When Tony Blair first became Prime Minister, his mantra was “education, education, education.” Strangely, until today education has hardly featured in the General Election campaign. All of us involved in the sector, be it as teachers, support staff or governors, are aware that a financial crisis is looming. Post-16 funding hasn’t been protected and sneaky increases in employer National Insurance payments haven’t been matched by increased funding. Pupil numbers are growing and if funding doesn’t increase to match then schools and colleges will be in real difficulty.
So it’s good news to hear the Liberal Democrats making education a priority and stating that they will protect the early years, school, sixth form and college budgets. This is a very significant and welcome commitment. If they stick to it and can wield influence through a future coalition then the outlook for our schools, sixth forms and colleges has just become significantly brighter.