Join us
And find out why ATL is the fastest growing union in the education sector
There's more information about how to take part in the Get involved section.
Every school and college is encouraged to elect an ATL representative. ATL reps act as the first point of contact for members, distribute information, offer on-site support, and maintain contact with branches and ATL's offices in London, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
Local branches are normally organised within the same areas as local authorities or groups of unitary authorities. Most branches have an elected committee, headed by a branch secretary. It is the branch that deals with matters affecting local members. The size of the branch varies enormously from a few hundred to several thousand. Most local branches meet once per term.
Conference is the main policy-making body of ATL. It meets annually in the week before Easter weekend and is held at a different location each year.
The 600 members who make up Conference include ATL's Executive Committee, together with representatives elected by the branches. The number of representatives each branch can send to Conference depends on how many members it has. There are also opportunities for members to attend as observers.
Conference has the power to pass resolutions which the Executive Committee then implements. Both ATL and Conference are governed by the Constitution and Rules, which can be changed only by Conference itself.
To find out more about Conference, see the web page on ATL's annual Conference.
ATL's Executive Committee is elected on a two-year cycle to provide strategic direction and to develop every aspect of ATL's work, policy and benefits. It acts on resolutions passed at the annual Conference and operates through a number of committees (see below).
The Executive Committee comprises up to 80 members and eight national officers, and meets seven or eight times a year in London. It operates through a number of advisory, operational and policy committees, which focus on different aspects of the overall work of ATL. These committees consider a wide range of important issues from continuing professional development and conditions of service, to independent schools and special educational needs.
The committee structure provides many opportunities for members of ATL to participate in its activities and to contribute in areas where they have expertise.
ATL has eight national officers, elected by the members: junior vice-president, senior vice-president, president, immediate past president, two honorary treasurers, and two honorary secretaries. The current president is Andy Brown.
Once elected, the junior vice-president follows a set path through the ranks, over a four-year period. In their second year they become senior vice-president, in their third, president, and finally they become immediate past president.
There are always two honorary treasurers and two honorary secretaries, one being elected each year to serve for two years.
Every five years there are elections for the position of ATL general secretary. Every member has the right to vote, and all elections are by secret postal ballot.
Specialist staff, with an in-depth understanding of education and employment issues are based at the ATL’s office in London, and at offices in Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh. ATL staff offer advice, help and information to members, and promote their professional interests to government, employers and education stakeholders.
Members also have access to local advice and support through regional officials – experienced education practitioners who assist individual members at branch level – and a mobile taskforce of national casework officials, with first-class negotiating skills and a thorough knowledge of education and employment issues.
Members working in Wales or Northern Ireland can also request help and advice from ATL's regional offices in Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh.