To download Christine Blower's speech to NUT annual conference 2012 please click here.

10 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 19, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“Teachers’ careers can be ruined by false and malicious allegations made against them. The process for investigating and considering allegations is often drawn out, and far too frequently teachers are suspended for long periods on flimsy and unsubstantiated evidence. 

10 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 54, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“Women have long and proud history in the Trade Union movement.  Women are also of course vital to the teaching profession and to the NUT.  The majority of the NUT’s members are women.  It is vital, therefore, that the views of women members are heard at all levels in the union.

“We need to look at how we can continue to give women the confidence and opportunities to take up roles and responsibilities in the NUT”  

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 46, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“The Government is forcing primary schools into academy status by any method possible despite there being no evidence at all that becoming an academy will improve educational standards or that it is a model that can work effectively for primary schools.

10 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 36, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“Inclusion is not about placing all disabled children and children with SEN in either mainstream schools or special schools, ignoring difference and ‘treating all pupils the same.  It is about appropriate provision to meet each pupil’s needs in the most appropriate setting and making reasonable adjustments to enable every pupil to access the whole life of the school.  The provision and the adjustments may be different for each pupil.  This is the essence of inclusion, and is what teachers work hard to provide.

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 31, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“The NUT has a proud tradition of developing positive proposals for the education service aimed at improving and enhancing children and young people’s future life-chances. 

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 22, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“The Government plans huge cuts to sixth form colleges – sixth form funding is to be cut by almost a fifth in the period to 2015. For teachers this attack on a valued and valuable sector is already causing huge damage, even though we are only in the first year of the Government’s ongoing cuts programme.

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on motion 41 on the economy, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union said;

“Delegates at NUT Conference have lambasted the failed economic policies of this Government. We are in the midst of the tightest squeeze of government spending since 1945 and the biggest cut in education spending since the 1950s. The Government refuses to make the banks pay for the crisis they caused or address the serious issue of tax avoidance. Instead the Government attacks the most vulnerable in society.

Tuesday 10 April

Commenting on NUT research into the cost and impact of the Coalition Government’s academies and free schools programme, Christine Blower General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union said:

“It is quite extraordinary that in these times of cut backs and austerity the Government has found £337.2 million to support its academies and free schools programme. Free Schools represent a tiny proportion of England’s schools yet there are 126 full time junior staff and seven senior Department for Education (DfE) staff working on the programme. Free Schools are absorbing an increasing proportion of DfE staff resources at a time when the Department as a whole is shrinking.

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 40 ‘The Government’, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union said;

“In the short time this Coalition Government has been in power it has wreaked havoc with our education system, plunged more families into poverty and put higher and further education out of the reach of many.

10 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 17, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

 “Despite the Government’s supposed commitment to ensure that the pressure on teachers to work excessive hours is reduced there is no evidence to show that this is happening. Many classroom teachers, heads and deputies work in excess of 50 hours a week, which inevitably takes its toll not only on home life but also on teachers’ mental health.

“In too many schools planning and assessment requirements have become formulaic burdens that are the bane of teachers’ lives.    A recent YouGov survey, commissioned by the NUT, showed that workload is the issue that would most influence teachers’ decisions to leave the profession, with a massive 71% identifying it as a critical issue.

Monday 9 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 51, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“Homophobic bullying and attitudes in schools impact on every child and young person in school. If children hear language or ideas which are negative about gay and lesbian people and this is not challenged by teachers, they learn that homophobia is tolerated and normal in their community.

Monday 9 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 50, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“Teachers highlighted today the challenges faced by disabled teachers and disabled people in wider society. Disabled teachers have the right to work. They also provide excellent role models to students and illustrate that disabled children should aspire to independent living and playing a full role in society.

Monday 9 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 49, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“The NUT is resolute in its determination to address issues of inequality in education.

Monday 9 April 2012

Commenting after the debate on Motion 48, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“The NUT has worked for decades to combat racist and fascist groups in society. Our successes in routing the BNP in Barking & Dagenham and Stoke-on-Trent during the 2010 election show that a real difference can be made. This comes from a concerted effort by organisations and communities working together to promote and celebrate our diverse society.