The NASUWT has a proud history of fighting to secure meaningful improvements to teachers’ working lives. Time and time again the NASUWT has stood up, often against the prevailing views of the time, to challenge attacks on teachers’ pay, workload, pupil indiscipline and contractual rights.
The Union was born because demanded a living wage and decent working conditions in 1919, formed by the struggle of ordinary teachers prepared to do extraordinary things. We are the Union made up of teachers who said enough is enough and who were prepared to disrupt the status quo and break new ground.
The NASUWT is built on its democratic structure, run by teachers and headteachers to represent teachers and headteachers in pragmatic trade unionism, focused on exerting pressure and influence wherever we can to secure the best outcomes for our members.
Highlights on our centenary timeline
1919
First meeting of the National Association of Men Teachers, later the National Association of Schoolmasters (NAS)
1965
The formation of the Union of Women Teachers (UWT)
1976
The NAS and UWT merge to form the NASUWT, along with SSA
1989
The NASUWT wins a successful equal pay claim for a head of department via an industrial tribunal - the first one for a teachers’ union
2000
The NASUWT produces Crossing the Threshold - a publication that secures pay progression for thousands of teachers
2003-2010
The NASUWT enters ‘Social Partnership’ with the Government, employers and most education unions, delivering unparalleled outcomes for teachers and schools
2017
The NASUWT wins a legal challenge over unlawful deductions from sixth-form teachers’ pay
2018
Former NASUWT General Secretary Chris Keates heads up a national rally
These are battles which the Union has had to fight again over the years and rights which have to be continually defended. The NASUWT is only able to do this thanks to the support and solidarity of members who understand that standing up for their rights is inextricably linked to the right of children and young people to high-quality education delivered by professionals who have the conditions they need to do their best for the pupils they teach.
Teachers know that as a member of the NASUWT that they have one consistent, powerful voice who is advocating on their behalf with employers, governments and administrations.
