Why is it called the Blair Peach Award?
The award is named after the past president of East London NUT who was murdered during an anti-racist demonstration in Southall, London on 23 April 1979. It was first awarded in 2010.
On the day of his death, Blair Peach was showing solidarity and marching against the presence of the far-right National Front.
Modern day equivalents to the National Front continue to promote racist and fascist views. The reason the NEU supports the work of organisations such as HOPE not hate, Unite Against Fascism, Show Racism the Red Card, Kick It Out and the Hamilton Commission.
The award will take the form of a certificate signed by the general secretaries.
All lay members are eligible for the award with the exception of paid officials or staff of the union and executive members.
Criteria for the Blair Peach award
The Blair Peach Award seeks to meet some of the following aims at district/branch/school level:
- developing effective union/school leadership and a whole division/school approach to equality and diversity;
- acknowledging and celebrating existing good practices in equality work at district/branch/school level;
- building on existing equality and diversity work in districts/branches and schools;
- supporting and sharing equality and diversity work in all regions and Wales;
- encouraging innovation and new developments in equality work in schools and in union activity;
- providing a mechanism for celebrating the work of the union’s equality officers; and
- showcasing ways in which teachers use the curriculum to promote equality and prevent prejudice, discrimination and stereotypes.
The award will be granted to individual members or groups of members who have made significant and exemplary contributions to LGBT+, race, gender, and/or disability equality in their school or division.
The award will take the form of a certificate signed by the General Secretaries.
All lay members are eligible for the award with the exception of paid officials or staff of the Union and Executive members.
What could be included
Exemplary contributions to a district/branch/school could include increasing participation and representation of LGBT+, black, women or disabled members, for example through the integration of equality perspectives into casework; increased accessibility or equality monitoring; or the development of new equality-specific district and branch/school such as for the anti-racist framework, LGBT History Month, the Preventing Sexual Harrassment Tooklkit or the Disability Equality Toolkit.
Further exemplary contributions to a school could be evaluated on the basis of the impact on pupils, teachers, and other members of the school community. These may have occurred in conjunction with pre-existing initiatives such as for example, International Women’s Day or Holocaust Memorial Day or the development of school equality strategies or projects. The contribution should have made a significant impact in reshaping or adding new elements to pre-existing initiatives in order to be considered for the award.
The Awards Panels will give particular consideration to nominations which demonstrate innovation and initiatives in promoting equality and diversity in a school or division/association.
How to nominate a member
If you wish to nominate someone for their exemplary work in the area of equality, contact your local district/branch secretary.
The award is presented to a member who demonstrates exemplary work in the field of equality.
Please include as much supporting evidence as you can alongside the 200 word statement in order to assist the Award panel in making their decision for the 2025 Award.
The award will be presented at the NEU Annual Conference 2025.
Nominations must be made by branches/districts by completing the nomination form. The Closing date for nominations is Friday 17th January at 5pm.
Form can also be completed and sent to [email protected] by email or posted to :
Judy Ellerby
Lead Policy Manager SEND
Hamilton House
Mabledon Place
London
WC1H 9BD