Roundtable Guide 2024 - Planning Roundtable Events with Political Representatives

Aug 30, 2026

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NAHT provides a practical guide for organizing roundtable meetings with local political representatives and policy makers, supporting officials to lobby key campaign issues ahead of the 2024 general election. The guidance covers coordination with the regional team, venue selection and costs, scheduling when MPs/MSs/MLAs are in the constituency, and strategies for invitations, reminders, and promotion. It includes email invite templates and outlines six priority campaign areas to structure discussions, plus a draft agenda framework.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatDOCX

Pages9

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Roundtable events with political representatives

Planning with the regional staff team

Venue, cost, and meeting format

Date, time, invites, and promotion

Invite templates for political representatives

Members’ invites and registration

Six priority campaigns for 2024

Roundtable agenda template

Roundtable events with political representatives NAHT officials are encouraged to organise roundtable meetings with local politicians and policy makers. We hope all officials feel empowered and supported by NAHT staff to lead on such events and lobby on the main campaign issues of the day. This is a particularly important strand of our campaign, given there will a general election in 2024, or early 2025. This short guide will help you plan a roundtable meeting. It makes reference to MPs (Members of Parliament), MSs (Members of Senate in Wales), and MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland. NAHT regional team Before planning a roundtable, notify your regional staff team (regional head, regional officer, regional organiser) as they can help shape and promote the event. If you do not have contact information for the team in your region, please email HYPERLINK "organising@naht.org.uk" organising@naht.org.uk. Location When seeking out a venue, you should consider the following: Is it a convenient location for members? Is there car parking or good transport networks? Is the room size appropriate for audience size? As a trade union, we promote the use of venues that are unionised. Would an online meeting work better for you and your branch? Cost If a member’s school can be used to host the roundtable, that would be the preferred choice. If this is not the case, we ask that you consider the cost and ensure the price of room hire and hospitality is approved by the branch or regional treasurer in advance of signing a booking form. You are encouraged to provisionally book the venue, but to delay signing the booking form until you are sure that the date is suitable and there will be a sizeable audience. This will help avoid cancellation costs. You can avoid additional tech hire costs by contacting the NAHT organiser who can provide equipment to make any meeting hybrid. Date and time Schedule the event to take place on a day when the MP/MS/MLA will be in the constituency (usually Fridays, possibly Thursdays) and choose a time that would suit members to attend. Invites and promoting the event MPs/MSs/MLAs are busy people who have busy email inboxes too, so an invite can be easily missed. Contact the political representative directly via email to extend the initial invite and at the same time send a calendar diary invite. If you hold a telephone number for the political representative or the constituency office, call and remind the representative or the staff member of the roundtable. A reminder email should be sent if a response has not been received. If an apology is sent, do acknowledge this and record it at the meeting. You may want to have the availability of the representative as your starting point. Make contact about a week ahead the roundtable as a gentle reminder and to explain the format in more detail. If an agenda is prepared, this should be provided. Advertise the event widely via social media, your networks and media outlets (pre- event press release). Your regional team can provide you with high resolution NAHT logos. Invite template for political representatives Dear (insert name) MP/MLA/MS, Invitation to roundtable meeting with local school leaders Date Time Venue I write to invite you to participate in a roundtable meeting on education with school leaders, educators, parents and our board of governors on (insert date) in (insert venue address, including postcode) commencing at (insert time). The discussion will focus on six areas of concerns for school leaders, where urgent action is needed: Pay and funding Workload and well-being Recruitment and retention School buildings and estates Inspection and accountability Special educational needs and disabilities An invitation has been extended to local media outlets. This meeting will also be streamed to an online audience and promoted via social media outlets. Please advise if you are available to attend before (insert date) by emailing (insert your email

FAQs

How should NAHT officials coordinate before planning a roundtable?

Officials should notify their NAHT regional staff team (regional head, regional officer, and regional organiser). The team can help shape and promote the event, including registration support and setting up an online meeting if needed.

What venue and cost considerations are recommended?

Choose a convenient location for members with appropriate room size and suitable parking or transport access. When using a member’s school is not possible, ensure room hire and hospitality costs are approved in advance by the branch or regional treasurer, and consider booking provisionally to avoid cancellation costs.

How should invitations be sent and followed up to political representatives?

Email the representative directly and send a calendar diary invite. If there is no response, send a reminder email; if an apology is received, acknowledge it and record it at the meeting. Contact the representative about a week ahead to explain the format and provide an agenda if available.

Aug 30, 2026

Upload by Eliana