Welcome to our latest issue.

An update from NAHT’s press office

Steven and Rose have continued to keep NAHT foremost in the education news over the last 6 months, despite the turbulent political landscape. They’ve navigated NAHT’s response to the big education news stories that have cropped up, from youth action over climate change to the protests over equalities teaching in Birmingham. They garnered a huge amount of coverage for Annual Conference and the motions voted on by delegates. And they’ve promoted the association’s key priorities and policy goals continuously since then, including securing great coverage for the reports and surveys produced by the Policy team. The extensive reporting of our members’ concerns over the new multiplication tables test was a particular recent highlight. You can read all NAHT’s press releases and see a full list of press coverage on our website: https://www.naht.org.uk/news-and-opinion/press-room/.
 

National Life Member Committee Task & Finish Group - update from the Chair

As the Chair of the Life Member Task and finish Group, I am pleased to report that clear progress has been made by the group since its establishment some eighteen months ago. The work that we were asked to move forward contained three strands:

Strand 1 – Life Member Participation, Equality and right to a position on the National Executive.

Strand 2 – Constitutional Issues, voting rights and equality.

Strand 3 - Benefits of Life Membership.

Progress on the first strand was directly linked to the agreement of a pilot undertaken by one member of the National Life Member Committee to attend the National Executive meetings, representing Life Members and participating in Committee and Executive sessions. Steve Iredale, National Life Member Committee Chair and I have shared this role. Feedback from the National Executive, National Life Member Committee and NAHT Officers have all concluded that this pilot has been a success, with a balanced and proportionate contribution being made by ourselves to Executive business. Life Member views have been sought on appropriate topics and a two-way flow of information between Executive and the National Life Member Committee established. The pilot still has some six months to run, however change from National Life Member Committee  to a Life Member Sector Council remains a possible outcome.

The second strand discussions and the possible review of the NAHT Constitution came from the realisation that the NAHT 2017 Constitution does not at present provide all NAHT members with full equality and access to the same representation and democracy as NAHT pre-retired members. Officers are working with Mike Wilson from the National Life Members Committee, to explore what changes are needed to the NAHT Constitution and Rules; which will enhance the objects of the NAHT and equitable access to democratic and representational rights of all NAHT members. This review is ongoing, with the aspiration that it can be discussed at National Executive and changes put forward in time for adoption at the AGM in Cardiff 2020.

The final strand was to consider and review the current benefits of becoming a Life Member. What we realised from the start that this review of membership benefits was of equal value for all NAHT Members. With the strong support of officers of the association, led by Mark Cornell’s team, progress has been swift on many fronts. Recruitment procedures and resources have been greatly enhanced, with the immediate impact that take up for Life Membership, which stood at a poor 37% at the start of the pilot, is now in the vicinity of 70% at this moment in time. One of the most obvious outcomes of the Task and Finish Group’s work with member benefits is the creation and adoption of NAHT Extras, which is a wonderful wide-ranging discount service, affording saving in many aspects of our daily spending. I would strongly recommend that any Life Members who have not done so already, sign up to this free benefit through the link on the NAHT website and start to enjoy the savings!

There are a range of other new member benefits that may be rolled out to all members soon. These are being considered and costed by officers and the Task and Finish Group Members. If the figures stack up and positive benefits are clearly established through future consultation with all members,we may have other ground-breaking opportunities to celebrate with you.

I am sure you will agree that a lot of progress has been made by the Task and Finish Group. I would like to conclude this update  by thanking all officers and National Life Member Committee Members who worked so hard and achieved so much for our association.

John Killeen
Vice – Chair National Life Members Committee

Membership services

'The Hub' 

At NAHT, we work to create a better education system for those who aspire to join the profession, are currently working as an educator, or have enjoyed a successful career within the sector. We created The Hub as a way of sharing additional content with prospective and existing members. Find articles, podcasts and videos on everything from managing your finances and updates to the curriculum, to advice around achieving a healthy balance within your own lifestyle and wellbeing.  

Link for The Hub: ​ https://thehub.naht.org.uk/

Incredible deals at the NAHT Car Club ​ www.mycarlease.clu​b 

I just wanted to briefly share my experiences of getting a car through the NAHT Car Club and to strongly recommend that all Life Members sign up to this free service that is part of your NAHT Membership. 

My previous practice in buying my cars was to go to the usual range of dealerships and spend hours being pressured into getting their car and then spend more time trying to negotiate a deal with the Finance Manager, who was always upstairs!

I signed up to mycarleaseclub six months ago and then received a weekly mail shot with the car offer of the week; which I frankly thought were almost too good to be true. When I came around to wanting to change my car in August, I started my round of trips to the showrooms and got an idea of the cars I might be interested in, their prices and possible part exchange for my car. It was at this time I got another weekly email offer from the NAHT Car Club. This led me to go to the main website. I was astounded to see the 10,000’s of cars that were available with options to personalise each car to my specification.

There was plenty of supportive information on each car, with an independent video review of the car which I could click on and watch at my leisure with no salesman pressure! The site allowed me to easily compare different cars in order to make a final decision. Most importantly the price for leasing of the car was there from the start with no haggling. It altered as you changed the specifications, lease length, annual mileage and whether I wanted to include servicing in the package. Now came the biggest surprize THE PRICE!!! The deals offered were substantially cheaper that the equivalent cars/same specification from the main dealers. I was sceptical. I contacted the Car club to find out how. The answer was simple for each car they can go out to up to six Finance Companies. They compete for your business hence the greatly reduced price. The cars come direct from the main dealerships and can be serviced by the nearest deal. I enjoyed taking my time selecting the right car for me. The team in the office at the club were very helpful answering all my questions.

I have previously owned my cars, but this leasing package made so much sense. I could have a car that I might not have been able to afford to purchase outright. My road tax is paid for the duration of the agreement. Fixed monthly payments. No depreciation. Comprehensive maintenance, serving and tyre package included. No nasty surprises in the future. The Car Club could not purchase my car from me; so I had the option to either sell privately or as I chose to sell it to WE Buy Any Car at a price close enough to the dealerships part exchange offer. The icing on the cake finally was as a NAHT Affinity Partner mycarleaseclub do not charge NAHT Members their £180 administration fee.

My new Audi car was delivered to my home on the date and time agreed. Just eight miles on the clock. I am delighted and have saved a lot of money.

So, my strong recommendation to all Life Members; sign up to the to ​ www.mycarlease.club ​ ​Use the NAHT Scheme Code for Registration ​NAHTCAR​.  There will be no calls from the company, just the weekly offer email. A fantastic way to drive the car you want with no worries.

John Killeen
National Life Members Committee Vice- Chair.

10 healthy habits for seniors old and new

Dental check-ups, medications, physical check ups – the list of a senior’s health needs go on. Not to mention how a caregiver’s health may suffer in the midst of putting another senior’s health first. How can you make yourself more aware of a senior’s health requirements, especially a senior with chronic illnesses or other serious health issues?

●     People who had good healthy habits when they were younger tend to become healthy seniors, but it is never too late. 

●     Good health habits can make a difference even to seniors who are prone to illness or have not made their health a priority in the past. 

●     Retirement / semi-retirement can give you new options to explore.

Consider these 10 tips for keeping up with the health needs of a parent or senior loved one, published on the Senior Living Blog

NAHT National Life Member Committee Regional representatives (​ NLMC AGM 19.06.19)

Pension News Update

State pension payments will increase for UK pensioners who live full-time in EU countries for the next three years, in the event of a no-deal Brexit,​  Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd has confirmed.

The ​state pension amount in the UK rises each year according to the triple-lock guarantee. This is by whatever is the highest:  2.5 per cent, the average wage growth, or by prices growth as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In some countries, UK pensioners living overseas may also see their state ​ pension ​ being up-rated.

However, this increase does not apply to those who live full-time in certain countries, including Canada and New Zealand.

Read more >>

Teacher pension contribution increase takes effect

The government has announced that it will increase employer contributions into The Teacher’s Pension Scheme to 23.6 percent, effectively immediately. 

The rise follows a consultation, which closed in February 2019 and recommended the rise, and has been announced as part of the government’s plans to reform teacher pay structures.

The Department for Education expects that the increase, which is on top of salary, will cost around £1.5bn each year and ​is a part of the recently announced 14bn schools investment.

Read more >>

Retirement planning - seven mistakes to avoid

No matter your age, it’s never too early to start thinking about how you plan to fund your retirement. Whether you’ve already started building a nest egg, or are simply weighing up your options, make sure you avoid these seven costly retirement planning mistakes.

Read more >>

NAHT Partner - Skipton Building Society

​https://www.skipton-naht.co.uk/ ​      
Tel: 0800 121 4596 

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To keep you up to date with events  that could impact upon your finances, we can send you emails providing information that may prove highly valuable to know

NAHT Extras……yes, it’s worth it! - A Life Member's perspective

NAHT Extras is the new platform that offers lots of potential savings and I decided to give it a small trial to find out whether it was something I would use.

Like most of these sites, you need to persevere, create an account and spend some time searching to find out what is actually available. 

My first purchase was a store card for ASDA - this is a supermarket that I use occasionally when we do a major ‘shop’ to fill up the motorhome when we’re off to Cropredy to see Fairport Convention. (That’s yet another story!)

The idea of shopping discounts appealed to me and I now have a pre-loaded card that can be topped up whenever I want to shop in ASDA again – and I made a small discount saving in the process. You have to use your debit card to set up the storecard in the first place, but if used regularly, I can see the savings would grow.

A much better saving was a later purchase of a Morphy Richards Slow Cooker. 

Using the platform, it took me through to the Morphy Richards website and then at the point of purchase, I just applied the code I was provided with.

The original price was £54.99 and after the discount was applied, it ended up as £43.99. It was a saving of £11 and I couldn’t find a cheaper option anywhere else on the internet.

So, after my two little tests what is the verdict? 

I’ll definitely explore the site further because I can’t resist a bargain and the bigger the purchase, the better the discounts get. I’m just about to go online and check out some holidays!

Marilyn Downs - NAHT Trafford Life Member & NLMC

NAHT Extra - Are you aware?

As a member of NAHT, you can access NAHT Extras, an exclusive online savings platform. We have introduced NAHT Extras as a thank you for being a member of NAHT. 

Using NAHT Extras, you can get hundreds of exclusive discounts across a wide range of high street stores, online retailers, restaurants, supermarkets and many more.

You can save:

Up to 8%​ on your supermarket shop, including Asda, Tesco, Morissons, Sainsburys, Waitrose and M&S.

Up to 9% ​on your morning coffee at Caffe Nero, Costa or Starbucks.

Up to 8%​ on kitting out your home at Wicks, IKEA, Harveys and B&Q.

Not only will you be able to save, but you can share the benefits with your friends and family.

You can use NAHT Extras alongside the retailer's own offers, so you can save more, and twice!

The more you use it the more you save!!

NAHT extras

Pannett the Tank! Railway retirement express - One man and his train

As the days ticked down in the final term before my retirement in December 2006 many friends and colleagues asked me what on earth I was going to do with myself without a school to lead and my NAHT interests. Having been in the profession since 1969, a headteacher for 22years, Barnsley NAHT Branch Secretary for many years then Council Member for South Yorkshire in the early 2000s there was going to be a considerable section of my life becoming available. My stock answer was “I'm going to start living and enjoying the rest of my life with my wife”.

There was the usual favourite of travel broadening the mind and emptying the wallet. Then there were the ‘five Rs’, rugby, reading, rambling and railways. A number of colleagues knew I was a bit of an anorak, with an interest in railways, being secretary of the local railway preservation group at Elsecar and collecting a wide variety of railwayana ( yawn, yawn………… many friends can vouch for this!!).

My main ambition, however, went back to my childhood days in the 1950/60s when steam trains were the backbone of our railway system and young lads dreamed of driving steam locos, little knowing how demanding and hard the job was.

After gaining experience at Elsecar I eventually became a member of the Appleby Frodingham Railway Preservation Society, operation within the current “British Steel” works at Scunthorpe. 

We provide tours around the works for the general public and enthusiasts. Admittedly these are not mainline size locos, nor is it a leafy preserved line but it is standard gauge locos, which were the centre of hard work in many industrial complexes years ago. 

We operate on a working railway alongside “dirty diesels” hauling hundreds of tons of iron and steel around the site.

Having served my “apprenticeship” as a cleaner, trainee fireman, passed fireman, I graduated to trainee driver and then passed driver, with admiration for those men I watched on the mainline with goods or passenger trains. 

I now work regularly as a fireman or driver on our tours, rarely missing an opportunity to explain the basic workings of the steam loco to young children in the position I was in the 50s and 60s. Once a teacher, always a teacher!!

Dave Pannett

Reading helpers needed in schools to help ‘open the door’ to reading

As children across the country start the new school term and settle back into the rhythm of school life, thousands of volunteers have also returned to schools – as reading helpers. Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity for Life Members?

Reading helpers are recruited, trained and placed in primary schools and early years settings by Coram Beanstalk, a national reading charity which supports children aged 3-13 through weekly sessions and over one academic year to read well.

Volunteers help children not just through recognising the words, but through the enjoyment of sharing books together, chatting about them and developing a deeper understanding of the content. Encouraging, motivating and supporting children in this way helps them feel positive about their reading and sets them up for success.

Ginny Lunn, Managing Director of Coram Beanstalk, explains:

“As a charity passionate about encouraging a love of books, we focus on guiding our volunteers through helping children make friends with reading, removing negative associations with reading. We are incredibly lucky that many of our volunteers are retired teaching professionals who are keen to continue working in schools, supporting children in such a meaningful way, and it’s clear to understand why they make such a good match for the role.

Becoming a reading helper removes any worries about supporting the 'teaching' of reading and leaves them free to share the joy of brilliant books with the children.

Our vision is to ensure that all children have the opportunity to become confident and able readers and we know that the first step to achieving this is through encouraging a love of books at an early age. We continue to need more reading helpers to fill vacancies in schools and early years settings across the country and so we urge anyone who has the time and would like to get involved to please get in touch with us.”  Julia is a retired teacher from Birmingham who became a Coram Beanstalk volunteer:

“I chose to volunteer because I had time on my hands and I love books and also loved teaching children how to read. The highlight of my volunteering has been seeing how the children improve with regular help and support .It’s been wonderful to hear the children read aloud with expression. I would recommend being a volunteer, it’s very rewarding. Enthusiasm for reading is contagious.”

To find out more about becoming a volunteer in a school or early years setting, please visit the website at ​www.corambeanstalk.org.uk​  or call Coram Beanstalk on 020 7729 4087.

Useful Life member website links

Mental health charities, groups and services

Mental Health Foundation   020 7803 1101
Improving the lives of those with mental health problems or learning difficulties.

Together   020 7780 7300
Supports people through mental health services.

The Centre for Mental Health   020 7827 8300
Working to improve the quality of life for people with mental health problems.

BACP Find a Therapist Directory   01455 883300
Through the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) you can find out more about counselling services in your area.

PANDAS Foundation   0843 28 98 401 (every day from 9am-8pm)
PANDAS Foundation vision is to support every individual with pre (antenatal), postnatal depression or postnatal psychosis in England, Wales and Scotland. We campaign to raise awareness and remove the stigma. We provide our PANDAS Help Line, Support Groups offer online advice to all and much more.

General advice and support

Citizens Advice
Gives free confidential information and advice to help people sort out their money, legal, consumer and other problems.
Support for children and young people

Young Minds   020 7336 8445
Provides information and advice for anyone with concerns about the mental health of a child or young person.

Childline    0800 1111
Free, national helpline for children and young people in trouble or danger.

Nightline
Listening, support and information service run by students for students. Other places you could go for support

Age Concern   0800 009966
Infoline on issues relating to older people.

Lesbian and Gay Switchboard   020 7837 7324
Provides information, support and referral services.

Refugee Council   020 7346 6700
The UK’s largest organisation working with refugees and asylum seekers.

Relate   0300 100 123
Offers advice, relationship counselling, sex therapy, workshops, mediation, consultations and support.

Education Support Partnership   08000 562 561
A 24/7 telephone support line which gives teachers access to professional coaches and counsellors 365 days a year. The network also campaigns for change within schools and education policy in order to improve the wellbeing, mental and physical health of teachers. 

Anxiety UK   08444 775 774
Works to relieve and support those living with anxiety disorders by providing information, support and understanding via an extensive range of services, including 1:1 therapy.Carers organisations

Carers UK
Carers UK is the voice of carers.  It improves their lives by providing information, advice, support and by campaigning for change.

Future Life Member Committee Meetings 2019-2020