Second city teachers' conference is criticised

CRITICISM is mounting after it emerged that a second residential conference for Derby teachers costing thousands of pounds from school funds is to take place.

The two-day event at Eastwood Hall, in Nottinghamshire, later this month, could be attended by up to 80 primary deputy head teachers and senior staff, which would cost up to £30,000.

It follows criticism of a similar event in October for 104 Derby primary and secondary head teachers at Hoar Cross Hall Spa Resort, in Yoxall, at a cost of about £35,000.

City council staff and head teachers have defended the two residential conferences as important in "allowing heads and deputy heads to network and share ideas".

But Dave Wilkinson, Derby branch secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said it was unnecessary to hold residential conferences and was a "waste of money".

He said: "I appreciate that networking is important but that can just as easily be done at a venue in Derby without the need to pay out large sums of money.

"These events become a luxurious trip out and the money could be better spent on school resources."

City Conservative leader Philip Hickson, who criticised the original conference at Hoar Cross Hall, said that a second conference was "equally an outrageous waste of tax payers' money".

He said: "Since the cost of the first conference was revealed in the Evening Telegraph, I have been inundated with correspondence from people condemning the inappropriate use of school funds.

"All of the teachers live locally so why is it necessary to travel so far and stay?

"We have places in the city such as the Assembly Rooms and school halls, which would be free, or other venues such as the Riverside Centre or Pride Park.

"I intend to raise this issue at the next council meeting and ask why taxpayers' money is being abused."

Schools receive funding from the city council and can choose how much to allocate to training and conferences each year.

Places at Hoar Cross Hall cost about £320 and those at Eastwood Hall will be about £305, with 48 deputy heads and senior staff signed up for the event on November 27 and 28.

Both places have swimming pool and sauna facilities, which can be used by the delegates.

The days, which include a series of talks and workshops on improving the teachers' roles as leaders, are scheduled to last from 9am to 4pm. Food and accommodation are included in the price.

Head teachers have defended the conferences, saying they are good value for money.

Simon Emsley, head teacher at Lakeside Community Primary School, in Alvaston, attended the Hoar Cross Hall conference. He said: "It is a great chance to hear national speakers – one of which last year I signed up to give training at my own school.

"The evenings are taken up with a musical performance by city school children and meetings, with the event not finishing until about 9pm.

"It makes sense to stay over and there is no suitable alternative in Derby itself. It is not a jolly, as some people might think."

David Nichols, head teacher at Littleover Community School, also attended the Hoar Cross Hall event.

He said: "Residential courses are the norm in education, industry and even among councillors. They have been running in the city for six years and I have been to each one.

"They are extremely useful and part of staff development that delivers results for schools.

"If they were held in Derby, heads would be tempted to pop into school or disappear early from events. It's very short-sighted to criticise these events without understanding them."

Andrew Flack, city council director for children and young people, said: "We put on the conference and schools decide whether to buy into it. If it wasn't good value they wouldn't do so."

But parents said the money could be better spent elsewhere. Geraldine Murphy, 45, of Birchover Way, Allestree, has three children at primary and secondary schools.

She said: "A teacher I know said she was struggling to get money for basic equipment from her school's budget. So how can this be justified?"

Dave Pettigrew, 41, of Borrowash Road, Spondon, also has three children at city schools.

He said: "Why don't they use their holidays to hold conferences and perhaps pay for their accommodation themselves, if they want to stay overnight?