This is a goal we are determined the Government must stick to. Despite global economic difficulty, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, said in his Budget speech last week that extra resources would be put into getting back on track to eliminating child poverty by 2020.

To some extent, this considerable commitment has not received the attention it deserves.

There needs to be a level playing field in our education system where it is not only those with the strongest voice, or the well-off, who receive a good education. A state-funded education system, free to all, should be the nation's gift to its children, indeed, to itself. Education should be as an investment in the future and
not become hijacked by so-called "choice" and "market solutions" which pitch child against child and school against school.

The Prime Minister has shown his commitment to tackling some of these issues by his aim to raise spending in state schools to the level of the independent sector. Schools in socially deprived areas should be the first priority as the Government moves towards this goal.

I urge Gordon Brown to set 2014 as the date for this goal being reached, a date identified by the Institute of Fiscal Studies as one which is achievable.

The Government's promotion of academies as a means of tackling educational disadvantage caused by social deprivation, is misguided. Its energies should be put into creating a good local school for every child. The state education system should not be open to wealthy individuals or companies to privatise.

Another thorn in the side of pupils, parents and teachers is the current league tables and targets system. This needs to be dismantled. Schools feel pressured into teaching to the test in order to hot-house the best possible results. This puts children under enormous stress and pressure, and adds to teacher workload. There is no international evidence that high-stakes testing systems enhance the achievement of children.

The contribution teachers make must also be recognised. The Government cannot allow salaries to become more unattractive. Teachers' pay must reflect the demands that are put upon them and their valuable contribution to society.

For the first time in 21 years, the NUT is to ballot its members for national action over pay. The decision was taken following the Government's announcement that teachers' pay will increase by 2.45 per cent this September, when the retail price index (RPI) and average pay rises in the private sector are both above
four per cent.

In real terms, it means a pay cut for teachers. This is on top of the pay cuts in real terms which teachers suffered in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Every child's education is precious. Of course, no teacher takes easily the decision to strike but below-inflation pay rises cause real damage to education.

I know now is the time for teachers to speak out. The cost of housing, groceries, childcare and public transport have all risen by more than five per cent in the past year, while increases in the price of gas, electricity and petrol are between 10 and 20 per cent. Young teachers already struggle to make ends meet. They have seen the rate of interest on their student loans double to 4.8per cent while the Government's pay policy deprives them of about £3 every day.

I recognise that there have been improvements in teachers' pay from 1997. It is no coincidence that, in parallel, there were improvements in recruitment and retention.

Repeated cuts in the value of teachers' salaries, however, drive dedicated teachers out of the profession. They will deter talented graduates from considering teaching careers. Those who remain in teaching will be more stretched and more stressed than ever.

There must be no return now to the low pay levels that damage the profession and the education service.

All young people deserve the best education and to access that education. They all deserve the same opportunities. The Government has gone some way to addressing these issues. It now needs to be bolder
to ensure that all our children, and not just a few, have a world-
class education.


Steve Sinnott is general secretary of the National Union of Teachers. Its annual conference begins today in Manchester.