Teachers should receive time off to go to Glastonbury, union boss says

The former primary school teacher admitted that missing out on the Somerset music event was a personal frustration during his classroom career.

"Not being able to go to Glastonbury, actually, was something I always complained about as a teacher," Mr Kebede said.

He noted that some schools already make arrangements for such requests and expressed his desire for this approach to become standard practice across the sector.

Conservative Party Chairman Kevin Hollinrake responded sharply to the union leader's proposal.

"It's preposterous to suggest teachers should have time off to go to Glastonbury," Mr Hollinrake said.

The Tory Chairman drew a clear distinction between different types of workplace flexibility, arguing that accommodations for maternity leave and illness were reasonable but festival attendance was not.

"Greater flexibility around maternity leave and time off for ill health are one thing, but giving teachers the green light to skip class and go partying is quite another," he stated.

Mr Hollinrake insisted the NEU should concentrate on supporting teachers to deliver high-quality education rather than campaigning for staff to attend events during the school year.

The union chief's remarks arrive at a significant moment, with the NEU set to open a ballot in the coming weeks asking members whether they would support industrial action over pay, funding and workload concerns.

During his interview, Mr Kebede urged ministers to place greater emphasis on workload reduction and flexible working arrangements as a means of improving retention rates within the profession.

He argued that newly qualified teachers face a stark contrast when comparing their working conditions to peers in other graduate careers.

"Graduates entering the world of work have so much more flexibility than teachers, and we're just going to have to be very innovative about it," Mr Kebede said.

Mr Kebede took charge of the NEU in 2023 after being elected as general secretary, having previously worked as a primary school teacher in the north east of England.

The debate over term-time leave highlights a scheduling challenge facing educators in England and Wales, where the academic calendar provides 13 weeks of holiday annually.

However, Glastonbury festival consistently falls outside these break periods, meaning teachers cannot attend without requesting special leave from their schools.

In 2021, Mr Kebede was recorded at a pro-Palestine demonstration using the phrase "globalise the intifada," which has been described as an anti-Semitic chant.

He has subsequently distanced himself from those comments.

In the same interview, Mr Kebede suggested that educational institutions have become a focal point in the ideological struggle against Reform UK.

"Schools have become a bit of a battleground for Reform in terms of the narrative that they're pushing," he claimed.

The union leader also expressed disappointment with Labour's approach to immigration policy, warning that the government's increasingly tough stance could strengthen Nigel Farage's party rather than undermine it.

Mr Kebede said he had hoped for a more progressive direction from ministers, with greater emphasis on celebrating the benefits of migration to Britain.

"That seems to be largely absent at the moment, and I think that emboldens Reform, rather than really defeats them and their ideas," he added.