Attending Regional Conference & going through the ‘motions’……

Over the weekend I attended the West Midlands Regional Conference where with people from all the divisions in the West Midlands we came together and discussed & debated the motions we as a region wish to put forward to National Conference next March.

(A motion is a formal way to propose a statement outlining a proposed area of work or research or lobbying that a Division wish the Union Leadership to pursue over the next year)

It was held just outside Warwick so this meant a sharp departure on Friday after school to get to the hotel by 5pm,

and as with everything I have attended so far, the hotel/facilities the Conferences Team selected were superb, it was a first class hotel.

After checking in and meeting my colleagues from Telford & Wrekin we headed to the Reception to socialize with friends from other regions & catch up, as mentioned in previous posts I feel the networking/socializing aspects of these events are just as important and allow members a chance to catch up, it is this, plus the opportunity to bring partners & children that make the union feel so welcoming and  ‘family-like’.

My wife & children couldn’t attend this weekend, but I was speaking with a lady who had two children registered with the free crèche, who told me, when she advises the children she is off to a conference they want to immediately know if they are also attending as they LOVE the crèche. ( I have experienced similar with my two children)

A pleasant evening ensued with Key note speakers Paul Nesbitt & the General Sec. Chris Keates talking about recent developments in Education and the challenges facing both the West Midlands region and the Country in general.

This was followed by a lovely meal and disco and a great evening was had by all!

Sadly we woke up to the news of the Paris Attacks & so at the beginning of the Conference ‘Fred Brown’ our Junior Vice President, the chair of the conference called for 2 minutes silence/reflection for those sadly affected by the events in Paris.

After this we got down to Conference business, the previous night everyone got to vote on the order of when the motions were heard, the motions ranged in subject, but the most popular motions to be discussed were:

• Workload & Work Life Balance (brought by the Birmingham Association)
• The Future of Teachers Terms & Conditions of Service (Wolverhampton)
• Insidious Performance Management Practices (Solihull & Coventry)

Each motion was outlined by the proposing Division then discussed and finally voted on, with a open forum for members to discuss their opinions on the topics.

I engaged with each motion & voted as I felt after hearing others views on these topics, after lunch I put a card in to speak on a motion, these being motion 25  covering – Supply Teachers.

However I felt the motion needed amending so my Division Sec. requested an amendment requesting that…

‘Conference calls upon NASUWT to organize local training for supply teachers so that they can access such training without financial loss’

I called for this because as discussed at regional supply teacher seminars not enough Union courses are at weekends thereby forcing supply teachers to choose between working (and earning) or attending training. After speaking on this matter and hearing other views I was pleased to see this amendment passed.

I enjoyed the discussion and debate on the range of topics and voting accordingly, it is this engagement, involvement and participation I enjoy and the feeling in some small way I have contributed to the work the Union will carry forward next year and that collectively we are stronger!