“I`VE LOST MY SURE START CHILDRENS CENTRE .”
SURE START CHILDREN`S CENTRES PROVIDE YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES WITH VITAL SUPPORT .SINCE THE COALITION GOVERNMENT CAME TO OFFICE IN 2010 HUNDREDS OF SURE START CHILDREN`S CENTRES HAVE BEEN CLOSED .
“I`M WORRIED I`LL LOSE MY SPECIAL NEEDS SUPPORT .”
THE COALITION GOVERNMENT PLANS TO CHANGE SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS (SEN) PROVISION FUNDING WILL NO LONGER BE `RING FENCED ` FOR USE ONLY ON PUPILS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS .SCHOOLS MAY USE IT FOR OTHER PURPOSES .
“I VE LOST MY TEACHER BECAUSE OF THE CUTS “
BETWEEN 2000 AND 2010 THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS INCREASED BY OVER 32,000 .SINCE 2010 ,AS A RESULT OF THE COALITION GOVERNMENT `S CUTS, THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS HAS ALREADY FALLEN BY OVER 10,000
“I`VE HAD MY ART, MUSIC , RE AND DRAMA LESSONS CUT “.
IN 2010 THE COALITION GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED THE INTRODUCTION OF AN ENGLISH BACCALAUREATE (EBacc) THIS FOCUSES ON A NARROW RANGE OF SUBJECTS . ONLY EBacc SUBJECTS COUNT TOWARDS SCHOOL PERFORMANCE TABLES .AS A RESULT ,THE TIMETABLED TIME FOR NON-EBacc SUBJECTS SUCH AS ART, MUSIC, PE, RE, DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY ,PSHE, AND DRAMA IS BEING CUT.
“I NO LONGER HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE TAUGHT BY A QUALIFIED TEACHER .”
SHORTLY AFTER COMING INTO OFFICE IN 2010 ,THE COALITION GOVERNMENT REMOVED THE REQUIREMENT FOR ACADEMIES AND FREE SCHOOLS TO APPOINT ONLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS . IN JULY 2012 ,THE COALITION GOVERNMENT REMOVED THIS REQUIREMENT FOR ALL SCHOOLS .
“I`VE LOST THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT I NEED TO STAY ON IN EDUCATION .”
THE EDUCATION MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE (EMA) WAS INTRODUCED IN 2004 TO GIVE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO YOUNG PEOPLE AGED 16-19 WHOSE FAMILIES HAVE LOW INCOMES .THE COALITION GOVERNMENT ABOLISHED THE EMA ,LEAVING THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITHOUT VITAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO REMAIN IN EDUCATION.
“I CAN`T FIND A JOB BECAUSE OF THE GOVERNMENTS ECONOMIC POLICY .”
SINCE THE COALITION GOVERNMENT TOOK OFFICE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT HAS RISEN TO OVER A MILLION .HIGH LEVELS OF UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE SERIOUS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS AND WILL LEAD TO A LOST GENERATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE .
“I CAN`T AFFORD TO GO TO UNIVERSITY BECAUSE OF INCREASED TUITION FEES”.
BEFORE 2010 THERE WAS A CAP OF £3,000 ON UNIVERSITY FEES . SINCE 2010 THE COALITION GOVERNMENT HAS RAISED THE CAP TO £9,000 PER YEAR . A THREE YEAR DEGREE NOW COSTS AN AVERAGE OF £27,000 FOR THE TUITION FEES .
“I`M WORRIED THAT MY CHILDHOOD WILL BE SPENT IN POVERTY .”
THE INSTITUTE FOR FISCAL STUDIES (IFS ) ORIGINALLY ESTIMATED THAT 400,000 MORE CHILDREN WOULD BE FORCED INTO POVERTY BETWEEN 2010 AND 2015 ,AS A RESULT OF THE COALITION GOVERNMENT`S SOCIAL POLICIES .THE ESTIMATE IS NOW THAT OVER 200,000 MORE CHILDREN WILL BE PLUNGED INTO POVERTY OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS ,WITH OVER ONE MILLION CHILDREN IN POVERTY BY 2020 ,AS A RESULT OF COALITION GOVERNMENT POLICIES .
THERE IS A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN POVERTY AND LOW EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT .BECAUSE OF THE COALITION GOVERNMENT`S AUSTERITY MEASURES ,THE LIFE CHANCES OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BEING SEVERELY DAMAGED.
EXCERPTS TAKEN FROM THE BOOKLET : GOVERNMENT EDUCATION POLICY :THE IMPACT ON CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE . NASUWT THE TEACHERS UNION . WEBSITE : WWW.NASUWT .ORG .UK TELEPHONE : 0121 453 6150 E-MAIL : NASUWT @MAIL NASUWT .ORG. UK