Tag: Kate Green

The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 16 August 2020.

The Tories’ results fiasco is turning from tragedy to farce, and the chaos and incompetence is completely unacceptable when so many students and families have been devastated by it.

A credible appeals system should have been the Government’s first priority, but three days later there is absolutely no clarity on how young people can challenge their unfair grades.

Parents and young people needed action in a matter of days, but the Government are now rapidly running out of time. The Prime Minister must get a grip and sort this out.

The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary for Education, on 13 August 2020.

Today is always an anxious day for pupils and parents across the country. That anxiety is far worse this year because of the fiasco caused by the Conservative Government.

I wholeheartedly congratulate those young people who have received the grades they deserve after working so hard. But across the country, many young people will be opening their results today to find grades which undermine their work and their potential. It is a huge injustice that pupils will see their results downgraded just because of their postcode.

We will look at the breakdown of the results, but it is clear the government’s approach to exams has been chaotic.

Ministers must act urgently to correct the injustice faced by so many young people today. Students must be able to lodge their own appeals if they haven’t got the grade they deserved and admissions teams must be forced to be more flexible. No student should see their dreams slip away because of this government’s inaction.

Comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 13 August 2020.

Across the country, thousands of young people are opening their exam results full of hope, only to see their opportunities and their futures dashed.

This is a huge injustice. Pupils, parents and teachers are rightly angry and upset.

The Government has had five months to sort this out. Action is needed in days, not weeks. Students should be guaranteed the right to individual appeals and the fee for appeals should be waived. Students must be treated fairly and nothing should be ruled out, even if Ministers have to follow the U-turn that was forced on the Scottish Government.

The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 7 August 2020.

While more money for schools is welcome, this research shows that the National Funding Formula is neither efficient nor effective at directing money to schools serving the most disadvantaged.

If the Government really wants to ‘level up’ and get value for the taxpayer, it should prioritise ensuring the largest funding increases reach the students who need the most support. Especially at a time when Covid-19 threatens to widen the attainment gap further.

This formula is a nonsense that claims to fund schools fairly but actually bakes in inequality.

The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 7 August 2020.

This belated decision to allow some schools to appeal grades, following repeated concerns being raised by parents, pupils, teachers, and the Labour Party, is welcome, but does not go far enough in ensuring that the system will be fair for all young people.

The Scottish Highers scandal shows the potentially devastating consequences of an inflexible system deciding grades, and life chances, by algorithm rather than genuine leadership from government.

The government should have ensured that Ofqual had a robust appeals system in place from the beginning, instead of announcing one a matter of days before A-Level results. They must do far more to ensure the system is genuinely fair.

Comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Education Secretary, on 30 July 2020.

It is shameful that the Prime Minister is unable to tell the truth about the hardship faced by so many families struggling to make ends meet.

Children and families in such difficult circumstances deserve better than this shabby treatment from an out of touch Prime Minister who has repeatedly failed to be honest about the challenges they face.

The Prime Minister must now correct the record, both publicly and in Parliament, and ensure that when he next raises his government’s damning record on child poverty, he comes clean about what the stats are saying.

The text of the comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 20 July 2020.

Additional funding for schools is necessary and welcome, but it was this Conservative government that cut school budgets for the first time in a generation, and only began to provide additional investment due to tireless campaigning from parents, school staff, and the Labour Party.

The fact is schools will still be worse off in 2023 than they were in 2010 under these plans, as a direct result of the Conservatives’ decision to cut school budgets.

Far more must be done for every child to have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

The text of the comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 16 July 2020.

Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on universities, but they continue to provide the research and skills our country needs to move past the crisis.

Today’s announcement shows that the Government is willing to let cherished institutions fail, with catastrophic consequences for local and regional economies.

Instead of using this crisis as an excuse to centralise control over universities and force through cuts to courses, the Government should pledge that no university will be allowed to go bust.

Below is the text of the comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Education Secretary, on 10 July 2020.

The Government must ensure that this year’s assessments are fair, accessible, and accountable.

Labour has argued for years that predicted grades already create significant challenges for disadvantaged students, and without fair standardisation and appeals many more students could be unfairly affected by calculated grades.

The Government and Ofqual must urgently act to ensure that young people from ethnic minority and disadvantaged backgrounds do not lose out under this system.