Commenting on the Schools White Paper, Dr Patrick Roach,
NASUWT General Secretary said:
“For more than a decade the Government has failed to deliver a
competent plan to ensure that every education provider is
properly led, supported and accountable for delivering the
entitlements that should be guaranteed to every child and young
person.
“The ambitions set out in the White Paper will not be delivered
unless they are matched with the funding and resources needed to
meet the challenges facing the education system today.
“The irony of the Government’s assertions of wanting to retain
the best teachers will not be lost on a profession that has seen
their pay cut by 19% in real terms over the last 12 years and
where two out of three teachers are seriously considering
quitting the job.
“Investment in training and development for teachers is long
overdue, but will not be welcomed by already overworked teachers
unless they are guaranteed time to access these opportunities.
“The White Paper’s restatement of the commitment to £30,000
starting salaries for new teachers does not undo the damage that
has been done to teachers’ pay and working conditions over the
last 12 years. The Government promised to deliver £30,000
starting salaries by September 2022 and teachers expect them to
keep that promise whilst also delivering restorative pay awards
for experienced teachers.
“Excellence for all children and young people will not be
delivered until the Government addresses the urgent need to also
deliver substantial additional investment in the teaching
profession and wider services for children and families.
“The White Paper should be a golden opportunity for the
Government to finally abandon the ideological experiments of the
last decade which have resulted in harmful fragmentation of
education and children’s services and a lost decade for children,
young people and teachers.
“It is welcome that after a decade of ideological attacks on the
role of local authorities, the Government is now recognising the
vital role that these democratically accountable bodies should
play in children’s education and in ensuring that no child is
left behind. They must now be properly funded to ensure they can
support schools to deliver for children and young people in their
areas.
“The Education Secretary has said that he is determined to be
evidence-led. The evidence of the last 12 years has clearly
prompted him to reconsider the merits of changes introduced by
his predecessors. That is welcome, but the Secretary of State now
needs to show that he is determined to not simply play catch-up,
but to deliver a much more ambitious programme that will enshrine
and assure the rights and entitlements of pupils and teachers.”
