Commenting on Rishi Sunak’s 'maths to 18’ plan, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Ensuring every young person has the skills they need to succeed is a laudable aim of the Prime Minister and one that is shared by school staff up and down the country. The Prime Minister’s ambition will be thwarted, though, unless he faces up to the reality of the state of education in England.
“After thirteen years in government there are not enough teachers to deliver the Prime Minister’s vision. His government’s policies for teacher recruitment are not bringing in enough new teachers. There is also a crisis of teacher retention as a result of low pay and excessive workload. The Government needs to urgently get a grip of this workforce crisis in education.
“Of his proposals on maths education, the Prime Minister says ‘we’ll need to recruit and train the maths teachers’ but he does not explain how the Government will do this. Let’s not forget that this is a Government that has cut its recruitment target for maths teachers by 39% since 2020.
“Parents and school staff will be left scratching their heads at this latest announcement from the Prime Minister. Taken as a whole, the Government’s policies on education simply don’t add up.”