[Finance] Seriously, this government is failing us. Schools closing...

[The Clamp]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/feb/28/school-stockport-close-early-fridays-lack-funding

Get them out. This is the 6th wealthiest country in the world and schools are closing early as they cannot afford to stay open. Schools. Think about that.

 

[Wardy's twin]

In England we are very critical of all things American but maybe.....

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/s...g-opens-for-just-one-kindergartner/ar-BBU9r1S

 

[Moshe Gariani]

"There are more children in good or outstanding schools in this country than at any previous time in our history"

"Conservatives delivering for the people of Britain"

Repeat these two phrases ten times each in your best Maybot impersonation and you too will believe her...

 

[Gritt23]

"There are more children in good or outstanding schools in this country than at any previous time in our history"

Is that not true then?

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Is that not true then?

I have no doubt it is true. It must be as our great leader parrots it out whenever asked about the parlous condition of state education.

As a meaningful indicator of quality though it is right up there with 70% of university students being awarded a 1st or a 2.i ...

 

[Nigella's Cream Pie]

Wouldn't happen in Germany. Actually, their schools close at 1.30.

 

[Gritt23]

I have no doubt it is true. It must be as our great leader parrots it out whenever asked about the parlous condition of state education.

As a meaningful indicator of quality though it is right up there with 70% of university students being awarded a 1st or a 2.i ...

Ok, thanks. I thought it was tbh. Whether it's a fair measure is another matter, but I read your email as if you were pulling her up on being a Trump and just making up whatever she likes in speeches hoping no-one ever fact checks.

 

[Surrey Phil]

I really can't get my head around that 625,000 people (that the goverment recorded) moved to the UK last year i.e. 1712 people PER DAY. Its no wonder services such as the NHS and schools are struggling with those numbers!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47400679

 

[Hastings gull]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/feb/28/school-stockport-close-early-fridays-lack-funding

Get them out. This is the 6th wealthiest country in the world and schools are closing early as they cannot afford to stay open. Schools. Think about that.

I presume your solution would be to pour more money into education, which is fair enough. How much more tax are you personally prepared to pay.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I presume your solution would be to pour more money into education, which is fair enough. How much more tax are you personally prepared to pay.

No need to pay more tax to fund the education system or the NHS - scrap HS2 and Trident upgrade and re-direct it at these two areas instead.

 

[Hastings gull]

I have no doubt it is true. It must be as our great leader parrots it out whenever asked about the parlous condition of state education.

As a meaningful indicator of quality though it is right up there with 70% of university students being awarded a 1st or a 2.i ...

Whilst the latter is a good example of grade inflation, (and you are right in that it just shows that universities, like exam boards, want to attract by giving good grades) your first assertion is not as accurate. Ofsted do check on measurable standards, such as value added progress, and they can be preceptive in their observations and recommendations. I was teaching when inspections took a whole week involving possibly 10 inspectors and no stone was left unturned. However, and I think this is what you are getting at, there are other measures of education, which they do not always pick up on, and which can skew their final assessment.

 

[Hastings gull]

No need to pay more tax to fund the education system or the NHS - scrap HS2 and Trident upgrade and re-direct it at these two areas instead.

It's not really a simplistic case of either - or, though, is it? We can all pick on one or two items of expenditure we don't like, and then find something more to our taste, and say one should be abandoned in favour of the other. Governments have to balance it all out.

 

[Chicken Run]

No need to pay more tax to fund the education system or the NHS - scrap HS2 and Trident upgrade and re-direct it at these two areas instead.

I say scrap our defence budget altogether, once Corbyn is in power he can pull all his experience of negotiating with our enemies we won’t need WMD[emoji6]

 

[Bold Seagull]

I really can't get my head around that 625,000 people (that the goverment recorded) moved to the UK last year i.e. 1712 people PER DAY. Its no wonder services such as the NHS and schools are struggling with those numbers!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47400679

345k left over the same period. So it's 767 per day.

The strain on the NHS would be far greater with no immigration because we have a declining birth rate and less working people to look after a growing elderly population given we are now at the point the baby boomers are retired. Birth rates in Scotland actually dipped below the death rate, meaning their population is under even more strain to look after the elderly. Declining immigration is a bad economic news story for this country.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I really can't get my head around that 625,000 people (that the goverment recorded) moved to the UK last year i.e. 1712 people PER DAY. Its no wonder services such as the NHS and schools are struggling with those numbers!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47400679

That includes university students who are paying full whack for their courses, thus putting money into our economy.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

It's not really a simplistic case of either - or, though, is it? We can all pick on one or two items of expenditure we don't like, and then find something more to our taste, and say one should be abandoned in favour of the other. Governments have to balance it all out.

Feel free to find me someone that thinks spending £56bn on a rail link to knock 20 minutes off a journey ( and that's the budget agreed by parliament - there is increasing evidence of it being close to double that in part thanks to land / property purchases being purposely undervalued ) and a further £36bn on a massive willy waving competition is better than spending it on educating our children.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I presume your solution would be to pour more money into education, which is fair enough. How much more tax are you personally prepared to pay.

I think the funding formula is flawed in a lot of ways. As a teacher you will know that no matter how good the school, the teaching, the funding, a school in an economically deprived area will do less well than one in a richer one. That is just a fact, and generally linked to parents own education background, and importance they place on their child's education.

Pupil premium has worked well to a degree, however with Ofsted still focussed on attainment in many areas, it is still incredibly difficult for an outstanding school in a deprived area to actually get outstanding because of measuring factors like attendance. They then get less pupils because of Ofsted ratings and their income stays at a lower level.

We have to put more into education at some point, because very little has been done with regard to general maintenance, and upkeep of buildings throughout the country. That bill will bite a government at some point, because essential jobs just aren't being done.

How much more tax am I prepared to pay? No idea what a tax rise to cover it would look like, but I do know both the NHS and education need our funding and it would be counter productive to our economic outlook in the long run not to do it.

 

[beorhthelm]

is this government or local authorities? there is something we have been overlooking for some time, the difference between what is budgeted for and what services are mandated. seems a lot of cuts are because for generation or two we allow this to be confused, so added services, as worthy as they maybe, fall outside the required service. when the over all expenditure is reviewed, it looks like there's room for cuts/reduced increases, but that means the budget holders have to juggle a smaller pot and cut those add ons to deliver the core service. example, £3.50 for after school club sounds cheap childcare, is this subsidised service? the story is not about policy at either national or local level, a single school taking a course of action.

 

[Weststander]

I really can't get my head around that 625,000 people (that the goverment recorded) moved to the UK last year i.e. 1712 people PER DAY. Its no wonder services such as the NHS and schools are struggling with those numbers!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47400679

Ruining this thread with a very pertinent fact.

 

[Weststander]

That includes university students who are paying full whack for their courses, thus putting money into our economy.

They pay uni’s and landlords.

But do they pay a full whack of PAYE and NIC through full time employment to pay for schools/GP’s/roads/hospitals. No.

Not saying they should pay, but they are still people part of our population.