Prime minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to call the general election for Thursday, July 4, sparked a flurry of calls for education to be a priority in the coming weeks of campaigning and debate.
In the hours after Mr Sunak’s announcement, the National Association of Head Teachers published its General Election manifesto, setting out what it called the three major crises in education:
- The recruitment and retention crisis: Teacher training recruitment targets continue to be missed year-on-year and the latest figures show that almost a third (31.3%) of teachers quit within five years of qualifying and almost 44,000 left the profession in the space of one year – the highest number since records began.
- The SEND crisis: The failure to properly fund the 2014 SEND reforms has left “a broken system” where local authorities face high needs budget deficits, schools cannot access the support they need for pupils, and parents are turning increasingly to tribunals to get access to the support that their child needs – the fact that 96% of SEND tribunals are being won by parents perhaps says it all.
- The school buildings crisis: The government’s Condition of School Buildings Survey in 2021 estimated that £11.4bn is needed to bring the school estate up to a satisfactory condition – a figure which is now much higher thanks to spiralling inflation. Between 2009/10 and 2022/23, the Department for Education’s capital spending declined by 46% in real terms. The National Audit Office has said that of the 64,000 or so individual school buildings in England, 38% (around 24,000) are “beyond their estimated initial design life”. The concrete (RAAC) crisis has only served to exacerbate the situation. A report from the Committee of Public Accounts last year warned that the current level of funding of £1.3bn a year is only enough to rebuild or refurbish 50 schools a year.
The NAHT manifesto – entitled For Their Future – is aiming to put education at the heart of the election debate. It says that while improved school funding is not the only solution to the three crises, it will be required if progress is to be made.
It comes as the Confederation of School Trusts also set out its election wish-list, calling for “a strategic plan and investment” in our “fragile” school system. The CST wants to see school funding and recruitment prioritised, including a plan to address teacher recruitment in shortage subjects.
On funding, the CST is asking for “fair per-pupil funding that is sufficient and sustainable, and equitable and includes weighting for disadvantage.”
The CST is also calling for a cross-government national strategy to address child poverty, reform to SEN and mental health support services to “alleviate the crisis of vulnerable children”, and adequate funding for school buildings and infrastructure.
The NAHT manifesto, meanwhile, also reiterates its recent calls for fundamental reform of the school inspection system, especially the removal of single-phrase judgements.
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary said: “For too long, children’s education has been sidelined. Crises in recruitment and retention, SEN, and our school buildings are growing out of control. With the right investment and a reset in the relationship with the profession, whoever wins the election can solve these problems. It is time to restore education as a national priority – it is what our children deserve.”
No matter what happens, teacher recruitment and school funding look set to form key debating points for politicians after Labour’s recent pledges.
Labour has said it will recruit 6,500 more teachers with around £350m committed to this goal – although it has not said exactly how it plans to achieve this other than piecemeal ideas such as a £2,400 retention payment for all those completing the ECF. Labour also plans to raise £1.7bn by ending tax breaks for private schools.
Kier Starmer’s party is also committed to scrapping single-phrase Ofsted judgements and to investing £210 million in a CPD entitlement for teachers.
The Association of School and College Leaders said recruitment and funding must be priorities in the upcoming campaign.
General secretary, Pepe Di’Iasio, added: “All political parties should make it a priority in their manifesto to commit to providing schools and colleges with the funding and staff they require to deliver a great education for all children and young people. For too long education has been seen as a drain on current resources, rather than an investment in future success.”
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said he will be looking for “meaningful proposals” from political parties and reminded politicians that the union’s 500,000 members will be heading to the ballot boxes in force on July 4.
He continued: "Our schools are chronically underfunded. Primary class sizes are the highest in Europe, and secondary class sizes are the highest since records began more than 40 years ago.
“Teachers are underpaid and overworked, resulting in the worst recruitment and retention crisis in a generation. That will not be reversed unless there is significant change to pay and terms and conditions of the education workforce.
"SEND provision and mental health support for our young people is practically non-existent. Many of our school buildings are in a chronic state of disrepair, literally crumbling away with the ongoing effects of RAAC and asbestos.
"This is a grim picture for one of the richest countries in the world. It cannot go on.”
- NAHT: For Their Future: General Election Manifesto, May 2024: https://www.naht.org.uk/Portals/0/Resources/NAHT-Manifesto_2024.pdf?ver=2024-05-22-131822-913