Union people

Andrew Somerset is the NEU rep at Churchill Gardens Academy where staff have secured significant changes on mental health, workload and observations after a long-running dispute. ‘The classroom is once again a special place’

What do you love about your job?

Working with primary children should mean working with the most creative people on the planet. Sadly, for many years Future Academies’ primary curriculum excluded creativity, while joy and awe were deemed superfluous. The cost to children’s development was huge, and so was the damage to the mental health of everyone in our school community.

However, after a hard-fought NEU campaign alongside a truly inspirational group of educators at Churchill Gardens Primary Academy, in Pimlico, London, the trust has restored creativity to the curriculum. The classroom is once again a special place to be.

What do you love about being in the union?

Unions are such an essential part of democracy: giving a voice and power to people who might otherwise be powerless.

At our school, we know how important the NEU is. In just one year, union members successfully campaigned for a radically new approach to mental health within the trust. This would have been impossible without collective action, and ultimately the prospect of industrial action. We are now more united than ever, and excited about what we can achieve.

NEU rep Andrew Somerset on a march in London

What’s important to you right now?

Continuing to campaign for mental health to be taken seriously in our schools, both for staff and children.

Many schools try to take mental health seriously but we need the support of the Government. We are overworked and underfunded, and are asked to be child psychologists to cover for the abject neglect of mental health services under successive Conservative governments.

It is shameful that, despite the obvious impact of education on minds in their most formative years, the mental health of teachers and children remains an afterthought.

What do you do on your day off?

Like every educator, I have given so much time and energy to teaching during the week that it is hard to give my son the time he needs. However, on a day off I can give him my proper attention.

Now that he is two, we can chat and I can find out who he is. If I’m not doing that, I might be watching Arsenal or going for a long walk in the countryside.

Tell us something we don’t know.

I am a huge fan of baseball, especially the New York Mets. Between April and October I watch the previous night’s game over breakfast.

Major League baseball teams play almost every day, which creates a perpetual cycle of hope. If Arsenal lose, I often have a whole week to wait before a chance of redemption, but in baseball there is always tomorrow.

Update your details and join us at disabled educators’ conference

THE NEU’s disabled educators’ conference will take place in Manchester from 19-21 May.

There will be a series of workshops, panels and sessions which focus on topics pertaining to disabled activism and self-organisation. It provides an exciting opportunity to strengthen regional networks and continue to build a powerful movement of disabled educators.

This conference is integral to the democracy of the NEU, with members able to vote on a motion that will then be sent to NEU annual conference. Delegates will receive accommodation, breakfast, dinner on Saturday night, lunch and refreshments. All you need to do is complete the application form and it will be sent automatically to your district secretary for consideration. If your district nominates you, it will pay the conference fee.

Applications open in January and details will be sent to all members who have informed the union that they identify as disabled.

n If you have a physical or mental impairment, long-term condition or neurodiversity, update your membership at my.neu.org.uk/login n Register for the disabled educators’ conference by 17 March at bit.ly/3GUisq1

Conference 2022 PHOTO by Rehan Jamil

News ‘Well-nourished children learn better’

“I WAS a free school meals (FSM) kid all the way through school. As a teacher, I know if we were providing all children with a healthy meal, it would help them in the classroom,” said NEU president Louise Atkinson, speaking at an event in Westminster calling on the Government to provide FSM for all pupils on universal credit (UC).

There are currently 800,000 children in England living in poverty who are not eligible for FSM. That’s the message from The Food Foundation, which has launched a campaign, supported by the NEU, to extend FSM to all children in households on UC.

At the event in November, politicians and campaigners were faced with the reality of life in the school canteen for many children living in poverty, as some were served a hot meal by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge, and others were given a cold packed lunch.

Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge serving meals PHOTOS by Will Hearle, courtesy of The Food Foundation

‘We want to ensure no child is left behind’

Louise discussed the “superpowers” of free school meals. She highlighted the NEU’s campaign Free School Meals for All, which calls for the extension of FSM to all primary pupils, not just to children in families on UC.

Louise said: “The NEU is calling for universal FSM in primary school because, as educators, we know that children who are wellfed and nourished learn better. We want to ensure that no child is left behind and that all children can eat, share and learn together.

“The system we have at the moment, of restrictive eligibility, complicated registration and the stigma attached, leaves children going hungry.”

Food insecurity affects 2.6m children

Last year, 2.6 million children experienced food insecurity – not having access to nutritious and balanced meals, or even having to skip meals entirely. The cost-ofliving crisis is set to send many more below the poverty line.

In 2020 Scotland pledged to extend FSM for every child in primary education and Wales made a similar promise in 2021. It’s time for England to catch up.

Cost-of-living crisis hits hardest

In an open letter to the Prime Minister signed by celebrities, campaigners and educators, the Free School Meals for All campaign said: “We are living through the greatest cost-of-living crisis in a generation, and too many families with young children are being pulled into poverty.

“Free school meals for every child will put money back in parents’ pockets. That’s money they can use to pay for other essentials for their children, from heating and food at home, to hobbies and after-school clubs.”

Sign our letter to the PM

n Add your name to our open letter telling the Government to extend FSM to every child in primary school at freeschoolmealsforall.org.uk n Find out more about the Food Foundation’s campaign at endchildfoodpoverty.org/ feedthefuture