Championing educator wellbeing: Education Support at the Party Conferences

Last month, Education Support attended the Labour Party Conference to engage with the evolving conversation around education policy, meet stakeholders and contribute to panel discussions.

While the overall tone of education events felt more subdued than in previous years, it was clear that Bridget Phillipson and her team are laser-focused on Labour’s “opportunity mission”. Ministers were extremely targeted with their speaking opportunities, opting to focus on events with an opportunity mission focus, but speaking passionately about the vital role the education sector plays in delivering this vision.

Our CEO, Sinéad Mc Brearty, joined two well-attended panels on teacher retention, which is an issue that continues to be front and centre for the sector. It was encouraging to hear a strong consensus among stakeholders: that teacher retention cannot be tackled in isolation. Wider system pressures, staff wellbeing, and the overall health of the workforce are deeply interconnected with the quality of education children and young people receive.

We were heartened to see this understanding reflected in the discussions. The message was clear: healthy staff create thriving learning environments. We’ll continue to champion this message as we work to ensure that those working in education are supported to stay, grow, and flourish.

We also went along to the Conservative Party Conference to stay informed on the latest debates as the party looks forward to selecting its next policy platform. It was also a valuable opportunity to connect with some of our stakeholders from across the education sector and to ensure that the mental health and wellbeing of educators is part of the ongoing conversation. Key themes that emerged throughout fringe events on education at the conference included the growing role of tech and AI in education and poor pupil behaviour arising from unmet need.

If you’d like to read our latest policy position paper on teacher retention.