NASUWT comments on Policy Exchange Report
Responding to the proposals in the Policy Exchange report that secondary schools should face fines if students fail to achieve at least a C in GCSE English and maths, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers union in the UK, said
“The key recommendation of this report is arrant nonsense. It is symptomatic of an approach subscribed to by the Government, which is predicated on threats and punitive sanctions which detract from the failure of Government to invest in properly supporting pupils at all stages of their education.
“To penalise schools that have “failed” to support pupils to achieve grades C and above is not only senseless, it could also lead to perverse outcomes including further inequality and unfairness in relation to school admissions.
“The recognition that sixth form colleges and FE colleges have faced severe financial challenges is welcome. However, the prescription for addressing this demonstrates a profound lack of understanding of the considerable challenges currently faced by many schools as well as by colleges.
“The concept of fining schools and reallocating funds to colleges is an unhelpful diversion from the real issue of the Government’s failure to properly invest in funding to ensure world-class provision across all phases of the education system.”
