This weekend myself, and 2 other members from Staffordshire attended the Disabled Members Conference in Manchester.
The weekend started with placard making and getting to know each other. We spoke about our experiences in schools and experiences as disabled officers and reps within the NEU.
We heard from Colleen and other members learning about the social model of disability and an important tool we have access to within the NEU, the ‘Reasonable adjustments disability passport’.
We heard from Kim the first Disabled NEU president and learnt about her past as an active NEU member.
We got together on Saturday evening, spending time with other educators and discussing what we had learnt. I was lucky to get in touch with the Cheshire East Disability Officer and we had some great discussions, ideas and have made plans to get together and see what we can achieve for disabled members in our districts.
On Sunday we heard from Sarah and voted on which motions we would take forward to next year’s Conference.
It was a great event and keep your eyes out over the next few weeks as I go through what I’ve learnt and roll out the information I received.