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Regional secretary with the National Education Union
The power lies with you: fighting for education’s soul

Educators must fight for an inclusive, creative system that values all children

Striking members of the National Education Union (NEU) on Piccadilly march to a rally in Trafalgar Square, central London, in a long-running dispute over pay, March 15, 2023

LAST WEEK I experienced something of a dissociative moment. As a working-class girl from Newcastle who grew up poor under the Tories, deprivation shaped my life. What right did I have to address our members as president of the NEU?

Yet, being active in my trade union has profoundly shaped my life.

We’ve all worked with children who carry a heavier burden than we’d wish, impacting on their learning and success. Many of us were those children, and those shared experiences have driven us to work in education. A long-time campaigner against child poverty, I entered teaching determined to make a difference.

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