ABSTRACT
Teacher leadership has become an area of significant interest in research and policy terms in recent years. The Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) role was first established in the United Kingdom across the trade union movement generally, but has since become a significant feature of teacher unionism. ULR's are teachers and support staff who have a specific role to support and improve union members' access to professional development and learning. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) is one of the largest teachers' unions in the United Kingdom, representing approximately 160,000 teachers, head teachers, lecturers and support staff. The problems relating to continuing professional development (CPD) that confront teachers are clearly complex but they may arguably be summarised in terms of a lack of access and a perceived lack of relevance or suitability. However, the way such events were organised ensured that teachers set their own agenda and from this some progressive potential emerged.
