Patrick Nash, Chief Executive of Teacher Support Network

2008 was a great year for Teacher Support Network, with the Group making great strides in our work to provide support for teachers and educational professionals in colleges and universities. We saw a significant increase in the amount of users accessing our services online and we are pleased to have found ourselves at the forefront of using valuable new technologies to provide support. At the same time, the more traditional forms of our work, particularly our telephone Support Lines, remained highly popular.

The year will also be remembered for the launch of Great Teachers Remembered, a new website that gives people the opportunity to pay tribute to the teachers that have influenced their lives. As well as raising vital funds for the charity, the site creates a lasting testimony of the impact great teachers have on those around them.

• You can download a pdf version of the full report here.
• Or read the report online at the bottom of this post.
  

The College and University Support Network (CUSN) had another successful year, with service use growing steadily and over 2,000 calls being received from or made to those working in adult, further and education. There was also much greater interaction occurring online between our advisors and those in need of support.

2008 was also a year of significant development for Teacher Support Scotland. August saw the roll out of full online and telephone support services north of the boarder similar to those in England and Wales. In addition, we secured funding from the Scottish Government for the development of a wellbeing toolkit, in partnership with fife Council, based on the success of the Creating the Conditions pilot which improved the wellbeing in staff in schools in Fife and Renfrewshire.

Calls to the Teacher Support Cymru Support Line almost doubled in 2008 and there was a tremendous increase in the use of our highly-regarded Welsh language InfoCentre.

As an organisation, we moved into our own smart newly-built premises in Islington from which to coordinate our efforts to serve the profession.

Although proud of these successes, 2008 will also be remembered for the tragic loss of Steve Sinnott, the General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, and Nicky Harrison, CBE, who was Chairperson of our Advisory Panel. Both were passionate about education and were both great supporters of our charities. They are sorely missed both professionally and personally.

After such a year, we now look onward to 2009. In the year of the tenth anniversary of Teacher Support Line we hope to build on the successes of last year and continue to work in the spirit of Steve and Nicky: passionate about education, driven by great compassion for teachers and loyally supportive to this most eminent of professions.

You may have heard that I am leaving Teacher Support Network at the end of April after 11 years. I have very much enjoyed the challenge that being Chief Executive has presented and find it very satisfying to be leaving after a particularly successful year for the whole Group of charities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the support you have given Teacher Support Network and I am sure that you will continue to offer that to my successor and the whole team.

Attached file(s):
• Our annual report for 2008