Last Friday (14th March) saw Education Secretary, Brigit Phillipson address the ASCL conference. They represent school, college and trust leaders.
Commenting, Peter Shreeve, Assistant District Secretary of the National Education Union, said,
“Yet another speech about standards, but reality remains. How will this all be achieved without adequate funding?
“Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson was clear ‘standards drive life chances’ and this means:
- more teachers.
- a core curriculum everywhere.
- tackling the ‘absence crisis, supporting our children with special educational needs.’
- structures and accountability.
“All very reasonable, but if we want an inclusive education system, growing parental confidence around special needs, the key question remains unanswered: Where is the funding?”
He went on to say,
“Schools cannot safely cater for the range of student needs, at the moment. If the Education Secretary fails to fully fund the September pay rise, Island schools will face more cuts and less student support. Realistically how can education support or standards be raised without adequate funding?
“The Education Secretary said that inclusion and standards ‘go together’ citing King Ecgbert School in Sheffield: ‘If we get it right for our most vulnerable, then we’ll be getting it right for everyone’.
“The Island NEU has been involved in school restructures and redundancies again this academic year. Locally, we may be about to cut both teacher and support staff numbers further, if primary schools close. Even if they do not, the high recent consultation costs added to the high needs deficit budget will have negative financial consequences.
“How is this getting it right for everyone, if we can’t get right for our most vulnerable?”
