This weekend, Rachel Younger will take to the stage in front of hundreds of school leaders as the first president-elect in NAHT鈥檚 127-year history, who is not, and has never been, a headteacher. Given the worsening financial storm in schools, perhaps it鈥檚 apt for the union to be fronted by someone with first-hand experience of managing those overstretched budgets. Younger, will be introduced as the incoming president at the union鈥檚 annual conference in Wales today. As NAHT鈥檚 most senior elected lay person, Younger will chair its national executive, annual conference and AGM. She faces an unenviable task: highlighting the myriad of challenges which are causing school staff to quit in droves, while also not presenting such a bleak view of school life that it deters others from joining. 鈥淏ut you’ve got to keep raising the issues, because we’re trying to make things better鈥, says Younger, who is also the union鈥檚 Blackpool branch secretary. Rachel Younger NAHT president 鈥榃e鈥檙e good at making efficiencies鈥 , which currently has 49,000 members, was founded in 1897 and became the National Association of Head Teachers, from which its name derives, in 1906. For most of its history membership was restricted to headteachers, with assistant heads only admitted from 2000. Younger believes there鈥檚 still a 鈥渕isconception鈥 that NAHT only represents headteachers. For the last seven years she鈥檚 juggled her day job as business leader at St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, in Blackpool, with her NAHT roles. She says being a school business leader has given her 鈥渦nique insight into the impact of over a decade of austerity, the funding cuts on schools and the tough decisions they must make every single day鈥. Because most of a school鈥檚 budget goes on staffing costs, that gets trimmed first when school leaders are expected to 鈥渕ake efficiencies鈥, as DfE calls it. 鈥淧eople like me, that’s our job鈥 we鈥檙e really good at making efficiencies,鈥 Younger says. 鈥淏ut they only got so far. When you’re talking about people’s livelihoods, it’s awful and it shouldn’t have to happen.鈥 At her NAHT North West regional meetings, Younger hears more instances of staffing restructures linked to funding 鈥 most commonly of support assistants, but also senior leadership teams, which Younger gets involved with as a branch caseworker. A recent survey by The Sutton Trust showed 32 per cent of school leaders reported making cuts to teaching staff, 69 per cent to teaching assistants and 46 per cent to support staff. 鈥淥ften it’s the children with the highest needs that really suffer because [you lose] the people who give those children the support they need.鈥 Rachel Younger at her school in Blackpool The transformative power of education Younger attributes her strong work ethic to her mum, who raised her and her older brother in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, while also undertaking a range of jobs and evening college courses. Coming from a family of manual workers, Younger鈥檚 mum was 鈥渄etermined to do something different鈥. After getting a degree and PGCE, she became a college English lecturer. Younger describes her as the 鈥渒ey inspiring factor in my life, in terms of that transformative power of education鈥. The best teacher Younger ever knew was her junior school headteacher Mr Mason, who 鈥渒new not just every child鈥檚 name, but treated each child as special and imparted that sense of belonging鈥. She reflects on how those relationships are less common these days with higher staff turnaround in schools, with increased reliance on supply agencies. Younger initially had her sights on becoming a doctor. But halfway through her biological science degree she realised 鈥渋t wasn鈥檛 for me鈥 and moved back in with her mum, then living in Blackpool, to 鈥渞egroup鈥. She believes it鈥檚 鈥渞eally challenging as a teenager to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life鈥. Her advice to her son these days is, 鈥渋t doesn鈥檛 matter what you do, as long as you do something 鈥 if it doesn鈥檛 work out, try something else.鈥 Younger embarked on 鈥渃haracter forming鈥 work as a waitress at a pizza parlour, then at a more upmarket restaurant. Younger鈥檚 mum was then in a job training councillors, and Younger got a job with her at the counselling centre鈥檚 office, running the website, as well as receptionist and office duties. 鈥楧oing a bit of everything鈥 By then she had a son and in 2003 moved into a role at his village primary school, Yealand, as an office administrator. She stayed four years at the 40-pupil school, and 鈥渁bsolutely loved鈥 how it was 鈥渁t the centre of that community鈥. After persuading the headteacher to let her take a new qualification in 2007, the then fully-funded bursar development programme, she became business manager at Blackpool鈥檚 Baines endowed Church of England Primary School. Moving to a school with nearly 500 pupils taught her that 鈥測ou can still retain a family feel in a large primary with a nurturing environment鈥. Blackpool鈥檚 high levels of deprivation meant the school had 鈥渃hallenges鈥, but held a vital role as a 鈥渟afe place鈥 for children. It was attached to a Sure Start children鈥檚 centre, which 鈥渂rought families together who wouldn’t otherwise have that safe space to meet鈥. The loss of such centres means that 鈥渇amilies are often quite disconnected in society鈥 the only place they can come now for help is school.鈥 Younger took on the business manager role at St Nicholas in 2010, when it was expanding from a one to two form entry school. She also became an NAHT branch official. When the union formed sector councils in 2013, she sat on its inaugural school business leader council, and became regional president in 2018. Child poverty Each incoming president nominates a partner charity. Younger chose Buttle UK, which supports young people in crisis because child poverty is an issue close to her heart. She sees first-hand the cost-of-living crisis impact on school budgets, and hears of colleagues 鈥渉elping with uniform costs, setting up food banks, in some cases delivering food parcels to families and routinely washing children鈥檚 clothes鈥. A University of Bristol study found there are now more school-based foodbanks than regular ones. Meanwhile, capital funding, which has shrunk to a 鈥渢iny amount鈥ot enough to paper over the cracks in the wall, never mind fix the cracks鈥, is also 鈥渒eeping [school leaders] awake at night鈥. She praises them for being 鈥済ood at dealing with crises鈥, but it鈥檚 鈥渘ot right鈥 that some are having to fundraise locally now for essential items. Another concern is the high needs funding system being 鈥渁bsolutely in crisis鈥. There are 鈥渟ystem changes that could be made鈥. Younger鈥檚 school is near the border with Lancashire, and many of its pupils live there rather than Blackpool. The two councils have 鈥渄ifferent formulas and application processes for how they distribute that high needs money, and different teams dealing with it.鈥 The dichotomy means a child with the same needs in Blackpool would 鈥減robably get a different amount鈥 than in Lancashire. Younger would love to see the processes standardised nationally. She would also love to see the myriad of school funding pots 鈥渟treamlined鈥 because 鈥渁dministratively it鈥檚 far more complicated than it needs to be鈥. Rachel Younger at her school in Blackpool Ofsted Frustration over the government鈥檚 rejection of calls to scrap Ofsted single word judgements is also likely to hang over the upcoming NAHT conference. Education unions are pinning their hopes on the outcome of Ofsted鈥檚 鈥淏ig Listen鈥 consultation to spark meaningful change. 鈥淚t’s clear that single-word judgments are outdated, and we now need to see significant reform,鈥 says Younger. At last year鈥檚 conference, as anger mounted over the pressures of the inspection regime in the wake of headteacher Ruth Perry鈥檚 death, her sister Professor Julia Waters called on school leaders who also work as inspectors to 鈥渉and in your badges鈥. Did the sector respond? The inspectorate said that 333 additional inspectors left between April last year and last month (one in seven). But it took on 427 new inspectors in that time. Younger described what happened to Perry as 鈥渉eartbreaking. The current Ofsted inspection regime casts a dark shadow over everyone working in the school community.鈥 Last year鈥檚 conference was also dominated by the threat of strike action. That was eventually taken off the table, after the government made a 6.5 per cent pay rise offer and 85 per cent of NAHT鈥檚 members voted to accept the deal. But it highlighted to Younger the 鈥減ower of the collective鈥, which is why she got involved in NAHT in the first place. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that feeling of strength and togetherness鈥e stand together and can achieve amazing things.鈥 Younger鈥檚 proudest career moment so far was finding out last year she鈥檇 been elected NAHT鈥檚 vice president at a national executive meeting in Exeter, surrounded by 鈥渃olleagues and lots of hugs鈥. Today, Younger is 鈥渆xcited and humbled鈥 about becoming NAHT president, and 鈥渞eady鈥 for the challenge. But after 21 years of working in schools, and all the challenges, she isn’t in a hurry to give it up. Schools are 鈥済enuinely amazing, special places to work. That’s why we keep coming back year after year.鈥