A TEACHER has told of her journey back to work — and the top of her union — after “micro-management” and underfunding drove her out of the classroom.

National Education Union (NEU) co-president Niamh Sweeney said returning to teach a vocational subject had reinforced her belief in a “broad and balanced curriculum.”

But reaching tears in her presidential speech at the union’s ATL sector conference, Ms Sweeney told delegates: “Four years ago, I walked out of the classroom, left students mid-way through their sixth form and felt horrifically guilty. I still do. I feared at the time that I was leaving forever.