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Robot wars or AI to the rescue? Babes in the woods Heart and soul of our union The role of new technology in Forest schools take learning Meet the NEU’s rep and officer our classrooms. See page 14. outside. See page 27. of the year. See page 33. May/ June 2019 Your magazine from the National Education Union Better without baseline Four-year-olds take their message to Downing St. See page 13 Apply now! Join our team aqa.org.uk/apply2019 Marking takes less than 01483 556 161 four weeks, working [email protected] flexibly from home. Educate May/June 2019 Welcome March of the Four-Year-Olds, London. Photo: morethanascore.org.uk Robot wars or AI to the rescue? Babes in the woods Heart and soul of our union The role of new technology in Forest schools take learning Meet the NEU’s rep and officer our classrooms. See page 14. outside. See page 26. of the year. See page 33. ONE of the aims of our new union is to shape the future of education. And announcements made by politicians at our recent conference show May/ June 2019 that we are beginning to do just that. Lib Dem education spokesperson Layla Moran told delegates about her Your magazine from the National Education Union party’s manifesto pledges. Scrapping SATs, school league tables and Ofsted Better were high on her list of election promises. without baseline Four-year-olds take And the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, announced that the next their message to Downing St. See page 13 Labour government would end the free school and academies programme, do away with SATs and baseline testing, and provide 30 hours of free early years provision for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Campaigning pressure from our members is winning the political argument on education and we’d like to thank you for all you do for children and staff in our schools and colleges. But this term, we’re going to be asking for your help once again. Conference voted to ballot all primary members in England on the issue of assessment and high-stakes testing. NEU joint presidents: Delegates told heart-wrenching stories of how tests cause untold stress Kim Knappett & Kiri Tunks for pupils and staff alike. They talked about the narrowing of the curriculum, NEU joint general secretaries: resulting from pressure to teach to the test, which sees children missing out on Mary Bousted & Kevin Courtney the broad and balanced education we all know they need. They spoke of the focus on a small set of skills and how the tests treat all Editor: Helen Watson pupils the same, labelling them as failures if they do not meet arbitrary standards. Administration: Sarah Thompson And, most importantly, that these tests don’t benefit children and are all about comparing schools, not assessing pupils in a way which helps teachers to Journalists: support their learning. Sally Gillen, Emily Jenkins, With the soon-to-be introduced baseline assessment, by next year Max Watson primary school pupils will face high-stakes, standardised tests in reception and Newsdesk in years 1, 2, 4 and 6. t: 020 7380 4760 We think that it’s time to say enough is enough. e: [email protected] In this issue, we lay out our alternative to this system, based on one of teacher assessment, where experienced professionals use their knowledge and Design & subbing: Amanda Ellis discretion to best chart a pupil’s progression. We need you to help us campaign for a system we can all be proud of, one that recognises your professional skills and sees children as learners, not neu.org.uk entries on a data sheet. Help us win this indicative ballot and make this wish a reality. facebook.com/ nationaleducationunion Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney NEU joint general secretaries twitter.com/NEUnion To advertise contact: Leanne Rowley, Century One Publishing, Alban Row, 27-31 Verulam Road, St Albans AL3 4DG t: 01727 739 183 e: [email protected] Except where the NEU has formally negotiated agreements with companies as part of its services to members, inclusion of an advertisement in Educate does not imply any form of recommendation. While every effort is made to ensure the reliability of advertisers, the NEU cannot accept any liability for the quality of goods or services offered. Educate is printed by Walstead Southernprint Ltd. Inside pages are printed on paper comprised of 100% recycled, post-consumer waste. educate Your magazine from the National Education Union 3 Change a little life forever It’s incredible to think you have the potential to transform a child’s life. Leave a gift in your will to Action for Children and you’ll do just that. You’ll bring hope and happiness into the lives of the most vulnerable children in the UK. Find out how a gift in your will can change a child’s life – now and for generations to come. actionforchildren.org.uk/teacher [email protected] 0300 123 2112 Registered charity nos. 1097940/SCO38092. Company no. 4764232. ©Action for Children 2019. AfC 0947 4 educate Your magazine from the National Education Union The rest is history May 1838 Contents The People’s Charter was published, advocating extensive democratic reform of the British political system including ‘one man, one vote’ and a removal of property qualifications for MPs. The movement it provoked became known as ‘Chartism’ and attracted the support of millions campaigning to better conditions for working class people. Features Regulars 25 Michael Rosen 31 Polly Donnison & Warwick Mansell 34 NEU courses 35 Ask the union 37 International 39 Reviews 40 Teacher’s pet & letters 45 Noticeboard 48 Crosswords & sudoku Is tech a 50 Final word 14 Teaching to the tech threat to Where would education be without News technology? Sally Gillen explores teachers’ the future of tech in the classroom 6 Celebrating education and we speak to teachers for and existence? Over 400 members attend against its use. p14-17 the union’s first-ever pedagogy conference at the Institute of Education. 27 If you go down to the woods today… Forest schools take children out of 11 Academisation news the classroom and into nature. Members take up the fight Max Watson discovers the benefits against forced academisation. of learning in the great outdoors. Read our round-up. 13 The bigger picture More Than a Score takes its March of the Four-Year-Olds to 10 Downing Street. 18 NEU conference 2019 Max Watson and Sally Gillen report on the first-ever National Education Union conference in Liverpool. 32 Union people We meet this year’s Blair Peach and rep and officer of the year 18 27 award winners. educate Your magazine from the National Education Union 5 News ‘How long before we get angry?’ AROUND 400 members attended the NEU conference on curriculum and pedagogy at the Institute of Education (IoE) in London – the largest education facility in the world. Its director, Professor Becky Francis, told delegates that it is “absolutely essential” teachers engage with research. “All great professions take seriously the need to reflect on and share good practice, to think about the evidence behind that and to share and reflect on the contemporary challenges facing the profession, shaping their practice and their action,” she said. “It’s important that teachers understand the context in which they are practising, and perhaps even act to change it,” she added, rather than simply accepting the status quo. Later, conference heard from head Discussing pedagogy at the Celebrating Education event PHOTO by Carmen Valino teacher Duncan Bathgate, who explained how practices at his school challenge the status quo. down creatively,” he said. “How long will it be before we get angry At his Suffolk primary, Bealings, teachers He added: “We are battered into about children being controlled and labelled do not set any tests. “We don’t want to believing that the more we test them and the no good at 4, 7, 11, 16 and 18?” compare or judge children, to make them more data we collect on children, the more He added there is no homework or feel like they are being compared with other they will learn, as if being measured more and school uniform at Bealings, and children call people because that’s going to shut them more would increase your height. teachers by their first names. E-ACT scraps PRP ONE of the UK’s biggest academy chains has become the first to ditch performance-related pay (PRP) for its teachers. E-ACT chief executive David Moran said in a letter to staff in 29 schools that he planned to replace PRP with a “fairer pay policy” by the next academic year. He acknowledged PRP can “exacerbate silo working, undermine the power of the team and adds to your workloads”. Patrick Murphy, National Education Union (NEU) executive member responsible for negotiations with E-ACT, said: “We firmly believe the academy system is the wrong way DEMONSTRATORS marched to remember Union executive member Daniel Kebede to deliver a fully inclusive, comprehensive Blair Peach and Gurdip Singh Chaggar in spoke at a rally outside Southall Town Hall, education system, but well done, E-ACT.” Southall, on the 40th anniversary of Blair’s which also included shadow chancellor John Moran also cited Organisation for death. Blair Peach was president of East McDonnell (pictured above). Economic Co-operation and Development London NUT when he was killed by police The 700-strong demonstration was (OECD) research in his letter, which on an anti-fascist demonstration in 1979. organised by Southall Resists 40.

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