THE LABOUR LEADERSHIP ELECTION

The SEA asked all the candidates to submit up to 500 words on education priorities in order to help SEA members when they are casting their votes.

Andy Burnham writes:

All of the candidates, myself included, during this leadership contest have talked about the need to look to the future. There is no better way to do that, in my view, than to invest in education. That investment has to go beyond the school years: we have to ensure that young people are given the right tools and skills to enable them to be what and who they want to be. 

I want to break down the barriers faced by too many young people and provide them with the life chances others take for granted. It means investing heavily in early years education, challenging selection and elitism in schools and supporting young people with disabilities and young carers who face the biggest challenges of all when it comes to making their way in the world. It also means ensuring that young people starting out in their working life are neither disadvantaged nor disenfranchised if they come from lower income backgrounds. 

To give young people the highest possible expectations and aspirations, we need bold action at every stage of their life. 

As the product of a comprehensive education myself, I have always been a strong advocate for comprehensive schools. It is a source of continuing regret for me that Labour did not do enough to stand up for comprehensives. True comprehensive education - in intake, in curriculum and in breadth of extra-curricular opportunities - is the best way to help children achieve their potential and build a strong, cohesive society. The grammar school system seeks to divide children at such a young age, branding some a failure at 11. While I support parents’ right to choice in their child’s education, any system which curtails a child’s life chances in this way is wrong. That is why I will require ballots on the continuation of grammar schools to include all parents in the area, not just those whose children are at the school. 

But education is not limited to the classroom. Young people should be able to explore the world around them, travelling to cultural, sporting and political events as a crucial part of education and social development. I will look at ways of giving young people a choice between unlimited free transport and the Educational Maintenance Allowance. For the least well-off, it may be possible to offer both. 

I will continue Labour’s mission to offer university education to everyone who wants it, but I will also focus more on the future of those young people who don’t want to follow that course. I propose a major expansion of apprenticeships in the public sector specifically linked to improved skills provision for young people in schools from age 14.  

It is right to give young people the opportunity to gain experience, but it shouldn’t be exploitative. That is why I will end the practice of unpaid internships, starting within the Labour Party, and look at ways of extending student finance to allow people taking up these opportunities to support themselves.  

For a strong future, we must invest in young people, giving them the practical and social skills necessary to get on. That is what my leadership will bring. 

David Milliband responded as follows:

 Excellence for all

 I want a genuinely comprehensive education that delivers excellence for all. There is nothing more important. Education is the path to a fairer and more prosperous society. Our system must give real opportunity, regardless of background. As Leader I would pursue this goal with passion and commitment. 

Earlier in the campaign, I delivered a speech setting out some of my thoughts about how we achieve our twin goals of narrowing the achievement gap and raising standards across the board. There are two key areas I think we need to focus on. 

First, teaching - because brilliant teachers are the bedrock of quality. We should be aiming to recruit at least three-quarters of teachers from the top quarter of graduates. We need to do more to encourage teachers to take up posts in challenging schools and in harder to recruit subjects. We must also make sure that accountability is the ally and not the enemy of professionalism. Self-critical peer-to-peer teacher networks improve quality and strengthen the profession. 

Second, curriculum and testing – because that is how we inspire young people and prepare them for the life ahead of them. One of my greatest frustrations as a Minister was being moved from the DfES three weeks before the Tomlinson report was published. The vision of a unified system of academic and vocational study, in which all students aim to graduate from school or college at 18 with a broad and balanced range of achievements, remains as strong as ever. 

So, I believe there is a strong case for looking again at the reform of 14-19 to ensure young people acquire the basics and then pursue a diverse and exciting journey of learning that’s right for them. This should be on the way to a ‘secondary graduation’ exam when the school leaving age is raised to 18.

The Tories have a different approach; a rhetoric of fairness coupled with a narrowness of ambition. Their Academies, for example, are not about closing the achievement gap but involve re-badging existing successful schools. Recent analysis by Ofsted shows these schools teach 40 per cent fewer poor pupils than the national average. Michael Gove won't even agree to put provisions in the Academies Bill which would require funding to be fair between different categories of school.  

As we face these debates over the coming years, I will have two tests for the Government’s policies: do they raise standards and do they narrow the achievement gap linked to background. Their current proposals do not meet these tests. 

I am interested in improving education for all children. That’s why as schools minister I fought for the Building Schools for the Future programme for every school in country. As Leader of the Labour Party I would take this ambition further in my drive for excellence for all. 

Ed Milliband writes:

I believe that without doubt our society’s resources should be directed towards the early years.  That is where we know we can make the most difference to life chances for kids from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.

 I believe in comprehensive education. Selective education leads to a two-tier school system and that is not right for the majority of our children, for their families, or for their communities. That is why we must campaign for failing schools to be supported and federated with successful ones, campaign for fair access, and campaign against Michael Gove’s ‘free schools’.

 Children also need fewer exams and more fun in their school lives.  Schools need to be supported by local councils which should act as advocates for higher standards, better discipline and a strong and diverse curriculum.

 I know that school meals are a key issue for parents and I definitely want to expand the number of children eligible to receive these. As to whether everyone should get free meals, I think we have to look at what is affordable in these times. The priority has to be that school meals should be free to those who need it most.

 When we were in Government we began expansion plans for free school meals, which have been torn up by Michael Gove, meaning more children will miss out.  This is in keeping with a Government that has recklessly abolished the Building Schools for the Future programme, a decision which will mean that millions of children will be robbed of the opportunity to have the best possible facilities. 

SEA believes every child matters equally    » SEA believes that all schools must be made good schools     » SEA opposes all forms of selection      » SEA is campaigning for the Government to end the setting up of academies    » SEA wants to see cooperation between comprehensive community schools in each area under democratic control. Access to education should be available to everyone who wants to learn at any stage in life.