Mismatch of £80m between Tory Manifesto and Costings document

Mismatch of £80m between Tory Manifesto and Costings document

Commenting on the publication of the Conservative manifesto for the 2019 General Election, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said that in addition to the 83% of schools which would still have lower per-pupil funding in 2020 than in 2015 in real terms, the Conservative manifesto had revealed £340m of further cuts to school budgets in 2023/24.

She pointed out that the manifesto had contained "an absurdly-funded" commitment to Physical Education which would work out at £2,000 per primary school.

Dr Bousted said that although the Conservatives had not "fleshed out" the policy, the NEU was concerned that it would result in an additional financial burden on schools. She argued that there was a mismatch of £80m between the Conservatives Manifesto and the Costings document.

Dr Bousted said that the manifesto seemed to be "very relaxed" about the exclusion of young people and it offered no positive plans to help schools work with families and Local Authorities to prevent or bring down the number of child exclusions.

She added that the manifesto also entirely ignored the Exam Factory phenomenon within English education, caused by high-stakes tests, which was undermining the quality of education in ways which harmed children's well-being and therefore their life chances.

Dr Bousted pointed out that the Conservatives are the only major political party which still held the "deluded belief" that Ofsted was a "good thing", in spite of the evidence that Ofsted was a major cause of the teacher recruitment and retention crisis.