ATL comment on Institute of Ed report into class sizes

Commenting on the Institute of Education's report into class sizes, Martin Johnson, acting deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:

"Professor Wiliam's remarks should encourage the Government to put its money where its mouth is.  Staff need to work together to learn how to teach more effectively, but schools will need more resources to do this. The Professor reminds us that this would be very cost-effective.

 "We know cutting the number of pupils in a class only improves learning when there are only 15 or fewer pupils, but putting an extra professional in each classroom could have the same result. Schools have benefited hugely over the last decade from having more classroom based staff, but much more training is needed to make their deployment fully effective.

"And while the Government says it encourages assessment for learning, its testing policies have stolen teachers' self-confidence so new training must be provided and resourced.  School staff desperately need a contractual entitlement to training which meets their individual needs."