This motion was passed at Tooting CLP in March 2017.
STOP CUTS AND GROWING DIVISIONS IN EDUCATION
This CLP notes:
That schools in England and Wales face cuts of up to £3bn by 2019-2020.
Wandsworth will see cuts of £18m and with the rest of London being targeted, as London schools received extra funding during the last Labour government, to improve, what was at the time, a problem of underfunding.
Approximately 5% of local authority schools are in budget deficit now and schools locally are already making cuts.
The cuts are taking place at the same time that a new generation of grammar schools are being funded.
As 43,000 teachers left the profession (or 1 in 10 teachers) in one year, the highest level in more than a decade, this underfunding will very probably lead to many more being forced out and leave an extra burden on an already overburdened profession.
The extremely successful leafleting campaign of Wandsworth schools initiated by the Labour Group of Councillors and the petition launched by our MP.ore teachers
This CLP believes:
That many of the improvements seen in (some) schools over the last couple of decades are under threat if cuts are made.
That the Labour Party should work with the education trade unions, where applicable and possible to protect public services from cuts and privatisation.
That a fully funded, publicly provided, democratically owned, comprehensive education service is a goal for any Labour government.
This CLP resolves:
To campaign against all cuts to school budgets and seek to build links with the trade unions and campaigns, friendly to the Labour Party locally, in achieving this aim.
To work closely with the Labour Group on Wandsworth Council, Rosena’s Office and Battersea and Putney CLPs in developing and implementing the campaign.
To call on the Wandsworth Council to lobby their government to drop these cuts to Wandsworth and London schools and instead learn from the “turn around” in many London schools due to the extra funding initiated by the last Labour Government and spend equivalent money in the rest of the country (where a shortfall exists) to bring these schools up to the levels achieved in London.
To call on Wandsworth Council to facilitate, in collaboration with schools leaders and the teaching unions, the creation of a Fair Workload Charter for teachers in schools and encourage local schools to sign up to it.
To encourage local Young Labour activists to participate in the campaign and engage with school students.
To oppose new grammar schools, free schools and academies and campaign for well resourced, adequately funded, non-academically selected, locally managed schools.