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The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) and the National Union of Teachers (NUT), two of EI’s national affiliates in the UK, have reacted with disappointment to the latest Queen’s speech to Parliament. Both unions are unhappy with the fact that education issues were not mentioned.

NASUWT: emphasis must be put on equal access to quality education

“It is deeply disappointing that there is no change signalled in the Queen’s speech regarding the direction of education policy in the run-up to the General Election,” NASUWT General Secretary Chris Keates said. “The ideological bandwagon continues to roll on academies and free schools, despite the fact that major problems are emerging on an almost daily basis in relation to governance, use of public money, and lack of public accountability.”

She went on to say that the Coalition has now confirmed its commitment to its flawed and elitist curriculum and qualifications reforms which are narrowing the entitlements for millions of children and young people.

“The Coalition has identified a need to introduce measures to protect vulnerable children and those at risk of exploitation,” she said. “However, once again there are no provisions being made to address the increasing number of children condemned to grinding poverty and homelessness as a direct result of the Coalition’s economic and social policies.”

She also noted that nothing in the speech will give hope to teachers and other public service workers that their pay, pensions and working conditions will improve. Nor did the speech address the continuing high levels of youth unemployment which blight the life chances of young people or mention measures to alleviate the financial pressures on ordinary working people and their families.

NUT: privatisation of education is not the answer to increase education quality

“The full facts about the impact of the Government’s academies and free schools programme are sadly missing,” stated Christine Blower, NUT General Secretary and President of EI’s European region, the European Trade Union Committee for Education.

The evidence – taking into account a range of factors including GCSE examination results and Ofsted inspections – shows that academies do no better than similarly maintained schools and, in many cases, are not performing as well, she said.

Moreover, Blower underlined, claims that free schools are raising standards is not supported by evidence from Ofsted inspections. These show that 36 per cent of free schools inspected by Ofsted have been judged to require improvement or be inadequate. Even worse, over half – an astonishing 52 per cent of free school pupils – are being taught in schools requiring improvement or are deemed inadequate. This is despite the huge sums of money that have been spent on setting them up, often, as the Public Accounts Committee has pointed out, in areas where they are not needed, she said.

Blower also stressed that increasing the number of apprenticeships should be a priority, and that teachers report an under-supply in most areas. Alongside a focus on what works best for employers, what works for young people should have equivalent consideration, she said. According to her, apprenticeships need to be high quality and recognised as a valuable route to employment. They should not be viewed as cheap labour, but instead paid the living wage.

She also explained that extending free childcare is welcome. “However, quality must be the paramount concern for both childcare provision and early years' education, using a high quality play based curriculum,” she added. “This means investing in qualified teachers, good quality professional development and training for all staff, as well as retaining nursery schools which are shown to do an excellent job.”

EI: public authorities responsible for ensuring equity and quality in education

EI supports its UK affiliates which have been, for many years, fighting the rampant privatisation of education, and struggling to ensure quality education for all, said EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen. “Let’s be clear: the UK Government, as all governments the world over, is responsible for guaranteeing access to education for all.”

Privatising education and restricting access to it and cutting public spending in education are no solution; investing in quality public education is, he said.