Government austerity policies in education have left the teaching profession in crisis and a future government must reverse chronic underfunding in education and invest in teachers by giving them “world-class” pay and working conditions, members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union will hear today.
In her presidential speech to the NASUWT Annual Conference 2024, held this year in Harrogate, Rashida Din will attack real terms cuts to budgets, cuts to SEN funding, soaring waiting lists for child mental health services and teacher shortages.
Rashida will address members as President of NASUWT telling them: “It is an honour to address you as the first Muslim President of NASUWT. We are the union of equality, diversity and breaking down barriers, and that is why I stand before you today.”
She will attack the deep cuts to the education service in the last 14 years, telling Conference:
“Our profession is in crisis due to year-on-year, real-terms cuts to school and college budgets across all of our nations, waiting lists for children’s mental health support rising to record levels, cuts to support for pupils with special educational needs, school buildings at serious risk of collapse, hundreds of thousands of children missing from education and teacher shortages everywhere.
“Cracks in our ceilings and cracks in our education system. And if the next Westminster Government and those of our devolved nations genuinely want to protect the right to education in our schools and colleges then we need them to reverse the 14 years of chronic underfunding and invest in the workforce with world-class pay and working conditions.”
Rashida, 52, from Luton has spent more than 25 years teaching science across primary, secondary and SEMH (Social, Emotional Mental Health) schools. She has spent 17 years teaching and working as a senior leader in a pupil referral unit in Bedfordshire.
She will say the accountability regime created by Ofsted in England and inspection regimes across the UK are often stifling the creativity of teachers and alongside a narrow curriculum, are leading to an over reliance on exams and a narrowing of subject choices for young people.
“We need to put creativity back at the very top of our demands for a world-class education – a demand that is central to our Teachers’ Manifesto.
“Has the National Curriculum, with over-reliance on exams and narrowing of subject choice failed our young people? Our members are telling us that practical subjects such as art, music, and design are increasingly being devalued due to accountability pressures.”
She said members had to remain vigilant in protecting and defending trade union rights and will tell Conference: “We must remain vigilant in defending our own trade union rights – hard fought for – from the attacks globally by big corporations and right-wing governments.
“NASUWT will stand with the entire trade union movement in campaigning to defeat the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act, using all means at our disposal.
“NASUWT will also strengthen its campaign for a Better Deal for Teachers throughout 2024 for better pay and working conditions. It is not over.
“When we fight, we win. We are ordinary teachers but we have done extraordinary things and will continue this proud tradition. Give us justice or we will fight.”
Photo credit: SWNS
