Queen's speech

18 November 2009

Commenting on today's Queen's speech, Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Europe's largest teaching union said;

"While the intentions behind many of the guarantees are positive, the Government has to realise that without money and space in the curriculum they simply won't happen. One to one tuition by qualified teachers can make a real difference but only if schools receive sufficient funding.

"The proposed licence to practise is the worst way to improve teachers' access to ongoing training. NUT members have demonstrated their opposition to this proposal by sending the Union thousands of cards objecting to the plans. There is nothing to welcome in these proposals. Many schools simply don't have the budgets to pay for training. A licence could simply encourage unfair treatment. The government's professional development strategy needs real extra resources to guarantee an equal entitlement for all teachers, not just warm words.

"The proposed school report card could turn into a bureaucratic nightmare for schools. The idea that a school's achievements can be boiled down to a single letter or number is absurd, particularly given the government's punitive approach to school improvement. This is exacerbated by ever more vociferous threats to close so called failing schools, which serve only to undermine school communities rather than help them. It would be far better for the government to promise a fundamental and independent review of the way schools are evaluated, with an emphasis on supporting schools which need help not punishment.

"While welcoming the commitment to end child poverty, if the government does not commit to greater investment in the Pre Budget Report they are in real danger of missing their 2010 target of halving child poverty.

"Teachers and head teachers already labour under an excessive burden of bureaucratic measures that have little to do with teaching and more to do with artificial targets. A supportive teaching and learning environment is more likely to achieve what the government is seeking to do rather then coming up with yet another list of punitive measures for schools to cope with."