Feature
Ready for our year of recovery “THE fight against child poverty – that for me is the key battle for the union now,” says teacher Daniel Kebede (pictured above), who became NEU president on 1 September. “There’s this pernicious, awful narrative that people don’t work hard enough, but poverty is never the fault of the child, it’s not even the fault of the individual. It’s a systemic problem.” Daniel and his partner Laura Pidcock, who was MP for West Durham until she lost her seat in the 2019 General Election, are both long-time campaigners against poverty. And it is the issue Daniel put front and centre of his campaign for NEU president. In his nine years as a teacher, working mostly in alternative provision with children who haven’t been “dealt the best hand”, Daniel has seen the impact of child poverty in every one of his classrooms. “Some of the young people I have worked with have been labelled with some sort of disorder, when often they are just from challenging backgrounds,” he says. “The labelling misses out the fact they are from a home where there are problems – perhaps parental drug dependency or high levels of criminality. Always there is poverty.” And over the past 18 months, he has seen how the pandemic has particularly punished poor children and their families. At Moorbridge Pupil Referral Unit, which Daniel joined just a few weeks before the first lockdown in March 2020, food is
Portrait by Matt Wilkinson
“Poverty is never the fault of the child. It’s a systemic problem.” now provided for families even at weekends. As the school’s rep – there wasn’t one before he joined – Daniel formed an active union group that has met regularly throughout the pandemic, and he praises the head teacher for working with the NEU, following its checklists to mitigate against what he calls the Government’s incompetence. “I’ve come out of the pandemic in awe of many school leaders because it’s been an incredibly difficult time,” says Daniel, adding that he is also extremely proud of the “superb” work of the union in protecting members. If he had to pick a highlight, it would be the record-breaking Zoom meeting back in January. “The way the union organised around that was superb. We forced a lockdown and a change in Government policy. It shows that when you collectivise, when you organise, you can defend yourselves, but you can also make advances for children and for communities. “We saw tens of thousands of educators take control of their health and safety, when
the Government was trying to push us back into unsafe workplaces. I think we have done our best as a union to keep members safe.” He contrasts that with the experience of his dad, a bus driver and union member, who caught Covid – probably at work – and was forced to retire. Now as a stronger union, with an extra 30,000 members and 4,000 more reps since March 2020, we’re ready to face the many battles ahead, as we enter what everyone hopes will be a year of recovery, he says. One of them will be to defeat any attempt to return to what was ‘normal’ in education pre-Covid. “Our education system, as it is, isn’t a very forgiving place for young people. A lot of exams, rote learning and this emphasis on catch-up,” he argues, adding that it has also been a punishing environment for many educators. With so many new teachers quitting after a few years in the profession, and an exodus of leaders predicted to be not far behind them, that fight must be won, argues Daniel. “The ruthless accountability regime can lead to micromanaging, which feels like you don’t have much control as a teacher, which can lead to alienation.” The absence of respect for the professionalism of educators, combined with a lack of autonomy, is shared by those working at all levels, he believes. “Leaders as much as anyone suffer. It starts with Ofsted and trickles down. It’s really important that leaders and staff collectivise on these issues.”
educate Your magazine from the National Education Union (NEU)
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