Edmonton MP Kate Osamor wants the government to do much more to support teachers and pupils

*Kate Osamor, Labour Party (credit parliament.uk)*

With no plan, no ambition and no vision, the government is failing to deliver for the children of Enfield.

The government’s upcoming schools bill will fail to meet the challenge we now face, after twelve years during which standards have declined in schools across the country. Since 2010, teachers have seen their pay cut by over £4,000 and the pupil-to-teacher ratio has increased dramatically. It’s no wonder that 53% of primary school teachers and 57% of secondary school teachers feel their workload is now unmanageable.

What’s worse is that the government’s new national funding formula for distributing cash to schools has seen money redistributed from poor areas to rich areas. Funding in the most deprived parts of the country has been cut, while schools in the most affluent areas have seen an increase in the money they are getting.

The result is that the inequality between schools and pupils continues to increase rapidly. The latest data show that only 29% of pupils eligible for free school meals got a grade five or above at GCSE compared with 57% of non-eligible pupils. Yet the government’s proposed schools bill fails to set out a plan to drive-up standards in the classroom or turn around opportunities for more than 200,000 children who live in areas with no ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ schools.

There is huge inequality within Enfield borough itself. While 47% of pupils attending Latymer School (where many students actually come from outside the borough) achieved at least two A grades and one B in their A-levels, that number is below 10% for every other school in Edmonton constituency. We can surely all agree that a pupil’s grades should be determined by their own ambition and effort, rather than their school.

Labour is calling on the government to focus on children’s experiences in the classroom, not bureaucratic tinkering. Following publication of its strategy for schools, the government admitted that most schools already hit their new target for the length of the day, with the prime minister himself having admitted the evidence for lengthening the school day was “not as good as it could have been”.

What we need is proper investment in schools, pupils and teachers, plus a new determination to drive-up standards for all schools with the most ambitious school improvement programme for a generation. Labour’s plan would include getting 6,500 new teachers into our schools, alongside embedding careers advice, work experience and digital skills in every child’s learning, so young people leave education ready for work and ready for life, equipped with the skills they need for the future.

Pupils and teachers desperately need targeted support that will reduce inequality between schools, invest in infrastructure, and bring down barriers that are preventing disadvantaged pupils from getting ahead. It’s time to stop tinkering around the edges and invest in our pupils so that no matter where a student comes from, they have the chance to fulfil their ambitions.

Kate Osamor is the Labour MP for Edmonton. Edmonton constituents are welcome to get in touch:
Call 020 7219 6602
Email [email protected]

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