Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sets out vision for Sunderland's children, including raising attainment in city

Sunderland Echo

Bridget Phillipson has been addressing solving inequalities in education, including in Sunderland.

Transcript

00:00Okay then Bridget, I mean one of the things which I know is an issue both here in Sunderland

00:04and nationally is teacher recruitment and retainment. As you know I'm one of the ones

00:08who left the profession after 17 years. Basically it started affecting my health. I was running

00:12two departments between two schools to save money basically. So what are the government

00:17planning on doing over your next term of office to try and solve that situation and to keep

00:22more teachers in the profession and to encourage more people to enrol and train to become teachers?

00:27So what I've been clear about since becoming Secretary of State for Education is that I'm

00:30resetting the relationship between government and the profession. And that's why I was delighted

00:35that we were able to deliver a 5.5% pay award for teachers, something that the last government

00:40had dodged. We've got a manifesto commitment to 6,500 new teachers and I want teaching

00:46to be the go-to place for the best graduates. But I know that the strongest recruitment

00:50strategy is having a brilliant retention strategy. We have to keep more experienced staff in

00:55the classroom. I know that sadly too many people are leaving because of the pressures

00:59of the job. That's about workload, it's about dealing with some of the pressures that they

01:03see in the classroom. But what I also hear a lot from staff is that increasingly they're

01:07having to deal with big social problems, issues around housing, child poverty and it's making

01:12the job really tough. So that's why the government is focused on driving down child poverty numbers

01:18and also putting in place more support for families so that teachers and staff can really

01:22focus on delivering a great education for children.

01:24I know the Ofsted system has changed, the overall judgment has been abolished, although

01:30my understanding is there's going to be report cards. So what was the rationale behind getting

01:35rid of the overall judgment and how is it going to be replaced going forward in the

01:38future?

01:39The system that we had before, those one or two word judgments for schools, I think was

01:44low information but high stakes for staff. And the system we're going to put in place

01:48will be a report card system, so much more information for parents, a clearer sense

01:53of what's working within a school but also where there's areas for improvement. There'll

01:57be a full consultation process through Ofsted and through the department around what the

02:02replacement looks like and we'll be setting out more before too long.

02:06I mean funding has been an issue in schools for quite a long time. In my time in the classroom

02:11between starting my career and finishing my teaching career I did notice a big drop in

02:15what I had in my departmental budget and we ended up, there was a ban on colour photocopy

02:19and I ended up having to copy stuff myself. There was textbooks which were getting old

02:24and couldn't be replaced. I know money, just throwing money at things doesn't always solve

02:28it, but is there plans to invest more money in schools to help teachers with funding the

02:32things that these children need?

02:34Money is really tight and we inherited a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.

02:40But despite that, at the last budget we did protect key education priorities, so it means

02:44we've been able to put more money into schools, we've been able to invest more in school rebuilding

02:49and also more in support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

02:53Now that is also an area where we need to see big reform because I know that parents

02:57are losing confidence and children are not getting the support that they need. So we've

03:01started that process of investing in education and delivering better life chances for all

03:05our children. There will be some tough choices that still lie ahead but this Labour government

03:10has put education right back front and centre of national life because we know that if we

03:14want to break down the link between background and success, then investing in our children

03:19and their futures is absolutely essential.

03:22I mean obviously Sunderland does lag behind in terms of national attainment with Progress 8.

03:29I mean how do you think we go about tackling that and driving up results in Sunderland?

03:34We've inherited a big challenge where it comes to regional inequality, so right across the

03:37country we see big gaps between areas but also within communities, you know, more disadvantaged

03:44children are less likely to get good results than those from better off households so some

03:48really big challenges there that go to issues around child poverty, around housing, around

03:53how much money families have got, but also investing in our teachers and the work that

03:59we'll be setting out around more on school improvement to support schools that are facing

04:03some of the greatest challenge are just some of the ways that we intend to address that.

04:07I mean obviously you've just come to the job as Secretary of State for Education.

04:10If you can set out your, where would you like to see schools in five years and if you get

04:13two terms in office in ten years, you know, if you could just sort of picture what the

04:17situation would be for schools, for the children in Sunderland and across the country, what

04:21would you envisage?

04:22What would you like to see say in five years and ten years time?

04:24It is going to take us time and that's why Keir Starmer's talked about a decade of national

04:28renewal but there's a lot that we can get on and do and that we've already started to

04:31get underway, whether that's rolling out breakfast clubs in primary schools, the pay award for

04:36teachers to make sure we keep people in the profession, the curriculum and assessment

04:40review that we've launched, so there's a lot that's already happening.

04:43My vision is for a society where regardless of background you have every chance to get

04:49on in life, where the town that you're from, the family that you're born into doesn't determine

04:53everything that you can go on to achieve and I want all children to achieve and thrive

04:57so to do as well as they possibly can in academic subjects but also to be happy and healthy

05:03and safe and to really want to come to school and feel appreciated and valued while here.

05:08Just last question, obviously you are our local MP, how much have you enjoyed the job

05:11so far since you took over?

05:14Being Secretary of State for Education is the best job in government, I'm sure my other

05:19colleagues in cabinet would say that they've got the best job but I think education is

05:22just so crucial to the future of our country and it is such a privilege to be Secretary

05:27of State for Education but I haven't lost sight of my responsibilities as a constituency

05:31MP which is why it's brilliant to be here at Farringdon as part of the ceremony around

05:37the official reopening and to be out and about around the constituency today meeting with

05:41residents and businesses.

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