We demand more than better - we demand the government values education and values educators
By Emma Forrest, NEU Assistant General Secretary – Regions, Wales and Legal Strategy
This is a guest article by Emma Forrest, National Education Union.
On Saturday (18 June), alongside sister unions within education and the wider Trades Union Congress (TUC), the National Education Union will be mobilising its members to demand more. As a cost-of-living crisis - fuelled by rising inflation - grips the nation, educators are trying to claw back up to twenty-one per cent which they have lost on their pay in real terms since 2010.
This demonstration comes at a critical time for education. As the Government’s Schools Bill focuses on all the wrong issues in education - such as structure and governance - the profession will march for a different vision of education. Politicians of all parties, education professionals and employers in education are united in their concerns over the Bill currently making its way through Westminster. The need for a government that values education and educators has never been so desperate. As the education system deals with the ‘real issues’ affecting the sector, including the emergence from the Covid-19 pandemic – lack of funding, increasing child poverty, rising workloads and declining pay culminating in a recruitment and retention crisis – this Bill does not meet the mark.
At the recent NEU Annual Conference, members voted for a new deal for all of education, throwing their weight behind motions to eradicate child poverty, replace Ofsted, oppose the ‘hostile environment’ and ensure educators can afford the basics such as milk and bread. That is why delegates, who have endured over a decade of pay cuts and rising costs, voted for the NEU to carry out an indicative ballot on pay, of all members in state funded schools in England and Wales. This ballot will be launched in the autumn term, depending on the Government’s decision on teacher pay, after receiving recommendations from the School Teachers Review Body. With the anti-union legislation in this country, it is critical that everyone supports education workers in their efforts to safeguard their profession and stave off the exodus of teachers and support staff.
There is no doubt the Government will try to make positive propaganda out of the inevitable announcement of an eight per cent increase in teacher starting salaries to £30,000 (a lot less for others). But the reality is that most staff will see a three per cent pay rise on average - as the cost of pasta has risen by fifty per cent and inflation is in double figures. And unless any pay rise is fully-funded by Government, schools and colleges will once again be heading for a funding crisis.
Data released by the Department for Education (DfE) last week showed shocking statistics on teacher recruitment and retention and an education system heading for collapse. And the rising cost of living does not just affect the profession itself, but wider society. Damning statistics show the number of children eligible for Free School Meals has risen to 1,897,449, an increase of forty-nine per cent on the 1,270,914 children eligible in 2019. These are appalling figures and a clear indication that the cost-of-living crisis is plunging more and more families into desperate straits - the levelling up agenda has so far gone backwards. The impact this has on children's ability to learn has been well documented by educators, including through the NEU’s No Child Left Behind campaign.
These problems within education are compounded by ever-increasing workloads. One of the major drivers of workload is Ofsted, the schools inspectorate which, even as it celebrates its 30th birthday this year, continues to receive criticism, both from the profession and the National Audit Office. The NEU's Replace Ofsted-Let Teachers Teach petition has reached 36,000 signatures, clearly articulating the need for a new system of accountability that is supportive and useful to all in education.
While the accountability system has failed to become useful for the profession, the impact of the pandemic has highlighted an assessment regime in equal need of reform. For many years, the More Than a Score coalition has advocated for the need to move away from standardised tests in primary schools - tests which narrow the curriculum and provide no useful information to education professionals. Now NEU members are taking part in the Independent Commission on Assessment in Primary Education, as the profession looks to international examples to forge a new way for primary assessment. This work follows the NEU’s involvement in the Independent Assessment Commission, which explored alternatives to secondary assessment and qualifications.
As a summer of strike action looms – by workers in rail, mail and universities - it is clear the demands for change are growing in number. Saturday is a chance to bring our movement together: the NEU will be using this important milestone to build members’ confidence and illustrate the power and strength of our union, as we prepare for our indicative ballot and campaign for our vision for education.
We will be marching to demand better. We will be marching to demand:
Better pay for educators
Reduced workload
More funding for education
No child left behind
Replace Ofsted
It’s time to Value Education, Value Educators. Together we can shape the future of education.
Emma Forrest is NEU Assistant General Secretary – Regions, Wales and Legal Strategy
We Demand Better, TUC march and rally, Saturday 18 June | Portland Place, London | Assemble from 10.30am | March departs 12pm | Rally 1pm