SecEd The ONLY weekly voice for secondary education Inside this issue


Supporting NQTs across the UK


This week SecEd has teamed up once again with the NASUWT to bring you our eight-page NQT special, offering a range of crucial advice, including on preparing for year two at the chalkface Pages 16 to 23


Emergency budget: Get the very latest


As SecEd went to press, the chancellor was preparing to deliver his emergency budget. Speaking on Friday, Michael Gove, education secretary, said he knew there would be ‘bad news’. We will have the latest updates at SecEd online. Visit: www.sec-ed.co.uk


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and Twitter Thousands of teachers are reading SecEddigital, a virtual edition of SecEd, which is emailed out every week. You can sign up for free by emailing editor@sec-ed.co.uk. SecEd news and features are now also available on Twitter. You can follow us at www. twitter.com/SecEd_Education


Minister labels union leaders ‘resistent to change’ sparking war of words She continued: “I think what’s


Chris Parr


Trade unionists have rounded on education secretary Michael Gove, after he claimed teaching union leaders are resistant to change and do not represent the views of their members. One union leader told SecEd


that the language used by Mr Gove at a recent school leaders confer- ence represented a “return to the Thatcher years”, while another warned the secretary of state against trying to undermine them. Speaking at the National College


for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services last Thursday (June 17), Mr Gove defended his policy of giving more independence to schools, but admitted it would not sit well with the “classroom unions”. He said: “I think there’s a differ- ence between the union leadership,


in some cases, and the union mem- bers in many cases. In politics there is something known as the ‘head- body division’, which means that sometimes you have an enlightened head but a recalcitrant body. I think in unions it’s sometimes the other way around; you have a small ‘c’ conservative leadership, but actu- ally a membership that are up for change and recognise the benefits.” His words have drawn a sting-


ing reaction from the three larg- est secondary unions, all of which have voiced opposition to the acad- emies programme, which grants state schools exemption from local authority control. Chris Keates, general secretary


of the NASUWT, said the com- ment “cast a doubt” over the rela- tionship between the union and government, claiming Mr Gove was “promoting the cult of the headteacher, and is not interested in classroom teachers”.


interesting is that it’s taken a mat- ter of days to return to the rheto- ric of the Thatcher years. Margaret Thatcher constantly told people that union leaders were out of touch with the people they represent in order to stop people listening to them. “Mr Gove’s comments do not


suggest he does not understand unions. He understands them per- fectly well. It’s about him setting up how you should go about dealing with opposition. He’s saying that to do that, you claim that the people opposing you are not representative of opinion. It’s exactly the same as the 1980s and 1990s when union leaders were demonised.” Ms Keates said she was con-


cerned about the possible knock-on effects of Mr Gove’s comments. “It is very, very sad that so early


in his tenure as secretary of state, Mr Gove has started to cast doubt over our relationship. It is not some-


thing we can overlook. In front of a conference of thousands of heads he has effectively given them permission, if they are approached by a union, to say that they aren’t representative of teachers.” Christine Blower, general sec-


retary of the National Union of Teachers, said she too disagreed with Mr Gove’s sentiment. She added: “I’m not sure that I recog- nise Mr Gove’s words in the case of the National Union of Teachers. There are plenty of changes which the union at all levels would like to see. The fact that over some of his proposals we disagree does not mean that we are wrong.” Dr Mary Bousted, general secre-


tary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, defended her actions, saying they were determined by policy-making sessions at the annu- al conference, discussions with the executive committee and subject committees, and “extensive mem-


ber consultations”. She added: “In Mr Gove’s case a little knowledge of trade unions is a dangerous thing. I am the voice of the members. Mr Gove would do well to listen to the education general secretaries rather than try to undermine us.” Speaking last month, Mr Gove


denied he was intentionally heading into battle with the unions, saying he “always enjoys vigorous conver- sations” with them. He added: “You sometimes get,


from some voices in trade unions, concerns raised, but actually the real- ity is the members that trade unions represent generally benefit from the changes of academy status. They find that they’re working in schools where the standard of behaviour and discipline is better. They feel they are working in an environment with a greater degree of flexibility.”


• For more news from the National College event, turn to page 4.


A return to the Thatcher years?


Issue 254 • June 24 2010 Price £1.00 www.sec-ed.com


UK news n Independent thinking n Moral support n NQT diary n Managing ICT n Union address n At the chalkface


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