Received from: National Education Union
Congress notes that austerity and privatisation disproportionately damage the poorest children’s education.
83 per cent of teachers responding to a NEU poll said that poverty increases
absence. Privatisation of education fuels inequality. Competition and deregulation disproportionately harm the poorest. High exclusion levels and off-rolling further damages the life chances of working-class children.
End Child Poverty research shows that 30 per cent of children are living in poverty and it is increasing where poverty is high. The Institute of Fiscal Studies predicts that over five million children will live in poverty by 2022. Of pupils eligible for FSM, 28.7 per cent are identified as having SEND.
Congress calls on government to:
i. implement a comprehensive child poverty reduction strategy that updates
benefits in line with inflation; restores the value of benefits caused by the eightyear freeze; ends the two-child limit; and reforms universal credit
ii. end privatisation of education; create a legislative instrument that sees all
schools return to local authority governance; and end the competition between schools driven by league tables and punitive inspections
iii. increase investment in SEND specialist services and school SEND budgets.
National Education Union