AN Essex teacher is to take over the helm at one of the biggest unions representing teachers in the UK.
Rosemary Carabine will become national president of NASUWT - the Teachers’ Union on Saturday.
Rosemary, who lives in Witham and teaches chemistry at Moulsham High School in Chelmsford, said she was “extremely honoured” to become president of the union.
She said: “Our union will always defend the rights of teachers. The NASUWT is dedicated to protect and maintain the profession we care about.
“We will fight to allow teachers to use their professional judgement, to be free to do the job they have been trained for and love.
"We will continue to fight against policies which are a barrier to this.”
Born and raised in Swansea, Rosemary is married to Mike and has two sons.
She came into teaching after an earlier career as an environmental chemist.
Rosemary says she has a passion to see more girls studying and excelling in science subjects, especially chemistry and physics, and wants to see more pupils follow a career in science.
The 64-year-old former head of science said: “It is such a privilege to teach in my specialism chemistry and to be able to teach A-level.
“Teaching in specialism is a major strength of the school I work in and of the pupils’ progress.
“There are a significant number of students taking the separate sciences because of this.
“In the past, across many schools, STEM subjects such as computer science, engineering, chemistry and physics have been harder for children and young people to access, particularly among girls and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“I have always been passionate for more girls and women to study chemistry and physics and have supported STEM clubs with other teachers at my school.”
As she takes over as president, she is aware of the challenges facing the profession, and at the NASUWT annual conference being held in Glasgow over Easter, members will highlight workload, behaviour and pay as key issues having an impact on attracting graduates and retaining teachers.
Rosemary said: “I want us to get our professionalism back. I want that because most of us are excellent teachers.
"We know how to impart the knowledge but too often in education there is a lot of interference in education from people who have never taught.”
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