EIS in-coming President, Adam Sutcliffe (Aberdeenshire), rousingly reaffirmed that the aims of the ‘Stand Up for Quality Education’ campaign are fundamental to improve teachers’ working conditions and health, safety and wellbeing at work and by so doing, the quality of learning experiences for pupils.

He called on the AGM to continue to commit to the ‘Stand Up for Quality Education’ campaign, the resources required to make progress on prioritised campaign workstreams, in order for them to be realised as successfully and expeditiously as possible, and to ensure ongoing industrial action readiness of the EIS and its members. Adam stated that SUfQE was never a short, sharp shock type campaign, rather one of long-term cultural change.

Nicola Fisher (Glasgow) seconded by denouncing the delusional, tone deaf Scottish and local governments who are continuing with business as usual – ignoring violence, ignoring crippling workload, and underfunding ASN. She stated that teachers could no longer continue propping up a broken system.

Valerie Inkster (Shetland) acknowledged that the changes needed don’t happen overnight, but through tireless efforts of EIS staff, committees and activists. She encouraged all activists to be ready to fight – they are the voice of the union and they need to have a strong voice to Stand Up for Quality Education. The motion was carried unanimously by AGM.

Des Morris, convener of the Salaries Committee, echoed the words of the Cabinet Secretary that a reduction of class contact time by 90 minutes is key to address critical concerns around workload – a statement repeated by the First Minister.

Des cited EIS commissioned independent research on teacher workload, which found that teachers were working an average of 11.5 hours extra per week, and our own survey results, which showed that only 3.7% of teachers are able to always carry out their work in their contracted hours. This is routine overwork, week in week out and a policy response is needed to tackle the scale of the problem.

Mick Dolan (West Dunbartonshire) added his voice and reminded delegates that the EIS are good faith participants in educational development, but all too often these are unfunded and not resourced properly so teacher continue to absorb additional workload. This good faith has been abused for years and the EIS should continue to bolster teachers confidence that they can have their voices heard and make a difference.

Alan Gardener (North Lanarkshire) added a note of caution that when Scottish Government fulfils their promises and teachers are given the 90-minute reduction in class contact time, this time must be given to teachers to use for preparation and correction.

Teachers need to continue to fight back against using their time to do activities that used to be done by other staff no longer in the system, such as support staff who have been cut. Teachers need to stand strong and not rush to fill these gaps. The motion was adopted unanimously.

Thora Hands (EIS-FELA) successfully called on the Institute to campaign against privatisation in education and to demand all of Scotland’s post-16 publicly funded further education institutions and tertiary institutions are fully incorporated within the public sector.

She highlighted that some colleges are paying agency fees for arranging international contracts, setting up subsidiary companies, and attempting to move to single tertiary institutions which may threaten national bargaining. Thora said, “The reality is that in the bleak under-funded future tertiary education landscape there will only be a market-driven zero-sum game unless we act now.”

Nick Cimini (ULA) seconded the motion by highlighting universities have also been arranging business deals with the private sector and for-profit providers. They are now incentivised to make money by turning students into customers.

Adam Sutcliffe (Aberdeenshire) successfully moved the motion on behalf of Council to send solidarity to international colleagues campaigning against the far-right and to learn from campaigning experiences of colleagues across the UK and internationally by stating, “It’s not only Reform we need to worry about.

The Labour Prime Minister recently echoed Enoch Powell, calling Britain an island of strangers.” He highlighted that the far-right poses a direct threat to principles of social justice with inclusive practices being undermined and marginalised communities targeted. He reminded delegates that Reform MPs have voted against banning fire and rehire and exploitative zero-hour contracts and that educators have a moral obligation to speak out against the far right.

It was an active discussion with Claire Robertson (Edinburgh) saying “when the Trump administration issued an order to dismantle the education system, it stripped students of resources. We must oppose right wing extremism here and abroad.

We must engage with our colleagues and students that when freedom and democracy are threatened then trade unions shall be the line right wingers do not cross.” Other speakers highlighted that section 28 was built on years of misinformation and that’s happening again; that treating people as units of economic output dehumanises them and allows the far-right to fill that vacuum; that 18-30 year olds have increased their votes for Reform; and that trade unions and trades councils have long histories of opposing the far-right including the National Front.

Alison Beattie (Glasgow) successfully proposed a motion to investigate and report on the number of teachers on temporary or supply contracts over the last five years, to explore trends and the use of temporary contracts across Scotland.

Alison’s speech was rooted in fairness, a deep belief in the value of the profession, and that every teacher should have the right to a permanent contract if this is what they wish. Alison argued that we “need the unequivocal evidence to challenge unfair practices, and challenge a Scottish Government that is asking teachers to give young people a future, with no firm foundations of their own. A teaching qualification shouldn’t come with insecurity, it should offer a post and a path.”

Neil Anderson (Glasgow) seconded and gave a personal testimony of a total of seven years of temporary teaching employment, with a seven-year spell out of the profession, before finding permanent teaching employment. Neil argued that we need to arm ourselves with concrete data to be able to effectively tackle precarity and support newly qualified teachers.

Several speeches followed, and Matthew Lawless (East Renfrewshire) reminded us that we are in the midst of an employment crisis, with many teachers finishing for summer facing insecurity and unemployment, and having to work outside education to pay mortgages and put food on the table.

Helen Haines (Edinburgh) was successful in a call to find out and report on the number of temporary teaching posts as a percentage of teacher numbers across all authorities in Scotland over the last 5 years, broken down, where possible, to maternity, paternity, long term absence and covering another vacancy.

“If we know how many teachers are temporary, then we can begin to do something about it.” Phil Pearce (Edinburgh) formally seconded the motion.

Jacqui Mackenzie (North Ayrshire) successfully moved the motion on behalf of Council to campaign for an end to the unacceptable levels of precarity in teaching. “The level of precarity of teachers in Scotland is unacceptable. Living week to week, term to term, sometimes day to day.

Not knowing if they’re in the same school, or any school, for that matter. Unable to plan for having a family, some people using foodbanks. Four years ago the Scottish Government promised to employ an additional 3000 teachers, and we are yet to see any increase. In fact, there are 873 fewer in 2025 than when the manifesto promise was made. Schools are overstretched, teachers overworked and needs are more complex than ever.”

Mick Dolan (West Dunbartonshire) seconded the motion. He said, “10% of teachers in our authority are working on temporary contracts. 40 have been on a temporary contract for more than 4 years, some as many as 7 years despite continual service. The employer’s view on our LNCT Agreement is very different from ours but we need to do all we can to ensure funding is guaranteed and not temporary.”

Following a call from the floor, AGM voted to remit the motion to Council.

Mark Smith (North Ayrshire) successfully moved the motion calling on the Institute to produce a briefing paper on PTRs for local associations to campaign against budget cuts. Jacqui Mackenzie (North Ayrshire) seconded by saying “it’s a blunt tool, it’s just an average which doesn’t reflect class sizes, rurality, needs, or contract times. Some schools might have a good PTR on paper but not in reality.”

A motion on Artificial Intelligence principles was moved by Graham Malcolm (Edinburgh) who spoke about the “need to set out guiding principles for using AI” in line with advice from the OECD and Education International. This included calling for the Scottish Government to convene a commission of key stakeholders, including the EIS and other relevant trade unions to help develop these principles. The motion was seconded by Phillip Pearce (Edinburgh) and was carried.

Aisling Gallagher (Glasgow) proposed a motion, calling on the EIS to cease the use of Meta social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, for public-facing communications.

“These sites have become central to the sharing of far-right rhetoric. At the root of this motion is the intent to stand with minorities. Vile targeted abuse is allowed, without challenge, by one of the most powerful corporations in the world. Meta has also systematically censored pro-Palestinian voices,” said Ms Gallagher.

Raising concerns in opposition to the motion was Ex-President Paula McEwan (Inverclyde), who said, “Aisling is right in everything that she said – but we cannot voluntarily silence ourselves. Any online platform is a tool. Yes, the far right use these platforms and they are very good at it. But if they were trying to silence us on these platforms, we would be outraged. We need to push out a progressive message, even if we are the only people doing it on these platforms.”

Supporting the motion, Doug Haywood (Aberdeen City), said, “Social media is the world’s biggest unregulated social experiment, according to Professor Hayward. These companies are evil, and these platforms are the privatisation of digital communication. If organisations like the EIS continue to use these platforms, we are complicit.”

Speaking in opposition, Susan Quinn (Glasgow) said, “The EIS has considered all of the concerns that are being expressed today. But, we are in the world that we are in, and if we don’t fight back, then nobody will. If we leave, they will become even bigger cesspits, where only right-wing voices are heard.”
Supporting the motion, Eileen Imlah (EIS-FELA) argued, “The EIS should not treat these platforms as legitimate.”

Opposing, Sara-Jane Moffat (Renfrewshire) argued, “Social Media is a key tool for member engagement, at national and at a local level. We know that they are not nice platforms, but removing our ability to use them ties one arm behind our backs. Remove these platforms, and you remove my ability to engage with members and get them active.”

At the conclusion of the debate, the President called for a vote, and the result was a clear defeat of the proposed motion on a show of hands.

The Institute’s use of social media, specifically X (formerly Twitter), was again the subject of a motion proposed to AGM by Craig Duffy (Edinburgh), who proposed that the EIS cease use of the platform as a communications channel.

“I do recognise the role that this platform has played in the promotion of our campaigns in the past. But this platform is now at odds with solidarity, justice and equality. This is fundamentally a moral argument,” he said.

Speaking in support, Jehan Al-Azzawi (Edinburgh) said, “I think we are vastly over-estimating the impact that social media has on our communications with our members. Engagement is so much lower than it was before the Musk takeover.”

Opposing the motion, Ex-President Paula McEwan (Inverclyde) said, “It is strategically short-sighted to come off the biggest social media platform when we have just launched a ballot campaign. We cannot afford to lose this ballot through making it invisible to our members. By far our largest number of social media followers are on Twitter/X. If we take the decision to come off social media, we come off it today – and everyone using it locally is told to stop using it today.”

Following debate, the President called for a vote, with a show of hands in the hall proving inconclusive. A subsequent card vote was then held, with the result that the motion fell by a vote of 89 in favour and 126 against.

Sean McNamara (North Lanarkshire) moved the motion. He outlined the importance of representing supply teacher members as many more teachers find themselves in insecure work. He raised examples of supply teachers struggling to stand up for their rights “to avoid being seen as difficult, in fear that they won’t be asked back. Many feel they are replaceable.”

Daniel Henderson (North Lanarkshire) echoed these sentiments as the seconder saying that some of his colleagues walk the corridors on eggshells. Mr Henderson added, “We need someone who is an expert on that type of employment in our local authority, especially as these members are more vulnerable to issues around their pay and conditions.”

Louise Bishop (Edinburgh and Council) also supported the motion by highlighting that supply teachers, and those stuck on temporary contracts are banding together across Scotland, and shouting louder and louder about the issues they face. The message is coming through that change is needed, and it would be really useful for every Local Association to have an appointed person who can offer support and advice to supply teachers. The motion was unanimously passed without debate.

The EIS will host a series of Hustings events, at both regional and national level, in the run-up to the Scottish Parliament elections next May.

Proposing the motion, Louise Bishop (Edinburgh) said, “We have got to ensure that we hold the politicians to account. We are balloting, right now, because politicians made promises – before the last election – that they have not kept. We can only properly hold them to account if they are right in front of us.” The motion was carried on a show of hands.

First-time speaker Sharon Iddir (Fife and Council), moving a motion of Solidarity for teachers and students in Gaza, asked AGM delegates to stand for a moment’s silence, before stating, “We’re with the people of Gaza, and we care.”

Speaking in support, Tom Colquhoun (Edinburgh) said, “In Gaza, hundreds of schools have been destroyed, including every single Higher Education Institution.” AGM voted overwhelmingly in favour of the motion.

Sean McNamara (North Lanarkshire) moved this motion – outlining from the very beginning that over 50,000 children have been killed or injured since the outbreak of war in October 2023. More than 17,000 children have lost one or more parents and many thousands are being forced to undergo torturous medical procedures, including amputations, without anesthetic.

During his speech McNamara highlighted that it has been noted that Gaza is “the most dangerous place in the world to be a child.” He outlined in his speech that not only are Palestinian children not entitled to priority access to refugee status, there has also been a coordinated, and ongoing political effort to block legal routes for these children. Mr McNarmara called on members to support the motion as “we need to make the children of Gaza safe so they can sleep without the fear of bombs.”

To finish his speech Mr McNamara sang a traditional Scottish lullaby that mothers would sing to their children. It was incredibly moving and he received a standing ovation when he concluded his speech. Rebecca Quigley (North Lanarkshire) formally seconded the motion.

Sharon Iddir (Fife and Council) offered support of the motion by saying that Scotland has “a proud history of offering refuge to all those in need.” She said this motion was a call to stand together and reaffirm our commitment to the protection of all children.

Amira Hunter (East Dunbartonshire) also supported this motion reading out loud a personal, first hand account of life before, and during the war in Gaza since October 7th 2023. She highlighted that there are 2 million grief stricken displaced people in Gaza. Reading again from the first hand testimony of a Gazan refugee she said, “We’re moving from the unknown to the unknown whilst the world looks on offering only words.” This motion passed, without counter debate, unanimously.

Jehan Al-Azzawi (Edinburgh) moved this motion. She highlighted that over the past year and a half she has been organising learning events to help support teachers on how to conduct discussions around the conflict in the classroom. “Repeatedly members say they want an authoritative resource that they can rely on when teaching about this current conflict, and its history.”

Within her speech she said that the tide of international political opinion of what is happening in Gaza is shifting, and this would be a good time for the EIS to get ahead of this.

She noted that the EIS has a duty to remain impartial and politically neutral, “but we also have a commitment to stand up for justice, and therefore we must be standing up for justice in Gaza – the same way we stood up for justice in apartheid South Africa. “We do not teach ‘both sides’ of the apartheid in South Africa, so why are we expected to teach ‘both sides’ of the apartheid in Gaza and the West Bank, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza?”

Clare Kelly (Edinburgh), seconded this motion and said, “Being anti-Zionist is not anti-Semitic. But as teachers we don’t feel safe teaching this issue after years of being accused of being anti-Semitic.” She said that teachers need to be able to teach this issue competently and confidently.

Sharon Iddir (Fife and Council) also supported this motion saying that she had used this resource somewhat successfully in her primary school classrooms. She suggested that teachers must have reliable resources available to combat the misinformation pupils consume on tiktok and other media platforms. The motion passed unanimously without opposing debate.

Nikhat Yusaf (Edinburgh) moved this motion. She started by saying that this motion was not about “The armed forces – the Army, the RAF or the Navy, but instead about the business of arms companies working in schools.” She quoted the EIS General Secretary who had spoken earlier at conference that Scotland needed “welfare, not warfare.” She continued by saying, “We have a shared responsibility to protect the integrity of our institutions and to stand with the global movements which have been standing up against armed conflicts against the world.

Tom Colquhoun (Edinburgh) seconded the motion.

Sandra Reid (Highland) spoke against the motion saying, “The domestic defence industry contributes to security and is a deterrent for future conflicts.” She said it is “also a major employer contributing to the development in business, computing and electronics.” For these reasons she argued there are legitimate reasons to have them present at skills fares and to support pupils in STEM.

Will Crichton (Midlothian) spoke in favour of the motion. He argued, “Just because they are a big employer of our young people, it should not permit them to prey on our young people. This motion is consistent with the messages we put out as educators in striving for peace.”

Ross Lyall (Midlothian) spoke against the motion saying that many of organisations listed in the motion are “significant employers offering amazing apprenticeships for our young people. These opportunities will still be there even if they do not attend in our schools. These apprenticeships will then not be seen by the same young people that we are supporting.” He asked members not to support the motion as he said our most disadvantaged young people will be even more disadvantaged.

Craig Duffy (Edinburgh) spoke for the motion saying that the “brewing and distilling industries are also major employers, but we don’t invite them into schools as it wouldn’t be appropriate.” He argued the same principle applied to arms companies in schools.

Martin Elliot (West Lothian) spoke against this motion saying “Whilst I accept the spirit of the motion there are other elements to what these companies deliver in research, supporting STEM and upskilling young people.” For this reason he asked members to reject the motion.

Nicola Fisher (Glasgow) spoke in favour of the motion. She argued, “We know the harm that these employers and recruiters do to our young people. They brought their weapons and their helicopters to our schools, even putting our pupils into the helicopter.

“Their business model is based on killing people. Thousands of people, thousands of miles away that we will never know. Whilst these companies will continue to exist, we don’t have to facilitate that. These are not positive destinations for our young people. There are no positive destinations that end in death.”

Heather Hughes (West Lothian) spoke against the motion. She said that whilst she agreed with what was being said in support of the motion, “Speaking as a physicist I know that some of the people on this list in the motion are nothing to do with arms production.

“One of the suppliers on this list makes heat pumps, not weapons in West Lothian, and some are fantastic supporters of women and girls in STEM.” She said, “My objection is the list contained within the motion.” She highlighted that in Edinburgh Leonardo work on radar for aeronautical industry, not on bomb manufacturing and asked members to reject the motion.

Tom Colquhoun (Edinburgh) spoke for the motion having previously reserved the right to speak. He said, “This shouldn’t limit the stem events, as there are many more companies that aren’t on this list, that don’t have links to arms, therefore these STEM events will continue to take place.” He also added that the motion only opposes in principle, members will still be free to come to their own decisions in their own schools.

Bill Ramsay (South Lanarkshire) spoke for the motion. He said, “It’s important we make that signal – at this time.”

Jehan Al-Azzawi (Edinburgh) also spoke for the motion saying, “We have to disarm – so the economic argument is simply not sufficient.”

In her summing up Nikhat Yusaf said members should support the motion, “You can bomb the world to pieces, but you cannot bomb it to peace.” The motion was passed by AGM.

The EIS will not provide a platform to any representative of Reform UK, at any EIS-organised event, following a motion proposed by Claire Robertson (Edinburgh).

“As the largest teacher union in Scotland, when we organise an event involving politicians, we expect the highest calibre of participants who represent the people of Scotland. At present, there are no Reform UK MSPs in Parliament. Why would we give these people a platform? The right-wing media already give them more than enough publicity. We would be doing our colleagues and students a disservice engaging with these people,” said Ms Robertson.

But Bill Ramsay (South Lanarkshire), opposing the motion, argued, “We need to engage with their arguments, and expose their arguments – they will not receive scrutiny from the mainstream media. The mainstream media have worked very hard, in recent years, to get Reform where they are today. We should not waste an opportunity to take on Reform and unpick their arguments.”

Equality Convener Nicola Fisher (Glasgow), supporting the motion, said, “You do not give a platform to Fascists. These people are just the BNP in Blue ties. Our sister STUC trade unions would be incredulous if we were to platform these people.”

Speaking in opposition, Rebecca Quigley (North Lanarkshire), said, “The best way for us to expose the far right is to debate them and expose their arguments. We cannot write off potential Reform voters – they are looking in the wrong place, but they have been convinced by Reform’s arguments. We need to use our collective power to actually challenge these people.”

Also opposing the motion, Ross Lyall (Midlothian) said, “I am not a Reform supporter, I am not a Reform voter, and I wish them absolutely no success in any election. Including them in Hustings will allow their policies to be exposed and pulled apart. This will allow us to challenge Reform more effectively – ignoring them is not the answer. Let’s take them on and challenge them.”

Handing over the chairing of the meeting to step up to the debating lectern, President Allan Crosbie pointed out, “During Hustings events, our voice is not heard, so we will not be debating them, or destroying their arguments. We facilitate these events, we do not speak at them. We would be relying on other parties taking on their arguments. You do not invite a Trojan Horse into your house. We have spent much of this conference talking about countering the far-right – part of our resistance has to be telling them that they are not welcome in our house.”

A vote was then called, the result of which was overwhelming support for the motion, on a show of hands.

Jehan Al-Azzawi (Edinburgh) moved this motion. She started by saying we are well aware that we’re living a time of profound global political instability. “Within Curriculum for Excellence we refer to political literacy as a key skill to combating mis and disinformation, however the term political literacy is poorly understood.” She said that young people themselves are highlighting that the skills associated with political literacy are very important.

The political literacy helps to equip them with the skills needed to engage in debate, empowering young people to live up to their values. Renaming the term ‘Political Literacy’ with ‘Education for Democracy and Peace’ is a “reaffirmation of their commitment to work towards these skills,” she concluded.

Alison Murphy (Edinburgh) formally seconded the motion, which was then unanimously passed by AGM.

Sarajane Moffat (Dumfries and Galloway) moved the motion. She said that Unison has started to develop contacts with the solidarity campaign in Ukraine and there is lots of opportunities for the EIS to do the same. “It’s clear that Putin has no intentions for peace. If we don’t stop Putin then where will he stop? As a Scottish trade union it is our role to establish solidarity with our sister unions in Ukraine.” She asked members to support the motion.

Julie Irving (Dumfries and Galloway), seconded the motion.

Will Crichton (Midlothian), spoke against the motion. He argued that this campaign also asks for an increase in arms sales to Ukraine, and with over half a million causalities in this war so far he did not think the EIS should support continuing arms sales into this conflict. “If we refuse to support military escalation then we are not washing our hands of our solidarity with our trade union counterparts.”

He added that there is still a risk in this conflict involving nuclear warfare. “If this motion was in line with humanitarian aid and support to citizens then I would support it, but that is not the core aim of this organisation.” Following this discussion it was proposed and moved to remit the motion to Council.

Stephen Mungall (South Lanarkshire) proposed a motion, seeking the EIS to lobby the Scottish Government and local authorities to increased funding and resources to support climate education. It was further sought to ensure that climate education and sustainability are central to professional learning opportunities provided by the EIS.

Joan Lennon (South Lanarkshire) seconded the motion. The motion was carried.

Yasmin Murray (South Lanarkshire) proposed a motion which instructs EIS Council to adopt more sustainable merchandise practices for future campaigns, with the aim of reducing waste and minimising the environmental impact of unused and outdated merchandise.

Kyra Tweddle (Scottish Borders) seconded the motion. The motion was carried.

Yasmin Murray (Renfrewshire) successfully moved a motion instructing EIS Council to lobby on providing safe, secure and weatherproof spaces for push bikes for teachers and lecturers at work. The motion was submitted to encourage colleagues to use their bikes to commute to their workplace, in the knowledge that their property would be protected from vandalism.

Maggie Russell (Renfrewshire) seconded the motion. The motion was carried.

Service Concession arrangements Colin Finlay (Falkirk and Council) moved a motion instructing EIS Council to investigate and report on the use of School Buildings formally held under service concession arrangements, as collateral for borrowing by Local Authorities. The report should consider any potential implications this might have on future capital expenditure or operating costs in Scotland’s schools.
John Chalmers (Falkirk) seconded the motion. The motion was carried.

Motion withdrawn.