What does this mean for schools?

The general election will be held on Thursday July 4, Rishi Sunak has announced, kicking off a campaign in which school policy is expected to be a key flashpoint.

The Prime Minister said that now is “the moment for Britain to choose its future”.

However, this means that several important school policies are likely to be delayed as public bodies enter the purdah period – including the teacher pay deal.

If Labor wins power, as expected, several proposed policies will also be rejected – including minimum service levels.

This also means that many schools will face disruption as they act as polling stations on the day.

What school issues are most likely to come up in the election, who teachers will vote for, and what policies they will advocate for – Schools Week has everything you need to know…

What are the most common school problems?

England will go to the polls at a time when headteachers are demanding more funding for their schools, buildings are falling down, the RAAC continues to spoil some places and ministers appear to be preparing for a new battle with unions over pay.

In anticipation of this year’s election, unions relaunched their highly effective School Cuts website last year.

In 2017, education became the third biggest issue for voters, behind Brexit and health. The Conservatives ultimately lost their majority.

A post-election poll found that 750,000 people changed their votes because of concerns about school funding.

However, according to a YouGov poll, just 12 percent of people believe that education is one of the most important issues facing the country, well below other leading issues such as the economy, health and immigration.

Important rules delayed (and some probably junk)

Due to the elections, parliament will dissolve on Thursday next week (May 30). Public bodies will then be subject to the rules of purdah, which means they cannot take any action that could affect election-related matters (although a date has not yet been set).

This previously delayed the announcement of new free schools and caused “inadequate” Ofsted reports to be withheld. As a result, the government is limited in making decisions and publishing anything.

This means that some quite important things will be delayed and other proposed policies will never see the light of day if, as expected, Labor wins power.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan promised the Government would reveal it salary offer for teachers earlier this year, but is now likely to be implemented again with delay and fall into the hands of the new government.

The government usually does not respond to the teachers’ pay review body’s recommendations until mid or late July, much to the chagrin of unions and leaders who have to rely on pay assumptions to set their budgets.

The final set of recommendations from the workload reduction task force it was supposed to be published in the spring, but is currently on hold.

The Ministry of Education plans, among others, updating the recruitment and retention strategy for 2019, but this will also be in the background now.

Ofsted is also consulting on changes as part of its plan The Great Listening.

Meanwhile, several consultations on new ones are underway tips for transgender people, strengthening protection in the case of providing unregistered services AND sex education lessons.

Consultation on minimum service levels in education is also not over yet, but Labor has already said it will abandon this initiative if it wins power.

How do teachers plan to vote?

When Teacher Tapp last asked about this issue in October, it was revealed that 62 per cent of teachers planned to vote Labour.

Nine per cent planned to vote Lib Dem and just three per cent Conservative. Sixteen percent didn’t know.

According to the BBC’s national polling tracker, Labor won 44% of the vote across the country on May 20, compared to the Conservatives on 23%, Reform on 11% and the Liberal Democrats on 10%.

When Teacher Tapp asked Teacher Tapp to choose one problem that he would prioritize solving, almost half of elementary school teachers said it was about funding. For secondary school teachers, student behavior was the most popular (31%), followed by funding (23%).

What did Labor promise?

Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labor Party, has made education one of his key ‘missions’.

A key policy is to end tax breaks for private schools and use some of the money to hire 6,500 additional teachers, although the party has not outlined how this will be achieved.

The party also pledged to introduce a “national agenda for excellence” to improve schools, £210 million to give teachers the right to CPD, reform Ofsted to abolish one-sentence judgments, free breakfast clubs for primary schools and access to counselors for all students .

Labor also plans to overhaul the curriculum and assessment, create new regional school improvement teams and introduce £2,400 retention benefits for teachers who complete a two-year early career program.

You can read about all their commitments in our policy tracker here.

What do teachers think about Labor’s policies?

A survey by Teacher Tapp found that Labour’s mental health pledges were most popular among those in the profession. Community mental health centers in every community came first, while commitments for more mental health professionals came second and third.

Replacing Ofsted ratings with a ‘balanced scorecard’ came fourth, and breakfast clubs in every primary school came fifth.

The one policy that caused major disagreement among some teachers was the party’s plan to charge VAT on private school fees.

Meanwhile, secondary school teachers were much less likely to support the party’s curriculum overhaul policy.

What will be the Tory position?

Expect ministers to focus on the Conservatives’ achievements on education as they try to stay in power.

They have already begun ruthlessly sharing the misleading statement that they believe the percentage of schools that are “good” or better has increased from 68% to 89%.

The party will also shout about the country’s high positions in the PISA rankings, which will be proof that the reforms it has carried out over the last 14 years have been effective.

Sunak said in today’s speech that the Government had “reformed education and our children are now the best readers in the Western world”.

This is less clear with respect to new policies.

However, Sunak is likely to talk a lot about his plans for a new “advanced British standard” qualification, which will replace A and T levels and make all students study English and maths until the age of 18.

What are industry leaders saying?

Daniel Kebede, secretary general of the National Education Union, said that “14 years of neglect and underfunding have left education – from early years to age 16 – in tatters.”

“It is imperative that all political parties address this in their programs. Not in a vague way, with fragmented solutions. But with significant proposals to reverse this situation if the next government is formed.”

“Our message is this: we need a government that will invest in education and invest in our youth. If you value education, vote for education. Let’s give our children the education they deserve.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, secretary general of the ASCL leadership union, said that “all political parties should make it a priority in their manifesto to commit to providing schools and colleges with the funding and staff necessary to provide an excellent education for all children and young people.” young people”.

For too long, education has been viewed as a drain on current resources rather than an investment in future success. “Over the next few months, all parties and candidates will have the chance to correct this mistake, and we urge them to seize this opportunity.”