At the Supply Conference (or was it Crufts) and the need for greater Regulation of the Supply Market

So after a long week at work, the last thing I really fancied was attending a conference on Supply, but having spent the last couple of years on supply and knowing how simply corrupt the supply market can be, I made sure I dragged myself along.

Glad I did as well, as when I drove into the Hilton Hotel & found the following:

I felt the stresses of the week fall away & who should I see in the foyer but a few of the same faces from the LGBT event from last month, it then really felt like I had made the right decision to attend.

We grabbed a few beers in the bar area, had a lovely dinner and discussed what had been happening since we last met up, what the various members & divisions were looking for from this conference, time & time again the words greater regulation were mentioned. It was fantastic that the union offered this chance for us to network, form friendships/support groups and a chance to socialize around the conference, the free beer tokens didn’t go amiss either!

One weird thing was the numbers of dogs & owners (of course) in the hotel, the number of dog fights in the halls & general madness of people strolling through the lobby with 6+ dogs, then we were told Crufts was in town & many people stay here for the weekend, they must be barking mad!

The following morning after a lovely nights sleep only disturbed by the occasional dog fight in the halls, it was off to conference, the facilities as per last month were spot on & the conference was opened by Geoff Branner (President of NASUWT) followed by a key note speech from Patrick Roach the Deputy General Sec.

It was interesting to hear Patrick’s speech confirming what pretty much everyone on the room demands and this is the need for greater regulation of the supply market, transparency of any agreements schools might have with supply agencies and protection of supply teachers rights to training/CPD etc.

I raised the question of Preferred Supplier Agreements with Patrick Roach & he spoke about the need to ensure these & the umbrella companies agencies use to pay supply staff is again greater regulated.

Feedback from the surveys Supply Teachers had completed and an ‘in-house’ survey on specific issues rounded off the morning, before a wonderful lunch and afternoon fringe or training events were offered.

I attended the ‘Staying Calm in the classroom’ workshop which was an enjoyable & light hearted look at classroom management strategies and the theories behind human behaviour.

The day was wrapped up with a Plenary (sorry for the teacher babble) on areas covered, before we parted again, this time will farewells for those going to Conference at Easter, and the sharing of email addresses & phone numbers.

In the short time I have been involved I have found people from Chris Keates & Patrick Roach downwards as being friendly, approachable and supportive, the conferences very useful & helpful, the food always superb, the company enjoyable and informative!

Roll on Easter – I just hope there are no dog fights in the hotel there!