Education update: ATL in the news

ATL received quite a few media mentions over the last few months. Some of the ATL comments and releases that might interest you are below.

One in four school staff have faced a false allegation from a pupil
A quarter of school staff have had a false allegation made against them by a pupil, and one in six have had an allegation made by a member of a pupil’s family, according to an ATL survey.

In addition, 50 per cent of school staff reported that they or a colleague have had a false allegation made against them in their current school or college by a pupil or a member of a pupil’s family. In half the cases the allegation was immediately dismissed by the school. The police were only notified in 16 per cent of instances, and took no further action in 55 of the 67 cases they investigated.

Dr Mary Bousted, ATL general secretary, said: “School staff are having their careers blighted by false allegations and their private lives damaged as a result of the stress. We are losing good teachers, heads and support staff to the detriment of children’s education. We all accept the protection of children is paramount, but that should not be at the expense of natural justice - school staff have rights too.

School staff should have a right to anonymity until proven guilty
Commenting on the government response to the Department for Children, Schools and Families Select Committee report: Allegations against school staff, Dr Mary Bousted said:

“ATL is pleased that many of the issues raised in our recent survey of members on false allegations are being addressed. However, for school staff who are found to be innocent of an allegation we feel that it is vital that more effective systems are put in place to protect their future careers and reputations.

“We continue to believe that school staff who have an allegation made against them should have a right to anonymity whilst the allegation is being investigated, up to the point that they are charged with a criminal offence. In our experience the publication of allegations prior to this point makes it much more difficult for innocent staff to resume their work and career. ATL also maintain that any reference to an investigation which subsequently proves to be false should be recorded very carefully to ensure no assumption of guilt can be read into it.”

ATL comment on youth unemployment figures
Martin Freedman, head of pay, conditions and pensions at ATL, said: “We understand that the government has hard decisions to make about what it funds, but we urge it not to neglect today’s unemployed 18 to 24 year olds who risk being condemned to a cycle of few skills unemployability.

“It is vitally important to properly fund schools so that all under 18s get a good education, and we applaud the Government’s commitment to maintain school funding. But the Government needs to rethink funding for the over 18s and reverse cutbacks to the further education and training which are so desperately needed to help unemployed youngsters have a chance of a job before their hopes and dreams are shattered.”

A three-way split of fortune among independent schools as recession bites
While a third of independent schools are finding the recession tough-going, a third are riding the storm and a third are thriving, according to ATL survey.

Thirty-one per cent of independent school teachers said pupil numbers have fallen in their school for this academic year, reports an ATL survey of 1,422 teaching staff and 148 support staff working in independent schools around the UK this October. However, a third said their school has more pupils and 31 per cent have the same number of pupils.

ATL general secretary, Dr Mary Bousted, said: “In the tough economic climate the story in independent schools seems to reflect what is happening in the economy generally. Some schools are really struggling to keep afloat, while others are thriving as they pick up pupils from schools that fold or as parents move their children to cheaper options. “Our members – teachers and support staff – working in these schools are realistic about the financial pressure schools are under and where necessary some have reluctantly accepted pay freezes to help their schools survive. But, schools must not use the recession as an excuse to cut salaries or worsen terms and conditions. Their staff are their key asset and they would do well to remember that.”

ATL comment on Children, Schools and Families Bill (Queen’s Speech)
Dr Mary Bousted said: “Some teachers are suspicious about the licence to practice, so ATL is working with the Government to link this to a long overdue right to professional development and make it a non-threatening and routine accreditation.

“While we are pleased that Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) is being given the same status as other areas of learning, we are sorry that the Government is not prepared to carry out a radical rethink on the national curriculum because it fails to meet the needs of any of our young people.”

A quarter of primary school teachers suffer mental health problems after dealing with disruptive pupils
Primary school children are becoming more aggressive at a younger age say their teachers, more than a quarter of whom have suffered stress-related mental illness because of dealing with disruptive pupils, according to a new survey.

Conducted by the ATL exclusively for ITV1’s Tonight programme (shown on Monday 30 November at 8pm), the survey results paint a challenging picture of classroom life for teachers in UK primary schools with many suffering loss of confidence, stress, and even physical harm because of disruptive pupils. Overall, more than three-quarters of teachers say their jobs are more difficult as a result of disruptive pupils and almost two thirds have witnessed physical aggression from their pupils.

Dr Mary Bousted said: “Teachers are telling us that children are becoming aggressive or highly disruptive in class at younger ages. It is making it even harder to teach primary children.

“Schools need to have consistent behaviour policies, but it is equally important that parents support these policies. More and more teachers tell us that they are having to set-up parenting classes as some parents are struggling to deal with their children’s behaviour. Teaching is a challenging and rewarding job, but if teachers have to battle with difficult behaviour in class other pupils’ learning is disrupted and teachers lose the enjoyment.”

Key stage two results of limited value, and SATs detrimental to children’s education
Dr Mary Bousted said: “Every year we go through this ridiculous rigmarole with primary test results and school league tables. Teachers and pupils put in a lot of hard work, but the results are of little use. “It would be bad enough if schools, children and parents only had to accept that many results are inaccurate, but the key stage 2 test results in English and maths tell us little about a child’s progress over their seven years of primary schooling, and, critically, they have a detrimental impact on children’s education in their final year of primary school. Teaching to the test is not a myth, it is a reality in too many cases, and results in a restricted and limited curriculum being taught in year six.

“We firmly believe national testing should stop and children should not sit national tests until their final year in secondary education. In place of national tests, we want good quality teacher assessment which is properly moderated, because this provides a much better way to support student learning and monitoring of their progress.”

ATL on changes to vetting and barring scheme
Dr Mary Bousted said: “Sir Roger Singleton has made sensible recommendations to improve the vetting and barring scheme. We are pleased the Government has accepted them.

“However, we still have major concerns about the scheme, particularly the duplication of running a CRB and ISA scheme alongside one another. We are unhappy that there is still no right of appeal in person for anyone who is barred by the scheme – this seems to go against the laws of natural justice. And we firmly believe that employers should pay for their staff to be vetted, the financial burden should not be put on individual school staff.”

ATL comment on GCSE attainment by gender and class
Dr Mary Bousted said: “The narrowing of the GCSE attainment gap over the past 12 months is testimony to the hard work, dedication and commitment of teachers and their pupils.

“However, persistent ethnic and class underachievement remain as a result of discrimination and disadvantage. Most of these inequalities go deeper than education as can be seen when good grades for girls do not necessarily lead to better job prospects or equal pay.

“The government needs to realise that these deeper social problems will not be resolved by greater monitoring of schools or by imposing an ever increasing burden of accountability on education professionals.”