Commenting on the education section of the Government’s Levelling
Up White Paper, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary
of the National Education Union, said:
“There is much in the aspiration of levelling up that the NEU can
agree with - but aspiration isn't sufficient and there is little
confidence in a government that has neither the right ideas nor
the capability to implement them. Their answers of ten years ago,
such as free schools and academies being the panacea to
educational achievement, have proven not in themselves to be the
answer that children, families, teachers, leaders and support
staff need today.
“This White Paper does not provide sensible solutions to the lack
of school and college funding, nor the exam factory culture -
driven by national policies - which undermines progress on the
skills and education agenda in England. It contains no
recognition of the effect on the profession over the last two
years and the number of teachers questioning if they can continue
with so little tangible support, leadership or flexibility from
the Department for Education.
“The DfE does not appear to be reading its own reports about the
impact of Covid on learning, children’s confidence, and on areas
of young people’s development such as speech and language and
socialisation with peers. The White Paper should contain a
proactive national strategy on student wellbeing and explain how
the DfE will prioritise students’ social and emotional learning;
otherwise we will see exclusions rising, lower pupil attendance
and more demand for specialist services.
“The DfE must do much better to understand what supports and
retains teachers and boosts effective teaching, and this has to
involve real action to address teacher workload and pay.
Levelling up must include saving the vital support staff jobs
which are disappearing, with huge damage for students with SEND,
who need personalised support.
“The silence around child poverty will deeply frustrate heads and
teachers. Whilst schools do everything they can to counteract the
effects of poverty on children’s lives, the responsibility to
reduce levels of child poverty year on year must sit with the
Government. The levelling up agenda must include a robust plan,
across Government, to eradicate child poverty through national
policies.
“With funding levels currently at the levels of 2010, many
schools and colleges are running on empty. This is a shocking
situation. Primary class sizes are at their highest this century
and secondary class sizes are the highest since records began in
1978, with almost a million children being taught in classes with
more than 30 pupils. It is hard to see how schools will be able
to achieve the targets set out without addressing the fundamental
question of insufficient resources. The Government must restore
funding to all schools to at least the level of 2015-16 and needs
to fund a proper strategy for education recovery.
“We hope the DfE will engage with the Times Education Commission
report released last week and the Independent Assessment
Commission released today, which are packed with innovative ideas
about skills and learning after Covid.”
