Education- 2015 Manifesto

To be updated for 2019…

The Green Party believes that education should be for everyone for life. In York we will:
 support a diverse and inclusive education that is accessible to all, including Early Years provision
 restore at least some of the cuts that have left York’s Children’s Centres still in existence but unable to provide consistent full time services
 promote play as the primary source of well-being and learning for young children, providing pre-numeracy, pre-literacy and social skills and the basis for future learning of all kinds
 ensure everyone has a good local primary school within walking or easy cycling distance of where they live. Every school should be a good school
 encourage the inclusion of outdoor activity, citizenship, environmental education and life skills in the curriculum
 seek to restore at least some of the cuts to the education support services run centrally by the Council for schools. The increasing need for schools to buy in services such as music teaching, careers advice and specialist educational advisors undermines standards and increases inequality
 support and develop the network of sustainable schools where good management of the school buildings and environment (energy efficiency, energy generation, waste management, food production etc ) complements the curriculum and children’s involvement and learning
 support the high standards in York’s secondary schools, encouraging the maintenance of links between
schools and local communities and resisting the trend to over-specialisation
 encourage diversity amongst school governors so that all sections of the community are represented
 continue to provide a wide range of further education courses via the Adult & Community Education Service. We will also explore ways of providing free access to courses for those on lower incomes both as preparation for work and as social and cultural enrichment
 work with York College, Askham Bryan College, and the two universities to foster good relations between students and local residents, including community volunteering and the enrichment of the student learning experience

In addition…

• We will lobby the new Government to take a fresh approach to education and to maintain levels of funding.
• Teachers should be allowed to teach, with a focus on the needs of the child or student.
• We oppose academies, an over-prescriptive national curriculum and the marketisation of education.
• Teachers’ pay and conditions should be
  maintained to reflect the key roles they have in our society.
• Further and higher education should be open to all – we will abolish student tuition fees.

See http://policy.greenparty.org.uk/ed.html for more details of our national education policy.