President, conference,
I want to start by thanking you all for attending this week. I would like to thank all the Bournemouth conference centre staff who have looked after us so well, the conference team who pulled this all together, all the NEU staff, our elected Deputy General Secretary, Niamh.
And Conference, what a fantastic President we have had this year in Emma Rose.
Let me say what a privilege it is to stand before you as your General Secretary. The NEU is a great union, and I’m proud to lead it.
What makes our union so great are the activists like you, and the thousands more who aren’t here, who work tirelessly in the interests of their colleagues, children and their communities.
Officers, reps and members who worked so hard to build our recent indicative ballot. The result of which truly shows the level of anger in the profession, at what is happening to education and how this Government treats those who work in our schools and colleges.
I’m proud to lead a growing union. A union that is truly representative of the profession – young and female. The third largest union in the TUC and the largest education union in Europe.
A union that proudly believes if you are in the building, you should be in the union – teachers, leaders and support staff. In schools, 6th form colleges and early years settings.
A union formed out of professional unity; a union that wants to see one union for all education workers. Patrick, you have my number….
I'm proud to lead a union with members like our next President Phil Clarke, a true fighter and champion for human dignity.
I’m also proud to lead a union whose members - members such as Robin Tear, Sara Tomlinson, our President Emma Rose – give freely of their time to work with organisations such as Care4Calais, helping those fleeing war, persecution and people – ordinary people – simply seeking a better life for themselves and their families.
And I want to say this very early and clearly in my speech: it is not those arriving on our shores in small boats that working people should be worried about – It is those who arrive in private jets.
These are the people – the privateers, the profiteers, those who enrich themselves at the cost of the majority.
These are the people who are wrecking the NHS; making vast sums from their involvement in early years provision; and the social media giants exacerbating the mental health crisis of our young people without any sense of social responsibility. These are the people we should be concerned about.
What the politicians who scapegoat refugees for political gain need to realise is that every time they spill their bile about refugees, they are making life for many children in schools much harder. They are fanning the flames of racism.
And Conference, let’s be clear, this is deliberate. Particularly in an election year. Divide and rule. What they call ‘an anti-woke culture war’ is nothing other than old-fashioned bigotry.
They seek to exploit our perceived differences, to stoke up fear and hatred, and drive a wedge between our communities.
Whether it is the comments of ‘30p’ Lee Anderson, until recently the Conservative Party’s Deputy Chair, now sitting in parliament for Reform UK, outrageously portraying Sadiq Khan as being controlled by ‘Islamists’. Shameful.
Whether it's former Home Secretary Suella Braverman giving the greenlight for far-right violence, encouraging a rag-tag motley crew of fascists and social inadequates to take to the streets to oppose a peace march on Armistice day. Shameful.
Whether it’s Rishi Sunak, making crass anti-trans jibes at Prime Minister’s Questions, whilst the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey watched on in the House of Commons gallery. Shameful.
Or whether it is Frank Hester, the Conservative Party’s biggest donor who managed to combine deep racism, misogyny and violence in his disgusting comments directed at Diane Abbott. Shameful.
And let me be clear. The reason Hester targeted Diane Abbott is because she is a trailblazer and inspiration for so many in the Black community. A Black woman who has played a key role in the political fabric of this country. A Black woman who has had to constantly confront misogyny and racism.
And to confront it and face it down as she has done, with dignity and pride.
Conference, Frank Hester is not fit to lace the boots of Diane Abbott.
It is a sad fact that those who are fanning the flames of such extremism lie at the very heart of this failed Government.
Conference, we will not stand idly by in the face of extremism. We will remain a union committed to the principles of equality and social justice. We will oppose racism, we will oppose antisemitism, we will oppose Islamophobia, we will champion the rights of women, we will stand up for LGBT+ and Disability rights. We will build alliances, we will work with others in the pursuit of a more inclusive, more just and more compassionate society.
Now, as Emma Rose said in her fantastically powerful and inspiring Presidential address, international solidarity is practiced in deeds not just words.
I’m sure we are all grateful to Dr Husam Zomlot for his moving speech to us. And I’m also sure you will join me in reinforcing the message that we will always stand in solidarity with Palestinian teachers.
Because what is happening in Gaza is a catastrophe. But it is a catastrophe resulting from deliberate choice.
Before I go on, Conference, let me be clear: I condemn, without equivocation, the actions of Hamas on October 7th.
All hostages should be immediately, without conditions, released. It is hard to imagine the terror their family members are going through.
But also let me be clear: Palestinian lives are not worth less. As Paul Nowak, head of the TUC said, there is no justification for the killing of over 30,000 civilians, almost 14,000 of whom are children. No justification whatsoever. None.
There is no justification for starving an entire population. No justification whatsoever. None
Gillian Keegan thinks it is inappropriate for the members of this union to be discussing the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Well, Gillian Keegan, I agree with the three former Supreme Court judges. What is inappropriate is for the British government to continue to allow the export of bombs and bullets to be used to kill and maim the children of Gaza.
I want – we want – all right-minded people want – an immediate ceasefire and an international effort to help the people of Gaza.
Conference, we should always speak out on this issue.
In this union we care about children and their education around the world.
We have spoken against the Taliban’s suspension of access to secondary school and higher education leaving 1.1 million girls and women without access to formal learning.
We welcomed our sisters from the Ukrainian teacher union to this conference.
As a trade union we should always raise our voices to declare that another world is possible.
A world where mediation triumphs over aggression, where dialogue replaces discord, and where the bonds of solidarity unite us in our shared humanity.
Conference, as professionals, we also know that children need a safe place to explore the complex, challenging, and often unsettling events that they see unfolding around them.
The skill of an educator is to allow children to express themselves, to ask questions, to explore ideas. Discussion, dialogue, and the promotion of critical thinking should be valued as a means of countering extremist ideologies.
Yet the Government’s misguided Prevent strategy, rather than fostering open dialogue and addressing the root cause of extremism, has created a sense of mistrust and surveillance in our schools. This clearly risks pushing vulnerable children and young adults towards radicalisation by reinforcing feelings of alienation and distrust.
Conference, as professionals it is crucial that we continue to promote a culture of inclusion, respect, and critical inquiry rather than adopting heavy-handed approaches that undermine the values of a true democracy.
Conference, this year we will see a General Election.
We are proudly an unaffiliated union. We are a union that fights for what is in the interests of our members, the profession we represent, and the children and communities we serve.
We follow no party line.
It is right, however, that a balance sheet of the past 14 years is drawn up.
Before I do this, we should reflect that when this Government came to power, they were full of promises.
In 2010 they promised: smaller class sizes; the best curriculum and an education system based upon best evidence and practice. They promised an enhanced status of the teaching profession.
In 2015 when they stood for re-election, they promised: 17,500 extra maths and physics teachers. They even promised more teachers to teach Mandarin! And they promised to protect school funding.
And at the election in 2019 they promised: investment in PE, in sports facilities along with investment in art and music.
Conference, not one of these promises has been met.
Rather than being based upon evidence and best practice this has been one of the most ideologically driven governments.
On assessment, rather than follow international evidence and best practice, this Government has doubled down on high-stakes standardised testing. Under this Government, our students have been subjected to a relentless barrage of new exams and assessments that fail to capture the true breadth and depth of their abilities.
The pressure to perform, to achieve high scores, and to meet often arbitrary targets has created a culture of competition and anxiety that is detrimental to the well-being of our students.
Furthermore, as we all know, standardised testing narrows the curriculum, stifles creativity, and perpetuates a one-size-fits-all approach to education that fails to recognise the unique talents and abilities of each and every student.
Every teacher and school leader knows, the emphasis on exam results as the sole measure of academic achievement has resulted in teaching to the test.
We are not against tests. Teachers invented tests. But the system we operate in has turned things upside down. Testing should follow learning. Learning should not follow the test.
But the consequences of standardised testing extend beyond the classroom. They shape the way we perceive education, the way we define success, and the way we measure progress.
They perpetuate a culture of performative accountability that prioritises data over dialogue, outcomes over opportunities, and conformity over innovation.
They reinforce existing education inequalities and perpetuate cycles of disadvantage, leaving behind those who do not fit neatly into the boxes of success that our system has created.
Yet, in the face of such challenges, there is also opportunity, possibility, and potential. We have the power to reimagine education, to create a system that is fair, inclusive, and empowering for all students.
We must demand an end to high-stakes testing, and a shift towards holistic, authentic forms of assessment that value creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration as much as knowledge retention.
And we are not alone in saying this. There have been at least five commissions in the past three years that have concluded this.
Conference, as you know, a key strategy of the union is to work with allies to demonstrate the broad consensus that assessment needs to change. I therefore celebrate the work of More Than A Score, and congratulate those members centrally involved in it.
I welcome the work undertaken by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Schools, Learning and Assessment that also concluded our assessment system is not fit for purpose.
This APPG is co-chaired by Emma Hardy of Labour and Flick Drummond from the Conservatives. I want to thank Flick who shares with us so many concerns about key elements of education policy, and who has consistently spoken out on assessment reform on the Education Select Committee and within the Conservative Party.
Conference, we need to end the suffocating regime of toxic testing.
On accountability the track record of this Government fares no better.
As the Beyond Ofsted independent commission, chaired by Lord Jim Knight, concluded, and as the Education Select Committee also concluded, Ofsted remains an institution that perpetuates a culture of fear and intimidation in our schools.
And as we heard from Professor Julia Waters, the stress on school leaders is leading to the most tragic of consequences.
I’d like to thank Professor Waters for addressing us this week.
It is not just school leaders who suffer. The pressure and fear of Ofsted seeps through the entire school system like a poison.
The fear of negative inspection outcomes leads not only to a culture of anxiety within schools, but a situation where educators feel compelled to prioritise compliance over creativity and innovation.
This not only impacts the well-being of teachers and students but also detracts from the overall quality of education – the very thing Ofsted is supposed to promote.
Indeed, in its 30 years of existence Ofsted remains an institution that is yet to publish a single scrap of evidence to back up its claim that it is essential to raise standards in education.
Not one piece of evidence.
There is plenty of evidence, however, that Ofsted is neither consistent, nor reliable in the judgements inspectors reach even on its own terms.
There is also plenty of evidence Ofsted judgements fail to capture the true strengths of schools.
But most damning of all, the one thing Ofsted does measure is poverty. Those with the highest intake of poor children are six times more likely to be graded “requires improvement”.
Conference, it is essential to move towards a more balanced and holistic approach to accountability that values creativity, collaboration and inclusivity, rather than one that prioritises narrow metrics, competition and compliance.
I’d like to say this to Martyn Oliver: Ofsted does not require improvement, it is in special measures. No amount of rebrand, no amount of reform can win back the trust of the profession.
What you will hear, Martyn Oliver, if you truly listen to the profession, is the deafening roar of school leaders and teachers saying that Ofsted needs to go.
And indeed, it is time for Ofsted to be abolished and replaced with a system of accountability that fosters a culture of collaboration between all stakeholders. One that creates a culture of trust, transparency, and a shared responsibility for the quality of education.
The Government’s promotion of a knowledge-rich curriculum, with its emphasis on rote memorisation and the acquisition of facts at the expense of deeper understanding and critical thinking, is misguided.
By focusing on the transmission of knowledge from teacher to student, this approach stifles creativity and curiosity, as students are encouraged to passively absorb information rather than engage in active inquiry.
We have heard passionate speeches this week about the importance of creativity and creative subjects in schools. I want to thank everyone who is speaking out about this, including our recently elected presidential team Sarah Kilpatrick and Ed Harlow.
It is also true that a knowledge-rich curriculum risks prioritising certain types of knowledge over others, leading to a narrow and Eurocentric perspective on history, literature, and culture.
Now, let me be clear, we are not against content knowledge, but it is essential to strike a balance between content knowledge, skills development and critical thinking. This Government is nowhere near striking that right balance.
So, if this Government has failed on assessment, accountability and curriculum, what have they achieved in regards to child poverty and wellbeing?
700,000 more children live in poverty today than when this Government came to power in 2010. However, as shocking as a statistic this is, child poverty should not simply be understood in numbers alone.
Child poverty should be viewed as a moral imperative, a test of our collective humanity and our shared responsibility to ensure that every child, regardless of their circumstances, has the opportunity to thrive.
It is a reflection of who we are as a society and what we value as a community.
1 in 10 children in the UK regularly skip meals because their parents do not have enough food to put on their table. And many of these parents are in work; indeed, they are often working multiple jobs.
But in addition, there are millions of children brought up in sub-standard and cramped housing, where children do not have the space to grow.
This is why our union has built the No Child Left Behind coalition.
Our children and young people are in the grip of a crisis in mental health. The vast majority of teachers have noticed this worsening epidemic, but just a third of active referrals to CAMHS have received support.
The Government has failed to fund mental health services properly. But they have also failed to address the root causes of this epidemic.
This government has failed our children.
On funding, 70% of schools have less funding in real terms today than they did 14 years ago. Our sixth forms have been hit hard – on average having 15% less funding than they did 14 years ago.
And to make these figures even worse, it is often those schools serving the most deprived communities that have been hit the hardest. And it’s not just us saying it, but the Institute for Fiscal Studies – warning that to restore school purchasing power to 2010 levels would require £3.2billion of extra investment.
The aftermath of the pandemic has laid bare the challenges facing our schools and colleges.
We have seen pupil need increase.
Yet the most in need in our schools are being neglected by Government due to a £4.6bn funding shortfall in the High Needs Funding Block. And it’s not just us saying it, but also the f40 group of local authorities.
Schools are crumbling around the heads of our children. The shocking state of our school buildings is due to a deliberate £43.8bn underspend on our school estate since 2010.
And it’s not just us saying it. This government are spending a third of what their own figures tell them is needed annually to keep schools safe.
Conference, in 2010, as a country, we were spending 5.5% of GDP on education. Today, we are spending 3.9%. The OECD recommendation is that countries should spend a minimum of 5% of GDP on education.
In terms of cash, the gap between what is recommended and what is actually being spent is £28 billion.
Conference, you can’t have an excellent education system on the cheap. This gap needs to be closed.
So, this government has failed on curriculum, accountability, assessment, child poverty, school funding – and it has failed you.
Teachers are leaving the profession before retirement in unprecedented numbers, higher than at any time on record.
The number one reason by far is workload and work intensity.
Your dispute forced this Government to negotiate on the issue of workload. And although they have not moved far enough, your action has won an end to the statutory obligation for performance related pay.
Your action has forced this Government to reinsert a refreshed list of 23 administrative and clerical tasks that teachers MUST not be compelled to do.
But as always, it will be up to our dedicated reps to make this a reality on the ground and to ensure that this modest victory does not increase the workload of our valued support staff colleagues.
As always it is an active rep, with a strong, united union group, that can really push back on the issue of workload.
This term I stood on a picket line with the magnificent teachers from Duke’s Academy in Tottenham. That school group has been revitalised over the last couple of years and is led by three fantastic young women.
They came up with an action plan to deal with workload. The management of their trust rejected it but after three days of strike action they agreed to the recommendations.
This dispute is one of a record number of school-level disputes being fought and won by our reps and members.
Disputes like the ones being waged in the independent sector, the fighting sector of our union as they defend the TPS for all of us.
Disputes like our recent battles in Northern Ireland and Jersey in the fight for fair pay.
Disputes like the one being led by our members at Cathedral School in Cardiff, where a shameful management have tried to break the strike through the use of supply staff.
I was pleased to hear that the running local disputes session in the Activists Zone was packed to the rafters. Conference, we need more disputes and we need more victories.
Professionals are increasingly taking matters into their hands and creating change - that is what this union is for.
In addition to workload, uncompetitive pay is driving the crisis in recruitment and retention. Over the term of this Government, teachers have lost at least a staggering £79,558 in real terms from their salaries.
Let that sink in. £79,558.
Think what difference that would make to you?
To our members living in shared housing.
To our members struggling to pay for childcare.
To our members working two jobs.
To our members forced to use foodbanks.
It is no wonder that members feel undervalued.
It is because they are undervalued.
This Government values neither education nor educators.
And for our support staff, it has been particularly hard. A dedicated workforce, 98% of them female – scandalously largely unorganised.
I’d like to thank Paul Nowak for his honesty this week. He is thoroughly decent.
However, Conference, the fact remains, it is our fundamental desire, as a union, to fight for the lowest paid workers in our school. There is no moral justification that the collective voice of our 60,000 support staff members continues to be excluded from collective bargaining arrangements.
Unison, GMB: we want to work with you to improve the material conditions of school and college support staff. We want to organise the unorganised. And if you won’t work with us on this, we will actively do it ourselves.
Our current support staff ballot is open and is demonstrating that we can do this.
Conference, the balance sheet for this Government is clear. After 14 years they have failed education, education professionals, the children we teach and the communities we serve.
Gillian Keegan has said she is doing an “f-ing good job”, but Gillian, let me speak on behalf of the 500,000 plus NEU members: You. Are. Not.
Indeed, you, and the nine other Secretaries of State we have endured over the past 14 years have done, to use your vernacular, an f-ing terrible job.
Conference, I won’t shed a tear if this Government is shown the door.
But what about the alternatives?
As an unaffiliated union we attend all party conferences. I spoke at the Lib Dem conference in September. They shared not only many of our criticisms of the current education system, but they also shared many of our ideas on a better vision for education.
One idea I was particularly taken with was the Lib Dem policy of taxing tech giants to fund mental health support in schools. However, I would go further.
The mental health of our young people has plunged since 2010, and levels of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide have soared.
Conference, the development of social media and online forums have contributed to this.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat.
And conference, it’s not just social media. Who can argue that easily accessible pornography is not distorting young people’s views of sex, sexuality and their relationships? Or that the internet is not responsible for the rise in misogyny, racism, and conspiracy theories?
I believe that the Online Safety Act does not go far enough. It is intended to stop children from accessing illegal, harmful and age-inappropriate content.
But we must go further. Social media giants should be made to have social responsibility to our children.
We need an Independent Parliamentary Commission, as a start of a process of deep- seated reform to the way social media is regulated.
And we will work with anyone prepared to make this happen.
It took decades for tobacco advertising to be banned. Like the tobacco giants, the social media companies are very rich and very powerful.
These corporations, driven by greed and disregard for the well-being of our communities, have created a digital empire that preys upon the vulnerabilities of our young people, harvesting their data and attention for profit at the expense of their own humanity.
Conference, as a father and as a teacher, this is something that really matters to me and it should matter to all of us.
However, the polling is clear. It won’t be the Lib Dems that form the next Government, it will be Labour. So, what do have Labour to offer?
Labour has promised to increase the number of teachers by 6,500.
Labour has promised to provide free school breakfasts for primary children.
Labour has promised to replace single word Ofsted judgements with report cards.
And Labour will review assessment and curriculum.
But while all of these are welcome reforms, they are a long way from the scale of change that we need to see in education.
We are ready to work with a Labour government to embark on a journey of renewal. To rebuild and to reinvigorate, to instil hope in our young people, and to champion a new era of possibility and progress.
But I say to Keir Starmer, our priority will always remain with our members, the dedicated professionals who are the architects of a more just and equitable future. The people who break down barriers and open up doors for our young people regardless of their background or circumstance.
We want an incoming Government to invest in education and our young people. To commit to bringing down class sizes and to rebuild and refurbish our schools.
We want an incoming Government to reduce the achievement gap suffered by poor children and tackle child poverty.
Scrapping the two-child limit and introducing free school meals for primary children are two necessary and immediate starting points Labour should be committed to.
We want an incoming Government committed to making teaching a competitive career again, to address the recruitment and retention crisis. And we believe it is wrong that support staff are paid little more than the minimum wage.
We also need a new national contract for teachers that guarantees they will be valued as professionals.
We want fundamental reform of the curriculum to give children a greater sense of belonging, and reform of the inspection system so that it builds capacity.
These changes cannot be done on the cheap and Labour should proudly say that their number one priority is education.
Austerity policies have destroyed education. Conference, let me be clear, we didn’t tolerate Tory cuts and we won’t tolerate Labour cuts either.
So just as we have placed this Government on notice, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, we put any incoming Labour government on notice also.
At the forthcoming election we will not tell members or parents who to vote for.
We will campaign for all parties to invest in education and educators and to end child poverty.
We will fight to make sure education is a priority issue that politicians cannot ignore.
But conference, the direction of this union under my leadership is not simply to wait for a change of government.
This is not the NEU way. We are a fighting, campaigning, organising union.
This union has stood as a beacon of hope and progress, fighting for fairness, campaigning for our profession and children and young people, in the face of tremendous adversity.
It was this union that built a School Cuts coalition, that won £14.4 billion in extra funding for education during the 2019 General Election.
It was this union that demanded Government listen to the science. The action of our reps saved lives and forced this government to change its reckless policy in the pandemic.
It was this union that campaigned alongside the London Mayor and others to implement free schools meals in primary schools across the capital. And it is this union that is winning support for this vital policy.
It was this union that forced the Department for Education to fund the costs borne from the RAAC crisis.
And it is this union that is building support for alternatives to high stakes tests in primary schools, and for alternatives to secondary assessment.
It was this union that campaigned for an end to Ofsted, and this union that built a coalition to develop fair and supportive alternatives.
It was this union, and this union alone, that dedicated eight solid days of industrial action last year, winning an extra £3 billion for education and a 6.5% pay award for every teacher in this country.
Conference, we have come so far, and we have achieved so much. But there is much more to do. But let what we have achieved give us hope about what we can and what we must achieve tomorrow.
Conference, the central success of the NEU is our rep base. Unions – all unions – should always be built from the bottom up. As General Secretary I pledge to turn the resources of this union to the recruitment, training, and support of our workplace activists.
Nothing is more important.
This week we discussed an emergency motion on pay and funding. That set the strategy.
I heard you loud and clear. And this Government, and any government that follows it, needs to hear us loud and clear also.
We are ready, we are prepared and we are able to take any further industrial action that ensures our members and our schools get the fair deal they deserve.
Our members never take action lightly. They would always rather be in the classroom, doing what they do best – teaching and supporting our children.
But if you give them no choice, they will act to save our schools – and it will be on you, Gillian Keegan. You cannot fall back on the STRB. We all know it is not independent.
Gillian Keegan, this is your chance. You can avoid further industrial action. The ball is in your court.
Thank you.