8/10/2019 09 Calderdale Cllr Leaders Responses
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In October 2014, Calderdale National Union of Teachers requested
the leader of the Conservative, Labour,
Liberal Democrat groups on Calderdale Council reply to our
'Stand Up for Education Manifesto'we wrote to:
Conservative Cllr Stephen Baines
Labour Cllr Tim Swift
Liberal Democrat Cllr Janet Battye
Our education manifesto calls for a broad, balanced and
enriching curriculum with a wider vision of learning
and achievement.
The election provides a fantastic opportunity to make the case
for the best education system for all our
childrenfor a system that values every child and gives teachers
the platform to bring out their full potential.
We informed the leaders of each group that all replies - or lack
of them - would be published, here they are ...
8/10/2019 09 Calderdale Cllr Leaders Responses
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Conservative Cllr Stephen Baines No response
Liberal Democrat Cllr Janet Battye No response
Labour Cllr Tim Swift
We share many of the aims and values set out in this manifesto,
and welcome it is an important tool for debate how we
all want education to improve in the next five years. Whilst as
you would expect, we wouldnt agree with every detail,
many of the important points raised in here are in line with
Labours priorities and commitments locally and often
nationally too.
In particular, we share your call for a wider vision of learning
and achievement. Whilst there is a place for testing, weagree that
the current balance is wrong and encourages teaching to the test
instead of instilling real skills and a
passion for learning. Labour were at the heart of the London
Challenge, and as you may know there are early attempts
to develop this approach across Yorkshire.
We strongly agree with the emphasise on quality of teaching and
the need for qualified teachers, and you will be aware
that Shadow spokesperson Tristram Hunt has consistently opposed
the Governments willingness to allow unqualified
teachers to be used.
In Calderdale, Labour took the lead on ensuring that tackling
child poverty is recognised as one of the key priorities, not
just for the Council but for all agencies across the district,
and in setting up a child poverty task force. We have
protected early years and sure start services, and recently
commissioned work to identify how breakfast clubs can be
supported and developed to make sure no child in Calderdale
starts school on an empty stomach.
Locally, we have acted to tackle the school place crisis. We are
concerned that nationally the Government is investing in
free schools rather than giving priority to areas where there is
an urgent need for additional places. We hope that the
next Labour government will put local authorities back at the
heart of planning for school provision, with the power and
resources we need to lead this work.
We recognise your concerns about the fractured education system.
Whilst Labour nationally has started on the road of
committing to restoring local authority leadership, personally I
would hope that they will go further. We support an end
to the free school programme which we believe has been divisive,
costly and wasteful.
We would note in passing that in addition to their being early
signs of major weaknesses in governance and
management of some academy chains and free schools, the powers
over individual schools exercised by multi academy
trust and arrangements far exceed any powers that local
authorities have held in the past over individual schools. We
believe that accountable local authorities can offer the right
balance of accountability and autonomy for schools.
We do not believe that profit-making chains should be allowed to
run schools. The use of the private sector to provide
services to schools must never be on a scale where the schools
and local authorities lose their overall responsibility and
accountability for the quality of education and the associated
supporting services.
Here in Calderdale, we have continually argued for the
investment we need to deliver quality education, and we will
continue to do so. Its important to recognise that whilst the
Government seeks to claim credit for the sums spent on
Pupil Premium, it is clear that much of this was never new money
but has simply been taken from schools through cuts
to other grants and funds.
Finally, we agree that quality education depends on
well-motivated, well-trained teachers who want to remain in an
attractive and rewarding profession.
This is a necessarily brief response to your document, but I
hope it gives you a strong flavour of the extent to which our
overall aims and ambitions for schools, for teaching and for
education are closely aligned with yours.
