Championing Education
The NASUWT is a politically independent trade union representing teachers and headteachers throughout the United Kingdom. The Union has no party political affiliation and is committed to working constructively with Government to secure the best outcomes for schools and public services. Our priorities include:
- increasing funding in real terms for schools and the share of the national wealth invested in education and training for children and young people aged 3-19 years;
- ensuring that state education is the first choice for all parents and does not become Hobson’s choice for
those unable to pay for private education; - ensuring that there is no postcode lottery in terms of access for children and young people to education and training opportunities;
- protecting schools from privatisation and market competition that puts self-interest before public interest;
- ending the waste of taxpayers’ money spent on contracting with private providers and management consultants;
- maintaining the national pay and conditions framework for teachers and headteachers as a basis for ensuring that the educational entitlements of every child are delivered and ensure the recognition of trade unions in all state funded schools;
- safeguarding the welfare of all children, by prohibiting members of the racist and fascist British National Party (BNP), National Front, Combat 18 and English Defence League from working as teachers or serving on school governing bodies;
- supporting all headteachers to focus on leading teaching and learning as lead practitioners;
- providing a statutory contractual entitlement for all teachers and headteachers in state funded schools to continuing professional development at all stages in their careers;
- abolishing the school league tables, which limit access to a broad and balanced education, lead to teaching to the test, and which reduce the quality of information given to parents about the quality of their child’s education;
- tackling all forms of pupil indiscipline, bullying and harassment in schools and establish a national system for recording and reporting all violent and abusive incidents in schools;
- investing in extending access to wider services for children and families, which can help to remove barriers to learning and support the most vulnerable children and young people.
The NASUWT is committed to ensuring that its members are fully informed about the policies of each of the political parties and the implications for schools, teachers and education.
'Fact or Fiction' Posters/Leaflets
Download resources and get more information on the following key issues:
Academies (including Academies Resource Pack for local secretaries)
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Read about how the Coalition Government's programme is affecting other nations in the UK.
Health and safety
The Coalition Government has signaled its intention to deregulate health and safety, with Prime Minister David Cameron making spurious claims about the rise of a so-called 'compensation culture' over the last decade and calling for a regulatory system which does not 'overwhelm businesses with red tape'.
The NASUWT has serious concerns that the Government's approach will lead to thousands more workers being killed, injured and made ill by their work. The Union believes that regulation must be strengthened, not weakened.
Lord Young has been appointed to lead a Government review into health and safety legislation.
Budget statement on teachers' pay
The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Emergency Budget included the following statement on public sector pay:
“A two year pay freeze will be introduced from 2011-12 for public sector workforces, except for those earning £21,000 or less, who will receive an increase of at least £250 a year. This will save £3.3 billion a year by 2014-15.
“Pay will also be frozen in 2010-11 for civil servants who are yet to agree a legally binding pay deal, except for those earning £21,000 or less, who will receive at least £250 a year. These civil servants will then exit the freeze ahead of other groups.”
(HM Treasury, Budget 2010)
Further confirmation has been obtained on the implications for teachers' pay in England and Wales. The Secretary of State for Education has confirmed that the final year of the three year pay award for teachers in England and Wales (an increase of 2.3%) will be honoured by the Government with effect from 1 September 2010.
The NASUWT has written to the administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland to seek their assurances on teachers’ pay. Teachers in those nations deserve no less than their colleagues in England and Wales.
'March For The Alternative', 26 March 2011
