RESOLUTIONS CARRIED AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2009
EDUCATION: GENERAL SECTION
PRIORITY MOTION: TESTING AND ASSESSMENT – JOINT NAHT/NUT (NUT/NAHT) CAMPAIGN
Conference welcomes the joint NAHT/NUT (NUT/NAHT) campaign and endorses the joint statement on testing and assessment.
Conference believes these proposals represent the future of assessment in primary schools and that, from 2010, tests at Key Stages 1 and 2 should be optional.
Whilst welcoming the decision to remove National Curriculum testing at Key Stage 3, Conference rejects the Government’s argument for maintaining them in primary schools.
Conference calls on the Executive/National Council to broaden the joint campaign to secure the end of a testing regime which is not fit for purpose.
Conference recognises that the strategies deployed to date, including lobbying, letters to MPs, parents’ questionnaires and local campaigning, provide a positive base for attracting widespread support.
Conference asserts, therefore, that unless the Government sees fit to respond to overwhelming evidence for ending the statutory tests at Key Stages 1 and 2, joint action will need to be taken to prevent their continuation.
Conference instructs the Executive/National Council to:
- step up the joint campaign to halt primary school testing;
- seek the support of all the unions, including those in the TUC, for the campaign;
- seek support from the widest possible range of organisations, including parents, governors and parliamentary parties;
- once all other reasonable avenues have been exhausted, ballot all relevant members for joint action to boycott the Key Stages 1 and 2 statutory tests, for the academic year 2009-2010, if the Government refuses to remove them.
SATS, TESTING AND LEAGUE TABLES
Conference wholeheartedly welcomes the abolition of SATs at Key Stage 3, and believes this has the potential to lead to a major improvement in the quality of education in Key Stage 3.
Conference notes that this year has seen an even greater increase in 'anti-SATs’ reports in the media and there is widespread recognition among teachers, parents, academics and the wider public that SATs have a harmful effect on education and on children.
Conference notes in particular the debacle surrounding the marking of the tests by private firm ETS. Conference condemns:
1. the insult to the work done by teachers and students who spent time and effort preparing for and completing the tests;
2. the low quality and inaccurate marking; and
3. the administrative chaos that led to late delivery of papers, causing difficulties and stress for students, parents and markers.
Conference further condemns the fact that, while ETS has lost the £175 million contract to mark in the future, and was compelled to repay £30 million, large amounts of taxpayers’ money have been wasted.
Conference notes that these continued problems with the testing regime highlight the danger of relying on ‘high stakes’ testing where a few raw figures form the basis of judging the whole education system, and which results in the labelling of students.
Conference particularly condemns the naming of schools that perform below a ‘target level’ as failing schools when those same schools are amongst the best in the country in terms of providing a value added education.
Conference believes that a fundamental problem with the current testing and assessment system is the over-reliance on levelling children’s work and using those levels to create often unrealistic targets for children and teachers. SATS results have frequently been used to monitor the outcome of this targeting, frequently creating extra workload for teachers and in many cases used as the basis for a teacher’s performance management.
Conference welcomes the joint decision by the Executive and the National Association of Head Teachers to hold the 11Februaryconference on the future of assessment and believes that the agreed joint statement arising from the conference provides the basis for a united campaign against National Curriculum Tests.
Conference welcomes the select committee on schools, which produced a report in May 2008 condemning the testing regime. The report found that:
(i)there is a tendency to teach to the test;
(ii)there is a reliance on classroom practices of low educational value, shallow learning and a low level of innovation;
(iii)there is short-term success at the expense of deeper understanding;
(iv)at times of the year almost half of the teaching time in year 6 is dedicated to preparing for tests;
(v)universities find children are unprepared for the rigours of higher education;
(vi)children are reluctant to take risks and to take a critical stance: they are used to being rewarded for dogmatic rule-following;
(vii)school children in England are among the most tested in the world;
(viii)international tests show that there has been no significant change in performance.
Conference rejects the proposals to replace the current system with one where children take a test when ready, as this will not see a reduction in the pressure to achieve a national target and will not reduce the pressure to teach to the test.
Conference further notes that the decision to continue with Key Stage 2 SATs is driven by the perceived need to maintain league tables.
Conference therefore deplores the failure to abolish SATs at Key Stage 2, despite continuing evidence that they distort children’s educational experience.
Conference condemns:
a.the naming of schools that perform below a ‘target level’ as failing schools when those same schools are amongst the best in the country in terms of providing a value added education;
b.the chaos and waste of public money surrounding the marking of the tests by private firm ETS, as well as the insult to the work done by teachers and students who spent time and effort preparing for and completing the test;
c.rejects the proposals to replace the current system at Key Stage 2 with one where children take a test when ready, as this will not see a reduction in the pressure to achieve a national target and will not reduce the pressure to teach to the test;
d.the way that students are labelled by unreliable test scores, and these scores are then used to set children and make decisions about which courses they are entitled to study;
e. the way the Government use the test scores, not for the benefit of the children and their progress, but to monitor teachers, pit schools against each other and as a tool to further privatise parts of our education system;
f.the APP, as well as any other assessment method which may be used as a replacement to SATS which requires teachers to level work or carry out a summative assessment more frequently than once in an Academic Year per subject.
Conference instructs the Executive to:
A. work with other organisations and individuals opposed to SATs, to build a broad based campaign for the abolition of SATs, and the introduction of educationally sound methods of assessment;
B. to campaign positively with other teachers’ organisations for a boycott of Key Stages 1 and 2 National Curriculum tests with parents, head teachers and among the wider community, building on the joint NUT/NAHT statement on the future of assessment;
C. support the launch of a national petition against SATs;
D.publicise recent research by The Children’s Society on the unhappiness among our children, as part of our campaign to highlight the negative effects of SATs and high stakes testing on children;
E. carry out a survey and, if appropriate, an indicative ballot of members to ascertain their views on how the union could continue its campaign to abolish SATs, and build a boycott with other organisations;
F. as a matter of urgency, develop publicise and campaign for alternative and more effective methods of assessment;
G. call on the government to act upon the comprehensive and authoritative Primary Review, co-ordinated by Cambridge University School of Education, and other extensive research, which clearly demonstrate the adverse academic and social impact of testing on young learners;
H.call on the Government to recognise that the current testing system and its impact are fatally flawed.
OFSTED
Conference reaffirms its belief that OFSTED inspections have wide ranging detrimental effects on the running of schools which go far beyond actual inspection visits.
Conference notes with concern OFSTED’s proposals for school inspection from September 2009. In particular, Conference rejects OFSTED’s proposals to conduct “no notice” inspections; to operate a highly differentiated cycle of inspections; and to link inspection judgements explicitly to the test and examination results achieved by schools.
Conference believes that “no notice” inspections will exacerbate further the constant anxiety which many members have experienced since the introduction of the two day notice period and will increase the distorting effect this has had on the leadership and management of schools.
Conference rejects the proposed arrangements for differentiating the inspection cycle according to the outcomes of schools’ previous inspections.
Conference condemns the proposal for some “satisfactory” schools to receive a monitoring visit between 12 and 18 months after the inspection and for the frequency of monitoring visits to be increased for schools in both of the OFSTED “concern” categories. Conference believes that increased monitoring visits will do nothing but add to the stress and damage the morale of those working in such schools.
Conference further believes that the linkage of test and examination results with OFSTED inspection grades will penalise unduly schools serving disadvantaged areas.
Conference asserts that the current inspection arrangements already over-emphasise such results, with the effect that many schools in special measures or with a notice to improve are situated in areas of social deprivation.
Conference condemns the notion of detaching the context of a school when assessing its effectiveness in terms of pupil achievement, given the substantial evidence on the link between pupil outcomes and socio-economic background.
Conference therefore calls upon the Executive to:
1.reinvigorate the campaign for the abolition of OFSTED and the introduction of a bottom-up school self-evaluation model by conducting a poster campaign and a petition to be presented to the Secretary of State;
2.continue to monitor the effects of OFSTED inspections on schools through the collection of information from school representatives and use and publicise the information gathered to support the campaign for the abolition of OFSTED;
3.update the Union’s OFSTED guidance for members, which includes guidance on action under Union rule where any excessive workload generated by the new OFSTED inspection framework or by National Challenge have been unresolved;
4.call for the immediate halt to the unfair and unjust practice of categorising schools.
OPPOSITION TO ACADEMY AND TRUST SCHOOL STATUS
Conference deplores the continued and inappropriate involvement of the private sector in schools and education services. Conference believes that the recent turbulence in financial markets and institutions and the failures of private sector companies demonstrate the dangers of businesses or individuals having control over publicly funded schools. Conference believes that publicly funded schools should be answerable to the public and not to an individual or group of persons.
Conference condemns, therefore, the Government’s continued promotion of the academies programme, including the decision to retain the target of 400 academies. Conference further condemns the Government’s disgraceful use of the National Challenge programme to force schools to become academies, or National Challenge Trusts, as an alternative to closure.
Conference disputes the attempts to present academies as “the future of secondary education” with cross-political party support. Conference re-iterates that the academies initiative remains an unproven and divisive educational experiment, opposed by members of all political parties as well as teachers, parents, and governors.
Conference notes recent changes to the academies programme including a greater involvement of local authorities, universities, the churches and voluntary organisations as sponsors; changes in the funding arrangements for pupils excluded from academies; the requirement that new academies follow the National Curriculum in English, maths, science and IT and are involved in local 14-19 education partnerships.
Conference believe these changes have come about because of the growing opposition to the academies programme. Conference notes however that the essential element in the academies programme of privatising the management of state funded schools has not changed.
Conference urges the Government to bring academies back within the local authority family of schools.
Conference regrets that many local authorities have failed to provide leadership in supporting their schools and promoting local democratic involvement in education. Conference regrets also that many local authorities have adopted without resistance the Government’s misguided “choice and diversity” agenda and its position that they should be commissioners rather than providers of services.
Conference welcomes the establishment of the School Organisation and Reorganisation Working Group to advise the Executive on issues such as academies, trusts, federations and competitions for new schools.
Conference instructs the Executive to provide further information, guidance and campaigning materials for divisions on these issues, including on negotiating with local authorities.
Conference welcomes the Union’s role within the TUC in speaking up for public services in general and in opposing academies in particular, and for working with TUC affiliates on the Model Trade Union Recognition Agreement for Academies. Conference congratulates the TUC on its decision to affiliate to the Anti Academies Alliance.
Conference instructs the Executive to continue to give priority to supporting the work of the Anti Academies Alliance in working with teachers, parents, governors, trade unionists and their organisations in campaigning against the individual academies and the academies programme nationally through high profile events and conferences, such as the international conference on privatisation early in 2009.
Conference re-affirms its commitment to supporting members working in academies and trust schools in terms of protecting their salaries, conditions of service and job security, as well as through Union training and professional development. Conference believes that teachers in academies, including Union members, have a right equal to teachers in all other schools to be actively involved in education activities and campaigns. However, Conference believes that a key demand of our members and other staff in academies should be for full reintegration into the local authority state sector. Conference also believes that the strategic priority for the Union should be to seek to defeat the whole academy and privatisation programmes being well aware that if this succeeds our pay and conditions and the education of the pupils will inevitably be worse.
Conference instructs the Executive to:
- continue to campaign for a comprehensive education system based on principles of equality and local democratic accountability;
- campaign against the establishment of academies and trusts and the involvement of the private sector in the running of schools using all forms of action up to and including industrial action;
- work with other teacher unions, the TUC, Anti academies Alliance, parents, PTAs, governors and educationalists to organise a national campaign for the abolition of academies;
- provide guidance, support and campaigning materials to help divisions gain commitments from local authorities in line with Union policies on academies, trusts, federations and competitions;
- provide appropriate support to members working in academies and trust schools to ensure their active involvement in the Union, including recruitment materials to increase Union membership; and
- actively seek the full involvement of members in all schools including academies in local authority-wide activities and campaigns.
DEMOCRACY IN EDUCATION
Conference notes the democratic deficit within education provision caused by successive Government legislation in the last twenty years. This had the effect of distancing decision making from both local communities and employees and rendered meaningful accountability athing of the past in many areas. This drive to minimise democracy has:
1.removed most powers from Local Authorities (LAs);
2.minimised local democracy by the removal of local Education Committees and the centralisation of decision making into the hands of small groups of councillors in local council Cabinets or elected Mayors;
3.increased the centralisation of control over education funding, management and curriculum, by, for example, Academy Funding Agreements;
4.exaggerated the value of competitive student admissions policies through its slogan of ‘Choice and Diversity’ and promoted an aggressively market-oriented sense of parental rights;
5.increased locally-unaccountable private control at school, LA and national level, via, for example, the Building Schools for the Future programme;
6.sponsored a disproportionately well-funded army of private consultants, advisers and school improvement partners acting as ideological enforcers and “change managers”;
7.increased the marginalisation of unions, especially in academies;
8.limited the role of democratically elected governing bodies, for example through the introduction of unelected Interim Executive Bodies in schools in special measures.
Conference further notes that, together with the sheer volume of work, increased staff mental health problems, high drop-out rates and growing management vacancies are at root caused by the authoritarian erosion of our professional autonomy in favour of subservience to externally set and monitored learning targets, methods and objectives.
Conference believes that educational provision needs more democracy, not less. So the Union must campaign for:
i.a genuinely democratic comprehensive school system where teachers, support staff, parents, school students and trade unions, together with locally elected local authorities, are all able to play a major role in developing good local schools for all students;
ii.transparent processes of decision-making at local authority level so that there are real, functioning opportunities for local communities, staff, parents and other stakeholders to have a direct influence on local policy formation and the determination of educational priorities, for example, through the establishment of elected local School Boards;