ATL

Moral purpose: speech by Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls

At his first ATL Conference, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, proclaimed the event "renowned for its passion, its expertise and its rigour"

Having just had lunch with ATL general secretary Mary Bousted, ATL president Andy Ballard and 15 ATL members, Mr Balls said that what shone through in all dealings with the union was the "moral purpose" and shared belief that every child has potential and can succeed, and that no barrier should ever be allowed to stop them achieving that potential. He was even harangued by ATL members on education policy when he took his children to play football, illustrating the commitment of members.

Striding confidently about the stage, he went on to state that he had two priorities for education: "To continue to improve standards so every child can fulfil their potential and to break the link between disadvantage and attainment." To anyone believing certain groups of children were beyond help, he said that there were no excuses for leaving any child behind.

"It is the actions of individual teachers that make the difference," he proclaimed, not government policies "delivering diktat and me pulling the levers from Whitehall".

A few weeks previously Mr Balls explained that Mary Bousted had warned him not to list government policies, but he sneaked a few in, including the proposed introduction of report cards, that could "revolutionise accountability" by replacing league tables.

One policy reported in the press was that history would be replaced in the primary curriculum by lessons on social networking sites and Twitter. Mr Balls refuted this, saying that the full chronology of British and world history - from ancient civilisations through to the Romans, the War of the Roses, the industrial revolution and the World Wars to the modern day - will still be taught.

"But it's also absurd that children are stuck in a dark age of technology when they learn history," he continued, so technology would also be taught in early years.

In a rousing finale, he listed investing in and supporting schools, challenging local authorities and strengthening Children's Trusts as the government's responsibility.

"It is a great responsibility," he concluded. "I take it extremely seriously. That is what our moral purpose dictates. And I look forward to working with you in the months and years to come so that we can deliver a world-class education system where not just some children but all children can fulfil their potential."

Mr Balls then fielded questions from members. Immediate past president Julia Neal quizzed him on reduced funding for post-16 study, prompting him to apologise for the Learning and Skills Council sending out letters "based on budgets that weren't there".

Elizabeth Wrighton wondered, given a proposed code of practice for teachers' conduct in their private lives, whether a similar system could be put in place for MPs.

Mr Balls retorted that he and his colleagues were up for election every four or five years and he didn't think teachers would want that for their profession.

Thanking Mr Balls for his speech, Mary Bousted gave it nine-and-a-half out of ten but warned that she would continue to "nag and bore him rigid" on her concerns over issues such as single-level testing and the report card.

See the ATL Conference 2009 section of this website for full details of this speech and all the motions heard at Conference.

Photo by Duncan Robertson