Conference 2023 round-up ‘Be proud of your union’

THE NEU’s annual conference – the highest decision-making body of the union – met in the spa town of Harrogate during the Easter holidays.

More than 1,200 delegates debated, discussed and passed motions on the priorities for the union in the year ahead. Fringe meetings and activist zone events, stalls, socials and much more besides went on.

Conference started with the buoyant announcement of the results of the consultation on the latest pay offer, which was overwhelmingly rejected (see page 7).

Another key motion was on the crisis in school funding, proposed by William Stockwell from Redbridge. He said: “The £2 billion extra funding won for schools doesn’t go very far when inflation, fuel and heating prices are going through the roof. And to add insult to injury, the most underfunded schools are facing the largest cuts.”

Alex Kenny from Tower Hamlets and the City said: “It’s clear from all the campaigning and placards across the country that funding is what drives members. It’s also clear that glue sticks have become a symbol for what is wrong with this country – what I call the glue stick revolution.”

SEND – fighting for better

Conference passed a motion calling for the union to commission research into the lack of support staff and organise a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) conference. Proposer Kate Taylor from

Birmingham said: “SEND provision is chronically underfunded. Without investment our most vulnerable children will continue to be failed. It’s the fault of the Government, which does not value us, does not value our children, and does not value our children with special educational needs. This lack of investment should be an embarrassment.”

Simone Rawson from Wakefield said SEN teachers at her pupil referral unit were “leaving in droves”, adding “we’re heading for collapse”.

Academies – who runs our schools?

Ryan Terri from Hammersmith and Fulham said the Department for Education (DfE) states that 45 per cent of state-funded schools are now academies. The NEU has been fighting against this trend. “We have won small victories but we must continue our campaign. We must continue to show that academies in and of themselves do not improve outcomes.”

Thomas Soud from Birmingham said: “It’s a question of who runs our schools and who they are for. Are they run by society as a whole or by the private sector?”

A motion calling for the reinstatement of the education maintenance allowance (EMA) was proposed by James Kerr of Lewisham. Many sixth formers next year would have spent their entire lives under Conservative governments, he said. And one of the first cuts the coalition government made was to the EMA.

“The EMA was a paltry amount but it meant a lot: not having to work part-time in the evening; being able to afford materials and set texts. It paid for travel cards.

“It will have an immediate effect on people’s lives – £60 a week won’t resolve all of society’s ills, but it will address some of them.”

Nicola Hawkins from Cumbria moved a motion on the climate tipping point: “The IPCC has given a final warning to stop catastrophic global warming. Schools are now under pressure. The TUC’s analysis, Schools built for the future, found that £13.5 billion is needed to future-proof our buildings.”

Nicola also stressed the importance of decarbonising our union. “We can show the DfE, again, what leadership looks like.” continued on page 16

Representation of women at conference 2025

Due to a rule change at this year’s conference, delegations to NEU conference 2025 must be at least 50 per cent women.

Zareen Sajid , Waltham Forest first-time delegate

“Conference has been amazing. It’s been more than I expected. All these educators getting together in one space and having dialogue –and being controversial at some points. Having that healthy dialogue on issues has been really important.

“I’d definitely recommend coming along to conference – you get to hear other people’s points of view, other perspectives on schools that might be different from your own, and you get to have that conversation with lots of different types of people.”

Sai-Leya Santana, Camden first-time delegate

“Conference has been really interesting and inspirational. It was quite nerve-racking earlier today because I knew I was going to speak about something I cared about. I’m glad I did it. People have been very welcoming and encouraging.

“Go to conference, don’t be daunted – there are many Black members here today, including women. Talk to your branch or district secretary – they should be paying for you to attend conference. If you have childcare or income issues, speak to your secretary, and I’m sure they will be able to support you with that.”

Faye Curran , West Sussex first-time delegate

“Everybody here is really passionate about what they’re speaking about. So that makes it really interesting. And the fringe events have been really broad.

“I would definitely encourage people to come. The first day is introductory, so people who haven’t been before don’t feel overwhelmed – everything’s explained to you.

“You might worry about imposter syndrome if you’ve never been before, but I haven’t found that at all. I don’t think there should be any kind of hesitance about coming to conference.”