Thread by @NAHTnews

New @NAHTnews president @paulgosling1968 now addressing #NAHTConf

twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

New @NAHTnews president @paulgosling1968 asks what century are we living in’ over rising food bank use

independent.co.uk/news/uk/paul-g…

#NAHTConf

"When I became headteacher 13 years ago, the number of children receiving free school meals was around thirty per cent. In the January census 2022, that figure was forty-five per cent. The rise in poverty in my community is shocking and stark."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

"The local food bank has given me ‘emergency rations’ to pass on to families in crisis. When I first became a headteacher, I had not heard of food banks outside the work done with the homeless in London, but now they are a vital part of our local community's support."

#NAHTConf

"Last Christmas, the Salvation Army provided Christmas presents for ten families at my school. Eight per cent of the children at Exeter Road had Christmas presents provided by charity! What century are we living in?"

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTconf

"We have also recently noticed a rise in children coming to school tired as they have no heating on at home and find it difficult to sleep on cold nights."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTconf

"Poverty is a huge barrier to children’s success at school; overcoming that barrier at Exeter Road is a significant part, and a growing part, of the work my staff undertake daily, before we even get to teaching the curriculum."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTconf

"This government's aspirations for education can only be realistically achieved by tackling poverty. By largely ignoring the issue of child poverty, this government is not taking the success of all children in education seriously."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTconf

@paulgosling1968 "Stop wasting time and energy talking about structural reform and get on dealing with the real issues in education!"

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTconf

@paulgosling1968 "My school has stepped in to provide much-needed support, such as parenting courses and a baby and toddler group, but we are not funded to do this work, and it is becoming increasingly challenging for us to provide."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 "Accessing mental health services for children in my school has become almost impossible. We do all we can to help with children’s mental health issues. But there are a growing number of children whose needs outstrip the resources we have; they need professional help."

#NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 "The systems that support children and their families are broken - it is a national scandal!"

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 "Now, on to school funding... In 2017 I had to make some general teaching assistants redundant to balance the budget, taking away valuable classroom support that benefitted all pupils."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 "Running that redundancy process was one of the hardest periods in my time as headteacher; I was making decisions that decreased the quality of the education we could provide as a school."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 "I could go on and on listing the cuts that I have had to make over the past ten years to get my school’s budget to balance, but the biggest funding challenge is funding for children with special educational needs. SEN funding needs fixing urgently."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 "It is not right, and it is not fair. It is not right that the actual cost of an EHCP place is not fully funded, and it is not fair that we have to divert resources from other children to meet another child’s needs."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf #SEND

@paulgosling1968 "We must have pay levels in schools that enable us to attract and keep high-quality staff at all levels, the children deserve no less, and we must not be shy to speak up about pay for teachers and for school leaders."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 "My school is not an academy. We are proud to be a LA-maintained school, proud to be in the Devon family of schools. Although we are not part of a MAT, we are part of several strong families of schools & we get the challenge and support that we need."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 NAHT is spot-on in its current choices of priority campaigns, says @paulgosling1968

• End Child Poverty
• Invest in Pupil and Family Services
• Fix School Funding
• Restore Pay in Education
• End Forced Academisation

naht.org.uk/Our-Priorities…

#NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 "In the autumn term, we warmly welcomed 26 children of refugees from Afghanistan into our one-form-entry school.

"Joy has come from watching these children, who were nervous and frightened at first, grow in confidence and develop friendships."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTconf

@paulgosling1968 "On the cold, dark days of January and February, watching the children play together, even without a commonly spoken language, brings home the warmth and humanity that I know exists in many schools and academies across our country."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTconf

@paulgosling1968 "However, I have witnessed how some of the warmth and humanity have been driven out of the education system over the last couple of decades."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTconf

@paulgosling1968 "I have witnessed how some of the warmth and humanity has been driven out of the education system. This was highlighted during the pandemic by the government's lack of empathy, warmth and compassion and even an utter contempt for school leaders."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTconf

@paulgosling1968 Compassion

End child poverty so that every child can grow up in conditions that enable them to come to school well-fed, well-rested and correctly clothed so they can engage fully with the incredible educational opportunities that we provide for them.

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 Humanity

Understanding that being a parent or carer is not an easy job. The human condition is complicated, and there are times when people need help which is why we are campaigning for investment in pupil and family support services.

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 Solidarity

With our colleagues as we campaign for better pay for those working in education and better funding for schools and academies.

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 "It is disappointing that the SoS for education or one of his ministers are not able to speak in person at our conference this weekend. It is disappointing but understandable..."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 "It is understandable that someone who supports the leadership of Boris Johnson is unable to be here to look in the eye a group of people who truly understand what it means to be a leader."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 "School Leaders know and live by the Nolan principles of: Leadership, Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, and… Honesty. It is shameful that the current prime minister of this country does not."

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

@paulgosling1968 #NAHTConf

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