Although only four months have passed since our last life members’ newsletter, much has happened in the world of education in the UK: the teaching unions engaging with secretary of state and the Department for Education (DfE) to try and achieve a fair pay settlement for the teaching profession; strike action by some education unions to bring pressure to bear on the government. And now, the mounting tide of opinion in the profession against the current Ofsted regime following the sad death of Ruth Perry.
Maybe now is the moment for Ofsted to be replaced by a more supportive, effective and fair accountability system. The intolerable pressure many schools find themselves under at the time of inspection is not moving our profession and schools forward. And sadly, many of our in-service colleagues are leaving their posts well before their expected retirement age.
I’m sorry if that was a negative start, but we were all dedicated professionals and we wanted the best for the young people in our care. Even though we’ve retired, the job is still important to us, and many still want to help our schools to be the best place for children to enjoy their learning.
Perhaps that is why NAHT continues to grow in membership. We now stand at 37,000 serving members, an increase of 1,872 in the first quarter of 2023 – wonderful! Not wanting to be left behind, I can also celebrate that life membership continues to grow well, with some 14,804 members at the start of March 2023: an increase of more than 600 since last September. Sadly, this may reflect that some of our colleagues are leaving their positions early, rather than going full term to their usual retirement age. I believe the greater numbers opting to take up life membership on retirement is an indication of the quality offer available. This includes NAHT Financial Services, NAHT Extras and legal services.
Once again, I would encourage life members to sign up for NAHT Extras. To date, members have saved more £146,000 between them by registering and using this free service. Discounts are available from ASDA, M&S, Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Currys and Argos, to name but a few. It is relatively easy to get back your annual subscription by using the app.
It is also an increasing occurrence for NAHT’s legal team to have to act on behalf of life members, sometimes well into their retirement – you can read more in the upcoming issue of NAHT’s Leadership Focus magazine, out soon, and you have the chance to view the article a little early here.
Along with the increase in membership, NAHT staff and regional officials have been working hard to ensure our branch and regions are fully functional and there to meet members’ needs locally. In February 2023, out of 172 branches in the association, 160 are either fully or partially constituted – a real improvement from the recent past. There are 867 branch and regional officials; 607 are in-service members, leaving 260 life members in key positions in the branches and regions. As I have acknowledged in the past, life members continue to play a vital role in our organisation, and I would again like to express my sincere appreciation for those of you who continue to play an active role after retirement. You have so much knowledge and experience, and NAHT could not function successfully without you.
To acknowledge the key role that many life members play in NAHT, we have looked at the current NAHT constitution and rules, and the life member sector council has some concerns about membership equality and voting rights. To that end, we had proposed to put a motion to NAHT’s AGM at Telford this month to promote NAHT membership equality of opportunity in policies, procedures and everyday behaviours is enhanced for life members. However, at the life member sector council (LMSC) meeting in March, this matter was discussed at length with Magnus Gorham and national president Paul Gosling, during which we were assured that a major review of NAHT’s constitution and rules was already planned for the autumn, with full consultation for all sectors of the membership. We have been promised that the issues we would have raised through the AGM motion will be fully taken on board through this review. The LMSC was therefore prepared to withdraw its AGM motion on the grounds we will be fully involved in the revision, and our concerns on the union’s perspective on democracy, governance and equality will be seriously considered and incorporated in the revision of the constitution and rules.
In November 2022, NAHT's officials’ conference was held in Nottingham. It marked the 125th anniversary of the association, in the city where the inaugural meeting was held in 1897. Life members were well represented at the conference.
I look forward to seeing life members attending NAHT’s Annual Conference and AGM on the 28 and 29 April in Telford. Please come and introduce yourself at the life members’ stand in the exhibition area. It would be great to get your views and ideas for life members going forward.
For the many who will not be in Telford, I wish you health and happiness, and safe travels for those venturing abroad on holiday over the coming months.
Kind regards
John Killeen
Life member sector council chair
Click on the links below to read more on these topics
April marks a year since I stepped away from my school to become president of NAHT. However, I remain president until 31 August, in line with the new presidential term – but the anniversary of becoming NAHT president has given me cause to reflect on some aspects of the past year..jpg?ver=2021-06-23-171721-383 "NAHT president Paul Gosling")
After the excitement of Annual Conference in April 2022, the rest of the spring and summer were spent visiting colleagues and branches and speaking at conferences – standard NAHT president duties. It was an immense privilege meeting people and getting to know the broader work of the organisation during this time. However, during the summer term there was the sense of a growing storm, as the combination of increased costs caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine and the unfunded pay raises given to school staff caused many of our members to begin raising the alarm. At the end of the summer break, it was clear that NAHT needed to respond to the school funding concerns raised by our members.
Plans were drawn up for a press campaign on school funding and for the general secretary and the president to get on the road and test the appetite of our members for taking some form of industrial action on pay and funding, something that NAHT had not done in its 125-year history. I crisscrossed the nations in September and October, meeting with members from Belfast to Brighton, Newcastle to Newquay, and Llandudno to London. What was learnt at that time, combined with the results of an online survey, was that many of our serving members wanted us to ballot them on industrial action. However, many were also nervous about contemplating taking action over their pay. When the formal ballot was launched in November, more meetings were planned to encourage members to complete and return their postal ballots in Northern Ireland, Wales and England. All this activity meant that by Christmas, I had stood in front of members in every region in England, and in Northern Ireland and in Wales.
Although the ballot results in England told us that members were not ready to take industrial action on pay and funding, members in Wales and Northern Ireland were. However, the very act of NAHT balloting its members and the media campaign was successful in convincing the Westminster government to put £4.3 billion more into schools than it had previously planned for and, combined with the action of other unions, has finally got the governments in England and Wales to start the process of making serious offers to our members on pay and workload. We are still waiting for the formation of a government in Northern Ireland to hear our issues!
As I write this, waiting for the details of the pay offer from Westminster and considering how our members will respond and then what NAHT does next, issues around Ofsted, prompted by the sad death of Ruth Perry, are being raised by our members. With NAHT’s Annual Conference only weeks away, a conference I will be chairing, it looks like we will be hearing even more of our members’ voices as they raise concerns over funding, pay and, for those in England, Ofsted. My time and work as president of NAHT are far from over…
Paul Gosling
NAHT president
As a life member of NAHT, here’s a reminder of some of the benefits available to you:
- Plan while taking care of your financial well-being with NAHT Personal Financial Services (provided by Skipton Building Society). Call 0800 121 4596 or click here to find out more
- Save on your weekly food shop and many of your favourite retailers when you register for free with NAHT Extras. Call 0300 30 30 333 or click here to start saving today
- Access a free, dedicated, confidential counselling and emotional support helpline 24/7, provided by Education Support. Call 0800 917 4055 to access the support helpline or click here for more information
- Redstone Wills (part of Skipton Building Society) uses simple language to help you understand the documents and has a clear fixed-price guarantee in place – with no hidden charges. Call 0808 281 1545 or click here to find out more
- NAHT’s free mentoring platform facilitates valuable contact between leaders at all stages of their careers, enabling members to share best practice and industry knowledge. Share your guidance and knowledge by registering free today. Call 0300 30 30 33 or click here to find out more
- Earn extra income while offering your valuable knowledge and expertise through Judicium School Clerking Service. Call 0845 459 2130 or click here to find out more.
April’s issue of NAHT’s Leadership Focus magazine, out soon, has more information about the support available to members through their retirement. Paper copies will be arriving on doormats later this month, or you can view the article early here.
Here are some useful links to help support your health and well-being:
There are two recent Teachers’ Pensions Scheme items to bring life members up to date on this spring.
Transitional protection remedy (McCloud)
The Department for Education (DfE) has just opened a consultation seeking views on the proposed changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) regulations to remedy the discrimination identified when the scheme was reformed in 2015.
Changes to the TPS rules are necessary to remedy the discrimination that was identified when the public service pension schemes were reformed in 2015. These regulations will result in all eligible members, with reformed scheme service, being retrospectively returned to the legacy scheme. All eligible members will then be offered a choice of benefits (legacy or reform) at retirement for the remedy period (1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022).
NAHT has been working with the transitional protection sub-group to discuss the TPS-specific proposals, to develop policies that are in the best interests of the scheme members in readiness for publication of this public consultation and we will be responding to this consultation before the 4 June 2023 deadline.
Budget 2023 – abolition of lifetime allowance and increase to annual allowance
On 15 March 2023, the chancellor of the exchequer announced in the 2023 spring budget that, from 6 April 2023, the standard lifetime allowance will remain at £1,073,100, but nobody will face a lifetime allowance charge for 2023/24 onwards. From April 2024, the lifetime allowance will be abolished entirely. The chancellor also announced that from 6 April 2023, the standard annual allowance will increase from £40,000 to £60,000.
As we can't guarantee there won't be a change in policy in the near future, we will continue putting pressure on the DfE to reduce any impact large tax bills may have on our members.
NAHT is currently working with the Teachers' Pensions Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) asking it to consider aligning the timing of consumer prices index (CPI) inflation rates used for revaluing pension benefits and the annual allowance calculation. It has been proposed to move the ‘opening value’ date from 1 to 6 April, which will ensure the annual allowance measures only the pension growth that occurs above inflation. For this to happen there needs to be an amendment to the Teachers' Pensions regulations, and this is being proposed for 2024.
This information is from the Which? News article 'State pension age rise could come early'.
Millions of workers born in the 1970s may have to push back their retirement plans, if rumours about the state pension age rising to 68 earlier than planned come into force. There's already a plan in place for a phased increase in state pension age from 66 to 67 by 2028, with a view to eventually increase it to 68 – but this could be moved forward.
Why is your state pension age important?
The state pension age is the age you must reach before you are allowed to access your state pension, which might make up a large part of your income when you retire:
- The state pension age is currently 66 for both men and women
- Two more increases are already set out in legislation
- It will gradually rise to 67 for those born on or after April 1960 between 2026 and 2028, with another gradual rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046 for those born on or after 1977.
However, the government regularly reviews the state pension age to see if any changes need to be made, and the latest review is due to be published during spring 2023.
Find out more with the Which? state pension age calculator.
For more information, including who this would impact the most and what the effects would be, see the full Which? News article 'State pension age rise could come early'.
Click here to for recent news from the National Pensioners’ Convention.
Harry Greer, NAHT LMSC NAHT Northern Ireland (NI) representative, provides an update on the industrial action ballot in Northern Ireland.
The results of the formal ballot on industrial action were compelling:
- 68% turnout
- 93% in favour of action short of strike
- 63% in favour of strike action.
Action short of strike (ASOS)
- Since 19 October 2022, members have been directed to participate in action short of strike. Below is a list of key actions that are having a significant effect on the Employers and are providing some measure of ‘respite’ for our members
- The NAHT (NI) president and director have been engaging with school leaders across the Province to listen to member concerns and to provide support and guidance
- Frequent member updates provide clarity and advice as members are challenged by management side on a range of issues connected to NAHT actions.
Full list of NAHT (NI) actions short of strike
- Refuse to facilitate or cooperate with unsolicited ministerial and senior civil servant visits to schools.
- Refuse to provide information to employers regarding staff participating in industrial action.
- Refuse to respond to any emails/telephone calls/online learning platform messages outside of the normal school day, or during the lunch break, save for legitimate matters of safeguarding or interactions initiated by the principal.
- Refuse to provide information, data or financial planning to employers and/or other relevant bodies, whether directly or indirectly, and refuse to provide data that is available elsewhere.
- Refuse to engage with and/or attend Area Learning Community (ALC) meetings, the School Improvement Programme and the EA School Principals’ Forum.
- Refuse to facilitate school visits by School Development Services, save for legitimate safeguarding issues or if the school is in Formal Intervention.
- Refuse to engage with School Improvement Professionals, and any unsolicited contact/correspondence from employers, save for legitimate safeguarding issues or if the school is in Formal Intervention.
- Refuse to promote, facilitate or engage with any new initiatives, refuse to attend training events or meetings convened by the employers and refuse to create new policies or update existing policies, save for legitimate safeguarding training.
- Refuse to engage with Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI), save for legitimate matters of safeguarding (strictly in adherence to the ETI Safeguarding Proforma) or if the school is in Formal Intervention.
- Refuse to submit School Development Plans.
- Refuse to operate, engage with or implement PRSD for any member of staff who is at the top of their respective scale, including the vice principal and principal.
- Refuse to attend, facilitate or assist more than one Board of Governors meeting per term or disseminate (or assist with the dissemination of) training materials to governors.
Strike action: 21 February 2023
- The NAHT (NI) regional executive, after much deliberation, took the decision not to take part in the half-day strike action called by the other four teaching unions
- The half-day format threw even more responsibility onto the shoulders of school leaders, was very difficult to manage and may not have enjoyed the overwhelming support of members. NAHT (NI) interim director, Dr Graham Gault, wrote formally to the employers giving them until 28 February to produce a satisfactory offer to resolve the current pay dispute and giving notice that we will escalate our action, to include strike, if they do not respond positively
- Further strike actions are being planned which NAHT (NI) may participate in. The general secretary and national secretary visited Northern Ireland on 1 March to address two face-to-face member meetings.
Scams are increasingly sophisticated. Fraudsters can be articulate and financially knowledgeable, with credible websites, testimonials and materials that are hard to distinguish from the real thing. FCA’s ScamSmart can help people avoid investment and pension scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Find out how to:
The FCA is aware that scammers are targeting consumers searching for investments online, in particular through search engines like Google and Bing.
- Although some scammers offer high returns to tempt you into investing, they may also offer realistic returns to make their offer appear more legitimate
- Those offering or promoting products or investment opportunities found through search engines are not necessarily authorised or regulated by the FCA.
You can check the FCA warning list for firms to avoid.
Details of meetings of NAHT's executive committee and LMSC in 2023:
- 28-29 April 2023 – NAHT AGM and Annual Conference, Telford
- 13 June 2013 – LMSC – 11am to 3pm, London
- 9-10 November 2023 – NAHT officials’ conference – venue TBC
- 16 November 2023 – LMSC – 11am to 3pm, London.
Please contact your NAHT national office for support, guidance, representation and advice:
- NAHT – see naht.org.uk, call 0300 30 30 333, email info@naht.org.uk and follow us on Twitter using @NAHTnews
- NAHT Northern Ireland – Carnmoney House, Edgewater Office Park, Belfast BT3 9JQ, see naht.org.uk/northern-ireland, call 02890 776 633, email nahtni@naht.org.uk and follow us on Twitter using @NAHTNInews
- NAHT Cymru – 9 Rhodfa Columbus, Maes Brigantîn, Caerdydd CF10 4BY / 9 Columbus Walk, Brigantine Place, Cardiff CF10 4BY, visit naht.org.uk/cymru, call 02920 484 546, email cymru@naht.org.uk and follow us on Twitter using @CymruNAHT.
Life member sector council: who is who?
LMSC member: John Killeen
- Elected representative: NAHT Yorkshire Region
- LMSC elected member and LMSC chair 2021-2025
- Nationally elected life member executive committee representative 2021-2025
- john.killeen@nahtofficials.org.uk
LMSC member: Nigel Paton
LMSC member: Michael Wilson
