Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), spoke to us just before the new academic year. In an illuminating interview, he outlines his perspective on the issues and opportunities facing education in England today
Q: The past year saw closely aligned unions taking industrial action over pay and funding, culminating in the recent settlement. How do your members feel about the situation now given that result?
Whiteman: The end of a dispute is always about compromise, compromise that leaves substantial work still to be done. I don’t think we can fire any starting pistol to signal that the mission is accomplished. We are still losing too many exceptional educators from the profession, and we cannot recruit enough new entrants at the rate required to replace those who are leaving.
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