Student & NQ May 2013

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report STUDENT & NQ

ATL’S SUPPLEMENT FOR STUDENTS

AND NEWLY QUALIFIEDS

In this issue…

The facts on pay

Organisation matters: Tips for new teachers to help you make the most out of your classroom p2

What to consider when taking up your first teaching job

ATL Future: Matt Mugan shares his experience of this year’s Conference p3 Ask ATL: Liz Coston answers your questions on asking for help and writing your first reports p4 Competition: Complete the Sudoku puzzle to win £50 in Marks & Spencer vouchers p4

It’s important to think about your salary when applying for your first job as a newly qualified teacher. It’s best to discuss the salary you’ll start on as soon as you’ve received a firm offer of a job.

You may have heard that the government is planning some major changes to the structure of teachers’ pay in England and Wales. Teachers’ pay in maintained schools in England and Wales is governed by the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document and the government published a new version of the document with details of these changes in April. The changes to pay are due to start coming into force from September 2013, with the aim of giving schools more flexibility in how and what they pay their teachers.

In the maintained sector in England and Wales, the statutory pay scale points are being replaced with pay ranges, and schools will be able to place teachers wherever they wish within the range. Below are the ranges for qualified teachers currently entering the profession. There are four geographical areas covering England and Wales, and each has its own range:

Ready, Steady, Teach!

ATL’s publication for student and newly qualified members Ready, Steady, Teach! includes tips on what to consider before you start your placement or job and contains advice to help you settle in, with guidance on issues including relationships with colleagues, time management, taking on additional duties and your work-life balance. It also answers lots of common questions on issues including mentors, student behaviour, observation and social networking.

This edition replaces two previous ATL publications, Into the Classroom and Ready, Steady, Teach!, and ATL members qualifying in 2013 should have received a copy already.

Other members can download it from www.atl.org.uk/readysteadyteach or contact ATL Despatch on 0845 4500 009 to order a hard copy.

England and Wales: Inner London: Outer London: London fringe:

£21,588 to £31,552 £27,000 to £36,387 £25,117 to £35,116 £22,626 to £32,588

The Department for Education (DfE) is expected to publish new ranges for the 2013-14 school year in the summer. It will also publish a reference pay scale to act as a guide for teachers as to what they can expect to be paid during their career. ATL expects that many schools will use the reference pay scale published by the DfE. As in previous years, teachers will be able to negotiate with their school an appropriate starting salary on appointment. If you are a teacher in a shortage subject or with previous experience, you may be able to negotiate a higher starting salary.

In the maintained sector, progression to the top of the range will be based on performance. All teachers should expect to reach the top of the range, but the rate at which you progress will be determined by your school.

All schools must have a pay policy that

MAY 2013

explains how decisions on pay and pay progression will be made. ATL believes that this must be a non-discriminatory, fair and transparent procedure.

Taking on extra responsibilities: additional payments Teachers who take on additional responsibilities may be eligible for an additional payment. Teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) payments are awarded to teachers who undertake a sustained additional responsibility.

Special educational needs (SEN) allowances are payable to teachers who are in posts that require a mandatory SEN qualification or who teach either in a special school or special classes in a mainstream school. Posts that attract TLR payments or SEN allowances are normally advertised as such.

Academies, free schools and independent schools Academies, free schools and independent schools are not bound by the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document, and if you choose to work outside of the maintained sector you should check the starting salary and opportunities for progression. However, many of these schools do use the maintained sector pay structure as the basis for their own pay system.

Other education institutions and regions There has been no change to pay in the sixth form or FE sector, which has its own pay scales, and these changes do not affect teachers in Scotland and Northern Ireland, who have their own pay arrangements. Details of pay in these regions and sectors can be found in the ‘Pay & pensions’ section of www.atl.org.uk.

For the latest news, FAQs and guidance see www.atl.org.uk/paynews.

www.new2teaching.org.uk

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Organisation matters About to enter your new classroom for the first time? Hazel Bennett has some tips to help you and your students make the most of the space you’ll be working in Getting your room in order is important.

Environment has an effect on behaviour, and if your room is pleasant and welcoming it will help you to start on the right foot. If the walls are interesting, it looks as if the teacher is taking the job seriously, and the students are more likely to do the same.

The task of preparing, setting up and taking down classroom displays is listed as one of the administrative duties teachers cannot contractually be required to do under the National Agreement on Raising Standards and Tackling Workload. But teachers will still want to make decisions about what material should be displayed in your classrooms and you can work with a teaching assistant to achieve this. Here are some ideas to help you.

Organising the displays Some schools have a policy for arranging the display boards, so ask the art coordinator before you start. It is also wise to have the display boards attractively covered to welcome the students, with new backing paper and edging up for the start of each year. Most schools have a stock of posters for each curriculum area, so do ask before you start.

In secondary and upper primary, it can work well to have a class discussion on what you and the students expect from each other in the first lesson with each class. An agreement from the

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students could be printed in the form of a contract, like the example below. Everyone, including you, should sign it before it is pinned on the wall.

What the teacher expects from students: 1 Arrive for class on time.

2 Bring everything necessary for the lesson.

3 Always have homework done.

What the students expect from their teacher: 1 Mark all the books before they are returned to students.

2 End each lesson on time.

Here are a few more suggestions > You could have an A4 poster listing everything the students need to take away with them — their homework books, reading book, homework diary, etc. This could be put up on the wall by the door so students see it on the way out.

> Think about interactive displays — there could be questions with answers under flaps for students to look up or maps with a question, eg, a road map of an area with the challenge ‘find the Roman road’ or a diagram with a set of labels that students can affix in the correct place. > Three-dimensional displays are eye-catching. > In a primary school, you could feature a photo of each child on a coloured A4 sheet, which has been laminated and pinned to a noticeboard.

Children can add a star or excellent sticker each time they get one in class. Pupils love it, especially as they can take it home at the end of the year. > Labels printed from a computer in strong colours that match the topic or the picture are effective, eg, green for environmental issues, red for warnings of safety in a science lab, etc. > A map of the world is useful, so when a place name comes up in any subject you can show students where it is. > Artefacts with questions about them are also interesting. For example, for a set of historical artefacts there could be labels with questions like ‘when would you use this?’ followed by four possible answers.

Displaying students’ work In spite of what some people might think, secondary students are just as keen to see their work displayed as primary students. > Even if the school policy does not say so, students’ work looks best mounted on coloured paper designed to enhance its appearance. > With writing, it is worth having the work mounted on paper in a shape that matches

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student & NQ report / organisation matters / ATL Future

the text. For example, an account of a visit to a historical site could be mounted on paper cut in the shape of one of the buildings. > Students’ names should always be clearly shown on the work, and in secondary schools the form also. Having name cards printed out ready can be helpful, kept in alphabetical order to find them more easily. > A ‘work of the week’ board is a good idea. It should be changed each week, highlighting a particularly interesting piece. It shouldn’t just focus on the best work; less academic students should have a chance to show their work too. > Corridor displays are seen by everyone, so the best work should be put up there. > It sometimes works well to have work displayed in a folder of plastic wallets; for example a set of poems. The open folder can be pinned in a prominent position, with a label inviting others to read it. It can be turned to a new page each day. > If one of your students achieves anything such as winning a competition or has a mention in a newspaper, an enlarged copy could be mounted and pinned up with an eye-catching label.

Organising furniture and resources > Make sure that all resources have a ‘home’ that is accessible to students, with positions clearly labelled.

The NQTeachers’ Survival Guide: How to pass your induction year with flying colours This e-book by Hazel Bennett, author of The Ultimate Teachers’ Handbook and The Trainee Teachers’ Survival Guide, is a step-by-step manual on how to pass the induction year and go on to enjoy a successful career.

In jargon-free language The NQTeachers’ Survival Guide suggests practical strategies for

> Always make sure tables and chairs are arranged so every student can comfortably see the whiteboard without twisting or turning. > Where possible, tables and chairs can be arranged in a semicircle with everyone facing the board — it produces a community feeling.

There could be two concentric rows if needed to fit everyone in. > Try to have a space between tables, so students feel they have ownership of a space. Feeling hemmed-in is uncomfortable and leads to disharmony; it is also easier for you to reach each student without disturbing others. > Be flexible about how the furniture is organised. If students are working collaboratively, tables can be moved so small groups can sit in a circle. If they have to work independently, they can sit one at each end of the table. > If you have a book corner or listening corner, have it adjacent to the board so it does not take up space that students could use to sit and see the board. > If you have units storing students’ belongings, it is better to position them along the same wall as the whiteboard, because it is space where students cannot sit and it could free up several square metres of sitting space.

coping with challenges such as behaviour management, planning and marking, the paper mountain, taking assemblies, planning day trips, parents’ evenings and writing reports.

“Hazel’s books are excellent and used by our novice teachers” — Elaine Wilson, senior lecturer in teacher training at Homerton College, Cambridge.

The NQTeachers’ Survival Guide (£6.99, ISBN 978-0-9574648-0-3) is published by Edgware Books and is available to download from Amazon and most online book distributors.

You can read more about Hazel Bennett at www.hazelbennett.co.uk

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ATL Future ATL Future member Matt Mugan shares his experiences of Annual Conference The reason I chose to go into teaching was because I wanted to change the futures of young people for the better. I get to do this every day in the classroom in small ways for individuals, but one thing that being part of ATL allows me is to affect education on a larger scale.

I’ve recently been to my fourth ATL Conference, where I contributed a motion about free school meals in FE. I saw in my college how students who used to get free meals in school do not get them at college when other students in other institutions can. This significantly affects their learning and I wanted to highlight the inequality.

By being part of a union that allows young members such a high level of involvement, I was able to get my voice heard and the case was put forward to my fellow professionals.

Colleagues agreed with me and the motion was carried, meaning ATL will work to remove this inequality over the next year.

One thing I have found from being a member of ATL is just how much the people involved in the union care about young people. Most of the Conference motions each year are about helping learners get the most from education and this demonstrates what ATL is all about.

Getting involved with ATL allows me to spend time around educators who are just like me. Every involved member wants to improve the prospects for young people, just like I do. Becoming actively involved in the policies of ATL has improved my career and made me feel like I make a difference.

Do you want to get involved too?

Email atlfuture@atl.org.uk.

www.new2teaching.org.uk

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Ask ATL…

ATL member Liz Coston is a deputy headteacher at a junior school.

Here she answers some of your commonly asked questions

As a new teacher you should have a mentor — hopefully this is the person whom you can talk to.

If this person isn’t someone you can relate to, talk things over with your year colleagues or members of your department. Once you start unburdening yourself you will probably find that everyone feels like you do some days; teaching is a tough job!

Report-writing

You, like all new teachers, are learning your trade and cannot possibly know everything in your first year. A poor lesson observation or allowing workload to get on top of you are the main reasons for feeling that things aren’t going well.

Try not to get too negative. Look at the things that are going well too. Be proactive and positive — you’ve chosen a wonderful but challenging career. ATL’s publication Induction has helpful tips for surviving your induction year; see www.new2teaching.org.uk.

Firstly, read some reports that were written last year. Ask your mentor for the names of a couple of teachers they feel produced really good ones.

You can’t work on everything at once, so I suggest you prioritise.

This is when being honest about what is going wrong is key. We are first and foremost in school to teach, so children’s needs must be top of your list.

Your local ATL rep will also be on the end of the phone. If you are not sure who they are, contact ATL on the details given below. Don’t suffer in silence; as they say, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’.

Tough times I feel things aren’t going well in my first job — what should I do?

Whom should I talk to?

Every job has its ups and downs; things can stop going well for all kinds of reasons. The most important thing is to recognise why. Be honest and then try and find a solution.

I am about to start work writing end-of-year reports for the first time. What advice do you have?

Report-writing is one of those ‘firsts’ that can be a little tough and hardgoing. End-of-year reports are very important and you need to get it right, so here are my tips.

Secondly, write three reports representing the top, middle and bottom levels of performance and get someone else to read them. There is nothing worse than writing them all to find out you were on the wrong lines.

Thirdly — plan! Good report-writing takes time and you will of course need to continue the day job. You

could do all the maths first, or the general comments, or different groups of children, etc. Plan in some deadlines and some rewards.

I think the most important part of the report for parents is the general comment, and this bit must be individual — you need to show that you really know the child. Do not drop any surprises; if you write anything negative the parent should already know about it. Consider how you write those negative comments. Ask for help if necessary — I still do!

Finally, check them well. Pronouns can trip you up if you are not careful, and you don’t want to spell a child’s name incorrectly. Maybe ask a friend or family member if they can help with proofreading.

Remember, ATL is always here to help — you can find more tips in the publication Ready, Steady, Teach!, see www.new2teaching.org.uk.

You are not alone professionally.

Other colleagues can be a great source of help and support. You can also seek advice from the ATL representative in your school, your local branch secretary or one of ATL’s member advisers on 020 7930 6441.

£50 WIN! Spencein Marks & co r vouche HaysuErtesy of rs ducatio n

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WIN!

One lucky winner will win £50 in Marks & Spencer vouchers, courtesy of Hays Education. Simply send your completed sudoku to: SNQ sudoku competition, Archant Dialogue, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich NR1 1RE. Closing date: 20 June 2013.

Terms & conditions: Please include your full name, address (incl. postcode) and telephone number. The winner will be picked at random from the correct entries on 20 June 2013. They will be notified and their names will be published in the next issue. The editor’s decision is final. No purchase is necessary. The prize is nontransferable. Employees of ATL and Archant are not eligible for the prize draw.

❒ Tick here if you do not wish to receive the latest information from Hays Education.

Write your email address here __________________________________________________ Congratulations to the winner of the winter 2012 sudoku competition: Nicola Weston.

✁

Competition

So don’t delay and suffer in silence — help is always at hand.