UCU welcomes call for 16-19 year old pupil premium

UCU welcomes call for 16-19 year old pupil premium

The union was responding to a report from the Education and Policy Institute that calls for the government to spend £340 million a year on a new student premium to tackle the sizeable attainment gap facing disadvantaged 16 to 19-year-olds.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: 'This report highlights the impact of the years of underinvestment by previous Conservative governments and their strategic indifference to FE in England. This has been compounded by repeated failures to consider the socio-economic impact and regional variations linked to complex funding mechanisms.

'The Labour government wants to invest in FE and re-skill England. This will require properly rewarding the professionalism and valiant efforts of FE teachers who have worked to shore up the system over many years of Tory misrule. We now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset FE and create learning and skills pathways for all FE students irrespective of their background. The report again confirms the need to address widespread recruitment and retention issues in FE England which the Labour government must have as part of its Skills England strategy. UCU has a key role to play in this. It's time for a New Deal for FE.'