So Easter fast approaches & I thought I would by now be looking forward to attending my first National Conference down in Cardiff, lovely so I thought a few days away in the valleys & a chance to catch up with some colleagues/’friends’ (is it too early to call them friends?) and carry on with our discussions on the areas addressed at recent regional events. I had been asked back in December ’14 if I fancied attending by the Division ‘brass’

and thought ‘why not? that sounds different, enjoyable, challenging and could be fun!, a few days away in a nice hotel, eating nice food, and having a chance to put my opinion across on topics that affect me – Yes Please’, in hindsight that was

MISTAKE NUMBER 1…………

I mentioned that I had been invited to Conference at home and that partners & children could also attend, that really was in hindsight

MISTAKE NUMBER 2………….

The first mistake entailed me filling out various forms online, phoning various people generally adding to my already heavy work load, I should add I am somewhat a Luddite and crave the old days when you did these things by good old fashioned pen & paper – Anyone remember these?

Now it’s all register with this website, await your username & password, login, register online etc. it all really gets my goat up. I honestly don’t think its quicker or easier for me, however by mid- Jan ’15 I had done all that I needed to do or so I thought. That in hindsight was

MISTAKE NUMBER 3………….

The cold dark mornings gave way to spring & Easter approached, as such I was now instructed by the ‘Boss’ at home to research days out for her & the kids i/e Cardiff Castle etc….’Darling, I chimed, the kids will be in the crèche, lots of fun days for them, you can relax whilst I am at conference, its win, win!’. Life was good brownie points has been banked with my wife and all was well with the world.

Then I checked my emails late last week and find an urgent email from ’Conference  & Events’ team at NASUWT reminding me I hadn’t registered, enrolled the children in the crèche, signed up for fringe events, generally done anything that was needed NOW!

I naturally at this point went into panic mode and emailed everyone, phoned everyone at my school, division and Conference & Events and basically threw myself at their collective mercy claiming ‘it’s my first conference – help’ etc.

The kind ladies at Conference & Events took me through the whole process again, sorted out my logins, passwords and basically sorted it all out for me, Division advised me of traveling arrangements they were organizing & so panic mode was over and we are once again on the Road to Cardiff.

However I mentioned this little hiccup at home before all was sorted out, that in hindsight was

MISTAKE NUMBER 4………….

Home was not as supportive as those above & those brownie points have been removed from my account by my wife and I am once again in her bad books.

So what have I learned, well firstly my Division & the team at Conference and Events really do look out for you, all the arrangements behind the scenes means even a Luddite like me can do it (I know I didn’t, I got it all wrong, but you know what I mean) and the one key core message, if you see a big blue button on the on-line registration forms stating CLICK TO SUBMIT, it’s always best to click on it – Example below!

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!

One objective of this blog, is to give an insight into a teacher at a Shropsire school, so here goes (I promise I have not made any of this up)

Monday & the week begins with a briefing by my school’s leadership team on the dangers of students being radicalized, caused in part by the three teenage girls from East London going to Syria, it should have been a warning as it was all downhill from there, & a sad sign of the additional areas teachers now have to be aware or on the look-out for. The full teaching day ended with a deot. meeting that wrapped the day up in a  nice bow, away from school by about 5pm

Tuesday – Followed in the steps of Monday with a full days teaching and the pace of week started to gather, the day wrapped up with a spot of extra curriculum Rugby Training for the Yr 9’s, away from the school by about 5pm again.

Wednesday – My first free lesson of the week & you would expect a chance to catch breath, not a chance as put on cover, then into teaching for the rest of the day, left school by 4pm, however didn’t walk into my house until after 8pm as my children had their extra school clubs & so was transferring them from one to another! Teachers on the other end of the extra school club demands for once, but either way I am still caught up in it!

Thursday – The finishing line is in sight, its been a long week and as I drive in I can’t believe I still have two days teaching to do,  as I look at my timetable I sigh with frustration another full day, as my school has a two week timetable & most of my frees & PPA’s are next week! Once more into the breech I charge and once again plough through the day. However an extra bonus for me this week is my formal observation with a KS5 class, so the natural stress levels are risen further.

Also I have a parents evening tonight so I am here meeting the folks & pressing the flesh until 7pm, by now I am shattered and I still have a day to go before the weekend.

Friday – Finally its Friday and the weekend looms, but not before three KS3 lessons throughout the day with my lower set classes, so no chance to coast into the weekend, classroom management is high on the agenda today to keep the lower ability classes on task.

Friday afternoon is here at last!

What a week, and over the weekend I have to mark at least two sets of class books & prepare materials/lessons for my lessons next week.

Equality Officers:

• promoting and supporting the equalities agenda within the Local Association
• working alongside the other officers of the Local Association to bring equalities into the mainstream;
• encouraging members form under-represented groups to become involved in Union activity;
• supporting recruitment and organising of members from under-represented groups;
• promoting equality issues in local campaigns and activities;
• advising on equalities issues affecting members

Is the official remit of a ‘EO’

When I read that I was ‘wow – that seems a challenge’ but now having spoken with various members at Division and speaking through the role with the training & events team at NASUWT I am starting to get an idea of the role  & its as much about getting the message out there of all the support networks, opportunities & events that support, Young Teachers, Women Teachers, BME, LGBT, Disabled Teachers etc…that our Union organize.

I am starting to see an area where I could contribute and help spread this message! Hopefully in part through this blog, through my reports being shared by Division with school rep’s in the area & by attending Equality Events and conferences.

Happy Day’s!

‘LGBT Conference’:

On the 7^th February I attended the national Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) conference in Birmingham. It was held at the Holiday Inn in Birmingham & around 100 delegates attended from around the United Kingdom. I was sat on a table of 8 and the majority on my table had flown in from Northern Ireland the night before, Their stories on how LGBT Teachers from this region were being treated was eye opening to the say the least!

Christine Keates the NASUWT General Secretary opened the conference with her keynote speech & spoke about her experiences in negotiations with the major political parties when addressing LGBT rights within the profession and  also when discussing changes to the educational system. Christine then talked with passion about the Union’s major strategies of 100 days until the election & the ‘Big Question survey.

Following this there were fringe events, training opportunities and one of the best Shepard’s Pie for lunch I have tasted in a long time!  A couple of delegates (the Northern Ireland lot again) even jumped on the piano & belted out Adele’s ‘Someone like You’.

I even had a brief chat over the amazing Shepard’s Pie with my General Secretary before checking out all the stalls and conference exhibitors such as Stonewall who gave me loads of free resources to use back in school!

A great Saturday was had & I was even home to see Final Score on the BBC!

Sadly Leyton Orient Lost!