Education secretary Gillian Keegan has turned down an invitation to speak at a major headteachers’ conference next week because she hopes to be in pay talks with a striking teaching union.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) general secretary, Geoff Barton, said today that the union was “disappointed” that Ms Keegan had become the first education secretary since 2006 to not attend.
He added: “We very much hoped she would use this opportunity to thank school and college leaders for everything they are doing in what is proving to be yet another extremely challenging year.”
Ms Keegan had been invited to deliver a keynote speech on the opening day of the conference next Friday (10 March), but department officials have told ASCL that she will not attend the conference because she “hopes to be engaged in intensive talks at that time over the pay dispute, which has led to industrial action by NEU members”.
But both ASCL and the NEU teaching union said they are not aware of any scheduled talks.
The NEU is in a pay dispute with the government and has just finished three days of regional teacher strikes across England.
Ms Keegan had she would enter formal talks if the union called off this week’s strike action, but NEU leaders had said they would only do so if the Department for Education made a “serious” pay offer to end the dispute.
Relations between the teaching profession and the government have also been further strained this week by revelations that former education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson had accused teachers of looking for an “excuse” not to work during the Covid pandemic.
This emerged from the latest tranche of leaked messages from Matt Hancock published by the Daily Telegraph.
Commenting on Ms Keegan’s decision to not attend the ASCL conference, Mr Barton added: “It would have been a good opportunity for her to set out her vision for education, to talk about how we can work together to shape a better future for all young people, and say something about how the government intends to address the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, which is at the heart of the current industrial dispute and which our members have to deal with every day.
“But nevertheless, we will continue to engage with the secretary of state positively and constructively and look forward to a time when she will feel more able to talk directly to our members.”
Mr Barton will now address the conference in the speaking slot reserved for Ms Keegan.
ASCL’s annual conference is taking place next week on Friday 10 March and Saturday 11 March in Birmingham.
Other speakers in this year’s programme include shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson, Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman, and FA director of women’s football Baroness Sue Campbell.
It will be the first time since 2006 that an education secretary has not attended.
In 2018, then education secretary Damian Hinds was heckled at the event over the issue of school funding.
