Press

The National Education Union is the UK’s largest education union. We are an effective and powerful voice – championing everyone who works in education.

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    EPI on the Early Years Workforce

    Government should learn the lesson of this report: serious change begins with funding, and with a sustained programme to improve workforce qualifications.

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    EPI on CAMHS

    The EPI report makes for alarming reading and chimes with the concerns raised by our members.

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    Ofsted 'stuck' schools report

    Fear of Ofsted is a key factor in school leader and teacher flight from these schools. Ofsted is, unfortunately part of the problem, not the solution.

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    Queen’s Speech

    Boris Johnson's new Government has the opportunity in this Queen’s Speech to right the wrongs of successive Conservative-led Governments.

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    Vote today

    Today we have an historic opportunity to shape the future for all our young people.

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    NFER report on T Levels

    NFER is right that there has to be a concerted effort to raise awareness about the new T Level awards, particularly around the uncertainty about progression routes.

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    Child Poverty Poll

    NEU poll shows majority of teachers worried that yet more children in their school will be hungry and cold this Christmas.

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    Free schools policy

    NEU research reveals staggering cost and failure rate of the free schools policy.

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    EPI on Education Manifestos

    The focus on early years education is particularly welcome. Like the EPI, the union believes that the development of a larger educational workforce, with higher levels of training and qualification, is essential to a programme of early years reform.

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    Super Saturdays – Week 5

    With education now ranking as the third biggest electoral issue among parents, our fifth and final weekend of General Election events will take place in the North East, Cumbria and Yorkshire.

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    Labour Investment for Education

    The plan outlined by Labour will address the years of underfunding and allow schools to heal and to plan improvements, increasing SEND support, supporting teachers and other staff, capping class sizes and improving our school buildings.

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    Do the party pledges cut It?

    The School Cuts website has been updated to reflect what the manifestos mean for every school in England.

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    Wales PISA results

    Pisa offers some bench marking against other countries but it is only one measure of performance.

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    Pisa England Results

    Pisa findings should be a wake-up call to the Government that its polices are taking education in England in the wrong direction.

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    Pisa Results

    OECD tells top performing countries in Pisa 2018 that they have a long way to go in improving students’ social and emotional outcomes.

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    Initial Teacher Training 2019

    Initial Teacher Training recruitment figures in England - 2019 to 2020 released today, show that the Government has failed to recruit enough trainee teachers, based on its own targets.

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    Super Saturdays – Week 4

    Our latest wave of weekend events visits the north west, south west and west midlands to raise awareness about education during this General Election.

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    NEU parents poll

    New parent poll shows education rising to third biggest issue in General Election.

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    Labour’s Race and Faith Manifesto

    Tackling the under-representation of BME teachers is one very important step in addressing the issue of racism in society. The NEU welcomes the proposal for a new Emancipation Educational Trust.

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    New Ofsted Framework

    NEU has released guidance advising members of their rights during “brutal” Ofsted inspections. The guidance advises members on their contractual responsibilities in light of the new framework.

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    NEU state of school and college buildings survey

    This survey highlights the challenges facing schools and colleges in ensuring their buildings are well maintained and provide a safe and decent environment for teaching and learning.

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    Conservative Manifesto

    The Conservative manifesto reveals £340m of further cuts to school budgets in 2023/24. A generation of pupils have missed out on opportunities because of austerity, and for many it has trapped them in poverty. This election is about much more than Brexit.

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    NEU members poll on child poverty

    In a snapshot poll of National Education Union members, the growth of child poverty and its visibility within schools and colleges is laid bare.

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    NEU independent sector survey

    NEU survey shows staff working in independent schools have increased workload, low pay and damage to pensions.

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    Super Saturdays – Week 3

    Our third week of Super Saturdays, raising awareness of school cuts and other education issues, will visit the midlands and south-east regions of the UK.

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    Labour Party Manifesto

    The NEU asked each party to value education and make pledges on funding and the Labour party has met our tests. Labour’s manifesto demonstrates an understanding that schools alone cannot counter the drastic and long-lasting impacts of poverty and class inequality in wider society.

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    School Cuts welcomes Labour funding

    A coalition of education unions has today welcomed Labour’s manifesto commitment to reverse all cuts to school budgets and to make a once-in-a-generation investment in education.

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    Liberal Democrats Manifesto

    NEU welcomes the the Liberal Democrats commitment to abolish primary SATs testing. These tests, beloved of the Government, cause enormous stress and narrowing of the curriculum – they do not produce useful information for teachers.

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    Labour pledges on poverty

    Teachers and support staff work on the front line of child poverty and witness its devastating effects every day. Labour’s proposed policies on reserving the effects of austerity offers hope to millions of children and their families currently trapped in poverty’s grip.

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    Liberal Democrats Education Pledges

    The NEU welcomes the Liberal Democrats’ commitment to reverse school cuts and the recognition that teachers’ pay needs to rise.

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    Government Fire Safety

    Government’s “shameful” record on fire safety must end, says joint unions' letter

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    Green Party Manifesto

    The Green Party’s pledge to end centrally-imposed testing and Ofsted inspections is a welcome recognition of the pressures high-stakes accountability places on schools, narrowing the curriculum and driving teachers out of the profession.

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    SEND provision poll results

    Government heavily criticised in new NEU poll about SEND provision. It should be a point of shame for the Government that so few education staff believe it is up to the task of providing for SEND pupils.

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    Super Saturdays – Week 2

    The NEU’s Super Saturdays are an opportunity for parents, teachers, school staff and all who are interested or concerned about education,  to come together find out more about the challenges facing schools and colleges.

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    Class sizes

    NEU class size analysis shows a rise in 474 England constituencies since 2010

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    Use of unqualified staff

    Wales’s largest education union has concerns over the continued and growing use of teaching assistants, including Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs) and cover supervisors being used to teach classes both on a long- and short-term basis.

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    Staff wellbeing must be a priority

    The cutting back of teaching assistants and teachers in many schools have exacerbated workload issues which has led to a marked increase in stress and mental health issues in teachers.

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    Regional consortia positive impact on schools

    Wales’s largest education union believes that there is not enough evidence of Regional Consortia having a positive impact on schools in terms of improving standards for pupils.

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    Impact of austerity on schools

    Wales’ largest education union has called on the office of the Secretary of State for Wales to publish proposals for rectifying the harm that has been inflicted upon Wales, its public services and education in particular as a result of the Conservatives’ austerity programme.

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    Support for mental health education professionals

    Wales’s largest education union has called for the Welsh Government to introduce legislation to require all Welsh Unitary Authorities to introduce a mental health charter that protects employees by tackling the root causes of work-related mental health problems.

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    Labour Plans for Adult Learning

    We need to address how education gives adults and young people the skills and knowledge needed for the modern world.

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    Post 16 colleges funding in Wales

    Years of underfunding have seen the post 16 sector in Wales suffer from restructuring. It is sad to hear members’ experiences which suggest they are not valued.”

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    Greater action needed on teacher workload

    The National Education Union Cymru also feels that there can be no real progress in reducing teacher workload until the high level of teacher accountability is dropped.

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    School funding in Wales

    The National Education Union Cymru is also concerned that Welsh MPs, and the Secretary of State for Wales in particular, don’t see it as their job to approach Westminster to ask for more money for Education in Wales.

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    Violence and threats of violence towards education employees

    The level of violence and abusive behaviour against our members is an issue. Aggressive behaviour, including physical attacks and verbal abuse towards school staff and leaders occur across Wales and the causes of this needs to be addressed.

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    New Wales Curriculum

    The new Curriculum is a huge step change for education here in Wales, but more detail is clearly needed on the Progression Steps and assessment arrangements.

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    Super Saturdays

    During the General Election the National Education Union will be holding a series of Super Saturday events explaining the facts about education funding.

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    Making news toolkit for schools

    The National Education Union Cymru will launch the ‘Making News Toolkit for Schools’ online resource to its members at their Annual Conference in Newport on 9 November.

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    Strikes in sixth form colleges

    National Education Union members working in 25 Sixth Form Colleges will be taking their second day of strike action on Tuesday 5 November to defend their pay, working conditions and employment.

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    Early Years Funding

    We are pleased the Government has bowed to pressure from parents and educators by extending funding for maintained nursery schools for a further two terms.

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    Value Education, Vote Education

    There is a huge choice for education at this election. When casting their vote, we will ensure that parents, teachers, school leaders and the general public are in full possession of the facts, not the spin.

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    School and college building repairs

    Today’s announcement by Government to invest £400m in the repair of school and college buildings in England is too little, too late.

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    Weapons in Schools

    Schools form just one part of a multi-agency approach to reducing youth crime and the exposure of young people to violence, and those agencies all need support.

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    Sixth form colleges strike and rally

    NEU members working in Sixth Form Colleges will be taking strike action on Thursday 17 October to defend their pay, working conditions and employment.

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    Settled status

    Teaching unions general secretaries write to the Secretary of State for Education to express concerns over school places after Brexit.

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    Queen’s Speech

    This Queen’s Speech needs to address the issues that face schools, children and young people and their families

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    DfE Teacher Workload

    It is good that teachers are spending less time on marking and planning, but the numbers for time spent on data collection are still stubbornly high.

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    Unexplained Pupil Exits

    Sixty-nine thousand unexplained pupil exits from schools is a shocking figure and one which the Government needs to address.

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    School Funding Allocations

    The Government continues to try to pull the wool over the public’s eyes about the reality of school funding. They have to triple count monies to get to their claim that there is £14bn more in schools.

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    Children’s University

    What schools need most is to be adequately funded. Challenging schools to do more with even less resource is not the answer.

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    SEND court case

    The National Education Union will continue to stand in solidarity with SEND Action and fight to ensure that all children with SEND have access to the provision they deserve.

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    Gavin Williamson speech

    Gavin Williamson must get the Treasury to find the money to save the maintained nursery sector. Even after the announcement of an additional £400m in April 2020, they still have £1.1bn less in real terms than in 2010.

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    Phonics

    NEU comments on Government's release of Phonics Check statistics.

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    Labour to abolish Ofsted

    The NEU welcomes Labour’s announcement that it will abolish Ofsted. Labour’s proposal to abolish an overall school grade is long overdue. Schools are too complex to be reduced to a single grade.

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    IFS on education spending in England

    This IFS report confirms our belief that the additional money announced in the Spending Round is insufficient. They point out that even after the Spending Round, schools still have to cope with an unprecedented 13-year long funding squeeze.

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    Workload

    The Government is doing a far better job of driving people out of teaching than they are in retaining them.

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    Nursery School Closures

    Unless Government changes course, all local authority Maintained Nursery Schools (MNS) in England will lose on average 30% of their budget by September 2020.

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    National Audit Office on SEND

    This report makes clear the challenges facing schools and local authorities in their efforts to give the best possible support to SEND pupils. It is plain to anyone working in education that the levels of education funding for SEND pupils are inadequate.

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    Education at a Glance

    The findings of the OECD’s latest Education at a Glance provide another worrying reminder that education in England is moving in the wrong direction and is an outlier compared with other OECD countries.

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    Malpractice Commission

    The recommendations to spread best practice and take advantage of technological advances in order to help prevent malpractice, where it does occur, are sensible.

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    Boris Johnson on Free Schools

    The Government’s academy and free schools programme is in crisis. Almost 70 ‘orphan schools’ do not have a sponsor and yet the Government recklessly wants to expand the programme.

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    SEND Review

    Every school wants to provide the strategies and support which work for each individual SEND pupil, but the real-terms funding crisis has had a devastating impact. We don’t need another review to tell us that children with SEND need quicker assessments.

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    Provisional SATs results

    Today’s report will do nothing to halt the growing demand to abolish the SATs-based system, and replace it with one which support’s pupils’ learning, and does more to trust teachers’ professional judgment.

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    Spending Review

    Today's funding announcement in the Chancellor's Spending Review is not sufficient to reverse all the cuts to date.

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    Starting salaries

    Government announces a raise in starting salaries for teacher.

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    School standards

    Further expansion of free schools will result in more unused pupil places and more complications for parents trying to navigate the system and secure a place for their child.

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    16-19 Funding

    Funding announcement for further education and sixth form colleges is nowhere near to closing the £1.1bn gap.

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    GCSE Results

    Congratulations to all those receiving their GCSE results today. They are a testament to the hard work of students and all those who have supported them, including education professionals.

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    A-Level results

    Congratulations to students who have succeeded in their A-Level and vocational qualifications today.

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    EPI on the education disadvantage gap

    We shouldn't be surprised by these findings, but they should urgently trigger a change in approach. Cutting school funding dramatically while at the same time driving more families deeper into poverty comes at a high cost for poor and working-class students, says NEU.

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    Academies sector annual report and accounts

    Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union has commented on the publication by the DfE of annual reports on the expenditure and performance of the academy school sector.

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    New Education Secretary

    Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union has commented on the appointment of Gavin Williamson as the new Education Secretary.

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    Boris Johnson’s education pledge

    Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union comments on the incoming Prime Minister’s statements that education and school funding is at the top of his domestic agenda.

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    New Prime Minister

    Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union has commented on Boris Johnson becoming the new Prime Minister.

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    Ofsted on teacher wellbeing

    Rosamund McNeil, assistant general secretary of the National Education Union has commented on Teacher wellbeing at work in schools and further education providers, published today by Ofsted.

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    NEU Cymru reacts to IWPRP first report

    David Evans, Wales Secretary of the National Education Union Cymru has commented on the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body First Report 2019 and the proposals from Minister for Education Kirsty Williams published today.

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    Teacher Pay

    2.75% pay increase for teachers predicted for next Monday.

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    Ofsted Annual Report

    Commenting on Ofsted’s Annual Report and Accounts 2018-19, published today, Andrew Morris, Assistant General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

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    Academy Transfers

    Commenting on today’s Department for Education figures detailing the number of and cost of academy transfers and funding in England, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said:

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    Tackling Workload

    Commenting on the Department for Education’s latest vow to tackle teacher workload, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said:

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    NEU Cymru welcomes extra INSET days

    NEU Cymru welcomes an extra INSET day for the next three years, planned for the summer term, announced by the Education Minister today.

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    More information needed on Godre’r Graig closure

    Speaking about the sudden closure of Godre'r Graig School, following risk of landslides last week, David Evans, Wales Secretary of the National Education Union, who represents many members in the school, said:

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    Joint Union Asbestos Committee: Asbestos crisis in our schools

    The recent articles in the Guardian newspaper- “700 English schools reported over asbestos safety concerns” (5th July) & “Britain’s death toll from asbestos at crisis level figures reveal” (8th July) only serve to validate the Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC) approach to the terrible legacy of asbestos in schools.

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    Primary teachers support NEU’s campaign for an alternative to SATs

    With this year’s SATs results published today, the findings of the largest poll of primary school practitioners ever undertaken gives a ringing endorsement of the National Education Union’s (NEU) campaign to end damaging high-stakes tests in primary schools. It also sends a clear message to Government that the current assessment system must change.

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    Free Schools

    Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary NEU comments on Free schools: The next 10 years, a report by the New Schools Network which calls for the 92 ‘orphan’ schools rated inadequate to be taken over by parent and community groups rather than wait any longer for a suitable academy sponsor.

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    Recruitment and retention

    One need only look at this week’s Teacher Workforce statistics from his own department, to see that teachers are leaving at an alarming rate.

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    NEU Supply Teachers Survey

    The National Education Union’s latest survey of supply teachers shows that, despite a teacher shortage and regardless of the Government’s efforts to regulate the supply teacher market, the majority of supply teachers are reporting lower levels of pay compared with previous years. They are also finding it harder than ever before to obtain work.

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    CBI on getting young people ‘work ready’

    The EBacc policy has reduced the breadth of subjects offered in many secondary schools, limited opportunities for our children, and driven many staff out of the teaching profession.

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    Over 8,000 young people with SEND are ‘awaiting provision’.

    The National Education Union has found that as of January 2019, up to 8,587 children and young people with SEND are currently classed as ‘awaiting provision’ for a school place, and have no access to any type of educational provision at all. This is significantly higher than previously known.

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    Talis shows government failing England’s teachers and head teachers

    England’s teachers are highly motivated by the opportunity to influence children’s development or contribute to society – 93% of teachers cited these factors as major motivations for joining the profession, according to the findings of the OECD’s first volume of its Teaching and Learning International Survey (Talis) 2018.

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    Grove Academy action

    Staff take 2 more days of action to protect the most vulnerable students in North Yorkshire and form the “Working together walk”

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    NEU Cymru call for ‘vision’ during Adult Learners’ week

    Speaking ahead of the Education Minister's statement on Adult Learners' Week, David Evans, Wales secretary NEU Cymru, said: "We need to value our adult learners and make sure the FE and adult learning sectors are properly planned for and funded."

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    Mental Health Training

    Commenting on an announcement by Theresa May that every new teacher will be trained in spotting the signs of mental health issues, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary NEU, said: “The aspiration to train school staff to spot signs of mental illness amongst pupils is welcome, but it will amount to little more than a sticking plaster."

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    New Free Schools

    Commenting on the announcement of 22 new free schools, Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary NEU, said: “After nine years of this failed policy, the Government’s claims about the successes of the free schools project ring hollow."

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    Tackling child poverty is key for success in education

    Reacting to the debate on "Tackling Poverty" in the Assembly yesterday, David Evans, Wales secretary NEU Cymru said: "NEU Cymru members are clear - tackling poverty is a critical issue for education professionals in Wales, and key to improving schools and colleges for learners"

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    SEND National Crisis

    The National Education Union is supporting today’s (Thursday) SEND National Crisis campaign day by joining its call on Government to provide more money for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). More than 25 events are happening nationwide.

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    Cash incentives for maths and physics teachers

    Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, comments on the announcement of £2,000 incentive payments in addition to existing bursaries for maths and physics teachers.

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    UN Special Rapporteur on Poverty in the UK

    Commenting on the final report by Philip Alston, which identifies the “tragic consequences” of “ideological” cuts to public services since 2010, Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “This report is further evidence that the government must reverse benefit freezes that have left millions of children in poverty."

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    NEU Cymru comment on child poverty figures released today

    Commenting on Child Poverty figures released today, David Evans, Wales Secretary for the National Education Union said: "Rates of poverty in Wales have risen when compared to other parts of the UK is shocking - but it is not a shock."

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    New Curriculum, time to review Welsh Bacc?

    Commenting on Conservative plans to scrap the Welsh Bacc, David Evans, Wales Secretary for National Education Union Cymru, said: "We are broadly supportive of the Welsh Bacc, but believe it has had some problems which mean it has less value than originally intended."

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    Ofsted’s New Inspection Arrangements

    Commenting on the new inspection arrangements for Ofsted, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Ofsted is not proposing to abandon data as a key factor in its inspection judgements."

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    John Roan School Strike

    National Education Union members at The John Roan School, a secondary in Greenwich will be taking further strike action on Tuesday 14 May as part of their ongoing campaign to revoke the academy order imposed on the school and stop its forced academisation.

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    Sixth form and college funding

    Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union has commented on 16-19 Education Funding: Trends and Implications, a report published today by the Education Policy Institute (EPI).

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    Timpson Review on exclusions

    Commenting on the Timpson Review on exclusions, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “We know that the vast majority of schools want only the best for all their pupils, and the minority who engage in poor practice in relation to exclusions and ‘off rolling’ are not typical of the majority of schools. "

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    Fracking, the Daily Mile and Ineos

    The National Executive of the National Education Union (NEU) has voted to oppose Ineos’s sponsorship of the Daily Mail initiative because it endangers the future of the young generation through fracking and plastics production.

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    SEND consultation

    Commenting on the call for evidence on SEND funding announced today by Damian Hinds, Rosamund McNeil, Assistant General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: "For too long, children with SEND have been disgracefully let down by this Government".

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    Social Mobility

    Commenting on the today’s report by the Social Mobility Commission, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: "This report shows that Theresa May’s promise to make ‘Britain a Country that works for everyone’ is clearly failing".

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    Post-16 colleges

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 36 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “NEU members are calling on politicians and the public to recognise the weakened and fragmented state of the post-16 sector.

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    Challenging stereotypes and empowering young people

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 10 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Alongside everything we need education to achieve, we need it to give children the confidence to follow their own individual interests.

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    Supply teachers

    Commenting on the passing of Motions 20 and 22 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “NEU members have supported two motions calling for urgent action to stop the exploitation of supply teachers and schools by employment agencies.

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    Accountability and Assessment

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 30 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: "The resolution demonstrates the conviction of those who work in English education that our system of assessment and accountability is not fit for purpose".

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    Abolish the anti-union laws

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 37 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The 2016 Trade Union Act was a blatant attempt by the Conservative Government to weaken the ability of trade unionists to take action to defend their jobs, pay and working conditions.

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    Valid assessment for all

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 35 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “With this resolution, the Union adds its voice to the rising concern about the effects and educational value of exams at 16+.

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    EPI on Offrolling

    Commenting on Unexplained Pupil Exits From Schools: A Growing Problem?, the Education Policy Institute (EPI)’s major new analysis, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: "The issue of 'offrolling' is rising up the political agenda. NEU members' concerns about offrolling led the Union to sponsor this EPI research into informal exclusions".

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    Change needs to come from within

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 32 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: "Progress against racism in workplaces is far too slow.

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    Disability Discrimination

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 33 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Disabled teachers are undervalued for the contribution they make to their schools and colleges.

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    Palestine

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 31 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights notes* the occupation of Palestine continues to severely impact on the lives of millions of Palestinians,

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    Mental health in exam factories

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 29 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The current draconian approach to the education of children and young people is turning our schools into Exam Factories and squeezing the joy and creativity out of the classroom.

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    A national education service

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 28 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “All children and young people have a right to a high-quality education in a good local school.

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    NEU Representative and Officer of the Year Awards

    Today the Joint General Secretaries of the NEU today presented awards to the Representative and Officer of the Year for 2018/19. These awards recognise the hard work of reps and officers in the Union.

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    Supporting Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 23 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The NEU is appalled at the continued off-rolling and illegal exclusion of too many SEND pupils and wants the government to address the underlying pressures which lead schools to take such action.

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    Jeremy Corbyn's speech

    Commenting on Jeremy Corbyn’s speech at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union in Liverpool, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “It is good to hear a politician who understands the depth of the educational crisis, and the urgency of finding solutions to it.

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    Fair pay for teachers

    NEU members have voted to reject the Government’s policy on teachers’ pay, including its unprecedented decision to reject the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) on the 2018 pay increase

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    LGBT+ Rights

    Commenting on the passing of an urgency motion on LGBT+ rights at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “It is crucial that every young person can feel happy and safe at school but too many LGBT+ young people still don't feel they can be themselves at school.

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    Workload and Pedagogy

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 19 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Workload in schools remains a significant problem, posing a major threat to schools’ effectiveness and pupils’ learning and is driving the teacher recruitment and retention crisis.

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    Devolution of pay and conditions to Wales

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 18 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “We are entering unchartered waters in Wales following the devolution of pay and conditions for school teachers in September 2018.

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    Funding for Nursery Schools

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 15 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

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    T-Levels

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 13 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “It is vital for both young people and the economy that technical qualifications have parity of esteem with academic ones.

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    Non-Pensionable Allowances

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 12 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The National Education Union is extremely concerned about the threat to teachers’ pensions in independent schools.

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    Anti-racism

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 9 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Racism is a pernicious thread that runs through society both at home and abroad.

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    Climate change

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 8 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Climate change is a public health emergency and NEU members and the children they teach are at the forefront of this crisis.

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    End of privatisation of education

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 7 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “After nine years of the academy programme, there is still no evidence to suggest that turning a school into an academy raises standards of education or brings any benefit whatsoever.

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    School funding

    Commenting on the passing of Motion 6 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The outcry about the state of school and sixth form college funding continues.

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    SEND Provision

    Special needs provision in England has lost out on £1.2bn because of shortfalls in funding increases from central government since 2015.

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    NEU comment on Ofsted consultation

    Commenting on Ofsted’s education inspection framework consultation which closes today, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

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    Register for Children Not Educated in School

    Commenting on the Department for Education’s proposal of a new register for all children not being educated in school, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

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    Home Office proposals on violent crime

    The Home Secretary should accept the impact the decimation of youth services has had, leaving very few safe places for children to go outside of school hours or during the holidays.

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    Philanthropy and Privatisation

    A report to be launched today by Education International (EI), the global education union confederation, lifts the lid on the activities of so-called ‘philanthropic’ organisations involved in promoting the commercialisation, marketisation and privatisation of education systems around the world.

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    International Education Strategy

    NEU comments on the newly released Government’s International Education Strategy: global potential, global growth.

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    YouGov/More Than A Score survey on testing

    Commenting on the results of a YouGov survey commissioned by More than a Score, released today, which shows the level of school leaders’ frustrations with the Government’s assessment regime, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

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    NEU Cymru pension funding

    David Evans, NEU Cymru Secretary welcomes the Education Minister and the Welsh Government pension funding.

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    Spring Statement

    Commenting on the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Spring Statement, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:

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    Recruitment and Retention

    Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union comments on the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)’s first annual report on the teacher labour market in England.

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    William Torbitt Primary School

    Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education comments on the decision by the Department for Education to lift its academy order against William Torbitt Primary School in Redbridge.

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    Unions urge review body to ignore government’s suggested pay cap for teachers

    Organisations representing the overwhelming majority of teachers and school leaders in England have written to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) urging it to ignore pressure from the government to cap the teachers’ pay award at 2%. The unions are calling on the STRB to recommend a fully-funded 5% pay increase in September 2019

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    Social Mobility

    Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union comments on a report from an All-Party Parliamentary Group on social mobility, published today.

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    GCSEs and A-Levels

    Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary NEU comments on remarks by Robert Halfon MP that GCSEs should be scrapped and A-Levels replaced with a baccalaureate system.

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    Social Media and Screen Time

    Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary NEU comments on the UK Chief Medical Officer’s review on the impact of screen time on children and young people’s mental health, published today.

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    Wellbeing of education professionals important

    David Evans, Wales Secretary of the National Education Union Cymru, welcomes Education Minister's reiteration that wellbeing of staff is as important as wellbeing of learners, during Education Minister's questions today.

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    NEU pay survey

    Almost 34,000 teachers have responded to a National Education Union pay survey, which shows alarming levels of dissatisfaction both with levels of pay and with the performance related pay (PRP) system in schools.

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    DfE teacher pay increase ‘derisory’

    Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the NEU has commented on the DfE’s submission to the School Teachers’ Review Body which suggests a 2% pay increase for teachers

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    Teachers’ Pay: Joint Union Call for 5% Increase

    Organisations representing the overwhelming majority of teachers and school leaders in England have urged the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) to recommend an immediate pay increase of 5% for all teachers and leaders, which should be funded in full by the Government.

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    Teacher Recruitment and Retention

    Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the NEU has commented on the release of the Department for Education’s recruitment and retention strategy.

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    Performance Tables

    Nansi Ellis, Assistant General Secretary NEU has commented on the secondary school performance tables, published today by the Department for Education.

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    Damian Hinds calls on more schools to become academies

    Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union has commented on the Education Secretary’s call for more academies, and the Department for Education’s analysis of sponsored academies.

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    EPI on Childcare Workers

    Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary NEU has commented on new research from the Education Policy Institute, analysing the childcare workforce in England.

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    School Finances

    Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union has commented on an Education Policy Institute report, published today, which looks at current school finances.

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    Broken promises from Government on school funding

    New analysis by the National Education Union of the Schools Block funding allocations show the Government has not even matched their previous woefully inadequate promises on school funding. The Government has delayed and delayed the publication of these figures. The reason now is clear.

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    School Holiday Poverty

    Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, has commented on the Government’s school holiday programme for disadvantaged children.

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    Ofsted Annual Report

    Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, has commented on the release of the Ofsted Annual Report

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    Initial Teacher Training

    Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary, National Education Union has commented on the release of the trainee number census for 2018-19.

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    NEU comment on teacher workload

    Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, has commented on the publication of the Department for Education’s response to the Teacher Workload Advisory Group report on data.

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    NEU comment on the Budget Speech

    Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, has commented on the Chancellor’s Budget Speech, delivered today in the Commons.

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    NEU comment on Theresa May’s Speech

    Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, has commented on the Prime Minister’s speech at Conservative Party Conference.

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    NEU comment on Equity in Education

    Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, has commented on Equity in Education, the latest report in the Pisa series from the OECD.

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    GCSE Performance Statistics

    Nansi Ellis, Assistant General Secretary, National Education Union has commented on statistics released today by the Department for Education for 2017/18.

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    NEU comment on Apprenticeships

    Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, has commented on 'The apprenticeships ladder of opportunity: quality not quantity', a report by the House of Commons Education Committee,

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    Comment on DfE's Early Learning Goals pilot

    Department for Education announces pilot intended to “boost early language skills” from September - comment by Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union.

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    NEU comment on Language Hubs

    The Government’s announcement of a network of ‘language hubs’ designed to boost the take-up of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) at GCSE level, is not enough to address the shortage of MFL teachers, the NEU says.

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    NEU comment on EPI report: Education in England

    The Education Policy Institute’s Education in England has published it's Annual Report 2018 - Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, comments.

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    NEU comment on school funding for 2019-20

    Nick Gibb’s statement on school revenue funding for 2019-2020 will do nothing to alleviate the enormous pressure on school budgets, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union says.

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    Joint union response on teachers’ pay

    ASCL, NAHT and NEU responded to the announcement of a 3.5% pay increase for classroom teachers on the main pay range and the Department for Education’s commitment to funding part of this pay award.

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    Nick Gibb on School Funding

    Nick Gibb’s written statement to Parliament ignores the fact that recent reports show education funding is in crisis - Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union comments.

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    Capita and Primary School Tests

    Capita is set to make a vast profit at the expense of young primary children’s mental health and well-being, after the award of a £109 million contract by the government, says the NEU.

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    Comment on IFS report on School Funding

    Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows an 8% decline in funding for England’s schools since 2010, and 5% for Wales in the same period - Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union comments.

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    NEU comment on school workforce stats

    The School Workforce Census statistics show the number of teachers has now fallen to the lowest level since 2013 - with more qualified teachers leaving the profession than the number entering.

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    Pressures at school making pupils suicidal – NEU survey

    Almost half (49%) of education staff say secondary school pupils have been suicidal because of stress they are under, according to a survey of the National Education Union (NEU), released at the ATL section annual conference.

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    Support staff struggling with increasing workloads, says NEU survey

    Teaching assistants, school administrators and other support staff are having to work overtime to cope with the increasing workload as schools cut staffing to cope with budget cuts, according to a National Education Union survey released today by the ATL section of the union at its annual conference in Liverpool.

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    Child poverty harms children’s educational opportunities

    Growing child poverty is affecting children’s learning, say NEU education professionals, and schools and education staff are increasingly providing the services and essentials of daily life to stop families falling through the cracks

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    School Funding Crisis

    The latest NEU survey of 900 members in local authority schools and academies paints a bleak picture about the state of school funding in our schools.

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    Teachers’ Working Hours

    NEU comment on the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) study showing that teachers work the longest hours.

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    NEU calls for a significant increase in teacher pay

    The National Education Union is calling for a significant pay increase for teachers to help address the growing crisis in teacher recruitment and retention, pay teachers fairly and help deliver the best possible education for pupils.

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    Ofsted annual report - 2017

    Kevin Courtney comments on the Ofsted Annual Report, presented today by its Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman.

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    Sexual harassment of girls is widespread in schools

    New research from the National Education Union and UK Feminista – “It’s just everywhere”: Sexism in schools and how we tackle it - shows that the sexual harassment of girls in schools is widespread.

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    NEU reaction to Budget Autumn 2017

    With no significant new money for education, the budget shows that the government has chosen to ignore the anger of parents and clear evidence of the damage caused by funding cuts.

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    Education unions call for an immediate 5% pay rise for teachers

    Education unions - the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), the National Education Union (NEU), UCAC, and Voice – are calling for an immediate, fully funded, 5% pay rise for all teachers.

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    Further education bodies call for Budget investment

    In a joint letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, ten bodies representing further education staff, students and providers have called for extra funding to ensure a “stable and well-resourced further education sector” which can meet different needs and ambitions.

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    Ofsted's five-year strategy

    Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union comments on the publication of Ofsted’s five-year strategy for delivering “its mission of improving the lives of children and young people”.

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    ATL and NUT form the National Education Union

    The largest education union in the UK comes into force - with the amalgamation of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) creating the National Education Union, the largest education union in the UK.