Unions threaten battle over licensing plan for teachers

Three teaching unions are expected to debate motions at their Easter conferences opposing the "licence to practise".

All three resolutions lobby for the proposals, contained in a Bill currently going through Parliament, to be scrapped – with one calling for industrial action if the plans are passed.

Under Government plans, teachers who fail checks face being banned from classrooms.

The National Union of Teachers' (NUT) motion, put forward by the Executive, calls for all parliamentary parties to be lobbied to drop the proposals, and for a "high-profile campaign of opposition".

The NUT has already been running a campaign, with more than 25,000 teachers sending postcards opposing Mr Balls' plan.

NUT head of organising John Dixon said: "We believe the campaign is very much going in our favour, following the launch last year, and we are very pleased that other colleagues are now joining us in this battle that we are confident we will win."

A motion for debate by NASUWT members calls for the National Executive to oppose the proposals "by all means possible".

This includes a call for industrial action if the proposals are made law and impact adversely on teachers' workload and career.

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: "The reason there's such strong feeling is that teachers feel its going to be another stick to beat them with."

Many members are concerned that they already face checks such as capability proceedings, professional standards performance and Ofsted inspections.

Plans were announced without full details, so teachers were not made aware of what the licence would mean, she said.

There is a feeling that the Government needs to reconsider the proposals and to rethink how they have been presented, Ms Keates said.

The third motion calling for a campaign will be brought at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) conference, by members from Brent and Bradford.

ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said the union wants to ensure that if the licence does go ahead it is closely linked to training and development.

The licence will be overseen by the General Teaching Council for England (GTC), with headteachers deciding if they are renewed.

Schools minister Vernon Coaker said: "No one wants extra red tape. We've been crystal clear that this is not going to add to teachers' workloads.

"We want teachers to teach so we're not going to renege on years of working closely with the unions on cutting working hours and paperwork.

"This is about boosting the status, professional standing and skills of teachers.