Whether The TES likes it or not, the NASUWT is a strictly non-party political trade union, which is in the business, first and foremost, of protecting its members.

I joined the NASUWT in 1966 because of its “firm but fair” stance on discipline in schools.

The Ridings School is the tip of the iceberg. There are many schools in deprived areas of the country teetering on the brink of the mayhem that existed at The Ridings. Why are a record number of teachers desperate to leave the profession?

Thank goodness the NASUWT is prepared to put its money where its mouth is, and do something to protect the majority of its members who carry out an increasingly difficult task, sometimes in an impossible situation.

TONY CALLAGHAN

Executive member

National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers

2a The Brache

Maulden

Bedfordshire