Lead magazine autumn 2021

Time’s up for Ofsted Why the toxic regulator must go. See page 5.

Managing mental health Tackling overwhelming pressure. See page 11.

The magazine for NEU Leadership members

Social media savvy Handling online abuse and complaints. See page 20.

Autumn 2021

“It’s our duty to tackle racism.”

Lorna Jackson on prioritising anti-racist education

Flexible working

Can senior leaders ask to work part-time?

See page 15

Welcome

Lead.

AUTUMN 2021

Head teacher Lorna Jackson Photo: Rehan Jamil NEU president: Daniel Kebede NEU joint general secretaries: Mary Bousted & Kevin Courtney Editor: Sally Gillen Editorial assistant: Sarah Thompson

HOW many talented leaders have been driven out of the profession by Ofsted? If I could tell you, would you like to know? And would that information be depressing or galvanising?

Both, I suspect. I don’t have the exact figure, of course, but that hardly matters. Whatever it is, it’s too high.

That’s why the NEU is urging Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi to work with the profession on replacing Ofsted, a toxic force that heaps pressure and unnecessary workload on leaders and their staff, and unfairly punishes schools with the poorest pupils (see page 5).

We must act urgently.

Inspections returned in September, adding to the multitude of challenges leaders continue to grapple with in the midst of a pandemic. Many leaders are now receiving the dreaded call.

For many this will be the last straw.

It was a difficult Ofsted inspection four years ago that proved one leadership stress too many for former head and NEU Leadership member Verity Slaughter-Penney (see page 11).

These days she is much more active in the NEU and in March she became a learning rep. The union’s gain certainly, but also her former primary school’s loss.

On page 8, NEU Leadership members share their experiences of an Ofsted-free 18 months, and their thoughts on how inspection should look going forward.

Ofsted has had 30 years to prove itself. Time’s up.

Thank you, as always, for all you do in what continue to be exceptionally tough times. You always make a difference.

Mary Bousted Joint general secretary National Education Union

neu.org.uk

Contents

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Regulars

Features

20

8

Feature

11

Interview

Two NEU Leadership members on working free from Ofsted Verity Slaughter-Penney on managing mental health

16 How I…

Empowering educators to explore issues of race and diversity

15

20 Masterclass

Using social media

4

Update

Union calls for an end to Ofsted, petition against Baseline testing, and a new Value Education film

15 Leading question Can senior leadership staff ask to work part-time?

22 Final word

Our exam system needs an overhaul, says Kevin Courtney

lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

3

Update Extra funding needed to meet pay promise

Unions call for better safety measures for coronavirus EDUCATION unions have joined forces in a bid to improve coronavirus safety measures in schools and avoid further disruption to pupils’ education.

As well as writing to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, the five unions – NEU, NASUWT, GMB, Unison and Unite – have also sent letters to local authorities and public health directors calling on them to take urgent action.

With Covid rates rising across the country, unions have asked Mr Zahawi to reinstate safety measures such as social distancing, classroom bubbles, and face masks in secondary schools.

NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney wrote: “We are concerned that the Government is standing by while Covid cases surge across schools. It is evident that more needs to be done, and sooner rather than later, to prevent further massive disruption to children’s education, caused either by children

contracting Covid-19 or Covidrelated staff absence.”

In a joint letter to councillors across England, the unions said education staff were more likely to test positive for Covid than staff in other sectors.

“Many local public health officials and NHS leaders are calling for additional measures in light of the huge pressures on the NHS and in a bid to avoid another winter lockdown,” they wrote.

Several councils are bringing back safety measures.

In Staffordshire, the county council is encouraging schools to discontinue assemblies, bring back bubbles and face masks, and ask all close contacts of confirmed Covid cases to get PCR tests.

The Welsh Government has announced £3.3 million to improve ventilation in schools, colleges and universities if the carbon dioxide monitors being rolled out indicate air quality requires improvement.

GUIDANCE from the Department for Education (DfE) says staff concerned about any anti-vaccination protests outside their schools should alert the School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) provider, the local authority and the police.

For more information download the DfE advice at gov.uk/ government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-resourcesfor-schools 4

lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

LEADERS could be forced to make impossible decisions if Chancellor Rishi Sunak fails to provide funding for the pay rise announced in his autumn budget.

That was the warning given

by NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney, following the Chancellor’s statement on 27 October.

Kevin said: “The pay freeze this year was nothing short of an insult, but the hint of a pay rise may still prove to be a con.

“If the Chancellor expects to meet a pay rise through existing budgets then we will see further cuts and impossible decisions for school and college leaders attempting to balance their books.

“The NEU will be watching Rishi Sunak’s next steps carefully in terms of the School Teachers’ Review Body. That will include seeing if he takes on board its recommendations, and funds them fully so that leaders are able to properly reward and retain all their staff.”

In October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced an end to the pay freeze for teachers

Update

Toxic Ofsted must go, the NEU tells Education Secretary THE union has written to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi inviting him to work with the profession on creating a valid and reliable regulator to replace Ofsted.

In a letter to Mr Zahawi, NEU joint general secretaries Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney said that Ofsted has become a “toxic force” since it was introduced in 1992.

Members have told the union that Ofsted is not fit for purpose and does not measure the real learning taking place, they wrote.

An NEU survey has found 86 per cent of members who responded want Ofsted to be abolished. Of those, 36 per cent said they spent half of their time in the run-up to an inspection preparing for it.

The letter went on to highlight data that shows inspections

provide a “crude snapshot” of schools and colleges, which take no account of local context and punish schools in areas of high poverty by giving them unfairly harsh grades.

In turn, this leads to schools with the most deprived intakes having the greatest teacher turnover.

In their letter, Kevin and Mary catalogue the problems with Ofsted (see panel, right).

“We need a new, fair and reliable system of inspection which works with schools and colleges, gives them confidence to make changes, and generates meaningful, accurate and reliable information,” they said.

“The time has come to listen to the voice of the profession, replace Ofsted and work with us on an inspection system that supports our schools, colleges and children.”

WHY OFSTED MUST GO Ofsted punishes schools in high areas of poverty.

Schools in areas of high poverty find it most difficult to attract and retain teachers – this works against the Government’s levelling up agenda.

NEU data shows Ofsted grades 3.5 times more secondary schools with better-off pupils as Outstanding than schools with worse-off students.

Six times as many secondaries with worse off students are graded as failing.

Ofsted has admitted it cannot guarantee consistency or fairness in its inspections.

Unnecessary workload and stress caused by inspections drives talented educators away from the profession.

Value Education, Value Educators A FILM celebrating the work of educators, launched by the NEU on World Teachers’ Day (5 October) to mark the start of our Value Education, Value Educators campaign, has been watched more than five million times.

Thousands of new members have joined the NEU since the launch of the union’s wide-ranging campaign to tackle child poverty, funding, assessment and workload. And hundreds of members of the public have pledged their support for the union’s campaign by signing up through our microsite.

Since the pandemic struck in March 2020, the value

the voices of our members, parents and students heard in order that, together, we can change things for the better.

members of the public – parents especially – place on our profession has grown.

The union wants to harness that support and make

To watch the film and sign up to the campaign, go to valueeducation.org.uk

lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

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Update Save the date NEU Leadership conference, 12 March 2022, Hamilton House, London.

Baseline testing wastes 300,000 teaching hours, says coalition COALITION More Than A Score (MTAS) is calling for all formal tests in primary to be scrapped – after its petition against Baseline assessment attracted more than 112,000 signatures.

The coalition calculated that 300,000 teaching hours – or 60,000 school days – have been wasted as a result of testing children just weeks after they started school in September.

NEU Leadership member John Bryant, head at Arthur Bugler Primary School, in Essex, said he and his staff viewed Baseline

as a “waste of time”.

He added: “I don’t mind testing if the information is going to be used to move the school on, but Baseline is only being used as an accountability measure. During the first six weeks of starting school children should feel safe, secure and able to focus on building friendships.”

To sign the petition calling for the Government to drop all highstakes testing for primary school visit morethanascore.org.uk

Look out for more details on the programme at neu. org.uk/leadership

Vacancies on the National Leadership Council Interested in joining?

Please contact NEU national official for leadership, steve.cooper@neu. org.uk.

Not ‘fair or fit for the future,’ independent commission on 14-19 assessment finds THE assessment and qualifications system for 14- to 19-year-olds is not sufficiently reliable, fair or fit for the future, according to a group of experts.

Interim findings of an England-wide review by an independent assessment commission, whose ten members include head teacher and NEU past president Robin Bevan, were published in October.

They set out a case for radically overhauling the system.

The commissioners say the “exam factory” culture in many schools and colleges is leading to disaffection with learning and undermining the mental health of students and teachers.

“Too many young people leave schools and colleges without the qualifications, 6

lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

knowledge, skills, understanding or attributes they need to transition effectively into college, employment or university,” said the report.

The commission, named A New Era, was set up by the NEU following a motion at special conference in 2020.

It is led by independent chair Louise Hayward, professor of educational assessment and innovation at Glasgow University, who selected a range of experts to join her commission.

Since starting their review in March, commissioners have been gathering evidence from groups including teachers, pupils, parents and employers, which has fed into their interim report.

Teachers told the commission that

the focus on accountability – and a system that penalises schools for factors such as poverty that are outside their control – takes the focus away from learning, increases workload and impacts wellbeing.

This is a major cause of teachers leaving the profession, they said.

The commission is now investigating what kind of system would be more equitable and reliable and how such a system could be created.

It will publish its final report with recommendations in November.

To read the interim findings report go to neweraassessment.org.uk See NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney’s opinion on page 22

Update Leadership guidance launched A SUITE of guidance sheets on a wide range of leadership issues including safer social networking, dealing with complaints and health and safety are now available on neu.org.uk.

PHOTOS: David McConaghy Photography

Two NEU Leadership booklets on ethical leadership and wellbeing are also available.

Steve Cooper, national official for leadership, said: “Leaders in education are an integral part of any school or college team. We have provided advice on the subjects they wanted to see available to support NEU leaders in their careers.” To suggest a topic, contact steve.cooper@neu.org.uk neu.org.uk/neu-leadership NEU president Daniel Kebede, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi and NEU past president Robin Bevan at the Conservative Party conference

NEU past president and secondary head teacher Robin Bevan (pictured, above right) took the opportunity to speak to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi when he visited the union’s stand at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester in October. Robin told

Lead: “He was warmly supportive of our messages and I encouraged him to take time to listen to the voices of our 450,000 members – leaders, teachers and support staff.” The union held fringes on assessment funding and child poverty at all the party conferences.

Funding for mental health training GRANTS of £1,200 are available from the Department for Education (DfE) for mental health training for senior education staff. The cash – enough for a third of state schools and colleges in England – can only be used on a course approved by the DfE. Go to gov.uk/guidance/senior-mentalhealth-lead-training See our interview with former head teacher Verity Slaughter-Penney on page 11.

Winner of the first election for NEU deputy general secretary announced

SEND Leader of the Year Award DEPUTY head teacher Colin May has won an

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pupils with SEND. Colin is an inspiration to us all.”

NEU publishes uniform guide ADVICE for school leaders on developing an inclusive dress code for students has

Unions call for action on climate change

been published by the union. It follows the

CLIMATE change education must be fully embedded in

Costs of School Uniforms) Act 2021, passed in

the education system, say unions, with the UK leading by

April, which places a statutory responsibility on

example in its role as chair of COP26. Four unions, including

schools to ensure school uniform is affordable.

the NEU, have written to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi

The guidance says leaders should consult on

urging the Government to grasp the gravity of the “dire

a proposed school dress code with pupils,

impact” of climate change.

parents/carers, staff and governors.

introduction of the Education (Guidance about

neu.org.uk/advice/school-uniform lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

7

Feature

Pause and reflect The pandemic has been tough for educators but it also provided a unique opportunity to work without Ofsted inspections.

Lead examines the impact of this break.

BEFORE the pandemic struck, leaders were signing up to a campaign to #PauseOfsted. Their wish came true. In March 2020, Ofsted announced it was suspending inspections to allow schools and colleges to focus on managing the Covid-19 crisis. So, what was it like to be Ofsted-free for 18 months? To find out, Lead spoke to two head teachers, who also shared some thoughts on why inspection needs to change.

John Hayes is a member of the

OVER the last 18 months, we stopped looking over our shoulders, waiting for an inspection. Instead, we were able to get on and deal with all the extra pressure the pandemic threw at us. Before the changes to the Ofsted regime, as a school judged to be Outstanding, we stopped worrying about inspections. During that time we developed lots of facilities in the building, and opportunities for children; because we’re professionals who can be trusted.

This October, we had an inspection.

We were asked about the pandemic in terms of online learning and its impact on developing our curriculum. Other than that, there wasn’t a lot of notice taken of Covid; particularly about staff wellbeing.

The inspector we had was secondary and I don’t think he had any experience of being employed in a primary school.

He was fair but tough. However, I think that inspectors who don’t have experience in the phase have an impact on the credibility of Ofsted.

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lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

Photo: Sarah Turton

NEU National Leadership Council and head teacher at Gospel Oak Primary and Nursery School in Camden, north London.

John Hayes: “Given the expertise of the people who work for Ofsted, it could be so much more”

As an inspector (I was trained many years ago) you can’t help but go into school with an idea of what you think good is.

It’s impossible to be entirely objective. The framework is supposed to guide you so that people can see exactly how you’re coming to your decisions. But that’s not how it feels from the other side. It can feel like you’re trying to second guess what they are looking for.

For a school leader, the biggest stress is the timescale. I was given categoric assurance, during a briefing on the Friday, that, due to Covid, the timeframe would be seven years. Which would have put us in January 2023. We got the call two days later.

I’m not against accountability. We’re public employees spending public money.

We do a job for parents and children that is hugely important. But Ofsted could turn up any day, regardless of when you were last inspected, and we’ve no idea whether we’ll be ready for them. There could be a lot more done to make inspection developmental and supportive; to work more closely with local authorities so that it’s a learning opportunity.

It isn’t that at all. Ofsted would probably say it doesn’t want it to be.

It’s just an accountability framework.

But I think, given the cost of it and the expertise of the people who work for

Feature Ofsted, it could be much more.

I say to every inspector: “You’re very welcome. My school is amazing and I want you to come and see it.” But, I have to say, they don’t see how amazing it is because they only look at a few areas and that leads to a very big decision.

They will say that they only have a certain amount of money to spend, a certain proportion of staff, so they have to use indicators that describe the entirety of the school. It just doesn’t feel like school improvement, and I think it could be.

Ofsted could develop the expertise to review the effectiveness of schools and give advice. They could use the framework to check if there are schools that are failing their community and their children. I want all kids, no matter their background or what school they go to, to get the best possible education they can and so if schools are letting them down they need to be held to account.

The key thing for me is the reduction of the whole process to one of four words.

They do all this work and spend millions of pounds inspecting schools and most parents only look at one word.

Ofsted could be saying that schools are either effective or ineffective and then using the rest of the report to describe the school in a lot more detail. There’s a huge industry that exists around getting your school to Outstanding. I think Ofsted needs to look at the industry that’s grown up around it, which isn’t helpful or healthy.

You should only get a Big Brother type inspection if there are problems – if the children aren’t safe or if there are behaviour issues. Then you should expect someone to come in. Otherwise, it’s just not helpful. It builds a climate of fear and it’s an opportunity for lots of organisations to make lots of money.

“We stopped worrying about inspections and developed lots of opportunities.”

Rob Corbett is head teacher at Ifield Community College in Crawley, West Sussex IT was very valuable in the last 18 months not to have to think about paperwork and other matters that an Ofsted visit requires, but inspections have been reintroduced far too soon. We’re still in a difficult time, and bringing back the worry of a possible inspection means we can’t concentrate on important things such as ensuring the school environment is as Covid-safe as possible.

Now really isn’t the time and I think largely it’s Ofsted justifying its existence.

Overall, in its time, Ofsted has done a lot of good for schools, but there needs to be a consistency in the quality of actual inspectors. I’ve had some excellent inspectors who knew their stuff and I’ve had the reverse. The whole inspection system is due for a review in terms of that level of quality.

Far too high a value is put on the inspection reports.

Now Good, Ifield Community College was judged Requires Improvement

(RI) before I started [in 2014].

RI makes recruitment hard, it makes parents much more antagonistic, it makes the level of scrutiny of all the work that we do much more hefty – it’s counter-productive.

I’d like to see Ofsted largely reformed or a new body take on a similar function in a different way, working closely with local authorities and schools in a supportive role.

At the moment, they come in for two days every four years. That’s not a good way to judge a school; on any particular day something can look worse than it looks on another day. Lots of inspectors can’t make that distinction.

“The whole system is due for a review in terms of that level of quality.”

Rob Corbett: “I’ve had some excellent inspectors who knew their stuff and I’ve had the reverse”

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Interview

‘I want to talk about mental health’ Former head Verity Slaughter-Penney’s career ended with a breakdown. Now, she’s passionate about helping educators manage their mental health.

Words: Sarah Thompson Photos: Sarah Turton

THERE is an irony in former head teacher Verity Slaughter-Penney’s story that will no doubt strike many leaders.

It certainly isn’t lost on her.

For eight years she led a primary school, where her commitment to the emotional wellbeing of staff and students led her to introduce child whispering, an approach that uses visual aids to help children and adults communicate their emotions and build resilience.

At the same time, she was neglecting her own mental health.

And in 2017, following a build-up of leadership pressures culminating with

a difficult Ofsted inspection, Verity had a breakdown, developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was forced to resign.

Her 27-year career was over.

Four years later, and after working incredibly hard on her recovery, Verity is keen to raise awareness of the signs of deteriorating mental health, but also to show that when you reach rock bottom there is hope.

Today she is healthy, happy and on a mission. “I want to talk about mental health until it becomes normalised,” she says, and a good starting point has been sharing her story with NEU members who

sign up for the resilience course she runs for Bedfordshire NEU. Her experience has resonated with members, a mix of educators working in different roles and sectors. “I don’t hide what I’ve been through,” she says. “I talk about toxic environments and I’m able to say: ‘I’m a survivor of PTSD.’” The course supports participants to build the skills and confidence to cope with stressful situations, and an emotional toolkit provides weekly practical strategies and grounding and relaxation techniques (see box, page 12).

Verity’s message and training couldn’t be better timed. lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

11

Interview

“People in positions of responsibility think they can crash through any wall in front of them.”

The pandemic has pushed the pressure on educators, especially leaders, to new levels. The changing and conflicting Government guidance (148 documents were sent to schools in two months, according to a report, Schools and coronavirus, by thinktank The Institute for Government), increased workload and the expectation on leaders to implement safety measures to keep the whole school community safe has been a tall order.

“A head’s instinct is to protect all in their care,” says Verity. “To have to make decisions that may or may not have been in the best interests of children, but were definitely a continuing risk to staff, must have been excruciating.”

And, as she knows, leaders are at particular risk of not recognising the signs

Verity Slaughter-Penney now runs a resilience course for educators

of unmanageable stress in themselves.

“People in positions of responsibility think they can crash through any wall in front of them,” she says. “If you’re like I was, and have never had mental health issues, you believe yourself to be almost immovable.”

She missed the signs that her stress was becoming overwhelming: insomnia, stress headaches, fatigue and dissociation.

“I never switched off. I’d answer emails from governors at 10pm,” she recalls, adding that a boundary between home – “protected family time” – and work is vital.

Her time these days is spent on a variety of rewarding work and activities including providing respite care for a girl with Down’s syndrome, undertaking practical activities such as baking to

THE EMOTIONAL TOOL BOX USING these techniques when you are in a stressful situation can redirect your thoughts and help to reduce anxiety.

Square breathing Imagine a square hovering in front of you. As you draw the first side of the square, breathe in through your nose, hold your breath for sides two and three, and

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then for side four exhale through your mouth.

Five things Name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste.

Your favourite smell Smell is a highly emotive

lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

sense. Place a drop of your favourite essential oil or scent on a handkerchief. When you begin to feel stress rising take a deep sniff and it should help to relax you.

Butterfly tap Cross your arms over the front of your chest and tap each shoulder in turn.

This method is designed

to help the mind to process events as well as being a method of selfsoothing.

Counting backwards Count backwards, preferably in threes.

This works as a distraction technique and can be good for emotional control in difficult situations.

Interview

introduce her to reading and maths skills, and working as a learning coordinator at Transitions UK, a charity for disadvantaged young people aged 14 to 25. Painting and writing have also become passions. To the Western Front With Love, her first novel for young adults, was published in August. It follows the lives of three young men growing up in the shadow of the First World War. In March, Verity became a union learning rep. She writes and delivers

“It’s about time the teaching profession regained control over the way we educate our children.”

courses through her organisation Cre-8-ive Courses, including one for early career teachers (ECTs), where she draws on nearly three decades in education to help a new generation of teachers find their feet. The course, Teaching Firsts, covers all the questions you’ve wanted to ask as a new teacher, but haven’t had the guts to, she says, and aims to take away the fear of getting it wrong.

“I remember when I was an NQT,” she recalls. “You stand at the front of the classroom, and you think ‘what the heck am I doing here?’ It’s a really nice thing to have somebody walk through it with you.”

Her course begins with a slide that says: “Congratulations, you’re a teacher, now join a union.”

“You can’t be without a union,” she says, adding that without the support of the NEU, her situation would have been “desperate” since the severity of her mental illness meant she was unable to fight for herself. The union helped Verity to negotiate a settlement when she resigned, ensuring some financial security, and she has also been granted money from the NEU Trust Fund.

What she really wants is for educators to determine how education looks. “It’s about time the teaching profession regained control over education,” she argues. “We need to have union-led days where we get organised, get teachers together and talk about teaching from the learning skills and attitudes up, not the current content-down model.”

Among the issues that continue to be close to her heart is the importance of a child-led curriculum. The 2009 Rose Review, an independent review of the primary curriculum in England, was in her view “the best piece of educational philosophy I’ve ever read”, and emphasised pupil wellbeing, happiness and healthy living and recommended structuring learning around six areas, with ICT and spoken communication placed at the centre, to create a more flexible curriculum.

“We don’t want to be pouring content into children simply for them to memorise it and regurgitate it onto an exam paper,” she argues. “The world needs lively,

innovative, creative, higher order thinkers.

That requires learning how to learn.”

She was shocked when at a recent course she ran for primary school ECTs all 36 participants said they were teaching 12 distinct subjects a week. “Not even topic-based,” she says. “We’re teaching like it’s the 1940s, expecting a five-yearold to remember what they learned in a history lesson a week later. We need to reinvent the curriculum. We need to be stirring up the pot.”

It’s a brave step, she readily admits.

“You’ve got to have courage, haven’t you?”

There is a sense that through her NEU activity and in any other ways she can, Verity will be doing just that. She may have no plans to return to headship, but through her recovery Verity is discovering new ways to be involved in the profession to which she devoted 27 years and which, despite everything, remains her passion.

MORE INFORMATION WATCH Verity’s video on spotting the top ten signs of stress that should not be ignored: 1. lack of enthusiasm 2. fatigue 3. a lack of concentration or dissociation 4. insomnia or sleeplessness 5. memory loss 6. back and neck pain 7. headaches 8. stomach aches and heartburn 9. eczema or psoriasis flare-up 10. irritability. youtube.com/ watch?v=lXLk2ukscvU Child Whispering Developed by Sandy Kennedy, Child Whispering uses visual signposts to help children better understand and communicate their feelings, and support them to build positive relationships. childwhispering.co.uk

lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

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Leading question

I’m a deputy head – can I make a request for part-time hours?

NEU national official for leadership Steve Cooper offers advice for senior leaders on exploring flexible working patterns.

I’M a deputy head and would really like to go part-time. I’m finding it a struggle to balance work with my caring commitments – I have two young children and elderly parents – but my head expects the senior leadership team (SLT) to be full-time.

What are my options?

All employees, including senior managers and leaders, have the statutory right to request part-time working or a reduction in contractual hours. The employer has a statutory duty to consider it, but that is all.

So, what might we do to improve the chances of a successful request?

Having a positive relationship with your line manager will help, but there are other considerations you can use to expedite a request.

Firstly, submit your part-time working request in a formal letter.

Ensure the letter is professional in tone and rationale, and don’t over-complicate the request. Just state the core reasons for the request and provide an indication of the adjustments you seek and the reduced hours you would like to work.

State, if you desire, if the reduction in hours is temporary or a permanent arrangement. Being specific can potentially reduce ambiguity of thinking from the decision-maker, which aids your request.

As your request is owing to concerns over your caring commitments and doing the role of deputy head, you should provide concise details. Say in your letter that you have caring commitments for two young children and elderly parents which you are finding a challenge to balance within your full-time role.

Don’t use the word ‘struggle’ or say that it is negatively affecting your

When discussing a request for part-time work with a line manager, remember to stress the benefits to the school

performance. Instead, invite your line manager for a personal discussion about your request.

In most sectors, employers are often reluctant to grant part-time working requests from senior managers, believing that an SLT has to be occupied by fulltime employees.

That is why in your letter you should include the potential benefits to the school or college and any concessions you may be able to make. In your face-to-face discussion with the head, you may want to stress the benefit of having a more energised and happier member of the SLT. Or that a job share arrangement will really benefit the SLT, bringing fresh ideas and a larger spread of responsibility.

If you feel your line manager is really not going to grant your reduced hours request without modifications, then you may want to explore the possibility of your hours being worked over fewer days, commonly known as compressed hours, or having flexibility with start and finish times, sometimes known as flexitime. You may even desire a conversation about working from home, ‘remote working’, as this is not so

uncommon now within the educational landscape.

If the reason for reducing hours includes an education purpose, then try and use this as a persuasive rationale and think how it can benefit your employer.

If you are returning to work from maternity leave and wish to reduce your hours, you again have to notify your school or college in writing to say you are returning but requesting a reduction of working hours. You should use the same principles of highlighting an employer benefit.

The decision Your employer must communicate their decision to you in writing. If you are successful in your request, then there should be a further discussion on how best to implement it. Any request must be considered objectively and should only be rejected on one of the following grounds of business reasons: n burden of additional cost n inability to organise work among existing staff n inability to recruit appropriate staff n negative impact on quality n detrimental impact on performance n detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demands, in our sector, student educational provision n insufficient work for the periods the employee wants to work n a planned structural change to the business.

If the request is rejected, the Acas code says the employer should allow an appeal. If your employer does not co-operate, then immediately seek support from your local NEU rep or branch official. lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

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How I…

Changing minds Lorna Jackson is one of the driving forces behind the Education4Change programme, which aims to empower educators to explore issues of race and diversity.

Words: Laraine Clay

AS the longest serving teacher and head teacher in the east London borough of Newham, Lorna Jackson has seen many changes to education and has an appetite for continuing change.

So when George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were killed by police in America in 2020, Lorna’s fellow head teachers voiced their support for her frustration that racism was still rife and that something had to be done through education.

In the wake of the worldwide Black Lives Matter protests that followed George Floyd’s murder, a focus group of school leaders in Newham met that

July to discuss the way forward – and the Education4Change (E4C) programme was created.

“Covid and lockdown put a spotlight on discrimination, injustice and racism.

I wanted to capture the moment when the eyes of the world are for once on racial inequity,” says Lorna, who has taught in Newham for more than 40 years. She is head teacher at Maryland Primary in Stratford, a diversely populated school with children from 34 countries and speaking 40 languages.

“We know that if there is a will for change from leaders, it can happen.

In August 2020, A-level students won their fight for justice and fairness in having their grades reviewed after the exam debacle after less than a week of protests. After many years of fighting for equality, the LGBT+ agenda has been legally recognised in the curriculum.

I felt it was time for social justice and anti-racist education to be at the top of the agenda. This is how E4C began.”

Spreading the word Lorna is joined on the E4C team by Newham head teachers Lando Du Plooy and Joan Deslandes, and together they have devised the programme for school leaders, governors and pupils to tackle racism by starting in the classroom.

The programme includes resources for primary and secondary levels, the training of lead facilitators to help roll out the programme, and network

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meetings for E4C ambassadors. Support is offered to senior leadership teams and the programme provides access to a curriculum and research platform of world-class academic resources.

E4C also suggests using short films, all featuring Black people and dating back to the 1800s, from the British Film Institute, which she says are good conversation starters for key stages 1, 2 and 3.

One example is Jemima and Johnny from 1965, as Lorna explains: “The learning objective [with this film] is to explore what friendship is between a little Black girl and a little white boy in Notting Hill in the 1960s during the rise of the National Front. There is the opportunity to begin to explore attitudes towards race and equality and consider if people are capable of change.”

“I felt it was time for social justice and antiracist education to be at the top of the agenda.

This is how E4C began.”

How I…

Lorna Jackson: “There is the opportunity to explore attitudes towards race and consider if people are capable of change”

Another example is a film of Martin Luther King’s acceptance speech when he was presented with an honorary doctorate at Newcastle University in 1967, five months before he was assassinated in Memphis.

“He made the speech just before returning to America to make his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech. The interesting discussion that arises is for the audience to think about the world we live in today, and to think if we can change it for the better, using his speech. Consider why he made this speech in the UK? How does the speech make you feel, listening to it, nearly 60 years later?”

The long-term aim of E4C is to change mindsets within communities so that racism is challenged wherever it exists.

“It will equip staff with the skills to address issues around the existence and impact of racism, and help children and

young people develop their understanding of racism and unconscious bias within society,” she says.

“We know this is having early success as schools have already established E4C ambassadors and are eagerly waiting for developments.”

Leading the way Lorna was already widely known for her creative approach to teaching.

She was one of the first head teachers to adopt the then-controversial Read Write Inc (RWI) phonics approach to reading when she joined Maryland Primary School in 2001 and was faced with a “dire” level of literacy among pupils.

“I asked the question: Why? Why couldn’t the children read? Why couldn’t they decode? The local inspectors said that our children were leaving school

‘functionally illiterate’.

“My research led me to realise that the school’s literacy hour was failing my pupils. In 2003, under scrutiny from the local authority, I abandoned the literacy hour as well as introducing a phonic programme immediately.”

Maryland became a model school for RWI and has helped many other schools to improve their reading standards.

Now her pupils outperform other schools nationally in phonics screening and, as an international model school, it hosts visits from other countries from as far afield as Australia, South Africa, the Middle East and the USA and Canada.

Lorna can’t help but note: “After the local authority wanted to smack us on the wrist for going against the grain, now the majority of schools teach RWI and Newham is one of the top-performing local authorities in the country.” lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

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How I…

It was just this sort of drive for change that made Lorna go into teaching. Originally working at the Bank of England, she felt compelled to do something that would make a difference.

Time to talk “I decided to train to teach at Goldsmiths, University of London, where I found a love of teaching and research. One of my research projects was on multicultural education. In 1979, I came across an article [in the former NUT’s The Teacher magazine] that stated there was racial bias in the curriculum and that conversation was key to addressing racism – 43 years later, we are still having this conversation.”

In May this year, E4C surveyed colleagues in four schools on the use of language around race and discovered many of them found conversations on the subject difficult.

Call for change “Definitions are often unclear, and the knowledge of what may offend can cause immediate barriers to open conversations,” Lorna explains. As a result of the survey she has written a racial literacy conversation kit, complete with a glossary of terms, that she hopes will support teachers to have those “courageous” conversations and use the right words comfortably.

Lorna Jackson: “As educators we believe it is our duty to tackle the issue of racism”

“It is about gaining understanding in order to support action to challenge racism,” she says. “Racism causes lifelong trauma and stress that can have a devastating impact on self-esteem and confidence, ultimately affecting opportunity and life chances. As educators we believe it is our duty to tackle the issue

of racism in whatever way we can.”

She added: “E4C is driven by the knowledge that change is needed, and that education will be key in helping communities realise that we can all do better. We do not need to change the curriculum, we need to change the culture.”

NEU FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING AN ANTI-RACIST APPROACH IN YOUR ORGANISATION JOIN leaders across the country by adopting the NEU’s Framework for developing an anti-racist approach.

More than 1,500 educators have taken up the union’s training in how to implement the framework at their school or college since it was launched following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

Training can be tailored to the school or college and includes what it means to be anti-racist rather than simply being against racism,

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acceptable language, and advice on how to produce an action plan.

Topics include unconscious bias and micro-aggressions.

Danny Richards, head of school at Boulton Ark Academy, in Birmingham, said: “The framework provides a pathway for improvement and unwraps what is a very complicated topic, making it far easier to digest and work through.”

Email equality@neu.org.uk

Keeping social platforms positive Former teacher and chief executive of Social Media for Schools Stephen James explains how to deal with negative online comments.

Words: Emily Jenkins SOCIAL media is a fantastic platform for promoting your school or college, recruiting staff and students, and connecting with parents and the wider community.

But it also has its negatives.

“Although, in my experience, 99 per cent of interactions on school social media pages are positive, it would be foolish to ignore the impact negative comments can have,” says Stephen James, chief executive of Social Media for Schools. Stephen set up his company after he was given the responsibility to manage his own school’s social media sites while he was a teacher. He now supports other schools and colleges in managing their online presence and helping them get the most from their social media.

Stephen explains that having control of your social media platforms, with the power to set the rules of engagement and respond 20

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swiftly and professionally to any issues that may arise, is vitally important for schools wanting a social media presence. “In some schools, a well-meaning parent might offer to set up a Twitter or Facebook page, and they become the admin for that page. The problem is, they are then in control of the narrative space,” explains Stephen. This can make it harder for leaders to moderate the group, set expectations in terms of online behaviour and rules of engagement, and to manage and respond to negative comments.

If someone – for example, a parent or guardian – does post a criticism or complaint about your school or a member of staff, it can be extremely upsetting. Under health and safety legislation, employers have a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees. The Department for Education states that these responsibilities include

“seeking to protect staff from cyberbullying, by pupils, parents and other members of staff, and supporting them if it happens”.

If a comment is posted, Stephen says that a leader’s first action should be to check in with the staff member involved, make sure they are alright, and talk them through what you are going to do to support them and deal with the situation.

In these cases, it is important to have a robust social media policy in place, such as the one provided by the NEU (see link, right), which can help provide a clear route to dealing with complaints posted online.

Negative comments can also severely impact the mental health and wellbeing of those targeted so leaders should ensure their education setting has a suitable mental health policy in place. Staff may also want to contact their union for support if legal advice is required for allegations or accusations.

Masterclass

“Stay calm and considered and take the conversation offline.”

When a comment is posted, a first impulse for many leaders might be to delete it, but, Stephen says, unless the comment is explicitly inappropriate or vulgar, deleting posts will only aggravate the user and make the problem worse.

Instead, Stephen advises, post a reply in a timely manner once your first emotional response has subsided, but “stay calm and collected and take the conversation offline as quickly as possible”.

If a parent has made a complaint online, it is important to calmly redirect them to the appropriate channel where they can voice their complaint. Invite them, publicly, to call or come in for a meeting. He explains that it is very important your response is

Stephen James: “Social media can enrich learning”

public as it means that other members of the community can see you are addressing the situation, but that social media is not the appropriate place for such a discussion.

If you are able to resolve the situation through a meeting or conversation, that is when you can ask the parent politely if they will delete the post. “Most parents will agree to take it down if they feel they’ve been heard,” says Stephen.

In some very rare cases, it may be that the situation cannot be resolved through discussion. If leaders become aware of any information or allegations that are damaging towards the staff or school, NEU social media guidance says it is important to gather screenshots with times and dates of the incidents, including URLs. “Collating usernames and creating a chronology of events will give rigour to any ongoing complaints or cases,” Stephen explains.

Unfortunately, if the comment is posted in a private social media group, such as WhatsApp, there is often very little schools can do. “WhatsApp is becoming increasingly problematic for school leaders.

They’re having to spend more of their time dealing with misinformation and fake news coming out in these groups,” says Stephen.

If you’ve heard that there are rumours or complaints circulating within a closed group such as a parents’ WhatsApp group, it may be worth finding a sympathetic parent who can report back on what is being said, so that you can address the issues. Stephen also suggests setting up an official WhatsApp group with parents so that you can control the narrative and disseminate accurate information.

If a parent has posted a complaint on their own profile page, rather than on the school’s site, it can be problematic to deal with. Stephen explains: “It’s a very difficult situation, as technically it’s their own page and they’re free to say what they want, but at the same time the school has a responsibility to protect staff and pupils from potentially libellous posts.” In this case, Stephen recommends contacting the parent directly, having a discussion in person, and trying to resolve the issue offline. If the posts are harmful or libellous and they refuse to take them

NEU RESOURCES AND TRAINING Social media and online safety neu.org.uk/advice/socialmedia-and-online-safety Social media policy for schools neu.org.uk/advice/socialmedia-model-policy-schools Online safety protecting staff and pupils neu.org.uk/advice/online-safetyprotecting-school-staff-and-pupils Cyberbullying of school staff neu.org.uk/advice/ cyberbullying-school-staff Protecting staff mental health neu.org.uk/advice/protectingstaff-mental-health NEU AdviceLine 0345 811 8111 Advice from UK Safer Internet Centre saferinternet.org.uk/advicecentre/social-media-guides DfE advice for head teachers on cyberbullying tinyurl.com/3nrbajfd

down, it may be worth consulting your union or a lawyer.

No matter the negatives, however, Stephen is keen to stress the overwhelming benefits social media brings to schools: “Negative comments account for such a small amount of what’s actually going on online. If schools use it correctly, social media can enrich a child’s learning, as well as staff’s professional development.

There’s a huge network out there of people who are sharing ideas and looking out for each other, so it’s important not to lose sight of that.” lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members

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Final word

Should we reform GCSE exams?

Kevin Courtney Joint general secretary, National Education Union neu.org.uk facebook.com/ national education union NEUnion

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OUR 16-year-olds sit 30 separate GCSE exam papers, across three weeks. Not 30 hours of exams; 30 separate exams. Generally, no reference books are allowed, and memorisation is key.

There is almost no other form of assessment which contributes to GCSE grades, which in turn count towards league tables.

Teachers will generally have spent months working with pupils on exam technique and revision, because they want them to do well, and the school wants to do well too.

Many pupils will have had private tutors also concentrating on exam technique, again because their parents want them to get good grades in the exam race.

The pupils’ scripts are marked by examiners and then the exam boards distribute the grades by a process called “comparable outcomes,” which rations the number of grades.

Then pupils stop studying most of the subjects they have worked so hard for!

The baleful Michael Gove made things worse by: ■ changing the way league tables are counted, via the EBacc ■ introducing the comparable outcomes system after a grade inflation panic, and ■ removing most non-exam assessment.

But other fundamentals of the system are mostly unchanged since 1988.

There are many problems.

■ England tops the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) own league table for rote learning.

■ We test recall, but that means we aren’t assessing or developing skills in the subject.

■ Our system narrows down learning far faster than other countries.

■ This system is a major contributor to adolescent anxiety and mental illness.

■ The system of rationing grades means one third of young people are told they have failed English or maths every year.

On the first two points: rote learning is good for many things – multiplication tables the obvious example. But it is not good

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for higher order thinking. You actually have to transform knowledge, to manipulate it in real jobs and adult life – not just recall it.

An exam system focused on recall means it is not focused on building teamwork, initiative or creativity.

And our system is so narrow – much more than in other countries. The number of students whose A-levels cover three out of the five big buckets of humanities, sciences, maths, languages or vocational studies has halved since 2010 – from 38 per cent to 17 per cent. Yet our modern world is so interdisciplinary.

The system is bad for disadvantaged children.

The one third who fail every year are the most disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), those with free school meals. And let’s be clear – they haven’t “failed,” they just haven’t scored as well as another child in this system of exam races. Just think: even if every teacher and every student worked twice as hard, still a third would be told they have failed and still it would be the same third.

The NEU has set up an independent commission and its interim findings (see page 6) are that the system for 14- to 19-year-olds is not sufficiently fair or fit for the future.

Others are also looking at assessment. The Times has an education commission, so has Pearsons, and former Education Secretary Kenneth Baker, who oversaw the introduction of GCSEs in 1988, has said they should now be scrapped.

We should think big.

Do we need any high-stakes exams at all at 16, if all young people are staying in education or training until 18? We need a significant reform and school leaders need to shape it.

Would no exams until 18 feel liberating – where you can develop a curriculum of excitement – or would it be terrifying to think young people might not do anything without the spectre of an exam hanging over them?

“Even if every teacher and every student worked twice as hard, still a third would be told they have failed.”