Education For Tomorrow by Communist Party

EDUCATION for TOMORROW FOR THE DEFENCE OF STATE EDUCATION

TUC Congress 2016 The future of assessment Building from the bottom up Teacher’s choice – a joint union project A new union Nice tune – what about the harmony? International news

‘ Look around the globe and the most successful education trade unionism is found where there is one education trade union, for example in Canada and Finland.’ Peter Pendle, Deputy General Secretary, ATL, page 9 AUTUMN 2016

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Editorial Board Anne Brown, Martin Brown, Tony Farsky, Gawain Little, Diane Randall, Hank Roberts EDUCATION for TOMORROW is produced by people involved with education of like mind most of the time and certainly on all vital matters of education and politics. It does not claim to represent the views of any one political party of the working class. Nonetheless its aim is at all times to speak in the interests of all working people. Fully involved in the struggle for peace and socialism it aims to publicise workers’ achievements and to counter misinformation about past and existing struggles to build socialism. It is to promote the aims of the organised labour movement in Britain; with common schooling for ALL our children (i.e. a good local state school for every child - truly comprehensive and democratically accountable) together with everything necessary to make this possible, in terms of provision of buildings and equipment, and staff properly trained and properly paid. We therefore support the campaign for one union for all education workers as a step towards achieving this goal. Our columns are open to all who share these aims - even though they may at times disagree with particular articles and want to say so, and why!

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Contents Editorial – 3 TUC 2016 – 4 The future of assessment – 5 Building from the bottom up – 6 Teacher’s choice – a guide – 7

ISSN 2066-9145

A new union – 8

Website: www.educationfortomorrow.org.uk Published and printed by the EDUCATION for TOMORROW Collective

A clear vision – 10

Cover photo: One of many impressive banners at the Burston Strike School Rally, 4 September 2016

Book review – 11 What about the harmony?- 12 Academies watch –13 International - 15

Tosh and nonsense ‘Stop treating education as a commodity and start treating it as a human right’ demanded Jeremy Corbyn, speaking at this year’s Burston Strike School Rally. He went on to commit Labour to bringing back education into local democratic control. A fortnight earlier, launching Labour’s plans for a fairer education system he said; ‘The idea is that we have an educational system that is wraparound and gives everyone opportunities. What we have got in Britain is a commodified education system where university, and, to some extent, college education is concerned. ‘We have insufficient access to pre-school education for the youngest children. And we have a growing mix-up of secondary education between free schools and academies and local authority maintained schools. What we want is a national education concept that moves towards all children getting access to preschool facilities. ‘We need a guarantee of class sizes of 30 or less in primary schools. There are a considerable number that are over 30, 31, some that are even bigger than that – up to 38 – and that is completely wrong. Therefore, we need more teachers, above all we need to retain more teachers. Sadly too many leave the profession very early because they are over-burdened by workloads and pressure on them. In secondary schools we have an increasing number of free schools and academies outside local authority orbit and the pay and conditions of the nationally agreed system. I am keen to re-establish local authorities as the family of education. ‘We have also seen the sad demise of the once great adult education service in Britain, which was fantastic. Where local authorities would spend not very much money but get huge return for it. Adults could return to evening classes, night schools, weekend stuff where they could take degrees, study languages, study skills. Sometimes purely out of the joy of doing it. Sometimes for career development. I want to see a return to the levels of that and an extension of it. Then, of course, there is the question of university funding and the levels of fees. The government has finally ended the grant maintenance scheme altogether, which means that no student now gets any public support to go to university whatsoever. They have got to borrow for it and that means debt levels will rise. We have

already seen a reduction in the number of students from working class and poor families going to university. I expect that is going to continue because they are raising the university fee cap.’He said Labour would aim to abolish tuition fees and to bring back maintenance grants for those who need them. Contrast this to the policies of the Tories. “Ending inequality and supporting the most vulnerable, helping children from poorer backgrounds fulfill their full potential’, said Theresa May on the steps of Downing Street in her first speech as Prime Minister in July. Two months later, in her first domestic policy announcement, and within days of Nick Gibb, Schools Standards Minister, making a speech extolling the importance of evidence-based practice in Education, she announced the resurrection of grammar schools. The move has been almost unanimously condemned. The Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw has called the argument for more grammar schools ‘tosh and nonsense’. Alan Milburn, the former Labour cabinet minister who chairs the government’s social mobility commission, said ending the ban on building new selective schools risked creating an ‘us and them divide’ within the education system. He said pupils at England’s remaining 163 selective state schools were four or five times more likely to have come from independent prep schools than from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Research by the Sutton Trust published last summer reported that less than 3 per cent of grammar school pupils are eligible for free school meals compared to an average of around 14 per cent in all state funded secondaries. The proposals are contained in a Green Paper – a consultation document – that covers three other key areas: independent schools directly assisting the state-funded sector; universities playing a direct role in improving school quality and faith schools delivering more good school places, while meeting strengthened safeguards on inclusivity. There is time to respond to these truly awful proposals, but isn’t it time for Labour to say loud and clear that grammar schools are a relic and should have been abolished long ago along with wealthy parents’ right to buy a privileged education for their children. 3

Report from the TUC Congress Pay was highlighted at the TUC Congress held in Brighton from 11th to the 14th September 2016. Since the financial crisis of 2007-08, real wages in Britain have declined by the largest fall in any developed economy in the world except Greece. For many in the public sector such as teachers, pay has fallen by 20 per cent. Meanwhile, as the TUC itself pointed out on Sunday, the average FTSE 100 boss now earns 123 times the average UK full-time workers’ salary, and Britain’s highest-paid CEO, Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP, earns the average annual salary in under 45 minutes. There were motions passed on a wide range of topics. In particular the steel workers and rail workers were congratulated on their fight to save jobs and, in the case of steel workers, their very industry is threatened. The argument for renationalising the railways was put forcefully by RMT and overwhelmingly supported by Congress. Re-nationalisation is clearly the answer for the steel industry also. On education there was an excellent debate on Theresa May’s proposal to allow any school to become a grammar school, when Congress discussed an emergency motion on the subject. Delegates were enthusiastic in supporting a strong campaign to defeat this. There were excellent speeches from Mary Bousted, ATL General Secretary and Kevin Courtney, NUT General Secretary. The two unions, who are now working closely together as they move towards amalgamation into a new union, had a joint stall in the exhibition and also held a joint well attended fringe. Mary and Kevin spoke and were joined by Melissa Benn, author and journalist, and Angela Rayner, shadow education secretary. Though the meeting was mainly about how to campaign against the grammar school plan, the wide ranging debate also covered how we, in education, and those who support a comprehensive future, must ensure this by getting out the positive message about comprehensive schools. The ongoing battle against privatisation of education through academisation must not be allowed to be side-lined in the campaign against grammar schools.

Congress accepted the Brexit decision but too many think we can implement this and still have the same economic and immigration situation with members of the EU. We can’t and we shouldn’t. We need to take matters into our own hands to defeat the neo-liberal policies and actions in a wide ranging scheme of nationalisation and improvements to workers pay and conditions as well as strengthening democracy. As usual with the TUC it is what comes after the fighting words and passionate speeches. There were calls to involve more young workers in unions and a group of those who had become actively involved in their unions who spoke were inspiring. However, the TUC must put youth recruitment into unions as a top priority in its work, with only one in ten young workers in a union. To round off the stay in Brighton there was a 4Corbyn comedy event organised by the PCS at the Brighton Dome. Jeremy Corbyn was, of course, the main attraction and he received a rousing reception from the packed theatre. His outline of what could be achieved by a truly socialist Government in the future, and the plans to work towards it, were inspiring.

Jean Roberts ATL Delegate in a personal capacity

The future of assessment It’s by now a 25-year story: teachers’ work has become more intense. Their autonomy has diminished. Pedagogy, curriculum and assessment are determined centrally, and underpinned by a system of accountability that is increasingly precise and demanding. In 2016 the introduction of a new primary assessment system has meant that all these tendencies have taken a sharp upward turn, and schools have been pushed towards what many teachers see as a breaking point. In May, at the end of the SATs week for Key Stage 2 pupils, the NUT asked its members in primary schools to complete a survey on their experience of primary assessment. The results were immediate and striking. In just a few days, more than 6000 teachers replied, including nearly a thousand who identified themselves as heads and senior leaders. As well as answers to tickbox questons, they supplied more than 5000 write-in comments – a vast and passionate spreadsheet of experience. The survey scores indicated a high level of agreement about key features of the new system and the manner of its introduction. 97 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that primary assessment arrangements have been well managed by the DfE. Their ‘write-in’ comments were strongly worded. ‘Shambles’ or ‘shambolic’ were used more than 100 times. ‘Chaos’, ‘fiasco’, ‘farce’ and ‘disgrace’ were frequently employed terms. Everchanging and contradictory guidelines, late communications, leaked test papers, and very high demands on teacher workload were all repeatedly mentioned. Teachers’ concerns went beyond the queston of management. 97 per cent of them agreed or strongly agreed that preparation for the SATs had had a negative impact on children’s access to a broad and balanced curriculum. Respondents report a situation in which the time taken to prepare children for tests in Maths and English, or to provide work for teacher assessment in these subjects, has squeezed out other subjects and activities. ‘Since Christmas, I have only taught literacy and numeracy,’ wrote one teacher. Another wrote, ‘When asked their favourite subject [my pupils] say English or Maths because they don’t know anything else.’ 91 per cent of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that the ‘Expected Standard’ stipulated by the DfE in its guidance to schools was beyond the reach of the majority of students – a view that was

confirmed on 5th July, when the DfE published figures showing that 47 per cent of pupils had not met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. In these conditions, teachers feared their pupils would become further demotivated: ‘Even bright kids feel like they’re failures’, and children with SEN were being ‘cut adrift as they are bombarded with SATs preparation. Self-confidence, demoralising, self-esteem, what future?’ On the back of these judgments, it is not surprising that 90 per cent thought that the new system was having a negative impact on children’s school experience. As one teacher wrote, ‘many of the children who previously enjoyed school now detest education. This is a crime and a shame because, in its incompetence, the Government is willingly and knowingly making children hate learning with a passion, rather than harbour an environment of lifelong learning.’ As for teachers, the pressures of a performance-driven system were felt almost everywhere. 86 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that changes to primary assessment had led to a significant increase in their workload. Some reported a working week of over 70 hours; others said that ‘working beyond midnight’ was considered the norm. Behind this driven state of being lay a fear of failure: ‘I am worried that my results will not be good enough and will trigger an Ofsted. It will be another way to place blame on the teachers and try to convert more school into academies.’ The depth of teachers’ concern is unmistakeable. But what to do about it? Teachers are at their most effective when they are united, and when they engage with the wider public. That’s why the NUT is pressing for joint union acton, with the intention of boycotting next year’s SATs unless the government pledges to scrap key aspects of present assessment arrangements and to introduce a system that commands public and professional support. And it’s why the Union, along with organisations of parents and educators, has set up ‘More than a Score’ – which will make a public case for acton and change. The next few months will be crucial for the future of assessment, and the quality of children’s and teachers’ lives. To launch campaigns on the scale that is needed is a major task, and it is one which the Union has now begun.

Ken Jones Senior Policy Officer, Curriculum and Assessment, NUT 5

Building from the Bottom Up The process of building professional unity in the education sector looks hopefully about to make a huge stride forwards. Though not yet a done deal, the ATL and NUT Executives have both agreed unanimously to make a recommendation to separate special conferences in London on November 5th to move to ballots of the respective membership to unite and form a new union. It would have nearly half a million members and be the fourth largest union in the TUC. This process will need to be extended to the other education unions as a matter of urgent priority and, if achieved, with around one million members will put education workers in a, potentially hugely, more powerful position. This is a worthy end in itself to stop the divisions, so costly in terms of competitive recruitment and the openers to divide and rule tactics by Government and employers. Strikes can be very important and necessary but are not the ‘be all and end all’. National strikes will be more infrequent, selective and be supported by all as it was with pensions. The main action arena has to be school by school, college by college because it is at that level that they are attacking with their salami tactics of academisation and multi-academy trusts, staff cuts, employing unqualified teachers etc. However, it will not be enough. We will need to seek the opportunity to make a long overdue and necessary change. It will be to build and rebuild our organisation and our base from the bottom up. This will include not just our unions but the TUC. For example, the TUC needs to reorganise unions to eliminate wasteful competition between unions and the opportunity for divide and rule the current system gives. How about this? Each sector or clearly identifiable trade ‘group’ should have one TUC recognised union. Membership should automatically transfer when people change jobs and membership for union members should be retained free of charge for members made redundant until and unless they get another job. On leaving school or college all students should be given free membership for a year with a relevant union or if unemployed, membership of the Unite Union’s Community which should be widened out to be a TUC wide body. Education should be a much bigger part of trade union work, especially in the history of trade unionism. Their

own union and the struggle of workers to fight off attacks and to gain progress. More power and decision making needs to be given to and exercised at the grass roots. We need to become social movement trade unions with a social movement TUC. Without doubt ‘the times they are a changing’. For the first time for many, too many, years workers and students are politically engaged and becoming more active. In every pub and club in the land debates and arguments rage. We have made a giant step forward in professional unity. Next we need to unite all the education unions. We also need to take back and renationalise our education, and reclaim our professional control. Let’s get to it.

Hank Roberts ATL Past National President, in a personal capacity

Burston 2016 Thousands attended the annual Burston Strike School Rally in Norfolk at the beginning of September to hear Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other speakers from the trade union movement. He may have been the big attraction for many this year but he has been a regular speaker there for decades. There were extra banners on the march round the ‘Candlestick’ led by the NASUWT and RMT brass bands. There were some new stalls on the Green, amongst them some re-energised local Labour Party branches and the recently relaunched Left Book Club. Corbyn was cheered when he introduced his plans for a National Education Service that would mean access to free education up to university level for all. He said he would introduce a £10-an-hour living wage and praised the ‘Fight for 15’ campaign in the US aimed at decent conditions for fast food workers. He slammed the Tory record on the NHS and the crisis the service faces with hospital departments at risk — and pledged support for the 6

junior doctors in their contracts fight with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. His speech was followed by music and poetry from Attila the Stockbroker and Steve White and the Protest Family, Banner theatre First of May Band, with a mix of radical songs and upbeat political punk. Red Flags, a local folk group also performed. Richard Allday from general union Unite’s national executive committee spoke about the importance of community cohesion in the wake of an increase in racist attacks post Brexit.

recruitment crisis getting bigger we wanted to actually get schools to contribute willingly. We put together a list of procedures, policies that the unions have consulted on and agreed which relate to pay and conditions, whether the schools have a trade union agreement, and if the schools pay into pooled facilities. For all positive outcomes, we place a tick. For all negative outcomes or no response, we place a cross. There are a few areas which are not applicable to individual schools and for these we put ‘N/A.’ All of the information we have is factual. We have had schools complaining about their position and when we explain that they have not supplied us with the information we asked for, it is usually with us in a short period of time. This was an idea put together by Scott Lyons from the National Union of Teachers. We discussed this at our Teachers Panel meeting (this is our Joint secretaries’ meeting and part of our Joint Consultative Committee remit) and he has taken on the responsibility of compiling and maintaining this record for Norfolk. It is best if one person takes on the responsibility for maintaining this. Scott is keen to get this rolled out across the country and this is sent with his blessing My recommendation is that this should be a joint union project across all authorities/branches and discussed at local Joint secretaries’ meetings.

Teacher’s choice – a guide for teachers Teacher unions in Norfolk can now hold academies to account over pay and conditions

Bob Groome Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Norfolk Branch & District Secretary

When the idea for this guide came about, we were experiencing a large amount of poor working relationships and practices amongst certain academy chains. The board members of these chains had mainly business or industrial backgrounds and some had been less desirable managers within the local authority education system. Teachers were moving to these schools and after a few months, contacting us with problems. Most of these members had never had reason to contact us before. Something was going wrong and we wanted to warn colleagues of the trusts who were carrying out poor practices. Norfolk is a unique county where all of the unions have a close working relationship. The Schools Guide works as follows, firstly we had to change the name to ‘Teacher's Choice’, in order to reduce criticism and opposition. With the

Bob Groome, carrying the ATL banner at Burston

A new union In this article I will summarise the progress that has been made with the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and National Union of Teachers (NUT) discussions exploring the possibility of creating a new union. It is still very much work in progress and there is still much to be done. As David Cameron discovered, when you ask people to vote on a very simple question you can sometimes get an answer that you don’t expect, or want. As the referendum demonstrated, those being asked to vote need to be provided with all of the relevant information in an honest and unbiased form.

Basically there were three problems. Because of cuts, restructuring and reorganisations leading to members leaving the sector, ACM had to recruit to replace around 20 per cent of the membership each year just to stand still. As a result of this high level of turnover the Association was having to represent increasing numbers of members with the additional costs that went with it. At the same time, our ability to influence Government and the corridors of power was being compromised. So ACM’s solution was to find a partner whose values, aims and objectives were the same as ours. And we did that with ATL – following a short romance we got married in 2011! And it worked. We had some difficulties, mainly cultural with some ATL members struggling to come to terms with leaders and managers being in the same union as them. But we persevered. ATL members began to recognise the benefits of having heads in membership and so ACM became AMiE (Association of Managers in Education) section within ATL, representing school heads and leaders as well as FE college managers – creating an even stronger voice in national FE negotiations.

The road to Damascus Now, I must admit I’ve not always been an advocate of union amalgamations, largely based on my experience in the further education sector and as general secretary of the Association for College Management (ACM). Basically, ACM was established because The National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) was often highly critical of college managers, most of whom were NATFHE members, and failed to defend them when they were in disputes with other NATFHE members. Many college managers were also critical of NATFHE’s industrial strategy, especially around the dispute over new contracts following incorporation in 1993. So many staunch former NATFHE activists joined ACM during the 1990s. When I was elected as general secretary of ACM we increased the membership rapidly, partly by getting ‘never-ever’ college managers to join and partly by attracting members from NATFHE. But we also moved ACM from the fringe of the trade union movement into the Trades Union Congress mainstream and started to get involved in the wider union world, both within education and more generally. Part of this was establishing a ‘grown up’ relationship with NATFHE and not seeking to poach their members. So what changed my mind on union amalgamations? Firstly, it became apparent that as a successful, growing but ultimately small servicing union ACM was going to find it difficult to survive – especially as the funding cuts began to bite more deeply into the FE sector.

ATL’s discussions with NUT All of the parties to the negotiations have been very clear that we are trying to create a new union. Obviously, in legal terms it is an amalgamation, but we’re trying to avoid just bolting the two parts together So why are we doing it? Once again we return to the three drivers underpinning ACM’s merger with ATL. We are under attack from the Government on a number of fronts – cuts, academisation, privatisation, facilities time and the trade union bill. And yet we spend much of our time fighting with our competitor education unions for market share and this is very much race to the bottom with each association trying to undercut and undermine the others. Our ability to influence Government and the corridors of power is being compromised – partly through declining membership and partly because so often the six main education unions struggle to reach an agreed position. What are the arguments deployed against unification? Some claim it is better to have six letters going to Ministers from the representatives 8

of education workers rather than just one. The teachers for example) but in several reality however is completely the opposite. instances it includes different unions Government ministers and senior civil servants competing for the same teachers as merely use the divisions between the unions to members. It is difficult to see how this undermine their negotiating position, often playing defiance of the basic principle of trade one off against another by offering little titbits. unionism can serve the best interests of Some argue that education workers should have a teachers. Our argument is that such choice of which union to join and that is an divisions are now dangerously complacent argument with some merit. But at what cost in the face of an unprecedented attack on should choice be offered – it seems to me a bit like public education systems and the teachers the Government arguing that who work in them… parents should have a choice Teacher unions cannot of which school to send their compound these children to – they won’t have divisions in the system a choice once every school is by being further divided forced to become an themselves. In order to academy. facilitate renewal it will Look around the globe be important for unions and the most successful to organise for greater coeducation trade unionism is operation, ideally in the found where there is one form of union mergers.’ education trade union, for Current position example in Canada and So where are we with our Finland. And it’s no cotalks? We’ve been through a incident that these also seem couple of years of to be places where there is negotiations and that the lowest level of industrial followed ATL giving serious Peter Pendle at NUT Conference 2015 action – because a single thought to the various union is taken more seriously strategic options available to by Government as the voice of the profession. it. NUT has long held a commitment to I like to quote from a publication written by professional unity. We are approaching the end Professor Howard Stevenson from the University game now and both ATL and NUT will take a of Nottingham, writing in a paper for the Irish recommendation to special conferences in the National Teachers Organisation (INTO) and which autumn to approve a ballot of their memberships in seems to sum up the arguments as well as anyone. the spring of 2017. He writes that; If the ballots are successful the new union ‘organising for unity – the term union will be established from the first of September 2017, reminds us that the role of labour unions is with a sixteen month transitional period and the to unite the disparate interests of individuals new union becoming fully operational from the so the fractured power of isolated first of January 2019. employees is combined and magnified Issues still to manage through collective organisation. Unity is One of the key texts for union leaders managing perhaps the most basic principle of trade amalgamations is a book by Roger Undy from Said unionism. It is however a principle that has Business School at Oxford University, entitled not always been replicated within teacher “Trade Union Merger Strategies”. It examines trade unionism. For reasons too union amalgamations and how successful they complicated to elaborate on here it is have been – some very successful and others less important to note that in many different so. In the book Undy writes about hazards jurisdictions teachers as an occupational following an amalgamation: a loss of strategic group have failed to organise into a single direction with too much focus on internal rather union. As a consequence, so-called “multithan external issues, the risks of squabbles and unionism” in teaching is a common power struggles, problems with joint general phenomenon. It can differ in form (different secretaries disagreeing, the outcomes of the unions organising different groups of amalgamation just not turning out to be what you 9

expected – sometimes even when someone dies at exactly the wrong moment! In the case of ATL and NUT it is likely that competitors won’t take the creation of a new union lightly, and that’s not just other teacher unions but possibly the general unions as well. It will be important to work with colleagues in the movement to resolve these difficulties. So even if the ballots are won, there will still be much work to do and we need to get it right because we can’t move onto the next step unless we do.

to involve all our members both in determining union policy and in exercising that policy. This will mean having clear mechanisms through which members of the equalities strands can engage with the Union and make their voices heard, to counteract the social barriers that wider society puts in their way, but also ensuring there are spaces for those members to self-organise and determine their own structures and priorities. It means recognising that we will incorporate a membership working in diverse conditions, including members in the independent sector, members in post-16 education settings and a significant number of support staff. We need clear structures through which those members will have a voice to share their experiences and the ways in which they differ from those of teachers in the state school sector. We will also need to actively organise to engage members where they are, through the issues that affect them, building a strong workplace-based union. Increasingly, the workplace is where decisions are made so it is where we need to concentrate our strength. It is also where our members are most likely to engage with their union, fulfilling our democratic aims and building our overall influence at a national level. To do this, we will need a strong organising programme, based on our commitment to grassroots, issues-based organising to build union power in individual workplaces,and effective training and support for workplace representatives. We will also need local structures geared to supporting the development of workplace activity. Thirdly, we need our union to be rooted in local communities, working alongside parents and the wider community to secure the best for our children. As education professionals, we are strongest when we stand together with parents and place the interests of children at the heart of their campaigns. Finally we need to link all of these back to a clear vision for education which sets out the kind of education system we want to see, for teachers, for lecturers, for support staff, but most importantly for our children. I am proud that my union is working alongside the ATL to realise this vision – a democratic, workplace-based union, rooted in local communities, with a clear vision for education.

The ultimate vision ATL and NUT coming together is just one step towards the ultimate goal – one union for all employees in education – across the piste, vertically and horizontally. That is not something that can be achieved easily as individual unions will continue to protect their own turf. Some unions won’t be ready until their leaderships change but, as Undy’s book demonstrates: when the door is left open eventually everyone reaches the same conclusion and walks through it. Already some other education unions are watching the ATL and NUT developments very carefully and so hopefully there will be a further knock on the door to join together in the early days of the new union. The reality is that in the current political environment with an increasingly draconian Conservative Government the pressure to unite will only grow and grow.

Peter Pendle Deputy General Secretary, ATL

A clear vision On November the fifth ATL and NUT will have the opportunity to take a further step forward along the path towards unity for education professionals through the creation of a new union. As we do so, we need to be clear what kind of union we want and need for the twenty-first century. I want to briefly put forward four points that I think are crucial to this debate. Firstly we need a union which is democratic. Not just in the passive sense of electing its leadership, but democratic in the sense of working

Gawain Little Chair, NUT Professional Unity Committee

A People’s History of Woodcraft Folk Edited by Phineas Harper, Woodcraft Folk, £9.99 Most readers will be aware of the existence of the Woodcraft Folk – a co-operative children and young people’s organisation with thousands of members across Britain and beyond – but perhaps know less about its origins and history. It has used a red and green bisected flag as its emblem (red for socialism and green for the environment) since its inception over 90 years ago. It was arguably the most s i g n i fi c a n t secular organisation in the Kindertransport rescue operation before WW11. It is the only youth organisation in the country that states in its constitution that every adult and young person moving into the field of work should join an appropriate trade union. This new book records the history, values and evolution of this unique organization. Jeremy Corbyn introduces the book, with an excerpt by Saskia Neibig explaining the role of the organisation in the Kindertransport rescue. The Woodcraft Folk’s cultural history and strong sense of imagery are explored in chapters on its roots in Ernest Thompson Seton’s evocation of pre-modern and Native American values and its self-definition against the increasing militarism and jingoism of the Scouts, to the split in 1925 that saw the left-wing members of Kibbo Kift — the more mystical and overtly pagan forerunner of today’s organisation — form the more democratic and explicitly socialist Woodcraft Folk. From the 1926 general strike, to the fight against the rising tide of fascism in the 1930s, to the miners’ strike of 1984-85 and the demonstrations against student fees in the 2005, Woodcraft has always had a significant part to play.

There are harrowing stories of friends swept apart by the nazi terror but also of Henry Fair using the 1939 Liege Camp as cover to rescue two young Czech boys from the Gestapo. He smuggled them back to England within the ranks of the 700-strong Woodcraft delegation. The Woodcraft Folk have made a remarkable impact on British politics and education. Founded in 1925 on a wave of post-WW2 utopianism and now a network of hundreds of local groups, it has empowered thousands of young people to shape the world around them. This new book by Phineas Harper explores the history, values and evolution of this unique organization in a chronological sweep of stories from hand-making tents, and rescuing children from advancing Nazi troops, to campaigning against climate change. Offering an unmatched insight into the story of this little-known but influential organization, the book features 200 pages of colour photographs, essays and stories. It is attractively presented and a fascinating read. In his introduction, Jeremy Corbyn writes; ‘Whenever I come away from a Woodcraft Folk camp I feel a sense of rejuvenation and invigoration, having met hundreds of young people who share the values of internationalism, global justice and co-operation which are profoundly needed to create a more peaceful, sustainable and fair world.’ A People’s History of Woodcraft Folk was written, designed and edited by Phineas Harper, with many other contributing writers. To find more information, or to purchase this book, visit the Woodcraft shop at shop.woodcraft.org.uk 11

Nice tune – what about the harmony? Writing a good tune is one thing, but without the harmony it can be quite empty – rather without substance. Come to that, a crucial role is played by the bass line in the orchestra or band (‘A band is as good as its bass player’ we used to say – and not just those of us who were bass players). The setting up of Music Hubs, which was the main thrust of the government's 2011 National Plan for Music Education (NPME), was a very fine tune – as an idea it had much to recommend it. But the harmony and the good bass (base) line were simply not there. And so the tune faltered, unless others took it up and provided the missing elements. The key (no pun intended) to any successful venture lies in those who are going to carry it out. The Musicians' Union (MU), of which I am proud to be a member, despite some of its weakness in political ideas, has over 30,000 members. More than two-thirds of these work in music education in one way or another. For the past three years the MU has produced reports on the impact of Hubs on its members – 'the workforce'. This may sound as though the Union is only interested in the wellbeing of its members. Here, of course, we need to remember that that is the role of a trade union. Even so, its role is also bound to be intimately connected with the welfare of the sphere in which it works. If the workers in any sphere of activity, whether it be social, cultural or industrial, find that they are being made redundant, that they are then working in isolation on a self-employed basis, or that they are working for 'conglomorates' (as the MU calls them) on zero hours contracts with poor pay and conditions of service, then what will happen to their morale and sense of value? The 2014 MU report did not mince its words:'We have seen music services making the whole of their teaching staff redundant only to re-engage them on casual and zero hour contracts or as self employed teachers. We have even seen a contract called an ‘As and when contract’ which means teachers do not know what commitment of work they have on a weekly basis. Widespread casualisation means many teachers are losing employment rights

and benefits of employment. They have no guarantee of work; no pension; no holiday pay; no maternity/paternity pay and no chance of any career with a music service as there was before. We also see a lack of investment in teachers and their training or continual professional development. Yet, alongside this diminution of rights, we see many music services still seeking to impose control over their workforce with restrictive employment covenants. We see Local Authorities telling part time, hourly paid teachers on casual contracts that they must disclose all the other places they work in and seek approval when they take on other work. In reality they want the workforce to continue to behave as if they are employed whilst not having any of the rights of employment.' Music Education Hubs – the real picture so far. February 2014

Hubs in practice All three MU reports (2014, 2015, 2016) identified a wide variation in practice and levels of success. This was to be expected: with no firm basis (bass) and no proper enablement (harmony), the chaos and anarchy of market forces prevailed. There are some particular successes where music teachers themselves took charge and formed co-operatives – a process which the MU supported in a number of ways. On the other end of the scale there are teachers working in conditions described above, with managers earning a small fortune and parents having to pay through the nose for lessons which, in bye-gone days, were heavily subsidised and thus provided at an affordable price (which does still happen in some areas). So now – surprise, surprise – we have steadily headed towards a situation where those who can afford it, get it. The 2015 MU report concludes from the feedback received from its members, that there had been no progress in the NPME's stated intention of tackling the 'postcode lottery' – in fact things had got worse. And so music would become something for the well-off. Where will be the musicians of the future? Who will they be?

The conclusion to the 2014 MU report had stated the Union's sense of urgency:'The MU is committed to supporting music education as not only is it a significant source of work for our members but we also recognize the importance of inspiring the next generation of musicians. The main issues to address are ones of accessibility and opportunity but also of the quality of teaching. The teaching workforce is vital for the success of the aspirations of the NPME and it is important to invest in teachers who are working now but also to attract the workforce and leaders in music education for the future.' The National Plan for Music Education – the impact on the workforce. March 2015. The conclusion to the 2015 report stressed the dangers inherent in the variability in provision that arises from poor working conditions for teachers. Who will become music teachers? The impact on provision:'If issues to do with the workforce are not addressed the variability which drove the creation of the National Plan in the first place will simply become more widespread. There are many talented and experienced teachers leaving music services to work privately or even leaving the profession entirely and if we are to continue to enhance and encourage the next generation of young people through music we need to ensure there is a skilled and professional workforce to deliver it.' And now? The conclusion to the latest report, while acknowledging some positives, begins with these words:'Four years into the roll out of the National Plan for Music Education and Music Education Hubs and our findings in this, our third report, show that the picture is as mixed as it ever was.' Musicians' Union Hub Report 2016 "Do away with the postcode lottery". Great tune. Pity about the harmony.

Academies watch Pay, expenses and tax avoidance in academies In March, Ofsted Chief Inspector Michael Wilshaw highlighted serious weaknesses at seven multi-academy trusts and told the then Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan,that the average pay of chief executives in these trusts was higher than the Prime Minister’s salary of £143,000.

While teachers’ pay has been frozen or capped at one per cent for the last six years, and support staff are often paid at only National Minimum Wage rates, the investigative education journal Schools Week reported that four chief executives received salary increases of at least £20,000 in the financial year ending March 2016. Professor Toby Salt of Ormiston Academies Trust saw his salary rise by a whopping £30,000 to £180,000. However the highest paid executive – Sir Daniel Moynihan of the Harris Federation – with a £395,000 salary, earned two times more than Salt. And he now earns more than two-and-half times more than the salary of the Prime Minister. Earlier this year, Perry Beeches, the academy trust in Birmingham was the subject of two damning Education Funding Agency (EFA) reports. An EFA investigation, following allegations by a

Andy Dyer

whistleblower, discovered the trust was in ‘serious breach’ of guidelines. The most remarkable breach came from its head teacher and chief executive, Liam Nolan. Nolan told the BBC he was no businessman, ‘I’m a head teacher’. However Nolan had sufficient business acumen to become involved in a complicated arrangement with a company called Nexus Schools Ltd, a ‘third party supplier’ to the trust. Nexus provided ‘the services of a CEO’ – that is Nolan – for the trust, but subcontracted the role to Liam Nolan Ltd, a private limited company whose sole director was Nolan. The EFA investigation into this arrangement said it not only breached the Academies Financial Handbook, but also contravened Treasury guidance ‘about the employment and contract arrangements of individuals on the avoidance of tax’. The 2015 accounts for Perry Beeches the Academy Trust Ltd show that Nolan received £74,000 extra for his services that year and £64,000 for the year before. That meant Nolan received between £210,000 and £220,000 in year to August 2015 and £160,000 and £170,000 in 2014. Having been found out, Nolan has put his company into voluntary liquidation. In July, the Channel Four documentary programme, Dispatches, used a freedom of information request to reveal that the largest 40 trusts have spent more than £1 million of public money on executive expenses since 2012. It examined the expenses of of more than 100 academy trusts and reported that one chief executive spent almost £1,000 on hotel bills, including £245 at a luxury golf resort in Cheshire. An executive principal spent more than £1,400 on two hotel bills including £909 at the Park Plaza in London. Ian Cleland, of the Academy Transformation Trust in Birmingham, which runs 22 schools, is paid £180,000 a year. But, according to Dispatches, he spent £3,000 on first-class travel and over £1,000 on restaurant bills. The trust also pays for the use of his XJ Premium Luxury V6 Jaguar car, including around £3,000 on items including insurance for himself and his wife. ‘There have always been expenses scandals in individual schools’, Jon Richards, Head of Education at public services union UNISON told Labour Research, ‘but now there is the opportunity for people to help themselves from 10, 20 or more schools’.

Below par academies One in five established sponsored academy chains (eight out of 39) are performing substantially below the national average for attainment and improvement for disadvantaged pupils, according to a new analysis published by the Sutton Trust charity. Chain effects 2016, its third annual analysis, identified a similar number of chains (seven out of 39) whose disadvantaged pupils performed substantially above the national average for all mainstream schools (all state-funded secondary schools and academies). Two others performed above national average and around half (18 out of 39) are improving faster than average too. In the three years that the Sutton Trust has conducted this annual analysis, there has been little change in the rankings of different chains. Only a few have moved up or down in the overall analysis of attainment — most remain in the same category as last year. A handful of chains have performed consistently significantly above the mainstream average for attainment across the last three years, while a similar number have remained consistently in the significantly below average group for attainment across three years. Kevin Courtney of the National Union of Teachers said: ‘This comprehensive analysis provides the final nail in the coffin for the government’s key education policy. ‘The finding that a majority of chains in the study ‘are achieving results that are not improving and may be harming the prospects of their disadvantaged students’ should cause Nicky Morgan, and her predecessor Michael Gove, to hang their heads in shame. Its conclusion that the main picture is one of a lack of “transformative change” over the period, including a very slow growth in the number of those chains that are succeeding in the original aims of the academies programme would, in the private sector that the government holds up as a model for public services, surely lead to the resignations of those at the top.’ Nansi Ellis, assistant general secretary for policy at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: ‘Instead of abandoning disadvantaged children in weak academies, the government should analyse the evidence to see how the best schools improve the attainment of their poorest pupils, and all other pupils, and see how good practice can be shared between schools locally and nationally to raise attainment in all schools.’

Labour Research, September 2016 14

The Sutton Trust’s report was published at the same time as the Education Policy Institute think tank released a report, School performance in multi-academy trusts and local authorities – 2015, which considers whether academisation raises standards and whether the government’s current approach is working. It is the first comprehensive analysis of school performance in multi-academy trusts and local authorities. It found that the lowest performing school group, on both measures and at both primary and secondary, is a multi-academy trust. And it said, starkly, that ‘academisation does not automatically raise standards’; as it found find high levels of variability within multi-academy trust and local authority schools. Among the report’s recommendations is that the government should not pursue full academisation as a policy objective, instead the objective should be for pupils to be in a good school, regardless of whether that is a high performing multi-academy trust or local authority school.

He was found guilty of four counts of fraud, three of false accounting and two of obtaining money by deception. Ms Hussain, a teacher at the school and Mr Raza’s sister, was convicted of one count of fraud and one of obtaining property by deception. Mr Khan, the school’s financial director, was found guilty of two counts of fraud and three of false accounting. Kings Science Academy was among the first wave of free schools set up under a policy introduced by the Con-Dem government following the 2010 general election. The school has since become part of the Dixons Academies Trust and is now called Dixons Kings Academy.

Lamiat Sabin, Morning Star, 1/10/2016

International news

Labour Research Fact Service Volume 78 Issue 28

India Private education push in ‘flagrant violation’ of law

Founder Of Free School Jailed For Massive Fraud

Big businesses are pushing school privatisation in Hyderabad in ‘flagrant violation’ of Indian education law, teachers warned recently. Union federation Education International (EI) warned that transnational companies such as Pearson and Bridge International Academies (BIA) were ramping up their takeover of schools for the poor. A report for the federation shows that more than 50 per cent of children are now enrolled in private schools in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states, while in their shared capital city Hyderabad the figure is over 80 per cent. EI said Hyderabad has become a ‘laboratory for global edu-business’ with 1,300 ‘low-fee’ private schools clustered in and around Hyderabad’s Old City district. The low-fee private schools operate out of residential buildings, with untrained, low-paid teachers giving scripted lessons. The edubusinesses are being supported by the World Bank, Britain’s Department for International Development and a trio of IT tycoons — Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg and Michael Dell — through their, ostensibly, charitable trusts.

The founder of a flagship free school has been jailed for five years for a £150,000 fraud. Sajid Hussain Raza, 43, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court for defrauding the Department for Education (DfE) and siphoning off thousands of pounds into his own account. The principal of Kings Science Academy in Bradford used public money to pay mortgages on rental properties he owned before he was caught and convicted in August. Former staff members Daud Khan and Shabana Hussain were also convicted of siphoning cash into their accounts before they were sentenced yesterday to 14 months and six months respectively. The money came from DfE grants given to help set up the school, which was praised by then prime minister David Cameron when he visited in 2012. The fraudulent activity continued for three years, from November 2010 to December 2013, despite senior civil servants expressing concern about Mr Raza’s leadership and financial management. 15

Along with venture capital firms such as Gray Ghost, they offer school proprietors high-interest loans to scale up and start-up funds to set up franchises and create profit-making private schools. They are looking for models that are easily ‘scalable’ to much larger operations, said the report by Sangeeta Kamat from the University of Massachusetts, Carol Anne Spreen from New York University and Indivar Jonnalagadda of the Hyderabad Urban Lab. With almost 70 per cent of Indians living on less than £1.50 a day — and more than two-fifths on less than £1 — EI said the push toward private schools for the poor is a matter of serious concern. And India only spends 3.8 per cent of GDP on education — well below the 6 per cent goal set by Unesco. EI project director Angelo Gavrielatos warned: ‘The commercialisation of education is in flagrant violation of India’s Right to Education Act, and will deepen inequality and undermine an already ailing education system.’ The model has already been applied in Kenya, Liberia and Uganda, where in May BIA harassed EI researcher Curtis Riep and had him arrested on spurious charges.

regime also follows World Bank prescriptions to the letter, increasing private sector involvement and ensuring 'ease of doing business' for corporations. It is also unfortunately the case that the low quality infrastructure in Bridge schools is echoed in too many government schools, a large number of which lack water and sanitation. The Ugandan government needs to listen to teachers and communities and fund education properly from the huge wealth which should belong to Uganda. The move to suspend the operations of Bridge in the country is to be welcomed but such a welcome must be accompanied by a demand to fully fund education for all Ugandan children.

www.teachersolidarity.com 12/8/ 2016

USA Teachers and civil society mobilise for public education

Morning Star, James Tweedie, 18/7/2016

Uganda Government closes down Bridge Academies The Ugandan government has ordered the for-profit school chain, Bridge International Academies, to cease operation until it reaches acceptable educational and infrastructure standards. The move has been welcomed by Education International, which has an important campaign countering the rise of privatisation in schools. Bridge targets some of the poorest families in the global South and charges school fees for a substandard 'education' provided by unqualified teachers in inadequate and often makeshift buildings. Both Pearson, the world's largest education corporation and Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg are investors in Bridge. The move by the government is to be welcomed however it is necessary for it to do much more. Ugandan teachers are often still on poverty pay, and it is not uncommon for them to remain unpaid for long periods. Only last year teachers were on strike for a living wage. This action was courageous given the repressive nature of the regime of Yoweri Museveni, who has a long history of attacking labour rights and repressing trade union struggles. His

World Teachers’ Week in the US saw thousands of teachers, students, parents and community members participating in a ‘walk-in’ to schools across the country to advocate for quality public schools. ‘For too long, policymakers have pushed misguided ideology on public schools,’ said Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and member of the Education International (EI) Executive Board. ‘Funding cuts, high-stakes testing, school closures, and marketbased competition have left too many children – especially black and brown students and poor students – without a fair chance to pursue their dreams.’An arm-in-arm walk of parents, educators, students and communities on 6 October was organised to call for the investment needed to ensure every child in America can attend a high-quality public school’, she said. www.ei-ie.org