CONSULTATION RESPONSE Department for Education National Curriculum Review – Call for Evidence 14 April 2011 1. The NASUWT welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the National Curriculum Review – Call for Evidence. 2. The NASUWT is the largest teachers’ union in the UK representing teachers and school leaders. 3. The NASUWT believes that the National Curriculum should set a universal entitlement for all children and young people and that all schools, including academies and free schools, should be required to follow the National Curriculum. GENERAL COMMENTS NASUWT PRINCIPLES FOR THE CURRICULUM 4. The NASUWT has established eight principles upon which effective curricular frameworks should be based. These principles guide the Union’s work to promote and secure a curriculum that supports teachers and school leaders to meet the needs and interests of all children and young people. They also underpin the Union’s response to this Call for Evidence. The principles are set and explained below: NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 1 All pupils should have an entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. 5. The curriculum should recognise different forms of learning, including academic and practical learning, and offer rich, engaging and relevant experiences. This is critical to tackling disaffection and addressing poor pupil behaviour. The curriculum should help learners to become confident and successful and enable them to make a positive contribution to society. 6. Schools should offer a curriculum that secures breadth and balance and is relevant to all pupils. The curriculum should promote the values of equality, community cohesion, social justice and international solidarity. 7. The curriculum should equip pupils with the knowledge and skills to challenge discrimination and injustice. It should prepare them to live and participate in a globalised world. This includes helping pupils to understand and appreciate their own identities and those of others. The curriculum should provide opportunities for pupils to engage critically with issues relating to equality and justice and take part in activities that contribute to social cohesion. There should be coherence and consistency between policies that relate to the curriculum and other education policies 8. Policies relating to the curriculum must ‘fit’ with, and be supported by, other education policies, including those relating to teachers’ professional autonomy, teachers’ professional development and school accountability. The broader education system must not undermine the principal aims and objectives of the curriculum. In particular, a punitive, high-stakes accountability regime that pressurises schools into narrowing the focus and range of pupils’ learning experiences is not appropriate or acceptable. NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 2 Curriculum policy and practice should respect and promote the notion of teachers’ professional autonomy and judgement. 9. Teachers must be able to use their professional judgement to determine what is most appropriate for the learners they teach. They should have the flexibility to make appropriate decisions about what they teach and how they teach. Leadership of the curriculum should build on the principle of collegiality, with teachers working together to design the school’s curriculum. 10. Teachers should be actively engaged in the design and development of both the national curriculum and, within that framework, their school’s curriculum. It is essential that reforms encourage schools to adopt approaches to leadership that engage all teachers and support collaboration and co-operative working. As professionals, teachers and school leaders should have access to, and undertake, regular curriculum-related professional development. 11. High-quality continuing professional development (CPD) is essential if teachers and school leaders are to sustain and extend their professional knowledge, skills and expertise. All teachers and school leaders must have designated time to undertake CPD. CPD must be free, well-funded and quality-assured robustly. Practice should enable teachers and school leaders to focus on their core responsibilities for teaching and leading and managing teaching and learning. 12. High-quality curricular frameworks should allow teachers to focus on teaching and learning. Teachers should be able to draw on the skills of others to support pupils’ learning, including expertise from the local community. Tasks that do not require the professional skills and expertise of a teacher should be undertaken by appropriately trained and qualified members of the school workforce. NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 3 Practice should be efficient and avoid unnecessary bureaucracy and workload. 13. The curriculum must be monitored rigorously for its impact on workload and organisational bureaucracy. This needs to happen both at national and school level. It should mean that problems are identified and addressed. Failure to do this undermines the professionalism of teachers and school leaders. THE NEED FOR A CURRICULUM REVIEW 14. The secondary national curriculum was introduced in 2008 and a revised primary curriculum was due to be implemented from September 2011. Both reviews involved extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including teachers. Feedback from teachers and school leaders indicated that, in general, they are happy with the existing curriculum. In particular, teachers and school leaders report that the revised secondary curriculum gives them greater freedom and has enabled them to design a school curriculum that engages and inspires pupils and is helping them to raise standards. 15. As there has been no formal evaluation of the impact of the existing secondary national curriculum, this indicates that the current review is not responding to evidence about particular issues with the existing curriculum, but that ideology is the main driver for the reforms. 16. This curriculum review is taking place within a climate of austerity and public sector cuts. There are significant costs, both nationally and for schools, associated with any reform of the national curriculum. Schools have already invested a significant amount of time and money to prepare for and implement the secondary curriculum and the Rose Review primary curriculum. This includes developing curriculum resources and undertaking CPD related to the reforms. Many schools are cutting staff, including teaching staff, and cuts to local authority services and national organisations such as the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) mean that key sources of NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 4 curriculum support for schools are disappearing. The NASUWT, therefore, believes that a review of the curriculum is inappropriate at this point in time. USING EVIDENCE, INCLUDING INTERNATIONAL EVIDENCE, TO INFORM THE CURRICULUM REVIEW AND TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF BEST PRACTICE IN SCHOOLS 17. International evidence about effective practice can be useful to those making policy decisions about the national curriculum. International evidence can also help teachers and school leaders to improve practice in schools. However, it is important to recognise the limitations and potential dangers of using international evidence. 18. The Coalition Government makes repeated references to England’s performance in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and suggests that the national curriculum needs to be improved because England has fallen down the world rankings.1 The NASUWT contests this analysis. England’s performance in PISA has not declined. Critically, PISA assesses students’ performance in reading literacy, maths and science. As such, it provides an indication of how one element of the education system is performing, relative to other countries. It does not provide evidence about how the whole education system is performing. 19. Further, judgements about performance depend on the assessment tool being used. For example, in PISA, New Zealand performs significantly better than England in reading literacy and maths. However, in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) assessments, England’s performance in reading literacy and maths is significantly better than that of New Zealand.2 1 For example, see the Foreword to The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper 2010, DfE, November 2010. 2 Sturman, Linda et al. (2008) England’s achievement in TIMSS 2007: National report for England; and OECD (2010), PISA 2009 Results: What Students Know and Can Do:Student Performance in Reading, Mathematics and Science (Volume 1). NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 5 Therefore, questions need to be raised about what exactly is being assessed. International data, especially PISA, is being used uncritically to support ideologically driven educational reforms. 20. The Coalition Government states that evidence from PISA shows that ‘high performing systems devolve as much power as possible to the frontline, while retaining high levels of accountability’.3 However, PISA reports are much more tentative in their analysis, pointing only to possible links between approaches to autonomy and accountability. Further, ‘autonomy’ and ‘accountability’ can be interpreted in many different ways. PISA reports do not address this complexity. This highlights the importance of drawing on rich evidence about effective practice, including qualitative evidence. 21. The NASUWT notes that the Department for Education (DfE) is undertaking a more detailed analysis of the performance of education systems in a number of countries. The Union is extremely concerned about the choice of countries/administrations that are the focus of this detailed analysis. The four countries/administrations (Hong Kong, Singapore, Alberta, and Massachusetts) are ones that the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, has cited in various speeches and articles. Questions must be raised about the objectivity of these choices and the extent to which they will provide a comprehensive understanding of high-performing education systems. The NASUWT believes that the choice of countries is highly selective. Put simply, they appear to be education systems that promote the education ideologies that the Coalition Government is seeking to introduce. 22. The NASUWT is extremely concerned about the emphasis being given within the review to international evidence and the apparent disregard for evidence about high-quality practice within England and across the UK. It is vital that the curriculum review makes full use of national evidence about excellent practice in schools. 3 Op cit. NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 6 Policy coherence 23. The NASUWT acknowledges the need to ensure that there is coherence between policies relating to the curriculum and other education policies. It is essential that these other policies do not have unintended consequences for the curriculum. However, there are major inconsistencies between the Coalition Government’s education policies, and the NASUWT believes that this will have a significant and adverse impact on the curriculum offer to pupils. 24. Questions must be raised about the Coalition Government’s policy on academies and free schools. Academies and free schools will not be required to follow the National Curriculum; the National Curriculum will simply act as a benchmark. However, the Coalition Government says that it wants ‘the National Curriculum to be a benchmark, not a straitjacket, a body of knowledge against which achievement can be measured’.4 The terms of reference for the curriculum review also state that the national curriculum is intended to ensure ‘rigour and high standards and create coherence in what is taught in schools’.5 Therefore, it is unclear why academies and free schools are not required to follow the national curriculum. 25. Academies vary widely in their performance. For example, the National Audit Office report of the National Academies Programme6 reveals that whilst some academies were successful, this was not the case for all academies. Further, the Coalition Government’s policy of ensuring that the ‘lowest performing schools […] are considered for conversion to become Academies to effect educational transformation’7 indicates that this variation in performance is likely to continue. Academies are state-funded. The NASUWT believes that academies should be subject to the same standards as other schools and there are sound educational reasons for requiring academies and free schools to follow the National Curriculum. Again, this inconsistency indicates that 4 DfE (November 2010), The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper 2010, page 40, paragraph 4.2. 5 Curriculum Review Terms of Reference. 6 National Audit Office (September 2010), The Academies Programme. 7 DFE (2010), The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper 2010. NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 7 decisions about educational reforms are being driven by ideology rather than what is in the best interests of children and young people 26. The Coalition Government’s decision to amend the secondary school performance tables so that a school’s performance is measured against the percentage of pupils achieving 5 GCSE A*-C in the English Baccalaureate subjects illustrates how accountability systems, in this case performance tables, affect the curriculum. Feedback from teachers and other evidence reveals how schools are responding to the change. ‘Schools are already changing their curriculums and taking reactive decisions because of league table pressures rather than a holistic view of their needs’.8 The message is very clear: high-stakes accountability systems have a profound and adverse impact on the curriculum and the qualifications offer. 27. International evidence also demonstrates how high-stakes accountability shifts attention away from improving teaching and learning so that ‘the real school mission may become a quest to outdo another school’. 9 The research suggests that this is undermining the Singapore government’s aim to develop a ‘21st century’ curriculum, an aim that is designed to provide opportunities for students to take a more active role in their learning and develop creative and entrepreneurial skills. 28. Punitive systems of accountability undermine teachers’ professional integrity and limit their ability to operate as professionals. Emerging evidence from NASUWT-commissioned research into teachers’ experiences of SEN and inclusion, and other feedback from teachers, reveals that teachers and school leaders are under substantial pressure to focus on inspection and accountability priorities. The emphasis on these priorities is often so great that they have little time to reflect critically on their wider practice. They also have little time to undertake high-quality professional development. ‘The English bacc causes fury in schools’, education guardian in The Guardian, Tuesday 11 January 2011. 9 The evolution and nature of school accountability in the Singapore education system, in Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, Volume 22, pages 275-292, 19 August 2010. Published online by Springer (page 279). 8 NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 8 29. It would not be acceptable for the Curriculum Review to simply note the consequences of conflicting policies. The Review must highlight the inconsistencies and conflicts between policies related to the curriculum and other education policies. It must make clear recommendations to address these inconsistencies. The recommendations should include: establishing systems of accountability that are supportive and developmental; ensuring that all policies start from the principle that teachers are professionals and must be trusted as professionals; taking steps to encourage approaches to leadership, including leadership of the curriculum, that empower teachers and facilitate collaboration and co-operative ways of working; and developing policies that will enable all teachers to access high-quality ongoing professional development. 30. The NASUWT challenges the rationale for looking at the content of subjects before establishing aims and objectives for the National Curriculum. Aims and objectives define what is important and, so, the sorts of evidence that should be looked at when developing the curriculum. They also help to establish the overall shape of the curriculum, including the relationship between the National Curriculum and the school curriculum. 31. The failure to establish a clear set of aims and objectives at the beginning of the curriculum review process could lead to the development of a curriculum that is disjointed, unbalanced and narrowly focused. It increases the risk that some subjects will be content heavy, whilst others will contain much less detail, something that could have unintended consequences. For example, perceptions about the relative importance of different subjects could result in pupils receiving a narrow and inappropriate curriculum offer. NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 9 A BROAD AND BALANCED CURRICULUM 32. The NASUWT believes that the National Curriculum should set a national entitlement for all pupils to receive a broad and balanced curriculum. It should provide a framework within which teachers can work to shape the curriculum so that it best meets pupils’ needs and interests. The National Curriculum should recognise different forms of learning, including academic and practical learning, and make reference to knowledge, skills and understanding. 33. Evidence shows how a broad and balanced curriculum can help to raise pupils’ attainment, including their attainment in core subjects.10 For example, successful schools report that achievement in a range of subjects across the curriculum, including science, humanities and the arts, helps to improve pupils’ confidence and self-esteem and this enables pupils to tackle more challenging work and develop a positive attitude towards school. The NASUWT recommends that the National Curriculum acknowledges the importance of pupils gaining this breadth and balance across a range of subjects, areas and contexts. 34. A highly prescriptive and narrow National Curriculum, set within a high-stakes, punitive system of accountability, will result in schools coming under substantial pressure to focus on the narrow core. The NASUWT believes that the National Curriculum framework must set broad aims and objectives for the whole curriculum. 35. The Curriculum Review Terms of Reference state that a principal objective for the Review is to ‘give teachers greater professional freedom over how they organise and teach the curriculum’. The NASUWT welcomes this intention and believes that it is important to understand what this means in practice. 10 Ofsted (October 2002), The curriculum in successful primary schools. NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 10 36. An OECD study of effective learning environments11 identifies seven key principles that are critical to creating an effective learning environment. The learning environment: recognises the learners as its core participants, encourages their active engagement and develops in them an understanding of their own activity as learners; is founded on the social nature of learning and actively encourages wellorganised co-operative learning; ensures that learning professionals are highly attuned to the learners’ motivations and recognises the key role of emotions in achievement; is acutely sensitive to the individual differences among learners in it, including their prior knowledge; devises programmes that are challenging and demand hard work from all without excessive overload; operates with clarity of expectations and deploys assessment strategies consistent with these expectations. There is strong emphasis on formative feedback to support learning; and strongly promotes ‘horizontal connectedness’ across areas of knowledge and subjects, as well as to the community and the wider world. 37. The NASUWT believes that this Curriculum Review must take account of such evidence. Whilst the National Curriculum should not set out how teachers should teach, it must not undermine the critical elements of effective practice, nor prevent teachers from working in ways that will enable pupils to achieve their full potential. 38. Teachers should be able to use their professional judgement to determine how they teach the National Curriculum as well as the wider school curriculum. Evidence of innovative practice in successful schools12 shows that schools design the curriculum in very different ways but that there are common reasons for establishing the approach; namely, improving pupils’ motivation 11 Dumont, Hanna; Istance, David; and Benavides, Francisco (editors) (2010), The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, OECD: Paris. 12 Ofsted (October 2008),Curriculum Innovation in Schools. NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 11 and engagement and raising their attainment. Innovative approaches to practice included organising the curriculum around themes; flexible use of curriculum time; introducing alternative curriculum pathways to meet the needs and interests of all learners; and developing pupils’ learning skills. The schools used these approaches to reinforce core subjects and, critically, to help pupils to make links between subjects. The revised National Curriculum must enable teachers to design the curriculum so that they can meet the needs of their pupils. 39. The NASUWT is extremely concerned that steps are being taken that will force teachers to adopt particular approaches to teaching. For example, references have been made to ‘the importance of subjects’. Also, the proposal to introduce a reading test for all six-year-olds will effectively require teachers to use synthetic phonics to teach pupils to read. This undermines the Coalition Government’s claim that it wants to leave decisions about teaching to the professionals. The NASUWT believes that decisions about how things are taught, including reading, should be made by teachers, and should be based on meeting the best interests of learners. The plan to introduce a synthetic phonics-based reading test for all six-year-olds undermines teachers’ professionalism and does not serve learners’ best interests. This should be abandoned and teachers should determine whether they use synthetic phonics or other methods to teach reading. Embedding equality and inclusion through the content of the curriculum 40. The NASUWT welcomes the fact that the Expert Panel has been asked to provide advice on how the content of the national curriculum can support the embedding of equality and inclusion. 41. The Expert Panel must, therefore, recognise that removing the entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum from the National Curriculum framework is likely to exacerbate inequalities within the education system. It could mean that some children will have access to a broad, balanced and rich curriculum offer, but that others will receive a very limited offer. The Coalition NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 12 Government’s policies relating to free schools and academies increase the risk that this will happen. For example, academies and free schools will not be required to follow the National Curriculum. Further, whilst academies and free schools may be required to provide a core curriculum without charge, some may seek to charge pupils for additional learning, including broad and enriching aspects of curriculum offer. Such an outcome would contravene the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The NASUWT strongly recommends that the Curriculum Review highlights this flaw and insists that all schools be required to implement the National Curriculum. 42. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the right for every child to receive an education on the basis of equal opportunity (Article 28).13 It also sets out the right for every child to receive an education that develops the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential; develops their respect for human rights, and fundamental freedoms, the natural environment, their own cultural identity, language and values, and those of others; and prepares them for responsible life in a free society in a way that promotes peace, tolerance, equality and understanding (Article 29). Further, it sets out the right for children to have their views and opinions heard and, taking account of their age and maturity, to have a say in what should happen to them (Article 12). It is essential that the National Curriculum and wider education policy comply with the Convention. The Convention principles should be embedded in the values, aims and objectives for the National Curriculum. 43. Focusing on Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the NASUWT believes that it is for schools to determine how they will develop pupils’ respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; their cultural identity, language and values; those of others; and how they will promote peace, tolerance, equality and understanding. What is taught and how it is taught will be influenced by pupils’ backgrounds, needs and experiences, as well as the community in which the school is located. United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), Fact Sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, web link: www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf. 13 NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 13 However, it is vital that all schools understand that they have a responsibility to address these issues. The NASUWT believes that the National Curriculum framework should make this expectation clear. Further, steps should be taken to identify how National Curriculum content might support schools to deliver this work. 44. The Equality Act (2010) places a duty on schools and other public bodies to eliminate discrimination, to promote equality and to foster good relations between groups. Again, the curriculum is a key vehicle for enabling schools to do this. The National Curriculum aims and objectives should include explicit reference to the duty placed on schools. The aims and objectives should make it clear that schools are expected to use the curriculum to challenge discrimination, promote equality and foster good relations between groups. 45. The Terms of Reference for the Curriculum Review ask the Expert Panel to advise on the extent to which the National Curriculum should be set out on a year-by-year basis. The NASUWT believes that a year-on-year curriculum poses some significant challenges in relation to equality and inclusion. In particular, there are questions about whether the curriculum can be designed and organised in a way that ensures that there is no adverse impact on different groups of pupils, most notably pupils with SEN and disabilities, very able children and children who have recently arrived in England. It is essential that any proposal to develop a year-on-year curriculum does not proceed until the likely impact on different groups of learners is examined and fully understood. This needs to include an analysis of the impact of a year-on-year curriculum on other areas of learning, including a child’s social and emotional development. Further, a decision to introduce a year-on-year curriculum should only be made if it is clear that the policy will not have an adverse impact on particular groups of pupils. Critically, it is essential that the National Curriculum engages all pupils and enables them to achieve their full potential. 46. Evidence from PISA indicates that schools and education systems that require students who do not make adequate progress to repeat grades perform less NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 14 well than other schools and education systems.14 PISA data points to associations between factors, rather than interrogating the reasons for these patterns. However, feedback from teachers indicates that they have very serious concerns about a ‘repeat grade’ model. There are concerns that a ‘repeat grade’ model would have a very negative impact on pupils’ social and emotional development and on their motivation and self-esteem. There are also concerns that the model would increase the risk of poor behaviour. The NASUWT would oppose any attempts to introduce a year-on-year curriculum that requires pupils to repeat grades. TEACHERS’ PROFESSINAL DEVELOPMENT AND CURRICULUM LEADERSHIP 47. Evidence from the OECD shows that high-performing education systems attract, develop and retain highly skilled and high-quality teachers.15 The evidence also indicates that attractive salaries and working conditions, including a work-life balance, are important in making teaching attractive. 48. Every pupil should have access to highly skilled, high-quality teachers if they are to achieve their full potential. The NASUWT believes that this will not be achieved if there is any attempt to dismantle the nationally agreed pay and conditions framework. Comparisons between the pay and working conditions for teachers working in schools, where there is a framework, and those working in colleges, where the framework was removed, highlight the consequences of introducing a market model of pay and conditions. Whilst college lecturers’ pay and conditions compared favourably with teachers’ pay and conditions before incorporation, school teachers now enjoy higher rates of pay, have greater work security and better working conditions than their peers in colleges. Any moves to end nationally agreed pay and conditions are likely to result in a decline in pay and conditions for teachers. Inevitably, this will have an adverse impact on teacher morale, motivation and the quality of 14 OECD (2010), PISA 2009 Results: What Makes a School Successful? Resources, Policies and Practice (Volume IV). 15 OECD (2011), Building a High-Quality Teaching Profession: Lessons from Around the World. NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 15 teaching. If the Coalition Government is serious about recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers, then it must retain the framework for nationally agreed pay and conditions. 49. The OECD’s report on building a high-quality teaching profession16 recognises the importance of pay, but says that other factors are also important in making teaching an attractive profession. It says that teachers identify the quality of their working relations with students and colleagues, the support offered by school leaders, good working conditions, and opportunities to develop their skills as being very important. The report also suggests that people who see themselves as candidates for the professions are more likely to be attracted to teaching if schools are organised in ways that treat teachers as professionals. These are work environments that are not prescriptive and that do not use bureaucratic management procedures to direct their work. The report goes on to say that ‘the essence of professional work can be seen as the acknowledgement that it is the professional, and not the supervisor, who has the knowledge needed to make the important decisions as to what services are needed and how they are to be provided’.17 Further, it says organisations dominated by professionals are ‘those in which workers are consulted on all matters of consequence […] and have considerable discretion with respect to diagnosing […] needs and [how] to address those needs’. It is vital that these other factors are both acknowledged and addressed through the curriculum review. It is also important that the curriculum review identifies and flags up how other education policies may make it difficult or even impossible to secure such conditions. The NASUWT believes that the current system of inspection and high-stakes testing, including the use of school performance tables, are particularly problematic in this respect. 50. As professionals, it is crucial that teachers maintain, update and extend their professional skills and knowledge. Therefore, the NASUWT recognises that every teacher should undertake regular, high-quality CPD. Evidence shows that high-performing education systems place great emphasis on ensuring that 16 17 OECD (2011), Ibid. OECD (2011), Ibid, page 11. NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 16 all teachers have access to high-quality CPD.18 Crucially, this includes ensuring that all teachers have the time to undertake CPD and ensuring that working environments support professional practice by encouraging teachers to work with each other to share knowledge and expertise. For example, in Singapore, teachers have an entitlement of 100 hours free professional development per year; in Shanghai China, every teacher is required to undertake 240 hours CPD within 5 years; and in Finland, teachers are given time to undertake practical research throughout their careers. 51. The NASUWT is extremely concerned that in England many teachers do not have access to high-quality CPD. Also, heavy workload and lack of designated time for professional development means that it is very difficult for many teachers to undertake CPD and, more generally, reflect critically on their practice. Further, some teachers may be expected to undertake CPD in their own time, something that raises major equality issues for some groups of teachers, including those with caring responsibilities. These issues must be addressed and steps should be taken to ensure that all schools enable all teachers to undertake regular high-quality CPD within designated working time and at no personal cost. The NASUWT believes that this should be formalised through discussions about individual teachers’ professional development needs. Further, the Union believes that this should form part of a nationally agreed framework for recognising teachers’ professionalism and part of the teachers’ contractual entitlement. 52. The NASUWT is aware that some schools have adopted innovative approaches to organising the curriculum that create time and space for teachers to undertake CPD. The NASUWT would be keen to work with the DfE to identify and promote approaches to curriculum practice that provide pupils with engaging, high-quality learning experiences, and opportunities for all teachers to undertake high-quality professional development. 53. Supportive, collaborative working relationships are vital to ensuring that curriculum is both designed and implemented effectively. This is closely linked 18 OECD (2011), Ibid. NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 17 to the issue of leadership, as Ofsted’s report of the curriculum in successful primary schools illustrates. 19 Involving all staff in discussions and decision making was seen to be critical, because it helped to create a sense of team work, secured staff commitment to implementing decisions, and helped to ensure a consistent approach across the school. However, collaboration and co-operation are not simply about what goes on within schools, they are also about the relationships between schools. The NASUWT is alarmed that current education reforms are removing many of the frameworks that have enabled schools to work collaboratively. For example, local authority advisory services have been slashed and the QCDA is closing. Further, many of the Coalition Government’s education policies encourage schools to compete with each other, rather than work co-operatively. It is essential that steps are taken nationally to encourage and enable teachers and schools to work collaboratively and co-operatively. The NASUWT also recommends that the DfE uses curriculum dissemination events, including events involving unions, to highlight the characteristics of effective leadership practice. 54. Closely allied to the previous point, the NASUWT believes that the Government must engage in active and meaningful dialogue with the NASUWT and other teacher unions on matters relating to the development of education policy and teachers’ professional practice. Evidence shows that some high-performing systems have established very effective working relations with their teachers’ unions. For example, the OECD report on building a high-quality teaching profession20 provides examples of the governments in Ontario, Canada, Finland, Norway, and Montgomery County in the USA working closely with the teacher unions to develop and implement education reforms. 55. There are many benefits for governments working closely with unions. For example, unions offer access to large numbers of teachers and so provide a valuable means for getting feedback on policies and proposals. Unions are well placed to help governments test out proposals. They are also well placed 19 20 Ofsted (October 2002), op cit. OECD (2011), op cit. NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 18 to support and encourage collaborative working and the development of innovative practice in ways that do not exploit teachers. Critically, unions can play a crucial role in helping to promote teachers’ professionalism and securing the conditions that enable teachers to flourish as professionals. Under the previous government, social partnership played a key role in raising standards in schools. The NASUWT would be keen to explore how it might work with the DfE to support the development of effective curriculum practice in schools. Chris Keates General Secretary For further information on the Union’s response, contact Sonja Hall, Principal Official (Education). NASUWT Hillscourt Education Centre Rose Hill Rednal Birmingham B45 8RS 0121 453 6150 www.nasuwt.org.uk nasuwt@mail.nasuwt.org.uk NASUWT The largest teachers’ union in the UK 19