Press Release
DRAFT QUEENS SPEECH
14 May 2008
Commenting on the Prime Ministers draft Queens speech, Christine Blower, Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Europe’s largest teaching union said;
"The Prime Minister’s draft Education Bill is a mix of good and bad. Of course an expansion in apprenticeships and second chances in education is vital. And one to one tuition for pupils who need it is long over due.
"But schools need an expansion of top-down accountability like a hole in the head. Before the Government leaps to legislation it should review the crushing and oppressive accountability structure already experienced by schools. Simply adding punitive intervention powers for local authorities is hardly going to gain the confidence of teachers.
"Parents have a vital role, but if developing positive parent partnerships means nothing more than having a requirement for parents councils then we will have traded in genuine dialogue between parents and teachers for an expansion of needless bureaucracy.
"The new Bill should rectify the yawning democratic deficit that exists at local level. Children’s Trusts do not tackle this deficit. The development of academies and trusts is separating many schools from their communities. We need structures which enhance the involvement of communities, alongside parents and teachers, in decisions about the local running of schools"
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