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…
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…
Tell MPs not to overrule Lords changes to Trade Union Bill
On 27 April MPs vote on the final Trade Union Bill and decide whether to accept amendments made by Peers.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…
Will area reviews fix the skills gap?
Janet Clark is an education policy adviser at ATL The government recently published the latest guidance for the Review of Post-16 Education and Training (known as the area reviews). At 60 pages…Read more…
Primary school teachers go above and beyond to give their children the best
If the recent media coverage of the new primary school assessment and testing arrangements are anything to go by you would think that primary schools are pretty horrible places to be right now….Read more…
Disrespectful baseline steals children’s creative and imaginative expression
By Dr Guy Roberts-Holmes In all the arguments about whether or not reception baseline assessment is accurate or not, what is not discussed is that it is deeply disrespectful to young children and…Read more…
Should I stay or should I go?
By Deborah Parren, ATL policy officer. Trainee and newly qualified teachers are full of energy and good intentions to be the best teacher they can be for their pupils. Will this enthusiasm be…Read more…
Unhelpful scaremongering?
This post originally appeared on the TES. I hope all the teachers reading this column had a relaxing half term, busy doing nothing, and certainly not ticking pupil progress data boxes. The…Read more…
Counting the other costs of baseline assessment
Who knew that a test for four-year-olds could be so expensive? The “basic” cost of administering the baseline assessment has been reimbursed by the DfE in this academic year 2015/2016…Read more…
English National Opera: Keep the chorus full time on full pay
The ENO chorus, who many see as the heart of the company, are threatened with job cuts and having their pay reduced to 75%. Join their petition.Read more…
Gardening on the curriculum
By Anne Heavey, Education Policy Adviser at ATL. On Friday afternoon I had the pleasure of visiting Grassmoor Primary School in Chesterfield and I wanted to share some of what I saw. Grassmoor have a…Read more…
Stop CETA, TTIP’s dangerous cousin
Trade deal will allow corporations to sue our government in secret. Tell MEPs to reject it.Read more…
Sports Direct: Stop your shameful work practices
Help us end this corporate giant’s reliance on low pay and zero-hours contracts.Read more…
Will your MP protect the right to strike?
Our MPs will soon get their first chance to debate the government’s controversial trade union bill. Can you write to yours?Read more…
Respond to the government consultation on the right to strike
Can you give your comments to the trade union bill consultation?Read more…