Bolstered by the heavyweight tones of the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee, the voices of the sector have finally been heard by government, who have finally acknowledged that…Read more…
AMiE: Now is the time to speak up
By Mark Wright, AMiE director The long-overdue review of national professional qualifications (NPQs) for school leaders, which is being undertaken by the Department for Education, is to be welcomed….Read more…
Ending QTS will damage morale and push people away from teaching
If you were following the coverage of TUC Congress earlier this week, you could be forgiven for thinking only one education issue was on the agenda: grammar schools. In the four days I spent at the…Read more…
Education for some, disruption for all
Ralph Surman, ATL’s National Officer for Policy, examines some of the issues raised from the ATL fringe at TUC2016 in Brighton. One thing that those working in education understand more than…Read more…
Dangers of excessive workloads
Shelagh Hirst, ATL president, places this issue under the spotlight at TUC Congress 2016. Excessive workloads, caused by the current educational system, are detrimental to the mental health and…Read more…
With so much to deal with in 2016, why debate a return to 1950s education?
So my first week as the new AMiE president – and the first of the new academic year – draws to an end. Glancing through the press this week, it’s clear that there will lots of to talk about over the…Read more…
If you don’t have time to read our new book on teacher workload, here’s a summary
By Nansi Ellis, Assistant general secretary (policy). It’s just how it goes: a new book comes out about teacher workload, and you’d love to read it but you haven’t got the time. So let me summarise…Read more…
Are students with SEND being let down? Our members say they are
ATL recently responded to the Labour Party’s review of SEND provision in England, as part of our work on Conference resolution 43, Are SEND Students Being Let Down? We surveyed ATL members to…Read more…
How are the SATs expected standards set?
By Anne Heavey, ATL education policy adviser. The key stage 2 test results this year look very different to results in previous years. The curriculum being assessed is different, the tests are…Read more…
There’s no point in marking for the sake of it
Simon Rigby is an ATL rep at Fred Longworth High School in Greater Manchester. I’ve got members of staff marking from the moment they get up on a Sunday until when they go to bed. These members have…Read more…
Striking is a potent weapon – but one of last resort
I think it is safe to say that teachers and school leaders are very cross with the Government at the moment. It takes a lot to get the profession in such an agitated state, but relentless workload,…Read more…
Lesson planning: The good, the bad and the ugly
Emma Parker is a newly qualified primary school teacher based in Durham and an ATL district secretary. As a supply teacher, I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to lesson…Read more…
Academisation: lessons from further education
Those interested in how the government’s academies programme might impact the school education system in years to come should take a look at the recent history of the FE sector for some clues. Over…Read more…
Many of the changes have been relatively small, but together they add up
Patricia Graham is a learning progress manager and ATL rep at Aston Academy in Sheffield. In my school the senior leadership team (SLT) has done a lot to address workload. At the end of last year,…Read more…
Primary assessment is broken. So what do we want instead?
I think we can say that assessment in primary schools is broken. Many words have been written (including by ATL) about what’s gone wrong this year. The question remains, what do we want instead? I…Read more…
Make one change
Chris Baldwin is head of collaborative learning at William Allitt School in Derbyshire and an ATL rep. There’s so much that’s not cool at the moment in teaching. A lot in education revolves around…Read more…
Millions have been wasted on failed baseline. It’s time to listen to ATL members
Last week, education secretary Nicky Morgan appeared before the Education Select Committee to defend some of the controversial proposals in the white paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere. She…Read more…
The 2011-16 political mandate: how did they do?
As the devolved political mandate 2011-16 comes to a close, what has been achieved? Overall, the Assembly passed 67 pieces of legislation and 5 private members bills, few of them notable, and…Read more…
Did Nick Gibb tell teachers to teach to the test?
By Anne Heavey, Education Policy Adviser at ATL. Last Monday ATL welcomed School’s Minister Nick Gibb to our annual conference. He agreed to take part in a question and answer session with Gerard…Read more…
This budget does nothing to make it easier to trust government on education
In a weakening global economy, people will rightly ask how the British government is providing opportunity for them. A high quality education system benefits everyone. But just because government…Read more…