RoS at the Young Teachers Conference for the NUT South East Region

We were delighted to be invited to speak at the NUT Young Teachers Conference in Brighton, alongside esteemed academic Howard Stevenson and the Portsmouth MP, Stephen Morgan on March 10th.

It was so uplifting to hear so many young teachers’ determination to change the system, and put the needs of young people at the heart of what they do.

The audience was asked to come up with ways to improve our education system in England.

Among the suggestions were:

– get rid of OFSTED

– get rid of standardised testing in primary schools

– get rid of graded lesson observations for teachers

– increase funding and pay

– ensure a broader curriculum

– trust teachers

– abolish results-related pay

– get rid of unqualified teachers and train teachers properly

– value all subjects equally

– trust teacheres

– have an education secretary who is an ex-educator

– value teaching assitants

– ensure staff get proper lunch breaks, a buddy, and access to a gym!

Stephen Morgan spoke about the key elements in Labour’s vision for a National Education Service, inviting the audience to flesh out its ideas. Morgan is on the public accounts committee, so is in a position to influence how the NES is funded and which public bodies run it. He spoke too about his own state education, saying “I believe schools should be rooted in their communities.” Here’s to that.