September 2013

The know zone

  • Checks and balances
    Inadequacies have emerged in the procedure for issuing enhanced criminal records certificates. It should give schools pause for thought, says Richard Bird. More
  • ‘Fair’ but not ‘fit’
    In a complex world, schools should be funded according to their present and future needs, not by the requirement to appear ‘simple and transparent’, says Sam Ellis. More
  • Inspectors under scrutiny
    Amid criticism of inconsistency in Ofsted judgements, Jan Webber examines the claims that some inspectors are not fit for purpose and suggests what could be done to restore confidence in the system. More
  • Fighting for better pay and conditions
    ASCL exists to reflect and promote the views of its members, which is why ASCL Council is so important. ASCL Council is made up of 148 elected representatives and is the association’s policymaking body, meeting four times a year. Council members represent ASCL at meetings with government officials and other organisations. It is from Council that national officers, including the president, are elected. In each edition of Leader this year, we will spotlight the work of a particular committee of Council. This month, it is the turn of the Pay and Conditions Committee. More
  • How is ASCL policy made?
    Council, ASCL’s policy-making body, meets four times a year and each of the 148 elected Council members serves on one of its main committees: Education, Pay and Conditions, Funding, Professional, and Public and Parliamentary, where future policy is discussed in detail. More
  • Could you be an ASCL Council member?
    Council membership is often described as the best in-service training that members can have. More
  • ASCL PD events
    "Curriculum Planning: Balancing the Vision Against the Funding" and "Conversion to a Multi-Academy Trust – the Options" More
  • Are you new to SLT?
    If so, then you will doubtless have richly earned your promotion and hardly be new to the concept of effective leadership. More
  • Presenting with impact
    What makes a great presentation? We all know when we have heard one. More
  • Stimulating physics
    The Stimulating Physics Network (SPN) is managed by the Institute of Physics (IOP), in partnership with the national network of Science Learning Centres. More
  • Adding value
    Understanding performance More
  • Direct action?
    ASCL members in some areas of the country are raising issues with recruitment on to the School Direct programme for teacher training, although in other areas it seems to be successful. Here members share their experience of how School Direct is working in their schools. More
  • Leaders' surgery
    The antidote to common leadership conundrums... More
  • Best supporting ‘actor’
    There is bound to be uncertainty when a school leader moves on... not least for the replacement who is given the strange title of ‘acting head’. But what does the job actually entail? More
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ASCL exists to reflect and promote the views of its members, which is why ASCL Council is so important. ASCL Council is made up of 148 elected representatives and is the association’s policymaking body, meeting four times a year. Council members represent ASCL at meetings with government officials and other organisations. It is from Council that national officers, including the president, are elected. In each edition of Leader this year, we will spotlight the work of a particular committee of Council. This month, it is the turn of the Pay and Conditions Committee.

Fighting for better pay and conditions

In the last several years, members of the Pay and Conditions Committee have been in the middle of such contentious issues as the Workforce Reform Agreement, which brought in ‘rarely cover’ and directed time, single status, pension reform, and, most recently, changes to performance management.

The pay and conditions specialist and the pensions specialist advise the committee and take their steer from its members before going into negotiations with other unions and the government.

It can be a delicate balance to come to a position that represents the best outcome for members as employees but that also considers their role as leaders of schools and colleges. That is why it is vital that a range of voices are represented at the committee, including business managers and assistant heads.

The committee’s most recent activity has been around the changes to school leaders’ pay proposed by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). The committee was in favour of an extended leadership pay scale that encompassed some Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) ranges, although it was noted that transition arrangements and affordability would be an issue. In response to a proposed relaxing of the rules on rarely cover, directed time, and the 21 tasks, the committee agreed that, while the provisions were not perfect, now is not the time to make significant changes to teachers’ conditions.

For the full list of proposed changes and ASCL’s response, see www.ascl.org.uk/strbcallforevidence

Jacques Szemalikowski is head of Hampstead School in London. He is a Council member for London and chair of the Pay and Conditions Committee. 

 What is your school like?
It’s a vibrant, diverse, inner London local authority (LA)-maintained school with about 1,300 students. There are 65 languages spoken at our school.

Why did you join ASCL Council and then decide to chair a committee?
Prior to joining ASCL, I’d been involved with trade unions as a classroom teacher and I enjoy that side of the work. There’s no dichotomy between having pay and conditions appropriate for school leaders and also moving on the educational debate.There are people who think heads should always be in school but every time I visit somewhere else I bring back a nugget that helps us improve.

What were your own schooldays like?
I did well enough and found things easy for a while but came unstuck a bit because I didn’t realise A levels would be such a different kettle of fish and required hard work.I was a punk in 1976 and spent a lot of time in clubs like the Roxy, the 100 and the Marquee – going backstage to meet some very interesting people – and nowhere near enough time studying.

Why did you do an astrophysics degree?
The Moon landing. Rockets were taking off every month, space travel looked exciting and anything seemed possible. I was never going to be an astronaut, though. As a slightly easier career option, I did a PGCE, loved it and moved steadily up the ladder over the years. People are accelerated through to headship now and that’s fine, but I think there’s room for people like me who did the equivalent of playing pubs and clubs before getting the Wembley gig.

How did you get such an exotic name?
My dad is Polish and my mum’s Swiss and they met during the war. I believe my mum actually moved from a hilltop village straight to the Portobello Road in London in the 1940s. Just imagine what that was like!

Jacques Szemalikowski

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