NEU Leadership

Schools and colleges need to be effectively led by leaders and managers who are well supported and developed to meet and succeed in an immensely challenging education environment.

NEU is the second largest union for leaders and managers across the entire education sector. School leaders and college managers are vital to the NEU as they are in a strong position to influence and implement policy. The union sees the great value of supporting and helping to develop ethical leaders who lead and shape the future of education.

The NEU understands the complex and professionally demanding work done by school leaders and college managers. We offer advice that will assist leaders in finding their way through these challenges.   We support leaders to stand together with other educational professionals to inform NEU policy that benefits teaching and learning and the education system.

On this page you can find advice and information for leaders on:

Excess workload caused by Ofsted

The NEU has released the first in a set of films highlighting how Ofsted is not fit for purpose and is gathering the experiences of leaders for this campaign.

We want to hear our members thoughts and lived experiences of the inspectorate. Specifically, we would like to hear from members who have had recent Ofsted inspections in their school or college who feel the inspection had an impact (either positive or negative) on pupil learning. Contact Jill.Stokoe@neu.org.uk.

Ofsted experiences – we want to hear from leaders

The NEU is gathering the experiences of leaders for an upcoming campaign on Ofsted. We want to hear our members thoughts and lived experiences of the inspectorate. Specifically, we would like to hear from members who have had recent Ofsted inspections in their school or college who feel the inspection had an impact (either positive or negative) on pupil learning. Contact Jill.Stokoe@neu.org.uk.

NEU leadership membership benefits

As part of the NEU Leadership support and advice package you will have access to:

  • NEU Leadership Guild, the exclusive professional messaging app for our leadership members to allow networking and peer support;
  • Annual Leadership Conference, to share effective leadership models, policies, research and collaborative action for change in education;
  • LEAD, the magazine for NEU Leadership members focused on your professional interests and needs;
  • NEU advice and guidance to leadership members in key professional issues including ethical leadership, equality matters and workload;
  • NEU Adviceline for advice on employment rights, and support from our experienced staff including solicitors based in the regions and nations;
  • Leadership CPD that maximises your opportunity to apply knowledge and practice new skills in a changing education environment

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NEU and joint union evidence to the STRB

The NEU’s supplementary evidence responds to the Government's evidence to the STRB and sets out our opposition to the Government's plans to impose more real terms cuts on the teaching profession.  The evidence can be found with other pay campaign materials here.

Tell the School Teachers Review Body why you need a pay rise and what the impact of pay cuts means for leaders when recruiting and retaining teachers.

Latest leadership Covid update on risk assessments and ventilating indoor work areas

The Spring/Summer 2022 joint union (GMB, NASUWT, NEU, UNISON, UNITE) guidance can be found here. We have updated this checklist to support leaders to put in place appropriate measures that will keep both students and staff safe.  By following our guidance, schools and other settings can seek to minimise the risk of disruption.

See also NEU advice on planning for and responding to Covid-19 outbreaks in schools and checklist for staff sickness absence policy.

DfE funded training course for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges

The Department for Education if offering a £1,200 grant for a senior member of school or college staff to access training to implement an effective whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing in your setting. The grant is provided to cover the cost of attending a course and may also be used to hire supply staff whilst leaders are engaged in learning.

To find out more about the learning outcomes for senior mental health leads, what training courses are available, and more information about how to access a grant, please visit this page.

Directed time and whole school well-being

Leadership educators continue to make a huge contribution during this pandemic, working well over what is expected in contractual terms.  School Leaders deserve a fair workload, during a time when there is political pressure for recovery education.

As ethical leaders, the importance of addressing directed time can effectively begin to tackle workload for you and your staff.  Listen to Headteacher and NEU President, Robin Bevan, talking about why he places importance on the directed time calendar in his school.

Let us know the the positive stories you have around directed time and workload.

Leadership CPD

The national CPD programme includes several leadership programmes and masterclasses desined to support you at every stage of your leadership journey. 

Leaders holding school communities together

Leaders are continuing to make incredible efforts to maintain student’s education and staff wellbeing in the face of the current crisis.

Access more videos and articles on the Remote Education Hub which puts educational professionals at the heart of developing practice which supports teaching and learning during lockdown.

Code of Ethical Leadership in Practice

Headteacher and NEU president, Robin Bevan, presents in this video, the Code of Ethical Leadership in Practice and gives examples of how he has used it in his school context. Download the guide below.

Leadership
Code of Ethical Practice in Leadership

The National Education Union believes ethical leadership should be at the heart of everything we do. Please use this document to help support and inform your leadership style, whether new to management and leadership or experienced. 

Download PDF

Leadership advice and resources

These documents aim to help develop and assist your thinking as a leader and your approach to leadership, applying the NEU’s principles of ethical leadership.

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