Campaigns & News

National ballot in England on teacher pay and funding : Opening on 3 October

The NEU executive met earlier this week and in light of the progress being made in ongoing talks brokered by the TUC on recognition and representation for support staff, a decision was taken to continue our pause on active recruitment and not to include support staff in the upcoming ballot on teacher pay and funding.

The executive noted that the NJC pay which covers most support staff has been agreed by the recognised unions and is currently being implemented. In the circumstances, our ability to secure any improvement on pay is non-existent.

It has been decided that the question on the ballot that opens on 3 October will be as follows:

‘Are you prepared to take industrial action to secure an improved pay award which is fully funded and makes significant movement towards pay restoration for teachers and sufficient additional funding to improve working conditions in education.’

Fight back against the rise of the far right – send a delegation to the Organise Together summits!

The events last weekend in Portsmouth and Dover show the far right are continuing to work to bring hatred, intimidation and fear to our streets.

We know the challenges are bigger than ever before. The voices of division and hate are growing louder – and educators are on the front line in classrooms where the far right is targeting our pupils with toxic narratives promoting racism, misogyny and misinformation.

But we also know that when we come together, we are stronger than hate. This year’s historic, 500,000 strong Together march has proved that we can build the unity to stop the far right.

That’s why we’re hosting two Organise Together summits – in Manchester and London – this October.

These summits are for activists to come together to organise, collaborate and share strategies about how we stop the far right. We need strong, local delegations of NEU members in the room to ensure educators remain at the forefront of this organising effort.

The summits will feature workshops designed to train and support your members in tackling difficult conversations and develop their organising skills.

Bulk-order tickets to the summit via this link, and commit your district or branch to joining us at Organise Together! 

Call for information on local area SEND reform plans

We are keen to hear about your experiences of the development of local area SEND reform plans. We would be particularly keen to hear thoughts on the following areas:

• Have you been involved in the development of your Local Area SEND Reform Plan?
• If so, what does the plan include, and do you have any concerns?
• How will the changes affect schools’ ability to deliver SEND and inclusion more effectively under the SEND reforms?
• Would you be interested in joining an online session to discuss the development of the plans, and any issues or concerns that you have for member workload, safety etc?

If you have a copy of your local plan, that you would be willing to share, this would also be greatly appreciated.