Unions dismiss idea for individual plans

4th January 2002, 12:00am

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Unions dismiss idea for individual plans

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/unions-dismiss-idea-individual-plans
TEACHERS’ unions have described as “mind-boggling” the Education Secretary’s suggestion that teachers should write individual lesson plans for their pupils.

As The TES revealed last month, the Government has accepted the need for more hours away from the classroom for teaching staff. The body which advises ministers on pay and conditions, due to report at the end of January, is considering a “meaningful guarantee” of non-contact time.

However, speaking in the Guardian this week, Estelle Morris has indicated that in exchange, teachers will be expected to tailor lesson plans to the needs of almost every child.

The giant step away from “one-size-fits-all” education has been criticised by teachers’ unions as completely unrealistic.

It also appears to contradict the strategy to reform teaching in secondary schools which sets detailed frameworks in maths and English which all classes are supposed to follow.

Nigel de Gruchy, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said Ms Morris’s statement amounted to personal tutoring on a scale that even universities would find impossible.

“This is an impossible idea. It is a dreamland which would take up every hour God sends. The implications for workloads are horrendous.”

John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, claimed it would require a drastic reduction in class sizes. He said that with some teachers taking more than 200 pupils each week lessons plans for each would be completely impractical.

“I am slightly alarmed to see the Secretary of State going down this route. Teachers do want to meet individual children’s needs but too much planning gets in the way of flexibility,” he said.

“I don’t think she’s given much thought to the implications. I think its a way of justifying extra preparation time to the Treasury.”

A Department for Education and Skills spokesman said that Ms Morris was not advocating individual plans for every child. He said that as things stand, teachers only have time to plan for the class as a whole. Providing more non-contact time would enable teachers to think about individual needs rather than a bloc of children.

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, said: “I don’t believe that it is the job of the Government or anyone else to lay down what teachers should do with their non-contact time.”

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