ATL

Academies

Government initiatives to develop new kinds of schools are changing the face of education in England. The introduction of academies, and to a lesser extent trust schools, have serious implications for ATL members who may find themselves working in them.

The academies programme

Academies were introduced by the previous Labour government as a result of ongoing concern over the performance of secondary pupils in the cities. They aimed to introduce new, high quality buildings, a new ethos, a new structure of governance and new staff along with a higher level of private sector input.

Following the 2010 general election, the new Conservative-Liberal coalition government announced in May that all maintained schools were invited to apply to transfer to academy status, including, for the first time, primary and special schools, and that existing maintained schools graded as 'outstanding' by Ofsted were pre-approved for academy status. Its Academies Act was passed in July 2010.

Academies are publicly funded independent schools. Those established under the previous government were set up by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups in partnership with the (then) Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the local authority. The new academies do not need sponsors and will get their funding directly from the Department for Education (DfE).

In all academies, staff working hours are set in contracts rather than from the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document and each academy has its own salary structure.

ATL's position

ATL's response in 2004 to the previous government's Five Years Strategy, which set out plans for the introduction of academies, called for a halt to the expansion of the programme until there was evidence that they do raise standards in deprived areas and that this would not be at the expense of other local schools.

At its 2005 Conference, ATL decided to take all possible steps to persuade the government that the establishment of further academies is not in the long-term interest of a state education which is free to all. ATL also called for measures to make sure that LAs are still empowered to ensure the provisions of effective and efficient education in their area. ATL's concerns centred around ensuring that the rights of members working in schools that are taken over by trusts or turned into academies are fully protected. At its Annual Conference in 2008, ATL decided to press the government to protect members from a worsening in conditions of service following such a change of status and a loss of union recognition in these schools.

ATL believes the new government's academies programme is undemocratic because local authorities will no longer have any involvement in the establishment and planning of education provision. It would also have a detrimental and irreversible impact on our members as well as pupils, parents and governors - a view which is shared by all staff unions. In May, ATL joined with other unions in the education sector to inform its members and campaign on the issue. You can read more on our academies campaign page.  

ATL's position on academies in no way undermines the commitment of ATL to support its members who are employed in academies.

Pay and conditions in academies

As academies have the status of independent schools, they can operate outside the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) and the National Conditions of Service for School Teachers, usually known as the Burgundy Book.

The DfE states that it is 'the responsibility' of the academy to agree levels of the pay and conditions of service with its employees and to employ appropriate staff numbers'.

Where an existing school becomes an academy, the staff have their contracts protected under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (TUPE). However, contracts can be varied subsequently and new entrants could be offered different and less favourable terms. ATL is concerned about the potential for varying salary levels and conditions being offered for comparable roles.

There is a possibility that new academies which are not replacing existing schools could offer lower rates than neighbouring maintained schools. However, if academies are to recruit staff and be successful in meeting the high expectations of parents and the government, it is ATL's view that they will have to offer a competitive package in order to attract staff. Although, in almost all cases, academies claim they pay according to their own scale, in practice these bear a close resemblance to the provisions of the STPCD.

ATL is concerned, however, about working time provisions which have appeared in new contracts in some of the academies. Some academies have introduced a working year of 1,400 hours, extending the length of the school day and reducing the lunch break to 30 minutes. There is also concern over top-heavy management structures in some academies.

Negotiations with sponsors

At the national level, ATL has recognition agreements with Absolute Return for Kids (ARK), E-ACT, Harris Foundation, OASIS Community Learning and the United Learning Trust (ULT), which between them have more than 50 academies.

ATL in other academies

In other academies, it is important to establish that ATL is recognised for collective bargaining so that we can negotiate for acceptable pay and conditions, and ensure that our representatives are entitled to facilities time to enable them to carry out their trade union duties.

ATL is currently recognised by all local education authorities for all LA maintained schools. When an academy is created to replace an existing school, therefore, ATL recognition will transfer under TUPE. However, if two or more schools are merging into one academy, then this protection may not apply as the staff covered by the recognition agreement may be subsumed within a larger group of employees to whom different arrangements apply.

Even where TUPE does not apply, however, (as in the case of new academies) ATL would expect academies to see the advantage of entering into a recognition agreement on a voluntary basis covering, where appropriate, all academies provided by the same sponsor.

ATL is committed to supporting its members in academies and to bargain for pay and conditions at least as favourable as those available to members in maintained schools.

If your school is becoming an academy

If your school is becoming an academy, or is considering academy status, you can find out more about what you can do on our academies campaign page. ATL is also mapping academy activity, so please let ATL know if your school is has expressed an interest in becoming an academy. If you are not sure if your school has expressed an interest, ask your headteacher.

If your school has expressed an interest in becoming an academy, ATL has produced an academies checklist, which contains information about opposing the change of status and protecting members' interests if the academy goes ahead.

If you are a rep in a school considering academy status, this checklist and more information is available on our 'reps and academies' page within the reps' toolbox section of this website.

ATL also produces a newsletter for members working in academies, Academy news.  

Need further advice?

Your first point of contact is your ATL rep in your school or college. Your local ATL branch is also available to help with queries, or you can contact ATL's member advisors on tel: 020 7930 6441 or email us. Please have your membership number to hand when telephoning and include it with any correspondence - this will help us to answer your query more quickly.