The following is the anticipated running order of the conference motions, unless emergency motions are introduced in response to events in the run-up to conference.
Safeguarding and pupil support
There is a real and alarming increase in county lines activity in Cornwall, as well as serious concerns over child criminal and sexual exploitation. These issues are not isolated to Cornwall but are being experienced across the nations. Police, social services and other agencies need to support school leaders to address these issues, listening to and working with schools to safeguard children and young people.
Conference calls on National Executive to:
- support educational leaders in Devon and Cornwall to engage with the police and social services to ensure there is clear understanding that these issues represent a significant safeguarding risk to the children and young people in our schools, and
- press government, police and other relevant agencies to provide more support to schools to address their serious concerns regarding county lines and child exploitation.
Proposer: Dom Wilkes
Seconder: TBC
Cornwall branch
NAHT believes that all people have the right to safety, economic security, and religious and political freedom with access to health and education facilities within a society which protects those freedoms. Where these are threatened, diminished or denied, everyone should have the right to seek safety for themselves and their families and the UK should play its part in providing a safe haven for doing so.
The return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the terrible situation in Ukraine has shone a spotlight on the importance of demonstrating our compassion and humanity and the need to support all those who are seeking refuge. This includes children and young people who may need help through our education system. However, these are sadly only two examples of many and we urge all involved in the system of supporting refugees, to take an inclusive and equal approach to everyone who may seek to protect themselves and their families in the UK.
NAHT supports a person-centric approach, recognising that refugees and asylum seekers are not a homogeneous group, and will have different experiences because of race, class, gender, sexuality, age and immigration status.
For children and young people who come here, schools are often the first place where they can begin to develop a sense of belonging and start to process the trauma they may have experienced. Many schools are well practised at supporting children and young people who are refugees. However, we know that many of the children and young people will face challenges as they integrate into their new schools and communities, and it is therefore essential that schools are provided with the appropriate support required to aide this.
Conference calls on the government to ensure schools, and the relevant partner agencies, are provided with all the necessary funding, support and resources required to ensure that UK schools can be the kickstart to the future that these children need and deserve.
Conference also calls on NAHT to adopt the principles outlined in this statement and, as part of its 2 | NAHT Annual Conference 2022 guide equality, diversity and inclusion work, look to celebrate the contributions of refugees and people seeking sanctuary in order to help challenge negative stereotypes.
Proposer: TBC
Seconder: TBC
National Executive
Conference requests that National Executive lobbies the government to address the crisis in recruitment to children’s services posts and does an urgent review of safeguarding in all local authorities to ensure there is capacity to administer/investigate referrals made by schools. All referrals must be addressed/actioned in a time-specific period and brought to an agreed conclusion. The recruitment crisis and impact of covid-19 on staffing levels is placing children at serious risk of harm.
Proposer: Barbara Middleton
Seconder: Laura Baggett
North Tyneside branch
Accountability
Conference calls on National Executive to demand that Ofsted cancels all routine inspections until January 2023 (unless there is a safeguarding concern or the school has been judged inadequate) to allow schools to recover from this covid crisis of staffing, pupil absence, financing covid and head teachers being unable to tackle standards and curriculum expectations within their schools due to all of these issues, in addition to the mental health crisis of their pupils, families, staff and themselves.
Proposer: Barbara Middleton
Seconder: Angi Gibson
North Tyneside branch
NAHT Cymru believes in a transparent and accountable system of school improvement informed by expertise and supported by quality assurance. The quality of service provided by the consortia model has to date been inequitable and for many schools inadequate.
Conference calls on National Executive for:
- the development of an accountability structure for Wales that supports the reformed curriculum and 21st century learning, and
- a recognition that, as a small nation, Wales requires no further expansion, layers or additional bodies that take limited funding and resource away from the core purpose of schools and front-line education.
Proposer: Ruth Davies
Seconder: Kerina Hanson
Swansea branch
School leader well-being and support
Unlike all other highly stressful roles within health and social services, education has no structured supervision for its leaders.
Covid-19 has left a terrible legacy in its wake – not least the mental toll it has taken on every school leader throughout the country. This trauma, caused through the pandemic and the way it was handled, has probably yet to be fully realised.
Conference calls on National Executive to press the government to provide the resources and funding for a national programme of ‘supervision’ for school leaders.
Proposer: Kevin Burnett
Seconder: TBC
Bath and North East Somerset branch
Pay and conditions
Teachers in Wales have benefitted from a 1.75% uplift despite a UK government public sector pay freeze. However, due to the complexities of school funding, some of that financial burden was passed onto schools in some local authority areas, despite the Welsh government committing to the uplift being fully funded.
NAHT Cymru calls on National Executive to work with the Welsh Local Government Association to commit to a fully-funded uplift and not pass on this financial burden to schools in some local authority areas and for Welsh government to use its influence to ensure its promise is kept.
Proposer: Owen Rogers
Seconder: Huw Jones
Conwy branch
Conference deplores the gender pay gap that continues to exist within the school leadership profession.
Conference notes research showing that, on average:
- male head teachers earned 11.3% more than women head teachers in 2020-21 – Closing the Gender Pay Gap report joint NAHT, December 2021, and
- male head teachers, by the age of 60, earn £17,334 more than female head teachers – Closing the Gender Pay Gap report joint NAHT, December 2021.
Furthermore, conference notes the wider evidence showing:
- 7% of women attempted to negotiate a job offer compared to 57% of men – Institute of Women’s Policy research.
Conference instructs National Executive to lobby governments and employers to use the findings from the Closing the Gender Pay Gap report, December 2021, and eliminate these vast inequalities.
Proposer: Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson
Seconder: Claire Evans
West Midlands region
Conference supports a public campaign for a fair pay offer in Northern Ireland with a view to considering all options, up to and including industrial action, should the employing authorities fail to offer a fair settlement.
Proposer: TBC
Seconder: TBC
NAHT Northern Ireland
Recruitment and retention (including workload)
Conference believes that all head teachers, principals, executive head teachers and others with responsibility for leading pedagogy in a single school – or group of schools – should have qualified teacher status (QTS). However, we recognise that the leadership of trusts, or other collaborative structures, often requires complex overarching executive leadership functions for which QTS is not necessarily a requirement. Such roles should always sit within a structure that ensures that all educational decisions are informed by professionals with relevant qualifications and experience.
Proposer: Chris Kirkham-Knowles
Seconder: Rachel Younger
Professional Committee
ALN reform has been hindered by the disruption caused by the pandemic. While the staged approach has been welcomed, many schools and local authorities are not yet able to fulfil the expectations set out within the bill. The implications of the bill and for some, the reform agenda is proving to be very challenging, a period of change management needs to be put in place to support this wide-ranging transformation.
Conference calls on National Executive to lobby Welsh government and local authorities to:
- recognise that for ALN reform to succeed, there must be a significant investment in training and support for schools to manage the change and wide-ranging needs that schools support, particularly to allow for release time for ALNCos to adjust and adopt new systems and processes, and
- ensure that, following a period of change management, a workload assessment must be carried out to gauge the impact of ALN reform, to support schools in implementing a sustainable model moving forward.
Proposer: Tim Newbould
Seconder: TBC
Wrexham branch
Funding
Education in Wales continues to suffer from a funding crisis. Every school should have a sustainable core budget that ensures effective teaching and learning for all needs can occur.
Conference calls on National Executive to press for:
- a fully and fairly-funded education system in Wales informed by a fit for purpose formula mechanism in order to ensure transparency and equity for all,
- cessation of the reliance on eligibility for free school meals (eFSM) as a funding mechanism for deprivation funding and to move towards formula that considers a wider set of indicators to provide a more inclusive offer that supports the wide range of poverty indicators seen in our society today,
- a clear plan for additional grants which should be released to schools at the beginning of the financial year to give schools the opportunity to develop strategic plans that make full and effective use of grants,
- a review of an equitable funding formula across Wales to support pupils with ALN and an end to the postcode lottery for pupils with need, and
- the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Wales document to reflect the value and responsibility we place on our workforce in order to recruit and retain high-quality teachers and leaders.
Proposer: Dean Taylor
Seconder: Damon McGarvie
NAHT Cymru
Small and rural schools continue to be the lifeblood of many communities across all nations. Those schools’ leaders strive to provide a quality education provision while dealing with the challenges of funding, resources and the implications of the ambitious reform agenda. Leaders in small and rural schools carry a significant teaching commitment as well as leading their schools. Some are also having to take on the ALNCo/SENCO responsibility. Without sustainable funding, these schools are being set up to fail.
In Wales, the withdrawal of the Welsh government’s small and rural schools grant has put significant pressure on those schools at the detriment of the learners they serve. Similar grants have been reduced across all nations.
Conference calls on National Executive to continue to campaign for sustainable funding for all small and rural schools.
Proposer: Dean Taylor
Seconder: Julie Kelly
Newport branch and Hampshire branch
Curriculum
The disruption caused by the pandemic has had and continues to have a significant impact on our schools and their preparation for curriculum reform.
To support schools in working towards developing an excellent curriculum and outcomes for all learners in Wales, conference calls on National Executive to lobby Welsh government to:
- relieve the pressure on schools by providing clarity and clear expectations for schools around what is required for their journey to curriculum 2022 by September 2022. This is not merely to say that September 2022 is the beginning but communicates a clear set of minimum requirements that are understood by all, and
- prioritise the evaluation of the link between new exam qualifications and curriculum development. NAHT Cymru believes there is an inevitable link between the two that will drive curriculum development in the secondary sector.
Proposer: Chris Parry
Seconder: Jonathan Lloyd
Caerphilly branch
The impact of covid-19 and the future of education
Wales has begun an agenda of radical reform within education. The disruption caused by the pandemic has had and continues to have an adverse impact on our children and young people.
In considering further reform, conference calls on the Welsh government to:
- pledge to listen to the profession around the ongoing covid response, giving schools time to support the needs of learners along with adequate and timely multi-agency provision for those learners that require additional support,
- commit to ensure the success of current curriculum and ALN reform before any further reform is introduced,
- recognise the unique impact of school leaders in supporting the well-being and development of our young people and children, and the critical role they play in reimagining and driving the vision for 21st century schools. The best thing politicians can do is invest in the profession to help retain excellent teachers and leaders, and provide quality professional development to make sure they are equipped to provide high-quality teaching and learning, and
- undertake an in-depth feasibility study that includes the impact and inclusion of wider services when considering and developing the vision for 21st century schools.
Proposer: Kerina Hanson
Seconder: Ruth Davies
NAHT Cymru
Conference notes and deplores the very limited reference to schools and education in the draft terms of reference for the upcoming covid-19 public enquiry.
The government’s handling of the pandemic has had a profound and lasting impact on schools, pupils and staff and this must be explored fully during the public enquiry. The enquiry must not be limited to decisions regarding restrictions on attendance but should also include a detailed review of all schoolrelated pandemic policies, guidance, procedures, support (including financial support) and, crucially, support for school leaders during the pandemic so that lessons can be learned. We are particularly concerned about the long-lasting impact the pandemic has had on the physical and mental health and well-being of the profession.
Conference calls on National Executive to lobby for school leaders to be fully represented at the public enquiry so that their experiences and voices are heard, and a comprehensive review of the government’s handling of education and schools during the pandemic can be carried out.
Proposer: TBC
Seconder: TBC
National Executive
Emergency motions
Conference deeply regrets that the government has not been able to send a representative to this year’s conference.
Undertakings made by the Secretary of State to the NAHT policy conference in October 2021 regarding a reliance on data driven decision making and not setting an arbitrary date for conversion to Multi Academy Trust status appear to have been called into question by the education white paper.
If a representative of the government had attended they may have been able to clarify the situation but conference is left unsure of the governments position regarding the undertakings given.
Conference instructs National Executive to invite the Secretary of State to their next available meeting so that a discussion about the apparent mismatch between previous understandings of government policy and the subsequent deviation can take place.
Proposer Hildi Mitchell
Seconder Deborah Johnson
South East region and South Central region
Conference condemns the recent statement of the Honourable member for Lichfield in stating teachers and nurses had alcoholic drinks at the end of the day’s work in their staff rooms during the Pandemic. Conference applauds the swift public intervention of the General Secretary. The subsequent apology issued by Mr Fabricant in response is welcome but we note that the slur has not been withdrawn.
All to often we see baseless slurs and allegations made about the profession in an attempt to direct attention away from political failure. Conference resolves to publicly correct false impressions without fear or favour at every opportunity.
Proposer Chris Gaffiney
Seconder Tim Gallagher
Staffordshire branch and Wolverhampton branch
Conference sends its support and backing to the Senior Leadership of the John Fisher School and the Governors who have stood firm in their determination to recognise, value and celebrate the rights and the lives of the young LGBT+ people in their community.
Further, conference calls upon the national executive to use all available means to ensure that the Secretary of State for Education investigates the removal of foundation governors at the school and continued attempts by the Archdiocese to appoint Governors who are riding roughshod over existing statutory guidance setting out the arrangements for the constitution of governing bodies.
Proposer Dave Woods
Seconder Marijke Miles
Greater London region and Hampshire branch