Created on: 09 Jun 2023 | Last modified: 23 Feb 2024
The General Secretary of the EIS has used her keynote address at the EIS Annual General Meeting (AGM) to outline the key campaigning priorities for the EIS in the year ahead.
Addressing the AGM in Aviemore EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “We know the value of teachers in delivering quality education for our children and young people. We know the value of education as a social good….as a social good that strives for the social justice that would make Scotland a fairer, more equal place to live and work and learn.”
“We’ll be using every ounce of our very well-toned campaigning muscle as we tackle the scandalous underfunding of ASN, your crippling workload, boundless bureaucracy, and the health and safety risks that are intensifying daily as the predictions we made about the negative impact of large class sizes and lack of additional support, including for mental health, in the aftermath of the pandemic and a decade of austerity before it, are sadly coming to fruition.”
“Violent incidents and distressed behaviour are the consequence of not listening to the voices of teachers calling for more support for children and young people whose mental health is fragile… and calling for more support for the teachers and other school staff who work with those young people and whose wellbeing continues to take a battering as schools struggle with Covid recovery.”
“We need to see the Scottish Government’s manifesto commitments to reduce teachers’ class contact time, delivered. No more dither, no more delay. We need solid action to reduce workload as promised, and we need it now. And our new campaign will be going after that.”
The EIS AGM runs until Saturday, at the Aviemore Macdonald resort. Full information on the AGM can be found at : www.eis.org.uk/meetings-and-events/agm2023 and regular updates on the AGM will be posted on social media under the hashtag #EISAGM23