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Poll position: An education to-do list for the next government

Government policy Trade unions
The general election is a chance for politicians of all shades to prioritise education – and the to-do list is certainly in need of some attention, says Paul Whiteman
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With a general election almost here, there will be a clamour for all sorts of issues to be front and centre of the national debate. Few are more important than children’s education.

It is vital for their learning and social development, shaping their lives and vocations in adulthood, and contributing to the country’s future economic prosperity.

However, it feels as though education has long been sidelined. This must change, and our election manifesto (NAHT, 2024) urges all political parties to prioritise education in their campaigns.

Both secondary and primary schools are facing crises on several fronts, from staff recruitment and retention to support for students with SEND and building safety.

These issues have a severe impact on students, staff and school leaders on a daily basis and hamper our efforts to ensure all children receive the best possible education.

This election represents a chance for politicians to take stock and propose ambitious solutions to these severe challenges.

The recruitment and retention crisis strikes at the heart of every school’s core mission – if they don’t have enough teachers and leaders, students’ learning is inevitably affected.

Almost a third (31%) of teachers quit the profession within five years of qualifying, and last year a record 44,000 teachers left. Too few teachers are stepping up to leadership roles.

School leaders are doing their utmost to deliver amid gaps in their staffing. But solutions like increasing class sizes, hiring expensive supply teachers, deploying non-specialist teachers, and cutting the curriculum, are far from ideal.

Conversations and surveys with our members highlight that falling real-terms pay, the harmful impact of inspection, and intolerable levels of workload are the main factors driving recruitment and retention difficulties.

Teachers and leaders have suffered a 20% real-terms pay cut since 2010 when compared against levels of inflation. The School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) found the relative value of teachers’ earnings has dropped more than other public sector and professional occupations.

High-stakes accountability measures, including Ofsted inspections and use of performance data, is harming wellbeing, and driving experienced people from the profession.

The tragic death of headteacher Ruth Perry last year showed the dangers, and our Crisis point research last year found that Ofsted pressures were the most frequently cited factor harming leaders’ mental health (NAHT, 2023).

Excessive workload adds to the pressure, with the Department for Education’s own research showing that leaders work 56.8 hours a week on average, with teachers working 48.7 hours (DfE, 2024). The most recent Teacher Wellbeing Index from Education Support also found that 35% of school staff were experiencing signs of burn-out.

The parties vying to form the next government can show they are serious about tackling the recruitment and retention crisis by promising to tackle these issues head-on.

We want politicians to commit to restoring real-terms pay to 2010 levels over the next Parliament, with fully-funded raises for teachers, leaders, and support staff. Single-word Ofsted judgements, which pile so much pressure on leaders and teachers and fail to offer a fair, reliable reflection of schools, should be scrapped.

We also want the parties to outline ambitious measures to reduce the workload of teachers and leaders by five hours a week within three years.

School leaders cite the SEND crisis as one of their biggest challenges. The failure to properly fund 2014 reforms means that councils face deficits in budgets for children with “high needs”. Schools struggle to access funding and support for students, with increasing numbers of children unable to access specialist placements due to a shortage of suitable places.

The decimation of support services over the last decade means it is harder for schools to help young people access support from specialists, including speech and language therapists and educational psychologists.

We want all parties to commit to writing off local authority high-needs deficits and to reviewing levels of SEND funding and capacity, which too often take priority over children’s needs in determining the support families are offered. We want parties to pledge to rebuild vital support services around schools and early years settings for children with SEND, supported by workforce plans.

When it comes to the school estate, too many buildings are unfit for purpose, beyond their life expectancy, and in disrepair. “Crumbly concrete” (RAAC) is just one pressing issue, with schools managing everything from asbestos and combustible cladding to leaks and broken boilers.

Between 2009 and 2022, the DfE’s real-terms capital spending on schools fell by 46%, while in 2021, before recent high inflation, a DfE survey estimated that £11.4bn was needed to restore the school estate to a satisfactory condition (DfE, 2021).

Whoever takes power must restore all school buildings to at least a “satisfactory” or better condition. We want parties to promise an urgent school rebuilding programme so that, as a minimum, the oldest and most decrepit buildings are replaced, starting with those with structural risks like RAAC and asbestos. Sustainability and accessibility should be central to all projects.

While extra funding is not the sole answer to these crises, it is clear that they cannot be properly addressed without significant additional investment.

Only 1% of school leaders who participated in our recent funding survey said that they currently received enough money to fully meet all students’ needs.

The School Cuts Coalition, of which we are part, has calculated that 70% of English schools have less real-terms funding than in 2010. 

As well as providing the additional funding needed for students with SEND and to improve school buildings, we want to see a commitment to at least increase core school funding in line with inflation during the next Parliament.

Fire-fighting the pressing crises facing schools and providing the investment needed is vital, but there is also an opportunity to review the national curriculum to ensure it meets students’ needs.

It is currently overcrowded, and its delivery distorted by government policy including narrow, high-stakes performance measures. This must change, and all students should have the opportunity to achieve meaningful qualifications across academic and vocational subjects, assessed through a range of methods. This should allow them to demonstrate progress and move on to the next stage of their education, training, or employment.

When it comes to our children and young people, this general election is the most important in decades. We need politicians of all shades to recognise this, acknowledge the crises facing our schools, and rise to the challenge of meeting them.

There are good electoral reasons for doing so, with previous national polls showing the importance of schools in determining how some parents vote. But more importantly, prioritising education will ensure all students can reap the rewards of the tireless efforts of school leaders and their staff without compromise or constraint.

 

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