NUT delegate to 1997 conference, in a personal capacity) WILL New Labour deliver? This question ran through debate at this year's name of a holiday resort shrough a stick of rock.
In debate after debate, speakers condemned the record of the To. ries on education and then wondered aloud whether New Labour lives of school students and teach.
David Blunkett, Labour spokesperson for Education, addressed he auton in manto con ference. He said that Labour would make a difference on a number of very specmic but limited issues. La bour will abolish the Nursery Voucher Scheme, abolish the As. sure that no child of 5, 6 or 7 will be taurht in a class of over 30. He also said that there would be 'no further selection' under a Labour government.
So far, so good. These pledges matter and will make a difference to certain aspects of our education system.
Nursery vouchers are a crackpot Tory idea which will not lead to a single nursery place being created. Toddlers are used as a commodity. a voucher-bearing little boy or gir is worth money to an institution, private or public. Labour have said scheme to provide nursery places for every four year old.
Assisted places
hrough the Assisted Places Scheme, the state pays for some students to attend private schools Its abolition is to be welcomed. Labour says that the money saved wil 6 or 7 is taught in a class of over 30. However, the figures do not add The monies saved will not provide the necessary additional teach. ers. Also, how can any government inz for a maximum dass size, as in Scotland? There is no apparent intention to introduce such a law.
The promise of no further selec. tion' is severely limited but has to he contrasted with the Conservative manifesto promise of a grammar school in every town. I wonder why the Tories didn't campaign on the slogan of "several secondary The problem is largely what was missing from David Bunkett's speech, and indeed the Labour manifesto. There was no defence of the comprehensive system. Nor wat there moron one no o abolish league tables or OFSTED inspections of schools.
OFSTED is a political hit squad which makes snap judgements on wreaked havoc in schools and done Schools need new resources and welcome genuine advice. However, to help and advise.
The 60,000 cost of the OF. could have stocked the library, pro vided new computers or funded jobs in Special Educational Needs The key problem schools face is funding. David Blunkett promised that New Labour would make "a start to eliminate the 63 billion backlog of capital repairs". Bur Gordon Brown has stated several times that his government will keep to the public spending plans of the Tories.
It is impossible to make any real impact on repairing and replacing crumbling schools if the additional funding is not there. There have been hints that private sector money might be used. This will simply bring into education all the problems of the Private rinance Int lative that have arisen in the health Tory slump Opinion polls in the run-up to the election showed that Tory support among teachers has slumped ver the last eighteen years. The malority of teachers probably voted Labour on May I, many for the first time. the reality is that under the New Labour government, public sector defend our pay and conditions and to ensure that real improvements are made to the educsoon service Events at the NUT conference
Socialist Ourool Thatcherising Teeside: the cruel years. Won't we miss Mr Howard? Enfant terrible: Portillo is gone Now Bottomley is really out of it ITCARY Z On the way out: Heseltine