Rossini intermezzos are openings for an operatic song (4) 13 Oddly, barbarian has intellectual capacity (5) 15 Like the beach, Alexander? (5) 16 Less important kind of school? (9) 18 A long-serving member of staff, Tom riled new form (3-5) 19 Bicker with doctor ineptly about this kind of university? (3-5) 21 Singers get Richard Strauss initially after Eton breaks up (6) 22 Mr Tyler holds you? Very unconventional! (3-3) 24 Get ‘A’ in Practical Pharmacology (5) 25 Sounds like Oxbridge sportsperson spent money recklessly! (4) 27 Lied about source of cooked meats and cheese (4)

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HOW TO ENTER

Send your completed crossword with your contact details to: ATL April/May crossword competition, Think Publishing, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London, NW1 5DH. The closing date is: 29 May 2015. If you have an ATL membership number, please include this here The winner of the April/May competition will be announced in the July issue of Report.

LAST ISSUE’S SOLUTION ACROSS: 1 Deputy 4 Stamps 9 Head 10 Gaudy 11 Atom 12 Latest 13 Renowned 14 Bystander 16 Mist 17 Skid 18 Affluence 22 Comedian 23 Outlaw 25 Lift 26 Chloe 27 Sign 28 Stress 29 Oscars DOWN: 1 Dietary 2 Padre 3 Tighten 5 Trying 6 Meanwhile 7 Soonest 8 Quarter-finals 15 Trimester 17 Stories 19 Lioness 20 Charges 21 Circus 24 Tosca CONGRATULATIONS TO FEBRUARY’S WINNER – T EAMES, CROYDON

9-10 October 2015. Business Design Centre, London The UK’s largest special educational needs show is back this autumn with more CPD, advice, inspiration and information for school leaders, teachers, support staff, parents and carers.

48 CPD sessions to inspire, educate and deliver the latest research, trends and ideas FREE workshops – a fantastic timetable of focused sessions led by our exhibitors TeachMeet SEN 2015 – sign up to share your ideas and join the conversation Over 200 exhibitors, thousands of resources and great products, all under one roof Networking and advice sharing with thousands of fellow peers, suppliers and industry associations

Register for your FREE fast-track entry pass and book your early bird CPD seminar tickets before 31 July 2015.

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025_ATL_Apr15_crossword.indd 25

10/04/2015 10:33

STEP 4

Straight to Teaching

Grow Your Own Qualified Teachers Straight to Teaching is a unique development programme designed to help existing school staff gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS ) while they continue to work in school. Programmes are tailored to each participant based on their existing knowledge, and use a blend of online and in-school development to help them achieve QTS. For more information visit our website or call us on 0800 088 6126 and mention report magazine.

Independent QTS assessment STEP 3

Final evaluation and recommendation for QTS assessment STEP 2

STEP 1

Initial needs assessment and personalised preparation plan

Online and in-school development, monitoring and evidence building

Live. Learn.

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07/08/2014 16:42:28 19/12/2014 09:22

& w ved Ne pro Im INDIVIDUAL ANNUAL GOLD COVER

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NEW! Now with three levels of cover - Bronze, Silver or Gold NEW! Quick and easy online medical screening 24 hour Medical Emergency Helpline case-managed by Doctors £10 million Medical Emergency cover (Gold Cover) £7,500 Cancellation cover (Gold Cover)

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*Price for an individual, aged 36 – 55, excluding existing medical conditions, travelling to Europe Calls are charged at a national rate (included in mobile tariffs). Our UK based call centre is open Mon to Fri 8am to 8pm, 9am to 5pm on Saturdays and 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Cover correct as at 18th March 2015. Terms and conditions apply. Annual Multi-trip cover available to age 79, Single trip cover to age 115. ATL is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Union Insurance.

Union Insurance is a trading name of Union Benefit Holdings Ltd (UIB) who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, register number 307575. UIB is an introducer for Travel Insurance Facilities plc (TIF). This policy is Underwritten by Travel Insurance Facilities and Insured

by Union Reiseversicherung AG, UK. Travel Insurance Facilities are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Union Reiseversicherung AG are authorised by BaFin and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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09/04/2015 12:41

YOUR ATL… NOTICEBOARD

NOTICE BOARD ATL INSURANCE COVER ATL’s member insurance means that members’ personal belongings are insured while inside the school/college premises, whether stolen, lost or damaged. Property is not covered if on a school trip. The maximum benefit payable is £300 for personal property and £150 for cash.

Members are also insured against malicious damage to their cars and motorcycles while parked in the boundaries of any educational establishment in the British Isles. The cover does not extend to damage caused by another vehicle, nor does it include theft of property from the vehicle. The maximum benefit is £500. All claims are subject to a £25 excess. Members cannot claim the excess on their private insurance through ATL’s policy.

Personal accident cover is open to ATL members, including students, while at work or travelling to or from work (including while on school trips in the UK and abroad). The cover is for ATL members only and does not extend to members of their family. Members should note that ATL’s personal accident insurance should not replace travel insurance, which covers a far wider range of incidents.

All ATL members are automatically insured for £10,000 against accidental death, permanent total disablement, and loss of limbs or eyesight. Such accidents must have taken place while at work or while travelling to or from work. Accidental bodily injury excludes any sickness, disease, naturally occurring condition or degenerative process.

In the case of accidental death, £10,000 will be paid to the member’s estate. Additionally, a further maximum of £5,000 can be claimed for reasonable funeral expenses after a member’s accidental death. A further £200 is payable for each surviving dependant under the age of 18 (21 if in full-time education) following payment of the death benefit in respect of the member.

Absence due to assault Members are insured against injury following a physical assault while at work or while WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

027_ATL_Apr15_Noticeboard.indd 27

travelling to or from work, which results in the member being signed off work for more than seven consecutive days. A benefit of £200 a week is payable for up to a maximum of four weeks’ incapacity.

Hospitalisation This personal accident insurance relates to accidental bodily injury only and does not cover hospitalisation for sickness or disease. The accident must have happened while at work or while travelling to or from work; £50 per member per day is payable up to a maximum of 365 days. A 24-hour excess applies.

Dental treatment This insurance applies if the assault or accident took place while at work or travelling to or from work. The maximum benefit payable is £200. Claims for over £25 will be met in full, up to the policy limits but subject to a £25 excess charge. The cover detailed above applies to ATL and AMiE members only. To request a claim form, telephone 020 7930 6441 or email info@atl.org.uk.

Members and their families who suffer an accident (including slips, trips, falls, or a road traffic accident) or assault under other circumstances should contact ATL’s injury claims line on 033 3344 9616.

Self-employed members Employers must have public liability and professional indemnity insurance. This will protect you when you are at work.

Members who are self-employed (for example, those who undertake private tuition) are vulnerable to claims when, for example, they tutor pupils in their own homes. Members who provide private tuition, lecturing or coaching outside of their main employment are recommended to take out professional indemnity insurance through the Alan Boswell Group. The policy is specifically designed for ATL members and covers teaching all academic subjects plus sports coaching, music, drama, technology, cookery and practical science activities. It costs £60 a year. More

information can be found at www. alanboswell.com/atl or call 01953 455 600.

PENSION FLEXIBILITIES On 1 April 2015 the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) became both a final salary scheme and a career average revalued earnings (CARE) scheme. The benefits of the CARE scheme include flexibilities that will enable you to increase your pension at retirement; electing to buy faster accrual and actuarial buyout.

If you are a transition member or new entrant, you will have joined the scheme immediately on 1 April 2015. If you are considering actuarial buyout, you would have to do so within six months of joining the CARE scheme, ie by the end of September 2015. If it is faster accrual that you are interested in, you would have to elect for this by the end of April 2015 for the current year.

A tapered member joining CARE after 1 April 2015 considering actuarial buyout would have to do so within six months of joining. If it is faster accrual you are interested in, you would have to make this election within a month of joining. See www.atl.org.uk/pensions.

EUROPEAN EMPLOYMENT Were you employed as a teacher in the European Schools system from 2000 onwards? In February 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the UK and Department for Education (DfE) had breached its European Schools Treaty obligations by not allowing its teachers the opportunity to access certain types of additional salary payment available to their counterparts employed in positions of responsibility in maintained schools in England and Wales.

These payments covered: threshold pay; access to the Excellent Teacher scheme; advanced skills teacher status; and teaching, learning and responsibility payments.

The DfE says although teachers did not have access to these additional salary payments at the time of their employment, individuals would not have suffered financial loss in their overall remuneration because a lower DfE (or national) salary would have resulted in a higher salary supplement.

However, the DfE salary is the only pensionable element of the remuneration a teacher received working in the European schools. The DfE is asking former teachers to contact them if they feel they have been financially disadvantaged by emailing any enquiry to es.threshold@education.gsi.gov. uk or calling Katherine Pashby (020 7783 8098) at the Department for Education.

APRIL/MAY 2015 | REPORT 27

14/04/2015 14:17

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YOUR ATL… RESOURCES AND LEARNING ZONE

ATL RESOURCES Being a Rep newsletter All reps and contacts have been sent the latest issue of Being a Rep, which features active ATL members challenging politicians on their education policies ahead of the election. There is also a round-up of ATL’s series of pre-election debates on key

education themes, such as accountability, CPD and curriculum.

For health and safety reps there is a comprehensive report about asbestos in schools, while for union learning reps there are details of ATL’s summer rep events and a round-up of recent learning activity funded

by ATL’s unique Union Learning Fund project.

Independent Schools newsletter Members working in independent schools will be able to read about a new recognition agreement signed with Berkhamsted School, while a rep in a GDST school talks about the importance of her role and how surprisingly rewarding she has found it.

Visit: acurriculumthatcounts.org.uk

Igniting a passion for learning Stanley Park High’s motto is “igniting a passion for learning”; these few words represent the core values at the heart of their innovative excellent futures curriculum (EFC). A project-based model for learning, the EFC sees students complete a different project each half term, which ties together a number of traditional subject areas.

Stanley Park is the subject of the latest case study on ATL’s A Curriculum That Counts website, which features video case studies from schools that have taken an innovative approach to curriculum change.

ATL’S NEWSLETTERS ARE AVAILABLE HERE WWW.ATL.ORG.UK/PUBLICATIONS

LEARNING ZONE

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY

FREE REP SUMMER SEMINARS We are excited to announce our first summer of free regional seminars for reps.

Held in a range of venues across the country, we will be bringing reps together for a day filled with interesting speakers and workshops. Designed by our regional teams, each seminar is a great opportunity to network with reps from your region and attend specialist sessions to support you in your role.

Sessions in different regions will cover managing stress and your own well-being, guidance on managing pressure from double Paralympic champion Danielle Brown MBE, mental health awareness and encouraging diversity, as well free mini spa

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

029_ATL_Apr15_Resources.indd 29

treatments, mindfulness sessions and laughter workshops.

Dates and locations Northern - 26 June: Lumley Castle Hotel, County Durham R South west - 27 June: Cleve Spa Hotel, Wellington R Eastern region - 7 July: Duxford Air Museum, Cambridge R North west – 8 July: People’s History Museum, Manchester R South east – 9 July: Friends House, London R Midlands – 10 July: The National Brewery Centre, Burton-upon-Trent R

VISIT WWW.ATL.ORG.UK/ REGIONALREPS FOR FULL DETAILS AND TO BOOK YOUR PLACE

APRIL/MAY 2015 | REPORT 29

14/04/2015 14:17

FINAL WORD… ADAM FROST

Sowing the seeds Adam Frost is an award-winning gardener and TV presenter

30 REPORT | APRIL 2015

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MANY OF MY EARLIEST memories are of spending time with my grandparents in their garden and allotment, where my lifelong love of growing and building things began.

So I suppose the seeds were already sown at an early age. Looking back, even as a child, it was clear nature and outside spaces held a special fascination for me. That feeling, along with a love of people and plants, still drives my passion for gardens and design.

I’ve been very lucky to work with some amazing people, including gardening great Geoff Hamilton on BBC Gardeners’ World and Jim Buttress, a Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) judge

who fronts the BBC’s Big Allotment Challenge. The passion of inspirational people like this has been infectious. I went on to set up my own company and won my first gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2007.

If anything, my love of nature has deepened as I’ve grown older, especially as I now have my own family. I feel we owe it to ourselves to get our next generation to experience the life-changing inspiration of creating their own green patch, getting outdoors and seeing wildlife up close. I’m sure if we show children how to grow things it will give them a lifelong interest like mine and inspire them to connect with the natural world.

We are great at engaging children with gardening at primary level. The RHS Campaign for School Gardening was set up in 2007 with the aim of giving every UK child the opportunity to garden at school. More than two thirds of UK schools have signed up, meaning the RHS has introduced gardening to an estimated four million children.

However, it’s difficult to retain a child’s interest once they go to secondary school. Although a significant number of secondary schools have joined the scheme, the RHS is determined to get more senior schools engaged with horticulture. Indeed, the RHS heads up an industry-wide campaign called Horticulture Matters to raise the profile of gardening in secondary schools in order to inspire pupils to consider horticulture as a career to help fill a growing skills gap.

I’m also involved with the Homebase Garden Academy, an apprenticeship

scheme to help Britain’s next generation of gardeners kick-start a career in gardening and inspire talent of the future. This has been a huge success and the young men and women I’ve trained are now on track to carve out fulfilling careers in the industry.

As an RHS ambassador, I’m really passionate about getting out there and encouraging more young people to consider a career in horticulture, but one of the biggest issues I encounter is its image. Too often gardening is viewed as an unskilled career and a last resort for those who aren’t academic. In fact, horticulture is a vast subject and there are numerous career opportunities, ranging from the arts to the sciences.

We need to change perceptions of gardening as a career and promote it to all youngsters and we need more secondary schools to embrace gardening to help raise the profile of a career in horticulture. We really need to make gardening seem cool to young people and promote the idea there are jobs in gardening that will suit people of any ability or interest. The likes of Jamie Oliver have managed to do it for cooking, and we need to do the same for horticulture.

What I love about horticulture and gardening is that you don’t stop learning and over the years my fascination has just grown and grown. I do believe our industry is going to become more important and play its part in helping people understand their environment.

To find out more about the RHS Campaign for School Gardening, see www.rhs.org.uk/ schoolgardening.

ILLUSTRATION : PHIL WRIGGLESWORTH

BBC presenter, top garden designer and ambassador for the Royal Horticultural Society Adam Frost wants to get more schools gardening

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14/04/2015 14:17

Teach heart disease a lesson Take part in one of our fun activity-based events this spring or summer and raise money for your school and our life saving research.

Jump Rope For Heart For 5-13-year-olds

A popular event that encourages children to learn skipping skills as individuals, in pairs and in groups. Skipping is great fun and a superb way to get children active.

33 skipping ropes, teaching resources, skipping skills DVD, posters, sponsorship forms and a great organiser’s guide are provided in its pack worth over £100.

Ultimate Dodgeball For 7-18-year-olds

A great way for boys and girls of different ages and abilities to have fun and get active. Just choose your teams, create a team identity and organise your own fun event.

Three UK Dodgeball Association dodgeballs, teaching resources, posters, sponsorship forms and a great organiser’s guide are provided in its pack worth over £30.

Everyone wins Your children win – As these events help young people to enjoy being more active in a fun and inclusive way.

You and your school win – These events are simple to organise and you get a comprehensive teacher’s pack with resources worth up to £125. Your school also gets to keep 20% of the sponsorship money raised, to support its work.

Your community wins – One in every 180 babies born in the UK has a heart defect and sadly, every seven minutes someone in the UK dies from a heart attack. With your school’s support, we can drive the fight forward by doing more research, making more discoveries and offering information, support and care to heart patients and their families.

For more information, visit bhf.org.uk/everyonewins or call 0300 330 3322. To register online visit bhf.org.uk/register © British Heart Foundation, a registered charity in England and Wales (225971) and in Scotland (SC039426)

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ATL0415

09/04/2015 12:42

The Pearson Primary manifesto:

#2 We suppor t teachers to do what they do best.

You’re Batman We’re Robin

Teachers are amazing, but even super-heroes can use a little help.

Pearson Primary’s resources and professional development courses are designed to suppor t you to do what you do best.

U244

Lear n more at www.pear sonpr imar y.co.uk/manifesto15ATL

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