‘We put children into a digital world, but with few safety nets’
Head Matthew Tavender on banning smartphones p8
The magazine for NEU Leadership members
Lead.
Summer 2025
Head teacher Matthew
Tavender (see page 8)
Photo: Kois Miah
NEU president: Sarah Kilpatrick
NEU general secretary: Daniel Kebede
Editor: Sally Gillen
Editorial assistant: Frankie Faccion
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IT is staggering to reflect on the fact that per-pupil funding is lower today than it was 15 years ago (see page 5). In my column page 22 and on page 5 you can find out more about what the union is doing to address the funding crisis. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spring spending review promised more, but it just isn’t enough, and it doesn’t do anything to help school leaders in 2025/26.
In this issue you can also read more about the rise of standardised curricula packages (SCPs), which one member at this year’s annual conference described as a ready-meal approach to education. More than 1,600 teacher members shared their experiences of SCPs, and what they had to say should be a warning to any leader who believes they save time or reduce workload (see page 6).
Our cover feature is on smartphones. Two head teachers who have banned them, stopping pupils from accessing social media during the school day, have seen multiple benefits. Both believe a social media ban for under-16s should be introduced (see page 8). This position is gaining more support within the profession. Unregulated exposure to harmful content is damaging young people’s developing brains, sometimes immediately, but often insidiously. As educators we need to step up the campaign to protect them. You will find out more about what the NEU is doing on that front next term.
For now, enjoy your summer break. It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, you deserve it.
Daniel Kebede General secretary National Education Union
Update Investment needed for SEND, per-pupil funding at new low, and more
22 Final word
Daniel Kebede on the far-reaching impact of under-funding in education
8 How I…
Two head teachers describe their approach to banning smartphones
14 Interview
Members’ questions about NPQs answered by two school leaders
17 Leading question How should I deal with parents’ complaints?
Masterclass Working with climate ambassadors
Investment needed to deal with SEND crisis
THE union has warned urgent action needs to be taken to address the crisis in special educational needs provision, after new government data showed a sharp rise in the number of children with an education, health and care plan (EHCP).
Data shows another 482,640 students now have an EHCP, with nearly one in five students identified as having SEND.
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “The growth in EHCP numbers leaves a multi-million pound funding shortfall
in the high needs block. Worryingly, the upward trend for students with an EHCP qualifying for a free school meal continues, with those students still being almost twice as likely than those without an EHCP to be disadvantaged.”
He added that schools had, for far too long, been trying to “paper over the cracks left by the shortfall in funding”, and that systemic and cultural change as well as investment were urgently needed to turn around the SEND crisis.
“The growth in EHCP numbers leaves a multi-million pound funding shortfall.”
Asbestos survey
Do you want to share your experiences of working in a school with asbestos?
The NEU is supporting journalist Steve Boggan to gather anonymous testimonies, which will be used to pressure the government and the Health and Safety Executive to remove, not just manage, asbestos from schools.
Steve is surveying NEU members only, so if you would like to help push for this deadly material to be safely removed, making everyone safer, please do complete the survey.
Only NEU members are eligible to take part. Please do not share the survey more widely.
• If your school has asbestos, complete the short survey here: tinyurl.com/NEU-asbestos
• Not sure? Most schools built pre-2000 have asbestos. For more information, visit: neu.org.uk/asbestos-schools
New report highlights ethnic disparities
MORE support from school leaders could encourage teachers from Black ethnic backgrounds to remain in the profession and progress, according to a new study.
Researchers from the National Foundation for Educational Research found that Black teachers were more likely to experience bullying and harassment than their white colleagues, and did not feel valued by their school.
The report, published in June, recommends that school and academy trust leaders develop ways to actively support ethnically diverse teachers who are interested in promotion, for example by offering
coaching and leadership training opportunities.
They should also evaluate their selection criteria and processes for appointing to leadership posts to ensure they are transparent, inclusive and equitable.
“Retaining ethnic minority teachers in the state-funded sector at the same rate as their white counterparts could retain an additional 1,000 teachers per year,” said the report authors.
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said the research showed the ethnic disparities in teacher recruitment, retention and progression previously highlighted by the union.
“Inclusive recruitment practices and supportive leadership would improve the whole workforce and wider system,” he added. “Ethnic minority teachers must be paid fairly, supported to progress and respected and valued as professionals.”
The report was funded by Mission 44, the foundation launched by Sir Lewis Hamilton to support young people in education.
Go to tinyurl.com/nfer-ethnic
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede
Per-pupil funding for schools at its lowest level for 15 years
SCHOOLS will have £630 million less funding in real terms in the next academic year – equivalent to the salaries of 12,400 educators – new research from the School Cuts coalition shows.
Analysis by the coalition found that while school costs will increase by 4.1 per cent in 2025/26, school funding will only rise by 3.4 per cent.
Per-pupil funding is at its lowest level in England since 2010, and every local authority will be impacted.
The worst hit local authority will be Hammersmith and Fulham, in west London, which will lose 1.9 per cent per pupil.
primary schools and 92 per cent of secondaries will be forced to make cuts.
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “Schools have been battered by over a decade of declining budgets. They simply cannot take more cuts. Education is meant to be one of the key priorities for government, but this move risks scuppering its ambition to recruit more teachers.”
Teacher pay is more than half of school costs – 52 per cent – and the government’s decision not to fully fund the four per cent pay rise for teachers will hit schools hard.
The School Teachers’ Review Body recommended the above-inflation rise but the government will only fund three per cent of it. Schools are being expected to find the other one per cent.
But school leaders are warning that after 14 years of austerity there is no money left in squeezed budgets.
The coalition says 75 per cent of
In her spending review on 11 June, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced an increase in the core schools’ budget of £4.7 billion between 2026/27 and 2028/29.
But NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said while that represented the first increase in schools’ spending power since 2019, funding was significantly lower than it was 15 years ago. Daniel added that while the rise in the schools budget looks significant, it includes money for teacher pay, reforming SEND and £410 million to expand free school meals eligibility for 500,000+ children from September 2026.
The average school budget will only increase by 0.4 per cent in real terms and schools won’t start to benefit from any extra money until 2026/27. Most will still face cuts next year.
Protesters call for end to austerity
MEMBERS of the union joined an anti-austerity march on 7 June ahead of chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spending review. NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede spoke at the rally in central London, as part of the demonstration organised by the People’s Assembly. Trade union members and welfare campaigners from across the country, marching under the slogan ‘no austerity 2.0’, called on prime minister Keir Starmer to end cuts to public services.
Vote to step up pay campaign
AS Lead went to press, the union was carrying out an electronic poll of members asking you to agree action to step up the campaign on funding and pay.
The poll was launched after the NEU’s national executive described the government’s partially funded pay offer as “wholly inadequate”.
Members were asked to agree plans for the NEU to write to the education secretary registering a formal dispute and to launch and pursue a political campaign into the autumn term to secure additional funding.
The four per cent pay award has not been fully funded and, despite an additional £615 million from government, there is still a shortfall of £630m.
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “Any pay award that is not fully funded is unacceptable. Even with the slight increase to the core schools’ budget announced this week, schools are struggling to make ends meet and are certainly not able to stump up money to meet salary shortfalls.”
Photo: Lee Thomas
Update
Ready-made resources ‘reduce job satisfaction’
THE increasing use of standardised curricula in the classroom is giving teachers a reduced sense of professional autonomy, according to research carried out for the NEU.
Many teachers feel undervalued and the oncestated aim that the use of such ready-made resources would help reduce workload and increase teacher retention has failed to materialise.
Several of the almost 1,700 teachers surveyed suggest leaders see the use of such packages as ways of controlling and monitoring work but also as quick fixes for impending Ofsted visits.
One primary school teacher said: “The schemes
were quickly purchased on the back of a previous ‘Requires improvement’ Ofsted judgement, so they’d literally just gone out and bought every scheme they could and they were adopted very quickly.”
Another said: “There’s this sense that using prebought packages is armour against Ofsted. That they will say, ‘Oh, yes, we recognise this. This is okay. It’s already been rubberstamped, somebody’s already Ofstedproofed it’.”
Standardised curricula –described as units or schemes of work, programmes or packages that are ready for teachers to follow – were promoted by the Conservative governments between 2019 and 2024.
There are many providers but the researchers focus on the Oak National Academy as being of particular interest as it received £43 million of public funding over three years from 2022 to develop materials.
Secondary teachers surveyed for the report were concerned about how passive learning was becoming.
One English teacher told researchers: “Every single English teacher up and down the corridor would be doing the same PowerPoint at the same time and senior leaders would look in and say, ‘Are you on slide 8 yet? Are you on slide 9 yet?’ which was just horrific.”
Some teachers who have more control over lesson design and content said they would leave the teaching profession if this changed.
“I love making resources. I love thinking about what my students need. That’s half the joy for me. So, if someone took that from me, I’d just feel it isn’t creative anymore, is it?” one said.
The report includes recommendations for central government as well as suggestions for schools, local authorities, multi-academy trusts and the NEU.
The research includes an online survey of 1,655 NEU members working in the classroom or as middle leaders as well as interviews with 40 teachers, in focus groups or individually. neu.org.uk/slide-8
Ofsted
appeal
OFSTED’s final report of its recently closed consultation is expected this summer. But the proposals it is pushing forward will make an unreliable, unnecessarily high-stakes system worse, not better.
The NEU is urging all leadership members to write to their MP, urging them to call on education secretary Bridget Phillipson to delay the rollout of Ofsted’s proposed reforms and work with the profession to create a new system. abolish-ofsted.neuaction. io
• The NEU’s Ofsted risk assessment tool, which won an award at the Hazards Conference last October, has been designed to help reduce the stress of inspections. Leaders across the country are now using the assessment toolkit. neu.org.uk/ofsted/ ofsted-risk-assessmentguide
The NEU has produced lots of exciting curriculum resources for leaders and members, which you can find at neu.org.uk
500,000+ children to get free school meals
BOWING to pressure from the NEU and others, the government announced in June that it will fund free school meals for children in households receiving universal credit, meaning more than 500,000 children will be eligible to get a healthy, hot lunch.
This success is a direct result of action taken by the NEU’s leader, teacher and support staff members. You shared posts online, signed the NEU’s petition and wrote to your local MPs.
Commenting, NEU
Our win in the Free School Meals for All campaign would not have been possible without the dedication of teachers, school leaders and support staff
general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “We join families and schools across England in welcoming this necessary and overdue first step in expanding free school meals eligibility.
“This positive move, along with the government’s breakfast programme, will ensure far fewer empty bellies in classrooms.
“NEU members have long called for government to take direct action to ensure that no child is left behind – and their voices have been heard.”
However, the NEU believes this is just the first step.
Our Free School Meals for All campaign, with its call for every primary school child in England to have a free school lunch, continues. Nine children in every class of 30 live in poverty. Join us in making sure no child is left behind.
SCHOOLS are invited to join a world record attempt for the largest ‘cultural awareness’ lesson in 24 hours to celebrate this year’s World Afro Day (WAD).
The virtual lesson will look at Afro hair, culture, history, identity and the law.
The virtual lesson for primary and secondary pupils is on 15 September
WAD is campaigning for the UK parliament to “fix the law, not Afro hair” and update the 2010 Equality Act to end discrimination against Afro hair in schools and the workplace.
Secondary students are encouraged to write to prime minister Keir Starmer asking him to support the law change while a template will be available for primary pupils to send petition letters. Students can also design posters supporting the campaign.
Any letters, petitions or artwork should be sent to 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA to arrive before WAD week.
For resources and more information, go to worldafroday.com
AI guidance
GUIDANCE on using artificial intelligence (AI) tools in schools ethically and safely has been published by the NEU.
The union believes AI should only be used to enhance teaching and learning and in a way that benefits staff and students.
Tech companies are bombarding senior leaders with products promising time-saving solutions.
In January, education secretary Bridget Phillipson delivered a speech describing “a system in which teachers are set free by AI and other technologies, less marking, less planning, less form filling”.
But the union points out that claims AI can reduce workload are unproven and is urging leaders to be cautious about purchasing or introducing products that may increase workload and reduce the quality of teaching.
The guidance and accompanying checklist set out what leaders should consider before introducing AI tools for teachers, including the workload and training implications.
In April, the NEU’s state of education survey showed huge growth over the past 18 months in the numbers of teachers using AI tools for tasks such as lesson planning (up from ten per cent to 27 per cent) and admin (up from ten per cent to 21 per cent).
neu.org.uk/about-ai
Photos: Rehan
Jamil
How I…
‘We’re there to keep children safe and this is how we do it’
Banning smartphones has had many benefits at two schools. Sarah Thompson finds out more (below), while on page 11
Laraine Clay speaks to a secondary head.
JUST over a year ago, Matthew Tavender, head teacher at Cunningham Hill Junior School in St Albans, banned smartphones. He had become increasingly concerned about their impact on learning and behaviour, and the harmful effects of social media.
“Children were less interested, less focused and behaviour was beginning to dip,” he explains, and there had been serious incidents linked to social media.
One incident involved a year 6 pupil who had asked a stranger online for a photo of his genitals. “Having to speak to a dad about that was horrendous for everyone involved,” says Matthew. “We’ve had boys sending jokey pictures of rear ends. They’re not doing it maliciously or for any sexual gratification, they just think everything’s funny. But at what point do you stop? Once you send it, it’s there forever. You can’t get those pictures back.”
Then, on a residential trip last year, he overheard some year 6 boys ‘waxing lyrical’ about Andrew Tate. He isn’t sure how much misogyny they had absorbed, but they’d been “hooked” by whatever they had heard and seen.
“The year before, I talked to a boy who was telling me that men must look after women, and that’s how they want to be treated. ‘We’re being good to women by not letting them go out,’ he said. You could definitely hear the misogynistic message that is drip-fed by Tate.”
Cyberbullying was also becoming increasingly common. “It got to the point where every week there would be something
Head
going on, some discussion that had become negative, children not being included in a WhatsApp group, children falling out. That has almost disappeared. There hasn’t been an incident since October.”
Matthew was introduced to Smartphone Free Childhood, a grassroots movement of more than 200,000 parents and stakeholders campaigning to change the culture around children and smartphones.
After speaking to his executive head and other heads in the city, it became clear he wasn’t the only one with concerns. A joint letter was sent to families by 33 of
the 36 primary schools in the city, advising them that smartphones should no longer be brought into school. The letter went further still, encouraging parents to avoid buying children aged under 14 a smartphone, and setting out some of the effects they had on children’s wellbeing and development.
If families feel children need a phone, they are advised to give them a basic ‘brick’, which has to be turned off and put away for the school day.
Getting a smartphone had become a “rite of passage” for year 6, says Matthew. “It was the moment they held on for.”
Matthew Tavender says children have become more engaged and sociable since he banned phones
Photo: Kois Miah
The effects of the ban have been hugely positive. “Our children talk more; they are more sociable. They play more outside of school, whereas before it was just texting and living a digital life.”
A survey of his year 6 pupils in December 2023 found that 75 per cent of them owned a smartphone. That number has now fallen to 12 per cent.
Parents have been supportive, says Matthew, and a meeting to discuss the policy attracted almost 100 people – significantly higher than the regular subject meetings the school holds, which might draw 15 parents.
Overwhelmingly, the response was positive, with parents grateful for the ban. The only serious objection was from a parent who argued their child needed a smartphone to compose music.
“We want it to be weird to see a child with a smartphone in St Albans,” he says.
Matthew says in St Albans it has become “the absolute norm” to see children with a smartphone. “In restaurants, walking down the street. Children are on phones at all times. And we knew children were on phones at home as well because they told us.”
Children were also struggling to focus and concentrate for any length of time. “During the SATs exams, children were in tears because they weren’t able to finish,” says Matthew. Stamina and levels of concentration have now improved, notably during SATs, with year 6 pupils able to focus for longer periods of time.
Literacy and language skills had also dropped, especially across years 2 to 4, because children were not talking or socialising very much. Even at the school gate, Matthew witnessed parents looking at their phones rather than talking to their children.
The school’s smartphone ban includes parents. “If someone has a phone on site, we ask them to turn it off and put it away. They’re not allowed to film anything or take pictures of their child’s books at parents’ evenings. We want our parents to be talking to their children.
“When I started 15 years ago, the green area in the middle of the estate would be full every evening. There’d be 50-60 kids playing
Matthew says it has become the “absolute norm” to see children with a smartphone
“Getting a smartphone had become a rite of passage for children in year 6.”
football or climbing trees. There isn’t a single child there anymore.
“We protect children from the real world but put them into a digital world and let them go for it, unvetted and with minimal safety nets.”
Alarmingly, when pupils were asked what play looked like, they were unable to say. The school has since signed up to the Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL)
programme, which encourages children to be creative, collaborative and active while playing outdoors.
Matthew says the ban at primary school can only achieve so much, though, and he has been trying to persuade secondary schools to come on board. He is also calling for more head teachers to implement similar policies. He is a member of a smartphonefree teacher group, which includes around 27 other head teachers. “We want more on board, as they’re the ones who are going to make a difference.”
Ultimately, though, Matthew believes there needs to be a push from government. A social media ban for children under 16 has recently been introduced in Australia. “I would love that in the UK,” he says. “I struggle to see why other countries can make changes, but we can’t. As head teachers, we can make statements, but it doesn’t stop a parent buying their child a smartphone. It has to come from higher up.”
‘The feel of the school has been transformed’
“IF we can do it, any school can,” says Damian McBeath, as he describes how his secondary school has moved from a “phoney ban” that wasn’t working to where it is today.
Damian is principal of the John Wallis Church of England Academy in Ashford, Kent, where the previous ban meant students had to keep their phones out of sight and switched off.
But he says they were finding pupils were still being drawn to their phones. Behaviour was poor with arguments and bullying, pupils filming themselves in the toilets and posting on TikTok, and fights that were filmed and posted online.
The ‘no see, no hear’ policy clearly wasn’t working, Damian admits.
“I think, in hindsight, we were expecting the children to do something most adults can’t do. The phone is clearly an addictive device, if you’re sitting in an English lesson and you hear 16 pings, even most adults would want to check it.”
He describes the impact of smartphones in schools as catastrophic, from the effects on students’ learning, safety, mental health and wellbeing to the amount of time and energy that staff spend dealing with the fallout.
Damian decided the only way forward was a complete ban on phones and other devices from the school site.
After an initially “lukewarm” reception to his suggestion from the school governors – “I was expecting a round of applause, I was surprised” – he got busy doing the groundwork.
The governors had been concerned, for example, about children’s journeys to and from school on public transport, how they would pay their fares or contact their parents if they were delayed.
A way forward became apparent from an unlikely source. A member of staff
described how they had gone to an event at London’s O2 arena where everyone had to put their phones in pouches and how they had enjoyed being phone-free.
The leadership team visited a nearby school that had introduced pouches: “We saw the potential for it, discussed it as a leadership team and said ‘let’s make this happen’,” says Damian.
And that’s where the intricate planning process started. Nothing was to be left to chance and Damian says communication was key – with staff, students and parents.
Engaging with staff at an early stage was important. Teachers were given a series of
Despite initial misgivings, principal Damian McBeath (centre) says pupils at his school support the ban
Photos: Guy Smallman
How I…
slides and information to share with pupils, with the emphasis on the benefits of the plan rather than it being punitive.
The initial response from parents was muted, with only six people attending an information evening and negative comments from those Damian describes as “the Facebook warriors”.
“They talked about it taking away their children’s human rights, said what if they were being bullied, and threatened to go to the local press,” he says. “We felt they were going to paint it as a negative, but we were being positive and trying to help their children.”
The school decided to contact the press and Damian says there was a huge groundswell of support from then on.
The ban was introduced in January 2024. On the first day, staff handed out 1,200 lockable pouches, which they told the students were a present from the school and were now part of the uniform.
Out of more than 1,200 students, only five refused to take part, three of them from the same family.
“By the end of the week, they had all complied,” says Damian, and the school has not looked back.
“We saw a reduction in detentions and in-class disruption fell by 40 per cent. In-school truancy, which usually meant students were skipping a lesson to watch something in the toilets, has been pretty much eradicated.”
On the safeguarding front, there has been an 80 per cent reduction in cyberbullying, name-calling and other abuse.
Students explained how online abuse would start as conversations on their phones.
“Smartphones are designed to be addictive. They are designed to sell, to make money.”
Misunderstanding built up over several days, raising emotions.
“They said things don’t escalate any more because they talk to their friends face to face. They are learning how to have an agreement or disagreement, see someone’s face and how they respond, which they don’t see on their phones.”
Staff too are benefiting from the ban. Recent focus groups held by researchers from Canterbury Christ Church University indicate a happier workforce; morale is high and staff retention has improved markedly.
“It’s transformed the feel of the school,” says Damian. “Teachers don’t have to worry that there’s the potential for anyone to access a device and broadcast something they say or do online.”
Staff have told him that they now wouldn’t work in a school which did not have a phone ban. “I’ve been a head since 2010 and this is one of the things that has made the biggest cultural difference to a school I have led,” he says, and, in future, he believes such bans will be the norm.
“It’s one of those issues that isn’t going away and I think parents have had enough. They are concerned about unfiltered access to the internet.”
While stressing that he is not against all technology, Damian believes no one under the age of 16 should have a smartphone or other access to social media: “Smartphones are designed to be addictive. They are designed to sell, to make money.”
Damian is part of the Smartphone Free Schools movement, which shares resources and support for schools considering a ban.
He also welcomes visits from teachers interested in going down the phone-free route.
“Most heads are really nervous about what the children will say if phones are banned so when they visit we get the children, who live it, to speak about it.”
When asked last September how they felt about the ban, only 11 per cent of students said they wanted their phones back with 57 per cent saying they were happier without them, a figure Damian describes as “incredible”.
“Heads can do it now, they can make this decision,” he stresses.
“People have said it’s brave. I don’t think it’s a brave thing to do. Ultimately, we’re there to keep children safe and this is a way we can do that.”
To arrange a visit to the school call 01233 623465. For more information, go to smartphonefreeschools.co.uk
The students’ smartphones are placed in lockable pouches (above and below), which are now part of the school uniform and can only be accessed at the end of the school day (right)
Progressing careers and improving school outcomes
National professional qualifications (NPQs) can help leaders develop the skills they need to advance in their careers.
Two NEU Leadership members answer questions about undertaking them.
CHRIS DUTTON is a deputy head teacher at a secondary school in Wiltshire. He is undertaking the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH).
QWhy did you want to do it and how was it funded?
AAs a deputy head, you receive little ‘training’ to do the role so the NPQH was an opportunity to learn more about being a head and thus make me a better deputy. It was fully funded so it didn’t cost my school anything, apart from the time off for meetings.
QWhat was the time commitment?
AFive face-to-face days in Bristol with about another 30 participants. It was a great opportunity to network and share ideas with other leaders. All of us joined an NPQH WhatsApp group.
Modules were unlocked periodically and there was a three-week window in which to complete the work and upload. It was a challenge.
The final assessment took about six to eight hours to complete over a week, but it was the kind of thing that you had to keep coming back to, to reflect, research a bit more and improve. Fortunately, my head allowed me to work from home for a day. If you have a busy week, or an Ofsted inspection, as some participants did, it gets pushed to the weekend.
“The NPQH gave me a reason to work more closely with the SENCo in my school.”
There were also five one-hour online meetings with a coach. Being coached isn’t my preferred method of working so I was a bit sceptical, but I enjoyed speaking to someone unrelated to the school about some
of the issues affecting my working life and linking them to the theory/learning from the NPQH. I developed a good relationship with my coach and got more out of it than anticipated.
The way the learning was structured was quite stressful. I like to-do lists and tasks, but if I have such a list, I like to get the tasks crossed off. Having five or six tasks open at once meant I needed to get them done as soon as I could. I hated the idea that I had them hanging over me.
AQHow has it benefited you as an individual, and also your school?
I have been a senior leader for 14 years and have overseen a range of pastoral and curriculum roles and, as an executive member of the NEU since 2019, I have a good understanding of key education issues. I would have benefited more from some of the modules if I had done them a decade ago.
That said, I tried to complete activities on areas that I knew less about, and I identified special educational needs and disabilities as one of those areas, so the NPQH gave me a reason to work more closely with the SENCo in my school.
The first module was about ethical leadership, which was interesting.
The final module was about finances, governance and so on. It was quite developmental as it’s not connected to my day job and enabled me to understand more about school funding, which is a key issue right now.
Chris Dutton
QA
Would you recommend the NPQH to other leaders?
Yes, but don’t wait until you already have a lot of experience. Do it earlier, so you get more out of it.
RACHAEL GANDERTON is deputy head of a primary school in Telford. She has completed middle and senior leadership NPQs and is now part-way through the NPQH. Her school has funded all three courses.
Q
You have completed two NPQs and are now on your third. Why did you choose to do them?
A I did the middle leadership NPQ and the senior leadership NPQ two years later. Then I waited about a year before starting the NPQH.
My role was mainly pastoral when I did the middle leadership NPQ course, safeguarding rather than subject-specific. I needed something to push me into areas I wasn’t comfortable with and to help me learn about leadership. It covered change management and getting people on board at a subject-specific level.
After I was appointed as assistant head, the senior leadership NPQ helped me think about topics such as school culture and whole-school leadership. One thing that was made clear was that you need to look at case studies out of your area to build your experience.
Q
A
How has it benefited you as an individual?
It was good to meet other leaders, to see where they are in their careers and why they’re doing what they’re doing. One-to-one coaching has also been invaluable. The professional coach is there for you and is detached from your school and its biases.
“In too many schools, values are displayed but not demonstrated.”
AQ…and the benefits to your school?
Myself and two other staff members – the SENCo and maths lead – have been doing NPQs at the same time, so we have been able to benefit the school by bringing our learning together and working on an implementation plan. The head gave us a day and a half of non-contact time to look at what needed to change across the school following an Ofsted inspection last October, and we created short- and long-term plans.
QWhat have you learned?
AHow important it is to embed a school’s vision and values into every aspect of its culture and that a school’s purpose should be more than a laminated
poster. In too many schools, values are displayed but not demonstrated.
The course also referenced the Nolan Principles, a set of ethical standards for public office that align closely with the NEU’s ethical leadership framework. These principles reinforce the idea that integrity, accountability and respect must underpin all decisions and actions.
The NPQH has deepened my understanding of how to lead with authenticity and purpose, ensuring that the school’s culture is not only aspirational but also actionable.
A particularly memorable moment came when we were asked: “Do you put pupils first, or the staff?” It sparked a lively and reflective conversation, leading us to Putting Staff First: a blueprint for revitalising our schools by John Tomsett and Jonny Uttley.
This book shifted my perspective from a senior leader focused on operational priorities to that of a head teacher who understands that investing in staff wellbeing and development is foundational to creating a thriving school culture. That’s become a guiding principle in my leadership.
It’s the ability to lead beyond your own area of expertise that marks the shift from operational leadership to strategic headship.
AQWould you recommend these qualifications to other leaders?
Definitely. They are a structured, research-informed approach to leadership development, with a tangible impact on personal growth and wholeschool improvement.
However, to get the most out of NPQs, applicants should first talk to their head teacher about the allocation of non-contact time. Aligning this time with the course schedule is essential to ensure you can fully engage with the content and complete the required activities without added pressure.
How should my school handle complaints from parents?
Callum Wetherill from the NEU’s AdviceLine offers guidance on the steps to take when dealing with excessive complaints.
I’M a head teacher at a mainstream primary school. I received a complaint from one of our families about the way they were spoken to by our special educational needs co-ordinator. I attempted to deal with it, but the complaints are becoming excessive. How do I best tackle this?
We receive many calls from leaders seeking advice on how to handle complaints, which, depending on the nature and volume, can cause distress and frustration.
Every school and college must have a clear, robust complaints policy to ensure everyone understands their responsibilities at each stage and that complaints are fairly and thoroughly investigated.
Complaints, particularly those focused on the special educational needs coordinator from parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities, need to be handled with sensitivity. Families are often exhausted by systems that don’t necessarily meet the needs of their children, despite the best e orts of you and your school. is can make every interaction with you and your sta feel like a battle. Taking time to understand this, and showing compassion and care for both the child and their family, can go a long way to building a positive relationship moving forward. When dealing with any complaint, it is worth taking the following approach.
1. Follow the complaints policy Treat all complaints as genuine and investigate them fairly and thoroughly, even if you think they’re unfounded. It is usually best practice to try and resolve concerns informally in the rst instance, through
NEU member adviser Callum Wetherill says all complaints must be thoroughly investigated
careful and restorative communication. However, if this isn’t possible, you’ll need to begin the formal complaints procedure.
Both maintained schools and academies must have a complaints procedure, and the Department for Education (DfE) provides best practice guidance. Remind sta that following the procedure doesn’t mean you’re condoning a complaint – it is your duty to investigate. Once your school has followed all the stages of its procedure, you can inform the complainant that the matter is closed.
2. Identify a persistent complainant and communicate accordingly e complaints procedure should set out how to deal with persistent and unreasonable complaints, typically de ned as obsessive, persistent, harassing, proli c, repetitive or unrealistic.
Employers have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to provide a safe place of work. An
environment in which the threat of violence, harassment and/or bullying is habitual is not safe. Sta will feel safe at work only if they are con dent that school leaders will deal e ectively with any concerns arising from persistent complaints.
It is important that you continue to communicate with the family, in line with a school’s legal obligations, but you need to explain that their actions are becoming abusive, aggressive or threatening. You could consider a more controlled way of communicating from then on – for example, giving a single point of contact or limiting contact to a xed number. is must be communicated to the family in writing.
3. Dealing with aggressive/malicious complaints
Follow your code of conduct and remind families of expected behaviour. e DfE’s guidance Controlling access to school premises states: “Schools can bar someone from the premises if they feel that their aggressive, abusive or insulting behaviour or language is a risk to sta or pupils. It’s enough for a member of sta or a pupil to feel threatened.”
It goes on to say: “Section 547 of the Education Act 1996 makes it a criminal o ence for a person who is on school premises without legal permission to cause or permit a nuisance or disturbance.”
If you and your governor/trust board are struggling to resolve complaints and there is a risk of a criminal o ence being committed or legal action being threatened by the complainant, you should request support from your local authority governor services team and/or legal provider.
Leading climate action
Charlotte Bonner and Andrew Charlton-Perez are co-leads of Climate Ambassadors, a scheme providing support on how schools can become environmentally sustainable. They explain how leaders can meet the 2025 sustainability requirements.
THE Department for Education’s (DfE) sustainability and climate change strategy has set a vision for the education sector to become worldleading in climate action by 2030.
But what does this actually mean for education leaders?
A sustainability lead is someone within your organisation who helps coordinate your response to climate change and the biodiversity crises we face. They bring together colleagues, learners and the wider community to help reduce emissions, adapt to climate impacts, support nature and improve sustainability education. A climate action plan is the roadmap that sets out how your organisation will act on these areas.
This might feel like yet another ask, but the good news is that you’re not alone. The DfE has commissioned a group of organisations, including Climate Ambassadors, to provide joined-up support
to help education settings get started. These offer free resources, practical guidance, funded opportunities and access to expert support (see box, page 21).
As one climate ambassador told us: “Schools don’t need to do everything at once; it’s about finding your own way in, and knowing support is there when you need it.”
Embedding sustainability may not be linear. Progress might start in the classroom, in the kitchen, or through a passionate staff member or student champion. What matters is not where you begin, but that you do begin – and keep moving forward, step by step, in a way that fits your context.
Step 1: Appoint the right sustainability lead
This isn’t about handing an impossible task to the keenest staff member or passing the agenda to someone who’s new. It’s about identifying someone with both interest and influence. Ideally, they should:
Who are Climate Ambassadors?
THE CLIMATE Ambassadors programme connects education settings with trained volunteers from universities, local government, charities and businesses who offer free, on-the-ground support to help with the development and delivery of climate action plans.
Co-ordinated through nine regional hubs and supported by a national team, the programme is administered through a central platform hosted by STEM Learning.
climateambassadors.org.uk
Climate Ambassadors can:
● help you create or review your climate action plan
● advise on curriculum and policy development (eg, safeguarding, estates)
● signpost funding and training opportunities
● connect you to other local education settings for peer support.
Masterclass
● be enthusiastic about sustainability and willing to learn
● be well connected with different roles and teams across the organisation
● have time, space and support to lead – this must be part of their role, not a bolt-on.
The role doesn’t have to sit within the senior leadership team, but backing is essential to ensure the work is taken seriously, properly resourced and linked to other priorities. There are numerous tools and resources available.
Sustainability Support for Education (sustainabilitysupportforeducation.org.
uk – see box, page 21) provides a settings assessment tool to help your lead identify where your organisation is at, what the next steps should be and links to resources to help you take them.
At Drake Primary School in Norfolk, having the head teacher’s backing from the outset helped give staff the confidence and time to get going. “Sustainability became a standing item at meetings,” says their lead. “That one decision made everything else feel more possible.”
Step 2: Build a whole-setting team
No-one can deliver this alone. The most effective leads work through collaboration, not control. Set up a sustainability group to support the lead and help implement your plan. This should include:
● your sustainability lead
● pupils and student representatives
● a governor or trustee
● teaching and operational staff.
This group should meet regularly to track progress, co-ordinate action and embed sustainability across the organisation.
At one East Midlands school, pupils imagined a future campus filled with wildlife, bird boxes and outdoor classrooms. Their artwork became the starting point for the school’s first climate action plan. As one of their teachers explains: “It gave our students space to dream and the power to lead.”
Involving learners is especially powerful. It builds a sense of ownership, fosters climate literacy, develops change-
The ABCD of a climate action plan
THE DfE recommends structuring your plan around four pillars:
● A – adaptation and resilience: preparing for how your setting handles changing climate impacts, such as extreme heat or flooding.
● B – biodiversity: improving green spaces and supporting wildlife.
● C – climate education and green skills: ensuring learners are prepared for the future.
● D – decarbonisation: cutting carbon emissions from energy, travel, food and procurement.
making skills and supports wellbeing by providing agency in the face of eco-anxiety.
Step 3: A holistic but realistic plan
Your climate action plan doesn’t need to be long or complex. It does need to be strategic and doable. Begin with a self-assessment (again, the Sustainability Support for Education service is ideal here) – what are you already doing and where are the gaps? Then prioritise a few actions that align with your values and context.
Step 4: Find low-cost wins
Nurseries, schools and colleges are under immense financial pressure. Some changes bring savings while others require significant investment. Fortunately, many impactful actions are free or low-cost.
● Use free, curriculum-linked resources from the National Education Nature Park (educationnaturepark.org.uk)
to embed sustainability without needing additional lesson time.
● Conduct an energy audit to spot out-ofhours energy waste (eg, leaving chargers or lights on).
● Support students to design and lead a campaign on an issue that matters to them; this could be reducing energy use, cutting food waste, increasing biodiversity or promoting active travel.
● Build climate change into your risk register so you’re making strategic decisions with your governing body.
Grants are also available – for example, through the National Education Nature Park (for nature projects) and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (for heating, lighting, solar and energy efficiency improvements). An overview of funding sources (sustainabilitysupportforeducation. org.uk/find-funding-opportunities) is a valuable resource on the Sustainability Support for Education hub and your climate ambassador can help you navigate what’s possible.
Step 5: Avoid common pitfalls
Many education settings are seeing success. What they have in common isn’t perfection but a clarity of purpose, leadership backing and the confidence to start. Progress takes many forms, but common pitfalls do exist:
● taking on too much, too soon
● launching without a plan or budget
● over-relying on one lead or expecting student groups to do it all.
Climate Ambassadors often reminds the teams it works with that small, strategic steps are more powerful, and more sustainable, than ambitious plans that stall.
Step 6: Connect with expert support
You don’t need to figure this out alone.
Climate ambassadors are trained volunteers who offer free, bespoke support to education settings. Whether you need help creating your plan, reviewing policies, finding funding or simply working out where to begin, there’s someone who can help.
One head describes their ambassador as “a knowledgeable sounding board who
helped us focus our efforts and feel less overwhelmed”. Another sustainability lead says: “The support we received helped us prioritise, but it also kept us grounded. We didn’t feel we had to do it all at once.”
The programme is delivered through regional hubs, hosted by universities and supported by a national team. You can request support via the STEM learning platform (stem.org.uk). Once connected, you’ll gain access to wider networks and opportunities, as well as being signposted towards related projects funded by the DfE, which can better support your work.
Step 7: Get your community on board
Schools don’t operate in isolation. Climate action works best when it’s collaborative.
● Use newsletters and websites to share your goals and successes.
● Partner with local authorities, charities and sustainability groups.
● Involve parents, carers and learners through surveys, events or assemblies.
Where to find support
● Climate Ambassadors Free support from trained volunteers to help your nursery, school or college create and deliver a climate action plan. For more information and case studies go to climateambassadors.org.uk
To register and request a climate ambassador go to stem.org.uk/climate-ambassadors
Your organisation can become a beacon of positive climate action in your local area and bring the community along on the journey.
Final thoughts
Sustainability is no longer a nice-tohave. It’s essential for future-proofing our education sector and preparing our learners for the world they will inherit. Meeting the DfE’s 2025 requirement isn’t just a box to tick, it’s an opportunity to create an education system that is greener, healthier and more resilient.
You don’t need to have all the answers. You just need to take the first step and know that there’s an ecosystem of support behind you.
Key terms explained
● Climate action plan (CAP)
A strategic document outlining how your setting will act on sustainability. The DfE recommends structuring it around four pillars: adaptation, biodiversity, climate education and decarbonisation (the ABCD).
● Decarbonisation The process of reducing carbon emissions from energy use, travel, food, procurement and more. This might include improving insulation, switching to LED lighting or promoting active travel.
● Adaptation and resilience Actions that help your setting prepare for the impacts of climate change such as flood risk, overheating, or water shortages. This could involve updating risk-management policies, planting shade trees or improving drainage.
● Biodiversity The variety of living things in and around your setting. Supporting biodiversity might involve creating wildflower areas, installing bird boxes or taking part in the National Education Nature Park.
● Climate education and green skills Helping students understand climate change, sustainability and the skills they’ll need for their future lives and careers across all subjects – not just science or geography.
● Circular economy An approach that reduces waste by reusing, repairing and recycling, eg second-hand uniform sales, refillable supplies or composting food waste.
● Sustainability Support for Education A hub of quality-assured resources, self-assessment tools and planning guidance. sustainability supportforeducation.org.uk
● National Education Nature Park Resources, continuing professional development, and grants to help
settings improve biodiversity and connect students with nature. educationnaturepark.org.uk
● Let’s Go Zero A national campaign supporting education settings to reach zero carbon, with tools, training and tailored advice that you can use to help your school. letsgozero.org
Climate Ambassadors has a range of resources available to help students to connect with nature
‘Children only get one chance at education’
Daniel Kebede General secretary, National Education Union
neu.org.uk
facebook.com/ national education union
NEUnion
AS the academic year draws to a close, leaders’ thoughts turn to September and, more speci cally, school budgets.
In her spending review in June, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the government would accept the recommendation of the School Teachers’ Review Body that teachers in England receive a four per cent pay award in September.
While it is undoubtedly good news that the pressure from our members and the Fund Fair Pay campaign forced her to up the award from the 2.8 per cent she originally proposed, how the rise will be paid for is not such good news.
e chancellor announced that although she would provide £615 million in additional funding, schools would still need to nd the £600m shortfall needed to pay for the increase from their existing budgets.
Using the dubious phrase “improving productivity”, Reeves insisted that money could be found in school budgets to plug the funding gap.
Balancing the books
As school leaders, you know the headache of trying to balance the books every year, scrabbling around to see where extra funding can be found for things your pupils so desperately need.
As a union, inadequate funding is at the root of all our major concerns, not just on pay, but on workload, special educational needs and disabilities provision, recruitment and retention, the lack of resources, the crumbling school estate – the list goes on and on.
And while the chancellor makes her funding calculations sound like big bucks, per-pupil funding will in fact fall this year, just as it has done for the past ve.
Funding levels are considerably below what they were in 2010, below the OECD average of ve per cent, and signi cantly below the 5.5 per cent put in by the last Labour government.
Schools are under enormous nancial pressure, pressure that has been building for years.
“As a union, inadequate funding is at the root of all our major concerns.”
And the beginning of the 2025/26 academic year won’t feel any di erent.
e problems we have faced this year will still be there in September. SEND funding will still be inadequate – if anything, demand looks set to increase as the number of children with an education, health and care plan rose by 11 per cent this year.
School building maintenance spending is predicted to increase by ten per cent over the next four years. Even with the new money made available for capital spending, this Labour government is a long way behind its predecessors.
is year, the lowest number of newly quali ed teachers on record began their careers in England’s state schools. e heady mixture of lower pay, longer hours and heavy workloads have made the profession a less popular option for graduates.
And, on the current funding gures promised by government, schools will not even be able to a ord pay rises of two per cent for teachers in 2026/27.
Before the review, our union made a strong evidence-based case for investment to the government, so it’s a real disappointment that we have been handed such a poor nancial settlement.
In doing so, the government has left us with little choice but to register a dispute with the secretary of state on pay and funding, and to pursue a vigorous political campaign into the autumn term.
Political hot potato
If adequate funding is not made available to schools, we’ll need to make this issue the political hot potato that it was in 2017. en, we went hard into every constituency up and down the country, making the case for increased spending.
Schools explained the funding problem in newsletters. Teachers lea eted parents on the school gates. School leaders hung banners on railings to tell the public about the cuts their schools faced.
Parents and teachers lobbied their MPs and organised demonstrations. Head teachers marched on Downing Street.
If the government does not change tack on school funding, it should expect more of the same, 2025-style. In the run-up to the next general election, we will make school funding a massive issue at the ballot box, a problem MPs looking to keep their jobs would be simply stupid to ignore.
We must and will take those steps again. Because children only get one chance at education and, despite the high hopes we had for this new government, it is failing to deliver.
