NASUWT: Focus on standards not structure “welcome and refreshing”
Commenting on the speech delivered by Stephen Twigg, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, to the Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts (RSA) today, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, said:
“The focus on standards not structures is a welcome and refreshing change from the position of the Coalition Government.
“The commitment to all schools having better support and a key role for local government also has merit and we look forward to engaging with the Blunkett Review.
“Reinstating the right for all children and young people to be taught by qualified teachers will be supported and welcomed by parents and the teaching profession.
“Restoring the entitlement of parents to have a clear route to raising issues and concerns locally is also a positive move.
“A key challenge for Labour will be to address how the accountability system can be reformed to secure the entitlement of all children and young people to a broad and balanced curriculum.
“However, if the changes Stephen Twigg has outlined today are to be carried forward then Labour must not forget the centrality of the school workforce in maintaining and raising standards.
“Labour will therefore need a clear strategy to address the deep crisis in morale in the teaching profession which is driving good teachers out of teaching and deterring new ones from entering the profession.”
ENDS
Lena Davies
Press and Media Officer
Campaigns and Communications Team
NASUWT
0121 457 6250 / 07867 392 746
lena.davies@mail.nasuwt.org.uk
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