Lessons learned on Scottish education

Education opens doors. It has the power to transform lives, to open horizons and knock over barriers. The Labour Party has always striven to keep a fair and dynamic education policy agenda as a key driver in moving Scotland forward. We will continue to do that as we approach the next Scottish general election.

We know that those who miss out on education lose out in life. Research shows that those who do not learn to read, write and count are not only disadvantaged educationally, but their employment prospects, their health, and even their likelihood of ending up in jail are all affected.

This is why the SNP government's catalogue of broken education promises is so disappointing.

Scottish children have 3,000 fewer teachers and 1,000 fewer classroom assistants. Children are losing out. The SNP has broken promises on student debt, on class sizes, and on access to a teacher for early-years children.

In higher education, well-qualified applicants have missed out on university places because the SNP has reduced intakes by 10 per cent. Meanwhile academics and support staff are losing their jobs. The lack of leadership from SNP education minister Mike Russell over future funding has left Scottish Universities on the verge of crisis.

Scottish universities are facing huge uncertainty. If, as seems likely, our universities are given only a one year settlement in the Scottish government’s budget proposals, their predicament will be considerably worse than that of their counterparts in England.

Mike Russell is failing to put forward any workable proposals for higher education, abdicating his responsibility as the incumbent minister. By threatening to make university and student funding a political football in the Scottish parliamentary election, Mike Russell is doing a profound disservice to students, universities, and to Scotland's future.

There are choices that we have to make, none of them comfortable. Delaying these choices until after May 2011 is not in the best interests of Scotland. We urgently need to find a practical way forward.

At the last election the SNP promised it would abolish student debt, a ridiculous claim which it swiftly repudiated once in office. False promises this time would have dire consequences for our universities.

Had the SNP implemented Labour’s suggestion of an independent review, Scotland’s higher education sector would be much better prepared for change. But until the SNP government acknowledges the reality of the choices we all face and stops playing games, we cannot make progress.

Labour has a proud record on education. Between 1999 and 2007 we introduced free nursery places for three and four year olds, we increased the number of teachers and specialist support staff in nurseries, primary and secondary schools; we ensured teachers were paid appropriate salaries and treated as professionals; we delivered targeted reductions in both primary and secondary class sizes; we introduced the schools of ambition scheme which drove up standards in participating schools, creating a lasting legacy; we commissioned unprecedented numbers of new schools and colleges; as an incentive to young people to stay on at school we introduced education maintenance allowances; we supplemented bursaries for further education students; we helped university students from poorer backgrounds with extra financial support. Delivering on education was always top of Labour’s list of priorities.

But Labour is not complacent. We know that we must do more to both reverse the decline in education and to tackle the pressing needs of pupils, teachers, parents and higher students.

At the Scottish Labour Party Conference, Iain Gray, the Scottish Labour leader, announced that Labour will fund 1,000 teachers to improve literacy. This will make a huge difference to fairness and equality in Scotland. Some 13,000 children leave primary school every year unable to read, write and count. Labour will ensure that every child gets a better start in life.

This will also give new hope to our talented young teachers who have been dumped on the dole by a complacent SNP government.

Labour will also reinstate Child Trust Fund payments for looked-after children, which have been cut by the Tories.

The implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence in Scottish schools has been shambolic. Labour will ensure that clarity is given on exams and the other pressing questions that parents and those delivering the new curriculum want to have resolved. We will make sure that the Curriculum for Excellence is brought back on track.

Labour will also ensure that our universities get the clarity they need. We are ready to work with the National Union of Students, representatives of university staff and the universities themselves towards a national consensus on student support and university funding. We want to see a wider debate on the role of higher education and to involve a much greater range of interested parties.

The Labour party was formed for the advancement of working people: education is the chief means for social mobility for people from working class communities. Labour will boost standards in all our schools, give everyone an equal chance to realise their full potential, and ensure that no-one is left behind. This can only be achieved by putting our education system on the right track.

Labour’s task is to stop the rot, reverse the decline of Scottish education over the last four years and take the right decisions for the future. We are ready to lead.