My 2nd “BME” Conference – Dec ’16

At the beginning of December I attended the BME Conference in Birmingham. As such on the Friday evening after finishing my supply work in Telford I headed over to Birmingham and met some fellow colleagues & BME Delegates at the German Markets which was on and close by to the NEC where the conference was being held this year.

After a relaxing catch up & chat over mugs of Glud Wine and reindeer burgers and soaking up the festive cheer we headed for the pre conference meal and evening event. The event had moved from the NEC Hilton where it had be held for the last few years to the ICC (the largest conference arena in Birmingham) & where we as a Union hold our national conference every other year.

This move has come about by the BME Conference growing to become the largest special interest conference organized by NASUWT & delegate numbers reaching over 500 members.

Last year (see my earlier blog post) the Conference launched its policy strand  #actforracialjustice calling for equality for BME Teachers and I was keen to see and hear how this policy had supported members throughout the year.

A lovely evening meal and pre conference event followed with delegates able to discuss and debate how the year had evolved for them, a key theme was how most people were taken aback by the growth and expansion of the conference and the sheer scale of this years event, this was a major talking point and one that had conflicting opinions on the loss of intimacy against the wider argument of the Union reaching and engaging with greater numbers of members.

The key note speaker Sharon Amesu gave her speech and address to the delegates which was motivational and inspirational and was one that resonated with me, practically her comment regarding that ‘a generations ceiling should be the floor or entry level for the next generation that follows’  and being a first generation immigrant, first generation educated at university level and first generation home owner myself this connected to me.

http://www.lifeincolourcoaching.co.uk/

After which their was time to socialize, and many people headed into Birmingham to enjoy the festive sprit, including myself who after checking into the Jury’s Inn Hotel on Broad Street met up with some colleagues/friends in one of the many bars along Broad Street.

The following morning after a hearty breakfast I returned to the ICC & listened to Patrick Roach our Deputy General Sec. discuss the landscape BME Teachers have faced during 2016 and shared through the Unions survey, this reflected quite shocking results.

The results reflected:

• Twice the proportions of BME teachers (31%) compared to their white counterparts, reported they have experienced discrimination in the workplace in the last 12 months;
• 79% of BME teachers compared to 64% of white teachers did not believe that they were paid at a level ‘commensurate with their skills and experiences’
• 64% BME teachers experienced ‘verbal abuse by pupils’ compared to 51% their white peers.
• 52% BME teachers did not feel that their work was valued as professionals by the school management compared to 38% of white teachers.
• 64% BME teachers felt their opinions were not valued by school management compared to 53% of their white peers.

This reflected importance of our unions work in this area and brought into sharp focus just why this special interest conference has grown so rapidly, people seeking out support.

Hyperlink to the NASUWT Report on the BME Conference 2016

https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/being-involved/events/consultation-conferences/bme-consultation-conference.html

The afternoon was given over to workshops which as always offered excellent CPD opportunities and I attended the afternoon workshop that discussed how schools can be ‘refugee friendly and accessible’ this was a eye opening, challenging and stimulating workshop to be involved with, and I took a great deal away from this which I hope to apply back in my workplace.

I left the conference disheartened that there is so much still to do in the fight for equality in the UK in 2017 but also with the Rosa Parks quote in my mind

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks