Teacher - National Union of Teachers

our aim: one union for all teachers
www.teachers.org.uk September-October 07
IN THIS ISSUE…
No longer an NQT?
Healthy
schools
Curriculum innovation
Teachers at Tolpuddle
No More Landmines
130 years of the
Teacher Support Network
PLUS...
Free Teacher to Teacher
supplement for every reader

CONTENTS
Features
September/October 2007
12 Good health
Lancashire’s Healthy Schools
Programme is among the most
successful in the country. Elyssa
Campbell-Barr finds out why.
19 Vote ‘yes’ for the NUT’s
political fund
Steve Sinnott explains the value of
having a union political fund.
20 No longer an NQT?
Janey Hulme speaks to second-year
teachers about their experiences.
25 Talking ’bout my
generation
Janey Hulme reports from the NUT’s
National Education Conference.
26 NUT services and support
Great deals and expert advice from
the NUT’s commercial partners.
30 No more landmines
Rebecca Maynard urges schools to
support No More Landmines Day.
36 Teachers at Tolpuddle
Keith Hatch looks at the part played
by NUT members in this year’s
Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival.
39 Curriculum innovation
Paul Vernell explains how his school
organised a Year 9 cross-curricular
project on climate change.
41 130 years of the Teacher
Support Network
A look at TSN’s long history and
latest services.
50 Backbeat: The
Commonwealth connection
Richard Bourne explores the
relevance of the Commonwealth to
today’s teachers and pupils.
Cover image: image100/Alamy
Regulars
4 Upfront
11 International
16 Your union
22 Ask the union
32 Teachnology
34 NUT training and development
38 Reviews
40 Noticeboard
44 Staffroom confidential
46 Letters
The Teacher is the
magazine of the
National Union of
Teachers, Hamilton
House, Mabledon Place,
London WC1H 9BD
Tel. 020 7388 6191
www.teachers.org.uk
12
30
When you’ve finished
with your copy of
The Teacher, please
pass it on to a
non-NUT colleague
or leave it in the
staffroom for others
to read.
41
34
Moved or changed job?
Call the NUT on
0845 300 1666
or visit
www.teachers.org.uk
and click on ‘update
your membership’.
39
President: Baljeet Ghale
General secretary: Steve Sinnott
Deputy gen sec: Christine Blower
Editorial board: Kevin Courtney,
Angela Davies, Neil Foden, Keith
Gardiner, Dave Harvey, Goronwy
Jones, Alex Kenny and David Lyons
Editor: Elyssa Campbell-Barr
Journalist: Janey Hulme
Administration: Maryam Hulme
Editorial support: Peta Lunberg
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F: 020 7383 7230
E: teacher@nut.org.uk
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Except where the NUT has formally negotiated agreements with companies as part of its services to members, inclusion of an
advertisement in The Teacher does not imply any form of recommendation. While every effort is made to ensure the reliability
of advertisers, the NUT cannot accept any liability for the quality of goods or services offered. The Teacher is printed by TU Ink,
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Welcome
As we move into the new
school year, the NUT has lots
to celebrate. Our campaign to
protect the rights and status
of overseas-trained teachers
has been successful (see page
5), our recruitment materials
have been judged the best in
Britain (page 6), and our
members have won Teaching
Awards galore (page 8).
We’re also celebrating
some successful partnerships.
We’ve teamed up with the
No More Landmines Trust
once again to get teachers
and pupils fundraising for this
very worthwhile cause (page
30). Following our fruitful
collaboration with Teachers
TV on last year’s Staffroom
Monologues competition,
we’ve joined forces once
more – this time to find the
most influential books in
education (page 17). And you
can find details of our
ongoing partnerships with a
range of companies providing
products and services
specially tailored to teachers’
needs on pages 26 and 27.
But there’s one more thing
we’d like to be celebrating –
fair pay for teachers. You’ll
find an update on our pay
campaign on page 5, and of
course all the latest news will
be on the NUT website at
www.teachers.org.uk
throughout the term.
Please log on and lend us
your support.
Elyssa Campbell-Barr
Editor
September-October 07 / The Teacher

Great
results
This year’s GCSE results, published on
23 August, showed a slight rise in the
number of students achieving A* to C
grades, with comprehensive pupils
demonstrating a greater improvement
than those in other types of schools.
Since GCSE exams were
introduced in 1988 the number of
young people getting A* to C grades
has almost doubled compared with
the old O-level pass rate, but NUT
general secretary Steve Sinnott
dismissed renewed criticism that the
exam system has been ‘dumbed
down’. He said GCSEs were “a
success story for our education system
and should be celebrated rather than
denigrated. Once again, the hard
work of young people and their
teachers has shown improving results
and they are to be congratulated.”
For NUT Cymru secretary David
Evans, this year’s secondary school
exam results demonstrated Wales’s
“well-rounded system of education
for all our young people”. David drew
attention to the rise in the take-up of
vocational GCSEs and pointed out
that “our distinctive Welsh
Baccalaureate is really taking root,
with the very first awards made at
the new Foundation level”.
Primary school national test results
in England, published on 2 August,
showed a slight improvement in
English, maths and science at Key
Stage 2. Steve Sinnott urged teachers
and pupils to celebrate the results,
saying “they paint a picture of
success in primary schools”.
But he warned that the results
concealed the downside of tests,
targets and tables. “We surely must
be able to come up with a better
system than one which encourages
the hothouse pressures of teaching
to the test at the expense of the
rest of the curriculum, and
unrealistic national targets whose
very existence feeds the prejudices
of those determined to find
failure,” he insisted.
Steve called on schools secretary
Ed Balls to initiate an independent
review of testing to examine “the
impact of the current high-stakes
testing regime on primary schools”.
The Teacher / September-October 07
A new
direction for
academies?
The NUT joined forces with
England’s other major
education unions on 16 July
to back the TUC in launching
A New Direction, its review
of the school academies
programme.
A New Direction was written for the
TUC by Martin Rogers and Frances
Migniuolo of the Children’s Services
Network. The authors call for academies to
be made more accountable to parents,
staff and communities, and ultimately
returned to the control of local education
authorities. They also demand a review of
the kinds of organisations that can sponsor
academies and for unions to have the
same recognition rights in academies as
in mainstream schools.
In addition, the report calls on the
government to appoint an independent
panel of experts to review its overall
approach to secondary schools – in particular
the impact that academies are having on
standards. Such a review, its authors say,
should compare the relative merits of
academies with other secondary school
improvement initiatives, such as Excellence in
Cities and the London Challenge.
The NUT, NASUWT, ATL and Unison were
all united in their support of the report and
welcomed its recommendations, with
speakers from all four unions at the launch
event. NUT assistant secretary John Bangs
said academies were “not consistent with
what we know about school improvement”
and the government’s Every Child Matters
programme was “in total contradiction” to
its policy on academies. He pointed to
“highly resourced comprehensive systems”
such as those in Finland, Sweden and
Denmark, berating the UK government for
consistently ignoring their success.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber
emphasised the “major doubts” that many
people have about academies and expressed
his delight that the report was “a product of
all the relevant unions working together”.
He welcomed government plans to give
local authorities greater say in the planning
of academies, but added: “Unless a
thorough review is carried out, academies
will continue to grab the headlines while
denying recognition to other initiatives that
quietly get on with the business of
improving the educational prospects of
many of the UK’s disadvantaged teenagers.”
Download A New Direction: A review of
the school academies programme from
www.tuc.org.uk/extras/academies.pdf.
London
Pride
The NUT’s LGBT
(lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender)
members once again
had a stall at the
annual Pride London
March on 30 June.
Almost half a million
revellers braved rain,
high winds and
heightened security
to attend this
year’s event.

‘The current pay award
is inadequate’
UPFRONT
Andrew Wiard
NUT victory for
overseas-trained
teachers
The NUT’s ongoing campaign to protect the
rights and status of overseas-trained teachers
enjoyed a major victory this summer. On 10 July
the government announced its decision to give
a year’s extension for OTTs to gain qualified
teacher status (QTS).
The government had previously insisted that OTTs
who had been working in the UK for four or more
years would have to gain UK-recognised QTS by 31
August 2007, or face withdrawal of their work
permit and even deportation. The NUT found itself
dealing with 172 cases of OTTs who had been told
they would no longer be able to work in the UK from
this September. Many had been working in
challenging inner-city schools, some for more than
ten years. Often they had been unaware of the 31
August deadline until it was too late to complete the
necessary training.
The NUT’s OTT campaign received significant
coverage in The Independent and the union
announced a lobby of the Department for Children,
Schools and Families and the Home Office on 11 July.
But the planned lobby turned into a celebration after
a government announcement on 10 July gave OTTs
an additional year to gain QTS.
NUT general secretary Steve Sinnott welcomed the
U-turn, adding: “The government was in grave
danger of inflicting a major injustice on a group of
teachers who have made a vital contribution to
schools in this country.”
The NUT is urging all its overseas-trained members
to ensure they are on target to gain QTS within the
required timeframe. For information and advice
contact your NUT regional office – details on page 47.
Read more about the revised regulations for OTTs and their
employers at www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/
overseastrainedteachers.
Turn to page 46 for one member’s personal view of
the campaign.
The NUT’s pay campaign has continued to gain
momentum over the summer.
In June, the union sent a second submission to the School Teachers’
Review Body (STRB) warning that teachers were facing a “double
whammy”, with below-inflation pay awards in both September 2006
and September 2007 failing to protect their standards of living. “The
consequences,” the NUT warned, “will be felt in terms of recruitment,
retention, motivation and morale.”
The NUT’s latest submission drew attention to the Incomes Data
Services report, published in June, which showed average pay
settlements in Britain at 3.5 per cent, with a third of pay deals at 4 per
cent or above. “The current pay award is inadequate,” said the NUT of
teachers’ 2.5 per cent settlements for 2006 and 2007.
This inadequacy is already having worrying effects. The overwhelming
majority of secondary subjects have failed to recruit to target in 2006-07,
despite those targets having been lowered. In addition, applications to
secondary postgraduate initial teacher training courses in England and
Wales this June are down by 7 per cent on 2006 figures.
The union reiterated its call for an increase of £3,000 or 10 per cent
(whichever is greater) for all teacher salaries, along with an increase of 10
per cent in allowances, and new allowances for London and the fringe
area. It also stressed NUT opposition to a further multi-year pay award.
During the summer holidays, thousands of NUT members have
been logging on to the union website – www.teachers.org.uk – to
take part in the online poll on teachers’ pay, email their MP calling
for action, and share their stories about how worsening pay is
affecting them. Here are a few representative examples:
£20,000 in debt, £20,000 starting salary, just left home and I can borrow
a laughable £70,000 mortgage. Is anyone doing the maths?
R, Maidstone
Average wage in London is now £35,000 and average house price
£350,000. Four years in university and five years’ teaching experience and
I’m nowhere near earning that much. As for buying a house – forget it!
I’d be better off retraining in construction or driving a train!
A, Hillingdon
I live in a two bedroom terrace (no garden) house with husband and our
three children. Could only just afford one week at seaside (UK) – had to
have sandwiches each day. I run a £800 car, never go out, buy clothes etc,
but still am overdrawn... I work so hard. Not sure it’s worth it any more.
H, Leeds
New teachers will be hit twice this year – firstly by a pay increase of only
2.5 per cent and then, as well as rising living costs across the board, the
government is going to increase interest rates on student loans to 4.5
per cent – in line with inflation! How are they able to get away using
different inflation scales like this?
R, Devon
In what other profession do you work until 11pm, Saturdays, Sundays and
holidays, constantly retrain while on the job to keep up with new
initiatives, meet targets and undergo observations and assessments which
prove you are doing your job well, in order to receive a pay CUT?
J, Bristol
The NUT’s campaign on teachers’ pay is gathering pace
during the autumn term. To keep up to date, visit
www.teachers.org.uk regularly, keep in touch with
your NUT school rep, and look out for more information
in future editions of The Teacher.
September-October 07 / The Teacher

In brief
Simply the best
The NUT won the best recruitment material
category at this year’s TUC Trade Union Press
and PR Awards in July for its newly qualified
teachers recruitment drive. The recruitment
campaign offered NQTs joining the union a
special edition of Sue Cowley’s How To
Survive Your First Year in Teaching. The
judges were impressed by the “neatly
designed and genuinely useful resource
book” and by “the number of members
recruited through this initiative”.
Pensions guidance
Since the pension tax laws were liberalised
in 2006, some financial advisers have been
trying to persuade teachers to transfer their
Prudential additional voluntary contributions
(AVCs) to other pension products. The NUT
and other teachers’ unions have
commissioned advice from actuaries Hewitt
on issues that teachers should consider if
they are approached to transfer their
Prudential AVCs, especially into a selfinvested
personal pension (SIPP).
The resulting guidance document,
Additional Voluntary Contributions: Options
for those currently contributing to the
Prudential AVC facility, covers fund options,
charges and sources of advice. A copy has
been sent to every school, and will also be
available on the NUT website: www.
teachers.org.uk.
Remembering Anne Jarvis
NUT general secretary Steve Sinnott, Neil
Kinnock, David Puttnam and Helena
Kennedy will be among the speakers at a
celebration of the life of Anne Jarvis to be
held at London’s Institute of Education on
18 September.
Anne, a great campaigner for education,
was president of Barnet NUT association
and a teacher rep before becoming chair of
Barnet Education Committee in 1994. She
spoke frequently at NUT conference, was a
member of two national NUT committees,
and was married to Fred Jarvis, former NUT
general secretary.
Join the pensioners’ lobby
The National Pensioners’ Convention,
Britain’s biggest pensioners’ organisation, is
organising a national rally and lobby for
pensioners’ rights in Westminster on 24
October. Retired NUT members will be
among those attending. To find out more
about the event, visit www.npcuk.org or
call 020 7553 6510.
The Teacher / September-October 07
A new ministry for
children and education
The old Department for Education
and Skills has been split into two
new government departments
– the Department for Children,
Schools and Families (DfCSF) and
the Department for Innovation,
Universities and Skills (DIUS).
Ed Balls has been appointed minister for
the former, while John Denham is minister
for the latter. The division was announced
when Gordon Brown named his new
cabinet after taking office in late June.
New
performance
management
regulations
introduced
New performance management
regulations for teachers in
England came into effect on
1 September.
Earlier this year the NUT published
a model performance management
policy, and guidelines on its use for
headteachers, governors and school
representatives. The NUT model policy
and supporting documents have been
devised to help school staff maintain
good professional relationships, and
to emphasise the importance of high
quality professional development and
support for all teachers.
Lord David Puttnam
Steve Sinnott, NUT general secretary,
said: “The creation of the new department
is an opportunity for us all to address the
wider needs of children and tackle the
impact of poverty on a child’s education.”
The Conservatives have appointed
Michael Gove as Shadow Secretary for
Children Schools and Families and David
Willets as Shadow Secretary for Innovation,
Universities and Skills. The Lib Dems’
spokespersons are David Laws for Children,
Schools and Families, and Sarah Teather for
Innovation, Universities and Skills.
To browse all of the NUT’s
policy documents and guidance
on performance management,
visit www.teachers.org.uk,
click on ‘campaigns’ and then on
‘performance management’.
Watch it!
Schools around England and Wales will soon be
receiving a DVD produced by the Teaching
Awards, with the support of Lord David Puttnam,
chairman of the Teaching Awards Trust. The fourminute
film celebrates the achievements of
teachers, schools and pupils. It was sponsored by
the NUT and shown at all 13 regional Teaching
Awards ceremonies this summer.
The film features previous Teaching Awards
winners, and shows how important the awards
are for teachers and schools. It also includes
contributions from celebrities including Lenny
Henry, Jon Snow and Sarah Beeny.
View it online at www.teachingawards.com.

The sweet taste of
victory
Waltham Forest NUT, together with Unison,
has secured a victory to keep a properly
funded school meals service. Waltham
Forest council has agreed to extend its
school meals subsidy until at least 2009.
The funding crisis arose as the subsidy –
which covered the costs of the equal pay
settlement, single status job evaluation and
government good food standards – was
due to come to an end.
The two unions distributed thousands of
leaflets alerting people to the dangers of
losing a properly funded school meals
service, and got local and national media
involved. “The ‘pots and pans demo’ was
the highlight,” Waltham Forest NUT
secretary, Linda Taaffe, told The Teacher.
“Around 250 dinner ladies, teachers,
parents, children and supporters marched
to the town hall armed with pans, tin lids,
wooden spoons, rattles and whistles,
chanting: ‘If you want to keep school
dinners bang a pan!’”
Eventually the council’s leader and
deputy leader met the protesters and
accepted their petition. They promised to
continue the subsidy until 2009, bring the
ten schools already opted out back into the
fold, and encourage schools to remain part
of Waltham Forest Catering.
Island
issues
The fifth annual Inter Island Teachers’
Conference took place in Guernsey at the
end of the summer term. Delegates from
Guernsey, Jersey, Gibraltar and the Isle of
Man, representing members of the NUT,
ATL and NASUWT, met to compare
conditions of service and other issues
affecting teachers in the four jurisdictions.
South West NUT regional secretary Andy
Woolley attended, along with National
Executive member Mick Lerry and NUT
assistant secretary Barry Fawcett.
Guest speaker Derek Neale, Guernsey’s
director of education, stressed the
importance of good industrial relations in
the education sector and the benefits of
working closely with teacher unions. Other
issues discussed included the cost of
housing, the need to lobby for
In the picture: Sean McManus, NUT chief negotiator
for Guernsey, is interviewed by a BBC Guernsey
journalist for an item broadcast in all four jurisdictions.
improvements in employment legislation
(something the NUT has been doing
nationally in recent months) and the
effects of financial shortfalls in the local
economies on education. Another
particular problem for island communities
is ensuring high quality, well-funded
provision for pupils with special
educational needs.
Andy Woolley warns of new issues
facing teachers thinking of moving to or
from these island communities, particularly
regarding the transfer of pensions. He
urges members to seek advice about this
before making any commitments about
their pension arrangements.
The next Inter Island Conference will
be in the Isle of Man in July 2008.
Fred Shadwell
Every one a winner
Congratulations to all these NUT members who were among
the regional winners of the 2007 Teaching Awards:
The Teacher / September-October 07
Carolyn Asante, Tremorfa nursery
school, Cardiff – winner of the NCSL
Award for Headteacher of the Year
in a Primary School in Wales.
Cheryl Buckley, Baxter college,
Kidderminster – winner of the
Guardian Award for Teacher of the
Year in a Secondary School in the
West Midlands.
Timothy Costello, Ringmer
community school, Lewes, East
Sussex – winner of the Guardian
Award for Teacher of the Year in a
Secondary School in the South East.
John Galvin, East Preston junior
school, Littlehampton, West Sussex
– winner of the South East
Development Agency Award for
Enterprise in the South East.
Linda Heaven-Woolley, Broadoak
mathematics and computing
college, Weston-super-Mare –
winner of the Royal Air Force
award for Headteacher of the Year
in a Secondary School in the West
of England.
Rebecca Jenkins, Abbey Hill school
and technology college, Stocktonon-Tees
– winner of the TDA Award
for Outstanding New Teacher of the
Year in the North East and Cumbria.
Mark Lewis, The Highfield school,
Letchworth, Hertfordshire – winner
of the TDA Award for Outstanding
New Teacher of the Year in the
East of England.
Margaret Mann, Hollywater special
school, Borden, Hampshire – winner
of the Ted Wragg Award for Lifetime
Achievement in the South
(sponsored by the Innovation Unit).
Fred Shadwell, William Beaumont
community school, Warrington –
winner of the Ted Wragg Award for
Lifetime Achievement in the North
West (sponsored by the
Innovation Unit).
Nick Wergan, Sackville school,
East Grinstead, West Sussex –
winner of the TDA Award for
Outstanding New Teacher of
the Year in the South East.
Shirley Williams, Ysgol Glan
Gele, Abergele, Gwent – winner
of the Teaching Award for
Enterprise in Wales.
The National Teaching Awards
ceremony will be held at the London
Palladium on 21 October and
televised by the BBC. The NUT
wishes all its finalists the best of luck.
Find out more about the awards at
www.teachingawards.com.
Margaret Mann

NUT north west
says ‘no’ to academies
UPFRONT
An anti-academies meeting, open to all TUC-affiliated unions and organised
by the NUT’s north west region, was held on 16 June in Manchester.
Janet Theakston from the NUT’s privatisation unit, an NUT academy rep and
Oldham NUT secretary Bryan Beckingham all addressed the meeting. Their speeches
were followed by a lively open debate that led to the compilation of a list of actions
to be used as a campaign guide across local authorities. There was unanimous
agreement that a successful campaign would need the involvement of all the
unions, parents and the local communities.
It was clear from the situations discussed at the meeting that the general public
does not understand the reality of academies, particularly in respect of curriculum
issues, admissions policies, financial risks and the growing evidence that the sharing
of facilities was not happening. It was acknowledged that, if the campaign were
unsuccessful and an academy was approved, the NUT would need to enter into
negotiations with the academy to protect members.
NUT divisions in the north west are planning a march and rally in
Manchester in the autumn term to show united opposition to academies
across the region. For more information email north.west@nut.org.uk
or call 01204 521434.
Teacher to
Teacher
The NUT has just published its annual
Teacher to Teacher supplements – one for
primary and pre-school teachers, one for
secondary and sixth form teachers and one
for those in special schools and services. All
three are packed with articles written by
teachers for teachers and address hot topics
and current concerns in the three sectors.
Teacher to Teacher: primary and preschool
points of view includes articles on:
curriculum modification; storytelling; peer
assessment; independent thinking; and
tackling underachievement among white
working class children.
Teacher to Teacher: secondary and sixth
form points of view includes articles on:
personalising learning; modern foreign
languages; coursework; climate change; and
the new secondary diplomas.
Teacher to Teacher: special schools and
services points of view includes articles
on: functional analysis of behaviour; working
in partnership; supporting excluded children;
and improving school accessibility.
Most serving teacher members have been
sent the relevant edition of Teacher to
Teacher with this issue of The Teacher.
Students, retired members and those for
whom we have no sector information will
not have received supplements.
If you have not received a copy of
Teacher to Teacher and would like one,
please complete and return the form
below, or send an email giving all the
details in the form to teacher@nut.org.uk.
You can also download the supplements
as pdf files from www.teachers.org.uk.
The two
Rs
More than 70 NUT members at
Parliament Hill primary school in
Camden, north London, took a day’s
strike action on 12 July in protest over
new teachers not being entitled to a
recruitment and retention payment after
the governing body revised the school’s
salary policy. Members may vote to take
further strike action if the governors don’t
reverse their decision.
NUT regional secretary for London
West, Stuart Cankett, told The Teacher:
“We are hoping to negotiate a sensible
conclusion to this dispute at a meeting
in September.”
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September-October 07 / The Teacher
Nigel Sutton

Ethiopia
an urgent appeal
Left to right: Anteneh Getnet,
Meqeha Mengistu, Tilahun Ayalew
and Woldie Dana
Education International
(EI) is urging trade union
associations to call for the
release of three members
of the Ethiopian Teachers’
Association (ETA),
detained in the context of
their legal trade union
activities. Currently two ETA officers, Anteneh Getnet and
Meqeha Mengistu, and a member of ETA, Woldie Dana, are in
detention in the Addis Ababa Kality central prison.
There are also concerns about a fourth teacher, Tilahun Ayalew,
who is chair of ETA in the Awi zone. Tilahun disappeared on 28
May this year. He, Anteneh and Meqeha were previously arrested,
detained and tortured in December 2006, but released suddenly
in March this year.
The four teachers have again been incorrectly accused of being
members of an illegal organisation called ‘Ethiopian Patriotic
Front’. EI fears they may again be subjected to ill treatment to
make them confess membership of an illegal organisation.
During his previous detention Anteneh was inhumanely
suspended with his limbs tied. As a result of his treatment he now
has an arm deformity, lung deficiencies and other health problems
that will prevent him ever teaching again. Both Meqeha and
Tilahun have previously been beaten and their families harassed.
General secretary Steve Sinnott is appealing to NUT members to
speak out to protect their Ethiopian counterparts’ human rights.
“I urge you to speak loudly in support of our Ethiopian colleagues
– please write to the Ethiopian Prime Minister, as EI is requesting.”
EI is asking trade union divisions and associations to write to
Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, and Fisseha Yimer,
Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the United Nations, and
to contact ETA to express solidarity. For details visit
www.ei-ie.org/en/urgentactionappeal.
Teaching
anti-semitism
– getting involved
The NUT has a long-standing excellent working
relationship with teachers’ unions in the Middle East,
including the General Union of Palestinian Teachers and
the Israeli Teachers Union.
The NUT’s current work includes a programme with
the Israeli Teachers’ Union, addressing issues of anti-
Semitism and Islamophobia in relation to teachers and
pupils in the UK and Israel.
The aim of the programme is to focus on aspects of
living in a multicultural society which affect members of
both unions, and as a result to develop teaching materials
on tackling anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. The
programme will include workshops on the key issues, as
well as school visits in Grantham and London.
The initial event will take place between 18 and 24
November 2007 at the union’s training centre in Grantham
and in London. Participants will represent all key stages and
a range of religious backgrounds, including Jewish, Muslim
and Christian.
Ten teachers from each union will attend the
programme. The intention is to run the programme
regularly once it has been established.
If you would like to be considered as a participant please
send a 200-word statement to the NUT’s International
Relations Office at international@nut.org.uk.
UPFRONT INTERNATIONAL FOLIO
Friends of
Palestine
This Easter a group of UK teachers visited the West Bank in a gesture
of solidarity with education colleagues and other professionals
surviving the occupation and working for peace. The visit was led by
two London NUT members instrumental in creating Teacher Friends
of Palestine (see right).
Every person we encountered spoke with anger, passion, hope
and determination. There is universal desperate longing for peace
and normality and for children to be able to play and learn in an
atmosphere free from fear of military raids.
Claire Wintram
Pupils at the boys’ school in Palestine’s D’heisha
refugee camp
Teacher Friends of Palestine is a new
independent group aiming to raise awareness of
the situation in Palestine among staff and
students in England and Wales, as well as
supporting teachers in Palestine. It organised a
teacher tour of Palestine over Easter 2007.
For more information contact Teacher
Friends of Palestine on their website: www.
teacherfriendsofpalestine.org or follow the
link on the Palestine Solidarity Campaign site:
www.palestinecampaign.org.
Anyone contemplating a visit to an area of conflict needs to heed the
advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office: www.fco.gov.uk.
September-October 07 / The Teacher
11

Good health
*
Carlos Guarita
National Healthy Schools Programme
Lancashire met the government’s healthy schools targets two
years ahead of schedule and has been awarded Beacon status for
its work in this field. Elyssa Campbell-Barr travelled north
to find out about the Lancashire Healthy Schools Programme and
the crucial role that teacher consultants are playing in its success.
12
In February, a United Nations report
put Britain at the bottom of a list of
21 advanced nations for children’s
overall wellbeing. It said our young
people are more likely to smoke, abuse
drink and drugs, engage in unsafe sex
and have poor relationships with their
parents and peers than those in other
developed countries. Other reports this
year have warned about British
youngsters’ high rates of obesity,
teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted
infections and mental health problems.
The government has placed schools
at the forefront of tackling these issues.
Its National Healthy Schools Programme
advocates a ‘whole-school’ approach to
physical and emotional wellbeing, involving
teachers, pupils, parents, governors,
support staff and outside partners. It aims
to raise pupils’ achievement, reduce health
inequalities and promote social inclusion
by improving the health of all children and
young people.
The Teacher / September-October 07
The National Healthy Schools Programme
has four core themes: healthy eating;
physical activity; emotional health and
wellbeing; and personal, social and health
education (PSHE). Within these themes are
41 criteria which schools must aim to meet.
The programme was originally launched
by the Department of Health and the old
Department for Education and Skills in
1999. In 2004 the white paper Choosing
Health set a challenging target for 75 per
cent of schools to have achieved Healthy
Schools Status, and for all schools to be
working toward this goal, by 2009.
Lancashire has already met the
government’s targets. Seventy-seven per
cent of the county’s 602 schools now have
National Healthy Schools Status, and all
are working towards it. Earlier this year the
local authority was awarded Beacon status
for its work on healthy schools. Sixtynine
schools have also gained Lancashire
Healthy School status by meeting at least
five of the 13 Lancashire Healthy Schools
Programme standards:
01 healthy eating
02 physical activity
03 drug education (including alcohol
and tobacco)
04 sex and relationships education
05 emotional health and wellbeing
06 safety
07 PSHE and citizenship
08 ethos
09 community and partners
10 leadership and management
11 curriculum planning and
implementation
12 teaching and learning
13 school nursing.
(Please note that these are
Lancashire’s own standards. The
National Healthy Schools Programme
still has 41 criteria within the four
core themes mentioned earlier.)

Left: secondary school
food technology
teachers deliver
Lancashire’s Food
Partnership Training
Programme to
primary colleagues.
Tasty ideas
Here are just a few of the ideas that have
helped Lancashire schools on the way
to achieving Healthy Schools status.
Withnell Fold primary school has a successful cookery
club where pupils learn to make dishes such as kebabs,
muffins, pizzas and spicy chicken salad. The school also has a
healthy eating committee involving pupils from Years 2 to 6.
HEALTHY SCHOOLS
Right: Eloise (left)
and Melissa don
aprons to attend
a Food Partnership
Training session.
One way in which the
Lancashire Healthy Schools
Programme has managed to
achieve such dramatic results so
quickly is by employing a team
of teacher consultants to act as
local programme co-ordinators.
These are primary teachers
seconded from their regular jobs
to work with primary, secondary
and special schools throughout
the county.
NUT members Melissa
Matthews and Eloise Elder
are two of three consultants
who joined the programme in
September 2006 – all in new
posts on one-year secondments.
Both had previously been
involved in the Lancashire
Healthy Schools Programme as
teachers. Another consultant
joined the team in January
2007 and another in April, so
knowledge and information are
continually passed on to new
colleagues.
Melissa explains what the
role involves: “Most of my time
is spent visiting schools, talking
to the Healthy Schools key
teachers and headteachers,
helping them to complete the
national Healthy Schools audit
and the Lancashire Healthy
Schools Programme. We also
arrange and promote professional
development opportunities.”
Visit www.healthyschools.gov.uk for
further information and contact details
for your local programme co-ordinator.
“A lot of the role is
about sharing good practice
between schools. It’s also good
professional development for
us, as we’re given so much
responsibility,” adds Eloise.
For Melissa the best thing
about the job is getting out and
about and meeting new people.
“As a teacher you don’t often
hear about what other schools
are doing or get to see their good
practice. As a healthy schools
consultant I’ve met people I’d
never otherwise have met and
made lots of new contacts.”
When it was established in
2002 the Lancashire Healthy
Schools Programme had 12
quality standards; the 13th
– school nursing – was added this
year. Standards 9 to 12 are wholeschool
‘themes’, the others are
‘topics’. To get Lancashire Healthy
Schools status schools must
achieve five quality standards
– three topics and two themes,
including ethos.
Lancashire schools are
awarded flagship status once
they have achieved the 12
original standards. The county
currently has five flagship schools.
“Schools can work towards
two quality standards each
term, and they can tackle them
in any order,” Eloise explains.
“Healthy eating and physical
activity are the most popular.”
More
overleaf...
Woodlea primary school engaged Leaping Lizzy to lead
‘physikids’ aerobics sessions for pupils. Lizzie has helped
the school to develop a ‘wake up and shake up’ programme
and introduce physical activity before each lesson.
Fulwood high school and arts college held a safety day
for all Year 7 pupils, with sessions on first aid,
environmental health, road safety, sun safety and more, all
delivered by outside agencies. Pupils had a go at
bandaging and putting people in the recovery position,
perfected their hand-washing technique, planned safe
routes to school, and took part in a safety quiz. Form
tutors accompanied their form groups throughout the day
to make sure the work was followed up in PSHE time.
The school also runs a lunchtime breakdancing club
for Year 7 and 8 boys, led by a teacher from the Ludus
Dance Company.
Astley park special school held a whole school
physical activity week to make pupils more aware of the
importance of exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. Pupils
tried activities including dance, cycling, swimming, tennis,
bowls and a climbing wall, and there were visits to a leisure
centre and local parks. The week concluded with the
whole school (including some parents, siblings, governors
and welfare staff) walking a mile for Sport Relief.
Halsall St Cuthbert’s CE primary school has built a
wooden obstacle course with monkey bars, wobbly
bridges, tyre swings and balancing beams, all funded by
parent donations, and the school’s PTFA, kids’ club and
nursery. Teachers use the activity area to support their
curriculum planning for several subjects – and have
noticed that children play more sociably and co-operatively
when using it.
Our Lady Queen of Peace catholic high school tackled
the subject of binge drinking with help from the Ashurst
Health Centre’s school nursing team. The topic was
addressed in daily assemblies and pupils took part in
games called ‘guess the units’ and ‘beer goggles’ during
lunchtime workshops in the school canteen.
Clayton Brook primary school has established a
peer massage programme with support from massage
expert Naomi Dickinson. The aim is for every child to
experience positive touch every day.
Woodplumpton St Anne’s CE primary school decided
that to become a more healthy school overall, staff
needed to get active too! They began with a badminton
evening, and have since done a country walk, country
dancing, a dance Inset and tried out the school’s new
athletics equipment together.
September-October 07 / The Teacher
13

Healthy Schools submissions as evidence
The support that the Lancashire Healthy Other activities suggested in the workbook
14 The Teacher / September-October 07 Schools Partnership offers schools includes: include ‘cook and taste’ session for parents, in their SEFs [self-evaluation forms]. And
n policy development days, for example involving pupils in a step challenge using when Ofsted come, they’re telling the
on sex and relationships education pedometers, creating a school recipe book, inspectors about how they’ve achieved
and running family ‘I-spy’ walks.”
Healthy Schools status.”
n a dedicated LHSP website offering
guidance, resources and over 600 case
studies demonstrating good practice
One of Melissa’s favourite projects
was the primary school that used the
The teacher consultants are proud of
their achievements too. “I’m delighted that
Healthy Schools standards as a basis for we’ve been able to work with so many
n an annual good practice conference
revamping its toilets. “Staff found that schools,” says Melissa. “I’m also proud of
n Inset training
the children didn’t like the toilets and the way we’ve all grown in confidence. At
n celebration events, where plaques are
awarded to schools that have met their
Healthy Schools targets
were avoiding using them, so they asked
pupils for ideas on giving the loos a makeover.
The girls chose a pink ‘handbag and
the beginning it seemed like a really big
deal to be phoning headteachers to talk
about Healthy Schools. Now I think ‘what
n conferences for pupils – a recent one
lipstick’ theme with feather boa-framed was all the fuss about’!”
for high school students focused on sex
mirrors and resin toilet seats full of glitter
“The skills I have gained during
and relationships education
and seashells. The boys picked a sports
my secondment have assisted me in
theme, complete with a basketball hoop,
n the Food Partnership Training
developing my career,” reveals Eloise, who
tennis rackets on the wall and footballshaped
lights. The children absolutely love
Programme, a free two-day course for
will be moving into a management post
primary teachers, or one day for teaching
this September. Meanwhile Melissa will be
them – it’s made a huge difference.”
assistants provided in local secondary
taking her new skills and confidence back
schools by specially trained food
to her exisiting post, as Year 4 teacher at
technology teachers. It gives the primary “I want to use the Lancashire Seven Stars primary school in Leyland.
staff activity ideas and simple, nutritious Healthy Schools Programme “When I go back I want to use the
recipes that they can try with their pupils.
as a school improvement
Lancashire Healthy Schools Programme as
n Chairman’s Challenge, an annual
a school improvement tool. I’m confident
county-wide competition that tool. I’m confident I can make I can make a real difference,” she says.
empowers schoolchildren to make a
difference to their own health and
a real difference.”
“I’d like to help the school get Lancashire
Healthy School status and ultimately
wellbeing [see panel below].
flagship status.”
Another favourite is the special school for
n development groups focusing, for
children with severe learning difficulties that Thanks to the hard work of the teacher
example, on emotional health and
started a ‘fit and funky’ club. “Pupils’ weight consultants, and their partnerships with
wellbeing or tackling childhood obesity.
was monitored and they were offered more nutritionists, sports development officers,
Melissa was involved in the development fruit choices for pudding. They also had healthcare workers and others, Lancashire
group on childhood obesity and helped lessons in how to do their hair and make-up, has already exceeded its Healthy Schools
to develop a workbook of activities that which was great for their self-esteem,” says targets and contributed to the national
children can do in school or at home with Melissa. [For more case studies see page 13.] programme’s success. “It’s been a fantastic
their parents. “My contribution was a fivea-day
fruit and veg chart, with stickers to
valued and supported by my employers. I
team to work with, and I have never felt so
“The schools are very proud of what
they’re achieving,” she continues. “Lots
reward children for trying new things.
will be very sad to leave,” says Melissa.
of them are highlighting their Lancashire
Chairman’s Challenge
Chairman’s Challenge is an annual
Lancashire-wide competition that
encourages schoolchildren to take
responsibility for their own health
and safety. Participants must develop
and implement changes in their
schools that will improve pupils’
long-term health and wellbeing. The
theme each year alternates between
‘stay safe’ and ‘be healthy’ – two of
The competition is sponsored by
the chair of Lancashire County
Council, who is one of the judges.
The 2007 gold award winners
included Southlands high school in
Chorley, where pupils worked with
the charity Drugline to produce a
drug education booklet for use in
Year 9 PSHE lessons. Another winner
was Crow Orchard primary school
the government’s Every Child (pictured right), which has
Matters outcomes. Every school that introduced ten-minute tai chi Resources
enters is given £50 to develop their sessions and bought children’s tai chi
project. The winners of the gold books and DVDs to improve pupils’
Visit the national Healthy Schools
award in the primary, secondary and flexibility, muscle tone, balance,
website at www.healthyschools.gov.
special schools categories each concentration and relaxation.
uk and the Lancashire Healthy
receive £1,000, with runners up Winner of the special schools gold
Schools Partnership website at
getting £250.
award was Pear Tree school, where
www.lhsp.org.uk. Both are packed
pupils set up a healthy tuck shop as
with healthy schools news, activity
part of a mini-enterprise project.
ideas and good practice case studies.

Vote ‘yes’
for the NUT’s
political fund
NUT POLITICAL FUND
Early in 2008 the NUT will call on its members to support the
establishment of a political fund. Here general secretary,
Steve Sinnott, explains the value of having a fund and why
he will be urging members to vote ‘yes’ in the ballot.
Teachers are aware of the damage to children’s lives that
can be caused by those who preach hatred, racism or
fascism. There should never be a place for such views in
our classrooms or, for that matter, in the wider community.
This ballot is not about the union
affiliating to any political party or
wanting to support at elections any
party or candidate.
Last year when the BNP put up candidates for the borough
council in many of the wards in Barking and Dagenham, the NUT
was faced with a serous dilemma. The absence of a political fund
meant that the union was unable to speak out as clearly as was
needed against the BNP and its candidates. Other unions were
able to campaign specifically against the racist policies of the BNP.
Their members had previously voted in democratic ballots to have
a political fund.
It was against this backdrop that we had a good debate at the
NUT conference over Easter about balloting members on setting
up our own political fund. The view of conference, which I
wholeheartedly endorse, was that having a political fund would
allow the union to campaign more effectively at election times
against political parties and their candidates who promote racist
and fascist views.
Our union wouldn’t support the setting up of a political fund
if this would in any way jeopardise the NUT’s independence of all
political parties. Our independence is jealously guarded. It allows
us to speak uncompromisingly for teachers and is the cornerstone
of all the union’s work. You can rest assured, therefore, that this
ballot is not about the union affiliating to any political party or
wanting to support at elections any party or candidate.
It is about putting the NUT in a position at election times to say
clearly and unequivocally: ‘Don’t vote fascist or racist, don’t vote
BNP.’ Without a political fund we are not currently able to make
such a statement by law. If the union did we would be at risk of
facing a legal challenge for being unlawfully ‘political’ in nature.
The guiding tenet of the union throughout its proud 137 year
history has been the championing of equality and long may that
continue. I want the NUT’s equalities work to develop and
flourish and not to be constrained by law. You will have the
opportunity to vote for a political fund that will give the NUT a
clearer and louder campaigning voice to denounce those like the
BNP that preach inequality and seek to divide us.
You will have the opportunity to vote for a
political fund that will give the NUT a
clearer and louder campaigning voice to
denounce those like the BNP that preach
inequality and seek to divide us.
If the NUT does set up a political fund, you will then have the
opportunity to opt out of contributing to it. But before you make
that decision, I urge you to vote ‘yes’ when your ballot paper
arrives in January.
Steve Sinnott
NUT general secretary
For more information on the political fund campaign
please check out the NUT website: www.teachers.org.uk
September-October 07 / The Teacher
19

SECOND YEAR TEACHERS
No longer
an NQT?
A recent survey reveals that many teachers would like more support and guidance
in their first three years after qualifying. Janey Hulme spoke to four NUT
members who have just completed their second year in the classroom, to find out
about their experiences and the support they have received from the union.
A
survey of newly qualified teachers and those in the second
and third year of their careers was conducted recently by
ICM Research for the Training and Development Agency for
Schools. Respondents highlighted a number of areas where they
would have liked additional support and guidance, including
classroom management and behaviour issues, assessment and
monitoring, more school placements and planning lessons.
We asked four NUT members just finishing their second
year whether, with hindsight, there was anything they would
have done differently and what advice they would give to other
second year teachers. We also asked them who they turned
to for advice and support.
Stephen Hafford
teaches business studies
at Birkenhead sixth form college
on the Wirral
Kathy Newey teaches English to Key Stage 3
and 4 pupils at Holloway school in Islington
Kathy’s advice is to be pro-active and forceful early on
in your second year – as long as you feel comfortable
doing this. “By pushing forward my ideas I’ve now got a
promotion and have instigated some real changes in the
faculty,” she explains.
Kathy emphasises the importance of careful planning.
“It might not seem like much, but that extra 10 per cent
teaching time does make a difference. Be prepared by
being organised. Work out what extras you are willing to
do and be prepared to say ‘No’ if you don’t have the time.”
Kathy found NUT courses at Stoke Rochford useful
during her PGCE and NQT years and intends to attend
more in the future. “I would highly recommend them to
anyone interested in developing their career,” she says.
20
Stephen wishes he’d done some things differently in his
second year. “Outside activities affected my performance
at times, such as when I embarked on an MSc in inclusion and
SEN,” he explains. “In hindsight, I would have done this in my
third year of teaching, because although it aided my teaching
practice I should have been concentrating my energies on honing my
classroom skills further.”
His advice to those entering their second year of teaching is to
concentrate on developing class management skills. “Observe colleagues in
various departments regularly through informal peer observation. Liaise with
your head of department to establish what is expected in the coming year.
“Try and set boundaries to the amount of work you take home and keep it to
a minimum. Keep your planner up to date and adjust it throughout the year to
ensure you are not putting yourself under unnecessary pressure.”
Stephen went on an NUT new teachers’ course, which he says offered “a fantastic
insight into issues including workload, work-life balance, dealing with stress and
strategies for class management.” He also attended the union’s young teachers’
conference and workshops, which he believes have enhanced his teaching.
Stephen is now actively involved in the NUT. “I contacted the union’s National
Executive, regional office and my local divisional secretary on a range of issues related
to stress and other young teacher matters. This resulted in an invitation to attend a local
committee meeting and I eventually became deputy division secretary.”
The Teacher / September-October 07
“That extra 10 per cent teaching
time does make a difference.”
Kathy Newey

Sarah Kennedy (below) has been teaching mixed Year
3/4 classes at Richard Wakefield CE primary school in
Tutbury, Staffordshire
Working with a “great team”, Sarah says of her second year:
“I can’t express how much I’ve enjoyed it. Luckily I kept to the
same year group that I taught for my GTP year and NQT year
and I truly believe that this stability has helped me to become
a better teacher.”
Sarah stresses the importance of keeping a balance
between life and work. She also advises: “If you have a choice
of year group for your second year of teaching, stick with the
same one. Also, try to be organised – this is the one thing that
has most helped me to improve my teaching.”
Sarah urges other teachers not be afraid of asking for help.
“You may not be an NQT any more but you are still relatively
new to the job. Asking for help makes you a stronger person
and a better teacher – it’s what you would expect your pupils
to do if they were stuck.”
She appreciates the support she’s had from the union early
in her career. “The residential course at Stoke Rochford was an
absolute must – I would strongly recommend it to everyone,”
she enthuses. “The Teacher magazine is also a big help, and
knowing there’s someone from the NUT at the other end of
the phone if I need it is a great comfort.”
AD
“The union was there for me and
my colleagues when the new TLR
structure was being consulted on.”
Natalie Tyndale
Natalie Tyndale (left) is reception year team leader at
Sudbury primary school in Wembley
Natalie has thoroughly enjoyed her second year and says the only
thing she might have done differently was to pay more attention
to weekly plans. She advises colleagues starting their second year
to: “try and get some experience in co-ordinating a subject or
year group. You could do this by shadowing or stepping in for a
post-holder who is off sick or on maternity leave. I did this and am
now a year leader.”
Natalie found the union’s support invaluable when she had
to take three months off work for health reasons. ”I was able to
call the NUT and ask questions about pay, etc. They were very
informative and friendly. The union was also there for me and
my colleagues when the new TLR structure was being consulted
on, and when we were unsure about our school changing to
foundation status.”
21

Ask the
union
NUT experts answer your questions
on legal, professional, and health
and safety matters.
QI have just qualified and
will be starting my first
teaching job in
September. Are there
any documents that the school
is legally required to give me
when I start teaching?
AYour employer must provide
you with ‘written particulars’
of your employment within
two months of your starting
work. The particulars must contain
certain essential information
including (but not limited to) the
date when employment began,
salary, notice periods in respect of
termination and details of any
disciplinary rules or procedures that are
applicable to you. The particulars may
be presented to you in the form of a
statement, a contract of employment,
a letter of engagement or all three.
Teachers engaged to work in local
authority maintained schools are usually
issued with a letter of engagement and a
statement of particulars, which will make
reference to the following documents.
1. The School Teachers’ Pay and
Conditions Document (STPCD)
2. The Conditions of Service for
School Teachers in England and
Wales, (also known as the Burgundy
Book) which is a national collective
agreement covering conditions of
service agreed, and from time to time
updated, between the teaching
unions and local authorities with
education responsibilities
Peter Arkell
Are there any
documents that
the school is
legally required
to give me when
I start teaching?
3. Any locally negotiated
agreements and policies enhancing
Burgundy Book conditions.
Teachers in faith-based voluntary
aided schools are likely to be sent a
more formal document to be signed.
This will normally incorporate the
Burgundy Book provisions but there
will be some added provisions
reflecting the religious character of
the school.
The union seeks to ensure that
teachers in academies also have the
benefit of the Burgundy Book
provisions and the benefit of the
protections in the STPCD.
All these documents together
form the basis of your contract of
employment. Drawing your attention
to them and giving details of where
they can be examined, normally
satisfies the statutory requirements.
You should expect to have access to
these documents at your school.
Although you do not have to be
given copies, you should also seek
access to school policy documents
such as those relating to pupil
behaviour and discipline and child
protection, which you will be
obliged to follow.
QAfter being contacted
by a headteacher and
offered supply work
last term, I arrived at
the school to be told that they
didn’t need me any more. I
had turned down other work
in the meantime, paid for
childcare and had to spend
money on travelling. Is there
anything I can do?
A
Although many people think
a contract has to be a
written document, signed by
the parties, that is not
correct. A contract can be concluded
verbally, and the same goes for an
employment contract. It really
depends upon the intention of the
parties: did they intend to create a
binding agreement which they
expected to see carried out?
22
The Teacher / September-October 07

In your case, it depends on
whether this was intended by both
you and the headteacher to be a
binding agreement. You obviously
thought so, but did it seem at the
time that the headteacher was
offering you specific work, or just
asking if you might be available?
If the headteacher did make an
offer of work, which you accepted,
there would be an expectation that
you should be able either to carry out
that work and be paid for it, or
receive compensation.
Breach of contract compensation
is limited to your financial losses. In
this instance you have lost pay for the
period that you were asked to work
for, as well as your other incidental
expenses. You do have to try to
minimise your losses, so you will have
to give credit for any earnings you
received from other supply work if
you managed to get any.
Q
I’ve heard that cases
of tuberculosis are on
the increase. Why is
this happening and
what should schools do if
there is an outbreak?
A
It is indeed the case that
tuberculosis (TB), a disease
associated with the past, is
creeping back.
Before the first world war there
were more than 100,000 infections
per year. By 1987, cases were at an
all-time low of just over 5,000. That
figure is now rising with more than
7,000 cases in 2005. Six schools and
one college in England and Wales
suffered outbreaks of TB in the first
half of 2007.
One factor in the rise may be the
government’s vaccination policy. Two
years ago the government’s Joint
Committee on Vaccination and
Immunisation recommended an end
to universal immunisation. Only
babies in high risk areas, including
much of London, Birmingham and
Leicester, are now immunised. Forty
per cent of all cases occur in London.
Immigrants from parts of the world
where TB is still common, such as
Pakistan, Bangladesh and large parts
of Africa, are screened on arrival.
Although TB is not particularly
prevalent in schools, as with any
infection, close contact between
pupils and teachers may cause it to
istockphoto/Mikhail Tolstoy
spread. It is rare for children with TB
to be infectious. Children tend to
contract TB from adults, usually
someone in the same household.
TB is difficult to diagnose as
symptoms can vary. Common
symptoms, however, include:
persistent coughing, weight loss,
fatigue, night sweating and chest
pain when breathing in.
TB is controlled in Britain through
a number of measures including
prompt treatment of identified cases,
examination of contacts of cases and
screening for those at high risk.
As with other cases of suspected
infectious diseases, where it is
suspected that students or school
staff are suffering symptoms of TB,
headteachers should make
arrangements in accordance with any
local authority guidelines to ensure
that the individual is examined by a
health professional.
Only babies in
high risk areas
are now
immunised
against TB.
Where any case of TB is
diagnosed affecting a school student
or teacher, the law requires that the
local health trust’s consultant in
communicable disease control
(CCDC) must be notified. Advice and
assistance should then be provided
to school staff and parents by the
CCDC. Headteachers will be given
advice on whether there is a need to
close the school temporarily. Usually
this is not necessary.
Action by the health trust is likely
to include contact tracing within the
school concerned and screening of
students and staff to identify anyone
else who is suffering from TB or who
has been infected without showing
evidence of contracting the disease.
Close contacts are at greatest risk of
contracting the disease. School staff
should in all cases discuss the
situation with their family doctors
who may advise them to make
appointments with their local chest
clinics to arrange skin tests and/or
chest x-rays.
Infectious individuals will cease to
be infectious approximately two
weeks after commencing medical
treatment. Provided they are taking
medication as prescribed and are
known to be responding to
treatment (indicated by obtaining
“smear negative” sputum), they are
likely to be allowed to resume
contact with other students or
school staff at that point.
Any instances of school staff
contracting TB at work must also be
reported by the employer to the
Health and Safety Executive under
the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases
and Dangerous Occurrences
Regulations (RIDDOR).
CORRECTION
In the question relating to trust school
status in the last ‘Ask the union’ (July/
August 2007), the answer implied
that a teacher’s sick leave
entitlements were based on
continuous service. This is not the
case – entitlements to sick pay and
leave under the Burgundy Book sick
pay scheme are based on aggregate
service. Even if a teacher moves to
work at a trust school that has
disapplied the Burgundy Book, they
do not lose their accumulated service
for the purposes of sick pay/leave in
the event that they move back to a
community school.
Full details of the sick pay
scheme are available on the NUT
website at www.teachers.org.uk.
Send your questions for the NUT’s
experts on legal, professional, and
health and safety matters to Ask The
Union, The Teacher, NUT, Hamilton
House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H
9BD or email teacher@nut.org.uk.
Please note that questions relating to
personal problems or specific workplace
situations should be directed to your
school NUT rep or NUT regional office –
see page 47 for contact details.
September-October 07 / The Teacher
ASK THE UNION
23

*
Talking ’bout
generation
Janey Hulme reports from this year’s
NUT National Education Conference.
Talking About My Generation was
the theme for this summer’s
National Education Conference at
Stoke Rochford from 30 June to 1 July.
Consider, however, the opening lines
of The Who’s 1965 hit: “People try to put
us down – just because we get around”.
The current generation of children
doesn’t seem to get around much at all,
in many instances not much further than
the garden gate.
Writer and education consultant Sue
Palmer, author of Toxic Childhood,
argued that today’s children were
denied healthy mental and physical
development. “Children’s growth
cannot happen at electric speed – it is a
long slow haul for 12 years. Childhood
is not a race. Children need time to play,
time to grow up.”
Her research found that children
don’t listen like they used to, have a
limited repertoire of nursery rhymes, are
distracted more easily, are more
impulsive, don’t get along with others
as they used to, and get less sleep. Their
freedom is “highly supervised and
highly structured”.
“Behavioural problems have doubled
over the last 30 years and emotional
problems have increased by 70 per cent.
Children’s developmental needs have
been completely swept away,” she said.
Professor Richard Pring of the Nuffield
review of 14 to 19 education and training
for England and Wales (an independent
six-year review, now in its fourth year)
said the team had become bewitched by
the misuse of language: phrases such as
‘setting your targets’, ‘input versus
output’, ‘performance indicators and
audit’ and ‘efficiency gains’.
“What we are seeing is a whole
language of education which is
management-speak. If you believe
education is about helping young
people to develop, if you see education
as essentially a sort of moral enterprise,
then what’s interesting is a total
my
absence of any moral vocabulary, any
analysis or concern about how to
develop the whole child.
“The result of that language is that
teachers no longer have to teach but
have to deliver the curriculum. Teachers
have had very little involvement in the
development of the diplomas. Why?
Because they deliver the curriculum. The
curriculum is created elsewhere. Attend
to the language,” he warned.
Malgorzata Kuczera, junior analyst at
the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD),
spoke about the OECD’s comparative
report No More Failures – ten steps to
equity in education. “School choice may
pose risks to equity since better-off
parents have the resources to exploit
choice, and academic selection tends to
accelerate the progress of those who
have already gained the best start in life
from their parents,” said Malgorzata.
There was also evidence that early
tracking and streaming threaten equity.
Professor Robin Alexander of Leeds
university is director of the Primary
Review, the first major investigation into
primary education since the Plowden
report (1963-67), which will be published
in autumn 2008.
The team has consulted widely with
children, teachers, teaching assistants,
governors, heads, community leaders,
local authorities, churches, mosques,
school councils, and faith schools in nine
regions of England. It found that
although children seemed quite happy,
adults had “a profound and pervasive
sense of pessimism about the country
that children are growing up in.”
Dame Mavis Grant rounded off the
weekend with a witty account of the
teamwork involved in turning around a
failing school, Canning Street primary in
Newcastle. The school was judged by
Ofsted the following year as “a good
school with outstanding features –
outstanding at all levels.”
From top:
Sue Palmer,
Robin
Alexander,
Mavis Grant,
Malgorzata
Kuczera,
Richard
Pring.
NATIONAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE FOLIO
September-October 07 / The Teacher
25

NUT SERVICES
NUT services
and support
The NUT has teamed up with a range of companies to offer members high quality
products and services specially tailored to teachers’ needs. Whether you’re buying
a home or a car, renewing your insurance, looking for financial services, seeking
legal support or simply going shopping, contact the NUT partners listed on these
pages to be sure of expert advice and a great deal.
Could you be driving
a better car than you ever
thought possible? With help from
Freeway and the NUT you can choose from
virtually any make and model of new car today!
Freewaycars is a Bank of Scotland group company
which offers colleagues a vehicle finance solution. Freeway
can offer a complete sourcing and finance package which
makes buying your new car even easier.
For more information call today on 0845 603 4145 and
quote your employee code: NUT11.
Teachers are
generally less likely to make
insurance claims than those in many
other jobs. That’s why you deserve a good deal
on car and home insurance – and why Norwich
Union created ‘Just for Teachers’ insurance – tailored cover
that suits the day-to-day lifestyle of teachers.
Please see page 7 for our current special offer for teachers or visit
the special offers page on the NUT website www.teachers.org.uk for
terms and conditions.
For a ‘Just for Teachers’ car or home insurance quote, call 0800 010199
quoting ref: MAGSPA. Lines are open 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Sat.
Freewaycars is a trading style of Freeway Limited. Finance is
provided, subject to status, by Freeway Limited,
Bridge House, Handbridge, Chester, CH88
3AN. Applicants must be 18+ and
UK resident.
as part of your motor insurance or
new car deal then it may be wise to check
what your cover includes. Britannia Rescue include
features in their cover levels that others may not, such as:
• recovery to a UK destination of your choice
• help with wheel changes
• help if you lock your keys in the car, or even if you run out of fuel!
They also give NUT members and their families a 15 per cent discount! So why
not jump start into the new school term with Britannia Rescue? For more
information and a personal quotation call 0800 591 563 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat
8am-6pm, Sun 9am-5pm) or visit www.britanniarescue.com/go/NUT and save a
further £5 if you join online.
Britannia Rescue is a trade mark and trading style of the Liverpool Victoria group of companies.
LV Insurance Services Limited (LVIS), registered in England No. 5264781, is authorised and
regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), entered on the FSA Register No.
315125. Liverpool Victoria Insurance Company Limited (LVIC), registered in England
No. 3232514, is authorised and regulated by the FSA, entered on the FSA
Register No. 202965. All information correct at the time of printing. Your
phone call may be recorded or monitored. Registered address:
County Gates, Bournemouth BH1 2NF.
26 The Teacher If you have road rescue
Insurance underwritten by Norwich Union Insurance Limited.
Registered in England No. 99122. Registered Office:
8 Surrey Street, Norwich NR1 3NG. Authorised
and regulated by the Financial
Services Authority.
The union has its own
credit card, the NUT Platinum
MasterCard, provided by the Bank o
Scotland in association with the TUC. Th
card guarantees you attractive rates and gr
For details of current interest rates and intro
• visit the NUT website – www.teachers.org.uk
‘union services’
• go to www.unioncard.co.uk
• call 0800 032 2036
Credit facilities are available subject to status to UK residents ag
of Scotland Card Services, Pitreavie Business Park, Dunfermline

Teachers Building Society
provides a range of mortgage and
investment products to meet the needs of NUT
members. For example, its mortgage service includes:
• 100 per cent first time buyer plans • Guarantor scheme
• Shared ownership plans • Buy-to-let plans
• Home mover and remortgage plans
All our mortgage customers have a choice of a variable or fixed
rate with each application individually assessed. And for teachers who
simply want attractive investment returns, we offer:
• Mini Cash ISA • Easy access Call Save account • Notice accounts
For details, call us on 0800 378669 or visit www.teachersbs.co.uk.
Your NUT membership
card is also a Countdown card. This
enables you to make valuable savings on
shopping, dining, leisure pursuits, motoring,
travel and accommodation – everything from holiday
cottages to supermarkets to DIY to cycles to computers.
Details of the benefits appear in the national and local Savings
Books, or visit www.countdowncard.com, which you can enter via
the NUT’s website – www.teachers.org.uk. While you are there, why
not register for the monthly email newsletter?
Countdown includes high street stores and local outlets. Most members
will be able to save an amount in excess of their annual NUT membership
fee. There is even a money back guarantee on offers, so there is no risk
of being disappointed. Call us on 08701 600698.
f
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ductory offers:
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The only building society
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Great Service,
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If you undertake
any private teaching work
you could be personally liable if you
were held responsible for an accident or
breach of professional duty. The NUT has
teamed up with the Alan Boswell Group to
offer a Public Liability and Professional
Indemnity policy with premiums starting from
£50 per year. For more information call 0845
618 0258 or visit www.alanboswell.com/nut.
Additional to the NUT’s own legal service is
NUT Legal Plus with Thompsons Solicitors,
providing legal cover for members and their families for
accidents or illness not related to work or union activity.
Thompsons has thousands of testimonials from members of
many unions delighted with Thompsons’ service and their
settlements. With a no win, no fee service, not one of them had to
pay Thompsons anything and they all got 100 per cent of the award
achieved. Thompsons also offers reduced rates for wills and
conveyancing for NUT members.
NUT Legal and NUT Legal Plus with Thompsons – common values
and partners in providing quality legal services to NUT members.
For more information about NUT Legal Plus call 0800 169 6660.
Start saving today!
Teachers is a
mutual friendly society
offering financial services to members
of the teaching profession and their families. We
are the strongest UK With-Profits Life Office (Money
Management August 2007) and the only provider of
financial services endorsed by the NUT. We are in an excellent
position to help teachers make plans for:
Savings – including an Ethical Fund and our new Guaranteed
Savings Plan
Home insurance – as a member of the NUT you will benefit from a
12 per cent discount every year
Retirement planning – we are experts in the Teachers Pension
Scheme and, whatever your age, we can help you ensure that
you will enjoy a comfortable retirement
Life insurance – for peace of mind about your and your family’s future.
Visit www.teachers-group.co.uk or call us on 0800 056 0563.
Don’t forget that
your NUT membership
subscription entitles you to:
• legal advice and assistance on
professional matters
• personal accident insurance
• insurance for personal property on school
premises
• hospitalisation benefit for occupational
accidents
• insurance against malicious damage to
your vehicle on school premises.
To find out more call 020 7388 6191
or consult the NUT diary.

The NUT is urging schools to
support No More Landmines
Day on 1 November. Here
Rebecca Maynard of
No More Landmines explains
the deadly legacy of cluster
No more
bombs and how teachers and
landmines
pupils can help to clear them.
30
Focus on
cluster bombs
Unlike landmines, there is no legislation
controlling the use of cluster bombs. Yet
of the estimated 100,000 people killed or
maimed by cluster bombs each year, 98 per
cent are innocent civilians.
This year No More Landmines Day is
focusing on cluster bombs. The day gives you
the opportunity to teach students about both
landmines and cluster bombs, their impact
on civilian societies and how they affect the
lives of children around the world.
What is a cluster bomb?
Cluster bombs are weapons that contain
hundreds of smaller bombs (also known as
submunitions or cluster bomblets). The
cluster bombs are fired, launched or dropped
by aircraft or land-based artillery. The bombs
open and disperse submunitions over a large
area. These are designed to explode when
they hit their target. Most of these
submunitions include hundreds of sharp
metal fragments and an explosive charge,
which together are deadly to people and
destroy armoured vehicles. The
submunitions are unguided and can
cover one square kilometre with deadly
explosions and shrapnel.
Cluster bombs pose a problem for civilians
during attacks because they cover such a
wide area. When used in or near populated
areas they don’t discriminate between
military targets and civilians.
This is not the only problem cluster
bombs pose. Because of the large number
of submunitions in each weapon, combined
with the high number of submunitions that
fail to explode as intended, areas
bombarded with cluster bombs become
contaminated and cluster bomblets become
de facto landmines. These unexploded
submunitions can explode when children
pick them up and play with them. The
presence of such unexploded submunitions
puts lives and livelihoods at risk for a long
time after a conflict.
The Teacher / September-October 07
Vietnam – where the curriculum
has to include cluster bombs
Children in Quang Binh Province,
Vietnam, have lessons in the usual
range of subjects – reading, writing,
maths, and so on. An additional
compulsory lesson is one about the
dangers of unexploded weapons.
Despite the fact that these children
were born many years after the Vietnam
War ended in 1975, their lives are under
daily threat from unexploded weapons –
particularly cluster bomblets – which
remain in their gardens, play areas and
routes to school.
As people’s lives slowly returned to
normal after the war, houses were
rebuilt, communities restored and
schools constructed. But there was no
resource to help villagers remove the
unexploded weapons that had been left
on their land over the previous 15 years.
So they stayed, buried or hidden away.
As the war fades further into history so
does knowledge of the dangers left
behind in the ground. Many cluster
bomblets look as harmless as a cricket
ball, so it is essential that children are
educated about the dangers of these
unexploded weapons until their village is
cleared by deminers and declared safe.
Children are taught what these weapons
look like and the level of damage they
could inflict in the hope that if they find
one, they will know what to do.
In 2005 in Vietnam, there were at
least 112 new landmine/unexploded
ordnance casualties. Thirty-five people
were killed, including eight children, and
77 were injured, nearly half of them
children. Many more injuries and deaths
go unreported in remote areas.
Thousands more children and their
families still struggle to make a living,
feed themselves
and access
education due to
the constant
threat of
unexploded
weapons. You can
help by adding
cluster bombs to
your curriculum
this No More
Landmines Day,
Thursday 1
November.

A free resource pack,
including lesson plans,
teachers’ notes, children’s
stories, fact sheets, case
studies, an advocacy
opportunity and
fundraising ideas, is
available from No More
Landmines. The pack
enables teachers to help
their students learn not
only about the terrible
legacy of war, but also how
to take action to save lives.
To pre-order your free
pack email: info@
landmines.org.uk, visit
www.landmines.org.uk,
call 020 7471 5580, or write
to No More Landmines,
4th Floor, Charles House,
375 Kensington High
Street, London W4 3AL.
No More Landmines is a
registered charity, no 1110770.
Change can make a change!
Shrapnel is the term used to describe the metal fragments
and debris thrown out by any exploding object, including
cluster bombs and landmines. It is also used commonly to
refer to small change. A shrapnel race is a great idea for
fundraising – it collects one to clear the other!
Split into two or more teams – maybe teachers against
pupils, year groups, or class versus class. Then decide on
the prize and the punishment, for example:
l the losing team to serve lunch to the winning team for
a week
l students to be out of uniform while teachers wear
them for a day
Once you have decided who is against whom and
what is at stake, challenge the teams to bring in as many
1, 2 and 5 pence pieces as they can, collecting from
family and friends, emptying piggy banks and checking
coat pockets. At the end of two weeks line up all the
coins and declare the winner. Then donate all the money
to No More Landmines.
One hundred per cent of the funds sent to No More
Landmines will be used to clear landmines and help
landmine survivors, and we will let your school know
exactly where the money has been spent. It only costs £1
to clear a square metre of mine-affected land, so every
penny will be helping to save lives and limbs.
Look
out for the
letter about the
No More Landmines
campaign from NUT
general secretary Steve
Sinnott inside this
issue of The
Teacher.
NO MORE LANDMINES
September-October 07 / The Teacher
31

TEACHNOLOGY
teachnology
Students without access to computers at home are increasingly
disadvantaged. Ann Logan explains how schools can help.
Bridging the digital divide
Around one in four school
childen do not have home
access to ICT, according to
Equity, the digitaldivide
campaign. High income families
are five times more likely to
own a home computer than
low income families.
And the more successful
schools become in using ICT
across the curriculum, the more
relatively disadvantaged those
without home access are.
To help address this, the
E-Learning Foundation helps
schools improve access to ICT
for their most deprived
students and families.
The foundation’s website has
a wealth of information. The
Schools section explains how to
set up a sustainable e-learning
Personalised learning is an
idea teachers are expected to
develop as part of their practice.
But what tools are available to
help? Where do you find
examples of innovative practice?
These questions are the
focus of a two-day conference,
Supporting Innovative
Approaches in Education,
organised by not-for-profit
Futurelab on 30-31 October.
There will be hands-on
workshops where you can
experiment with ideas such as
using social networking
technologies in the classroom.
Workshop leaders include staff
from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, who will
programme: start by getting
advice from foundation staff.
You can also browse the site
to find out how to maximise
your income, get the most from
tax relief and ensure that your
equipment stays safe – at school
and at home.
Working with parents is a
key part of any sustainable plan
and this site has details on how
to do this successfully.
In the past six years, the
foundation has helped over 200
schools in the UK give over
35,000 of their most deprived
students access to ICT. Many
more schools are due to launch
their programmes soon.
www.e-learningfoundation.com
© 2007, Linden Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Why don’t you…?
Conference discount for readers of The Teacher
host a workshop on authoring
tools via videoconference.
Keynote speakers include
Donald Clark, co-founder of
Epic Group plc, a provider of
e-learning solutions, who will
discuss new approaches to
developing tools for learning.
The event will be held at
Inmarsat, City Road, London.
To book, contact Karen
Thompson on 0117 9158205. If
you book before 24 September,
say that you read The Teacher
and you will get a 10 per cent
discount. The website has more
information on the event.
www.futurelab.org.uk/events
My ICT favourites
Polly Sargent has just completed
her NQT year, teaching Year 4
at Turnfurlong junior school in
Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
Favourite software
One piece of software we use a lot is
Google Earth (earth.google.com). The
children (and teachers actually!) are amazed
at the images and it is a great resource
when discussing journeys, maps, the
environment, and so on.
Favourite gadget
My colleagues and I really like Digital Blue
cameras (www.digitalblue.org.uk). They are
easy for the children to handle and use, and
they love recording their work with them.
Favourite websites
www.primaryresources.co.uk
A fantastic resource for primary teachers and
students. It includes interactive games,
Powerpoint slides to complement teaching,
worksheets, display materials and much more.
www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk
Another great source of interactive learning
activities and games which have been very
useful over the past year, especially for
teaching science.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools
Particularly helpful for interactive history
and science activities. Children love using
this website to explore life in the Roman
army, become a secret agent in WW2, or
carry out virtual science experiments, to
name but a few.
Which websites, software and gadgets help you
most in your professional life? Email your
favourites to teacher@nut.org.uk by Monday
1 October and if we publish them in the
November edition of The Teacher you’ll receive
a £10 shopping voucher courtesy of
Countdown – see page 44 for details.
32
The Teacher / September-October 07

TOLPUDDLE FESTIVAL
Teachers at
Tolpuddle
Photos: Carlos Guarita
36
The NUT had a
strong presence
at the annual
Tolpuddle Martyrs’
Festival in July,
with members
involved in many
of the weekend’s
highlights. Keith
Hatch reports.
“It dawned on me
that unions could
be a powerful
force for the
environment –
something I hadn’t
really considered
before.”
Sara Hill, teacher
The Teacher / September-October 07
This year’s Tolpuddle Festival was preceded
by a Green Camp for trade unionists
wishing to learn more about
environmental issues in the workplace.
The Green Camp course was accredited at
Level 2 by the Open College Network and
looked at ways to develop a trade union
approach to sustainable development, share
experiences of environmental issues, and
identify appropriate legislation, policies and
information. It also explored how to engage
others in environmental issues at work and
included workshops and off-site visits. By the
end of the course the students had developed
an environmental action plan.
Sara Hill, an NUT member from London,
says: “The camp was great, though hard work
at times. For me the first session was the most
important. It was when it dawned on me that
unions could be a powerful force for the
environment – something I hadn’t really
considered before.”
As the camp gave way to the festival,
teachers played a major part in making the
event a success. On Saturday dozens of people
in the newly introduced poetry corner sat
entranced as Dave Clinch, secretary of Devon
County Teachers’ Association performed
Shelley’s Mask of Anarchy, a poem written as a
direct response to the suppression of workers’
rights that resulted in the Peterloo massacre.
NUT South West regional secretary Andy
Woolley believes the festival gives the union a
valuable opportunity to spread its campaigning
messages. “We are always looking for
innovative ways to bring the union’s messages
to a wider audience. Our marquee and stall
have been a great success in recent years, as has
the increasing number of NUT banners in the
Sunday parade. A particular highlight this year
was our NUT kite bearing the message ‘A good
local school for every child’, commissioned to
have its first flight at Tolpuddle.”
“A constant theme in our involvement with
Tolpuddle is promotion of the millennium
development goals, particularly the provision of
education for all the world’s children by 2015.
We’ve also highlighted the problems which
expansion of the academies programme and
trust schools will bring, by distributing NUT
literature about the privatisation and
marketisation of education.”
“Tolpuddle is a great event and shows the
vibrancy of the trade union movement,” says
NUT deputy general secretary Christine Blower.
“As in previous years the NUT was very well
represented. Our stall and campaigning
materials were a real credit to the union. We
even managed to recruit a few new members.”
The highlight of the festival though had to be
children from Puddletown middle school who
worked with teacher Simon Douglas to turn the
Dorset village’s historic events into songs. Simon
explains: “A group of pupils spent a week
writing a series of short songs that told the story
of the Tolpuddle martyrs, then set them to
traditional music like the Cutty Wren. The pupils
really enjoyed singing on the stages and taking
part in the procession with our own banner.”
On the Friday before the festival, locallybased
folk hero Billy Bragg popped along to the
school to help pupils practise the songs. He
joined them and their teachers in their
performance on the festival’s marquee stage,
then invited them to join him and his band on
the main stage.
Andy Woolley says: “The way teachers at
Puddletown involve their pupils, some of whom
are descendants of one of the martyrs, has been
a wonderful feature of Tolpuddle over recent
years. The enthusiasm and accomplishment of
those taking part is inspiring.”
He adds: “The festival is not just a
remembrance of the martyrs but engages with
today’s issues through topical debates,
discussions and initiatives such as the Green
Camp, all in a setting where participants can
enjoy wonderful music, song and poetry. NUT
members should put next year’s dates of 18, 19
and 20 July in their diaries now.”
Find out more about the Tolpuddle martyrs’ story
and festival at www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk
and www.tuc.org.uk/tolpuddle.

Curriculum
innovation
In June, all Year 9 pupils at Filton high school
near Bristol took part in a cross-curricular
project on climate change. Paul Vernell, head
of English, spoke to Elyssa Campbell-Barr
about the project’s background and outcomes.
“
In early 2005, following the Asian tsunami, we
suspended the timetable for Years 7 to 9 and
ran a cross-curricular project looking at the
aftermath of the disaster. ‘Alternative Futures’ was
our attempt to build on the success of the tsunami
project, organising a two-week themed learning
project for our post-SATs Year 9 pupils.
Our Alternative Futures group had a core of 15
teachers. We started by thinking ‘if the curriculum
didn’t exist, what would we do?’ I trawled the
Futures in Action resources on the QCA website,
and we designed our own curriculum model.
Then we needed a theme. Our first idea was
slavery, to mark the anniversary of its abolition and
look at its links with Bristol, but some departments
thought it would be hard to come up with suitable
activities. Climate change suited all departments
and we knew it interested the students.
On the first day we showed the entire year
videos about the effects of climate change. Then
we gave them a starter activity sorting cards and
matching statements about climate change, which
got them working in groups and problem-solving.
In English and maths the children were put
into mixed ability groups of four: a researcher, a
task guardian, a time guardian and a
chairperson. We cut down the barriers between
subjects. For example in English the kids devised
a climate change questionnaire. They tried it out
on the public at Bristol Parkway station, then
analysed the results in maths.
English also teamed up with ICT to get the
children making leaflets and web pages. In music
lessons pupils wrote lyrics and recorded songs
about climate change. In design and technology
they learned how solar panels work, making their
own TV show to explain the process, and in PE
they measured their energy output while cycling.
On the first Wednesday of the project pupils
were offered a choice of events on and off-site.
One group did cookery at Bordeaux Quay, an
organic, carbon neutral restaurant. Others went to
the @Bristol science centre, the Wye Valley, and
the CREATE Centre to learn about sustainable
housing. We also sent groups to the Go Zero zerowaste
programme in Chew Magna, and to the
local authority’s youth summit on climate change.
In school we had the ‘Filton Bundle’ – a
carousel of two-hour activities. There was a drama
workshop, community artist Ruth Ramsay got the
children recycling rubbish into fashion, and staff
ran a workshop on images and photographs.
We gave the kids real context, people from
the outside, hands-on activities and a purpose
for their learning. One big success was our ‘ask
the experts’ event, with guests including climate
change campaigners, architects and environment
experts. And our gifted and talented coordinator,
Katherine Haigh, organised a great
Question Time evening attended by more than
100 parents, friends and press.
Some children at Filton are very disengaged,
but during the project we found them wanting to
stay late after school – for example to finish
recording their songs. Attention improved and
removals from Year 9 lessons reduced by
two-thirds during the fortnight.
At the end of the project we held a
celebration event and organised an exhibition
with VIP guests. Pupils could choose what they
exhibited, as long as each group showed
creative, analytical, practical and technological
outcomes. The atmosphere was electric. The kids
were really enthusiastic and proud of themselves.
My advice to other teachers interested in
tackling a similar project is to remember why you
came into teaching in the first place. Visit the
QCA website and look at the Futures in Action
ideas, then set up an action group in your school
and plan your project around a theme.
People come into teaching for a purpose, but
they get stymied by targets. Now the opportunity
has arisen to change things. The GTC and QCA
are saying that the kind of testing we’ve grown
used to isn’t what we should be doing.
We need more models of this kind of
project, and research evidence showing that it
works. I’d like the NUT to call on teachers to
hold a cross-curricular project next summer, to
get 100-plus schools working together, trying
to shift the agenda and offering examples of
what education should really be about.
“
QCA Futures in Action: www.qca.org.uk/qca_6169.aspx
Pictured: Top Students present
their work to VIP guests in an
exhibition held on the final day of
the project.
Middle Learning about greenhouse
gases.
Bottom Pupils make couscous
salad on their visit to the Bordeaux
Quay restaurant.
“It took us out of
our comfort zone,
which was quite
stressful at first,
but actually really
brilliant.”
Filton teacher
HOW WE DID IT
“By the end of the
fortnight they were
more independent,
but also working
collectively really
well.”
Filton teacher
September-October 07 / The Teacher
39

130 years of the
Teacher Support
Network
The Teacher Support Network has been providing
teachers with information, advice and financial
assistance since 1877. Elyssa Campbell-Barr
takes a look at its long history and latest services.
TEACHER SUPPORT NETWORK
In 1877 the NUT founded a charity called the
Benevolent and Orphan Fund. Its aim was to
‘encourage the spirit of self-help and thrift
against times of sickness or disaster’ and to
provide teachers and their families with ‘succour
and sustenance in times of sickness, adversity
and sorrow’. The organisation has had many
titles in its long history, including the Teachers’
Benevolent Fund.
130 years on, the charity is now the Teacher
Support Network. It is still based at the NUT’s
Hamilton House headquarters and still offers
financial assistance to teachers in times of
hardship – over £300,000 of grants and loans
have been distributed in the past year alone.
In addition, its 24/7 phone line now handles
20,000 calls a year, while its online InfoCentre,
set up in 2006, offers over 1,400 factsheets on
topics ranging from Asperger syndrome to
assertiveness, cyber-bullying to CV-writing.
Visitors to www.teachersupport.info download
around 10,000 of these each month, with the
most popular topics being CV-writing,
workload, time-management, bullying, and
dealing with difficult people.
“Our busiest times are around resignation
dates, when people are making big decisions
about their futures,” says chief executive Patrick
Nash. “We also take a lot of calls towards the
end of term when teachers are dealing with
reports, exams and coursework marking.”
The peak times for calls are weekdays before
9am and from 4pm to 10pm, but the charity
takes calls through the night, at weekends –
even on Christmas day. “These tend to be the
more critical calls, when teachers are quite
distressed,” explains Patrick. “Ideally people
should be contacting us before they get to this
stage, so we encourage teachers to call as soon
as they have any doubts or niggles at work.”
The Teacher Support Network’s call centre is
in Cardiff, and everyone who works there has to
sign a confidentiality agreement. Callers can
choose to remain anonymous, although the
charity does collect statistics relating to the calls
and information requests it receives. The figures
are shared with the NUT and other teaching
unions, government and media, keeping them
aware of the biggest issues affecting teachers.
Some callers are referred for counselling,
benefiting from up to six telephone sessions
with a qualified counsellor. Some speak to
money advisers and may receive an application
form for a grant or loan. Many sign up for
Teacher Support Online, a free coaching
service, through which they exchange
confidential emails with a professional coach
on issues such as effective communication or
managing workload.
Around 80 per cent of the Teacher Support
Network’s funding comes from individual
donations made by teachers. Much of the rest
is contributed by NUT divisons and
associations. “We really rely on the generosity
of teachers – and fortunately they are very
generous,” says Patrick.
“There are three main ways in which teachers
can help us,” he continues. “The first is to
spread the word. We can send posters and
leaflets to help you promote the Teacher
Support Network in your school or region. The
second is to make a financial donation or
remember us in your will. And the third is to
become a volunteer – we’re always looking for
teachers to take part in our focus groups and
help with casework for grants and loans.
“But the main message is for teachers to
contact us early if they’ve got a personal or work
problem – and to encourage other teachers to
do the same. We’re there for all teachers,
regardless of their union affinity.”
Teacher Support Line
England - 08000 562561
Wales - 08000 855088
Teachers in further, higher and adult
education - 08000 329952
Website: www.teachersupport.info
Above: a Teachers’ Benevolent and Orphan
Fund orphanage in Kent in the 1920s.
Below: (l to r) the Teacher Support
Network’s CEO Patrick Nash, longestserving
supporter – 94 year old retired
headteacher Dorothy Ford, and president
John Bills celebrate the 130th birthday at
this year’s NUT conference.
To mark its 130th birthday,
Teacher Support Network
staff are creating an online
e-book which they plan to
print later this year. They are
searching for photos, letters,
school documents, poems
and personal accounts from
teachers who have been
helped by the charity over the
years, particularly those with
experience of Teachers’
Benevolent Fund orphanages
and retirement homes. They
are also interested in
contributions from teachers
who have worked through
interesting times, for example
periods of war and strikes.
Email your contributions
to sarah.hutchens@
teachersupport.info or write
to Sarah at Teacher Support
Network, Hamilton House,
Mabledon Place, London
WC1H 9BE.
September-October 07 / The Teacher
41

confidential
staffroom
afunnything happened…
…during school sports
Our head, a frustrated Olympian, always
gave sports day the big build-up. He
wanted to make it a showcase for the
school – and for his own talents. The
highlight was a three way relay race run
between teams of children, parents and
staff – and you can guess who ran the
anchor leg for the latter.
When our leader was handed the
baton and a significant lead we braced
ourselves for the victory, with all the
inevitable crowing. Then, with a cry of
pain, the head’s hamstring went and so
did he, downed like a dropped sack
of potatoes.
It made a great picture for the local rag,
and was pinned for a while to the
staffroom wall, adorned with anonymous
and not wholly respectful captions.
Sheila, West Sussex
Mrs Frightfully-Posh was a glamorous,
arrogant and demanding parent who
made my NQT year a misery. On sports
day she turned up looking immaculate as
usual, shouting typically ‘pushy parent’
remarks at her daughter from the
spectators’ area and complaining loudly
about the organisation of the event.
When the mums’ race was
announced she was first to
the start line, shoes off,
determined to win. She took
an early lead, then stumbled,
went flying and landed
sprawled on her stomach. Of
course the other mums passed her, and
when she staggered to her feet she had
grass stains on her chin, hands, and all
down her white silk pullover and white
linen skirt.
I hid behind a tree and laughed
till I cried!
Gabby, Kent
A 10 year old girl in my class had been
away for several days. At the class
swimming lesson she handed me a note:
‘Could you please excuse Maria from
swimming as she has had a child.
THANK YOU MR SHAW!’
(The note read as if I was responsible for
the child!)
I pinned it on the staffroom
noticeboard, then pointed out to
colleagues that, probably, the word was
meant to be ‘chill’.
Wayne, Hertfordshire
It was sports day. Harry, aged four, had
practised with his dad in their garden, but
not with a proper finish line or spectators.
At the start line Harry was told: “When
you’ve won, you can eat your choccy eggs,
but not before.” Then “one, two, three,
GO” – he ran down the track, balancing
four mini chocolate eggs in a spoon.
“Go on, Harry! You’re a winner!” cried
his parents. ‘I’m a winner. I’ve won,’ Harry
thought, heading straight for his little
brother to give him two chocolate eggs.
“No, no,” urged mum and dad. “Run
to that red tape, Harry.”
Eventually Harry reached the finish with
his two remaining eggs. And he won a
sticker – ‘for doing his best, and sharing’.
Mary, Surrey
Next issue: A funny thing happened
when I was training. Send us your
college and teaching practice
anecdotes by 1 October.
44
The things pupils say
Teaching at a Leeds middle school, I was in the staffroom
one lunchtime when the head came in, laughing, from the
dining hall. He told me about Fred (Year 8) who had just had
a coughing fit after something ‘went down the wrong hole’.
He said that, with a red face and streaming eyes, Fred had
spluttered: “Eh, Sir, mi epiglottis didn’t work!”
Having just taught ‘digestion’ that morning, I was quite
gratified at Fred’s understanding of the principle.
Barbara, West Yorkshire
The Teacher /September-October 07
Send in and win!
The senders of every contribution
on pages 44 and 45 will receive a £10
Say Shopping pass – redeemable
at Debenhams, Comet, Woolworths, Waterstones,
River Island, Virgin, and lots more – courtesy of Countdown.
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Save on your daily spend – groceries, lunch or dinner at high street and
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Countdown book, visit www.countdowncard.
com or call Customer Services on 08701 600 698.
Please note that all NUT members can take
advantage of these savings.
Welcome to your year-long savings plan…

Teachers’ tips
Last issue Lisa, a history teacher, asked for advice on
applying for jobs and attending interviews after a
five-year maternity break.
Highlight voluntary work
There are two related issues. Firstly the gap in your
employment history, and secondly interview questions. With
regards to your CV, there is absolutely nothing wrong with
declaring your maternity break as such, but it would help if
you have something to insert in the ‘space’. Ideally this
would be some sort of voluntary work, for example in a
mother and baby group.
Barbara, Gwent
Be upfront and positive
I’m not a returner but I’ve interviewed many people for roles
in and around teaching over the last 20 years.
Any gap in your CV will be obvious to an interviewing
panel and they will be bound to ask about it. Be upfront
and positive about your five years’ first-hand experience of
bringing up children, which shows your commitment to
young people in a very convincing way. It will also help you
empathise with the parents of those you teach.
You will have learned or developed a wide range of skills
and attributes over the last five years, not least the ability to
function on five or fewer hours’ sleep a night – ideal
preparation for meeting marking deadlines.
Martin, London
Dodge discrimination
Any question asked in an interview about a career break is
almost certainly discriminatory – so it shouldn’t happen. If,
however, the dialogue strays into this territory, you could do
worse than saying that you spent the five years studying
developmental psychology!
Linda, West Sussex
NUT advice
Yes, Lisa should be upfront and positive about returning to
work after her maternity break. She should highlight her
skills and experience. Employers must measure
qualifications, teaching experience and any other relevant
experience outside work – which can include raising a family
– against the person specification for the job. Employers
should avoid discrimination by concentrating on the skills
and experience needed for the job. Refusing to appoint Lisa
because she has taken a maternity break would be unlawful
sex discrimination. Teachers and governors on interview
panels should avoid asking intrusive questions about
maternity leave or childcare arrangements which could
influence the panel into making a discriminatory decision.
Sandra Bennett, NUT Legal and Professional Services
Next issue...
My middle school’s policy on mobile phones needs
updating, so it would be very helpful to know what other
schools do about mobiles – are they banned from the
premises completely, locked away during school hours, or
are pupils allowed to use them at breaktimes?
Helen, by email
rant
Reader’s
Disabled and despondent
With the current emphasis on inclusion, will employment opportunities
for disabled teachers improve? As increasing numbers of children with
disabilities are educated alongside their peers, they will naturally aspire to
professions previously closed to them.
I became completely deaf at the age of seven from meningitis. I did
well at my new school for partially hearing children in Edinburgh. I
became interested in teaching or becoming a vet. “You won’t hear the
animals’ heartbeat,” I was told. Teaching was out too, it seemed, as no
training institution would accept anyone as deaf as myself. Impressed
by my science teacher who was himself very hard of hearing, I opted
for a chemistry degree and was the second pupil from my school to
go to university.
Despite this being before the era of Disabled Student Support I got
through the course. In fact I got a 2:1. Some lecturers were hopeless but
many were very kind, providing extra notes. Fellow students let me have
their lecture notes.
After four years I needed a job and I was rather shaken to find no one
wanted a deaf chemist. I embarked on a PhD. Three years later, with my
doctorate, I managed to get a series of jobs as a research chemist over 25
years until I was made redundant at a time of multinational retrenchment.
Could I return to my earlier ambition to be a teacher? Surely times
must have changed? Encouraged by new regulations, I applied to train as
a chemistry teacher – a shortage subject and certainly my field. One of
the most reputable training institutions in the land steered me away from
this option. Maths was suggested as an alternative. Well they are
desperate for maths teachers, I thought – I’m bound to get a job!
I now had a Disabled Student Grant, which paid for notetakers or
interpreters. The money ran out by the end of the second term, but the
university agreed to pay for continuing support. Staff were generally wellmeaning;
some were very helpful, others not. I was lucky with my school
mentors, who were supportive but could be critical when necessary.
I completed the course, then began to apply for jobs. Surprise, surprise
–no one would have me, despite the support available from Access to
Work. I have had interviews from the more enlightened establishments.
The NUT has been a brilliant support in helping me deal with the less
enlightened. Private agencies turned me down flat for supply work.
I am now training as a teacher of the deaf. There is a desperate
shortage of teachers of the deaf. At the end of my first year I have first
class grades. I have applied to schools for the deaf and to integrated
settings, so far to no avail. It’s Catch 22 – I cannot qualify without
completing my NQT year. So far there is no one willing to give me
that opportunity.
With the closure of many special schools, there appear to be fewer
opportunities for disabled teachers to find work. I hope that the next
generation of young disabled students will have greater employment
opportunities than I have had. Otherwise the inclusion agenda becomes
a very bad joke.
Ken Hamilton, by email
Send your contributions for A funny thing happened, The things pupils
say, Teachers’ tips and Reader’s rant to: The Teacher, NUT, Hamilton
House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD or email them to teacher@
nut.org.uk. Deadline for next issue: Monday 1 October.
September-October 07 / The Teacher
STAFFROOM CONFIDENTIAL
45

BACKBEAT
The
Commonwealth
connection
Education has a crucial part to play in the
development of the Commonwealth, and
teachers and students in the UK have much
to learn from other Commonwealth nations,
says Richard Bourne.
Children at
Ngora village
school in Uganda
In 2003,
Commonwealth
leaders made
a ringing
statement that
education is
the key to
development.
Carlos Guarita
Why should a teacher
take an interest in
the Commonwealth?
Why should a teacher
encourage a student to learn
something about it? If it was
only because it has formed a
small part of the citizenship
section in the national
curriculum since 2002, many
would say this is not a good
enough reason.
Further, the Commonwealth
(or at least the initial knowledge
that teachers and students are
likely to have of it) is loaded
with stereotypes and baggage
– the Empire, the Queen, the
Commonwealth Games, the
biennial summit meetings of
leaders like the one in
Kampala this November –
which seem pretty remote
from classrooms.
But the Commonwealth is
important, today, for teachers
and students. It is a powerful
cause of the demography of the
United Kingdom, and anti-racist
legislation. Its commitment to
development, human rights and
care for the environment is
shaped by a specific and
contested history.
It is now 60 years – at least
three generations – since the
independence of India began
to convert an empire into a
voluntary association, now of
53 friendly nations; in 1995 it
adopted a path-breaking
rulebook, which has led to the
suspension of dictatorships,
and the walkout of the
Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe.
In 1996 the National Union
of Teachers recognised that the
Commonwealth is of real
significance for education, in the
UK and elsewhere. It sponsored
a conference on human rights
and education attended by
teacher unions from over half of
Commonwealth countries. Their
manifesto, The Stoke Rochford
Declaration, has acted as a
compass for classroom and
teacher work on human rights.
The following year the union
sent a deputation to the
Commonwealth Education
Ministers’ meeting in Botswana
– and it has been represented at
triennial meetings in Edinburgh,
Halifax, Nova Scotia and Cape
Town ever since. Its activism has
led to the creation of:
• a Commonwealth teachers’
grouping of key unions round
the world
• a teachers’ forum at the
ministerial conferences
• the Commonwealth Teacher
Recruitment Protocol of
2004, designed to protect
the rights of teachers who
move between countries,
and to prevent poaching
from small states
• the pioneering of a schoolbased
Commonwealth
human rights certificate
• support for Commonwealth
clubs in schools.
In a recent speech, former
education secretary Charles
Clarke said he thinks education
is the most important element in
today’s Commonwealth. You
can see what he means. In the
internet era it enables teachers
and schools to liaise around the
world using the English
language, concerned for
common issues. It is grounded in
the mixture of ethnicities and
religions which started during
the British Empire, but which
greatly accelerated in the
modern era – so that a decade
ago it was estimated that twothirds
of British primary children
had at least a second cousin
in at least one other
Commonwealth state.
It reflects similarities in
educational systems,
parliaments, the law and media.
The Commonwealth is not
a poor man’s United Nations –
although a quarter of its
members, including India, are
among the fastest-growing
economies in the world. It may
have deep roots in history, yet
it is young. Not only are the
majority of its citizens under
25, but its political secretariat
was only set up in 1965, and it
is now about to elect only its
fifth Secretary-General.
It is a body which faces
many challenges – home to 60
per cent of the HIV/AIDS cases
in the world; sharing problems
of climate change, and
uniquely placed to stop the
crash of ocean fisheries;
familiar with youth
unemployment, urban
gangsterism and communal
conflict; but seeing education,
teachers and the sharing of
knowledge as a special
resource. In Abuja in 2003 its
leaders made a ringing
statement that education is
the key to development.
Everyone needs to know
more about the
Commonwealth. There need
to be more teacher exchanges,
and school clubs that bring to
life the experience of students
elsewhere. This is a do-ityourself
network, for can-do
teachers and students.
Richard Bourne, formerly an
education journalist, founded
the Commonwealth Human
Rights Initiative and
the Commonwealth Policy
Studies Unit.
50
The Teacher / September-October 07