ATL comment on Labour Party’s education plans

Commenting on the Labour Party’s education plans, Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:

“The single most important thing for education in England and Wales right now is to provide sufficient funding. We welcome commitments to protect or raise funding in real terms for every pupil in all schools. We hope that all parties aspiring for government will promise to raise the amount of funding for every pupil in real terms as soon after the election as possible.

“Without additional funding, many of the problems that pupils, parents, teachers and leaders are experiencing – from rising class sizes and narrowing curriculum opportunities to the teacher recruitment and retention crisis and rising staff and pupil mental health problems – will be difficult to address, and are likely to get worse.

“The sooner schools are properly funded, the sooner pupils can benefit from a wider range of subjects to help develop their skills and understanding, being taught with sufficient resources by expert, qualified teachers and support staff in school buildings up to appropriate standards. Our children and young people deserve no less.”