SecEd The ONLY weekly voice for secondary education Inside this issue Dream teachers


SecEdmeets the Dream Teachers, who have won a national challenge to create the most engaging videos to explain tough concepts in a range of subjects Pages 8 to 9


Web 3.0 & 4.0


What is next for web technologies and what could it mean for schools? Page 10


We need to know: call for new asbestos laws


by Lubna Ahmed and Pete Henshaw


Asbestos campaigners are calling for the government to adopt US-style laws requiring schools to tell teachers what is being done to manage the deadly substance. Figures released by campaign


group Asbestos in Schools (AiS) show that mesothelioma, the lung cancer caused by exposure to asbes- tos fibres and dust, has killed 16 teachers a year in the last decade, up from three a year in the 1980s. It is estimated that 75 per cent of


Arts and music: Getting outdoors!


We look at how you can embrace Learning Outside the Classroom when it comes to the arts and music Page 12


School’s out


for summer! Thank you for reading SecEd this year. I hope you have found our articles, advice and resources valuable. Have a great and relaxing summer break and if you do miss us then don't forget we're online at www.sec-ed.co.uk and you can also follow us at www.twitter.com/SecEd_ Education. We shall be back in September!


school buildings have some asbes- tos-containing materials (ACMs) but current advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is that if asbestos is not damaged then it is safer to leave it in place. However, campaigners want


more openness and are calling on government to require schools to inform parents and teachers of their asbestos management sys- tems, something America has done since 1986. Speaking on Action Mesothelioma Day, which took place last Friday (July 1), AiS spokeswoman Julie Winn said: “If we are ever to solve this problem that still contaminates our school infrastructure, a policy of complete openness is essential and must be introduced now and without delay.” In America, the Asbestos


Hazard Emergency Response Act requires schools to audit their ACMs and development manage- ment strategies, but also compels school authorities to regularly com- municate these plans to every par- ent and teacher. Ms Winn added: “The gov-


ernment’s concern appears to be that if the public understands the nature of the problem they’re only going to panic and want all asbestos removed from every school, which


the government appears to believe is too high a price. “This concern is exaggerated:


the panic has not happened in the US. We are campaigning for effec- tive asbestos management and pro- gressive, not immediate, removal.” Around 14,000 primary and sec-


ondary schools were built in the 30-year period after 1945 when the use of asbestos was at its peak. ACMs are commonly found in par- tition walls, window surrounds, lag- ging and ceiling panels. Fibres and dust can be released if structures are not well maintained or sometimes if doors or windows are slammed. Campaigners point to an inci-


dent in March when a hydrogen balloon exploded during a chem- istry demonstration in a primary school shaking asbestos dust from ceiling panels onto pupils. Ms Winn, who is also chair


of the Joint Union Asbestos Committee, said: “In the past 30 years, almost 230 teachers have died of mesothelioma but more than 60 per cent of those deaths have occurred in just the last decade. The trend here is accelerating.” In December, answering a


Parliamentary question from Annette Brook MP, who chairs the AiS group, schools minister Nick Gibb said that the government had no plans to carry out a programme of asbestos removal. There are further concerns


after changes to health and safety rules. In March, after Lord Young’s review of health and safety regu- lations, the government said that “low-risk environments”, which include schools, would no longer be automatically inspected by the HSE. Michael Lees, a member of the AiS whose wife, a teacher, died from mesothelioma 11 years ago, says this is a mistake. Mr Lees points to HSE figures


from 2009 which show that after an asbestos management survey of


Issue 290 • July 7 2011 Price £1.00 www.sec-ed.com


On the picket: This NUT member in Cambridge was among hundreds of thousands of school staff who walked out over pensions last week. SecEd was in the middle of the protest rallies and on picket lines in London and Cambridge. See pages 2 and 3.


all local authorities in England, 45 were targeted for inspection. Of these, 32 required formal advice on improvements, 10 required enforce- ment action, and 18 improvement notices and one prohibition notice were issued. A HSE statement in response to


SecEd’s enquiries said: “One aspect of (the health and safety reforms) is an expectation that HSE will devote less resource to the inspection of lower risk premises, such as schools, as compared with those in the high hazard industries. However, inspec- tions are not HSE’s sole contact with local authorities and schools, and the policy statement should not be inter- preted as suggesting that HSE will


no longer concern itself with asbes- tos in schools as a specific topic.” On the call for a new US-style


law, the statement added: “HSE believes that the duty to manage asbestos in our domestic legislation places appropriate legal duties on those responsible for the mainte- nance and repair of school build- ings. “HSE does not enforce any


health and safety legislation that requires a school or local authority to inform parents about the pres- ence of asbestos in a school. Parents can, of course, contact their school or local authority to request infor- mation about the presence of ACMs in a school.”


PASSION CONNECTION SUPPORT PROTECTION VOICE


NAHT believes that the proposed changes to the teachers’ pension scheme will undermine the morale and recruitment of school leaders


Support our campaign to protect your pension rights


JOIN US Online: www.naht.org.uk/welcome/join-now


Phone: 01444 472414 to speak to the Membership Recruitment Team


Email: joinus@naht.org.uk A Department for Education


spokesman emphasised that the existing Control of Asbestos Regulations already require schools and local authorities to identify the location and condition of asbestos in their buildings. The spokesman added: “We


commissioned the James Review to set out long-term plans for school building and capital investment to make sure it targets schools in the greatest disrepair – we will respond in full in due course.” It comes as a £20,000 online


asbestos e-training resource is to go live in September. It will be free for school staff and will provide basic training and documentation.


UK news  SecEd: On Your Side  Independent thinking  NQT diary  Union address  Managing ICT  At the chalkface


Photo: Paul Haigh


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