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Two education unions agree to pensions deal


by Dorothy Lepkowska


Three education unions have this week responded to the govern- ment’s pensions offer, with two accepting the deal and one “with- holding judgement”. The Association of Teachers and


Lecturers (ATL) and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) have both announced that they will accept the latest offer, which was made in December. A vote by ATL members eligible


for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme saw 91.6 per cent in favour of the proposals in England and Wales, 100 per cent in Scotland and 89.2 per cent in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, in a survey of ASCL


members, more than three quarters said that the union should accept the offer. However,


the National Association of Head Teachers


Willetts slammed over UCAS figures


Government attempts to explain an 8.7 per cent year-on-year drop in university admission numbers have been criticised. Figures from admissions


service UCAS show that 462,500 UK students applied to university this year, almost 44,000 down on 2011. Also, applications from stu-


dents based in England are down 9.9 per cent, while applications from Scotland, whose students do not pay fees, are down 1.5 per cent. In Wales, where the government has pledged to fund higher education fees for Welsh students, applications are down 1.9 per cent, while in Northern Ireland there has been a 4.4 per cent drop. Figures for 18-year-old


applicants (including overseas students) show a 2.6 per cent decrease with 252,000 applying, while for 19-year-olds they are down 12.6 per cent with 120,100 applying this year. While many put the decrease


down to the tripling of tuition fees, universities minister David Willetts said: “The proportion of English school-leavers applying to university today is greater than ever before, barring last year. It is encouraging that applications from people from some of the most disadvantaged backgrounds remain strong.” His comments drew an angry


response from Martin Freedman, head of pay, pensions and con- ditions at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, who said: “The government is fall- ing over itself to find any reason for the fall in UK applications other than the rise in fees, but it cannot be a coincidence that this fall occurs when fees for English universities have tripled. There is a serious risk that a uni- versity education will become a preserve of the better-off.”


(NAHT) has decided to “withhold judgement” on the offer and is call- ing for clarification on the proposed increases in contribution rates. The NASUWT and the National


Union of Teachers, the two largest teaching unions, have both refused to put the revised offer before their members, as has support staff union UNISON. The new proposals retain plans


for a career-average pension scheme but include an improved accrual rate of 1/57th of salary each year. Also, teachers who are 10 years from retirement will be immune to any changes and those who miss the 10-year cut-off by up to 3.5 years will also receive some protection. Teachers would continue to be able to choose a retirement date from the age of 55 onwards. However, the unions remain


concerned about the proposed increases in employee contributions from 6.4 to 9.6 per cent by 2014


and plans to increase the retirement age to 68. Russell Hobby, general secre-


tary of the NAHT, said the cur- rent offer is incomplete and wanted clarifications on “major issues”. He added: “This is a poor deal


with grave consequences for the future of the education system. It is also incomplete. We cannot sign up to it as it stands. While major issues are still on the table, particularly the contribution rate increase, our negotiators will continue to repre- sent the interests of the entire school workforce.” And despite accepting the deal,


Brian Lightman, general secretary of ASCL, warned that the nego- tiations were not yet over and that there were significant areas still to be discussed, including contribution levels and flexibility for those who wish to retire early. He said: “One of the key areas we will be pushing in the coming


weeks is flexibility to retire early. We are convinced that the proposal to raise the retirement age to 68 will have a detrimental effect on teach- ing standards by requiring people to work to an age when many no longer have the stamina and drive to perform at a level required.” An ATL statement also said


it will insist on the government agreeing to re-open negotiations on the pension contribution rates from 2015 onwards. General secretary Dr Mary


Bousted said the offer is not eve- rything the union wanted, but that the government would not move any further. She added: “The pensions talks


and negotiations were incredibly tough. The government did not want to make concessions and we had a hard fight to get a fairer deal for teachers. “It was only because ATL mem- bers, along with the members of six


other education unions, were pre- pared to show their strength of feeling by going on strike and lobbying their MPs that we managed to force the government to shift its position and start talks to get an improved offer.” ATL’s president, Alice


Robinson, continued: “Although the government’s final offer does not give us everything we wanted, it is the best deal we could get in the current economic climate. And members do not want a signifi- cantly worse deal imposed on them if they rejected this one.” A Department for Education


spokesman said: “The deal on the table reflects teachers’ and heads’ arguments about what’s most important to the profession, particu- larly around early retirement. “It’s a fair deal which strikes the


right balance – guaranteeing teach- ers a good future pension but keep- ing long-term costs firmly under control.”


Teen wins international art prize


NEWS In brief Strike boost


Education unions have recorded a dramatic increase in new members in the lead up to the November day of strike action last year. The Trades Union Congress-organised day of action took place on November 30 in protest at the proposed changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. Now, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) has revealed that new memberships quadrupled in the run-up to the day of action compared to the same period last year, while the National Association of Head Teachers recruited 387 new members in November compared to 200. The NASUWT said they have seen a “significant increase” in new members as well, but did not reveal figures. Notably, the non-striking union Voice also reported a surge in members with an average of 100 new joiners a day during November.


Fees Commission


An Independent Commission is to monitor the impact of the tripling of university fees in England over the next three years. The four-person panel will produce a series of reports assessing the impact of the increase on application and admissions trends, with a focus on the effect on those from low- income backgrounds. Chair of the Commission, Will Hutton, said: “It is incredibly important that we provide an independent check on the biggest reforms for higher education in a generation.”


RADA workshop The world-famous Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) has launched its first workshop for teachers. The Teachers’ Directing Workout is to be up and running by the spring and is aimed at giving drama teachers “intensive” training. The workshop will be run by leaders from the BA course at RADA and promises to develop directorial skills, help teachers get the most from a text, and build confidence. The day- and-a-half workshop costs £350. Visit www.rada.ac.uk/education- and-outreach


Lessons for cash


A talented Devon artist has scooped a prestigious international art award. Julia Whiting, 18, a pupil at St


Margaret’s School in Exeter, beat more than 12,000 young artists


to win the 2011 Saatchi Gallery– Sunday Telegraph Art Prize for Schools. The competition was open to primary, secondary and 6th form students around the world. Julia submitted an installation


of three paintings, inspired by the desolate Dartmoor landscape and entitled Trees: A Sense of Place. She received £2,000, while her school’s art department was award- ed £10,000.


The two runners-up were


James Wallis, 12, from Woodcote House School in Windlesham, Surrey, and Mu-Chun Chiang, 18, from The Leys School, Cambridge.


Overseas projects inspire creativity call


After travelling the world looking at innovative and creative approaches to education, a government advisor has called for UK teachers to be given more freedom to be creative. Charles Leadbeater, a former


Downing Street policy unit advi- sor who is currently working with the Department for Education’s Innovation Unit, said that we need to do more to inspire and engage our students in learning. During his travels, Mr


Leadbeater visited countries in the Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia, including India, Brazil, Pakistan and Jordan. His book, Innovation in


SecEd • February 2 2012


Education: Lessons from pioneers around the world, has been pub- lished on behalf of the Qatar-based World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) and is based on 16 pioneering projects, many of which have been winners or final- ists in the annual WISE Awards. It includes education projects in


some of the world’s most disadvan- taged areas and looks at the com- mon factors of why innovation is needed and how it can be generated. Among the projects featured is


the Nanhi Kali project in India that offers special support programmes for girls to help them continue in education.


Speaking to SecEd, Mr


Leadbeater said that education in the UK must inspire students to learn, rather than be solely aimed at gaining qualifications. He added that simply raising the school leaving age to 18 by 2015, as the government plans to do, will not engage more students in education. He explained: “Students


in countries such as Brazil or Paraguay feel grateful to have an education. Students overseas have hope when they are receiving edu- cation and in school, we need to see that here. “If you compare that to England,


the whole system is so narrow it can disengage students very easily because it is aimed at gaining quali- fications and nothing else. “It is vital that we can engage


with students through creative and innovative ways, simply raising the school leaving age is not going to work.” In his book, Mr Leadbeater said


that too many children at school here are sat in rows and set tasks which lead them to be “bored” and “psychologically absent”. Instead, he said teachers needed the freedom to teach with creativity. For more information, visit


www.wise-qatar.org 3


UK teachers are being invited to upload videos of their top lessons with the best ones winning cash prizes. O2 Learn is again inviting secondary teachers to help build an online video library of the best revision lessons. The scheme is in its second year and lessons for students aged 13 to 18 are being sought. Weekly prizes of £2,000 will be given to the best lessons and then towards the end of the year, 2012’s best video will be unveiled, winning £45,000. Visit: www.o2learn.co.uk


Retirement plans


Financial experts are calling for retirement planning to be included as part of the national curriculum. Statistics show that 50 per cent of people under the age of 25 will be dependent on family and charity in their retirement. Nigel Green, chief executive of the deVere Group, a financial advisory firm, is leading a call to ensure students are educating about retirement. He said: “We could be condemning a whole generation to a poverty- stricken retirement.”


Photo: Courtesy of the Saatchi Gallery, London. © David Rose, 2012


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