On Saturday, Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, blamed years of Tory cuts to capital spending on schools and said the current problems ranged from dangerous roofs to asbestos.
He said: “All children deserve to learn in high quality, safe and comfortable buildings. But in 2022-23, capital funding is £1.9bn less per year in real terms than it was in the last years of the Labour government. If the government had not cut Labour’s school rebuilding programme, £27bn more would have been spent on school and college buildings. So, while any money spent on school buildings is welcome, the scale needs to be judged against what has been cut, which is 50 times larger.
That is to assume that the level of spending at the end of the last Labour Government was the correct one. Something that needs to be proven, not assumed.
If Labour had a major rebuilding program then less needs to be rebuilt now. Brown sold us all those spending plans as “investment” so shouldn’t we be reaping the rewards in terms of lower spending now and better educated children coming out of those rebuilt/new schools?
+1000 BiND!!!
The solid Victorian/Edwardian schools were replaced with glass cubes that were cold in winter annd hot in summer, leaked, were full of asbestos – oh and full of kids testing the bunsen burners on the walls.
There was some idiot on the radio this morning complaining that a school had a leaky roof (repairs, revenue spend) because the capital budget had been cut.
I was chair of Site & Premises of a school down the road from the one being discussed, in a neighbouring Labour council, and we were able to ensure our crappy 1960s steel&glass box was adequately maintained.
What about the last two years of child abuse at that hands of teachers?
All children deserve to learn in high quality, safe and comfortable buildings
Except the little bastards, they deserve Battle Royale.
Appears that they’ve pulled a bit of bait and switch here – make it sound like it’s all about the wee’uns in school, which tugs at the heartstrings, everybody supports it, etc. Then I notice that the 27B is for schools and colleges.
Not enough spending on schools? We need to accept more economic migrants who will start families, then. That’ll fix it.
When someone declares that somebody-or-other deserves something I stop reading. Only God knows your just desserts and he doesn’t exist.
My daughter started attending school around the turn of the millennium. She went to three schools, a CofE primary school, a former comprehensive that identified as a technology college and a sixth form college. As far as I could see, all of them were modern and well maintained buildings. Is this a regional thing? Non of these schools were in what I would call a posh area, but not really in a rough area either, fairly average I would say.
“its-a-strange-claim”
Not looking to comment 🙂 but is there any clue or anything? It’s not like it’s an obvious headline. Is it? (As otherwise it perhaps negates the point?)
Stonyground: this will be like all the hospitals “overflowing” with covid patients. That turned out not to be on inspection.
Completely OT.
It looks like those stupid Ukrainians have fallen yet again for one of master strategist Putin’s 4D chess moves:
“ Beyond words. Today Ukrainian military 227th battalion of the 127th territorial defense brigade reached the border with Russia in the Kharkiv region.
https://twitter.com/maria_avdv/status/1525935012222316545?s=21&t=JtNYBfXNRNIqGGSsXAfIOw “
I’m just waiting, Russia will really show the up when they’re good and ready. Won’t they?
@Chester Draws
When all the hospitals “overflowing” with covid patients. That turned out to mean hospitals were operating at 62% occupancy at peak of 1st Covid wave, well below normal levels
Today Ukrainian military 227th battalion of the 127th territorial defense brigade
That’s a really big brigade.
@PF
I assumed it was this
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/15/food-writer-jack-monroe-sues-tory-mp-claims-she-makes-fortune-poor-lee-anderson
Anon – ‘buckets. Was a day of rest from the Groan.
@Anon
Thanks for confirmation. I suspected it was her: the woman who resigned from a well paid public sector job to be a whiny benefit scrounger single mother