WHATEVER YOU READ IN THE PRESS THIS IS THE TRUTH: ….

On leaving the conference we were quite staggered to see headlines in the national press which simply bore no relation to the actual conference. Indeed one headline appears to try to paint the NUT as radical left wing extremists - nothing could have been further from the truth. One line from a Faith Schools Working Party report, which was not even debated, was manipulated to try to discredit the only Union that is standing up for teachers, their pay and conditions of service, and for children and their education. Perhaps because the union is threatening the "social partnership" and was in near total agreement on all key issues that the press needed to work so hard to fabricate some controversy.

POLICY DEVELOPMENT

We agreed some really important educational policy statements:

Ofsted, Young Teachers, Inclusion (SEN), Workload, Performance Management, Play, Specialist Diplomas, Classroom Behaviour, Homework, Anti-Racism, Supply and Agency Teachers, National Curriculum Testing (SATs), Gender Equality, Child Poverty

The overall feeling of the conference was again an atmosphere of agreement, but this year with an added sense of cooperation in the face of what was repeatedly noted as, a pivotal period for education with considerable challenges to comprehensive education and school reorganisation.

Bill Greenshields, our national president from

Pay, Workload, Class Size & Supporting Young Teachers

We await the result of the ballot for strike action in response to the current under inflation offers to teachers. Whatever our decision on strike action, the issue of teachers being given pay cuts was very clearly highlighted (student loans inflation increase is over 4%, yet our pay rise is 2.45%).

ACADEMIES

National threats to teachers pay and conditions of service and the break up of local authorities by the creation of Academies was a common theme - this is now a real issue for Cumbria. In his closing speech, Steve Sinnott, reminded us of his challenge to remove the link between sports and alcohol sponsorship - progress has been made but not enough as we approach the 2012 Olympics. He also celebrated the "inspirational" work of teachers, noted some common features of successful educational systems like Finland - they trust their teachers, have light touch inspection, reduce pressure on schools and children, don't prescribe or impose but promote the work of their professionals.