NEU responds to Education Policy Institute’s damning report on UTCs
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Commenting on the latest report from the EPI, Dr Mary Bousted,
joint general secretary of the National Education
Union, said: “The EPI report on UTCs makes
for damning reading. The NEU has said from the very start
that UTCs were not viable. It was clear from the outset that
seeking to attract pupils at age 14 was a policy doomed to failure.
“Sadly this has increasingly proven to be the case as the
NEU has tracked the...Request free
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Commenting on the latest report from the EPI, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“The EPI report on UTCs makes for damning reading. The NEU has said from the very start that UTCs were not viable. It was clear from the outset that seeking to attract pupils at age 14 was a policy doomed to failure.
“Sadly this has increasingly proven to be the case as the NEU has tracked the closure of five UTCs* which have cost the taxpayer £45 million in capital and opening costs – money that could have been invested instead in the wider school system. According to a National Audit Office published earlier this year, £192 million has been spent by the DfE on the UTC project despite the warning signs that these schools were failing to attract sufficient numbers of pupils. In fact other UTCs have converted to academy schools after it became clear they were unviable as 14-19 institutions.
Of course the real losers are the pupils and their families who now find themselves without a school and who have been so badly let down by a Government that has refused to learn from its mistakes”.
ENDS
Editors Notes
[1] Figure for capital costs was reported by the TES: https://www.tes.com/news/further-education/breaking-news/government-spent-%C2%A315m-utcs-closed-or-did-not-open [2] Total amount reported by the Burnley Express: http://www.burnleyexpress.net/news/local/flagship-10m-technical-college-to-close-in-august-1-7890463 [3]Total amount reported by Brighton University https://www.brighton.ac.uk/about-us/news-and-events/news/2014/07-22_plans-for-12m-university-technical-college-approved.aspx
[12] Figure for capital costs was reported by the TES: https://www.tes.com/news/further-education/breaking-news/government-spent-%C2%A315m-utcs-closed-or-did-not-open [23] Total amount reported by the Burnley Express: http://www.burnleyexpress.net/news/local/flagship-10m-technical-college-to-close-in-august-1-7890463 |
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