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ATL in conference
At ATL's 2009 Conference, delegates called for action on a range of issues, from key stage 2 tests to workload
TV lessons
Challenging behaviour
Zero tolerance
Workload stripped bare
Test culture debate
Let them play
Battle of the ages
Wi-Fi wariness
Massive schools must go
Size matters
Literature under control
Fair pay for support staff
Post-14 furore
Diplomas: rural young miss out
Help for Scottish independents
Independent schools in the downturn
Residential staff in independent schools
Staffroom bullying
Elsewhere at Conference
Television and the watershed came under scrutiny as Alison Sherratt (Bradford) reeled off a list of incidents of children's poor behaviour imitating TV programmes ranging from Ben 10 to Supernanny and EastEnders. She was proposing a resolution calling on ATL to lobby broadcasters to consider the consequences of showing bad behaviour.
Given the statistic that children do 90% of their learning outside school and that children as young as four watch 21 hours of television a week, Alison believes television represents "a lot of learning".
Seconder Anne Musgrave (Bradford) spoke wistfully of her family's first television and programmes such as Watch with mother. Fast forward to the present day and television is being used as "a babysitting service or best friend" to keep children quiet. "I think television is wonderful," she concluded, "but television and poor parenting is a lethal mix". The resolution was carried overwhelmingly.
"Challenging behaviour is cited as a major reason for one in five teachers leaving the profession in the first five years of their careers." This startling statistic prompted Wendy Hardy (Derbyshire) to propose the resolution calling for more initial teacher training on dealing with challenging behaviour.
She believes that many teachers focus on the pupil or pupils who frequently disrupt the lesson and over time the anxiety and stress builds until they reach breaking point.
Seconding, Cathy Tattersfield (Derbyshire) called for a clear written policy in schools on restraint and physical interventions, something sorely lacking in most establishments.
Speaking as a trainee teacher, Carly Prout (Berkshire) related how she had seen a short PowerPoint presentation as part of her training, with one slide stating that teachers had the right to use due physical restraint, and that was all she knew. When faced with a violent and disruptive pupil in a class on placement, she had no idea what to do, eventually resorting to taking the rest of the class out and going for help. "It's a grey area," she said, "and it needs definition."
The resolution was carried.
Abusive graffiti, car doors scratched by keys, middle-of-the-night phone calls and smashed windows. These were just a snapshot of attacks on teachers by pupils outside of the school, presented by Maxine Bradshaw (North Wales), proposing that ATL take a zero-tolerance policy to such malicious intrusions into teachers' private lives, as well as to violence in schools.
She recalled a time when society was unafraid to challenge antisocial behaviour and wondered why the police were "handcuffed by red tape" when it came to deterrents. Hospitals and libraries display signs saying violence against staff will not be tolerated - why should teachers not be entitled to the same level of protection?
Speaking in response, Irene Baker (Sefton) claimed many schools are failing pupils by having a 'fluffy' atmosphere, where the children know that, whatever they do, the worst they will get is a talking to. They need to know there are consequences to bad behaviour.
John Collins (Warwickshire) and Carvel Lonsdale (Lancashire) pointed out that pupils were better off in school, where they could be helped, rather than being excluded. Tendai Mashapure (Cambridgeshire) said that it is difficult for pupils to behave properly but they must do it.
The resolution was substantially carried.
Conference was treated to a striptease from Elizabeth Greed (Wiltshire), who unexpectedly took off her business clothes revealing a bathing suit to illustrate the different sides of her work-life balance, or rather lack thereof.
A perennial issue at Conference, Elizabeth cited an ATL survey, which found that six years on from the inception of the Workload Agreement, many members are still carrying out unnecessary work, are asked to complete redundant lesson plans and are being observed too often.
Focusing attention on the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group (WAMG), she said: "Having moved on to issues like performance management and remodelling, the initial purpose of WAMG seems to have been lost. We must refocus them."
Kim Knappett (Inner London) agreed, describing the 'just' culture in schools: "'Could you just put the display up this once?' Or, 'could you just stay behind tonight and help Johnny with his coursework?' In the end, there are one too many 'justs' and it is the straw that breaks the camel's back."
But David Guiterman (Cornwall), as chair of his local WAMG, reminded members that they must tell their local WAMG what the problems are in order for them to be able to do anything about it. The resolution was carried.
Key stage 3 tests may have been scrapped, but key stage 2 tests and the culture of reducing children to statistics that comes with them must be next - this was the message that prompted lively debate at Conference. The resolution on tests and benchmark culture also deplored the decision by most secondary schools to impose key stage 3 tests in 2009.
Proposer Jean Roberts (Inner London) said: "Has our education system become so data-driven that, unless you can put down a test result, you cannot justify a teacher's professional judgment as to where that child is? And that you need your pages of figures and charts to prove to Ofsted and the local authority that you are doing a good job? The answer is yes.
"Key stage 2 tests must go, Mr Balls. They are a load of balls - meaningless exercises in number crunching. Trust the teachers. Give the children back the experience of learning with enjoyment; learning what they need to learn to develop as numerate, literate and scientifically aware young people."
Seconding, Alison Sherratt (Bradford), said: "Our young people have a right to a happy childhood filled with imagination and life skills to arm them for the future, whatever it will look like. Our educators have a right to their professionalism being respected without the continual demoralisation of being judged on raw scores."
Kim Knappett and Abdul Choudhury (both Inner London) tabled an amendment to add a clause requesting ATL's Executive Committee to authorise industrial action ballots in schools where members decline the excessive workload involved in non-statutory key stage 3 tests. The resolution and amendment were then debated together.
Teresa Dawes (Berkshire) said she recently found a box of her now grown-up elder son's primary school textbooks. Speaking in support of the resolution, she said she "couldn't find one example of assessment or targets in 44 exercise books", whereas her youngest son was "scarred for life" because of the testing and assessment now rife in school.
A vote was taken on the amendment, followed by the resolution. The amendment was lost, and the original resolution was carried in all parts.
More play and less homework was the crux of this resolution on the 3-11 curriculum proposed by Angela Forkin (Wigan). Angela stated that it is through play that children gain an understanding of the world, not through "spending hours practising writing their names".
Children of five do not all have the motor skills to write sentences or their names, she went on. Headlines screaming: "Half of all five-year-olds can't write their name" should be celebrating the fact that half can, she announced, to loud applause.
Focusing on homework, seconder Cecily Hanlon (unattached) was of the opinion that formal homework is a waste of time for children, teachers and parents, not to mention the trauma of doing homework for those children in difficult or fragmented family situations.
Despite speakers against various parts of the resolution, it was substantially carried.
In an impassioned speech, Angelina McKenna (Northern Ireland) told how she had studied for eight years, but her chances of getting a teaching job in Northern Ireland were slim. So slim, in fact, that the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland held a meeting on training teachers for the dole, as up to 80% of newly qualified teachers don't get a job in their first year.
Angelina then divided delegates by addressing the issue of retired teachers returning to work - "Enjoy your retirement!" she pleaded. She also highlighted job adverts asking for up to three years of paid experience as a further barrier to employment.
Seconding, Ashley Dickey asked the assembled members to imagine they were 24 again, prompting laughter and cheers. She painted a picture of applying for jobs enthusiastically only to be bombarded with rejection letters due to not having sufficient paid experience or specific skills. "Are you feeling frustrated and a wee bit annoyed?" she asked. "Welcome to the world of NQTs in Northern Ireland."
Speakers queued up to respond, debating the value of favouring new over retired teachers. The resolution was ultimately taken in parts, with the part calling to cease the practice of re-employing retired teachers being lost. The rest of the resolution was carried.
Self-confessed technophile Colin Kinney (Northern Ireland) finds himself in a dilemma when it comes to Wi-Fi technology. On the one hand it is "faster, smarter, smaller and clutter-free" but on the other hand there is much debate in scientific circles over its long-term effects. Consequently, Colin called for a full government investigation.
At present, he went on, Wi-Fi is considered safe but the threshold for safety is set very high and there have been no long-term studies into the technology's effects on health. Outside the UK, the Swedish government funds shielding in schools while a leading Austrian scientist has called for Wi-Fi to be removed from schools.
"Are our pupils going to thank us if they become sterile or suffer from cancer brought on by exposure to Wi-Fi? Perhaps they will just be eternally grateful that we enabled them to finish their PowerPoint presentation for geography," he concluded.
Seconding, Gordon White (Northern Ireland) compared the advent of Wi-Fi to the introduction of asbestos as a revolutionary technology. The resolution was carried.
ATL members have shown their support for a campaign to stop schools being turned into "unwieldy factories".
Proposing the resolution on large schools, Jean Roberts (Inner London) said: "Children become lost in the system, particularly if they are shy and quiet. Those with bad behaviour disappear into the crowd. Teachers don't even know all the staff, let alone all the children.
"Large schools can mean vulnerable children are overlooked. Bullying, which goes on at some level in some schools, if not all schools, increases, and very often it's in-between sites and down corridors."
She added: "With schools relying on pupils - they get money for every pupil they get in - it's no wonder there's pressure to increase numbers. We need to put a limit on school sizes."
Kim Knappett (Inner London) seconded the resolution, which called on ATL's Executive Committee to organise a campaign to oppose massive schools and approach other education bodies and unions for support. The resolution was carried.
Thirty-one Conference delegates wielding saws, files and hammers in the air helped Tamsin Buckingham (Surrey) demonstrate the problems she faces in giving her whole design and technology class time to work with the tools available.
To fit the children in she pairs tall and short together so they don't bump heads when sawing, but the stress of overseeing all this takes a lot out of her. And then there is the obvious health and safety issue to consider.
Tamsin and seconder Leslie Jackson (Surrey) both referred to ATL's survey on class sizes, indicating it is a widespread problem, not just in practical subjects but throughout education.
Alison Sherratt (Bradford) supported the motion by showing a photo of a Labour election advert taken in 1997 declaring that "class sizes will be smaller".
The resolution to sanction schools that run overcrowded classes was carried.
In the middle of an anthology of poetry studied by GCSE students, there is a blank page. Teresa Dawes (Berkshire) explains that this is where Carol Ann Duffy's poem Education for leisure resided until being taken out by exam board AQA following three complaints and a campaign by a consortium of MPs.
Complaints concerned the poem's protagonist taking a bread knife and heading out into the street. With media stories of knife crime, MPs deemed this unacceptable for study. Teresa pointed out the irony that the poem was written as a pro-education statement and is now banned from study.
In the wider picture, Teresa is disturbed by the news that Secretary of State Ed Balls is seeking legal power to dictate which books children may study at GCSE or A-level - "one step closer to Orwell's 1984".
The resolution to raise the issue with the Secretary of State was unanimously carried.
"Exploitation is flourishing within our education system today," said Marjorie Barnes (North Wales), and it is support staff that are at the sharp end. In a resolution that asked ATL's Executive to ensure the forthcoming national pay and conditions structure rewards the professionalism of support staff, Marjorie took the teachers in the audience to task: "We took on your 21 tasks [under the Workload Agreement], even though we didn't want them.
We have raised our standards, filling our holidays, weekends and evenings with studying for foundation degrees, inclusion, literacy and more. Many of us already have excellent qualifications. So where are our improved working conditions and fair pay?" Recalling previous Conferences that have seen the same issues come up, she went on: "The same old phrases are trotted out. We're told how valued we are... words are cheap and so are our salaries."
In seconding the motion, Stuart Hart (Cheshire) reminded Conference: "Being a teaching assistant is not easy - it's often more demanding than being a teacher!" The resolution was unanimously carried.
With the advent of diplomas, lecturers are increasingly teaching 14- to 16-year-olds but without any specific training to do so, said Stephen Sidgwick (Carlisle) in a resolution that called for ATL's Executive to work with the Association of Colleges and other agencies to devise a compulsory programme of staff training.
Stephen outlined a number of challenges that changes to post-16 education have brought about, including mixing with older students: "Although all staff are checked through the Criminal Records Bureau, older adult students are not. It is not good enough or even acceptable to ask lecturers and support staff to accompany 14- to 16-year-olds to toilets and restaurant areas."
In a related resolution, proposer Stuart Herdson (Bradford) and seconder Philip Whalley (Wiltshire) called for an enquiry into educational needs post-14, including the reintroduction of technical schools specialising in vocational education and a reconsideration of the decision to raise the age at which young people can leave compulsory education or training to age 18. Both resolutions were carried.
Diplomas: rural young miss out
Young people in rural areas are losing out when it comes to the 14-19 diploma because of poor transport, costs and a lack of opportunity and choice.
ATL immediate past president Julia Neal (Devon) urged Conference to support a resolution calling on the government to conduct a rural impact assessment so that these problems can be addressed.
"The travel-to-learn distances can be enormous," she explained. "Sadly, in many areas the transport provision is a shambles and some pupils have had to change their course plans to make their day workable.
"Schools in rural areas are often relatively small and cannot afford to provide a wide range of opportunities for their pupils. And how many work experience placements can be found on Exmoor or in the middle of the Yorkshire moors? "The government must stop ignoring the countryside," Julia concluded. The resolution was carried.
Help for Scottish independents
ATL Scotland's first resolution at Conference will see the union work to safeguard Scottish members' jobs when their school fails to meet the requirements of the recently introduced charities test.
The motion calls on ATL to work with the appropriate agencies to try and protect members' jobs and terms and conditions of service when independent schools fail the charities test, which leaves them without VAT relief and raises the spectre of closure.
Failed schools can make changes to meet the requirement, but as Alastair MacPherson (Scotland), who was proposing the motion, explained: "A major concern is how they will do this, as they will have to set aside large sums of money to meet the requirement, for instance by providing bursaries for families who may otherwise not have been able to afford full fees.
"The possibility of redundancies, sell-offs and pay freezes or pay cuts are all being raised. It is expected that recruitment of staff may suffer and working conditions for existing members, which are already challenging, may get worse." The resolution was carried.
Independent schools in the downturn
Independent schools should have long-term plans in place to avoid closure in the credit crunch and, when it is unavoidable, must meet their obligations to staff, according to ATL. Members showed unanimous support for a call to campaign on the issue after hearing of the latest closures in the sector.
Malcolm St John-Smith, Executive Member (Wakefield, Calderdale and Leeds), said: "When an independent school closes, there is little chance of it reopening or of its redundant staff being re-employed.
Since last year, 17 independent schools have closed, with others in the pipeline. Information gathered after a school's demise has, in some cases, revealed considerable weaknesses in leadership and governance."
He added: "Far too many schools, including some well-known names, do not even have basic employment policies such as redundancy procedures."
The resolution was carried.
Residential staff in independent schools
In a resolution that likened independent schools to sweat shops with 19th-century working practices, proposer Geoff Pye (Essex) highlighted the unacceptably long hours put in by residential support staff, in contravention of the Working Time Directive.
Geoff relayed recent cases fought and won by ATL on behalf of members, including a resident housemistress at a boarding school who was contracted to work 121.5 hours a week for £15,138 a year, an hourly rate of £3.75 (the national minimum wage is £5.73).
Seconder Peter Walker (Norfolk) pointed out that often support staff members in independent schools do not have separate tenancy agreements to cover their accommodation. As a consequence, "the arrangement gives the employer a tremendous lever over the residential member of staff - the roof goes with the job."
Calling on ATL to continue campaigning on this issue and challenging recalcitrant schools, the resolution was unanimously carried.
Bullying among staff members is a growing problem that needs to be tackled, Conference heard.
Proposing a motion on bullying in schools, Azra Haque (Brent) said: "When teachers retire to the staffroom for a cup of tea they may think they are entering a bullying-free zone, but no. There should be zero tolerance to bullying, it's a big problem - especially for unpromoted staff. The sad thing is there are people who know what's going on but do nothing about it."
Azra added: "Staff-on-staff bullying is going on in our schools but it is under-reported. In primary schools, bullying continues to be hidden behind what Ofsted calls 'excellent schools'. We will never stop bullying among the children in schools unless we have got rid of it among management."
The resolution called on ATL to survey members about staff-on-staff bullying and bring a plan of action to Conference in 2010 and was carried.
Aside from the core business of resolutions, this year's Conference was packed with other speeches and events for delegates.
Holocaust survivor Zigi Shipper delivered a moving speech that left many with tears in their eyes as he described his experiences of Auschwitz and said how important it was that teachers and lecturers educate the next generation about the horrors of the Holocaust.
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association, also gave a powerful address to Conference explaining the plight of Cambodian teachers who are very poorly paid (when they are paid) and the unions that are disrupted by police violence and harassment.
Away from the main hall, this year saw the first mini-sector conferences opening Conference, specifically for support staff, leaders, independent schools, ATL Future, as well as primary, secondary and FE, and others. These were welcomed by delegates and encouraged much energetic debate.
Professional development was also on the agenda as two separate batches of learning zones were introduced. These two-hour training sessions covered a multitude of topics for all, including assertiveness, equalities, cyberbullying, leadership skills and sustainable education, alongside more union-based learning such as organising and health and safety.
See the ATL Conference 2009 section of this website for full details of all the motions and speeches heard.
