Whitehaven and Workington candidates quizzed on education

• Oversubscribed secondary schools in West Cumbria
• Funding for schools and support for teachers
• University tuition fees and support for students in higher education

Here’s what they had to say…

Andrew Johnson (Conservative)

Andrew Johnson (Conservative) (Image: Whitehaven and Workington Conservatives)

Today, 90 per cent of our schools are rated good or outstanding, up from 68 per cent in 2010. Across West Cumbria we have seen tens of millions of pounds invested in the schools rebuilding programme over the last 14 years which has provided new facilities, added capacity and improved standards.

While planning for school places is the role of the local authority, I believe that it is vital that as well as creating new school places, we continue to promote parental choice and allow good schools to expand. As part of this the next Conservative government would expand strong academy trusts, as well as continue to invest in the schools rebuilding programme.

Continuing to invest in our young people’s future is paramount, which is why the next Conservative government will protect day-to-day schools spending in real terms per pupil. As the son of a retired teacher I know only too well the vital work they do, but we need to go further in supporting them and in attracting and retaining people within the profession.

We are committed to delivering the best value for students, so have already reformed student loans to make them fairer, meaning no one will pay back more than what they borrowed in real terms. And we will work with universities to ensure students get their contacted hours and will close down courses with the worse outcomes for students.

Josh MacAlister (Labour)

Josh MacAlister (Labour) (Image: Submitted)

We have enough places across our secondary schools but we have some oversubscribed schools where more parents want to send their children than there are places. We can address this in two ways - by supporting schools who want to expand to do so, so they can take on more pupils, and by working with other schools which are undersubscribed to address the challenges which have led to that.

Education is close to my heart as a former teacher. Labour will provide free breakfast clubs in every primary school to make sure no child starts the day with an empty belly. We will drive up standards, modernise the school curriculum, reform assessment, and create higher-quality training and employment paths. And we'll recruit an additional 6,500 new expert teachers. We will get more teachers into shortage subjects, support areas that face recruitment challenges, and tackle retention issues.

Labour will continue to support the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university. The current higher education funding settlement does not work for the taxpayer, universities, staff, or students. Labour will work with universities to deliver for students and our economy.

Chris Wills (Liberal Democrat)

Chris Wills (Liberal Democrat) (Image: Submitted)

Liberal Democrats will tackle the oversubscribing of secondary schools. We will give local authorities with responsibility for education the powers and resources to act as Strategic Education Authorities for their area, including responsibility for places planning , exclusions and administering admissions (including in-year admissions); and this will include SEND functions.

Lib Dems will increase school and college funding above the rate of inflation every year.

We shall revitalise teacher training and support. This will include a funded programme of high-quality professional development for all teachers, including training on effective parental management. Reforming the School Teachers’ Review Body to ensure fair annual pay rises is a must.

There should be no barriers to studying at university, so Lib Dems will reinstate maintenance grants for disadvantaged students. There will be a complete review of higher education finance, meanwhile we would block any retrospective raising of rates or the selling-off of loans to private companies.

All universities must widen participation of students from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups. Universities will have a statutory care of duty for their students. All students will have access to a Mental Health Charter.

Further education must be bolstered too, with immediate consideration towards VAT exemption for colleges. 

Jill Perry (Green Party)

Jill Perry (Green Party) (Image: Submitted)

The introduction of parental choice into the education system has been a mixed blessing. It sees some schools oversubscribed and some parents not able to secure a place for their child at any of their preferred schools. We need every school to be well maintained and fit for purpose, to that end, we would invest £2.5bn a year in buildings. We would equalise schools by moving academies and free schools back into local authority control and we would invest in high quality, dedicated teaching staff in all schools.

 We recognise that teachers are under a lot of stress, with recruitment problems, high-stakes Ofsted inspections and extra testing in primary and secondary schools. We would introduce an £8bn investment in educational resources including £2bn to provide a pay rise for teachers. We would also abolish Ofsted, which is unfit for purpose, and ending SATS tests in primary and secondary schools.

 Over the past two decades we have seen introduction of markets into higher education, and it has helped neither universities nor students. Many universities are now faced with financial crisis and students have crippling debts. Green MPs would restore maintenance grants for students and scrap tuition fees for undergraduates. In the long term we would seek to cancel existing student debt. We would also push for the restoration of the Education Maintenance Allowance which is to support young people in the 16-18 age group to continue their studies.

David Surtees (Reform UK) was approached by The Whitehaven News.