Commenting on the Education Policy Institute’s (EPI) annual
report, which finds the education disadvantage gap has stopped
closing and poses a major setback for social mobility,
Rosamund McNeil, Assistant General
Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“These trends show that the Government cannot claim success for
their education 'reforms'. The new cabinet must think again on
education. Cutting school funding dramatically while at the same
time driving more families deeper into poverty comes at a high
cost for poor and working-class students. The Government expects
heads and teachers to ‘close the gap’ for disadvantaged pupils
whilst ignoring United Nations evidence of how its own policies
are widening the poverty gap. We shouldn't be surprised by
these findings, but they should urgently trigger a change in
approach.
“The Government must commit to proactively reducing child poverty
and commit to ending it. They must also provide what schools need
to make education accessible – fair pay rises to retain motivated
teachers, reversal of the funding cuts, and a curriculum broad
and flexible enough to motivate all learners and respond to the
reality of their lives. Schools can be the place where students
gain a sense of optimism and agency about their futures, but
we're not giving schools what they need to make this difference.
That's simply not fair on anyone.
“The Government could do so much more to support teachers on this
issue but a relentless focus on exam results and endless data is
the problem and not the solution. Supporting emotional well-being
and students' sense of belonging in their school has been shown
to improve students' learning, so pressuring schools to focus on
exam preparation and tests is counter-productive for both
academic learning and social development. We need to focus on
activities like reading for pleasure, more sport and outdoor
learning and more art and drama – all are shown to engage
students, close the motivation gap and inspire children's
interest and commitment to education.”
