Teachers from across Wales are gathering this weekend in Swansea for the Annual Conference of NASUWT Cymru, the largest teachers’ union in Wales.

The Conference, which will be chaired by NASUWT Cymru President Calvin Williams, will bring together teachers from across Wales to debate issues of importance to the teaching profession, including stress and well-being, consortia arrangements in Wales, the Donaldson Review, and the Welsh Government’s New Deal programme for teachers.

The Conference will be addressed by Education Minister Huw Lewis.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said:

“Teachers across Wales remain committed to achieving the highest possible standards of education for their pupils.

“However, the challenges they face are immense as the reforms to the education system in Wales continue.

“The motions for debate reflect these challenges.

“For far too long teachers’ willingness to ‘step up to the plate’ to do the best for the children and young people they teach has been taken for granted.

“Their reward has been excessive workload, pay cuts and job loss.

“The Conference will be the last before the 2016 Welsh Government elections. Politicians would be wise to take heed of the concerns of teachers.”

Rex Phillips, NASUWT National Official for Wales, said:

“The motions make clear that teachers remain willing to embrace the New Curriculum, and the New Deal but they are looking for a ‘New Realism’ from the Welsh Government.

“There must be a recognition that these developments are taking place against the backdrop of year-on-year redundancies across schools in Wales, with the loss of 600 education practitioner posts last year. The expectations placed on teachers and schools must therefore be realistic and proportionate.

“Investment in the education workforce is needed as a matter of urgency.”