Commenting on Rishi Sunak’s 'maths to
18’ plan, Dr Mary
Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education
Union,
said:
“Ensuring every young person has the
skills they need to succeed is a laudable aim of the Prime
Minister and one that is shared by school staff up and down the
country. The Prime Minister’s ambition will be thwarted, though,
unless he faces up to the reality of the state of education in
England.
“After thirteen years in government
there are not enough teachers to deliver the Prime Minister’s
vision. His government’s policies for teacher recruitment are not
bringing in enough new teachers. There is also a crisis of
teacher retention as a result of low pay and excessive
workload. The Government needs to urgently get a grip of this
workforce crisis in education.
“Of his proposals on maths education,
the Prime Minister says ‘we’ll need to recruit and train the
maths teachers’ but he does not explain how the Government
will do this. Let’s not forget that this is a
Government that has cut its recruitment target for
maths teachers by 39% since 2020.
“Parents and school staff will be left
scratching their heads at this latest announcement from the Prime
Minister. Taken as a whole, the Government’s policies on
education simply don’t add up.”
