Our members work in schools and colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and include classroom teachers, deputy heads, college lecturers, nursery nurses, learning support assistants, classroom assistants, special needs assistants, technicians and librarians/library assistants, but not headteachers or college principals.

ATL represent members' interests through determined and realistic negotiations on contracts, salaries, and conditions of service and are the only teachers' union with negotiating rights in primary, secondary and further education.

ATL is affiliated to the TUC but not to any political party. We maintain contacts across the political spectrum and lobby hard for initiatives and policies that our members believe in.

ATL is recognised as a key stakeholder by all of the national bodies concerned with education, including the DfES, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the Teacher Training Agency, Ofsted and the GTC, as well as their sister bodies in Northern Ireland and Wales.

ATL backs its members all the way, from the challenges of the induction year for newly-qualified teachers through the many stages of a career in teaching. It offers a wealth of support including practical publications, free telephone advice and a range of member benefits and services from professional indemnity to car insurance.

ATL never instructs its members how to act, nor pressures them to follow a particular course of action. Women and men are fully and equally represented at every level, and members are encouraged to play an active part in the life of the union.