[2][3] The main founders of the league were L. E. Lane, a London-based teacher who had previously campaigned to equalise payments from the union's benevolent and orphanage funds, and Joseph Tate, based in Birmingham, who became its first honorary secretary.

But growth was initially slow, with only 34 members by November, and an effort to pass an equal pay policy at the NUT conference that year was unsuccessful.

[4] By 1916, the federation's membership had grown significantly, and its members had become increasingly frustrated with continuing male control of the NUT.

From this date, members of the central council of the NUWT were not permitted to hold membership of the NUT.

It was also concerned with education in its widest sense and took an interest in many issues such as class sizes, corporal punishment, the school leaving age, teacher training, and wider social and political debates such as capital punishment, the minimum wage and health policy.

[11] Presidents of the union included Emily Phipps, Agnes Dawson, Nancy Stewart Parnell and Nan McMillan.