National Education Union

The National Education Union (NEU) is a trade union in the United Kingdom for school teachers, further education lecturers, education support staff and teaching assistants. It was formed by the amalgamation of the National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in 2017.[2] With 445,601 members as of 2022, it is the largest education union in the UK and Europe.[3][4]

National Education Union
Founded1 September 2017
HeadquartersHamilton House, Mabledon Place, London
Location
Members
Decrease 445,601 (2022)[1]
Key people

Emma Rose (National President)

AffiliationsTUC
Websitehttps://neu.org.uk/

Governance and administration

The NEU came into being on 1 September 2017. At that time a Joint Executive Council was formed with the existing structures of the NUT and ATL continuing to function as sections of the new union. Full amalgamation took place on 1 January 2019 and a new Executive Committee was elected. The existing general secretaries of the NUT and ATL, Kevin Courtney and Mary Bousted, served as joint general secretaries of the new union until March 2023,[5] when Daniel Kebede was elected as a single general secretary.[6]

History

National Union of Teachers

The NUT was established at a meeting at King's College London on 25 June 1870 as the National Union of Elementary Teachers (NUET) to represent all school teachers in England and Wales, combining a number of local teacher associations which had formed across the country following the Elementary Education Act 1870. The School Teachers: the growth of the teaching profession in England and Wales from 1800 to the present day, after toying with the idea of changing the name to the National Union of English Teachers, the name National Union of Teachers (NUT) was finally adopted at Annual Conference in April 1889.

Association of Teachers and Lecturers
Main article: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

The origins of ATL go back to 1884 when 180 women met to create the Association of Assistant Mistresses (AAM). These women worked in schools founded for higher education of girls. Their concern was primarily for the pupils. However, in 1921, the AAM appointed representatives to the newly formed Burnham Committee on Salaries in Secondary Schools

The Association of Assistant Masters in Secondary Schools (AMA) was formed in 1891. Its purpose was to protect and improve the conditions of service of secondary teachers. Between 1899 and 1908 it played an influential part in obtaining security of tenure for assistant teachers through the Endowed Schools Act.

In 1978 AAM and AMA merged to form the Assistant Masters and Mistresses Association (AMMA), with a membership of approximately 75,000. The name was changed in 1993 to the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

National Education Union

The NUT and ATL agreed to pursue a merger during their Special conferences held on 5 November 2016. A ballot of members of both unions took place between 27 February and 21 March 2017. The results were announced the following day and resulted in 97% of NUT members and 73% of ATL members who returned their ballot papers supporting the merger proposals.

Logo and corporate identity

A logo for the new union was launched on 30 June 2017. The logo features a starburst of pentagons with the name of the union written at the centre. Despite being a proper noun, the name is stylised in the logo in all lower case letters as "national education union" rather than "National Education Union". The union uses the strapline "together we'll shape the future of education".[7]

Controversies

The NEU has been the subject of several controversial events since its inception in 2017.

In 2023, Daniel Kebede, the newly elected General Secretary has been subject to calls for an anti-semitism probe following historical comments.[8] This came after the union was criticised for giving money to an organisation who compared Israel to Nazi Germany.[9]

Fred and Anne Jarvis Award
Main article: List of Fred and Anne Jarvis Award winners

Named after former NUT General Secretary Fred Jarvis (who died in 2020) and his wife Anne (who died in 2007), the Fred and Anne Jarvis Award was established by the NUT in 2007 and presented annually, originally to individuals other than NUT members who campaigned for all children and young people.[10] From 2019 the award has been presented by the NEU.

Leadership

General Secretaries
2017: Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney
2023: Daniel Kebede

Presidents
2019: Kim Knappett and Kiri Tunks
2019: Amanda Martin
2020: Robbie Bevan
2021: Daniel Kebede
2022: Louise Atkinson

See also

References
  1. "National Education Union Form AR21 for year ended 31 August 2022" (PDF). GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  2. Weale, Sally (22 March 2017). "NUT and ATL vote to merge into National Education Union". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  3. Ferguson, Mike (31 August 2017). "NEU launches as the largest education union in Europe". Schools Week. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  4. White, Nadine (12 April 2022). "Europe's largest teachers union hit with racism allegations by its own members". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  5. "Historic step forward: ATL and NUT to form a new union" (Press release). National Education Union. 22 March 2017. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  6. Jones, Alan (31 March 2023). "Daniel Kebede elected new National Education Union general secretary". The Independent. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  7. Hazell, Will (30 June 2017). "New logo for teaching super union revealed". TES. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  8. https://antisemitism.org/incoming-neu-general-secretary-under-fire-as-union-insists-his-past-remarks-did-not-intend-to-convey-encouragement-for-violence-against-jews/
  9. https://www.thejc.com/news/news/new-head-of-national-education-union-accused-of-inciting-violence-at-pro-palestine-rally-OAGPBrOf4h9CkfUKvHvFP
  10. "Memorial for Anne Jarvis at the Institute of Education" (PDF). Education Publishing Worldwide Limited. 21 September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
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