Urgent Question on Teachers' Strike House of Commons

We now move on to the urgent question, Nick Dakin. Thank you Mr

Speaker, let me first of all declare my interest as the retired NU team

member. I asked the Secretary of State to make a statement on today's

features great strike, and its impact on parents of small

communities. Mr Speaker not only have we had the first junior doctors

strike on this government's watch, but today we have failure in other

public services, with a teacher's strike. Sadly this government has

relished sacking... I don't wish to interrupt his flow, but at this

point all the honourable gentleman needs to ask for is the statement.

More detail and supplementary will come after all our third everything

the statement has the state. Thank you Mr Speaker. There is absolutely

no justification for this strike. The NU T asked for talks and we are

having talks. Since May, the Department for Education has been

engaged in a new programme of talks with major teaching unions including

the Nu T, focus on all of the concerns raised during the strike,

and even before then we were engaged in roundtable discussions with the

trade unions, and both the secretary of state and I meet the trade union

leaders regularly to discuss concerns. This strike is politically

motivated, and has nothing to do with raising standards in education.

In the words of Deborah Lawson, the general secretary of the

non-striking teaching union voice, "Today's strike is a futile and

politically motivated digest. Kevin Courtney, the acting general

secretary for Nu T in his letter to Secretary of State on the 20th of

June made it clear that the strike was about school funding and

teaching pay and conditions, let this year public school budget is

greater than any previous year at ?14 million, some ?4 billion than in

2011, 12. At a time when other areas of public spending have been

significantly reduced, the government has shown commitment to

education by protecting school spending. We want to work, Mr

Speaker, with the profession, and with a teaching union, and we have

been doing this successfully in our joint endeavour to reduce

unnecessary teacher workload, with 15,000 more teachers in the

profession than in 2010, teaching remains one of the most popular and

attractive professions in which to work. The industrial action by the

Nu T is pointless, but it is far from inconsequential. It disrupts

children's education, it inconveniences parents, and it

damages the profession's reputation in the eyes of the public. But

because of the dedication of the vast majority of teachers and head

teachers, our analysis is shows that seven out of eight schools are

refusing to close. Our school workforce is and must remain a

respected profession, student will for the 21st century, but this

action is seeking to take the profession back in public perception

to the tired and dated disputes of the 20th century. But more

importantly, this strike does not have a democratic mandate from a

majority, even of NUJ members, and is based on a ballot from which the

turnout was just 24.5%. This represents fewer than 10% of the

total teacher workforce. Our ground-breaking education reforms

are improving pupil outcomes, challenging low expectations and

poor pupil behaviour in school, and increasingly prestige of the people

teaching profession. This anachronistic strike as they marched

back into a past that everyone is our schools to revisit. Thank you,

Mr Speaker. We not only have the first junior doctor's strike on this

government's watch, but today we have failure in another public

service, with his teachers strike. This government has sadly relished

attacking additional professionals, undermining them, describing them as

the mob instead of engaging with them and celebrating their role in

driving up individual child and school performance. At a time when

people have a right to look to government for stability and

security, the trust of teachers has been broken, and a strike of this

nature is most unfortunate. At the heart of this concern by people on

the front line, be they teachers, head teachers or parents about

school budgets in the future. Everyone knows that this by the

Secretary of State's protestations, school but are going to fall in real

terms year on year up to 2020. Headteachers know this, parents know

this, and the institutions for Vista -- the Institute for Fiscal Studies

has shown this. The Secretary of State is in total denial, and that

is what results in what we are witnessing today. A failure of

government, leading to massive disruption, plus it has cancelled,

-- classes cancelled, people sent home. He has now made it clear that

he is tearing up his fiscal books, and as my honourable member for

Manchester Central asked yesterday, will be government now commits to

securing our children's Edo by reversing the planned cuts in

funding and securing the necessary cash for our nation's children? And

as I asked yesterday, Mr Speaker, will be minister commit to

publishing the government's responds to the FT RB by the end of this

academic year, so that headteachers can plan effectively? It is clear

the government has lost the plot, and has a problem with teachers,

they can't recruit enough, they can't retain enough, and they have

lost their confident in their large numbers. It is clear, today, that

our children, our children and future are paying the price of Tory

education failure. Minister of State. Welcome it is nice to hear

from the shadow shadow schools minister, sitting on the fourth row

of the chamber. The only people, Mr Speaker, who are undermining the

teaching profession are the leadership of the National Union of

Teachers full stop I'm disappointed that the honourable gentleman...

That he is jumping on this dispute to make a cheap political point.

Instead of joining this side of the house and condemning this

unnecessary and pointless strike. Will he now say that he opposes this

strike by the Nu T? Which has disrupted children's education, and

inconvenienced parents. Finally, Mr Speaker, just to response to this

point, about the schoolteachers bodies report, we will publish the

report together with our response and a draft revised schoolteachers

pay and conditions document as soon as we have completed our

consideration of Parents don't know why many teachers

have gone on strike and I'm sure many teachers themselves don't

understand why it is taking place. What parents do know is how

difficult it is to arrange childcare at short notice. I wonder if the

Minister would pay tribute to the many teachers who are in work, doing

the right thing by their pupils. My honourable friend is right. These

strikes damaged children was like education and every day of school

mess damages the outcomes but hugely inconvenient as working parents who

must find arrangements or take the day off work. I share my honourable

friend comments and pay tribute to the vast majority of teachers and

head teachers working today and resulting in seven out of eight

schools refusing to close. Like with the junior doctors

dispute, I am sure the general public are watching this debate will

see through this Government's menage, what a fascination and what

they seem to think the picture is out there. Taking strike action is

one of the most difficult decisions any teacher makes. No one takes it

likely that the teachers have said enough is enough, they are fed up

the cuts were 70% of head teachers directly say directly affect

educational standards. Will the minister now accept class sizes are

increasing, pupils are getting less choice about their subjects and jobs

are going and children are now getting less individual time with

staff? I must say, Mr Speaker, I find the Minister's faith in the

free market to decide his salary of teachers is touchingly naive on eBay

when the pound has fallen to 31 year low. -- on our day. Can he say if

there is any limit to how far he is prepared to cede salaries fall? Us

see salaries fall. We are less than one month away from the end of the

sperm, will the Minister end the uncertainty and house and what

teachers can expect. -- end of term. The member seems to spend more time

on the Justice Secretary's campaign for the Tory leadership than her day

job. What the Minister agree to get around the table and get a better

deal for the next-generation? The working conditions our teachers are

they learning conditions of our children and they deserve the very

best. What the public are seeing is the

Labour Party that is equivocal about whether they agree with strike

action, which is disrupting the education of children. What we have

seen from the honourable gentleman, sorry, honourable lady, is someone

who is not prepared to criticise and condemn strike action that is not

only damaging education but hugely inconveniencing parents, working

parents who must find alternative arrangements for childcare. When she

talks about class sizes, the average infant class size has remained at

27.4, unchanged from 2015. Of the 3066 infant classes were 31 or more

pupils, 80% have just 31 pupils and that is because of the flexibility

we have built into all-out extra, one or two extra children, for

example twins and so on to have access. Well she condemn that

policy? We will publish the STRB when consideration is complete and

we will consult teachers and stakeholders about the future of the

STRB and those arrangements when all schools are academies. I won't give

her one final chance to say, on behalf of the Labour Party, they

condemn this unnecessary and futile strike by the NUT.

Working mums and dads in the Catholic constituency will today be

hugely inconvenienced by this unnecessary strike action. --

Kettering constituency. Many of the parents work in the social and

public services and that patients will be inconvenienced by what is it

politically motivated strike that is an embarrassment to many members of

the NUT itself. Well my honourable friend, the education Minister

praised the teachers who wore a cross picket lines today to go and

teach children at our local schools? They are the shining example and not

the NUT. My honourable friend is right.

Nothing is more important than ensuring young people get a good

education. The master the basics of reading and writing, get GCSEs,

prepare for life in modern Britain and I pay tribute to all creatures

that have gone into work, despite the NUT's action, based on a ballot

of less than 25% of members. We must make sure lovechild's education is

disrupted and I pay tribute to the fact seven out of eight schools have

refused to close. This strike by teachers is

significant. This is a good people who followed a vocational and caring

profession. They are not driven by money but they do seek to be

recognised and valued for the job they do. The erosion of teachers pay

and conditions, increasing workloads make specification hard to live out

when they could earn more money and have better terms and conditions

working in the local supermarket. It is easier to save at the dispatch

box teachers are valued, but actions must match the rhetoric. I asked the

minister yesterday and I repeat it today, what is he doing to ensure

teachers having nationally guaranteed level of pay? How is he

working with teachers to reduce their workloads and how is the

product in teachers terms and conditions, such as maternity, sick

pay and other issues that they have? The acting general secretary of the

NUT has made it clear this is a dispute about pay and conditions.

When it comes to workload, what is disappointing about this strike is

we have been working very closely and constructively with all the

teaching unions to tackle unnecessary workloads and as a

consequence of that we have established three workloads groups

start by highly experienced teachers and head teachers, look at data

management, looked at the planning and looked at marking. They have

reported and we have accepted the recommendations and that will have a

genuine effect on the top three workload issues highlighted by the

secretary of state's workload challenge, to which 44,000 teachers

responded. As for pay and conditions, as it moved into a

situation where more and more schools to become academies we will

consult with the profession about the future of the STRB process. If

the Shadow secretary of state is right and strike action is always a

big and difficult decision isn't it about time that strike action was

not allowed when such a derisory proportion of members voted for it,

in this case 24%, giving huge disruption causes the education of

pupils, like our parents and other teachers going into work who must

cover for those people out on strike?

My honourable friend is right and the trade union act will ensure that

action in essential services only ever gets the go-ahead when has been

a ballot of at least 50%. Bearing in mind this ballot turnout was just

24.5%, this strike would not be legal once the new regulation will

likely give out. We are consulting with stakeholders on the regulations

and thresholds likely to come into place later this year.

Secretary of state, I received a message from the teacher today who,

I'm sure for class is not full twins. She said you try to work out

how to effect next year's class of 34 into a room capable of having 28

whilst making a leaving party for four members of staff? What does he

have to say to Nicola? The percentage of pupils in infant class

sizes of more than 30 despite what it percent, down from 6.2% in 2015.

What we have done is create 600,000 more school places, double the

amount of capital and creating new places, compared with the capital

spent by the previous Labour Government. The previous Labour

Government removed 200,000 primary school places and that is the

problem we have had to tackle and they did not plan for the increased

birth rate. Our teachers do a fantastic job but

does the Minister agree there are ways to protest which do not involve

damaging children's education and inconveniencing parents? Does he

agree that must be the strongest possible justification for such

action and that Clare Short has not been met in this case? My honourable

friend is right. -- and that threshold has not been met. We

always open to discussion with trade leaders. The 10th round table tops,

officials have regular pox -- we attend and have regular pox. Those

discussions can and always our take place and this is more to do with

the internal workings of the NUT than it does to do with pay and

conditions of teachers. Does the Minister not have a cheap to talk

about teachers and 20,000 deciding to strike for a moment or two when

he is part of a Government whereby 120,000 people will decide the Prime

Minister instead of having a general election? Does he agree with that?

He about 20,000 teachers, there are 456,000 teachers in this country,

the highest number in our history, and the honourable gentleman has

been a member of this house for a long time and he knows we do live in

a parliamentary democracy. This is an English only strike and

there are no strict and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and

because of those people Government is listening and respecting teachers

there are no strikes there and I would urge the fact that the

secretary of Street that standards have increased in Wales year on year

and the gap is closing with England. The point being is when you value

and listen to teachers it does not lead to strike action and he should

follow the lead of more devolved nations.

The problem with education in Wales as the standards are behind

standards in this country and yesterday we were asked what advice

we could get to the Welsh Government about academies programme, reform to

the curriculum, reform to GCSEs and A-levels, resulting in either an

approving standards the gap I suspect is widening. -- higher and

improving. What does the Minister intend to do

since we now have a Chancellor expressing post Brexit largess to

enjoy the project schools funding cuts are prevented? -- projected

schools funding cuts? We have protected school funding on a pupil

braces and school funding is the highest it has ever been, ?4 billion

more than 2011-12. Because of the decisions of the Chancellor in his

budget we are not facing the crisis that faces countries like Greece

that had the same budget deficit in terms of the percentage of budgets,

we have not faced that prices were that closing schools and slashing

salaries and cutting teachers numbers. -- not facing a crisis. The

average class size has remained stable despite the fact we have also

created 600,000 more school places. The sector of the Government that

does not believe in experts but is he actually contradicting the

Institute for Fiscal Studies predict a fall in school funding in real

terms? Is the contradicting them? Till we are aware there are costs

schools have displaced in the coming years. What we have done is

protected school funding. If you look across Whitehall and the

reduction in spending we have secured an order to tackle the

record public sector deficit we inherited in 2010, 100 ?36 billion,

11% of GDP, note 4% of GDP factor those savings. -- now 4%. We have

issued guidance to schools on how they can manage their budgets and

procure efficiencies in order to meet those challenges.

I would like to congratulate my honourable friend from Scunthorpe

for ensuring the Government are held to account on failure in education

policy. It is important they are held to account. Can I say to the

Minister that he should now -- know how real and through the

demobilisation of teachers is. As the Government done any assessment

of how demoralised teachers are and how it affects the education of

children and why does the Government not take steps to lift morale rather

than constantly denigrate them? know one on this site is denigrating

teachers. The teachers in this country are in a very respected

profession providing a very high quality and improving quality of

education to young people. We have reformed the curriculum, primary and

secondary, we have reformed the GCSEs, putting them on a par with

the best qualifications in the Europe, and the teaching profession

has responded magnificently to those new challenges, and today we have

published the Key Stage two results on a pupil basis, and we will see

that two thirds of people's are now meeting the new expected standard in

Reading, 70% of pupils are meeting the new expected standards in

mathematics. This is a tremendous achievement, given the very

significant rise in expectations and the rigour of new primary

curriculums. Diana Johnson. Is he accepting what the IFS say, that

school budgets will fall over 8% up to 2020, yes or no? School budgets

are being protected. We are spending ?40 billion, we have said that the

per-pupil funding for schools is protected throughout this

Parliament. Schools will face increased costs, salaries and

pension contributions, and national insurance, but we have provided

advice to schools about how they can meet those challenges, to procure

more efficiently and insure their staffing arrangements are the best,

providing the best set of education within what are very... Within their

budgets. We have protected school funding throughout this next

Parliament. Mr Speaker, I had to declare my interest as my sister is

a teacher, and in regard to why she would go on strike, it is not just

about her terms and conditions, it's about the peoples that she believes

that she has a responsibility to. With the Minister just mention on

record budgets. Will he confirm or deny whether in real terms the

budget has gone up per-pupil? In real terms, overall, it has gone up,

as I have said, and the ?40 billion is the highest ever level, and I

have to say to the honourable gentleman that the reason why we

have had to take some very difficult decisions over the last six years

with regards to public spending is because of a mismanagement of the

public financing is by the Labour government, a part two party in

government that he supported. We have had the tape is difficult

decisions, and as a consequence of those difficult decisions, we are

not facing the challenges that other countries in Europe with similar

amounts of public deficit have had to face. I think our constituents

would expect us to try and call the temperature here. Those who have

been around in education for some time know that the previous Labour

government have had disagreements with the NUT, and the fact of the

matter is there are lots of unhappy teachers out there at the moment,

and they do have some real concerns. This is an important statement,

indeed, what other statement could have got the whole ragtag and

bobtail remains of the government front bench he at one time? This is

a serious matter. Let us make sure that week call the temperature, talk

to teachers, meet their concerns, and get back to work. Yes, I totally

agreed with the honourable gentleman, and former chair of the

education select committee. He is right and we do talk to the teaching

profession, we have regular discussions, but the Secretary of

State and I can and be minister, regularly visits schools up and down

the talking to teachers, and there is no question that the reforms put

in place over the last five or six years have been very significant,

and we don't resile from stating that. It was important to raise

standards of reasoning, arithmetic in primary schools, introducing

gamma back into the primary curriculum, and we have revised and

improved the curriculum in secondary education. -- introducing Coram are

back into the primary curriculum. We are prepared to compete in what is

increasingly a competitive global jobs market, and we are delivering

on that and I am delighted by the way that the profession has

responded to those challenges. Mr Speaker thank you. Does the Minister

agree with me that when it comes to education, teachers are the experts?

When these professionals have genuine concerns, that funding ends

-- cuts are damaging the education of our children, does he not agree

that it would be irresponsible of them to not make their concerns

known to government to mark if the teaching profession had the respect

they needed, they would not be in the position they are having a

last-minute strike action to protect the addition of our children? I

think it is an anachronistic approach to discussing important

political issues. We do have regular discussions with the teacher unions,

we have all kinds of reference groups, of representative teachers,

be we need regularly in the Department for Education, and we are

very aware of teacher concerns about the changing curriculum, the

concerns about worries about workload, we had a workload channel,

which involved 40,000 teachers were involved. We take will these issues

very seriously, and respond to them, but we do not want to go back to the

1980s, to have strikes as a way of engaging in issues of concern. They

are not necessary, and most teachers agreed with that. Louise Haig. The

Minister can say all he likes that school budgets are going up, but the

fact on the grand paint a different picture. One schools in my

constituency has had to close down their summer school, liberally

targeted to help deprived students catch up both for the beginning of

the school year. Willy look at those examples and other examples in this

debate to make sure that the funding cuts don't impact on particularly

primary students? I will look at any individual examples, that any

honourable member or friend brings to my attention. I will look at

those examples and make sure that those schools are receiving the best

possible advice about how to manage their budgets. Kate Green. Schools

in my constituency are affected by industrial action today and

governors have been quite clear with me and with parents that it is

funding pressures, particularly in relation to children with special

educational needs which is forcing them to make redundancies to balance

their budgets. We'll be minister guarantee that the needs of those

children with special needs are adequately funded? We want to make

sure that those children in particular and all vulnerable

children's education is protected. One of the reasons we introduced the

pupil premium which is two and a half billion pounds per year is to

ensure that funding was going to be most vulnerable children in our

school system. We are consulting on the national funding formula and the

high needs funding formula as well, and that consultation has closed,

and we will be responding to it shortly. Fiona McTaggart. Remiss

this Speaker might question is is that the Minister is prepared to

hand out blame but not accept it. Frankly he is saying that this

action is damaging children's education and disrupting parents.

Actually, the decision of his government to impose upon primary

teachers teaching in Key stage two, a new curriculum, which was four

years of curriculum and they only had two years to deliver it,

resulting in a chaotic series of results, published today, which have

upset parents much worse results than the Secretary of State

predicted. Does that not harm children's education more than the

antics of the NUT today? No, it doesn't. The new curriculum is

essential if we are to prepare young people for life in modern Britain

and to equip them to do well. To do well at secondary school. Previous

levels did not ensure those children even reaching level four at the end

of Key Stage two, and went on to get five GCSEs. We are now sing and much

more rigorous curriculum designed to be on a par with the best education

jurisdictions in the world, and we are seeing already 66% of pupils

meeting the new expected standard in reading, 70% meeting the effect of

standard in maths and 72% meeting the new expected standard in

grammar, punctuation and spelling. I believe that parents are essential

in preparing for this new curriculum. Mr Speaker I have

brilliant former colleagues brought to their knees by the unmanageable

and exhausting workloads brought on by this government's movements. With

more teachers leaving the profession than joined last year, does the

Minister except that the leak between teachers morale and huge

numbers leaving the profession? In 2015 43,000 teachers left the

profession, some duty retirement, some due to going into other walks

of life. 45,000 entered the profession, 40,000 people return to

the profession. That was higher than in 2011. I don't recognise the

picture he has painted. What I do when I visit universities or

schools, or when I am out about in making public statements is to talk

up the profession, to encourage young graduates, to encourage sixth

formers to think about a career in what is a very important and highly

respected profession. I do worry about the Minister's athletic

capabilities when he sets himself against the IFS now quite clearly

said school budgets will be cut by 8% in real terms by 2020. That is

one side of this equation. The other side, as my honourable friend has

said, is teacher morale. This has been compounded by some of the

changes to the curriculum, and the additional workload. Why is it that

ministers are setting their base against the teaching profession in

the way they have? Have they reaped what they are so today? I do except,

Mr Speaker, that the changes that have been implemented in the last

five years I've been very radical. They have taken many years to

prepare, the primary curriculum was published in 2013, became law in

September 2014, and this made, 2016, has been the first assessment of

that new curriculum put up the GCSE reforms, English, maths, teaching

began in September 2015, after four or five years of preparation for

that new GCSE, and a number of other subjects are coming to first

teaching this September. I do understand that the work involved in

preparing for a new specification and a new curriculum is hard, but

the changes are hugely important, and will have a dramatic impact on

the standard of education in our state schools, in the year ahead,

and I think it is a price well worth delivering. I hope the honourable

gentleman will support higher academic standards in our state

schools. Margaret Greenwood. Could be minister... We are welcoming,

encouraging people to go into teaching. What's your better what

reassurance can you give to people wanting to teach art, drama and

music that there will be those departments they're requiring you

remarry services in the years ahead? In western .org yesterday, I set out

the figures for art, design, for music, showing that the take-up of

entry figures for the subject has remained very stable. -- in

Westminster Hall. It is important that more young people take those

core academic subjects, maths, English, science, humanity, and

modern foreign languages to GCSE. That is what happens in a number of

high performing jurisdictions around the world. We want to have our young

people competent in a foreign language, and that is why we have

set a target that by 2020 90% of pupils will be taking the

combination I outlined. That doesn't mean there is no space or time in

the school curriculum for those important creative arts subjects.