Tristram Hunt speaking at the APPG for Education Annual Lunch
The APPG for Education was delighted to host Tristram Hunt as their guest speaker at the Group’s annual lunch on 25th March 2014.
Mr Hunt addressed an audience of APPG members and stakeholders from the education sector about the Labour Party’s priorities for education, should they form a Government next year. Covering topics such as the importance of early years education, primary and secondary assessment regimes and the National Curriculum changes, Mr Hunt outlined where he felt the Government had gone wrong, or at the very least rushed into decisions without due consultation, and where there was some consensus over policy.
Support for Mr Gove’s changes included the abolition of primary school levels and the introduction of the pupil premium, which Mr Hunt believes to be a concrete part of the school landscape now. The National Curriculum might need tweaking, according to the Shadow Secretary of State, but it should be given the opportunity to ‘bed in’ first.
Mr Hunt was questioned on FE/HE and the links to schooling, careers provision, CPD, SureStart, Ofsted and the use of ICT in schools. A firm advocate of using technology to aid teaching, Mr Hunt was quite clear that the necessary teacher training was vital to maximise the positive impact of educational IT.
The next APPG meeting is to discuss effective use of the Pupil Premium. For more details, please see the meetings page.