The National Education Union (NEU) is today launching its Value
Education, Value Educators campaign.
The pandemic has proved just how valuable schools are to
children, young people and society.
During the last year, education staff have created innovative
ways to support learning, keep students connected and nurture
those who need extra care.
The pandemic has caused huge damage to children and young
people's learning. The costs of Covid-19 have been borne by
schools and colleges, class sizes are ever increasing, child
poverty is on the rise and our curriculum and assessment systems
are not meeting children's needs.
The Prime Minister has emphasised the importance of education
and, coming out of Covid-19, the need to ensure no child is left
behind.
But he now needs to turn words into action.
The NEU Value Education, Value Educators
campaign lays out the areas of concern that need to be
addressed.
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To value education, the Government needs to increase
funding and invest in recovery. The costs of
Covid-19 have been borne by our schools and colleges. The
amount pledged by Government to compensate for lost learning
amounts to just £310 per pupil. Other countries are spending
far more – the US £1,830 per young person and £2,090 in the
Netherlands.
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To value education, we need to end child
poverty. 4.3 million children live in poverty in
the UK – that’s 31 per cent of children, or nine in every class
of 30. Child poverty destroys children’s potential. An
estimated nine per cent of UK families do not have a laptop,
tablet or desktop computer. Two million households don’t have
access to the internet. Forty per cent of the education
attainment gap is set in stone before children even start
school. And 70 per cent of children growing up in poverty live
in a household where at least one person works.
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To value education, high-stakes testing should be
replaced with assessments fit for the future. The
English education system tops international league tables for
the number of tests pupils take. Children entering education in
2021 will be young adults in 2033. Schools can prepare them for
jobs that have not yet been created, for technologies that have
not yet been invented. To achieve these goals, our curriculum
and assessment system must give children experience of making
and doing as well as reading and writing. They need more
teaching and less testing.
The pandemic demands that we re-examine what matters, and what
makes a difference to young people’s learning and life chances.
And our campaign aims to shape the education system in the best
interests of our communities and the pupils we serve.
Please sign up to our campaign at www.valueeducation.org.uk
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National
Education Union, said:
"Ensuring schools and colleges have the funding and support to
address historically high-class sizes and underfunding and the
further issues that have arisen through the pandemic is
essential.
Spending on education should be seen as an investment in our
country’s future.
After the disruption and distress of the past 18 months, families
and school staff do not want sticking plaster solutions.
"We need to see effective, well-funded proposals put in place by
Government. Most children and young people have one chance at
education, and they must be given all that they need to succeed."
