Rep and officer awards

The nomination for this year's representative and officer of the year awards are now closed

The NEU invited members to nominate an NEU Representative/Officer who deserves to be recognised by the union for their hard work and commitment. 

The awards are judged at a regional level and are made up of one rep and one officer from Northern Ireland and each region in England and Wales.

These Regional/Wales/Northern Ireland winners are then put forward for consideration for the National Representative and Officer of the Year awards. 

The regional winners will be announced in February 2025 and they will be presented with their awards by their Regional/Wales/Northern Ireland Executive.    

The national winner will be announced at the NEU annual conference 2025 where they will be invited to receive their award in person. 

All winners will be celebrated on this page, in our award-winning magazine and on social media.  

2024 Winners

About the awards

Every year the NEU invites members to nominate NEU reps and officers who deserve to be recognised by the union for their hard work and commitment to building a stronger union and supporting members in the workplace.

The awards are judged at regional level and the Regional/Wales/Northern Ireland winners are then put forward for consideration for the National Representative and Officer of the Year awards. A panel of NEU Executive members judges the nominations and selects the national winners.

Sarah Vaughan, NEU officer of the year 2024

Sarah Vaughan, district and branch secretary, Cheshire East wins national officer of the year 2024

Sarah’s enthusiastic promotion of the union has seen Cheshire East’s membership increase to its highest level in over a decade. She has done pioneering work raising awareness of the menopause at work, writing a school policy and training that fed into the union’s national policy, and has delivered training on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), mental health, rural isolation, domestic abuse and anti-racism. She has built relationships with local councillors and the community to ensure that education is a priority. Photo ©Kois Miah

Congratulations to Madeleine McClean, winner of the2023/24 national representative of the year award

Madeleine became the rep at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary within weeks of joining the school. The NEU’s pay campaign had just begun and she successfully built a thriving and united union group, as well as garnering the support of parents and the local community. Madeleine said she was really honoured: “I am proud of how our NEU members have come together and supported each other and organised the most fantastic picket lines during the strike action. Without proper funding, our schools are suffering, and talented, experienced staff are leaving the profession. We have to fight for our children’s futures.” Photo © Kois Miah

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Regional/Wales and NI officer and representative winners

The National Education Union would like to congratulate all 2023/24 regional/Wales and Northern Ireland officer and representative winners. Click on the video to hear reps and activists talk about their roles and what they have done in the union.