Education ministers took departmental questions in the House of Commons this week. Shadow Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP, first asked about the ongoing disputes over teacher pay, and why the independent pay review body’s recommendations hadn’t been published.
Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan MP, said that she takes the independent review body very seriously. Her department is currently considering the recommendations, and guaranteed that the recommendations would be published.
Bridget Phillipson went on to ask about the changes Ofsted announced on Monday. While she welcomed that Ofsted was recognising the need for change, Phillipson argued that the reforms do not go far enough. Labour, she said, would ‘give parents a comprehensive picture of their children’s school in the form of an Ofsted report card, rather than a simplistic one-word judgement.’
Since the last Departmental questions, Gillian Keegan said she had met with the family of Ruth Perry. The Ofsted announcements, Keegan said, significantly expand wellbeing support. She argued that overall grades provide a clear and accessible summary of performance for parents, but encouraged parents to read the report narrative alongside the summary grade. Keegan went on to say that Ofsted grades highlight the success of schools, with 88% of schools now graded good or outstanding.
Jarrow MP Kate Osborne asked ministers about recruitment and retention. Schools Minister Nick Gibb MP responded, saying that the numbers of teachers has increased this year by 2,800, to over 468,000 teachers in the state system. He highlighted investments of £181 million into recruitment this year, including training bursaries and scholarships. He added that the DfE is ‘delivering £30,000 starting salaries, reforming teacher training, delivering half a million training opportunities and working with the sector to address teacher workload and wellbeing.’
In response, Kate Osborne pointed out that the data also shows the consequences of real-terms cuts to teachers’ pay and unmanageable workloads. Vacant teaching posts have doubled in the past two years. Nick Gibb reiterated what the Secretary of State had said, that they are considering the School Teachers Review Body’s recommendations. On workload, he said that the DfE had set up three workload groups, which has resulted in the working hours of teachers coming down by five hours a week.
