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Annual Conference 2007....Harrogate

 

Conference Report Easter 2007

The Conference at Harrogate was attended by Warrington representatives Steve Pennington and Beth Purnell. Kevin Ashbrook was unable to attend to due illness and was sorely missed, we wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him next year in Manchester.

Beth Purnell writes:

It was my first time at conference and I didn’t know quite what to expect. We arrived on Good Friday afternoon and attended the first session. Saturday morning included an address by the new president Baljeet Ghale. The rest of Saturday through to Tuesday afternoon was filled with high quality debate and speeches about the many issues affecting education.

I was impressed by the high quality of the debates in the hall. It was inspiring to see delegates speak with such passion about the state of Education in the country today. As expected delegates spoke out with fervor about unacceptable pupil behaviour, and demanded better pay and conditions for staff, but were equally passionate when calling for an independent review of primary education and SEN provision, and the misuse of the “Building Schools for the Future” program to develop Academies.

I enjoyed going to fringe meetings to find out about the problems surrounding asbestos in schools, the growing number of academies and why they need to be opposed, and climate change in a global context.

The most enjoyable thing about the conference was meeting so many people from different parts of the country, different ages, religions, race and gender all who care so much about the education of all the pupils in their charge.

It wasn’t all hard work. We were able to sample the delights of some of Harrogate’s fine (and not so fine) eating and drinking establishments. We managed not to disgrace ourselves at the Teachers Support Network Quiz evening thanks to a joint effort between ourselves and St Helens association.

I would recommend going to conference for any member of the union. Keep an eye out for the flyers and hope to see you next year in Manchester.

 

The conference identified the need for wide ranging campaigns including:

bullet streamlining the support available for members facing unacceptable pupil behaviour;
bullet calling for an independent review of primary education;
bullet campaigning against excessive workload, unacceptable working hours and for an improvement in work/life balance;
bullet re-launching the campaign on the entitlement of all children to be taught by qualified teachers;
bullet demanding that supply teachers be properly paid a daily rate of 1/195th the rate of permanent teachers;
bullet seeking to reduce to two and then to one, the required number of lesson observations;
bullet undertaking a major enquiry into the scale, causes and impact of mental illness amongst teachers;
bullet achieving the removal of false allegations from teachers’ personal records;
bullet pressing the demands of young teachers for competitive pay and affordable housing;
bullet promoting the development of curricula on climate change and sustainable development;
bullet calling for an independent review of Government policies on SEN pupils;
bullet continuing the Union’s campaign against SATs and league tables in England;
bullet opposing the development of trust schools and Academies;
bullet opposing the misuse of the “Building Schools for the Future” program to develop Academies;
bullet calling for an end to specialist diplomas and an independent review of vocational education;
bullet linking the  Union’s campaigns for comprehensive education and for the protection of public services;
bullet promoting the Union’s charter for Black Caribbean boys, “Born To Be Great”;
bullet opposing the employment in schools of members of racist and fascist organisations;
bullet establishing a Political Fund in order to enable the Union explicitly to campaign against candidates standing for the BNP or other racist and fascist parties or platforms;
bullet pursuing the need for a common foundation stage class-size policy;
bullet demanding a classroom temperature acceptability limit, at 26°C;
bullet pressing for more qualified teachers in Children’s Centres;
bullet addressing the impact of OFSTED / ESTYN and the need for alternative inspection and evaluation methods;
bullet establishing professional unity through the creation of a single democratic and campaigning union; and
bullet providing solidarity with teachers' organisations in the Middle East and across the World.