Commenting on the CBI’s latest report, Dr Mary
Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the
National Education Union, said:
“The NEU welcomes the CBI’s report, particularly in that it
recognises teachers’ concerns about the limiting nature of the
EBacc and the challenges schools face in teaching a breadth of
subjects but also in offering a broad range of experiences to
support young people in their future lives in work and in
society, families and relationships.
“We have said again and again that the EBacc policy will penalise
schools for offering a broad and balanced curriculum, tailored to
the needs and interests of their children, and we can see GCSE
entries continuing to collapse across many subjects. This policy
has reduced the breadth of subjects offered in many secondary
schools, limited opportunities for our children, and driven many
staff out of the teaching profession. Long-term damage has been
inflicted on creative and technical subjects excluded from the
EBacc; subjects such as art, music and technology, that are not
just crucial for our economic prosperity but also enrich lives,
are disappearing from our schools.
“The need for a high quality and impartial careers services in
schools and colleges is more important than ever yet funding an
adequate infrastructure to provide such a service has been
continually cut back or removed entirely. Our education system is
clearly broken and the Government needs to do some serious
rethinking about the short-sighted and narrow vision of education
they are providing for our future generations.”
