Jeremy Corbyn Election 2017

APPLAUSE. And this will of course improve and

strengthen already often very good relations with local arts projects

and arts centres, we will bring our children of understanding that arts

for all, not just the few. And yet, while all this is happening, funding

for our children's education is being cut. Multinational

corporations have received multi-billion pound tax giveaways.

How can it be right that money is being siphoned straight out of our

schools and directly into the pockets of the super rich? Sadly,

that often ends up in tax havens. Let's make it very clear once and

for all, enough is enough. Throughout this election campaign,

we will be making absolutely clear our commitment to build a country

for the many, not just the few. A vital part of this will be creating

an education system that provides for every child, every child,

regardless of their background or parents' income. So we will

introduce a national education service, ensuring excellent learning

opportunities for all, from early years right through to adult

education. What we need now, what you, as teaching professionals, need

now are concrete answers and concrete solutions to the problems

that our education system is facing. That is why Labour set out a plan to

give every young person the best possible start in life by

introducing universally free school meals for pupils in all primary

schools. It is a policy that is fully costed and paid for by

introducing VAT on Private school fees. It is clear...

APPLAUSE. As you all know, there are clear

educational benefits to drinking enough water to be able to get

through a speech! And not dehydrate yourself as the day goes on! But you

know very well there are clear educational benefits to universal

school meals. It boosts the attainment level, boosts the

concentration level of our children and, in those early formative years,

the most important time in a child's life, I think we have a duty to

provide for our children but also children in school together, it is a

short period, but eating together, they understand each other much

better and remember those moments for the rest of their lives and I am

determined to introduce this policy. We care for the many, not just the

few. Every child, and healthy and nutritious meal, boosts

productivity, helps their well-being, no matter what their

background. A great start in life, I believe. Not only will the policy

help children throughout their time in education, it will also help

teachers, because you will see improvements

coming through in their attainment in the classroom, and it will help

parents who will not only save money but have peace of mind in knowing

their child is getting a healthy school meals during the day. Too

many teachers, you know this as well as I do, dip into their own pockets,

their own wallets, to help children out, day in, day out. It is not

necessary, it is wrong. We have to ensure all our children get enough

to eat. How can they learn if they are not eating properly?

APPLAUSE. But if we place the value of our

children, as we do, we must also place a value on teachers, head

teachers and old school staff, teaching assistants and all of the

support staff in schools. We must put an end, and I never indulge in

it, to the continual attacks on the teaching profession. We have to end

the downward pressure on pay and conditions, the constant undermining

of morale, and the erosion of standards that means we have more

and more unqualified teachers than ever in our classrooms. That is why,

as part of the comprehensive programme Labour has set out today

to strengthen rights at work and end the race to the bottom in the jobs

market, we have confirmed that a Labour Government will lift the cap

on public sector pay. APPLAUSE.

It cannot be right that those who provide vital public services have

had their pay is squeezed year after year. Our public service employees

deserve a pay rise. And we must give the teaching profession the

recognition it deserves. Not only in terms of pay, but also in terms of

status in our society. We need to listen to you, the teaching

professionals, on how you believe schools can be improved, and respect

the huge wealth of talent and knowledge that lies in the teaching

profession as a whole. I've always believed that the people who know

how to do with job best are those that do it day in, day out,

listening to parents, teachers, head teachers. You are the people who

know how schools should be run, you are the people who best understand

the needs of our children. That is why we have taken our lead from the

union and from the other teachers' unions as well, when we set out in

no uncertain terms our opposition to the expansion of grammar schools in

this country. APPLAUSE.

Not only does the mass introduction of what would become a form of

segregation in our education system not help the overwhelming majority

of this country's children, it also returns as to what frankly our

Victorian notions of education based on a very narrow curriculum. The

task is clear, we must build an education system that suit the needs

of our children and the opportunities they will have in the

jobs market of tomorrow. If we are to build an economy worthy of the

21st-century, we need a school system that looks forward, really

forward, and not to what I believe our failed models of the past. We

must recognise that every child, every single child in this country,

has talent, and every single child deserves the chance to flourish and

drive to their maximum potential in whatever field suits them best. But

our schools do not exist in a vacuum. I am always in awe of local

headteachers I work with, like thousands of children I have learned

so much from them. I have been a constituency MP in an inner-city

area for a very long time. What I admire most is their commitment. Not

just to managing their schools and educating our children, but all the

many multifaceted demands of the children in their community. Housing

issues, immigration problems, mental health. You, as headteachers, are

absolutely the heart of the community, and you have great

respect from those people whose children go to the schools and who

live in those communities. You are part of a wider care system and you

need the other part of that system to work effectively alongside you.

Youth services, the National Health Service, and our very stretched

social care system. Support for schools by these services is

essential to promote pupil well-being. The

duty to directly address pupils' mental health needs ultimately rests

with social and care services. No schools should be asked to fund

health and social services from the school budget. That is why we pledge

to address the chronic underfunding for social care and the National

Health Service. As you all know, schools are most effective as places

of learning when they worked together with high-quality social

care and health services to meet the needs of all students, particularly

those who are the most vulnerable. One in ten children and young people

in this country suffer from mental health conditions. And 75% of adult

mental health problems are bound to begin before the age of 18. We must

prioritise the mental well-being of our children. That is the very least

they deserve. It is vital that we enable early intervention and

provide support when problems first emerge. But to do this we must build

an education system that integrates health and social. Improving the way

our society deals with mental health is a particular concern of mine,

because I am passionate to see opportunities for all. I am

passionate that we will end the stigma surrounding mental health and

deal with it with real parity of esteem with physical help within our

society. APPLAUSE.

That is why I have been so impressed by the work many of you do for

children with special needs, and how special needs coordinators can

liberate children for what has sometimes been a of exclusion. They

do a brilliant job. That focus on the individual child is what drives

our determination to reduce class sizes. We know that half a million

children have been landed in super-sized classes of 31 or more.

The Government is failing on education on its own terms. The

Prime Minister herself has said super-sized classes are proof of a

school system in crisis, so then why is it allowed to continue? Why are

our children schools not getting the funding that they deserve? This is a

choice, and it is the wrong choice. To cut school funding is in breach

of the manifesto on which her Government was elected, when they

said they would protect school funding. Labour will ensure that

schools have the resources they need. I cannot give you a sneak

preview of the full manifesto today, it is not even in my pocket. I'm

afraid you have to wait for that. But be assured, if it is a choice

between a tax giveaway to the largest corporations paying the

lowest rates of tax in the developed world and pledged to go even lower,

or funding of our schools, our choice will be very, very different

from the choice that has been made up to now.

APPLAUSE. We have all ready started to set

some out, not just our free school meals policy and our commitment to

reintroduce the educational maintenance allowance for college

students from low-income families. We are also committed to restoring

maintenance grants for university students so no one is held back from

realising their ambitions so that every schoolchild knows that the

options of further and higher education are available to them. We

must not be ashamed to value education for education's own sake.

Schools should exist to get the best for my children, to give them the

best start in life, to enable them to succeed in which other walk of

life they choose. Whereas the government has repeatedly cut

resources and staffing, we will invest in our children's future

because they deserve nothing less. The excuses from government come

thick and fast, they blame teachers were not working hard enough, they

diverted funds to their vanity projects, 138 and a half million

wasted on schools that are partially closed or never opened. We will not

bring back a system that blames children and parents for not passing

the 11 plus. They blame everyone else to divert attention from their

own failures. They need headteachers to tell them own up, as you often do

to own pupils, own up, take responsibility and say sorry.

APPLAUSE Come on, you have all done that to

your pupils. Labour will give schools the funding our children

deserve, the funding that teachers and head teachers deserve and the

investment our country and our economy deserves. This election can

be the chance for a fresh start. I want to lead a Labour government

that will invest coming best to create shared prosperity, protect

our public services, and build a much fairer country. The government

will work with you, give schools the funding they need and ensure you and

your staff get the respect and the resources you need. We, all of us,

have a duty to our children. All of us. To all of the children and we

will meet that duty and deliver for our children. Thank you very much

for inviting me today. APPLAUSE

A wonderful crowd, welcome to Tim. Ed and I are coming back... And what

I hear on the doorsteps and I have done a lot for ready is that phrase,

welcome back and what we are seeing Krmas of upsurge in membership, in

support, enthusiasm more than last time and all the momentum now is

with us. You may remember two years ago