Union tells Gove he is neglecting nation’s children

Pupils are suffering as a result of the Education’s Secretary’s policies, which have left teachers’ morale at “rock-bottom” with many choosing to leave the profession, according to Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

She accuses Mr Gove of bringing the Government into disrepute by introducing reforms which ignore expert opinion and have no democratic mandate.

In her speech to ATL’s annual conference in Liverpool today, Dr Bousted will tell delegates it is her “duty to castigate the man who is undermining everything we stand for”.

Dr Bousted will say successive Education Secretaries have presided over “turbulence” in the system, and teachers were used to dealing with the changes.

But she will add: “Now, in 2013, every aspect of the curriculum you teach, the qualifications you prepare children to take, are under attack and review.

“Michael Gove should take heed. When the changes come so thick and fast, without time for consultation or even consideration; when the changes are so wrong-headed, so damaging to children’s education, then the morale of the profession plummets.”

Dr Bousted will use her speech to warn Mr Gove that through his “unjust, incessant and unfair criticism of teachers and lecturers” he has ruined their pride in their professionalism.

She will add: “What is even worse is that you have shamefully neglected the children and young people in schools and colleges at present.

“What are they to think of you who have shown so little care of them, of the qualifications they work so hard to attain and of their future life chances?

“Your constant meddling, changes and U-turns make life impossible for today’s youngsters.” Delegates will be told the Government’s new curriculum will fail to prepare today’s children for life in the 21st century.

“The subjects in the secondary curriculum should not be treated like the hokey cokey – arts, drama, music, computer science, in, then out, then shaken all about.

“Young people, their parents, their teachers, their potential employers, society at large, deserves much better than this.”

Dr Bousted will also accuse the Government of forcing schools to become academies against their wishes, and will claim it is “paving the way for the wholesale transfer of our schools to the private sector if the Conservatives are in office after the next election.”

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “These accusations couldn’t be further from the truth. For too long standards in our schools have been declining.

“We need to make sure we have an education system that is robust and rigorous, with exams and qualifications that match the world’s best.

“This is surely something the ATL should be applauding.

“Mary Bousted claims that the academies programme has no democratic backing. This is nonsense.

“It was passed by Parliament and has been hugely popular, with more than a third of all secondary schools choosing to convert to enjoy the freedoms and autonomy it brings.”