Commenting on the Prime Minister’s speech at Conservative Party
Conference, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary
of the National Education
Union, said:
“Headteachers, teachers, support staff and parents will be
utterly dismayed by the Prime Minister’s speech to the
Conservative Party Conference today, in which she did not address
the school funding crisis.
“The Prime Minister referred to ‘opportunity’ for all: ‘To dream,
and strive, and achieve a better life.’ For this to be a reality
we need a well-rounded, well-funded education where children and
young people regardless of background are offered a vibrant and
well-resourced curriculum, where class sizes are kept down, where
schools can afford their full quota of staff and where they can
stay open for a full week, and repair their buildings.
Under current Government policies this is becoming an
impossibility.
“School funding is being cut by £2 billion a year in real terms
compared to three years ago. There are 66,000 more pupils in
schools since last year yet there are 5,400 fewer teachers, 2,800
fewer teaching assistants, 1,400 fewer support staff and 1,200
fewer auxiliary staff. This is simply not good enough and makes
the Prime Minister’s words about ‘opportunity’ for all sound very
hollow indeed.”
