ATL

Most teachers and support staff buy prizes and items for displays to make learning more fun for their pupils - ATL Survey

Over 85 per cent of teachers and support staff buy prizes, items for classroom displays, or pens and stationery to make learning more fun for their pupils, according to survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

And 54 per cent said they buy items because their pupils are interested in a topic. However, just over half said the items they buy are essential for their job, and nearly 30 per cent said they paid for items themselves because their school or college was short of funding.

These are the key findings from an ATL survey of 1,011 teachers and support staff working in schools, sixth form colleges and FE colleges around the UK in September and October 2008.

Over 90 per cent of school staff said they buy items for their pupils, with 77 per cent buying prizes, 64 per cent purchasing items for displays, and 51 per cent buying pens, pencils and stationery. However, worryingly, nearly a quarter of staff said they have bought text books for their pupils.

Most school and college staff spend no more than £50 a year, but 13 per cent spend over £100 a year on their pupils.

While 55 per cent have claimed the money back from their school or college, 45 per cent have not bothered to do so, rising to 56 per cent of support staff.

Many staff said they didn't claim so they could keep the resources and use them in their next class or another school or college if they changed jobs. Others said they were reluctant to claim money back because they didn't want the pupils to miss out particularly if they worked in a deprived area. Teachers also complained about the high cost of items bought through official suppliers compared to the price at local supermarkets.

Maryon Shaddock, a special educational needs teacher in Kent, said: "I think most people buy things for their class - it helps to make the teacher and the classroom individual and reflects their own ideas. If we didn't then every classroom in a school would look and feel the same!"

Su Clark, a primary teacher in Oxfordshire, said: "Spending money to enrich the children's learning is a personal choice - many, many teachers (I guess particularly infant teachers) do it as part of their enthusiasm for the job!"

Angela Harris, a department head at a primary school in Surrey, said: "At the end of the day, teachers enjoy teaching and if there's a resource that you want, you either buy it yourself, go without, or wait a year for the next budget, hoping there will be sufficient funds."

A primary teacher in Leeds, West Yorkshire, said: "I think many teachers feel that if they ask school for expenses they are taking resources away from the children."

Louise Firth, a primary teacher in Lancashire, said: "Things that I want to keep for myself such as resource books I do not ask to be reimbursed as I want to keep them, and if the school paid for them they'd belong to the school. Also I feel that prizes come from me not the school."

Nearly two-thirds - 65 per cent - of those who applied for a refund got one from their school or college. But 35 per cent had their request refused. Over half of these staff were told that their school or college budget had already been spent, nearly half were told there was not a budget for the items bought, and over 40 per cent were told the items were not essential.

Overall 57 per cent do not claim mileage allowance or travel expenses when attending external courses related to their jobs, but there was a mixed picture among education staff. While over 80 per cent of primary staff said they did not claim, over 90 per cent of sixth form college staff do, as do the majority of secondary and further education staff. The majority of school and college leaders, support staff and classroom teachers said they do not claim expenses, but the majority of departmental heads do.

Among those not claiming mileage or travel expenses 46 per cent said this was because no one else did and nearly a quarter said travelling was part of the job.

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said: "People go into teaching because they care about children and want to make their learning as fun and exciting as possible, so they buy things to make their classrooms attractive and to stimulate their pupils'. The government has substantially increased the amount of funding for schools and colleges over the past decade, so we are concerned that some are not managing their budgets very well if some staff feel they have to buy items for which they are not refunded. Some problems might also be due to chaotic administration in some schools and colleges.

"We urge all schools and colleges to make sure they have clear and easy to follow ways for staff to claim back expenses made for legitimate school purchases."

Editional notes:
ATL questioned 1,011 teachers and support staff working in schools, sixth form colleges and FE colleges around the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) in September and October 2008.

Key results

Do you now spend, or have you in the past spent, your own money providing resources and/or equipment for your students?
Yes = 91%; No = 9%

If you buy resources or equipment, what do you buy?  Mark all that apply
Pens, pencils, stationery = 50.9%
Items for displays = 63.5%
Text books = 24.5%
Prizes for pupils = 77.2%
Other = 43.5%

Have you tried to claim the money back for school/college items you have bought?
Yes = 54.7%; No = 45.3%

If you have tried to claim money back has the school/college ever refused to reimburse you?
Yes = 35.4%; No = 64.6%

What reason/s has the school/college given for refusing to reimburse you?  Mark all that apply
No budget = 49%
Budget already spent = 56.4%
Items not deemed essential = 41.1%
School/college already has sufficient resources = 8.9%

How much do you spend in an average year that is not reimbursed?
Nothing = 4.3%
Less than £20 = 15.6%
Between £21 and £50 = 41.6%
Between £51 and £100 = 25.1%
Over £100 = 13.5%

Why do you buy resources for your students?  Mark all that apply
Because they are essential for the job = 51.1%
Because they make learning more fun = 85.9%
Because the children are interested in something = 53.8%
Because the school/college is short of funding = 29.1%
Other = 15.7%

If you go on external courses related to your job do you claim mileage allowance or travel expenses?
Yes = 42.9%; No = 57.1%

If you don't reclaim mileage or travel expenses, why not?  Mark all that apply
No one else does = 45.8%
School/college would not pay = 11.5%
School/college discourages it = 12.6%
I would not like to do so = 20.7%
It is part of the job = 24.3%
Other = 22.2%

Notes to editors

1. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) is an independent, registered trade union and professional association, representing approximately 160,000 teachers, headteachers, lecturers and support staff in maintained and independent nurseries, schools, sixth form, tertiary and further education colleges in the United Kingdom.

2. ATL exists to help members, as their careers develop, through first rate research, advice, information and legal advice.

3. ATL is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) and Education International (EI). ATL is not affiliated to any political party and seeks to work constructively with all the main political parties.