ATL

ATL Conference 2009

Wednesday 8 April - morning session

Fourth session of the Conference - 9am-1pm

During this session there was an address by Mr Rong Chhun, President of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association.

RESOLUTIONS

41 Centralised CRB check - carried
42 Child protection/false allegations - withdrawn
43 Workload - carried in all parts
-- Urgent business 1 - carried
44 Social partnership - lost
45 Every person matters - carried
46 Prostate cancer - lost
47 Asbestos - carried
48 The dangers of Wi-Fi technology - carried
49 Solidarity with Burma - carried in part
50 IT in schools - carried
51 Lone working in educational settings - carried
52 Exit questionnaires - carried
53 Admission and appeals system - carried

41 Centralised CRB check - carried

CHESHIRE BRANCH

THAT Conference believes that one of the simplest things that could be done to assist all supply teachers would be the availability of a centralised source of up-to-date CRB checks to which every employer, or prospective employer, could have access upon request without the need for a new process to be undertaken for every new employer.

Proposer: Stuart Hart, Fallibroome High School, Cheshire
Seconder: Ian Bonner, Unattached member

42 Child protection/false allegations - withdrawn

SWINDON BRANCH

THAT Conference calls on the Executive Committee to:

(i) commence a campaign to replace in child protection cases the mantra 'every child should be believed' to 'every child should be heard and their evidence assessed';

(ii) lobby for a review of the way child protection cases involving educational professionals are handled to ensure justice for all parties.

Proposer: Phil Baker, Unattached member
Seconder: Rob Kiver, Lethbridge Primary School, Swindon

43 Workload - carried in all parts

COMPOSITE from resolutions submitted by Inner London, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Wirral branches

THAT Conference expresses concern that six years after its inception, the National Agreement: Raising Standards and Tackling Workload has still to be implemented effectively in many establishments. In particular:

(i) teachers' working hours are increasing;

(ii) levels of stress-related illnesses in the profession are rising;

(iii) PPA time is over-prescribed;

(iv) members are expected to attend more than one after-hours meeting a week;

(v) management time has not been implemented for all those entitled to it;

(vi) many establishments have not put in place measures to ensure that members will only cover in exceptional circumstances from September 2009.

Conference calls upon the Executive Committee to:

(a) continually remind the national Social Partnership that its original objective of achieving adequate workload reduction and a better work-life balance in the process of raising standards is far from complete and should remain a priority for early action;

(b) promote the principle that all schools and colleges should have a designated member of the leadership team who is responsible for staff wellbeing issues and programmes;

(c) produce clear guidance for members working in schools on their terms and conditions and how to make sure that their establishment conforms to all aspects of the agreement and promotes staff wellbeing programmes. 

Proposer: Elizabeth Greed, Unattached member
Seconder: Kim Knappett, Forest Hill School, London

-- Urgent business 1 - carried

--

THAT conference believes that proposals to introduce a six month teacher training programme demean the profession, are ill advised and are wrongly motivated.

Conference urges the Executive Committee to do everything in its power to resist such measures.

Proposer: Andy Garner, Calderdale, unattached member
Seconder: Brian Ward, Doncaster, unattached member

44 Social partnership - lost

BRENT BRANCH

THAT Conference believes that the present Social Partnership with the Government is too one-sided. Conference calls on the Executive Committee to:

(i) lobby the Government to treat the union as a true partner;

(ii) review the situation, and if necessary ATL's position, if this does not happen. 

Proposer: Hank Roberts, Copland Specialist Science Community College, Brent
Seconder: Azra Haque, Hay Lane Special School, Brent

45 Every person matters - carried

COMPOSITE from resolutions submitted by Hertfordshire and Norfolk branches

THAT Conference, believing that the ECM agenda has drawn attention to the importance of the partnership between parents or guardians and their children's schools for both the wellbeing and the education of children, also believes that Every Person Matters.

Conference calls upon the Executive Committee to set up an STG to consider an Every Person Matters agenda, which would encourage a caring attitude to all people within schools and establish the roles, rights and responsibilities of staff, parents/guardians and students, with a view to putting its findings on the agenda of the Social Partnership.

Proposer: Jackie Harvey, Mill Mead Primary School, Hertford
Seconder: Andrew McCandlish, The Belfry VACE Primary, Norfolk

46 Prostate cancer - lost

KENT AND MEDWAY BRANCH

THAT Conference asks the Executive Committee to support a campaign to highlight the risks of male teachers developing prostate cancer and to work with a cancer charity to do so.

Proposer: Zoë Fail, Unattached member
Seconder: John Paul, Barming Primary School, Kent

47 Asbestos - carried

BRENT BRANCH

THAT Conference condemns the Government for its totally inadequate response to the 2008 Conference resolution on asbestos-related diseases. Their response continues to condemn yet more pupils, staff and external contractors to an early and often horrible death. Conference calls for a national advertising campaign organised with the TUC to:

(i) highlight the problems of asbestos in educational premises;

(ii) demand that the Government ensures that all educational premises are fully and comprehensively surveyed and that a central register is kept;

(iii) lobby the Government for an urgent programme of removal.

Proposer: Hank Roberts, Copland Specialist Science Community College, Brent
Seconder: Azra Haque, Hay Lane Special School, Brent

48 The dangers of Wi-Fi technology - carried

NORTHERN IRELAND BRANCH

THAT Conference notes that Wi-Fi technology is now present in over 70% of post-primary schools and 50% of primary schools despite a lack of studies into long-term Wi-Fi exposure. Conference is concerned that the precautionary path recommended by Sir William Stewart, Chair of the Health Promotion Agency, does not seem to have been accorded sufficient weight. Conference believes that the welfare and safety of children and education professionals is paramount and calls upon the Government to carry out an investigation, which takes into consideration biological and thermal effects and for the results of it to be made public.

Proposer: Colin Kinney, Cookstown High School, Cookstown
Seconder: Gordon White, Lisneal College, Londonderry

49 Solidarity with Burma - carried in part

NORTHERN IRELAND BRANCH

THAT Conference notes that Burma is one of the worst countries in the world for human rights abuses, yet there is a growing trade union movement within and outside of Burma. Conference calls on the Executive Committee to:

(i) raise human rights and education concerns in Burma with relevant ministers of the UK Government - this item was passed

(ii) work with partners in the TUC to support the FTUB and FTUK - this item was passed

(iii) support a visit to the UK of prominent members of the Burmese trade union movement - this item was passed

(iv) assist trade unionists in Karen and Burma in documenting their plight - this item was passed

(v) support Burmese refugees in the UK - this item was lost

Proposer: Carolyn Roberts, Ballyclare Secondary School, Ballyclare
Seconder: Alyson Roberts, unattached member

50 IT in schools - carried

WAKEFIELD BRANCH

THAT Conference expresses serious concern about the implementation of IT and Virtual Learning Environments and the intrusive nature and increased workloads these create for staff.

Proposer: Julia Owen Smith, Kirkhamgate Junior & Infant School, Wakefield
Seconder: Malcolm St John-Smith, Silcoates School, Wakefield

51 Lone working in educational settings - carried

AVON BRANCH

THAT Conference calls on the Executive Committee to consider ways of developing good practice for lone working in educational settings.

Proposer: Jennifer Caola, Greenfield Primary School, Avon
Seconder: Carolyn Dutton, Kingsfield School, Avon

52 Exit questionnaires - carried

WILTSHIRE BRANCH

THAT Conference, acknowledging the importance of exit questionnaires and their value in providing data which improves the management of schools and colleges and the recruitment and retention of staff, calls on the Executive Committee to convene an STG to create ATL policy on the effective use of exit questionnaires. 

Proposer: Phil Baker, Unattached member
Seconder: Elizabeth Greed, Unattached member

53 Admission and appeals system - carried

BRADFORD BRANCH

THAT Conference requests the Executive Committee to lobby the Government to review the system of admissions and appeals that:

(i) places pupils within a school environment that puts them at a distinct disadvantage compared with pupils in what may be termed a normal setting;

(ii) puts our members at a clear disadvantage when being assessed by all and sundry against staff in schools that are not overcrowded;

(iii) makes the classroom an unsafe environment for all.

Proposer: Ann Nash, Thackley Primary School, Bradford
Seconder: Glyn Kenyon, Butttershaw Business and Enterprise College, Bradford