Page 3

Contents:

Features
January-February 2010

13 Back off, Ofsted!
The NUT responds to members’ experiences of the new regime.

19 NUT at your fingertips
Julia Brandreth leads you through the NUT’s new website.

20 Vetting and barring
The NUT is concerned about the new scheme. Amanda Brown explains why.

25 Restorative practice
Paul Howard promotes a restorative approach to behaviour problems.

26 Make your mark
Chris Brown asks what teachers want from the next government.

28 Save the book!
Alan Gibbons writes about his campaign for the book.

33 Too skint for school?
The children most likely to fail live in poverty. Rys Farthing looks at the impact of family income on education.

37 Your vote counts!
Why we need your vote in the current NUT elections.

40 Countdown – saving you money for 40 years
Richard Kelly reflects on the benefits of the NUT-Countdown relationship.

43 Business class
Work experience is integral to life in Maxine Pittaway’s school. She explains this business ethos.

50 Do children’s services serve education?
Schools are neglected by the merged children’s services, argues Demitri Coryton.

Regulars
4 Upfront
11 International
16 Your union
22 Ask the union
30 Teachnology
34 Learning with the NUT
36 Reviews
41 Noticeboard
44 Staffroom confidential
46 Letters

Welcome

We begin 2010 with some encouraging news. Wales’s First Minister Carwyn Jones has announced that he will be “ensuring that we spend more money per head on children in Wales” and is looking to “catch up with England”. These pledges came just five days after NUT members lobbied the Welsh Assembly calling for pupils in Wales to have equal funding with their counterparts across the border (see page 4).

Meanwhile, in the clearest sign yet that the government is listening to the NUT and NAHT’s demands for the abolition of SATs, Schools Secretary Ed Balls has declared that “the current system is not set in stone”. This apparent openness to change came as the NUT was midway through its indicative ballot on SATs. Reform of primary school assessment can’t come too soon for the 95 per cent of ballot respondents who said the tests should be scrapped (see page 5), so let’s hope we see a new system that’s fairer for pupils and teachers in 2010.

Of course the campaigns for fair funding in Wales and against SATs in England are far from over, and the NUT will continue to put pressure on the government until we achieve our aims. But these ministers’ comments indicate that our demands are being listened to and demonstrate the value of union campaigning.

That campaigning takes on a new dimension this year, with a general election imminent. Turn to page 26 for an introduction to election issues from NUT political officer Chris Brown. We have an important few months of campaigning ahead of us. Please get involved in any way you can.

Elyssa Campbell-Barr
Editor

President:
Martin Reed
General secretary:
Christine Blower
Editor:
Elyssa Campbell-Barr
Journalist:
Janey Hulme
Administration:
Maryam Hulme
Editorial support:
Peta Lunberg
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