ATL

ATL Conference 2008

ATL Presdient Julia Neal's speech to Conference 2008

Good morning Conference

I am delighted to be able to address you this morning here in Torquay. And I would like to congratulate ATL for having the forethought to plan its 2008 Conference in my home town, even before I was elected - typical of such a forward-thinking union, of course.

Living just 10 minutes down the road, for once no one will be able to complain about the weight of my suitcases. Now if you fancy dropping in for a cup of tea, you're welcome, but it could be a problem if you all come at once.

So, there has been no long journey for me this week but over the last three years since I became an officer of our union, what a distance I have travelled. And I don't just mean air miles or rail miles.

Working as an activist at national level has certainly widened my horizons. I have spent the majority of my working life teaching history and developing my expertise in work-related learning. And I have had a great time doing that. But no amount of CPD or classroom experience could have given me the opportunities that ATL has. ATL is certainly a place to grow and, in the course of representing you and all our members across the United Kingdom, I have had a fascinating time.

Travelling across the UK, meeting members, working with the government, sitting on the TUC General Council, and presenting ATL to a multitude of agencies, partners and the media has been a great honour.

Sometimes the experience has been rather nerve-wracking too. I will never forget visiting Samuel Morales in a terrible prison in Bogota, nor the horrendous journey through the Colombian jungle to meet the victims of cruelty and persecution.

Making a speech to 1,600 delegates at the Education International Congress in Berlin also left a lasting impression.

But some of the best memories have come from visiting members and their pupils working in the classroom, and that has been truly inspirational. Despite government prescription, control and accountability measures, you are doing a fantastic job, make no mistake about that.

Back in September, the media seized on my comparison of schools to exam factories, but we need more than newspaper headlines to persuade the government that the current testing regime should be scrapped. ATL must continue to shout loud and hard about pupil and teacher stress and the inevitable distortion of the curriculum. To what extent the 'Making good progress' pilot will improve matters, I am not sure. But what I do know is our schools can be exciting and challenging places in which to teach and learn, but not with the current constraints and a continuous initiative overload.

I have been reflecting on my own personal journey. My thanks go to everyone who has supported me in my ATL officer role, including the staff and senior management of Torquay Grammar School for Girls. And 8J, I promised you a special mention so treat me gently when I get back to that wonderful whiteboard.

But ATL's direction of travel is what I want us to focus on now, a journey which will be challenging for all of us.

First we need to do some crystal ball gazing. Well, predicting the future is notoriously unreliable. We only have to look to the 1970s to witness the prediction that only three computers would be needed worldwide, or to the 1960s when it was predicted that we would all be living on the moon and wearing silver jumpsuits.

Rather far-fetched maybe, but some of the possibilities I am about to outline may well become a reality. The indicators are already there for us to see.

Now, I want you to imagine this scenario: the year is 2013 and the recently appointed Prime Minister Ed Balls is at the helm.

The government continues to strive for a world-class education. But what is the educational landscape looking like now?

Unfortunately, the government has failed to listen to the voice of ATL. All the policy launches, press statements and evidence to select committees has fallen on deaf ears. Instead the push for outcomes measured by targets, tables, testing, inspections and observations has led to a world with Orwellian overtones.

In 2013, plans for individualised learning have reached perfection under the former DCSF, now called the Ministry of Personalisation.

Every pupil is so important that they have a unique learner number to track progress through their education. Gathering of statistics is simply a by-product of the unique learner system, the ministry just wants to make sure Every Child Matters.

Because every child matters, testing is conducted on a rolling basis. And because every result matters, pupils take regular mock tests, just to make sure they're ready for the real tests. Failure to demonstrate a year-on-year improvement in pass rates would just be too embarrassing.

Good news for ATL, however, in 2013. The government has embraced teacher assessment, realising that teachers have a good understanding of the capabilities of their pupils. In fact, another department has sprung out of the former DCSF specifically to support teachers in their assessment. It's called the Ministry of Trust.

The Ministry trusts teachers' professional judgement so much that it deploys inspectors to visit schools, just to help out.

Luckily for the inspectors, CCTV is now obligatory in schools so they can watch teachers in action at any time, without prior notice. After all, inspectors are there to offer support, just like a family member, perhaps; just like a big brother.

The advancement of technology also means pupils' test results can be collated quickly, so league tables fluctuate on a weekly basis. Parents watch the movement up and down the league, waiting for the transfer window to open so they can apply for a place at the premiership schools.

And, as if this is not bad enough, the first BSF schools have opened. Large halls accommodate hundreds of pupils while teachers make sure the checklist of the curriculum is ticked off each day. Pupils failing to make the grade receive special one-to-one attention in rooms set around the main hall.

Now, if this scenario was to become reality, would pupils be healthy and safe, enjoying school and making a positive contribution to their learning? I think not.

What I fear is that children would continue to feel disengaged and alienated, they would behave badly, and their truancy rates would continue to rise.

I would worry for the future of the teaching profession and would fear that increasing numbers of teachers may well leave, frustrated by the lack of trust, the lack of freedom and the need to concentrate on rigid testing.

Less autonomy and more draconian accountability measures may well cause a deep recruitment and retention crisis. This is already a problem, today. The many different types of school placed within a market framework would continue to fragment the education system. The divisions in society between the 'haves and have nots' would continue to grow.

And worse still, the government would have iron control where it shouldn't and very little control where it should. Local authorities would have very limited influence.

But all is not lost. What if the government does actually listen to the overwhelming case put forward by ATL since we met at Conference last year? Things could be very different, a new direction could be achieved.

As Douglas Adams said - 'the best way to predict the future is to build it' - and maybe this is the scenario that ATL should aim to achieve on its journey.

So let's start again.

It is 2013 and all national tests have been abolished. The government has reversed its decision to allow the market to decide the GCSE, A level and diploma routes. GCSEs and A levels have been replaced by a comprehensive diploma. Most diploma assessment is moderated by teacher assessment. Diploma results are not collated in to league tables. The new Key Stage 2 and 3 national curriculum gives far more flexibility and teachers are learning to use their new freedom from league tables to be innovative.

Schools are buzzing with new ways to organise learning; they can adopt new curriculum aims after the 2010 revision of the curriculum. Now they have a truly balanced curriculum in which physical and craft skills, creativity, personal, interpersonal, social and emotional skills have equal status with academic learning. Schools are able to assess a range of skills instead of a narrow range of knowledge. This emphasis on skills means schools are becoming exciting places, with pupils active and engaged with learning. The evidence of success is there for all to see.

Annual cohort sampling tests show that achievement in core subjects is rising after the flat-lining of the previous decade. Improved interpersonal and social skills are leading to reduced physical conflict between pupils and levels of gang violence appear to be reducing.

The new TV series featuring prize-winning school allotments has made Jamie Oliver's crusade against the turkey twizzler history. Healthy eating is cool. 'Dig for victory' has gained a whole new meaning. The schools' 'adopt a granny' programme has helped to improve life quality for the elderly and has brought back a stronger sense of community.

Teachers have more job satisfaction and recruitment is buoyant. New professionalism has really arrived. Teachers feel empowered and consider performance management to be the greatest thing since Ofsted inspections of schools were abolished back in 2010. Now they have the opportunity to control their CPD, to map out their careers and be masters of their own destiny. The new government requirement for all teachers to hold Masters and PhD qualifications holds no fears for them.

So that could be the utopian future.

Now of course much of this is speculation. But some aspects of these scenarios may well become reality. Whatever education looks like in the future, the one thing we do know is that it will look very different from what it is now.

We are on the cusp of change.

Mary will be talking about the Children's Plan on Thursday, questions are being asked of the curriculum by government and the Education Select Committee, and our current testing system is becoming more discredited. As we have said earlier in this Conference the 'Making good progress' pilot is no answer.

So what do we have to do as a profession to build the future? What are the priorities? What is the direction of travel?

Well, first of all we must continue to send clear messages to those in power. When Jim Knight leaves this Conference hall tomorrow morning I want him to be under no illusion what our priorities are. We must demand that the government completely reforms the way in which schools are held accountable to parents, the pupils and those in power.

Ofsted does not measure a school's achievements, it measures its intake. If you are a teacher working in a school in an area of social deprivation, you will be bottom of the league table and much more likely to fail an Ofsted inspection. So, in addition to the draining difficulties of your work, you get pressure applied inappropriately, and you never know when the inspector will come calling. Let's be clear, this is no way to treat teachers working in the most difficult of circumstances.

Conference, how many more times do we need to say it, league tables should go. And whilst we are at it, let's get rid of Ofsted inspections too.

The government can review the national curriculum as many times as it wants to, but it will have no effect whatever; unless assessment for learning has a more central place in education. Whilst the current testing regime is in place with the current testing frame work, teachers will continue teaching to the test. And our pupils will continue to be the most highly tested in the western world. This government must realise that personalised education cannot be built by an unreliable and oppressive assessment system.

I would also like to echo the General Secretary's demands that our government trusts education professionals, and we must emphasise that teachers should be able to make decisions about the curriculum, pedagogy; and assessment for themselves. Because we have been dictated to for so long, we have lost the ability to do that. Indeed there is a generation of teachers who have never known anything different.

Well, the Blairite mantra 'education, education, education' has long become a redundant phrase. Now it is much more likely to be 'standards, standards, standards' or even 'facts, facts, facts'.

But we need to forget the rhetoric. At every opportunity ATL will be campaigning for a skills-based curriculum that will give our young people a realistic chance to succeed in the cut and thrust of everyday life. It's the least they deserve.

And a last message for the government from ATL concerning CPD. When I hear that acronym, what comes to my mind is complete professional disaster not continuing professional development.

We must stress that we need CPD that isn't one size fits all, which is easily available and properly funded. If the government wants standards to improve, it must give us the resources to make that possible.

And by the way Mr. Knight you might consider paying us properly as well.

Now I believe that ATL can punch above its weight at all levels within the education world and make its voice heard. We have fantastic staff working for us across the UK and a general secretary who is both inspirational and forward-thinking. And we must continue to be ambitious. If ATL is to represent its members effectively and to bring about the changes we aspire to, we all need to be adaptable and prepared to evolve our working methods to ensure a sustainable future.

Every president of ATL looks to see how he or she can build on the achievements of those presidents who have gone before, and as I am now just over half way through my presidency I would like to give you my mid-term report. In my watch so far...

We have opened a Scottish office, and announced the new Association of Managers in Education (AMiE) partnership with the Association of College Managers (ACM). We have achieved a new relationship with the independent school bursars, and set a minimum wage precedent in the Independent sector.

On top of this we have appointed a Welsh organiser for the first time and continued to raise our profile in Northern Ireland.

We have doubled our representation on the General Council of the TUC, and given our members greater voice on Regional TUC councils.

What's more we have produced superb publications and carried out very effective case work.

I think you will agree that the ATL team has made excellent progress. And in my professional capacity I would like to give everyone 10/10.

Next year I will be looking forward to supporting the new president, Andy Ballard, in my role of immediate past president, and I feel sure that he will be reporting to you on the further success of ATL as our journey continues.

But it is a fact that in 1979, 17.5 million people were members of a trade union and that, by 2004 that number had dropped to 7.2 million. The challenge facing ATL is that despite its healthy recruitment figures, the age profile of its membership and the competitive market for members is an increasingly important consideration. We cannot afford to be complacent.

The key to effectively growing the union and building member involvement can be found in the success of the learning agenda. This, combined with an effective local presence, will help to bring ATL activism to the forefront of many schools and colleges across the UK.

The work of our organising team and representatives is vital. Many of our branches are thriving, but some need revitalising. We must also ensure that there are named representatives or contacts in every school or college with members. And then we can all take responsibility for making our union the best it can be.

Research into trade unions tells us the main reason non-members give for not joining is that they have never been asked. So all of us, whether as a member or as a representative, can help build our union by recommending it to colleagues.

Never has the 'join up, join in and get on' philosophy been more relevant. And I commend to you the ATL 'get active' agenda. As the leading education union, ATL understands that teachers, lecturers, support staff and managers in education need to be given every chance to learn and develop alongside their pupils. I am proud to see that our expanding team of union learn representatives (ULRs) are on hand to empower members to do just that.

Our unique partnership with Edge Hill University is an excellent example of ATL's commitment to this learning agenda. Taking advantage of the postgraduate and graduate programmes and also the accredited representative training, we can continue to involve more and more members in the workplace. With the support of branch secretaries, regional officials and our effective organising team there has never been more incentive for ATL members to identify and resolve issues early, locally and without confrontation.

We know that members find it increasingly difficult to attend meetings in their own time, so it is vital that branches find ways of reaching existing and potential members in the work-place. Collective strength makes it so much easier to resolve problems that exist in our schools and colleges.

The range of Conference resolutions is impressive this year and I am really proud to be able to facilitate your debate and hear your views as you contribute to the policy-making of ATL. Look at our agenda this morning, and you will see that teacher stress, bullying and behaviour management are serious concerns. And it is essential that we make our voice heard to improve health and safety, for both staff and pupils alike. Some of our school buildings and a disgrace and are often down right dangerous.

But the support is there and ATL can provide it. Themed events with ULR input can be enormously successful. One college recently held a staff training day that sounded fantastic: archery, head massage, theatre visits and Asian cookery were some of the activities on offer. No wonder new members were queuing up to join us.

One way of attracting people to be involved in ATL is to focus our activities on broader issues. Sometimes members say to me: "Why can't we just concentrate on pay and conditions? Why do we need to worry about all these other 'good causes'?"

Well, I strongly believe that ATL, as a modern trade union should respond to the wider concerns in our society and indeed across the global community. For example, our commitment to supporting teacher trade unionists in Colombia continues to be a priority. In the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights we should champion the cause of the oppressed wherever they may be. I hope the day never comes when trade unions in the UK must call on international colleagues to defend their basic rights. But if it did, I am confident our call would be answered.

Finally, let me say this. Sadly, there are still glaring inequalities in our society here in the UK which impact on all of us as education professionals. It is a fact that, as one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we still have one in three children living in poverty and it is actually twice as difficult for children to move out of poverty than it was 30 years ago. When you examine the figures you see that there are 1.3 million children classified as living in severe poverty, with their families surviving on about £19 a week, after taking into account housing costs.

The statistics show that these children are likely to have worse health, more road accidents, less equal life chances and lower educational attainment. Some of our members have first-hand experience of the plight of these children: for instance, a secondary teacher told us: "I taught sisters sharing a pair of shoes. They could only come to school on alternate days."

A primary school member recalled a boy in her class who was poorly and often inadequately dressed, no coat in winter, seldom given breakfast; he was six and he had to get up and feed his baby brother at night.

Conference, this is a national disgrace, and that is why I have chosen to highlight child poverty here in Torquay this week. But why should this be a concern for ATL, some of you might ask? I say this is a real issue facing members in their classrooms as I speak.

We all know how hard it is for such children to concentrate on their learning. We all know how hardship and chaotic lives make it impossible for them to progress. We all know that the government's laudable aspiration to close the achievement gap between the deprived and the rest depends on lifting children out of poverty.

And we know that Gordon Brown is committed to this cause. But the government target of elimination of child poverty by 2020 is not attainable within its current policies. On Thursday, I will be inviting Hilary Fisher from the End Child Poverty Campaign to speak to us. She will explain that 2008 is the year when the campaign is really being stepped up. This will culminate in national mobilisation in London in order to gain as much public support as possible.

We must break the cycle of poverty and give these children a chance, so let us remind Gordon Brown of what he said in a speech in 1988: "Child poverty is a scar on the nation's soul."

And let us note that he needed to repeat this at the Labour Spring conference just three weeks ago. Well Gordon, now is the time to see if we can heal it.

Please support our bucket collection this week and let us do what we can to help make 2008 the year of action.

2008 is also an important year in my journey too. It marks my 30th year as a teacher and my 30th year as an ATL member. Some years ago I was a steward at a Torquay AMMA conference, not even a delegate, and I remember being quite overawed by it all, and now look at where I am, well and truly in the hot seat.

The journey has been a considerable one.

It has given me great pleasure to speak to you this morning and all it remains for me to say is, enjoy the Conference, and I look forward to meeting you all during the week.