On Friday we saw the new President Nina Franklin installed and the previous President Gill Goodswen was thanked for all she did during her presidential year.  During this evening we also heard speakers who were guests of the Union.  One of these, Mary Bousted, General Secretary of ATL told us that her non-striking Union had voted to strike over the Pension situation.  The ATL and NUT are taking joint strike action on June 30^th along with the Civil Service Unions.  Lily Eskelsen from the National Education Assoc (USA) spoke about the government attacks on education in Wisconsin.  At the end of the session the Fred and Anne Jarvis award was presented to Professor Robin Alexander for his work on the Cambridge Primary Review.  This was a very popular award.

Saturday began with the President’s speech. Nina’s voice had recovered and her speech was well received.  She pointed out that after WW2 we benefited from the Welfare State – now being rapidly destroyed.  She also reminded us that in the NUT numbers were not a problem – we have plenty of members – but we need activists.  Such people have to be cultivated, developed and supported.  The emphasis throughout her speech was on Equal Opportunities- through her union work she has opposed racism, Islamophobia and the English Defence League.  She encouraged a united union front in the pension campaign and explained that more students were staying on after 16 for HE/FE courses.  Education is the most important gift we can give young people.

This was followed by motions to suspend standing orders so that we could debate the pensions issue and the Welsh Priority Motion Then the motion on Cuts was discussed and Local Trades Councils were seen as a way of joining together different union activists in local campaigns. The Economy Motion was discussed and a tax on banks and companies was suggested. Speakers recognised that an attack on the Welfare State was pending. Then a motion on Industrial action was discussed and the amendment was accepted especially as it would help to protect lay officers of the Union. The motion was won on a card vote.  The Executive Priority Motion on Pensions was virtually unanimously with several amendments.  It is obviously a campaign that has appealed greatly to members and affects the future of the profession. Teachers will lose out paying more for a smaller pension and working longer for it.

In the International Section we debated Women and Children Prisoners in Palestine and how the voices of women explain and describe the situation.  Then we debated the Representation of Members and how changes in education will affect our lay officers. Union training needs to reflect this. Academies are found in both educational sectors and are affecting collective bargaining – (pay and conditions)  H/S Reps are seen as important for the protection of members – legislation helps here.  A system of case-workers not directly attached to a school is seen as a good idea by the union.  As they would not be attached to a school or paid by it they would be able to present cases in a more independent manner.  After this we debated professional unity and it was pointed out that we already work with other unions at branch and school level.

In private session we discussed Union finances – Stoke Rochford was still a liability after the disastrous fire but was seeking to regain the previous successful business.  It has to be supported but must be carefully monitored. Much upgrading has taken place and there is now an ICT suite. Administration e.g. Conference, pensions, affiliations, donations and sponsorships all draw heavily on union money.   The Sustentation Fund has been growing nicely but will now have increasing calls made on it, due to Union campaigns and  the cost of these needs to be carefully monitored and controlled. One of the biggest costs to the union is the staff superannuation fund.  Other funds mentioned were the Political Fund and the International Development Fund.  Ian Murch went on to explain that the union needs its resources.  Subs had to increase to allow for the cheap but successful NQ rate – again needs monitoring to ensure that it is worthwhile. (Recruit and retain)   On her report on the finances of the Union Hilary Bills called for a review of the financial structure – a new look at subscriptions!

Part of Hamilton House is now sub-let, bringing in an income. But costs are always increasing e.g. staffing as personnel are taken on as a response to need.  Grants are made to LA and Divisions.  Campaigns and days of action etc are costly.  Property is expensive and the union owns HQ and Regional Offices.  Often re-negotiating electricity deals helps with these.  As usual, Ian was entertaining in his delivery and helped us to understand the financial implications of the union’s assets and activities.

The Blair Peach award was given to Jason Hill from the Stoke on Trent Division, for his work against Fascism and Racism.  It was presented by Bernard Reagan.

On Sunday we began with Pensions – the Priority Motion was carried with two of its amendments. During the discussions it was suggested that we mobilise retired teachers and that we had to educate, agitate and organise. It was unjust, unfair and impossible for teachers to work to 68 in order to gain a full pension.  Pensions should be affordable, sustainable and fair.  Then we moved on to Motion 34 – Defending our Pensions and speakers argued that attacks on our pensions were illegal and immoral.    Under the proposed arrangements teachers might have to pay an extra £100 per calendar month and this was not possible for young teachers who would opt out and then suffer hardship in retirement.  The Hutton Report showed that the cost of public sector pensions had peaked and was now falling so these new draconian measures were not needed.  We must never forget that a teacher’s pension is deferred salary and is taxed twice.

Then we moved on to discuss No Pay Freeze as our pay rise is at best only half the rise in inflation.  We moved on to pay and conditions noting that these are being destroyed by the Free School and Academies initiatives. After this we discussed Academies and Free schools pointing out that these were taking money away from LA and that opting out was no longer financially rewarding.  The biggest problem is that teachers in these schools were no longer protected with National Pay and Conditions.  Some schools expected teachers to stay until after 5 pm and even to work weekends.

At the end of the session we discussed the curriculum and standards agenda and it was pointed out that a school based teacher training programme was not as beneficial to trainee teachers as a university based model. The session ended with a brief debate on school accountability but essentially it was brought to our attention that every child matters. The Priority motion: Wales and the Response to the PISA Results was passed with 3 amendments.         

On Monday we discussed Employment Conditions and Rights.  The first motion dealt with tackling teacher stress.  Teaching is one of the most stressful occupations in the UK and stress often ends a teacher’s career. Yet few schools conduct proper SRA –stress risk assessments.  HSE can prove useful organisation over this – the aim being to prevent stress.  Observations, learning walks and drop-ins should all be negotiated and properly conducted – not used by SMT to bully staff.  There was also a separate motion on this (47).

Another popular motion was the one on Workload with teachers again emphasising the need to have a rounded life yet too often we are blackmailed into more work.  The government still refuses to allow us to use our professional expertise.  The motion on supply teachers stated that they too needed CPD and should be entitled to the same pay, conditions and pension as the rest of the profession.  Conference wanted supply teachers to be encouraged to become involved with union work.  Acceptable working practices were discussed in motion 46 and here the emphasis was on having a strong active union presence within the school.  Reporting and monitoring incidents in school (48) should include stress and workload as well as slips and trips etc. The government plans to extend the injury report time of from 3 to 7 days – the union opposes this

Before the Education section we were addressed by Joe Cotton (15 years) who spoke movingly of the impact the loss of the EMA grant would have on him and students like him. He considered that education should be affordable and accessible.  Motion 50 discussed the problems facing post-14 students – they could be a lost generation: no jobs and no job prospects.  Those who do enter higher education will have colossal debts which could take over 30 years to clear.  With fewer jobs available often graduates accept lower paid jobs which should really go to others.  Perhaps students should become more militant over this.  The motion on tuition fees was rushed through because Conference considered it too important to ignore.

The Equality section discussed the problems facing disabled students and teachers and we learnt that this group was most likely to suffer from bullying (53).  The LGBT motion gave a practical suggestion to schools – to report and record all instances of homophobic name calling and then to demand to know what has happened about that incident.  The BME motion (55) was asking the Union to establish structures to support black members.

The Equality section continued with a debate (56) on how the Comprehensive Spending Review will affect women and how they will be the most severely affected by the pension changes.   Social responsibilities are being handed over to charities and religious groups.  Women’s caring role and responsibilities is ignored.  In motion 57 – challenging Islamophobia – it was felt that teachers needed resources and methodology if this was to be tackled successfully. The EMAG motion (58) was carried at the end of the session without any speeches as again it was seen as too important to ignore.  Monday ended with the motion on Nursery Education. Concern was expressed that extra hours were to be provided without funding.

On Tuesday we discussed Special Educational Needs and the Government Green Paper which is seeking to privatise SEN thus allowing these pupils to be hidden and avoid spoiling success statistics.  The Union will use its MP contacts to fight this and to ameliorate the worst features of this green paper and eventual bill. The motion 63 on Inclusive Education was carried and again fears were expressed that education cuts will affect this group and their education needs more severely than any other group. 

During conference Christine Blower dealt with questions from members and she explained that Pensions were the top issue at the moment but that other campaigns would not be forgotten.  Stress is an increasing problem in schools and heads need to be questioned about how they are handling this. We don’t like OFSTED but during an inspection the union should insist that OFSTED check up on how Well Being operates within the school. Money for the Union’s work on International Development is sourced between income from headquarters and money from local associations and Divisions.  The NUT is working with UCU on post 16 finances.  Workers Memorial Day is to remember those who have died as serving teachers due to stress, injuries sustained while teaching and from poor building structure e.g. asbestos. The Union website Hearth is available to local officers who can upload material to it. Local secretaries can send bulk emails from HQ to members.

Christine’s speech (General Secretary) at the end of Conference was well received. She reminded us of the Union’s campaigns such as Hope not Hate run with the Daily Mirror against the BNP and Far Right movements.  Others are Unite Against Fascism and Love Football Hate Racism. End Child Poverty is another of these important campaigns. She explained that the Union has opposed education cuts all over the country and has had some success in defending jobs and avoiding academies.  We must continue to oppose the cuts proposed in the next two years or the educational landscape will be changed beyond all recognition. We must be prepared to defend all our educational issues with actions up to an including strikes.  The 2006 Pensions settlement is now under attack hence the strike actions of ATL and NUT.  The 2006 settlement was fair and affordable.  At the moment we are seeing the wilful break-up of the education system – academies, Free Schools etc. It is a statutory duty to provide a library in a prison – but not in a school!  Christine reiterated the importance and status of the Equal opportunity work of the union.  With the present government initiatives it will become even more important. The International Work of the Union is also important for it puts us in contact with unions worldwide and as the emphasis is always on teachers and education we are fulfilling our union remit.  Schools everywhere should be oases of safety for children and young people.  This was especially important in war zones

John Bills chairman of Teacher Support Network gave his report at the beginning of Conference.  He stated that counselling and support were still greatly needed, that grants were given out as they had been in the past and that debt advice was still much sought.  He emphasised that far too few teachers were aware of the organisation and how it could help them.

During Conference I attended two lunchtime meetings – one was London 2012: playing Fair in Global Education.  The first speaker spoke of the appalling conditions of workers in developing countries making sports clothing and equipment for the developed world. Low wages, long hours and unacceptable working conditions caused stress, repetitive strain injury and kidney problems.  Poor nutrition caused problems for pregnant women too.  Union activities were forbidden and this made it difficult to raise awareness and improve standards.   The next speaker reminded us of the Ethical Trade Code – avoid child labour in the supply chain.  Workers needed to be educated as to their rights.  Pressure on sportswear brands in this country would help the most.  The two young ambassadors from the Global Campaign for Education explained that education led to social mobility.  Some young people were able to receive education from 7 am to 11 am and then worked in the markets until 5 pm. They reported that 67 million children globally miss out on education.

The Education and Equalities fringe meeting was concerned about the government Green Paper on SEN.  The government wants to provide a combined education health and care plan: 0-25 yrs.  It will have the same status as a statement. Funding will be tiered according to need as a personal budget.  Will it be used responsibly? Speakers pointed out that local provision under this scheme could be patchy and could be unclear.  Children with needs require good quality teachers and teaching not classroom assistants. Will this happen?  The official NUT campaign is still for full inclusion – but properly resourced and funded.

Newly Appointed Teachers

Although the National Union of Teachers is the largest teachers’ union, it has, for many years, had an aim of establishing one union for all teachers. However, until this is achieved, we are anxious that as many teachers as possible are recruited to the Union. We are already prepared to send information about the Union to newly appointed teachers, who begin their career, or who have moved to a new school in September.

Whether a new teacher to your school will be starting this or next term, please ensure that you make them aware of the advantages of joining the NUT. Joining the Union is quite easy, either by completing an application form or by contacting the Membership Hotlines: 0845 300 1669 or 020 7380 6369 (Monday-Friday 9am to 5pm). The cost for a newly qualified teacher is just £1 for four terms of membership.

Newly Qualified Membership Packs will be sent to all those teachers in our area where we are notified of their names and schools. These contain an impressive Teacher Handbook with information on:

·                  Guidance on Induction

·                  Financial Matters

·                  Young Teacher Information and Professional Development

·                  Support and Advice.

It also has sections for notes, contacts, a calendar and blank timetables.

With this Newly Qualified Pack will come an invitation to our welcoming meeting at The Star Hotel, Great Yarmouth on 7^th October 2011. All Broadland Association members are also welcome to attend this informal meeting.