Martin Reed will become the NUT’s new president when inaugurated at the union’s annual conference commencing in Cardiff today. It will represent a welcome return to his home country having spent the last 27 years teaching at Wolfreton secondary school in East Yorkshire.

Mr Reed was born in Brecon and raised in Porthcawl where he attended Newton Primary and Porthcawl Comprehensive schools before going to the University of Wales to read history and politics. As the latest in a line of NUT Presidents from Wales, he is surprisingly the first one to be inaugurated in his home country a fact that he takes great pride in. As an avid Cardiff City supporter it is even more fitting that the Conference should be held in Wales’ capital city.
In a difficult and challenging period for teachers Mr Reed is determined to use his presidential year to help alleviate problems associated with teacher workload. He says:

“We have to re-evaluate the entire issue of teacher workload and break the cycle that sees average working weeks in excess of 50 to 54 hours in both primary and secondary schools. Beyond that teachers need to see an end to the ‘clipboard management’ regime of performance management. It is not just the hours that teachers work but the regime of target setting linked to all sorts of imposed objectives.”

Reviewing the appointment Wales Secretary of the NUT David Evans welcomed the opportunity to work with his new President.

“Martin has retained close links with Wales even though he has spent his career so far in Wales. He is a member of the NUT Wales Committee and we have already pencilled in numerous dates when he will be able to attend meetings and functions here in Wales and assist in furthering NUT Cymru policies to the Welsh Assembly Government.”