NUT at Westminster

The NUT’s parliamentary work aims to develop effective working relationships with members of both Houses of Parliament from all parties and to influence government policy, parliamentary debate and legislation on education issues as well as those which impact on teachers and children more generally.

This section includes examples of the NUT’s recent work in parliament including:

• Bills & other legislation
  • Queen’s Speech
  • Children’s, Schools & Families
  • Equality Bill
    
  • Child Poverty Bill
    
• EDMs
• Select Committees
  • Children’s, Schools & Families Select Committee
    
• Lobbying
  • Assessment campaign

The Children, Schools and Families Bill is currently being considered in Parliament. Here the NUT outlines the main proposals in the Bill of interest to teachers and sets out the Union’s position on the proposals.

The Children, Schools and Families Bill was published in November 2009, following the ‘21st century schools’ white paper in June of the same year.

It is a relatively short Bill but the proposals contained therein would have significant implications for teachers, in particular the licence to practise which the NUT is vigorously opposing.

Through the Bill, the Government is also seeking to:

• introduce pupil and parent guarantees;
• implement the Rose Review of the primary curriculum;
• survey parents on school provision in their area;
• introduce Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education on a statutory basis;
• replace school achievement and attainment tables in England with a School Report Card; and
• introduce a new right of appeal for parents on special educational needs statements.

The National Union of Teachers presented oral evidence to a Committee of MPs that are scrutinising the Bill on 19 January. This supplemented a written memorandum that the Union had already submitted to the Committee.