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Welcome
Andy Ballard is national president of ATL
During my time as the branch secretary for Somerset I was very involved in the development of equalities and diversity policy work with Somerset County Council (SCC). SCC has done some great work and I am reminded of it by the article on disability issues for school staff. I look forward to the day when teachers with disability are regarded as highly as any other teacher in all our schools.
I'm sure that members will be interested to know that Mark Baker, ATL's equalities committee chair, and I recently visited Auschwitz-Birkenau with the Holocaust Educational Trust and we will be reporting on our fascinating and deeply moving experiences in a future issue of Report.
I know that we often talk about malicious allegations when we are asking people to join ATL and while instances are still relatively uncommon, they remain a constant source of anxiety for many teachers, lecturers and support staff. This month's feature examines the issues and outcomes of people thus accused and the experiences of members. As long as this remains a problem, ATL will support those unjustly accused and call for action to be taken against those who unfairly seek to damage the reputation and good name of ATL members.
We all know about the inestimable value of good supply teachers who can step in at short notice and provide cover for planned or emergency absence of school staff. I was always impressed by the effort that supply colleagues put into their work to ensure that pupils did not miss out on important learning opportunities because their regular teacher was absent.
Schools need to look carefully at how they use supply staff as we move towards a time when teachers "rarely cover" the absence of their colleagues and there is now a good case for supply support staff as well. On page 22, ATL solicitor Philip Lott provides insightful advice in his article on legal aspects of working as a supply teacher and the possible effects of European legislation.
Finally, I am delighted by the contribution of Peter Duncan of Blue Peter and Scouting fame as he talks about new initiatives to engage young people in extracurricular activities.
