Association of Teachers and Lecturers

ATL
Full name Association of Teachers and Lecturers
Founded 1978 (merger of AAM and AMA)
Members 198,102 (2013)[1]
Affiliation EI, TUC, ICTU
Key people
Office location London, England
Country United Kingdom
Website www.atl.org.uk

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) is a trade union, teachers' union and professional association, affiliated to the Trades Union Congress, in the United Kingdom representing educators from nursery and primary education to further education. Approximately 120,000 individuals belong to the union (apart from those professions included in the name, education support staff and teaching assistants are also members), making it the third largest teaching and education union in the UK. ATL has members throughout England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and British Service schools overseas.

Governance and administration

ATL is led by its Executive Committee who are assisted by a General Secretary. All senior officers and officials are elected by an Association wide ballot and the overall direction is determined by the Annual Conference which has delegates from each branch.

The ATL President serves a one-year term. From September 2009, Lesley Ward. From September 2010, Andy Brown. From September 2011, Alison Robinson. From September 2012, Hank Roberts is the President of ATL. The current ATL General Secretary is Dr Mary Bousted.

History

Striking teachers and public sector workers march down the Kingsway, London, flanked by police on June 17, as part of the 2011 United Kingdom anti-austerity protests.[2][3]

The origins of ATL go back to 1884 when 180 women met to create the Association of Assistant Mistresses (AAM). These women worked in schools founded for higher education of girls. Their concern was primarily for the pupils. However, in 1921, the AAM appointed representatives to the newly formed Burnham Committee on Salaries in Secondary Schools.

1891 saw the formation of the Association of Assistant Masters in Secondary Schools (AMA). Its purpose was to protect and improve the conditions of service of secondary teachers. Between 1899 and 1908 it played an influential part in obtaining security of tenure for assistant teachers through the Endowed Schools Act.

Then in 1978 AAM and AMA merged to form the Assistant Masters and Mistresses Association (AMMA) with a membership of approximately 75,000. The name was changed in 1993 to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

ATL affiliated to the TUC in 1999.

In January 2011, the Association for College Management merged into ATL.[4]

Annual Conferences from 2009

General Secretaries from 1978

See also

References

  1. ↑ Association of Teachers and Lecturers: annual returns. UK Certification Officer.
  2. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2010086/Public-sector-strike-Union-leaders-insist-walkout-best-response.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
  3. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2010086/Public-sector-strike-Union-leaders-insist-walkout-best-response.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
  4. ↑ About AMiE

External links