requires improvement

Requires Improvement talk you through their recent experiences on the picket lines and what's been voted on at the 2023 NEU Annual Conference. We talk through the pay campaign strike escalation in response to the government's risible pay deal, the urgent motion on OFSTED, the new motion on support staff members: what this all means for trade union organizing in the education sector going forwards.

Your host for this episode is Charlie, and she is joined by new co-host Hannah, as well as Nik and Lee.

Requires Improvement return from their temporary ballot-hiatus to celebrate the huge recent ballot result of the premier education union in England and Wales, how everyone played their part in achieving it- and what we're thinking about as strikes are now planned in order to win the education funding dispute.

Your co-hosts Lee, Nik, Charlie and Lauren talk about the recent conditions in the workplace, and we look forward to an exciting future for trade unionism and organising in the education sector. How to build member confidence for striking and picket lines, the importance of building workplace solidarity and countering misinformation, why all members should be ready for a super fun time out on strike, and why scabs are ultimately losers of colossal proportions.

So it's back to school for all educators in September 2022 but all eyes are on the National Education Union and our forthcoming ballots of teaching staff and support staff - will the hot strike summer morph into a cool strike autumn? We certainly think so! Join your hosts Nik, Charlie, Lauren and Lee as they talk through how we're going to organize and fight for a fully funded pay rise for educators in the UK. Recorded on 4th September 2022.

In this episode the Requires Improvement team are honoured to be joined by Dr. Ashok Kumar, senior lecturer in political economy at Birkbeck University. We use the recent UCU strikes as a jumping off point for a wide ranging discussion about privatization and neoliberal forces within the education sector, the importance of strategy in taking effective industrial action, and where the trade union movement should be looking next for victories. Solidarity with all members, reps, organisers and officers of the UCU.

Ashok can be found on twitter @broseph_stalin https://twitter.com/broseph_stalin

You can find out more/buy Ashok's book here: https://monopsonycapitalism.com/

You can listen to Ashok's podcast "Historical Materialism" here https://rss.com/podcasts/historicalmaterialism/

Despite the hectic times of late, your hosts Nik, Charlie, Lee and Tom found some spare minutes to kick off this episode with a swift round-up of everything we've been up to recently, before introducing our esteemed interview guest Vik Chechi-Ribeiro (@VikCR_) who is a Teacher of Science, union rep and organizer based in Manchester. We get into fine detail of how to organize a workplace by implementing deep organizing methods. Our discussion also covered the need for fresh, engaging methods of political education and the dangers of the government's PREVENT agenda on free speech in education. Major thanks to Vik for sharing his valuable time with us, check out the links below.

Links:

Bristol Transformed: https://bristoltransformed.co.uk/

Kernow Transformed: https://kernowtransformed.co.uk/

Labor Notes Article on Phone Banking: https://labornotes.org/2014/03/how-phonebank-when-members-screen-their-calls

Strike! MCR https://twitter.com/strikeMCR

Give us a follow/Get in touch with Requires Improvement https://twitter.com/requirespod

In this term 3 roundup your Requires Improvement hosts Nik, Anu, Lauren, Charlie and Lee offer you their thoughts on their recent experiences in state and prison education, how to take on your bullying bosses, why you should check out the Trojan Horse Affair Podcast and why "horseshoe theory" is not OK for children, or anyone else. Recorded on 18th February 2022.

Link to the Trojan Horse Affair Podcast:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/podcasts/trojan-horse-affair.html

In this seasonal episode of Requires Improvement, your hosts Lee, Nik, Lauren and Charlie reflect on how the ongoing pandemic is continuing to impact the education sector, discussing our experiences at work and the impact of illness, inadequate resourcing and mitigations on staff and students. We analyze the recent government proposals to invite ex and retired teachers back to the profession, the necessity of individual acts of defiance in order to spark collective solidarity, and we reflect on the growing crop of success stories for trade union organizing at home and abroad. Wrapping up with our predictions for 2022, we would like to thank all our listeners and guests for their contributions to this show over the last year and we look forward to better times ahead for us all. In solidarity x Requires Improvement

We are honoured to be joined by journalist and ex-soldier Joe Glenton, as we consider the role of militarism in Britain and the UK education system. We draw upon themes in Joe's new book out this month entitled "Veteranhood: Rage and Hope in British Ex-Military Life", in a wide ranging discussion around how the military is presented in schools, the curriculum and society at large. We discuss the outrageous headlines recently surrounding the allegations of abuse towards 16-18 year old children at the Army Foundation College, lesser known histories of radical struggle from within the armed forces and the pressing need for a critical approach to miltiarism, with lessons for left-wing organising more widely. Hosted by Tom and joined by co-hosts Lee and Nik, we thank Joe wholeheartedly for giving us his time and insights into these issues. Buy his book here!

https://housmans.com/product/veteranhood-rage-and-hope-in-british-ex-military-life/

References:

https://www.forceswatch.net/ - a watchdog and research organisation on British Armed Forces

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/nov/18/parents-call-for-british-army-college-to-be-shut-down-after-abuse-claims

Death at Deepcut Podcast https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Death-at-Deepcut-Podcast/B096W9DKLL

War School: The Battle for Britain's Children - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl5Zc71KV_g a superb new documentary film from director Mic Dixon which complements our discussion in this episode - well worth a watch.

The Requires Improvement crew are BACK after a brief hiatus, and in our September-October episode we discuss the return to school, the latest shenanigans going on at Pimlico Academy, practical approaches to organising and self-care, sexism in schools and trying to fight for hope in the Prison Education system. Hosted by Anu, she is joined by co-hosts Nik, Lauren, Lee and Tom.

Links:

Article Mentioned from EducationUncovered.co.uk by Warwick Mansell https://twitter.com/warwickmansell

https://www.educationuncovered.co.uk/diary/diary/152346/attention-switches-to-pending-ofsted-judgment-on-pimlico-academy-with-its-former-head-now-revealed-in-senior-role-at-trust-running-it.thtml

Times Education Supplement Article on Education White Paper:

https://www.tes.com/news/nadhim-zahawi-schools-education-school-funding-white-paper-illiteracy-new-year

Further Article on Rumoured Future Direction for Government Education Policy:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/oct/01/dfe-considering-return-of-sats-at-14-and-axing-teaching-hours-limits

In this July 2021 episode of Requires Improvement, we are joined by author and journalist Sarah Jaffe, as we discuss and explore the wider impact of work in our lives in response to Sarah's recent publication "Work Won't Love You Back", a book which comprehensively analyses and challenges the insidious ways in which workers are convinced that our jobs and working conditions are necessary or fulfilling, especially in contexts where caring professionals are routinely coerced into tolerating exploitation and suffering.

Hosted by Charlie with co-hosts Lauren and Anu, in a wide-ranging discussion we consider our complex relationships with jobs and careers, union organizing and class struggle in the US and UK education contexts, the role of second wave feminism, the patriarchy and neoliberalism in changing the fundamental parameters of work and our material conditions to the present day, and how systemic forces condition people into thinking about work and careers.

"Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted and Alone" by Sarah Jaffe can be bought here:

https://housmans.com/product/work-wont-love-you-back-how-devotion-to-our-jobs-keeps-us-exploited-exhausted-and-alone/