Pupil premium ‘a shameful con’ says the NASUWT
Commenting in advance of Nick Clegg’s speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference in response to media reports that he will tell the Conference that the Party would never have been taken seriously again if they had not gone into coalition with the Tories, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, said:
“The Liberal Democrats have already forfeited the right to be taken seriously again in education policy.
“The Coalition policies for education are unadulterated Tory education ideology.
“Claims by the Liberal Democrat Leadership that they have secured a famous victory on the pupil premium are risible.
“The pupil premium currently being considered does not propose anything remotely like the pupil premium in the Liberal Democrat manifesto.
“The swingeing public spending cuts mean that the proposed pupil premium will not keep pace with the rising real term cost pressures in schools and will quickly be eroded by inflation.
“Few pupils are likely to benefit from the pupil premium and certainly far fewer than the one million children originally targeted by the Liberal Democrats before the general election.
“There are no safeguards to ensure that any additional money for schools to address disadvantage is spent on the pupils who need it most.
“Liberal Democrat rank and file members are being subjected to a shameful con.”
ENDS
At the liberal Democrat Conference, Chris Keates can be contacted on 07966 202403.
Alternatively, Lena Davies will be assisting with media enquiries and can be reached on 07880 817772.
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