This evening I attended the education hustings hosted by NAHT.
The hustings was chaired by the Branch Secretary for the National Association of Head Teachers in Southampton, which is the largest union of school leaders in England and Wales with a membership made up of Head Teachers, Deputy & Assistant Heads as well as middle leaders in both primary and secondary schools.
Education is obviously one of the key policy areas for members of the public in deciding who to vote for on 4th July with big questions (both locally and nationally) over the crisis in recruitment and retention of school staff, OFSTED, Special Needs provision, the condition of school buildings and school funding generally.
We covered many areas, but in particular I highlighted:·
- Boosting school funding to the highest level ever in real terms per pupil so our schools and teachers have the tools they need to make sure every child receives a world-class education. We are providing £2 billion extra school funding this year and next, increasing the school budget to £59.6 billion in 2024-25, fulfilling our pledge to restore per pupil funding to record levels.
- Recruiting over 27,000 extra teachers since 2010 and providing high quality teacher training so every child can benefit from a world-class education. We have recruited an additional 27,000 full time equivalent teachers in England and increased the starting salary to £30,000 to attract the best teachers.
- Delivering 60,000 more special educational needs school places – the largest increase in a generation – so every child receives an education that meets their needs. We are investing an annual record of £850 million in councils to create new places for young people with SEND and AP in mainstream and special schools, creating 60,000 new places across the country – contrasting the last Labour Government who reduced the number of special educational needs school places by 4,000.
- Removing RAAC from the one per cent of schools that had it to ensure that every child and member of staff is safe to focus on what they are there to do. Through the School Rebuilding Programme, we have identified the 234 education settings, out of 22,000, that contain RAAC so we can now rebuild, refurbish or fund its permanent removal.
Labour’s policy to charge VAT to independent schools would risk 134,000 pupils ‘leaving immediately’ and requiring a state education, costing the taxpayer up to £1.6 billion. ‘Children would need to be educated by the state, with large numbers of pupils leaving immediately and further pupils leaving the sector as they reach the end of key educational stages’.
If you have any questions about education, please get in touch with my office.
Sidney Yankson
