[Education For Tomorrow: No 100, 2009]

Defending state education

 An issue that unites

Education for Tomorrow is now in its twenty-fifth year of production and has consistently campaigned for locally accountable, properly funded state education for all children.

We asked the general secretaries of the main TUC affiliated education unions for short statements supporting this position for our hundredth issue. The following contributions were received by our copy date. Yet more proof, were it needed, that there's far more that unites our organisations than divides!

Chris Keates General Secretary, NASUWT, writes:

'Pick up any newspaper any day to be presented with a catalogue of alleged failure, low standards, poor performance, schools in chaos, inadequate teachers, all designed to paint a picture of state education in meltdown. This is, of course, not surprising when the editors of many national newspapers send their own children to private schools.

State education is also under attack from those who espouse the philosophy of marketisation and privatisation of public services. The vagaries of the market are no way to run state education or indeed any public service, and recent events call into question whether it is even the way to run the economy. A vigorous defence must be mounted against those who seek to denigrate the value, success and importance of state education.

State education is not the default for those who cannot afford private education.

State education has the morale purpose, ethos and values to ensure that no young person is left behind, thus ending the link between poverty, disadvantage and educational attainment. State education is about people not profit.

Social mobility is boosted by the state schools ensuring that young people acquire the qualifications, academic or vocational, they need.

State education considers the needs of society as a whole recognising the importance of social and economic justice for all. It is state education which will break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, deprivation and unemployment. No other sector can or even attempts to meet such an enormously diverse range of needs so effectively.

State schools are packed with talented, hard working, committed teachers, school leaders and support staff. They are crammed with children and young people who want to learn and achieve. The very best in education is to be found in the state sector.' 

This response came from Sally Hunt, General Secretary, UCU:

'I believe that every child should have access to the best possible state school. It shouldn't matter where they live or how much their parents are willing to pay, pupils should be given the same opportunities regardless of their background.

It annoys me when I hear ministers talk about having more city academies, and increasing the role of the private sector in primary and secondary education. I don't buy into the argument that parents want more choice, they want just want to be able to send their son or daughter to a good school. If the government is serious about improving standards, then it needs to invest more money in state education.

An academy programme is not the best way to improve the life chances of all our children, or to ensure that opportunities in higher education are available to all based on ability. Sponsoring an academy inevitably leads to weaker links with other schools in the area and a stretching of resources, particularly when it involves creating a new school building. The University and College Union (UCU) is not alone in its concerns about the transparency and accountability of these new schools, especially as there is reduced staff involvement on the governing body.

The money contributed by sponsors gives them the power to appoint the majority of governors and decide the school's curriculum, admissions policy and staff pay and conditions. As taxpayers we still pay for the capital costs while the school is run by unaccountable bodies.

The government may see these ventures as a blueprint for success, but I don't. It's wrong that city academies are better financed than ordinary state schools and that a two-tier system is being allowed to develop within local state education. Getting into bed with the market is not the way to promote excellence, and is not in any way value for money.'

Christina McAnea, National Secretary for Education and Children's Workforce, UNISON responded:

'A good local state school' seems such a simple concept but despite the extra funding for English schools and the improvements in education the Government is given little credit in the polls for this. Their entirely laudable aims of making schools the heart of a community and targeting resources towards those children and young people most in need are in danger of going wrong by the relentless focus on 'diversity of provision'. As though somehow bringing in the private sector or maverick individuals will in themselves improve schools. One of the most important keys to the success of a school must be its staff.

Education and the way it is delivered is changing. And the role of support staff and other professional staff is changing. Increasingly teachers, learning mentors, teaching assistants, technicians, and a wide range of other staff are working as teams to make school a positive experience for children and young people. Yet despite greater official recognition at both national and local level their status has only slightly improved and pay, terms and conditions are still lagging behind the pace of change in responsibilities. Well over half of support staff, unlike schoolteachers, are on term time only, hourly paid contracts and not paid during the long school holidays. They cannot claim Job Seekers Allowance or Income Support making the school break a cause for hardship rather than a welcome rest. Term time only pay has knock effects on holiday entitlement, maternity provisions, occupational pension, tax credits and state pension entitlements. Their part-time hours often mean that two-thirds do unpaid overtime at the school to get the job done.

UNISON has been campaigning and negotiating on their behalf for many years to obtain recognition of their work, improve their status, and enhance their pay and conditions. Thanks to our pressure the current Apprentices Schools Children and Learning Bill will create a national School Support Staff Negotiating Body for the first time. We want an equality proofed national framework agreement, with fair pay for the range of jobs, full year contracts and career pathways.

A good local staff is a prerequisite for a good local state school. It is time we rewarded them.

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