Join the conversation

The NEU Leadership community Guild app is a private digital platform especially for leaders and an exclusive member benefit.

THE impact of the cost-of-living crisis on parents and students, soaring energy bills at a time when budgets are already overstretched and the knock-on e ect of the recruitment and retention crisis on senior leaders’ workload. ese are just some of the issues NEU Leadership members are discussing on the community Guild app, a WhatsApp-style professional messaging space for leaders.

e app is a secure, easy-to-use, private digital platform. It is provided by technology company Guild and content is curated by the NEU.

“ is is a really useful tool for NEU leader members, and I’m looking forward to more and more leaders joining as they hear about it,” says NEU National Leadership Council vice-chair Josie Whiteley. “In a rapidly changing environment, it o ers me a really useful way to stay in touch with others facing the same issues. It o ers me a real opportunity to chat to others in a safe and professional space – ask a question and someone will share their thoughts with you.” is community is for NEU Leadership members comprising: head teachers and principals deputy head teachers and vice-principals assistant head teachers and assistant principals heads of centres, schools and post-16 colleges leaders in the independent sector leaders in further education executive head teachers leaders of multi-academy trusts directors and assistant directors of education business managers, bursars and further education nance managers. e professional community space is led and driven by NEU leaders to motivate and inspire other leadership members. Guild will work in partnership with a small number of NEU sta and NEU leaders joining the community to promote positive connections to bene t education and the education profession. NEU sta will post upcoming events and information that may be of interest to leaders. ere are just four steps: e NEU behaviour statement can also be found here and explains the expectations for the group. We ask that leaders add their photo and complete the pro le section to introduce themselves.

What is the purpose of the app?

It is a space for you to: connect, learn from, and collaborate with other leaders in education discuss challenges, seek advice, share ideas and support each other discuss local and national education issues campaign and in uence collectively for a better education system for all provide experiences and stories to inform NEU policy development and direction encourage each other to get involved in the work of the union build local and national leadership networks to minimise feelings of isolation.

Who is it for?

Who else is involved?

How can leaders join?

1. Register at guild.co/app/set-up-account or by downloading the app from the App Store or Google Play – just search for ‘Guild app’.

2. Once registered, email guildenquiries@ neu.org.uk and request to join the NEU community.

3. A link will be sent to your email address in a few days. Click on the link to join the NEU Leadership community.

4. After joining, you will see a welcome message, which sets out the purpose of the community group and who is involved.

Once leaders have joined, they can add a comment or ask a question on the platform. Click on an existing topic to continue the conversation, or start a new topic by clicking New Conversation.

Does the app give me access to individual support?

Leaders can nd direct messaging on a one-to-one basis with a peer an additional bene t. is allows members to raise queries and concerns that may otherwise be di cult to share on the larger platform. A member can direct message another leader by clicking on their photo. e phrase New Direct Message will appear and communication created here can only be seen between two members.

Join and collaborate with other leadership members to network, o er peer support and build the union movement. Register now for the app and request to join the exclusive NEU Leadership community.