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Report
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sets out vision for Sunderland's children, including raising attainment in city
Sunderland Echo
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23/12/2024
Bridget Phillipson has been addressing solving inequalities in education, including in Sunderland.
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Learning
Transcript
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00:00
Okay then Bridget, I mean one of the things which I know is an issue both here in Sunderland
00:04
and nationally is teacher recruitment and retainment. As you know I'm one of the ones
00:08
who left the profession after 17 years. Basically it started affecting my health. I was running
00:12
two departments between two schools to save money basically. So what are the government
00:17
planning on doing over your next term of office to try and solve that situation and to keep
00:22
more teachers in the profession and to encourage more people to enrol and train to become teachers?
00:27
So what I've been clear about since becoming Secretary of State for Education is that I'm
00:30
resetting the relationship between government and the profession. And that's why I was delighted
00:35
that we were able to deliver a 5.5% pay award for teachers, something that the last government
00:40
had dodged. We've got a manifesto commitment to 6,500 new teachers and I want teaching
00:46
to be the go-to place for the best graduates. But I know that the strongest recruitment
00:50
strategy is having a brilliant retention strategy. We have to keep more experienced staff in
00:55
the classroom. I know that sadly too many people are leaving because of the pressures
00:59
of the job. That's about workload, it's about dealing with some of the pressures that they
01:03
see in the classroom. But what I also hear a lot from staff is that increasingly they're
01:07
having to deal with big social problems, issues around housing, child poverty and it's making
01:12
the job really tough. So that's why the government is focused on driving down child poverty numbers
01:18
and also putting in place more support for families so that teachers and staff can really
01:22
focus on delivering a great education for children.
01:24
I know the Ofsted system has changed, the overall judgment has been abolished, although
01:30
my understanding is there's going to be report cards. So what was the rationale behind getting
01:35
rid of the overall judgment and how is it going to be replaced going forward in the
01:38
future?
01:39
The system that we had before, those one or two word judgments for schools, I think was
01:44
low information but high stakes for staff. And the system we're going to put in place
01:48
will be a report card system, so much more information for parents, a clearer sense
01:53
of what's working within a school but also where there's areas for improvement. There'll
01:57
be a full consultation process through Ofsted and through the department around what the
02:02
replacement looks like and we'll be setting out more before too long.
02:06
I mean funding has been an issue in schools for quite a long time. In my time in the classroom
02:11
between starting my career and finishing my teaching career I did notice a big drop in
02:15
what I had in my departmental budget and we ended up, there was a ban on colour photocopy
02:19
and I ended up having to copy stuff myself. There was textbooks which were getting old
02:24
and couldn't be replaced. I know money, just throwing money at things doesn't always solve
02:28
it, but is there plans to invest more money in schools to help teachers with funding the
02:32
things that these children need?
02:34
Money is really tight and we inherited a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.
02:40
But despite that, at the last budget we did protect key education priorities, so it means
02:44
we've been able to put more money into schools, we've been able to invest more in school rebuilding
02:49
and also more in support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
02:53
Now that is also an area where we need to see big reform because I know that parents
02:57
are losing confidence and children are not getting the support that they need. So we've
03:01
started that process of investing in education and delivering better life chances for all
03:05
our children. There will be some tough choices that still lie ahead but this Labour government
03:10
has put education right back front and centre of national life because we know that if we
03:14
want to break down the link between background and success, then investing in our children
03:19
and their futures is absolutely essential.
03:22
I mean obviously Sunderland does lag behind in terms of national attainment with Progress 8.
03:29
I mean how do you think we go about tackling that and driving up results in Sunderland?
03:34
We've inherited a big challenge where it comes to regional inequality, so right across the
03:37
country we see big gaps between areas but also within communities, you know, more disadvantaged
03:44
children are less likely to get good results than those from better off households so some
03:48
really big challenges there that go to issues around child poverty, around housing, around
03:53
how much money families have got, but also investing in our teachers and the work that
03:59
we'll be setting out around more on school improvement to support schools that are facing
04:03
some of the greatest challenge are just some of the ways that we intend to address that.
04:07
I mean obviously you've just come to the job as Secretary of State for Education.
04:10
If you can set out your, where would you like to see schools in five years and if you get
04:13
two terms in office in ten years, you know, if you could just sort of picture what the
04:17
situation would be for schools, for the children in Sunderland and across the country, what
04:21
would you envisage?
04:22
What would you like to see say in five years and ten years time?
04:24
It is going to take us time and that's why Keir Starmer's talked about a decade of national
04:28
renewal but there's a lot that we can get on and do and that we've already started to
04:31
get underway, whether that's rolling out breakfast clubs in primary schools, the pay award for
04:36
teachers to make sure we keep people in the profession, the curriculum and assessment
04:40
review that we've launched, so there's a lot that's already happening.
04:43
My vision is for a society where regardless of background you have every chance to get
04:49
on in life, where the town that you're from, the family that you're born into doesn't determine
04:53
everything that you can go on to achieve and I want all children to achieve and thrive
04:57
so to do as well as they possibly can in academic subjects but also to be happy and healthy
05:03
and safe and to really want to come to school and feel appreciated and valued while here.
05:08
Just last question, obviously you are our local MP, how much have you enjoyed the job
05:11
so far since you took over?
05:14
Being Secretary of State for Education is the best job in government, I'm sure my other
05:19
colleagues in cabinet would say that they've got the best job but I think education is
05:22
just so crucial to the future of our country and it is such a privilege to be Secretary
05:27
of State for Education but I haven't lost sight of my responsibilities as a constituency
05:31
MP which is why it's brilliant to be here at Farringdon as part of the ceremony around
05:37
the official reopening and to be out and about around the constituency today meeting with
05:41
residents and businesses.
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