Jack Perschke » Education

David Cameron’s Video – Why Vote Conservative?

Jack — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:20:57 +0000

If you’re umming and aaahing about whether or not to vote Conservative at the next election, I hope this helps.

Universities and Skills

Jack — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:19:33 +0000

We believe that every person who could benefit from a university education should have the opportunity to do so if they wish. But the proportion of young people going to university has scarcely changed in eight years. At the current rate, it would take Labour over a century to meet their 50% target.

A Conservative Government will:

Give universities greater freedom from detailed bureaucratic intervention
Offer a fairer deal for part-time and mature students
Create a clearer pathway from vocational routes into further and higher education

We recognise that higher fees have brought benefits to universities, but we need to ensure that they are providing a better student experience in return. We have called on the Government to start a full review of the higher education sector now.

SKILLS

Labour have failed on skills: the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) has risen, and the numbers of real apprenticeships, FE enrolments and Adult Learners are down. A Conservative Government will transform skills and training, with:

A massive expansion in the provision of real apprenticeships, creating 100,000 additional apprenticeships every year and making it easier for companies to run apprenticeships
More community learning to improve skills and employability, including a NEETs Fund aimed at youngsters not in any kind of education, training or employment, and a Community Learning Fund
Supply-side reform to set further education free by creating a streamlined funding model where government support for training follows the learner
Better careers advice by creating a new all-age careers service and providing a careers adviser in every secondary school and college

Find out more by downloading our skills policy paper

Schools

Jack — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:18:30 +0000

Education is the most powerful means by which individuals can be given the freedom to shape their future – and our schools reform plan is driven by the need to increase opportunity for all.

We will undertake a long-term programme to close the educational gap between the fortunate and the forgotten, with policies including:

Building hundreds of good new schools within the state system
Shifting the balance of power away from the government and towards parents
Removing the obstacles which prevent new schools being established
Encouraging smaller and more varied schools to respond to parents’ demands

In addition, we will take a number of immediate steps to improve standards in all our schools:

Improve discipline and behaviour in schools by shifting the balance of power in the classroom back to the teacher
Ensure more teaching by ability to stretch the strongest and nurture the weakest
Look at reforming the testing regime in primary schools to reduce bureaucracy and focus on every pupil’s real needs

By doing all this, a Conservative Government will stop the decline in standards and create the excellent schools our children deserve.

Find out more about our plans to improve education by downloading our schools policy paper