Socialist Educational Association

This year’s SEA AGM and Annual Conference will be on Saturday June 23. I’m delighted to say that the keynote speaker will be Professor Diane Reay who will be addressing issues arising from her new book “Miseducation – – Inequality, Education and the Working Class”. These are issues that need to be central to SEA’s work and to Labour policy so this should be a great opportunity to explore them in detail.

The conference will be at the Wesley Hotel, 81-103 Euston Street, London NW1 2EZ. The AGM will begin at 10.00 am and the conference will start at 11.00. More details of the programme and other speakers will follow soon.

Another piece of good news is that because SEA’s membership has grown rapidly recently, we’re in a financial position to substantially reduce the cost of the conference. This year’s charge will be £10. That includes lunch and refreshments through the day. Payment can be made on the day.

We hope to see as many SEA members as possible there. Please book your place by replying to secretary@socialisteducationalassociation.org.

The next Socialist Educational Association meeting will take place on:

Saturday 12 May 2018 in the committee room, (it’s upstairs near the lift at the back) at The Yard Pub, Brewery Quarter, St Mary Street, Cardiff, CF10 1AD

As usual, Finance and General Purposes will meet at 11.00 and the full Executive at 12.15.

The all members meeting will follow at 2.00 pm. The main topic for discussion will be, the new responsibilities for local government and health boards under the, Additional Learning Needs and Educational Tribunal (Wales) Act.

The speakers will be Mr Michael Imperato, solicitor with an interest in educational law and independent member of the Cardiff and the Vale Health Board and Dr Michael Newman, Vice Chair of SEA and SEA Cymru secretary.

There will be the opportunity to compare the Welsh and English approach to additional learning needs

Nominations are now open for elections to the officer posts and to the SEA Executive for 2018-19. We need to fill the following roles:

Chair, Vice Chair, General Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Deputy General Secretary, Minutes Secretary, Digital Campaigns Officer, Publications Officer, Women’s Officer, Youth Officer, Equalities Officer.

In addition to the officers, there are 8 places for men and 8 for women on the Executive. As branches with over 35 members, Greater Manchester, Haringey and Wales are entitled to appoint a branch delegate to the NEC.

The Executive meets 6 times a year in different cities across the country usually on a Saturday – though the first meeting of the new executive is on Sunday 24th June which is the day after our Annual Conference.

The deadline for nominations is 30th April 2018. Self nominations are welcome. Please sent all nominations to secretary@socialisteducationalassociation.org.

The Labour Party’s National Policy Forum (NPF) recently issued a draft document on the development of a National Education Service (NES). The SEA would like as many people as possible to get involved in developing a radical alternative to the Tory government’s divisive, underfunded and fragmented policies. You can access the document as a member via the Party website and then upload your comments. The SEA would also like to hear from you at: info@socialisteducationalassociation.org Continue reading →

Members in the Yorkshire and surrounding area may be interested in a public meeting arranged by Jon Trickett MP to discuss the failure of the Wakefield Academies Trust and what it means for the whole academies programme.

The latest data on cuts to schools budgets has been published at https://schoolcuts.org.uk/#!/. This is a fantastic tool for local campaigning and was an important factor in raising the profile of this issue in last year’s General Election. It’ll gives school level data right across the country and gives the lie to government assertions about protecting school budgets.