A summary of key motions and debates at Annual Conference written by NEU Left Members– plus a round up of important current strikes
Pay and Funding! Why We Must Start Preparing for a Formal Ballot
by Leigh Seedhouse, Oxfordshire NEU
Annual Conference agreed that if the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) report fails to address the reality of our situation—by proposing yet another unfunded, below-inflation pay rise—we will need to escalate. That means moving to a formal industrial action ballot.
Industrial action isn’t easy, and it’s not something any of us pursue lightly. But the bigger risk now is doing nothing.
Since 2010, our pay has fallen by over 20% in real terms. That’s not just a pay freeze—it’s a sustained attack on the value of our work. We feel the impact every day: the staff shortages, the burnout, the failed recruitment drives. The government’s own target of 6,500 new teachers? They won’t hit it on current terms, and they know it.
What they’ve proposed instead is a 2.8% pay rise in September. It’s both unfunded and below inflation – another real-terms pay cut. Most schools will be forced to make cuts elsewhere just to afford it. Once again, we’re being asked to absorb the cost of government failure.
We have to ask ourselves: if we don’t act now, when will we?
Our indicative ballot turnout was 47% – below the legal threshold, yes – but still a clear signal. This was without the full machinery, resources, or focus that a formal ballot brings. And within that 47%, support for action was overwhelming. An indicative ballot isn’t the end – it’s the beginning. It tells us our members are paying attention, and they want to act. But to convert that intent into power, we must now organise and prepare for what comes next.
Sharpen
A formal ballot is how we build pressure, sharpen our message, and give members the confidence and clarity to act. It’s not something we leap into unprepared, but it is something we must be ready for. Because without it, we remain spectators to our own decline.
If we step back now, what message does that send? That a 2.8% cut in funding is acceptable? That more burnout, more resignations, and more cuts are just the cost of doing the job?
No. The NEU is not here to manage decline. We are here to fight for restoration, for respect and for the future of our profession. And now, it’s even clearer why we must prepare.
A leaked article suggests that the STRB will recommend a 4% pay rise – which will NOT be fully funded. It’s not a real pay rise; it’s a cut to education disguised as a deal.
Slash
Schools would be forced to slash budgets, sack staff, drop subjects and cram more students into overcrowded classrooms – all to pay for what the government claims is “generosity.”
If the government truly valued teachers, they would fund the pay rise properly, not make children and schools pay the price.
Teachers should not have to choose between a fair wage and a decent education for their students. We demand more than empty promises and clever headlines.
Fully fund it, or it’s not a pay rise. It’s a betrayal.
Welfare not warfare!
That’s why we need to begin preparing for a formal ballot – starting now, in our schools and workplaces. When the STRB report is finalised, we must be ready to move. And move together.
So, use the below guide to get started. Talk to colleagues. Build support. Organise your workplace. Because if we want change, we must act together!
Support these strikes!
Solidarity with Connaught – defend our union
NEU members at Connaught school in Waltham Forest are striking against management attempts to victimise union reps. Send messages of support to [email protected]
FIRST POSTAL BALLOT RESULT IN NORTHUMBERLAND.
So far, Northumberland NEU members have managed to win by holding indicative ballots. This is the first time we’ve gone to a full postal ballot. 100% YES vote for strike action over the deletion of a post due to falling pupil numbers. Please send messages of support to Tim Anderson at Seaton Sluice Middle School [email protected] We want smaller classs sizes and no redundancies.
Neu members at Alderney Edge in Cheshire fighting over jobs and cuts
Disabled Members’ Report
by Colleen Johnson, National Executive member
Disabled Members were well represented and supported in Harrogate this year. The motion from their conference in Manchester in the summer of 2024 went through unamended – it focussed on trade union rights and access to meetings both physically and by zoom when needed. Speakers pointed out the importance of disabled members attending meetings in person when possible, so not to diminish the power of the section in a clear nod to earlier disabled activists.
Another important motion on Disability Leave was passed, this means our union can do more to point out the discriminatory nature of sickness absence monitoring for our Disabled Members and to promote fairer and more equitable practices.
The Disabled Members reception was well attended and saw the launch of Breaking the Barriers, a teaching resource about the need for accessible transport systems. In addition, a new section of the toolkit was highlighted illustrating how the Social Model works in schools.
There was, of course, discussion about the Labour government and the proposed changes to PIP (Personal Independence Payments). Questions were put on the need to limit spending and on spending priorities.
The action at the end of the Wednesday session of conference was impressive, as it saw a loud and large demonstration by Disabled Members and their allies. The demo focussed on the very harmful effects of the governments green paper (Pathways to Work) on Disabled People through planned serious reductions in the entitlement for PIP, which is bound to cause very real poverty and distress.
Report on Women’s Motions and Fringes
Women’s motions were high on the agenda this conference, and rightly so in a union that is made up of 76% women. Motion 14: Maternity and teacher retention was hugely supported along with two strengthening amendments. Our press release said, “For too long, pregnant women and new mothers in our schools and colleges have been underpaid and put at risk in the workplace, underpaid and isolated on maternity leave and underpaid and undervalued on their return to the classroom.” Unfortunately, motion 27: Tackling men’s violence against women and girls didn’t get debated which was disappointing for such an important and current topic, but it was timed out – and that’s democracy! The motion which was most keenly awaited by women was motion 32: Establish a national women’s conference and several passionate women’s OF members spoke to the motion. Amendment 1, which was a strengthening amendment, fell, which was disappointing, but overall it was very good to see the motion being so well supported by so many. We look forward to more excellent organising and training at those conferences as well as debating a women’s motion to go to national conference each year. Great workshops on maternity and menopause were held both at breakfast times and lunchtimes throughout conference. A great conference for women!
By Mairead Canavan, NEU Membership and Equalities officer
Trade unionists for Trans Rights
Almost 400 people attended a Trade Unionists for Trans Rights national zoom recently called in response to the Supreme Court judgement attacking Trans Rights. The meeting was called by NEU and UCU union branches and dozens of NEU branches backed it. The meeting also called a day of action in defence of trans rights aimed at building the movement in the workplaces in parallel with continuing street protests and campaigning.
Opposing the Far Right, Opposing Reform UK
Conference noted the rise of the far right in Europe and the United States, with the election of Trump, and applauded those who stood against the racist and Islamophobic riots that took place last summer, following the tragic events in Southport. The union took a clear stance in opposition to the scapegoating of migrants and asylum seekers and called for the use of the union’s political fund to support campaigning against the racist, anti-migrant policies of Reform UK – and we know that NEU members have been among those campaigning on all five days of action in Runcorn, where a parliamentary by-election is to be held.
Conference also reaffirmed its commitment to campaigning against the conditions which are fuelling the rise of far right and populist policies, including inequality, child poverty and inadequate housing, and called upon the government to take serious steps to challenge these conditions, and to welcome the contribution migrants bring to our society, rather than blocking routes to citizenship. It also called upon the executive to continue to develop resources and CPD that support educators in working with young people attracted to far right ideas.
By Jane Bassett, Hackney NEU
Child Poverty
The NEU has for the last five years been building the Child Poverty campaign.
At Conference, Chris Dutton was interviewed by a range of journalists to coincide with the union’s press release on child poverty and its effects on children’s physical development and learning.
There was considerable press coverage on the interview in The Morning Star, The Guardian, Schools Week and even The Daily Mail! The link to one of the articles is here.
We all know the impact that poverty and hunger has on children; there has been an increase in families who simply cannot afford for their children to take part in school trips or after-school clubs as well as affording basic equipment, so too often schools, nurseries and colleges have to step in.
What often gets forgotten by the media is that many children living in poverty live in a household where both parents work, and this has been made even more of a challenge by the two-child benefit cap against which the NEU has been campaigning.
By Chris Dutton, Wiltshire NEU
International Solidarity
We have a long and proud history of international solidarity in the NEU. This year’s conference saw another strong motion on Palestine with a number of strengthening amendments. The speeches were powerful and it was a huge show of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Our international guests from Palestine and Lebanon spoke passionately at the PSC fringe meeting about the current situation for educators and students in their countries and were impressed by the strength of support from the NEU.
The international speaker who addressed conference, Elmina Kulasic, Bosnia and Herzegovina country director of Remembering Srebrenica spoke powerfully about the role of education in challenging hate and intolerance.
Throughout conference our international work was clear and visible with fringe meetings looking at the work we are doing with Justice for Colombia. As we arrived at conference, we received the news that Richardini Ochoa Linares, teacher trade unionist, had been murdered. The fifth teacher to be murdered in 2025.
We also heard from our colleagues in Egitim Sen, due to be with us in Harrogate but unable to attend as eight of their executive members, including their general secretary were placed under house arrest for protesting against the authoritarian government.
There were also fringe meetings from Remembering Srebrenica, Nicaragua solidarity and Cuba solidarity campaign, all highlighting the huge range of international solidarity that the union is involved in.
The second international motion was on solidarity with Ukraine. Although there were differing views on this motion and we did not manage to win our amendments, the action points are all things that the union is already working on or are things that we can add to our international solidarity work. Obviously, our key area of difference is our belief in a negotiated ceasefire rather than more arms to Ukraine.
We must consider going forward how we can reassert our position as a union that campaigning for educating for peace must be a key campaign for NEU Left members. As the government ramps up military spending, at the expense of overseas aid and public services, we have to take a stand against growing militarism.
ABOLISH OFSTED!
The government is apparently under the illusion that a revamped report card will make OFSTED fit for purpose. A Nando’s style hero to zero card will not address the woefully inadequate process.
A process that has been named on 10 cause of death certificates. A process that adds excessive workload to already overworked staff. A process that does not take account of pupil needs. A process that education staff say does not contribute to improving education. A process that significantly impacts staff mental health and wellbeing. A process that can literally decimate a whole community. A process that awards a peerage to the ex-Head of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, who was in charge at the time of Ruth Perry’s death. SHAMEFUL. We must continue to fight this punitive process.
The government needs to PAUSE the introduction of the new system. The government needs to CONSULT properly with education staff not just put out a questionnaire. The government needs to LISTEN to the lived experiences of educators. The government needs to ABOLISH the process called OFSTED and replace it with a collaborative, supportive process that would enable our children and staff to flourish. #ABOLISHOFSTED
By Julie Copeland, City of Preston NEU
The Impact of AI in Education (AIEd)
We made a major step forward in passing progressive policy on AI in education. There is a pressing responsibility to inform membership: through a charter for responsible use, guidance on performance management and training and events to develop awareness of both progressive and negative impacts on pedagogy, assessment, teacher agency and professional status.
As Education ministers reiterate the, as yet unproven, claim that AIEd will “free up teachers’ time”, raise outcomes for children and address the recruitment and retention crisis, it’s important to recognise that without informed intervention and lobbying, it’s the current context of underfunded state education which will dictate its use. As NEU research shows, workload is a complex issue. It’s not just about time, but on how freely time is spent and workload stress is exacerbated by directed use of ready-made planning. Add in missing subject specialists, redundancies and school closures, high class sizes and high accountability, high-stakes testing regimes and it’s ominously clear, depending on where on the long continuum of wealth to disadvantage and poverty your setting sits, you could see EdTech and AI being used in starkly different ways. This is why we need AiEd to inform each and all of our core campaigns, and for them in turn to sharpen our response to government plans.
By Nicola Hawkins, National Executive member
Academisation and the struggle for the local democratic control of our schools
Yet again, it was difficult to find a debate at Annual Conference where the membership’s opposition to and disgust with academisation wasn’t raised.
Conference passed the academisation motion that called for all schools to be under local, democratic control and to galvanise a serious public debate about what kind of education system our children and communities need in the 21st century.
We all understand the profound democratic deficit that exists in education – the amended motion gives us the chance to develop ideas to not only reduce this deficit but eliminate it entirely.
We need to establish real clarity about the future architecture of a system that will enable us to repair the damage done over the last 24 years. Is it enough to simply call for a return of all schools to local authority control though? Local, democratic control, certainly. But local authority control? The jury remains out on this one.
There are many options to consider, an ‘Ontario’ style model, an ‘ILEA’ model, a ‘Combined Authority’ model, a ‘Local Authority’ model? Whatever model we aspire to help create, directly elected members must surely be an integral part of such a model.
The agreement to set up a working party with our sister unions, councillors and other educational groups to examine all these options is one that we must seize.
Academisation has become a destructive force in education, backed to the hilt by the privatisers and the money-makers and they won’t let go of our schools easily. A middle tier that is inclusive, comprehensive, progressive and democratic has to be our goal – let’s hope when we come back to Annual Conference in Brighton next year, we are surer what that middle tier should be. We know what we’re against, we need to be clear what we’re for!
By Simon O’Hara, Warwickshire NEU
Asbestos, Accountability, and the Crisis in Our Schools
The motion “Asbestos, Accountability, and the Crisis in Our Schools” highlights the ongoing and deadly impact of asbestos in UK schools. Mesothelioma, a fatal and incurable cancer caused by asbestos exposure, continues to claim the lives of teachers, caretakers, support staff, and even students. Despite decades of warnings, successive governments and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have failed to act decisively. The HSE’s approach – managing asbestos “in situ” – is condemned as dangerously inadequate, especially in deteriorating school buildings where asbestos is regularly disturbed.
The motion draws stark comparisons to tragedies like Grenfell and Hillsborough, arguing that lives are being sacrificed for the sake of cost-cutting and convenience. The claim that undisturbed asbestos poses minimal risk is challenged as a dangerous falsehood, given the poor condition of many schools.
The NEU calls for urgent national action: mandatory monitoring of airborne asbestos and a government-backed plan to remove it entirely from all schools. Referencing the successful collective action taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, the motion urged members to once again organise and fight – to protect children, educators, and the wider school community from this preventable and ongoing public health crisis. With an estimated 90 educators a year and ten times as many children dying every year from breathing the air at school, this is a fight we have to take to the next level.
