Commenting on Labour’s plan to ‘shatter the class ceiling’ and
undertake radical reform of the education system, Geoff Barton,
General Secretary of the Association of School and College
Leaders, said:
“There has long been a clear link between poverty and educational
attainment that is evident from an early age and continues
throughout a child’s life and into adulthood. It’s simply not
right that family background plays such a huge role in dictating
the opportunities available to young people. A coherent
government strategy and significant investment is required to
solve this problem, but this has been sorely lacking.
“It’s also important to regularly review what and how pupils are
taught and in particular consider how a balance of academic and
vocational subjects might best equip young people with the skills
that employers are looking for. The current examination system,
based primarily on memorising large amounts of information, looks
increasingly antiquated.
“Education has been on the fringes of policy-making for too long
and it is encouraging that Labour appears to recognise how
central it should be. We look forward to examining their plans in
more detail. One thing is for sure, unless the issues of pay
erosion, inadequate funding and unmanageable workloads are
addressed then there are not going to be enough teachers and
leaders working in schools and colleges to enact the positive
changes we all want to see.”
