(Birmingham, Edgbaston)
(Lab/Co-op):...The pain is not only being felt by
the schools; it is being felt by the teachers, too. Last year,
research by the National Education Union and
Tes revealed that 94% of teachers are having to pay for school
essentials such as books, while 73% are regularly paying for
stationery supplies. How can it be right that those who undertake a
role as important as educating our children feel they have no other
option than to spend their own money buying supplies? We do not
expect our doctors to buy their own medicines, so why should our
teachers be any different?..
...Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, has added:
“It is no wonder that schools are increasingly struggling to
provide pupils with basic essentials and having to ask parents to
fill the gap.”
These are not politicians; these are the people on the frontline
who are witnessing the devastating effect of Tory policies, and
we should listen to what they have to say...
(Ellesmere Port and Neston)
(Lab):...I know from talking to parents, teachers and
heads in my constituency that schools are already facing very
tough choices. The National Education Union survey
told us that 55% of schools that responded said that class sizes
had risen in the past year and that more than three quarters had
reported cuts in spending on books and equipment. The headteacher
survey on the state of our schools post the national funding
formula found that 90% of schools are now using pupil premium
funds to prop up their basic core budgets. That money is meant to
be spent on the most vulnerable pupils rather than as part of the
sticking-plaster approach that we are seeing at the
moment.
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
