Report March 2016

THE MAGAZINE FROM ATL, THE EDUCATION UNION

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

MARCH 2016 ÂŁ2.50

Baseline fail The futility of imposing a formal, high-stakes test on four-year-olds

PROFILE

A G E N DA

J O I N T H E D E B AT E

WEIRD SCIENCE

HEADS IN THE SAND

SIR IAN MCKELLEN

Using Harry Styles and jelly to teach biology

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The Government is in denial about teacher recruitment

Star of stage and screen battling LGBT bullying

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Contents UPFRONT

Y O U R AT L

4 UPDATE

21 USEFUL CONTACTS

DfE launches workload survey and ATL calls for performance-related pay to be scrapped

9 AGENDA

Mary Bousted says Government must face up to recruitment crisis

11 WALES AND

NORTHERN IRELAND The obsession with testing

How to get in touch with ATL

22 BEHAVIOUR

MANAGEMENT

Behaviour tsar has got it wrong, says ATL member

23 LEGAL ADVICE

Our legal team explains maternity rights

F E AT U R E S

12 BASELINE ASSESSMENT

YOUR VIEWS

Flawed test for four-year-olds

ATL members on excessive workload and marking

16 PROFILE

25 PRIZE CROSSWORD

Biology teacher Simon Bayliss on how he turned jelly into a national award

Win a £50 M&S voucher

19 SIR IAN MCKELLEN

NOTICEBOARD

30 FINAL WORD

RESOURCES

Information and events

Battling LGBT bullying in school

Comedian and writer Rhona Cameron on our technology-fixated times

Report is the magazine from ATL, 7 Northumberland Street, London WC2N 5RD Tel 020 7930 6441 Fax 020 7930 1359 Email report@atl.org.uk or membership@atl.org.uk Website www.atl.org.uk Editor Alex Tomlin News editor Sally Gillen Report is produced and designed for ATL by Think Publishing, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London NW1 5DH Tel 020 3771 7200 Email info@thinkpublishing.co.uk Sub editor Mike Hine Art editor Clair Williams 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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Newsletters for support staff and those working in post-16, and advice on effective meetings

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

Welcome KIM KNAPPETT, ATL NATIONAL PRESIDENT

‘Education, education, education’ was the mantra of a previous Government, but today this has been overtaken by ‘testing, testing, testing’. Our cover feature (p12) looks at the baseline assessment, while Philip Dixon and Mark Langhammer (p11) explain the assessment situation in Wales and Northern Ireland respectively. We all know that you don’t fatten a pig by weighing it, but somehow this message has not got as far as those who dream up these testing systems. The whole testing system seems to have gone mad – assessment without levels, times-tables tests, Year 7 re-sits, baseline tests and changes to GCSEs being taught to current Year 9 students where the syllabi have not yet been agreed and published. At the start of my career, yes, we tested, but we also had the autonomy to test in a way that would help both the learners and the educators. It all comes back to professionalism and trust. In recent years, I have met a large number of education professionals, who all have a deep commitment to the children and young people in their care and who want all of them to reach their potential and do well. What we need is for those who are proliferating these changes to consult with, listen to and trust those who have to implement them.

Cover illustration: Janne Iivonen

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04/03/2016 10:05

U P D AT E

“IF THE STRB AND EDUCATION MINISTERS DO NOT IMPROVE TEACHERS’ PAY AND HELP CUT THEIR WORKLOAD, THEY WILL ESCALATE THE GROWING TEACHER CRISIS”

ATL and NUT survey into PRP ATL and the NUT are calling for performance-related pay to be scrapped after their research showed 90% of teachers denied a rise were given no warning beforehand The unions set out teachers’ objections to performance-related pay at a meeting last month with the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), the body that makes recommendations on pay. The survey of more than 10,000 teachers by ATL and the NUT also found black teachers and those working part time are less likely to progress up the pay scale. ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: “The Government has made the problems [in teaching]

worse by introducing a new pay system at a time of shrinking school budgets, which creates extra, unnecessary work for teachers and takes them away from the classroom. “If the STRB and education ministers do not improve teachers’ pay and help cut their workload, they will escalate the growing teacher crisis. This could force some schools to close for part of the week, and others to cut subjects, putting children’s education at risk,” she added.

ATL LAUNCHES BASELINE RESEARCH

ATL at diversity awards ATL lead equalities officer Wanda Wyporska and ATL deputy general secretary Peter Pendle presented awards at the first annual Grand Awards organised by the National Centre for Diversity. Dr Wyporska and Pendle presented awards to employee of the year Gwen

Jefferson at charity the Canal & River Trust, which maintains waterways in England and Wales, and to Pinchmill Lower School, which won the school of the year category. ATL sponsored some awards, which celebrate excellent work around equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

CASH NEEDED FOR CAREERS ADVICE Cuts to careers advice have made it impossible for teachers to know where to turn to get good advice for young people. That was the message ATL general secretary Mary Bousted delivered to the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Education, Skills and the Economy, which is carrying out an inquiry into careers education, during an evidence session held in February. Dr Bousted told MPs: “Teachers

4 REPORT | MARCH 2016

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desperately want to be able to provide the best advice but, although the Government made it statutory for schools to provide impartial careers advice and guidance, it has not provided funding for the specialists to coordinate this.” She went on to say that work experience should be compulsory for 16- to 18-year-olds, with a requirement for employers to provide good-quality placements.

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ATL and the NUT have launched research into the baseline assessment of four-year-olds at the start of their reception year that shows the test is adding to teacher workload and is felt by less than eight per cent of teachers to be a fair and accurate way to assess children. At a media briefing at ATL’s London office, general secretary Mary Bousted said: “The Government would be wrong to push ahead with the baseline assessment in the light of this research. Children are not robots and so do not develop at a regular rate. We have grave concerns about the reliability of measuring their progress from age four to 11.” WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

03/03/2016 16:39

UPDATE

IN BRIEF

Mary Bousted visits the north west

Dr Bousted (second left) meets with staff at Unity Academy in Blackpool

ATL general secretary Mary Bousted met staff from Unity Academy in Blackpool to discuss workload as part of a visit to members in the north west of England. Around 40 ATL members attended a separate Q&A with Dr Bousted on challenges in education, which covered issues such as recruitment and retention, workload and inspection.

Tell DfE about workload toll Teachers are being asked to take part in a workload survey commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE). The DfE has appointed researchers to survey staff to get a national picture of workload and the support and professional development they receive. It has approached a sample of schools. ATL is aware of the excessive hours education staff work and the key drivers of excessive and unnecessary workload – you have been telling us in your thousands via our work-life tracker, launched as part of our ‘It’s about time…’ campaign. ATL has, with other unions, been in discussion with Government about workload via three groups on lesson planning and resources, marking and data. The survey, which ministers have promised to carry out biennially, will ask staff about hours spent on all job-related tasks, including those outside contracted hours. It also asks how WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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many hours are spent on specific tasks, such as lesson planning, and to rate whether that time was far too little, a bit too little, about right, a bit too much or far too much. ATL director of economic strategy and negotiations Adrian Prandle, the only union official selected to be on the panel that appointed the researchers, said: “It is complex and many of the causes of unnecessary workload relate directly to Government policy. The survey results will influence Government perceptions of teachers’ workload. ATL hopes this will add to the pressure on ministers to address the issues. If your school has been chosen to take part, do fill in the survey.”

New ATL vice president Niamh Sweeney has been elected unopposed as ATL vice president. Her term will begin in September, and she will become president in September 2017. Former ATL president Julia Neal has been elected AMiE president. Stephen Buck has been re-elected treasurer and member governance officer.

“THE CAUSES OF UNNECESSARY WORKLOAD RELATE DIRECTLY TO GOVERNMENT POLICY. ATL HOPES THIS SURVEY WILL ADD TO THE PRESSURE ON MINISTERS”

ATL SUPPORTSTAFF CAMPAIGN BACKED ATL’s push for support staff to be offered the same right to anonymity as teachers when they face allegations has been backed by the Girls’ Day School Trust. The trust runs 24 independent schools and two academies. Its chief executive Helen Fraser lobbied schools minister Nick Gibb on the issue last month. ATL GUIDANCE FOR DISABLED STAFF Guidance setting out the legal rights of disabled staff has been published by ATL. Lead equalities officer Wanda Wyporska said: “Whether people are disabled by poor mental health or a physical condition, they should not be unlawfully discriminated against and we hope this guidance will support reps, employers and disabled staff fighting prejudice and bad employment practices.” Download the guidance from www.atl.org.uk/ disabilityguidance. MARCH 2016 | REPORT 5

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UPDATE

Conference to debate TA standards ATL members will be given the chance to debate the Government’s decision to shelve a set of teaching assistant standards at Annual Conference in Liverpool in April ATL general secretary Mary Bousted told support staff at an event in February that the decision was “disgraceful”, and they would have the chance to discuss it at Annual Conference. The review of professional standards – undertaken by a 12-strong committee of TAs, teachers and heads – was launched by the Department for Education in October 2014. A year later, schools minister Nick Gibb said the draft standards would not be published, in response to a Parliamentary question from Labour MP Kevin Brennan. Gibb said, after looking at the review, the Government believed schools were best placed to set standards for the TAs they employ. But, speaking at the annual support staff conference in London in February, Dr Bousted told the audience of more than 80 members: “The Government’s

Members at ATL’s support staff conference

decision to withhold publication, and to not even tell the committee that it was not going to publish, was greeted with disgust by the education community.” She went on to say that the issue would be on the agenda at Conference in Liverpool, where ATL Support Staff Members Advisory Group (SSMAG) member Kathryn Booth and Susan Coates of ATL’s Executive Committee have submitted a motion. Booth and Coates were members of the committee that drew up the TA standards. They will call for Conference to vote for a motion that will make a copy of the standards available to all members. Their motion calls for ATL to make the Government aware that the decision not to publish the standards is extremely disappointing. Dr Bousted told delegates: “You know the issues facing support staff because

you face them daily, but perhaps it will give you support to know that I know these issues, too – not as you do, from your daily experience, but from what you tell your union.” She added: “Support staff are a very important part of ATL. Membership topped the 19,000 mark in December.” Later, members took part in a series of CPD sessions on mental health, online safety and social media, and pensions. ATL national official Peter Morris and SSMAG chair Debbie Polwarth also held a Q&A session where members raised questions about the TA standards, support staff redundancies and the growing relevance of ATL in the education workplace. SSMAG is holding a series of networking and CPD events across the regions. Go to www.atl.org.uk/ learning-zone/regional-learning/ courses-by-region.asp for more details.

ATL wins INSET day pay for TAs ATL has successfully settled a case in favour of TAs and HLTAs who had not been paid for INSET days. The case, which had been referred by the employer to ACAS for early conciliation, resulted in money for unpaid INSET days being paid, backdated six years from September 2014, while future INSET day payments were altered to ensure everyone will be paid, some at overtime rates. The ATL workplace rep supported and advised members along with Fiona Westwood, ATL regional official for Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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Plymouth. They compiled a table of wages owed based on a survey of members, but the employer’s calculation fell well short of this. Westwood asked ACAS to confirm how the employer’s calculations had been made, but the employer said that trawling through its records could cause the members to lose out. However, the members collectively rejected the offer. Westwood suggested alternative calculations, the results of which the employer accepted and then substantially increased its offer, which members accepted.

Have you attended INSET days, but not been paid for doing so? Email Peter Morris at pmorris@atl.org.uk with full details.

“Everyone knew this only happened because we stood our ground and contested the figures,” said Westwood. “ATL’s rep did a brilliant job organising members and is now more involved in ATL and looking forward to attending some training and becoming more active. Membership at the school has doubled since this success.” She added: “This great result shows how individual cases can be used to organise members on the ground. Positive outcomes have been achieved that will have long-lasting benefits for support staff at the school.” MARCH 2016 | REPORT 7

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AG E N DA

ALTHOUGH GOVERNMENT ministers are loath to admit it, they have a problem. The number of children entering state education is rising. In 2022, there will be just over eight million, compared with seven million today. At the same time, the number of teachers entering the profession, and remaining in it, is declining. In the 12 months to November 2014, the state sector lost almost 50,000, the highest leaving rate for more than 10 years. Even worse, too many newly qualified teachers, more than 100,000, decided they would not begin their teaching career at all. Faced with these distinctly uncomfortable truths, ministers bury their heads in the sand. They insist the quality of new teachers is the highest ever, that teacher vacancy rates are not increasing and that the numerous incentives on offer to potential teacher trainees will do the job. I confess I hold little store by ministers’ warm words and cosy commitments. In an education career spanning more than 30 years, I have experienced three teacher recruitment crises and I recognise the symptoms and causes. Teaching is one of the biggest graduate recruiters. About 35,000 newly qualified teachers need to be recruited each year to replace those leaving the profession. When times are hard, and graduate recruitment into other professions is suppressed, this target is generally met. Graduate recruitment is, however, improving. This, combined with the low starting salaries for teachers compared with other graduate professions, is resulting in fewer graduates entering teacher training. School leaders complain loudly that they are not able to attract enough candidates for teaching posts. Indeed, many are now finding they get no response at all even to adverts placed in the national press. Desperate to put a teacher in front of a class, school leaders are boxing and coxing – one in five maths and WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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Panicky ostriches The Government is burying its head in the sand in the face of a recruitment and retention crisis, says ATL general secretary Mary Bousted English lessons are now taught by a teacher who does not have an A-level in those subjects. School leaders are, understandably, choosing to employ a non-subject specialist rather than use a succession of temporary teachers. Confronted by a crisis, this Government is following a well-worn path of panicked policy pronouncements designed to reassure parents that something is being done. Nicky Morgan announced the creation of a National Teaching Service, which will parachute 1,500 elite teachers into underperforming schools. I await with interest the results. I fear that it will follow, sadly, in the footsteps of a previous bright idea – Troops to Teachers, which, after four years, and £4 million, had recruited just 28 troops into teaching. The teacher recruitment and retention crisis will be turned around by two things. First,

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teachers’ pay has got to get better. Seven years of a one-per-cent pay cap will do nothing to make teaching competitive. Teachers do not enter the profession for money, but inadequate, artificially deflated salaries deter recruitment and prompt teachers with a few years’ teaching experience to go elsewhere. Second, teachers must have better working lives. Despite all the sound and fury of the Workload Challenge, teachers are still massively overworked; much of the work they are required to do adds not one jot to the quality of education, and leads to a profession that is demotivated, exhausted and drained of enthusiasm. Our work-life campaign is aiming to improve this dire situation. See www.atl.org.uk/abouttime. Government plays a huge role in adding to unnecessary teacher workload. Late policy announcements and inadequate lead-in times for major curriculum and qualification reform are all hallmarks of Governments continually looking for the ‘next best thing’, and of education ministers who must be seen to be doing something, anything, so that they can create press headlines and advance their ministerial careers. Teacher recruitment is not the only growing problem. School leaders are searching in vain for colleagues to fill their shoes. Middle managers would rather not shoulder the burden of headship and all the insecurity and pressure the job brings. When your job is as insecure as a Premier League football manager’s (without the financial rewards), then it takes a brave soul to take on the top job. In recent years, politicians of all parties have pronounced one mantra – that no education system can exceed the quality of its teachers. I agree. Our education system is suffering from inadequate teacher supply and, in the end, it will be the children and young people who will suffer the consequences. MARCH 2016 | REPORT 9

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THE VIEW FROM… WALES / NORTHERN IRELAND

Wales

Northern Ireland

DR PHILIP DIXON

MARK LANGHAMMER

Welsh Government gets assessment wrong

Measuring what matters

ASSESSMENT FOR learning is a complex matter, baseline assessment even more so. In Wales, where our Foundation Phase has been seen as the jewel in the crown of policy development since devolution, it has taken us more than 10 years to get to some sort of reasonable and agreed position. Part of the problem is that there is seepage between description and prescription

“DESCRIBING WHERE CHILDREN ARE BECOMES A CENTRAL DIKTAT ABOUT WHERE THEY SHOULD BE”

when it comes to baseline assessments. All too often, trying to describe where children are becomes a central diktat about where they should be. Those who teach in the primary sector will remember with horror the debacle of the ill-fated Child Development Action Plan (CDAP), a classic piece of Welsh Government confusion. The individual parts were trialled separately, but the whole proved to be unmanageable. A damning report described it as of little use and complained that it measured the wrong things. The minister of the day had to pull the whole scheme at the eleventh hour. Its successor, the Early Years Development and Assessment Framework, is now bedding down in schools. There are still concerns but nothing like those associated with the CDAP. Wales may have a lot to teach the rest of the UK about early-years learning. However, it is in the same boat when it comes to assessment. Governments need to pay more attention to the profession.

THE INCREASING emphasis on data analysis in education informs insights into pupils’, schools’ and even countries’ progress. What gets measured is what appears to matter most. This trend is reinforced by measures like the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment, whereby a dip in performance can send shockwaves through education systems. The Northern Ireland Programme for Government uses broad levels in literacy and numeracy, and five A*-to-C at GCSE as a proxy for pupil success. Employers, businesses, politicians and educators question whether this emphasis provides the skillset for success in a rapidly changing world. The consensus is that ‘21st-century skills’, clearly defined in the Northern Ireland curriculum a decade ago, need to be systematically taught and effectively assessed. Set against these challenges, the Department of Education’s key stage assessment system barely measures up. In response to teachers’ industrial action,

moves to develop a “broader range of measures to give us a more holistic picture of how our system, schools and pupils are performing” are welcome. Clarity about the uses of school- and systemlevel data is improving, but we must ensure that measuring performance is fair, focuses on progress as well as achievement, takes account of context and intake as well as outcomes, and gives credit for work with all pupils. Assessment requires clarifying the separate nature, purpose and uses of system, school, classroom and pupil data. That would cut bureaucracy, allowing teachers to focus on 21st-century skills.

Excessive workload is one of the most serious issues facing the education profession. ATL’s work-life campaign, ‘It’s about time…’, empowers you and your colleagues to tackle work-life issues, to reduce working hours and unnecessary workload.

Working excessive hours? Struggling to balance work and life?

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25/02/2016 14:56

THE CONTROVERSIAL BASELINE assessment has put early years into the education spotlight like never before, creating unprecedented pressure on those staff working with the youngest children. The single aim of the baseline assessment, which takes place in the first few weeks of a child’s reception year, is undoubtedly accountability, as the Department for Education (DfE) confirms, stating: “The purpose of the reception baseline is for an accountability measure of the relative progress of a cohort of children through primary school. We will use a reception baseline as the starting point from which to measure a school’s progress.” The DfE also states that the assessment must produce “a single score” and must demonstrate “clear progression towards the key stage 1 national curriculum in English and mathematics”. This

conflicts with the current Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) profile, which encompasses the whole curriculum and broader characteristics of a child. Unsurprisingly, objections to the DfE’s baseline assessment have come from many quarters, including the Better Without Baseline campaign, a coalition of ATL, the NUT, the Save Childhood Movement, the Cambridge Primary Review Trust, the National Association for Primary Education and many others. Dame Alison Peacock, well-respected headteacher of the Wroxham School and adviser on Government policy on assessment without levels, said her school would not be doing baseline as it already has adequate assessment methods. Many followed her example, but the majority of schools did adopt baseline testing, despite it being optional for September 2015, using one of the three providers approved by the DfE. Of those that did, most, around 12,000 schools according to the provider, opted for the Early Excellence assessment, a teacher-based approach involving 47 statements, to which the teacher has to answer simply yes or no. Less popular were those from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM). NFER’s assessment is a mix of computer-based tasks

Baseline fail The baseline assessment is inaccurate, expensive, increases workload and cannot meet its stated aims. What is the point in it? WORDS BY ALEX TOMLIN ILLUSTRATION BY JANNE IIVONEN

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WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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SPOTLIGHT ON… BASELINE ASSESSMENT

and a checklist of teacher observations, while CEM’s is comprised of on-screen tasks. Although official figures haven’t been made available, it is believed around 75% chose Early Excellence, with the remainder split evenly between NFER and CEM. ATL, along with the NUT, commissioned research into the implementation of the new baseline assessment, conducted by Dr Alice Bradbury and Dr Guy Roberts-Holmes of University College London’s Institute of Education (IoE). The research looked at five schools’ experiences in great depth through interviews with staff, and also included a survey of over a thousand teachers and school leaders. The five in-depth case studies, which reflected the general trend by using Early Excellence, revealed several problems with the method, while the survey unearthed issues across all three providers. Roberts-Holmes suggests the fundamental problem is in putting a high-stakes accountability measure on such young children. “Anyone who has spent time with four-year-olds knows they don’t lend themselves to formal testing,” he says. “There are significant problems with four-yearolds being so young emotionally and just forming relationships with their teachers,” he adds. “There is such huge diversity. You have summer-born children who come in very young, or children with English as an additional language, compared to children who are almost five and have already been in the school nursery system. “Even if you just test the child in the afternoon, rather than the morning, it can make a huge amount of difference. Young children get very tired, very quickly and might be exhausted and give a very different performance in the afternoon to what they would at 9am the following morning. All of that leads to massive variability.” The IoE research found some children were upset by the CEM assessment, when they couldn’t do any of the exercises, and had to be reassured by their teacher. Roberts-Holmes says this type of assessment “flies in the face of all the research around young children’s learning, which is in sets of relationships where assessment has to be meaningful. All three assessments take teachers’ time and attention away from building relationships with young children.” There is also the dangerous possibility that results from the baseline assessment could be used to group children according to their apparent ‘ability’, a judgment that could stay with those children and influence teachers’ treatment of them throughout their primary school career and beyond. “Four-year-olds need to feel safe and secure,” says Roberts-Holmes, “and that’s about eye contact with the teachers, being in groups of children playing and being told they’re okay. Taking any time away from the teacher has to be very carefully managed. Their time with the children is hugely precious. “If the teacher’s time is going to be used to make assessments, you might as well use that time to make teacher assessments, which are very useful for teaching, planning and building a child’s WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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confidence, which teachers already do. They’re very experienced at early years assessment; they know what they’re doing.” Baseline assessment was also found to have a significant effect on teachers’ workloads, particularly where schools continue to use their current on-entry assessment, which fits better with data-tracking systems or with the existing EYFS. More than 80% of survey respondents said baseline assessment had increased their workload inside and outside of the classroom. In times of budgetary restraint, cost was also an issue raised by respondents and interviewees in the research, where headteachers commented on the difference between the costs involved and the “basic costs” covered by the DfE. The extra costs mainly related to training and cover to allow teachers to moderate and input data. It is also estimated that £5 million of taxpayers’ money has gone to private companies to set up the baseline assessment so far. It is interesting to note that the national development manager of Early Excellence, Jan Dubiel, was one of the individuals consulted over the setting up of the baseline assessment. Aside from concerns over implementation, RobertsHolmes questions the wisdom of even trying to boil down the intricacies of an individual child’s abilities to a single score. “Young children learn in highly complex ways through practical and playful experiences,” he says. “Baseline’s simplistic data attempts to reduce such complexity and does not reflect what the child can do.” The Government is evidently keen to be able to simplify for accountability, but given the variability of young children and the multifaceted nature of learning, any score would appear to be more or less meaningless. National curriculum levels, arguably a more sophisticated method of evaluation, were scrapped because they were “too vague and imprecise”, according to schools minister Nick Gibb. Meanwhile, Sean Harford, national director for education at Ofsted, said that the inspection agency does not want to see data to show progress, rather “we mean progress in acquiring knowledge, real skills and understanding”. The IoE research also revealed that schools are aware of the possibility of ‘gaming’ the assessment, reporting a lower score in order to give greater scope for progress, but are adamant that they reported the results faithfully. Lee Card, deputy headteacher of Cherry Orchard Primary School in Worcestershire, one of ATL’s acurriculumthatcounts.org.uk case studies, feels the Early Excellence assessment was easy enough to administer, but failed to deliver reliable results. 3

“FOUR-YEAR-OLDS NEED TO FEEL SAFE AND SECURE. TAKING TIME AWAY FROM THE TEACHER HAS TO BE VERY CAREFULLY MANAGED. THEIR TIME WITH THE CHILDREN IS HUGELY PRECIOUS”

WHAT YOU CAN DO Members might consider writing to their MPs to raise awareness of the problems with the baseline assessment, while those of you with children who will be affected by it could withdraw your children from future baseline assessments.

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SPOTLIGHT ON… BASELINE ASSESSMENT

“The outcomes didn’t match the understanding the teachers had of the pupils,” he says, adding that colleagues from other schools have said the same. “So we do the baseline assessment but we’re not going to do anything with it, which is a waste of professionals’ time and a wasted opportunity to use it for diagnostic reasons. “The EYFS teachers we have here, and others I have met, are some of the most tuned in when it comes to knowing the children,” he continues. “They can make judgments against the EYFS far better than any test can.” The IoE research echoed this view, with just 7.7% of survey respondents agreeing the data is an “accurate and fair way to assess children”. The unreliability of the score becomes even more significant when one considers that this is intended to be the base on which to make predictions of performance up to the end of Year 6. “Anything and everything can happen between four and 11,” says Roberts-Holmes. “Things happen with families that have a massive impact on the child.” Research group Reclaiming Schools, a network of educational researchers who believe education in England is distorted and undermined by a punitive accountability and surveillance regime, claims none of the baseline providers can predict with any accuracy, pointing out that CEM, even with 20 years’ experience of baseline testing, is only 56% accurate at predicting Level 4 at the end of key stage 2. This led to Reclaiming Schools concluding that “even CEM’s well-developed tests are not a precision tool, but more like a sawn-off shotgun”. So, in summary, the baseline assessment tests children at a volatile age, increases teachers’ workloads, costs money at a time of tight budgets and austerity, and gives unreliable results in an oversimplified form to give a prediction that is about as accurate as flipping a coin. So why was such a policy foisted onto the profession with such enthusiasm? “Where has this come from, this idea that we can measure and predict progress? There’s absolutely no way of doing that,” says ATL policy adviser Anne Heavey. “The idea in child-development terms of a kind of fixed ability of a four-, five- or six-year-old is really problematic. And the idea of a formal test so young goes against everything we know about how children grow and what they need. “It’s sort of copying the model of secondary school, where they look at Year 6 and compare progress in Year 11, which is a completely different, but equally problematic, kettle of fish,” she adds. “There they measure on a very narrow range of subjects that doesn’t take into account lots of characteristics and interests of the child.” Heavey reinforces what ATL has always said, that there does have to be accountability for public money spent on children’s education. “But how do you measure a good school?” she asks. “Why does it always have to be through test scores? It’s cheap and easy, but the idea that you can use a test to tell you how a school is doing across the board is WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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FURTHER INFORMATION You can read the full IoE report into the baseline assessment at www.atl.org. uk/baseline. ATL’s alternative vision for accountability in schools can be found at www.atl.org. uk/visionfor inspection. Details of the Better Without Baseline campaign are at www. betterwithout baseline. org.uk.

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nonsense, and ultimately leads to narrowing of the curriculum, stress and unnecessary behaviours.” She talks about the ‘SATs effect’ where all school activity can be focused on those tests, which are then followed by six weeks of relaxing once they are done. She is also concerned about education secretary Nicky Morgan’s announcement of more rigorous tests for seven-year-olds and the proposed times-tables test in Year 6. “You’ve got to look at how to meet the challenge of having a really highstakes event happening, but also you have a broader purpose,” Heavey says. Card agrees. “In terms of statutory tests at the end of Year 2 and Year 6, whether schools think it’s necessary or not, it’s there,” he says. “What’s crucial is that you don’t let that become your focus or dictate everything you work towards. “It takes brave leadership, and thankfully we’ve got that in this country; leadership that will not place SATs tests as its focus but will instead place pedagogy and trust in their teachers as its focus,” he adds. “Without that you end up with a disconnect between how teachers want to teach and how they’re being forced to teach.” Card believes external testing needs to be handled differently. “It’s the way tests are used and the damage done to the profession by the use of the data,” he says. “If we get the curriculum right using the skill of our teachers, the tests will take care of themselves and pupils will make excellent progress. We don’t need those test results to be used as a hammer against the profession.” Cherry Orchard spent some time defining the overarching principles of assessment that improve pupils’ development. The conclusion was that assessment is: first, a picture of personal development and progress; second, an ongoing diagnostic process involving children and informing teachers’ practice; and finally, a way of identifying what children can do and what their next steps should be. Roberts-Holmes believes ideal assessment for young children “should be for making the children realise they are already successful in a range of different areas. It should be fun, authentic and set in a real context, which for young children is playbased,” he says. “Reception teachers are already experts at this.” For Heavey, a key question is: does an assessment do what it needs to do for the child? She highlights the phonics check as an example of how assessment policy can go awry. “We are getting reports from secondary school reading recovery that there are more pupils arriving who are struggling with reading comprehension,” she explains. “The phonics check has bright children failing because they were trying to find meaning in nonsense words. Phonics teaches you to decode but doesn’t teach meaning.” She laments that there is no proper evaluation of education policy and its effectiveness. “There’s no shame in saying something didn’t work and taking it away,” she says. By that rationale, the baseline assessment’s days should be numbered. n MARCH 2016 | REPORT 15

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Weird

SCIENCE

Biology teacher Simon Bayliss tells Sally Gillen how jelly won him a national teaching award

POP STAR HARRY STYLES and two bowls of jelly. Not, perhaps, the first things that spring to mind when you think of cloning, but for award-winning biology teacher and ATL member Simon Bayliss, they are very handy for describing a complex scientific process to students. In the deserted staffroom of Oxford Spires Academy, where Bayliss has taught since 2014, he explains. “There’s a really good demonstration you can do with two bowls of jelly with some sweets on top to show they’re chromosomes. “I spin the students a bit of yarn about something really contemporary to them. ‘One Direction are breaking up,’ I say, ‘and I know you’ve been worried about it, so I’ve been thinking about how we can clone Harry Styles.’ “I tell them I have a skin cell, after I snuck into Harry’s dressing room and took it for them. I’ve taken the nucleus, which is one of the bowls of jelly, and the sweets are his genes. I have got a donor who has given me an egg. I don’t want any genes from inside this egg. Then I scoop all the jelly out of the bowl and put it into a bag, so you have the empty egg, and then I scoop Harry’s nucleus and put it into the empty cell. “For the students, it is visual and they remember it,” smiles Bayliss. “It is silly but it gets their attention.” It is this creativity, along with his ability to personalise learning for each student and give high-quality feedback, that helped Bayliss scoop the Outstanding New Teacher 2015 Award in October. Judges of the 16 REPORT | MARCH 2016

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annual Pearson Teaching Awards, who observed his lesson on cloning, praised it as “pacey and imaginative”. Entering his classroom was like a gateway to a “magical world of curiosity”, they said, a vivid description that would surely be the envy of any teacher. Oxford Spires principal Sue Croft sums up Bayliss’s talent simply: “In 34 years of teaching, I have never come across such an exceptional NQT.” So impressed was Croft that she nominated Bayliss for the awards back in January 2015, after he had completed his first term. “I was really honoured when she told me she had put me forward,” says Bayliss, whose entry into teaching followed four years as a paramedic. Although a career-changer, it was always his long-term ambition to go into teaching, a decision partly influenced by the happy experience of his sister, a primary school teacher. His time as a paramedic has benefited his teaching in several ways by giving him a real understanding of his subject, and by providing him with stories of life on board a speeding ambulance, dealing with life-anddeath situations, which he uses to great effect in the classroom. For example, students are spellbound by his explanation of the mammalian dive reflex, which optimises respiration to allow mammals to stay underwater for extended periods of time. He tells the story of rescuing a three-year-old who had plunged head first into a lake in the dead of winter, and

resuscitating the child more than an hour later. “These sorts of stories give the students a bit of passion,” he says, adding that they can make biology a more accessible subject for those who may not have a natural aptitude for it or who find it intimidating. “It is about trying to get students to want to study the subject further and making them want to come to lessons to find out more,” says Bayliss, although he concedes that his real-life experiences can only help so much. “Even in science, there are topics where you can’t draw on examples, but it just sets up that this is the bigger picture.” His approach is to celebrate the small successes of his students, rather than the milestone achievements, building their confidence bit by bit. “I use positivity, encouragement and reward. It is about building confidence so they feel able to talk and ask questions in class and want to do better. Then, when they do that, they build up motivation slowly along the way.” One of the students who has benefited from his approach joined the school from the Netherlands and was placed in the lower set for science, before rising to the top, thanks to her own hard work and his encouragement. “It kind of became obvious that she could understand stuff, but she needed a little bit of pushing and encouragement to show her that she was really good at biology. She quite quickly got a real passion for the subject and that helped her get up into the top set. I showed her that she can do it.” As with all NQTs, effectively managing classroom behaviour has come about through trial and error. “I started off – and made this mistake when I was an NQT – using a sort of warning system for behaviour and homework on the board. So if, at the start of the lesson,

“I USE POSITIVITY, ENCOURAGEMENT AND REWARD. IT IS ABOUT BUILDING CONFIDENCE SO THEY FEEL ABLE TO TALK AND ASK QUESTIONS IN CLASS”

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25/02/2016 14:44

IN PROFILE… SIMON BAYLISS

a student was talking, his or her name would go on the board with a tick by it, which could mean five minutes with me. “I found that I hated the negativity; you would have two or three kids who had been told off, and another in detention. So I decided to flip it round and give them ticks as rewards, so if they get their name and four ticks on the board then they get a call home to say they have done really well this week. It’s built in there that if they don’t get a tick they know they haven’t worked hard enough. Immediately motivation went up. They wanted to work harder.” Engaging students and motivating them to learn, rather than applying sanctions, is Bayliss’s aim. “I always try to create that culture and let them know there is going to be something good going on in this lesson, which creates an expectation that they should want to be there.” Inspiring teachers from his own school days have not, perhaps unusually, been role models for Bayliss. But then his schooling was

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unusual. Aged 11, his mainstream education was cut short when an injury to his heel, sustained in a PE lesson, triggered a neurological condition called reflex sympathetic dystrophy. The condition deteriorated and he lost the use of both legs and was in a wheelchair. He then spent a year at home, where he largely took responsibility for his own learning, completing English and maths work sent by the school with help from tutors. Other subjects he was expected to study independently. “I always had good teachers, but I was out from about Year 8 up to my GCSEs. I spent a year in hospital and staff in the hospital school were brilliant. They got me through my GCSEs,” he explains. Students who are out of school resonate with Simon and he always makes sure they have work at home with them. “I imagine myself in that position and I remember sometimes we would have to chase for work. The school was supportive in sending that work,

Simon Bayliss was nominated for his Outstanding New Teacher of the Year Award by his head after just one term as an NQT

but it was that connection that kept me going. “I lived in a village, so it was difficult to get out to see people with friends spread out over 15 miles. You get isolated very quickly. So for quite a long time I missed out on the social side of school.” For that reason, his passion for the pastoral side of school is equal to the academic, says Bayliss, who makes a point of getting involved in school life beyond the science lab. Time devoted to extra-curricular activities includes supporting his tutor group in drama and dance clubs. “They really like to see you there,” he smiles. In January, he became a head of house, taking on responsibility for up to 250 students. Again, Bayliss says his paramedic experience of dealing with the public in situations of high emotion has proved a good grounding for communicating with parents. “The key is to remain calm and try to empathise with them, but also be really clear and firm on what the outcome will be.” His calmness in the classroom was commented on by judges, students and parents as part of the judging process. “You don’t forget his smile and kind voice,” said one pupil. Another said: “He’s like the footholes on a climbing wall.”

MARCH 2016 | REPORT 17

25/02/2016 14:44

The Education and Training Foundation works with teachers, trainers, leaders and employers. We help them deliver excellent further and vocational education and training.

Courses and resources on: Maths and English Leadership Vocational Education and Training

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01/03/2016 15:37

JOIN THE DEBATE LGBT ISSUES

A perfect world Coming out, bullying and rugby league were all discussed when Sir Ian McKellen visited a school to talk about LGBT issues

IMAGE: QUEENSBURY ACADEMY

WORDS BY ALEX TOMLIN

YOU DON’T OFTEN see a 76-year-old man being mobbed by teenagers, but that was the scene at Queensbury Academy in Bedfordshire when Sir Ian McKellen visited. Possibly better known to the excited pupils as Gandalf or Magneto, Sir Ian was there as an ambassador of campaigning charity Stonewall to talk about lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) issues. Sir Ian helped set up Stonewall in 1989, has long campaigned for LGBT rights and visits schools when he can. At Queensbury, he completed a whistle-stop tour, causing uproar in the classes he visited. He also signed one of the many Stonewall pledges dotted around the school, promising never to be a bystander to bullying and teasing language and to stand up for fairness and kindness. Speaking to a group of pupils who were working to stamp out bullying in the school, including the use of homophobic and derogatory language, Sir Ian told them that groups like theirs can make positive things happen. It’s very important to have antibullying campaigns in school, he added, because bullying goes on in the world outside as well. “School is society in miniature and you can make your own rules and get things perfect,” he said. “It can be a model of what society could be like.” He said that fear of bullying stops many gay people from coming out, usually because they are worried about what other people will think. However, he believes everyone should take heart from the story of Keegan Hirst, captain of Batley Bulldogs rugby league club, who came out last year and was welcomed with applause from the whole stadium in the following match, against local rivals the Dewsbury Rams. Sir Ian said that this should be inspiration to any pupil or member of staff at the school that if they want to WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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Sir Ian McKellen delivers inspirational talks on LGBT issues to young people

come out then they should be able to. The group all said they would think better of a person for being honest about themselves. Speaking about his own experiences, he said the phrase ‘coming out of the closet’ could be more accurately put as ‘coming out of the cupboard’, a dirty place where you keep things you want kept out of sight, and that it was good to get out of a place like that. He also explained that, although coming out sounds like a single major event, in fact you never stop coming out, because you always have to tell new people and “ultimately you go on coming out your whole life”. Moving on to a speech in the assembly hall, once he had roared the crowd-pleasing “if you do not study for your exams, YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”, he spoke movingly about his own experiences from 50 years ago and how he regretted never having had the chance to tell his parents about his sexuality. Then he spoke about how peaceful protests and setting up groups like Stonewall have, over the years, changed many things for the better for LGBT people, but there is still work to do.

Given the opportunity to ask questions, the pupils refrained from asking about his acting career, instead asking what he had been most afraid of when he came out (he had no idea), why people fight against being gay, what he thinks of religion’s view of homosexuality (he wonders why any god would create people as lesbian, gay or bisexual then not expect them to do anything about it), and what he thinks of media representations of LGBT people today (“They are portrayed as normal people, which is what I feel I am”). Sir Ian rounded off his visit with an impassioned rendition of Thomas More’s speech to the mob, written by Shakespeare, where More addresses a xenophobic crowd and tells them that driving out those people who are different from you will result in “other ruffians” doing the same to you and “men like ravenous fishes would feed on one another”. Stonewall sends inspirational LGBT role models into schools as part of its School Champions programme, which you can find out more about at www.stonewall.org.uk/teachertraining. MARCH 2016 | REPORT 19

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25/02/2016 15:00

YOUR ATL… CONTENTS AND CONTACTS

Your ATL

REMEMBER TO PASS YOUR COPY OF REPORT TO COLLEAGUES WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN IT

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

IN THIS SECTION

BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT

ATL member Steven McNichol refutes some of Tom Bennett’s behaviour management advice

LEGAL ADVICE ATL solicitor Elizabeth Doherty explains maternity rights at work

CROSSWORD

Your chance to win a £50 M&S voucher with our cryptic crossword

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The introduction of the new single-tier state pension, tell us about your experiences of primary school assessment and don’t forget to apply for the Peter Smith scholarship

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WORKLOAD

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ATL members on the sad consequences of excessive workload, problems with marking software and a lack of experience for ministers

USEFUL CONTACTS If you need help with matters related to your employment, your first point of contact should be your school or college ATL rep, or your AMiE regional officer if you are a leadership member. You can also contact your local ATL branch for advice and support. If they are unable to help, contact ATL using these details: General enquiries: 020 7930 6441 info@atl.org.uk BELFAST: 028 9078 2020 ni@atl.org.uk CARDIFF: 029 2046 5000 cymru@atl.org.uk AMiE MEMBERS: Call the employment helpline on 01858 464171 helpline@amie.atl.org.uk

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Membership enquiries: membership@atl.org.uk Pension enquiries: 020 7782 1600 Out-of-hours helpline: 020 7782 1612 ATL’s regional officials are available to speak to you about work problems Monday to Friday from 5pm to 7.30pm during term time.

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MARCH 2016 | REPORT 21

25/02/2016 14:40

YOUR ATL… BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT

No penalties? Steven McNichol, an ATL member and senior lecturer in education, responds to Tom Bennett’s views on behaviour management

IMAGE: GETTY

I READ THE INTERVIEW with Tom Bennett in January’s Report with great interest, as I lead the provision for improving the behaviour management skills of trainee teachers at a highly respected ITT institution, Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. However, some of Bennett’s proposals cause concern. Rules Bennett claims that the most effective rules are those dictated to children and enforced by the teacher, with no room for negotiation or adaptation. He says, “I tell my classes what the rules are and why we have them. I won’t ask them what they think. I know what they need because I am an adult. This is not a democracy.” However, in many schools, teachers are encouraged to use pupils as partners during the design of class rules to support their contribution to the classroom environment. Children should be involved in the creation of the rules by which they will be governed, as when pupils contribute to rule-setting they better relate to the rules and therefore comply more often. 22 REPORT | MARCH 2016

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Sanctions, consequences and punishments Bennett claims sanctions are a key part of behaviour management. In 2010, he wrote that “the threat of an immediate punishment is far more powerful than a promise of an equivalent benefit”, and he continues to support this principle. However, the effectiveness of sanctions is not supported by research. In 2006, Ann Shreeve, of the University of East Anglia, and her colleagues found that pupils perceive penalties to be less effective than rewards, and most teachers feel penalty systems are ineffective in their schools. This may be because sanctions can create a negative atmosphere and punishment can actually increase undesirable behaviour. As Jerome Freiburg, of the University of Houston, writes: “Punished children perceive the teacher and the school as objects to fear and avoid. The result is truancy, tardiness and high levels of anxiety, all of which impair ability to learn.” Rewards Bennett also claims that behaviour management “is not just about punishment; it’s also about rewarding children”. Again, Bennett is not the only one to believe that rewarding children is an effective means to manage behaviour. However, it can be argued that, although rewards may minimise disruptive behaviour in the short term, they have negative effects and stifle intrinsic motivation. When rewards are offered for appropriate behaviour, children simply behave in this way to gain the reward. Once the reward is removed, so is the inclination to behave appropriately. Morality One of the most pressing concerns I hold about the use of a system underpinned by rules, rewards and sanctions is not that of its practical effectiveness (which is far from clear cut), but the morality of the principles themselves. This type of approach to behaviour management

inherently affixes the source of discipline problems entirely to pupils, absolving teachers from the responsibility for any behaviour issues they may face as a result of poor teaching. Bennett’s proposals amount to a power-based model designed simply to get pupils to comply, with minimal effort and reflection on the part of the teacher. This ‘teacher in ultimate control’ approach leaves little room for cooperation and collaboration between pupils and staff, developing an ethos of ‘staff v pupils’ rather than ‘staff + pupils’. The principles underpinning Bennett’s approach could turn classrooms into battlegrounds, with ongoing skirmishes between staff and children damaging the positive relationships that need to exist for effective learning to take place. The emphasis that Bennett’s proposals place on sheer obedience may also stunt children’s ethical development. The underlying principle is coercive, encouraging compliance with arbitrary power rather than personal, social and ethical development. Teaching pupils that they are simply expected to follow rules does not encourage them to develop a mindset that allows them to make good choices about how to conduct themselves outside school or in adult life. Nor do children learn to be moral by obeying rules that others make for them. Bennett’s ‘one size fits all’ proposals are bad for ITT and the behaviourmanagement training of teachers. We should be providing trainee teachers with the opportunity to experience and develop a range of skills and approaches. For qualified teachers, it is essential that professional development in behaviour management is balanced and offers a variety of approaches to maintain good behaviour in the classroom.

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03/03/2016 14:32

YOUR ATL… LEGAL GUIDE

AMONG THE BEST-KNOWN rights and protections of women who plan to take maternity leave is the right to pay. All women are entitled to take up to 52 weeks’ leave, which can start as early as the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC). A woman who decides to return to work after a period of ordinary maternity leave (26 weeks) has the right to return to the same job she held prior to her leave, while those who opt to take additional leave are entitled to return to the same or a similar job. A woman who has been employed continuously for at least 26 weeks at the 15th week before her EWC is also entitled to 39 weeks’ statutory maternity pay (current max £139.58 p/w). Some employers may choose to offer a more generous pay scheme. For example, teachers in the maintained sector who have been employed for one year and 11 weeks will receive occupational maternity pay at a sliding rate for 18 weeks. However, a woman who chooses not to return to work may be required to pay a proportion of her maternity pay back. Those employed in the independent or FE sectors should check their contracts to see if their employers offer contractual maternity pay. Less well-known rights include paid time off for antenatal appointments, including relaxation classes, prior to starting leave. Once on leave, a woman can undertake up to 10 days’ work with her employer without leave or pay being affected; these are known as ‘keeping in touch days’. While there is no statutory right to be paid for these days, they can be used to attend training courses or staff meetings while off work. During a period of maternity leave, a woman also has the right to be notified of any vacancies that may become available, in addition to news regarding any restructures or redundancies that

may occur. Although a woman is not obliged to disclose her pregnancy to her employer until 15 weeks before her EWC, it can be beneficial to do so earlier in order to take advantage of leave for antenatal appointments, as well as allowing the employer to undertake a risk assessment to ensure safety. Despite the strengthening of rights, the TUC reports that as many as “six in 10 mothers felt sidelined at work as soon as they announced they were pregnant, with many managers also admitting they were reluctant to hire women of childbearing age”. It is important women are not only aware of their rights, but also of their legal protections. For example, a woman has the right not to suffer a detriment by her employer because she is pregnant or wants to take maternity leave. A woman who finds herself subject to detriment by an employer as a result of her pregnancy or leave may consider herself constructively

Maternity rights ATL solicitor Elizabeth Doherty explains the legislation around maternity leave WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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dismissed. Constructive dismissal arises when an employee resigns in response to a fundamental breach by an employer. A woman subject to maternity-related unfair treatment may be able to rely on this breach. However, constructive dismissal claims are notoriously difficult to win, and women should always seek ATL’s advice before deciding to resign. A woman dismissed or made redundant in connection with pregnancy or maternity leave is likely to be deemed unfairly dismissed by an employment tribunal. The law also gives special protection to a woman whose post becomes redundant during her maternity leave. If a suitable alternative vacancy exists, she must be offered first refusal of that post. Women who are denied opportunities in relation to training or promotion may also be able to claim under sex discrimination legislation. One of the most prevalent issues relates to women who want to return to work part time after the birth, but encounter resistance from their employer. A refusal to allow a return to work part time could give rise to a claim for indirect sex discrimination, which occurs when an employer treats all employees in the same way but the effects are more likely to disadvantage a group with a protected characteristic. It is generally accepted that women are more likely to want to work part time as a result of childcare responsibilities. Maternity rights are complex and ATL recommends contacting us as soon as possible (details on page 21) if you are concerned those rights have been violated. You can also read our factsheets on parental leave at www.atl.org.uk/factsheets. MARCH 2016 | REPORT 23

25/02/2016 14:35

YOUR ATL… YOUR VIEWS

Letters STA R L E T T E R

or just for fun! I hope things change, and quickly, in teaching but I doubt they will. Why is another letter altogether. C Hollings, Lancashire

SADLY RESIGNED It is only now that I have resigned after 25 years’ teaching that ATL RESPONSE I have the time to read Cases like this your articles on sadden us and are managing stress The author of this letter wins all too common, and the work£100 in book tokens. If you want to but we are life balance! voice your opinion on issues raised in also hearing I spent the Report or any other aspect of education, please send a letter or email to the about lots last nine addresses below, including your of examples years working phone number. One letter will where workload exhausting be chosen every issue to win has been tackled hours and the tokens. constructively. resorting to You can help us medication to alleviate build on this by going to our depression and stress to work-life campaign pages at remain in work. After it took www.atl.org.uk/abouttime. until the penultimate week of the summer break to feel ‘normal’, I knew I had to make a change, but this time stick to it for more than the first week. MARKING MADNESS I attempted to work only I am an early-retired teacher. In until 9pm in the week and three hours on a Sunday. It was quickly 2014, I marked key stage 2 maths papers for Pearson/Edexcel. apparent that allowing myself I was given an A+ marker rating. time for an hour of relaxation a In 2015, I was invited to day actually added to my stress. continue, only to find that I could It was impossible to meet the not, for one very simple reason: intensity of the marking policy the software used would only and micro-planning. The elastic run on a Microsoft PC running finally snapped and my Internet Explorer. I own only resignation was handed in. Mac computers, not a Microsoft I loved being in the classroom. PC. When I took this up with I did inspire my pupils. I did the company, it blamed the ‘switch on’ disaffected learners Government. I contacted the and I did teach good lessons. Government and got a load I did not spend time with my of meaningless waffle. daughter, help my ageing Clearly one should not be parents, see my friends, keep my house clean and organised or doing any of this on a public computer, for example at a feel satisfied. I am now working library. I asked if they provided as a supply teacher. The pay PC laptops on loan to people isn’t great, I have no pension in my position. They said not. contributions and the work isn’t At a time when there seems assured, but I have time. I have to be a recruitment issue for time to appreciate the seconds markers, due to overworked in a day, the smile on my teachers not applying, one daughter’s face, time to talk would think that retired and/or when someone phones and supply teachers would be the time to spend with my family answer. How ridiculous then to and friends when they need me

WIN!

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make it so that only one browser and operating system will work! The amount I earn as a marker is not enough to make me dash out and buy a Microsoft PC/ laptop. Indeed, even if it were, I would not do so on principle. W Gray, West Yorkshire A DISASTROUS DISCONNECT I feel Mary Bousted is quite correct in her assertion that further education bears the brunt of Government cuts because ministers have not even the slightest experience of it (Report, January 2016). It has not even entered their consciousness until it comes to choosing budgets to cut, and then it is easy to slash FE funding because they neither know nor care about it. To a certain extent this also applies to state schools and the NHS. Ministers, who generally seem to have had unusually privileged upbringings, are dismantling state education

and the NHS when their own experience of education and healthcare appears to have been entirely private, and so they have no connection, no empathy with the people (staff, pupils, patients) affected. Until the MPs, or someone close to them, are directly affected by these cuts and changes, this pattern of governing will continue. Tunes would change quite sharply if a minister’s children were suddenly being taught by a dangerously unqualified teacher or a harassed teaching assistant, or if an MP’s parent’s life was in the hands of an exhausted and underpaid junior doctor. I am not the first to say this, but it is a travesty that ministers have so much power over vital professions and areas, but have no experience of those areas whatsoever. Would it be too much to ask to have an education secretary who had worked as a teacher? J McNair, Kent

Excessive workload is leading to stress and exhaustion for many teachers

JOIN THE DEBATE…

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

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

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

25/02/2016 14:34

YOUR ATL… PRIZE CROSSWORD

WIN!

Prize crossword ACROSS 1 Teach a sport? Might be a disaster! (11) 9 A damn mess by Conservative – it’s compulsory (9) 10 Some children utterly taken aback by his work on the piano? (5) 11 Sell to the public literal translation without Latin heading (6) 12 Great amusement, and it breaks up a university term (8) 13 Stockings made from polyvinyl on silk (6) 15 Wore drab, battered costumes supplied from here? (8) 18 Child’s instrument used for LP by Queen (8) 19 Encounter extremes of spite, reversing respect and admiration (6) 21 Uni’s got 100 involved with activity for boys (8) 23 Epicurean, no longer with UEA, has lobster claw (6) 26 Penny is company at dance (5) 27 Yes, caners might be seen as essential! (9) 28 Damn stars! OU fixed old astrologer (11)

A £50 Marks & Spencer voucher

DOWN 1 Leader of Commons ‘dreadful moaner’ – Prime Minister (7) 2 Either way, it’s a philosophical principle (5) 3 A test – iron out who supplies the pens and paper (9) 4 Some of Hero of Alexandria’s work goes over my head! (4) 5 This kind of education might be child’s play without lame ducks initially (8) 6 Additional end-of-course tax possibly about right (5) 7 Scottish philosopher clearly upset (7) 8 Got a nine, unexpectedly, for Greek tragedy (8) 14 Team game for new class, or bottom of league (8) 16 Sacked head of department’s absence is keenly felt, apparently (9) 17 Schoolboy brought to book by Mr Buckeridge (8) 18 Live outside University with the remainder (7) 20 Perhaps try to get into God, but they suffer for their beliefs (7) 22 The point of botany? (5) 24 Domestic cleaner with medium attractiveness? (5) 25 Mark, in A Christmas Carol (4)

7 8

17 18

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HOW TO ENTER

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

LAST ISSUE’S SOLUTION ACROSS: 1 Measles 5 Detest 9 Tillage 10 Prefect 11 All 12 Right 13 Outback 14 Elm 15 Aerator 17 Abet 21 Odds 24 Cyclone 27 Lie 28 Inertia 29 Hinge 30 Cut 31 Ransack 32 Annette 33 Mentor 34 Naughty DOWN: 1 Maternal 2 Allegory 3 Least 4 Steamer 5 Diploma 6 Theatre 7 Seesaw 8 Stake 16 Old 18 Boy 19 Top notch 20 Cemetery 22 Detract 23 Slacker 24 Certain 25 Fibre 26 Seance 29 Hindu CONGRATULATIONS TO JANUARY’S WINNER – STEPHEN DRIVER, BURNLEY

Be more tax aware! Act by 5 April Organising your finances tax-efficiently is part of sensible financial planning – the government actively encourages us to use legitimate tax reliefs and allowances such as ISAs, pension contributions and other personal allowances. An ATL+ partner, we offer practical, affordable advice specific to education professionals about being tax aware. Book a complimentary, no obligation appointment now. Call 08000 85 85 90. Email appointments@lighthousefa.co.uk.

Making your money work harder LIGHTHOUSE FINANCIAL ADVICE www.lighthousefa.co.uk/atl Tax advice which contains no investment element is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Lighthouse Financial Advice is a trading style of Lighthouse Financial Advice Limited. Registered in England No. 04795080. Registered Office: 26 Throgmorton Street, London, EC2N 2AN. Lighthouse Financial Advice Limited is an appointed representative of Lighthouse Advisory Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Both are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Lighthouse Group plc. 2016-02-09 16.0204

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25/02/2016 17:08

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25/02/2016 14:59

YOUR ATL… NOTICEBOARD

NOTICE BOARD PETER SMITH SCHOLARSHIP As a lasting memorial to former ATL general secretary Peter Smith and his contribution to the work of the union, the Peter Smith scholarship offers financial assistance to ATL members who wish to return to full- or part-time study in areas that will help their professional and personal development. Last year’s awards included contributions towards masters, doctorates and national professional qualifications for middle leadership. For more details and to apply, see www.atl.org.uk/scholarships. You can also contact Bernadette Babayigit at bbabayigit@atl.org.uk for an application form. The closing date is 22 April 2016.

PRIMARY SCHOOL ASSESSMENT This year, members working within primary schools have faced unprecedented changes to the assessment systems, including the removal of levels, new SATs, new timestables tests and new teacher assessment frameworks, to name but a few. ATL is very concerned about the unnecessary strain that this has put on support staff, teachers and leaders, as well as the impact the new assessment will have on children in primary school. As we continue to lobby the Department for Education to take urgent action to mitigate the negative effects ATL is concerned about the scale of disruptive reforms being implemented in primary schools

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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The Government’s new single-tier state pension will be rolled out from 6 April 2016

of its reforms, we would like to ask members to let us know how these changes have impacted their working lives. If you have information, concerns or experiences that you want us and the Government to know about, then contact ATL education policy adviser Anne Heavey at aheavey@atl.org.uk so that your voice can be heard.

INTRODUCTION OF THE SINGLE-TIER STATE PENSION From 6 April 2016, a ‘single-tier’ state pension will be introduced, replacing the basic state pension and additional state pension. If you began receiving your state pension before 6 April, the changes will not affect you. Under the current arrangements, which cease on 5 April 2016, members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) are contracted out of the additional state pension. People who are contracted out receive the basic state pension, but do not receive the additional state pension. In return, members of contracted-out pension schemes like the TPS and LGPS pay lower National Insurance (NI) contributions on the basis that their workplace pension scheme provides additional and more than adequate alternative benefits. NI is paid by both

employers and employees as a percentage of income. From April, TPS and LGPS will no longer be contracted out and you will start paying the standard rate of NI contributions, an increase of 1.4%. Members who reach state pension age after 6 April 2016 will receive the new single-tier state pension. The amount you receive will depend on your NI record and the number of non-contracted-out years you qualify for. To qualify for the full single-tier state pension, you will need to have 35 non-contracted-out years of service. Not everyone will qualify for the full new single-tier state pension, especially those retiring on or soon after 6 April 2016. However, no one will be worse off under the new scheme. The Government has confirmed that everyone claiming the state pension after 6 April 2016 will receive whatever is higher – either the amount you would get under the old system or the amount you would get under the new system. To find out what your state pension will be, visit the DWP website at www.gov.uk/state-pension-statement. If you have any queries about your state pension, the TPS or LGPS, contact the ATL pension team at info@atl.org.uk or on 020 7930 6441. MARCH 2016 | REPORT 27

03/03/2016 14:33

SUMMER SOCCER

IN THE USA A unique teaching opportunity… Spend a fabulous three weeks in the USA coaching American children aged between 6 and 18 who’re eager to learn English/European soccer skills and techniques. Stay with one of our carefully selected, friendly and experienced host families on the beautiful and picturesque East Coast.  SAFE, HIGH QUALITY LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR ALL  TAILORED ACTIVITY PROGRAMMES DESIGNED TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS  A WIDE RANGE OF ACCOMMODATION OPTIONS AVAILABLE  BURSARY PLACES AVAILABLE For more information or to make a booking contact us on 01933654100 or email sales.info@rockuk.org or visit www.rockuk.org / /

• Enjoy real US hospitality • Work for a small, friendly and professional company

We require male or female primary and secondary school teachers that have experience in teaching football (outfield or goalkeeping) and an FA qualification. To apply, send a letter and your CV to Steven Wall, The English School of Soccer, 39 Barnfield Road, Millfields, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B61 7BJ

/ /

Tel: 01481 824028

Rock UK Adventure Centres Ltd is a registered charity No: 1107724 (England & Wales) SC040118 (Scotland)

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national

APPrenticeship

week

02/03/2015 10:50

Teaching Shakespeare?

14th - 18th

March 2016

Get on (white) board with Apprenticeships!

Celebrate National Apprenticeship Week with your students by helping them to be aware of the latest employability opportunities and grab a chance for your learning establishment to win a brand new interactive whiteboard!* 1] Boost your career advice

‘The perfect introduction to Shakespeare!’ Helen Reynolds, teacher

Shakespeare Comic Books!

through showing learners National Apprenticeship videos: /ApprenticeshipsNas 2] sign your students up:

Apprenticeshipadvice.co.uk/student/student-enquiry to access the prize draw and follow the link through to:

gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship 3] LET US KNOW:

apprenticeship.advice@interserve.com

*Terms and conditions apply. Please visit: www.apprenticeshipadvice.co.uk/teacher

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www.shakespearecomics.com

04/03/2016 11:38

YOUR ATL… RESOURCES

ATL RESOURCES ATL Support In the latest issue of the ATL Support newsletter, support staff members can read all about ATL’s dedicated support staff conference, which took place in February, as well as the results of our survey into support staff pay and working conditions. Elsewhere, there is a significant legal victory won by ATL over pay for INSET days; some damaging survey results about the effects of the SEND review; an inspiring tale from one support staff rep; and Kathryn Booth, member of ATL’s Support Staff Members

Advisory Group, giving MPs evidence about the gender pay gap from a support staff perspective.

Post-16 News

converting to academies. Finally, there is a report on practitioners getting more involved in research and a call for those working in college higher education to get involved in a project.

Members working in post-16 education will have received Post-16 News with this issue of Report, and can read about the latest pay and conditions updates in FE and sixth-form colleges, as well as ATL’s new vision for inspection in FE. There are also details on the ongoing area reviews in FE and on sixth-form colleges

ATL has announced its training courses for the summer term, covering a cocktail of educational areas. All standard members should find an insert detailing the courses available in the middle of this issue of Report, and the courses are also online at www.atl.org.uk/lzsummer.

Summer training courses

HOW TO PLAN MEETINGS… …SO THEY DON’T STEAL YOUR TIME Meetings are part of working life. But if you feel you are attending too many, they are not relevant and they are of no benefit to students, then you are not alone. The time lost to pointless meetings is a common complaint among ATL members. As part of our work-life campaign, ‘It’s about time…’, we have produced guidance on meetings to help make sure they are a good use of time.

Do you need to have the meeting? First, take stock by reviewing your meetings and asking: is the meeting necessary or a habit? What would happen if this meeting was not held? Could the meeting have been shorter? Once you have reviewed your meetings, there are ways to make sure those you need to have are as effective as possible.

Ask yourself these questions Does the meeting have a specific and defined purpose? Should I be there? Should people bring smartphones or iPads into the room, as they may be distracting?

Top tips for meetings Make sure your meeting has a clear agenda; stick to it; keep to time; make sure actions are agreed and circulated promptly; and make sure actions are followed up.

WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

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www.atl.org.uk/abouttime For more guidance on meetings, plus help and advice on how to carry out other tasks efficiently, including administration and marking, visit ATL’s website. Advice on time management,

dealing with stress and assertiveness, and handling difficult conversations is also available. Check out www.atl.org.uk/abouttime for all our campaign guidance and resources.

MARCH 2016 | REPORT 29

25/02/2016 14:24

FINAL WORD… RHONA CAMERON

soul Art for the

ILLUSTRATION: PHIL WRIGGLESWORTH

Comedian and writer Rhona Cameron compares her school days to modern, technology-fixated times

PINK FLOYD’S David Gilmour was interviewed recently and asked if the group’s 1979 classic ‘Another Brick in the Wall’, a protest against rigid schooling, would be released today, as education is so very necessary these days in particular. He agreed that it is, and said that the song, which reflected an approach taken to education at the time, wouldn’t be released today. My classic 1970s state schooling was a mixed bag. Some teachers would tell you daily that you would amount to nothing, and got by with that “dark sarcasm in the classroom” famously referred to in ‘Another Brick in the Wall’. Some were drunk. Others, though, were inspiring and influenced our Rhona Cameron lives years beyond our education. is a comedian Away from school, everything and writer @therhonacameron had a visceral quality. We lived in 30 REPORT | MARCH 2016

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a beautifully feral way, playing and imagining through the cycles of nature, each season providing us with something new to explore. Fearlessly we climbed dangerous heights, jumped into murky waters, started fires and even carried knives on our belts. With the help of our fathers, we made vehicles, launching ourselves downhill without any brakes. Of course, there were perils, too: predatory men, a glue-sniffing epidemic, violence from rival tribes, peer pressure on girls to have sex, then being emotionally abused for doing so. Some of us were so badly bullied we thought about suicide. There was self-harm but it didn’t have a name. We were freer than young people are now for sure. On the other

hand, there was little acceptance of anyone outside of the perceived norm. Traditions passed on from the old guard applied and steered us through life. Today, it seems that our technologically advanced society, which connects us with people all over the world instantly, has created kids who freak out if deprived of Wi-Fi. These advancements have taken a toll on the human psyche, which has no time to process, because everything is reported instantly via robots that connect us with cyber-strangers, whose approval one must seek for almost anything we do. Too much time indoors at a screen has caused more mental health problems and alienation among young people than we have ever known. This is why, more than ever, we need the arts in our schools and communities, and I mean all creative outlets. For kids without the opportunities to experience the mind-expanding travel available to their privileged counterparts, exposure to the arts is an even more important antidote to our material-obsessed society. I’m not suggesting we need to live in an artists-only world (although personally I would love that), for we need varied contributions to make a wellrounded society. But the arts are central to our well-being. I am reminded of the old lament: “Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread but give us roses”. Art offers us all this exploration. It is a map of the human journey and its story; it questions and goes deep, criticises and deconstructs, and makes us self-examine. It connects us with sensuality and love, with anger and desire, and with laughter, grief and loss. It teaches us about difference and diversity and offers an alternate view. Above all, it is a conductor of soul. We must keep the arts alive in schools and encourage their growth, despite Government attempts to rob them from those who cannot afford to pay for them. WWW.ATL.ORG.UK

25/02/2016 14:20

Teach heart disease a lesson The nation’s heart charity has two fun activity-based fundraising events that your school can take part in during the spring or summer term.

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

A hugely 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 official 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 – They learn how to improve their heart health by taking part in fun physical activities. You and your school win – These events are simple to organise and you get a comprehensive teacher’s pack with resources worth up to £100. 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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