Commenting on the Department for Education’s ‘Levelling Up’
plans, NASUWT - The Teachers’ Union General
Secretary, Dr Patrick Roach, said:
“Education is one of the most powerful tools to level
up outcomes for young people and communities, but the latest
levelling up plans from the government risk
diverting even more money away from the
frontline in schools and colleges where it is
needed most.
“Structural changes and academisation of schools are not a
recipe for delivering better outcomes for pupils.
Substantial additional investment is needed in the workforce in
our schools and colleges.
“The Government will not deliver on its levelling up
ambitions by threatening schools or by heaping yet more
responsibilities onto teachers and school leaders.
Extra resources need to be
found to incentivise teachers to stay in the profession
and action taken to remove the excessive
workload burdens that are continuing to have a
profoundly damaging impact on teacher recruitment, retention, and
morale.
“Teachers have been picking up the pieces of Government
failures for more than a decade, as
vital services for children, young people and
families have been eroded and
lost. Improving the life chances of children
in all areas, especially those areas of greatest disadvantage,
will require better coordination and the
reinstatement of a statutory duty on schools and other children’s
services to work together, reversing the damaging decisions
taken by Ministers a decade ago.
