Labour’s education reforms a tragedy in the making for pupils, claims Badenoch
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Kemi Badenoch has claimed the Government’s proposed education reforms are a “tragedy in the making” for pupils, parents and teachers. The Conservative Party leader raised concerns over the impact of changes to academy freedoms, including on teacher recruitment and pay, contained in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
She used Prime Minister’s Questions to describe the Bill as “pure educational vandalism” and the “worst of socialism”. But Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer countered by insisting the Bill benefits children and parents with its support for free breakfast clubs in every state-funded primary school in England, making school uniforms more affordable and introducing safeguarding measures.
He added Mrs Badenoch had “got a nerve” to bemoan the impact of the reforms on special educational needs provision, adding the Government would “fix that mess” left by the Tories. The Bill aims to ensure all state schools – academies and those run by councils – follow the same pay and conditions framework.
Academies, which are independent of local authorities, currently have the freedom to set their own pay and conditions for staff, and some academies exceed the national pay scales for teachers. The new Bill would ensure all teachers will be part of the same core pay and conditions framework, whether they work in a local authority-run school or an academy.
