Catalyst for change

By the time this column reaches you, I, along with many NAHT members, will be in Telford for our Annual Conference, where, as well as debating and deciding on the association’s priorities for the year to come, we will no doubt be reflecting on the events of the last six months.

And what a six months it has been. For the first time in our history, we have balloted the majority of members to take industrial action over pay and funding, the mere prospect of which would’ve been unfathomable just a few years ago.

But why is that? I believe NAHT is a different union from the one it was five years ago, and that can partly be attributed to the changes we’ve made inside the association to allow it to move with the times. But to my mind, the biggest catalyst for change was down to the evolving views of our members.

When people talk about trade unions, it’s often couched in terms such as ‘radical’ or ‘moderate’, and ‘political’ or ‘neutral’. People do this to try to make sense of the landscape and where various unions stand in relation to their political views.

The only problem with it is that it’s largely nonsense. Perceptions of what is deemed ‘radical’ or ‘political’ change from person to person and unions aren’t driven by such things. What matters to us is securing improvements for our members, using the tactics our members wish us to use.

I don’t believe the school leaders we have in membership today fundamentally differ from their predecessors. But I think the collective tendency within the profession to ‘bite the bullet’ out of a selfless endeavour to keep the show on the road is becoming impossible for increasing numbers of you. And this has accelerated dramatically over the last five years.

Of course, it all comes from the same place. For years, school leaders wouldn’t give their countenance to industrial action, mainly to protect our children’s education. Now, school leaders asked us to articulate to the government how seriously we were considering taking industrial action for the very same reason.

I haven’t written my Annual Conference speech yet (and I should, because it’s soon), but I know one thing I’ll tell delegates: how proud I am.

Proud to lead a union representing a profession that collectively evolved its stance around the prospect of taking industrial action to secure a better future.

Proud to lead a union that forced the government to increase funding significantly to the tune of £4bn when it became apparent how serious we were.