Unite in
Schools is a national Unite programme which brings experienced activists into
our schools, colleges and universities to inspire the next generation of the
union movement. Such initiatives are equally likely to benefit the National
Education Union and our members; recent lessons demonstrate the perils brought
the erosion of trade union consciousness.
The
message of these fun, interactive sessions is that we are stronger together. Students work on a campaign plan for an issue
that matters to them, as well as learning about what the union movement has
achieved in the past and the campaigns of today – why trade unions are a vital
part of changing the world for the better.
Unite in
Schools tutors run a wide variety of activities, including classroom sessions
for secondary school students, ‘health and safety and your union’ for
vocational college students, careers events and fairs, university seminars,
anti-racist workshops, coaching for school council reps and much more.
How does it work?
Trained
tutors from Unite and Unite Community work in pairs at every session, but they
need schools that will host the sessions, generally aimed at Y9 and above. Would you be interested? We can all make some
clear curriculum links in our own minds and this is perhaps an opportunity to
bring a different external voice into our classrooms.
Our
colleague Heather Blakey from Unite is coordinating the work in the Northern
Region and she would be delighted to hear from anyone who feels they would be
able to accommodate this brilliant and much needed initiative in their school.
It’s a really good time to talk to our young people about the role of unions
and the importance of campaigning and this is a wonderfully creative way of
bringing these issues to life, so, what are you waiting for?
To find out more, contact vin.wynne@neu.org.uk or heather.blakey@unitetheunion.org
