Commenting on the
reappointment of Gavin Williamson as Education Secretary, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
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Congratulations to Gavin Williamson on his reappointment as Education Secretary. We look forward to working constructively with him on behalf of schools and colleges.
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We have written to Mr Williamson and the Prime Minister to say that a genuine one-nation approach to policy will help to achieve what we haven’t yet managed as a society – to enable the education system to deliver on behalf of those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds for whom education may never have been seen as relevant or attractive.
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ASCL has set out a series of recommendations in our General Election manifesto on what we believe the priorities should be. In particular, these are to address the funding and recruitment crises; reduce the crushing weight of accountability on schools and colleges; and focus reform on the ‘forgotten third’ of young people who too often complete 12 years of schooling feeling dispirited and written off having fallen short of the harsh cliff-edge of a Grade 4 ‘standard pass’ in GCSE English and maths.
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There is a great opportunity to take our education system from being good to being world-leading by focusing on an agenda which delivers for all our young people.”