Education and SkillsAmbitious For Every Child |
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| The finest investment our generation can make is to give a high-quality education to the next generation. Nothing sets a child free more than this. If we are successful, each and every child is given the opportunity to unlock their potential. If we fail then we put their whole future at risk. | |
No tuition fees, no top-up fees, fair grants – university affordable for every studentLabour broke their promise on tuition fees. The result: tens of thousands of able students are saddled with mortgage-sized debts or deterred altogether from going to university. Funded from part of our new 50 per cent rate on incomes over £100,000, Liberal Democrats will abolish all tuition fees and make grants available to help poorer students with maintenance costs. That will build on the achievements of Liberal Democrats in government in Scotland. No one will be denied the opportunity of a university education because of the fear of debt, while universities will receive the increased funds they need. |
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Cut class sizes – using the £1.5 billion Child Trust FundExpert opinion confirms what common sense tells us: children well taught and well-cared-for in their early years have a better opportunity to lead successful and rewarding lives. |
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| The Government has the wrong priorities, handing out a one-off cash windfall to 18 year-olds at taxpayers’ expense through the Child Trust Fund. Liberal Democrats will use this money better by recruiting 21,000 more teachers to cut infant class sizes from the present maximum of 30 to an average of 20, and junior class sizes to an average of 25. We will extend before and after school provision from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for all children and complete 3500 Children’s Centres by 2010. Building on our Maternity Income Guarantee, which will raise maternity pay for the first six months to £170 a week instead of £102.80 at present, these policies will give every child the best possible start. | |
Every child taught English, Maths, Science, Modern Languages, plus Information and Communication Technology, by suitably qualified teachersThe teacher recruitment crisis means that thousands of children are being taught key subjects by staff who are not trained specialists in that subject. Liberal Democrats will guarantee that all children will be taught the core subjects of English, Maths, Science, Modern Languages and ICT by suitably qualified teachers through funding secondary schools to provide the necessary high-quality teacher-training courses in these subjects. |
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School disciplineChildren need to learn in a safe and orderly environment, where high standards of behaviour are upheld, where bullying is challenged effectively and where teachers are able to teach without disruption. Our smaller class sizes will help reduce discipline problems. To deal with more persistent disruption schools will agree externally-monitored ‘positive behaviour plans’ with parents and pupils. If necessary, local education authorities’ Behavioural Support Units will tackle exceptional problems in particular schools. When all else fails we will guarantee that head teachers will have local education authority support for ‘managed transfer’ to other schools or special units for pupils whose behaviour remains unacceptable. |
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Time to teachChildren in England are now the most tested in Europe, yet there is little evidence that the Government’s obsession with testing and targets has improved standards. Liberal Democrats believe that teachers should be given more time to teach and that testing should have a clear purpose: to improve learning for individual children. We will reduce the level of external testing, replacing compulsory tests at seven and eleven with a system of sampling against national standards. Teachers will regularly assess pupils’ performance, using the results to inform teaching and give parents accurate information on their child’s progress. |
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Special educational needsChildren with special educational needs should be schooled in an environment appropriate to their needs - usually in local schools with appropriate support, or in specialist schools for those who need them. Parents’ wishes must be considered when making decisions about type of schooling. |
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| A designated teacher in each school will have responsibility to identify and plan for children with special needs, and act as a contact point for parents and other teachers. We will make sure that all teachers and teaching assistants working with children with special educational needs are appropriately trained. Special schools will act as resource centres to support local schools with their specialist provision. In turn special schools will be linked to research departments in universities so that they can benefit directly from, and be involved with, the latest research in special education. | |
Skills for workSchool-leavers should be equipped with the skills they need to succeed in the workplace. We will combine GCSE, A-level and vocational programmes of study within a new diploma system, stretching the most gifted and engaging those previously turned off by schooling. We will give all students over the age of 14 the opportunity to combine vocational and academic learning, as Liberal Democrats in government in Scotland are already doing. |
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World-class skills for a world-class economyWe are committed to closing the funding gap between schools and colleges, starting by providing equal funding for equivalent courses, wherever they are taught. To deliver world-class skills, world-class facilities are needed. We will implement plans to invest in the modern, high-quality college facilities needed to deliver high-quality skills training. |
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School transportWe will maintain the right of children to free school transport when they live more than two miles from their designated primary school and three miles from their secondary school – a right which is being taken away by the Labour Government. For those who live nearer school, there still need to be safe alternatives to the car; we will promote ‘Safe Routes to School’, with calmed traffic, safe pavements, good lighting and adults on hand to conduct ‘walking buses’. |
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Before I became an MP I worked for thirty four years as a teacher – the last fifteen as head teacher of one of Britain’s largest secondary schools. I taught some of the most disadvantaged children in the country, and I saw at first hand the power of a high-quality education. Indeed, my passion to enter Parliament came because I could no longer stand aside whilst politicians continued to fail our children. |
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| The policies I have helped develop are about addressing these issues. They are about striving for excellence and being ambitious for every child and every student. I want our young people to maximise their potential by being free to choose the most appropriate university course without fear of a mountain of debt. I want them to be able to choose high-quality apprenticeships and skill training – not as a second-best option but ranked alongside traditional academic pathways. And I want to see adults, too, being given the opportunity to acquire new skills to meet the demands of ever-changing technologies and global competition. | |
Parents are rightly ambitious for their children – I most certainly was for my own. I am proud of what many children already achieve, but more can be done. Quite simply, we must be ambitious for every child. Phil Willis Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills |
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In Scotland, thanks to Liberal Democrats in government, we have already abolished tuition fees, just as we promised. When you vote Liberal Democrat, people can now see it really makes the difference. This time, I hope you’ll help us deliver the same for all of Britain. Jim Wallace QC MSP - Deputy First Minister of the Scottish Executive and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning |
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Green every school, college and universityAll plans for new educational buildings must be good for the environment as well as good for education, for example by minimising the need for heating and using sustainable building materials. By putting the two together, children and students can learn about caring for the environment by seeing green projects in real action in their own school or college. We also believe that out-of-classroom learning is a key part of a good education, and will include the quality of out-of-classroom education in the criteria on which schools are inspected. |