My grammar school education transformed my life, giving me the A-levels that my parents didn't have. When I had the opportunity to retrain as a teacher after a long career in business, I took it, fulfilling the passion for social mobility my experiences gave me.
Conservatives have led a revolution in our schools. I agree with the Prime Minister who describes education as the best social and economic policy we have.
Since 2010 we have seen:
🏫 90% of schools rated good or outstanding, up from 68% under Labour,
📕 The 4th best primary school readers in the world,
📈 Our secondary school children have risen from 27th to 11th in maths & 25th to 13th in reading,
👨🏫 27,000 more teachers since 2010, and 59,600 more teaching assistants,
This has been delivered due to record levels of investment:
📈 Increased pupil premium funding rates to £1,480 for primary pupils and £1,050 for secondary pupils this year, an increase of 10 per cent since 2021-22. This brings total funding to more than £2.9 billion overall, supporting schools in disadvantaged areas to raise educational outcomes for the pupils who need it most.
📈 This year Conservatives increased education funding to almost £60 billion, an increase of almost £2 billion compared to last year, taking funding to its highest ever level in real terms.
Of all the policies the opposition discuss, the tax hikes on independent school fees worry me the most. I worry about the impact this will have on the ability of many parents to afford this option, leading to disruption for children and a squeeze on school places in the state sector. And I worry about the impact on teacher workload, if class sizes have to increase.
I am proud to be a Conservative working in education, and want to continue to see progress for young people enabled by an excellent education for all.