Teaching and Learning: What is at Stake for UCU? 
Saturday 8 May, UCU, Carlow Street, London 
Conference Report 
The conference was planned and developed by the Education Committee as a follow-up to the publication of ‘Education for the Future: UCU’s manifesto for post-school Education’ and to engage with the professional and industrial issues confronting teaching staff in further, higher, adult and community education.
Morning plenary sessions from Professor Ken Spours and from the out-going Chair of Education Committee Maire Daley outlined both the post-election political landscape and the enduring problems of academic autonomy in the face of centrally-determined curricula and qualifications.
These themes were taken up in the workshops, covering:
1	Technology in Teaching and Learning: support or threat? Seb Schmoller, CE of the Association for Learning. 
2	14-19 Curriculum and Assessment: there must be a better way? Geoff Stanton, ex- Learning and Skills Development Agency.
3	Alternative Futures – A practical ‘how to’ case study from Tower Hamlets College that will inspire you to take back education! Richard McEwan, Tower Hamlets UCU.
4	Professionalism: constructing a progressive perspective. Dan Taubman, UCU staff, and Joanna De Groot, UCU NEC.
5	Making access, equality and diversity the heart of what we do. Maire Daley, Chair, UCU Education Committee and Chris Nicholas, UCU staff.
6	Sustainable development and the curriculum: there must be a greener way. Graham Petersen, UCU staff. 
In the closing plenary, all delegates - from FE, Adult and Community Education, HE and schools – commented enthusiastically on the need the conference had identified to cross-sectorally share professional analysis of common industrial issues, particularly on how to professionally develop teaching and learning away from ‘delivery’ of centralised national curricula and qualifications into the development of a teacher-led curriculum that would engage students and continue to support them in their learning.
There was also a call made in the closing plenary for a teaching and learning conference to become an annual or twice yearly event. Similarly, the NUT delegate from S. Gloucestershire NUT invited UCU to become a co-organiser of a 2nd October conference on ‘Combating Islamophobia’ in Bristol. Both of these proposals were supported unanimously by conference delegates. The NUT conference was advertised in UCU’s weekly Campaign Newsletter on Friday 2nd July.