:00:11. > :00:18.We now move on to the urgent question, Nick Dakin. Thank you Mr
:00:19. > :00:24.Speaker, let me first of all declare my interest as the retired NU team
:00:25. > :00:28.member. I asked the Secretary of State to make a statement on today's
:00:29. > :00:31.features great strike, and its impact on parents of small
:00:32. > :00:34.communities. Mr Speaker not only have we had the first junior doctors
:00:35. > :00:39.strike on this government's watch, but today we have failure in other
:00:40. > :00:47.public services, with a teacher's strike. Sadly this government has
:00:48. > :00:52.relished sacking... I don't wish to interrupt his flow, but at this
:00:53. > :00:55.point all the honourable gentleman needs to ask for is the statement.
:00:56. > :01:03.More detail and supplementary will come after all our third everything
:01:04. > :01:11.the statement has the state. Thank you Mr Speaker. There is absolutely
:01:12. > :01:16.no justification for this strike. The NU T asked for talks and we are
:01:17. > :01:19.having talks. Since May, the Department for Education has been
:01:20. > :01:24.engaged in a new programme of talks with major teaching unions including
:01:25. > :01:28.the Nu T, focus on all of the concerns raised during the strike,
:01:29. > :01:31.and even before then we were engaged in roundtable discussions with the
:01:32. > :01:36.trade unions, and both the secretary of state and I meet the trade union
:01:37. > :01:41.leaders regularly to discuss concerns. This strike is politically
:01:42. > :01:46.motivated, and has nothing to do with raising standards in education.
:01:47. > :01:50.In the words of Deborah Lawson, the general secretary of the
:01:51. > :01:55.non-striking teaching union voice, "Today's strike is a futile and
:01:56. > :01:59.politically motivated digest. Kevin Courtney, the acting general
:02:00. > :02:02.secretary for Nu T in his letter to Secretary of State on the 20th of
:02:03. > :02:07.June made it clear that the strike was about school funding and
:02:08. > :02:12.teaching pay and conditions, let this year public school budget is
:02:13. > :02:18.greater than any previous year at ?14 million, some ?4 billion than in
:02:19. > :02:21.2011, 12. At a time when other areas of public spending have been
:02:22. > :02:24.significantly reduced, the government has shown commitment to
:02:25. > :02:28.education by protecting school spending. We want to work, Mr
:02:29. > :02:33.Speaker, with the profession, and with a teaching union, and we have
:02:34. > :02:38.been doing this successfully in our joint endeavour to reduce
:02:39. > :02:41.unnecessary teacher workload, with 15,000 more teachers in the
:02:42. > :02:46.profession than in 2010, teaching remains one of the most popular and
:02:47. > :02:50.attractive professions in which to work. The industrial action by the
:02:51. > :02:56.Nu T is pointless, but it is far from inconsequential. It disrupts
:02:57. > :02:59.children's education, it inconveniences parents, and it
:03:00. > :03:04.damages the profession's reputation in the eyes of the public. But
:03:05. > :03:09.because of the dedication of the vast majority of teachers and head
:03:10. > :03:13.teachers, our analysis is shows that seven out of eight schools are
:03:14. > :03:19.refusing to close. Our school workforce is and must remain a
:03:20. > :03:22.respected profession, student will for the 21st century, but this
:03:23. > :03:26.action is seeking to take the profession back in public perception
:03:27. > :03:32.to the tired and dated disputes of the 20th century. But more
:03:33. > :03:36.importantly, this strike does not have a democratic mandate from a
:03:37. > :03:41.majority, even of NUJ members, and is based on a ballot from which the
:03:42. > :03:47.turnout was just 24.5%. This represents fewer than 10% of the
:03:48. > :03:51.total teacher workforce. Our ground-breaking education reforms
:03:52. > :03:55.are improving pupil outcomes, challenging low expectations and
:03:56. > :04:03.poor pupil behaviour in school, and increasingly prestige of the people
:04:04. > :04:07.teaching profession. This anachronistic strike as they marched
:04:08. > :04:11.back into a past that everyone is our schools to revisit. Thank you,
:04:12. > :04:15.Mr Speaker. We not only have the first junior doctor's strike on this
:04:16. > :04:19.government's watch, but today we have failure in another public
:04:20. > :04:23.service, with his teachers strike. This government has sadly relished
:04:24. > :04:28.attacking additional professionals, undermining them, describing them as
:04:29. > :04:32.the mob instead of engaging with them and celebrating their role in
:04:33. > :04:35.driving up individual child and school performance. At a time when
:04:36. > :04:40.people have a right to look to government for stability and
:04:41. > :04:43.security, the trust of teachers has been broken, and a strike of this
:04:44. > :04:48.nature is most unfortunate. At the heart of this concern by people on
:04:49. > :04:52.the front line, be they teachers, head teachers or parents about
:04:53. > :04:56.school budgets in the future. Everyone knows that this by the
:04:57. > :05:00.Secretary of State's protestations, school but are going to fall in real
:05:01. > :05:06.terms year on year up to 2020. Headteachers know this, parents know
:05:07. > :05:12.this, and the institutions for Vista -- the Institute for Fiscal Studies
:05:13. > :05:15.has shown this. The Secretary of State is in total denial, and that
:05:16. > :05:19.is what results in what we are witnessing today. A failure of
:05:20. > :05:25.government, leading to massive disruption, plus it has cancelled,
:05:26. > :05:30.-- classes cancelled, people sent home. He has now made it clear that
:05:31. > :05:33.he is tearing up his fiscal books, and as my honourable member for
:05:34. > :05:37.Manchester Central asked yesterday, will be government now commits to
:05:38. > :05:41.securing our children's Edo by reversing the planned cuts in
:05:42. > :05:46.funding and securing the necessary cash for our nation's children? And
:05:47. > :05:49.as I asked yesterday, Mr Speaker, will be minister commit to
:05:50. > :05:55.publishing the government's responds to the FT RB by the end of this
:05:56. > :06:00.academic year, so that headteachers can plan effectively? It is clear
:06:01. > :06:04.the government has lost the plot, and has a problem with teachers,
:06:05. > :06:07.they can't recruit enough, they can't retain enough, and they have
:06:08. > :06:12.lost their confident in their large numbers. It is clear, today, that
:06:13. > :06:19.our children, our children and future are paying the price of Tory
:06:20. > :06:24.education failure. Minister of State. Welcome it is nice to hear
:06:25. > :06:29.from the shadow shadow schools minister, sitting on the fourth row
:06:30. > :06:34.of the chamber. The only people, Mr Speaker, who are undermining the
:06:35. > :06:38.teaching profession are the leadership of the National Union of
:06:39. > :06:45.Teachers full stop I'm disappointed that the honourable gentleman...
:06:46. > :06:51.That he is jumping on this dispute to make a cheap political point.
:06:52. > :06:53.Instead of joining this side of the house and condemning this
:06:54. > :07:01.unnecessary and pointless strike. Will he now say that he opposes this
:07:02. > :07:05.strike by the Nu T? Which has disrupted children's education, and
:07:06. > :07:09.inconvenienced parents. Finally, Mr Speaker, just to response to this
:07:10. > :07:14.point, about the schoolteachers bodies report, we will publish the
:07:15. > :07:19.report together with our response and a draft revised schoolteachers
:07:20. > :07:20.pay and conditions document as soon as we have completed our
:07:21. > :07:31.consideration of Parents don't know why many teachers
:07:32. > :07:35.have gone on strike and I'm sure many teachers themselves don't
:07:36. > :07:39.understand why it is taking place. What parents do know is how
:07:40. > :07:43.difficult it is to arrange childcare at short notice. I wonder if the
:07:44. > :07:49.Minister would pay tribute to the many teachers who are in work, doing
:07:50. > :07:56.the right thing by their pupils. My honourable friend is right. These
:07:57. > :08:00.strikes damaged children was like education and every day of school
:08:01. > :08:06.mess damages the outcomes but hugely inconvenient as working parents who
:08:07. > :08:10.must find arrangements or take the day off work. I share my honourable
:08:11. > :08:15.friend comments and pay tribute to the vast majority of teachers and
:08:16. > :08:22.head teachers working today and resulting in seven out of eight
:08:23. > :08:26.schools refusing to close. Like with the junior doctors
:08:27. > :08:31.dispute, I am sure the general public are watching this debate will
:08:32. > :08:35.see through this Government's menage, what a fascination and what
:08:36. > :08:39.they seem to think the picture is out there. Taking strike action is
:08:40. > :08:44.one of the most difficult decisions any teacher makes. No one takes it
:08:45. > :08:51.likely that the teachers have said enough is enough, they are fed up
:08:52. > :08:54.the cuts were 70% of head teachers directly say directly affect
:08:55. > :08:57.educational standards. Will the minister now accept class sizes are
:08:58. > :09:03.increasing, pupils are getting less choice about their subjects and jobs
:09:04. > :09:09.are going and children are now getting less individual time with
:09:10. > :09:13.staff? I must say, Mr Speaker, I find the Minister's faith in the
:09:14. > :09:20.free market to decide his salary of teachers is touchingly naive on eBay
:09:21. > :09:28.when the pound has fallen to 31 year low. -- on our day. Can he say if
:09:29. > :09:36.there is any limit to how far he is prepared to cede salaries fall? Us
:09:37. > :09:41.see salaries fall. We are less than one month away from the end of the
:09:42. > :09:46.sperm, will the Minister end the uncertainty and house and what
:09:47. > :09:51.teachers can expect. -- end of term. The member seems to spend more time
:09:52. > :09:56.on the Justice Secretary's campaign for the Tory leadership than her day
:09:57. > :10:00.job. What the Minister agree to get around the table and get a better
:10:01. > :10:05.deal for the next-generation? The working conditions our teachers are
:10:06. > :10:11.they learning conditions of our children and they deserve the very
:10:12. > :10:15.best. What the public are seeing is the
:10:16. > :10:20.Labour Party that is equivocal about whether they agree with strike
:10:21. > :10:25.action, which is disrupting the education of children. What we have
:10:26. > :10:29.seen from the honourable gentleman, sorry, honourable lady, is someone
:10:30. > :10:34.who is not prepared to criticise and condemn strike action that is not
:10:35. > :10:41.only damaging education but hugely inconveniencing parents, working
:10:42. > :10:46.parents who must find alternative arrangements for childcare. When she
:10:47. > :10:55.talks about class sizes, the average infant class size has remained at
:10:56. > :11:01.27.4, unchanged from 2015. Of the 3066 infant classes were 31 or more
:11:02. > :11:06.pupils, 80% have just 31 pupils and that is because of the flexibility
:11:07. > :11:11.we have built into all-out extra, one or two extra children, for
:11:12. > :11:20.example twins and so on to have access. Well she condemn that
:11:21. > :11:24.policy? We will publish the STRB when consideration is complete and
:11:25. > :11:30.we will consult teachers and stakeholders about the future of the
:11:31. > :11:34.STRB and those arrangements when all schools are academies. I won't give
:11:35. > :11:39.her one final chance to say, on behalf of the Labour Party, they
:11:40. > :11:45.condemn this unnecessary and futile strike by the NUT.
:11:46. > :11:50.Working mums and dads in the Catholic constituency will today be
:11:51. > :11:56.hugely inconvenienced by this unnecessary strike action. --
:11:57. > :12:01.Kettering constituency. Many of the parents work in the social and
:12:02. > :12:05.public services and that patients will be inconvenienced by what is it
:12:06. > :12:10.politically motivated strike that is an embarrassment to many members of
:12:11. > :12:14.the NUT itself. Well my honourable friend, the education Minister
:12:15. > :12:18.praised the teachers who wore a cross picket lines today to go and
:12:19. > :12:23.teach children at our local schools? They are the shining example and not
:12:24. > :12:26.the NUT. My honourable friend is right.
:12:27. > :12:33.Nothing is more important than ensuring young people get a good
:12:34. > :12:36.education. The master the basics of reading and writing, get GCSEs,
:12:37. > :12:41.prepare for life in modern Britain and I pay tribute to all creatures
:12:42. > :12:46.that have gone into work, despite the NUT's action, based on a ballot
:12:47. > :12:50.of less than 25% of members. We must make sure lovechild's education is
:12:51. > :12:57.disrupted and I pay tribute to the fact seven out of eight schools have
:12:58. > :13:02.refused to close. This strike by teachers is
:13:03. > :13:07.significant. This is a good people who followed a vocational and caring
:13:08. > :13:10.profession. They are not driven by money but they do seek to be
:13:11. > :13:17.recognised and valued for the job they do. The erosion of teachers pay
:13:18. > :13:21.and conditions, increasing workloads make specification hard to live out
:13:22. > :13:25.when they could earn more money and have better terms and conditions
:13:26. > :13:30.working in the local supermarket. It is easier to save at the dispatch
:13:31. > :13:37.box teachers are valued, but actions must match the rhetoric. I asked the
:13:38. > :13:40.minister yesterday and I repeat it today, what is he doing to ensure
:13:41. > :13:45.teachers having nationally guaranteed level of pay? How is he
:13:46. > :13:50.working with teachers to reduce their workloads and how is the
:13:51. > :14:01.product in teachers terms and conditions, such as maternity, sick
:14:02. > :14:06.pay and other issues that they have? The acting general secretary of the
:14:07. > :14:10.NUT has made it clear this is a dispute about pay and conditions.
:14:11. > :14:15.When it comes to workload, what is disappointing about this strike is
:14:16. > :14:19.we have been working very closely and constructively with all the
:14:20. > :14:22.teaching unions to tackle unnecessary workloads and as a
:14:23. > :14:27.consequence of that we have established three workloads groups
:14:28. > :14:31.start by highly experienced teachers and head teachers, look at data
:14:32. > :14:38.management, looked at the planning and looked at marking. They have
:14:39. > :14:42.reported and we have accepted the recommendations and that will have a
:14:43. > :14:46.genuine effect on the top three workload issues highlighted by the
:14:47. > :14:50.secretary of state's workload challenge, to which 44,000 teachers
:14:51. > :14:54.responded. As for pay and conditions, as it moved into a
:14:55. > :14:57.situation where more and more schools to become academies we will
:14:58. > :15:07.consult with the profession about the future of the STRB process. If
:15:08. > :15:10.the Shadow secretary of state is right and strike action is always a
:15:11. > :15:15.big and difficult decision isn't it about time that strike action was
:15:16. > :15:20.not allowed when such a derisory proportion of members voted for it,
:15:21. > :15:25.in this case 24%, giving huge disruption causes the education of
:15:26. > :15:28.pupils, like our parents and other teachers going into work who must
:15:29. > :15:33.cover for those people out on strike?
:15:34. > :15:37.My honourable friend is right and the trade union act will ensure that
:15:38. > :15:42.action in essential services only ever gets the go-ahead when has been
:15:43. > :15:48.a ballot of at least 50%. Bearing in mind this ballot turnout was just
:15:49. > :15:54.24.5%, this strike would not be legal once the new regulation will
:15:55. > :15:58.likely give out. We are consulting with stakeholders on the regulations
:15:59. > :16:04.and thresholds likely to come into place later this year.
:16:05. > :16:08.Secretary of state, I received a message from the teacher today who,
:16:09. > :16:12.I'm sure for class is not full twins. She said you try to work out
:16:13. > :16:24.how to effect next year's class of 34 into a room capable of having 28
:16:25. > :16:28.whilst making a leaving party for four members of staff? What does he
:16:29. > :16:32.have to say to Nicola? The percentage of pupils in infant class
:16:33. > :16:42.sizes of more than 30 despite what it percent, down from 6.2% in 2015.
:16:43. > :16:47.What we have done is create 600,000 more school places, double the
:16:48. > :16:51.amount of capital and creating new places, compared with the capital
:16:52. > :16:55.spent by the previous Labour Government. The previous Labour
:16:56. > :16:59.Government removed 200,000 primary school places and that is the
:17:00. > :17:04.problem we have had to tackle and they did not plan for the increased
:17:05. > :17:07.birth rate. Our teachers do a fantastic job but
:17:08. > :17:12.does the Minister agree there are ways to protest which do not involve
:17:13. > :17:15.damaging children's education and inconveniencing parents? Does he
:17:16. > :17:19.agree that must be the strongest possible justification for such
:17:20. > :17:26.action and that Clare Short has not been met in this case? My honourable
:17:27. > :17:30.friend is right. -- and that threshold has not been met. We
:17:31. > :17:39.always open to discussion with trade leaders. The 10th round table tops,
:17:40. > :17:43.officials have regular pox -- we attend and have regular pox. Those
:17:44. > :17:48.discussions can and always our take place and this is more to do with
:17:49. > :17:55.the internal workings of the NUT than it does to do with pay and
:17:56. > :17:58.conditions of teachers. Does the Minister not have a cheap to talk
:17:59. > :18:09.about teachers and 20,000 deciding to strike for a moment or two when
:18:10. > :18:13.he is part of a Government whereby 120,000 people will decide the Prime
:18:14. > :18:26.Minister instead of having a general election? Does he agree with that?
:18:27. > :18:31.He about 20,000 teachers, there are 456,000 teachers in this country,
:18:32. > :18:35.the highest number in our history, and the honourable gentleman has
:18:36. > :18:47.been a member of this house for a long time and he knows we do live in
:18:48. > :18:50.a parliamentary democracy. This is an English only strike and
:18:51. > :18:53.there are no strict and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and
:18:54. > :18:57.because of those people Government is listening and respecting teachers
:18:58. > :19:02.there are no strikes there and I would urge the fact that the
:19:03. > :19:05.secretary of Street that standards have increased in Wales year on year
:19:06. > :19:10.and the gap is closing with England. The point being is when you value
:19:11. > :19:13.and listen to teachers it does not lead to strike action and he should
:19:14. > :19:19.follow the lead of more devolved nations.
:19:20. > :19:22.The problem with education in Wales as the standards are behind
:19:23. > :19:27.standards in this country and yesterday we were asked what advice
:19:28. > :19:31.we could get to the Welsh Government about academies programme, reform to
:19:32. > :19:37.the curriculum, reform to GCSEs and A-levels, resulting in either an
:19:38. > :19:42.approving standards the gap I suspect is widening. -- higher and
:19:43. > :19:48.improving. What does the Minister intend to do
:19:49. > :19:51.since we now have a Chancellor expressing post Brexit largess to
:19:52. > :20:00.enjoy the project schools funding cuts are prevented? -- projected
:20:01. > :20:04.schools funding cuts? We have protected school funding on a pupil
:20:05. > :20:11.braces and school funding is the highest it has ever been, ?4 billion
:20:12. > :20:17.more than 2011-12. Because of the decisions of the Chancellor in his
:20:18. > :20:21.budget we are not facing the crisis that faces countries like Greece
:20:22. > :20:26.that had the same budget deficit in terms of the percentage of budgets,
:20:27. > :20:30.we have not faced that prices were that closing schools and slashing
:20:31. > :20:37.salaries and cutting teachers numbers. -- not facing a crisis. The
:20:38. > :20:45.average class size has remained stable despite the fact we have also
:20:46. > :20:49.created 600,000 more school places. The sector of the Government that
:20:50. > :20:55.does not believe in experts but is he actually contradicting the
:20:56. > :21:01.Institute for Fiscal Studies predict a fall in school funding in real
:21:02. > :21:05.terms? Is the contradicting them? Till we are aware there are costs
:21:06. > :21:11.schools have displaced in the coming years. What we have done is
:21:12. > :21:14.protected school funding. If you look across Whitehall and the
:21:15. > :21:20.reduction in spending we have secured an order to tackle the
:21:21. > :21:26.record public sector deficit we inherited in 2010, 100 ?36 billion,
:21:27. > :21:34.11% of GDP, note 4% of GDP factor those savings. -- now 4%. We have
:21:35. > :21:38.issued guidance to schools on how they can manage their budgets and
:21:39. > :21:46.procure efficiencies in order to meet those challenges.
:21:47. > :21:48.I would like to congratulate my honourable friend from Scunthorpe
:21:49. > :21:52.for ensuring the Government are held to account on failure in education
:21:53. > :22:01.policy. It is important they are held to account. Can I say to the
:22:02. > :22:04.Minister that he should now -- know how real and through the
:22:05. > :22:10.demobilisation of teachers is. As the Government done any assessment
:22:11. > :22:13.of how demoralised teachers are and how it affects the education of
:22:14. > :22:14.children and why does the Government not take steps to lift morale rather
:22:15. > :22:25.than constantly denigrate them? know one on this site is denigrating
:22:26. > :22:29.teachers. The teachers in this country are in a very respected
:22:30. > :22:34.profession providing a very high quality and improving quality of
:22:35. > :22:37.education to young people. We have reformed the curriculum, primary and
:22:38. > :22:41.secondary, we have reformed the GCSEs, putting them on a par with
:22:42. > :22:46.the best qualifications in the Europe, and the teaching profession
:22:47. > :22:50.has responded magnificently to those new challenges, and today we have
:22:51. > :22:55.published the Key Stage two results on a pupil basis, and we will see
:22:56. > :23:00.that two thirds of people's are now meeting the new expected standard in
:23:01. > :23:03.Reading, 70% of pupils are meeting the new expected standards in
:23:04. > :23:07.mathematics. This is a tremendous achievement, given the very
:23:08. > :23:14.significant rise in expectations and the rigour of new primary
:23:15. > :23:19.curriculums. Diana Johnson. Is he accepting what the IFS say, that
:23:20. > :23:26.school budgets will fall over 8% up to 2020, yes or no? School budgets
:23:27. > :23:30.are being protected. We are spending ?40 billion, we have said that the
:23:31. > :23:33.per-pupil funding for schools is protected throughout this
:23:34. > :23:39.Parliament. Schools will face increased costs, salaries and
:23:40. > :23:42.pension contributions, and national insurance, but we have provided
:23:43. > :23:47.advice to schools about how they can meet those challenges, to procure
:23:48. > :23:51.more efficiently and insure their staffing arrangements are the best,
:23:52. > :23:56.providing the best set of education within what are very... Within their
:23:57. > :24:04.budgets. We have protected school funding throughout this next
:24:05. > :24:08.Parliament. Mr Speaker, I had to declare my interest as my sister is
:24:09. > :24:12.a teacher, and in regard to why she would go on strike, it is not just
:24:13. > :24:15.about her terms and conditions, it's about the peoples that she believes
:24:16. > :24:20.that she has a responsibility to. With the Minister just mention on
:24:21. > :24:27.record budgets. Will he confirm or deny whether in real terms the
:24:28. > :24:33.budget has gone up per-pupil? In real terms, overall, it has gone up,
:24:34. > :24:36.as I have said, and the ?40 billion is the highest ever level, and I
:24:37. > :24:39.have to say to the honourable gentleman that the reason why we
:24:40. > :24:43.have had to take some very difficult decisions over the last six years
:24:44. > :24:46.with regards to public spending is because of a mismanagement of the
:24:47. > :24:52.public financing is by the Labour government, a part two party in
:24:53. > :24:55.government that he supported. We have had the tape is difficult
:24:56. > :25:00.decisions, and as a consequence of those difficult decisions, we are
:25:01. > :25:03.not facing the challenges that other countries in Europe with similar
:25:04. > :25:09.amounts of public deficit have had to face. I think our constituents
:25:10. > :25:12.would expect us to try and call the temperature here. Those who have
:25:13. > :25:15.been around in education for some time know that the previous Labour
:25:16. > :25:20.government have had disagreements with the NUT, and the fact of the
:25:21. > :25:24.matter is there are lots of unhappy teachers out there at the moment,
:25:25. > :25:28.and they do have some real concerns. This is an important statement,
:25:29. > :25:31.indeed, what other statement could have got the whole ragtag and
:25:32. > :25:36.bobtail remains of the government front bench he at one time? This is
:25:37. > :25:40.a serious matter. Let us make sure that week call the temperature, talk
:25:41. > :25:46.to teachers, meet their concerns, and get back to work. Yes, I totally
:25:47. > :25:50.agreed with the honourable gentleman, and former chair of the
:25:51. > :25:54.education select committee. He is right and we do talk to the teaching
:25:55. > :25:59.profession, we have regular discussions, but the Secretary of
:26:00. > :26:04.State and I can and be minister, regularly visits schools up and down
:26:05. > :26:07.the talking to teachers, and there is no question that the reforms put
:26:08. > :26:11.in place over the last five or six years have been very significant,
:26:12. > :26:14.and we don't resile from stating that. It was important to raise
:26:15. > :26:18.standards of reasoning, arithmetic in primary schools, introducing
:26:19. > :26:24.gamma back into the primary curriculum, and we have revised and
:26:25. > :26:28.improved the curriculum in secondary education. -- introducing Coram are
:26:29. > :26:32.back into the primary curriculum. We are prepared to compete in what is
:26:33. > :26:37.increasingly a competitive global jobs market, and we are delivering
:26:38. > :26:43.on that and I am delighted by the way that the profession has
:26:44. > :26:47.responded to those challenges. Mr Speaker thank you. Does the Minister
:26:48. > :26:50.agree with me that when it comes to education, teachers are the experts?
:26:51. > :26:58.When these professionals have genuine concerns, that funding ends
:26:59. > :27:01.-- cuts are damaging the education of our children, does he not agree
:27:02. > :27:06.that it would be irresponsible of them to not make their concerns
:27:07. > :27:09.known to government to mark if the teaching profession had the respect
:27:10. > :27:15.they needed, they would not be in the position they are having a
:27:16. > :27:20.last-minute strike action to protect the addition of our children? I
:27:21. > :27:24.think it is an anachronistic approach to discussing important
:27:25. > :27:29.political issues. We do have regular discussions with the teacher unions,
:27:30. > :27:32.we have all kinds of reference groups, of representative teachers,
:27:33. > :27:37.be we need regularly in the Department for Education, and we are
:27:38. > :27:41.very aware of teacher concerns about the changing curriculum, the
:27:42. > :27:48.concerns about worries about workload, we had a workload channel,
:27:49. > :27:52.which involved 40,000 teachers were involved. We take will these issues
:27:53. > :27:59.very seriously, and respond to them, but we do not want to go back to the
:28:00. > :28:03.1980s, to have strikes as a way of engaging in issues of concern. They
:28:04. > :28:12.are not necessary, and most teachers agreed with that. Louise Haig. The
:28:13. > :28:18.Minister can say all he likes that school budgets are going up, but the
:28:19. > :28:20.fact on the grand paint a different picture. One schools in my
:28:21. > :28:23.constituency has had to close down their summer school, liberally
:28:24. > :28:27.targeted to help deprived students catch up both for the beginning of
:28:28. > :28:33.the school year. Willy look at those examples and other examples in this
:28:34. > :28:39.debate to make sure that the funding cuts don't impact on particularly
:28:40. > :28:41.primary students? I will look at any individual examples, that any
:28:42. > :28:46.honourable member or friend brings to my attention. I will look at
:28:47. > :28:50.those examples and make sure that those schools are receiving the best
:28:51. > :28:57.possible advice about how to manage their budgets. Kate Green. Schools
:28:58. > :28:59.in my constituency are affected by industrial action today and
:29:00. > :29:04.governors have been quite clear with me and with parents that it is
:29:05. > :29:08.funding pressures, particularly in relation to children with special
:29:09. > :29:11.educational needs which is forcing them to make redundancies to balance
:29:12. > :29:14.their budgets. We'll be minister guarantee that the needs of those
:29:15. > :29:21.children with special needs are adequately funded? We want to make
:29:22. > :29:23.sure that those children in particular and all vulnerable
:29:24. > :29:27.children's education is protected. One of the reasons we introduced the
:29:28. > :29:33.pupil premium which is two and a half billion pounds per year is to
:29:34. > :29:37.ensure that funding was going to be most vulnerable children in our
:29:38. > :29:42.school system. We are consulting on the national funding formula and the
:29:43. > :29:50.high needs funding formula as well, and that consultation has closed,
:29:51. > :29:53.and we will be responding to it shortly. Fiona McTaggart. Remiss
:29:54. > :29:57.this Speaker might question is is that the Minister is prepared to
:29:58. > :30:01.hand out blame but not accept it. Frankly he is saying that this
:30:02. > :30:07.action is damaging children's education and disrupting parents.
:30:08. > :30:12.Actually, the decision of his government to impose upon primary
:30:13. > :30:15.teachers teaching in Key stage two, a new curriculum, which was four
:30:16. > :30:20.years of curriculum and they only had two years to deliver it,
:30:21. > :30:25.resulting in a chaotic series of results, published today, which have
:30:26. > :30:29.upset parents much worse results than the Secretary of State
:30:30. > :30:36.predicted. Does that not harm children's education more than the
:30:37. > :30:42.antics of the NUT today? No, it doesn't. The new curriculum is
:30:43. > :30:48.essential if we are to prepare young people for life in modern Britain
:30:49. > :30:52.and to equip them to do well. To do well at secondary school. Previous
:30:53. > :30:57.levels did not ensure those children even reaching level four at the end
:30:58. > :31:00.of Key Stage two, and went on to get five GCSEs. We are now sing and much
:31:01. > :31:06.more rigorous curriculum designed to be on a par with the best education
:31:07. > :31:14.jurisdictions in the world, and we are seeing already 66% of pupils
:31:15. > :31:19.meeting the new expected standard in reading, 70% meeting the effect of
:31:20. > :31:24.standard in maths and 72% meeting the new expected standard in
:31:25. > :31:29.grammar, punctuation and spelling. I believe that parents are essential
:31:30. > :31:32.in preparing for this new curriculum. Mr Speaker I have
:31:33. > :31:35.brilliant former colleagues brought to their knees by the unmanageable
:31:36. > :31:40.and exhausting workloads brought on by this government's movements. With
:31:41. > :31:43.more teachers leaving the profession than joined last year, does the
:31:44. > :31:53.Minister except that the leak between teachers morale and huge
:31:54. > :31:56.numbers leaving the profession? In 2015 43,000 teachers left the
:31:57. > :32:04.profession, some duty retirement, some due to going into other walks
:32:05. > :32:12.of life. 45,000 entered the profession, 40,000 people return to
:32:13. > :32:15.the profession. That was higher than in 2011. I don't recognise the
:32:16. > :32:20.picture he has painted. What I do when I visit universities or
:32:21. > :32:24.schools, or when I am out about in making public statements is to talk
:32:25. > :32:29.up the profession, to encourage young graduates, to encourage sixth
:32:30. > :32:34.formers to think about a career in what is a very important and highly
:32:35. > :32:39.respected profession. I do worry about the Minister's athletic
:32:40. > :32:49.capabilities when he sets himself against the IFS now quite clearly
:32:50. > :32:54.said school budgets will be cut by 8% in real terms by 2020. That is
:32:55. > :33:00.one side of this equation. The other side, as my honourable friend has
:33:01. > :33:04.said, is teacher morale. This has been compounded by some of the
:33:05. > :33:08.changes to the curriculum, and the additional workload. Why is it that
:33:09. > :33:11.ministers are setting their base against the teaching profession in
:33:12. > :33:17.the way they have? Have they reaped what they are so today? I do except,
:33:18. > :33:22.Mr Speaker, that the changes that have been implemented in the last
:33:23. > :33:26.five years I've been very radical. They have taken many years to
:33:27. > :33:32.prepare, the primary curriculum was published in 2013, became law in
:33:33. > :33:36.September 2014, and this made, 2016, has been the first assessment of
:33:37. > :33:41.that new curriculum put up the GCSE reforms, English, maths, teaching
:33:42. > :33:47.began in September 2015, after four or five years of preparation for
:33:48. > :33:50.that new GCSE, and a number of other subjects are coming to first
:33:51. > :33:55.teaching this September. I do understand that the work involved in
:33:56. > :34:00.preparing for a new specification and a new curriculum is hard, but
:34:01. > :34:03.the changes are hugely important, and will have a dramatic impact on
:34:04. > :34:09.the standard of education in our state schools, in the year ahead,
:34:10. > :34:12.and I think it is a price well worth delivering. I hope the honourable
:34:13. > :34:19.gentleman will support higher academic standards in our state
:34:20. > :34:23.schools. Margaret Greenwood. Could be minister... We are welcoming,
:34:24. > :34:27.encouraging people to go into teaching. What's your better what
:34:28. > :34:30.reassurance can you give to people wanting to teach art, drama and
:34:31. > :34:35.music that there will be those departments they're requiring you
:34:36. > :34:40.remarry services in the years ahead? In western .org yesterday, I set out
:34:41. > :34:47.the figures for art, design, for music, showing that the take-up of
:34:48. > :34:55.entry figures for the subject has remained very stable. -- in
:34:56. > :35:00.Westminster Hall. It is important that more young people take those
:35:01. > :35:05.core academic subjects, maths, English, science, humanity, and
:35:06. > :35:08.modern foreign languages to GCSE. That is what happens in a number of
:35:09. > :35:14.high performing jurisdictions around the world. We want to have our young
:35:15. > :35:19.people competent in a foreign language, and that is why we have
:35:20. > :35:23.set a target that by 2020 90% of pupils will be taking the
:35:24. > :35:31.combination I outlined. That doesn't mean there is no space or time in
:35:32. > :35:33.the school curriculum for those important creative arts subjects.