The education secretary also hits out at union bosses threatening “irresponsible” strikes and voices her frustration at leaks over her talks with the Treasury over spending cuts.
Looming spending cuts that will force schools to have to find savings to fund teachers’ pay increases, likely increases to tuition fees and changes to provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) due in June aren’t going to make the job any easier.
“I am a reforming education secretary,” she insists. “I’m modernising our school system for the 2030s – that’s what everything I’m doing in this department is about.
She compares herself to a Labour predecessor – David Blunkett – who didn’t just “carry on” the raft of education reforms introduced earlier in the Blair administration but sought to deepen them.
First in the firing line of the Phillipson fightback are those who warned that the imposition of VAT on private school fees would see state schools overwhelmed by a flood of priced-out children. That in turn, it was warned, would mean parents sending their children to state schools missing out on their first choice.
Next up are the union bosses threatening strike action over pay despite large increases last year – for which Phillipson was roundly criticised by the Tories.
“Off the back of a 5.5 per cent pay award and additional money going into schools budgets, even in a challenging context for the public finances overall, I think it’s deeply irresponsible.”
Phillipson is finalising her budgets for the next three years with Rachel Reeves, the chancellor. The i Paper revealed last week that some in the Treasury accused the education secretary of offering only the most politically painful cuts – a so-called ‘bleeding stumps’ strategy – like scrapping free school meals for infants.
It is her willingness to fight back against the briefers that is most interesting, however. “It’s always dispiriting,” she says of the leaks.
Does she think the Treasury leaked the details? “Who knows where these things come from?” she says. There are “wider paper trails” than those in the room.
Officials privately admit that the decision could be made as part of the spending review.
Also looming on the horizon is this September’s introduction of the new entitlements for free childcare. The nursery sector insists that it has been badly hit by the employers’ National insurance hike and there are fears the promise will turn out to be hollow without sufficient places. She admits it will be challenging but insists the pledge will be met saying early years is her “number one priority”.
The education secretary admits the system needs an overhaul. “That is one example of a system that’s got lots of anomalies, and absolutely it needs to be a much more coherent system.”
“Some of the abuse and the criticism that gets sent my way is a badge of honour. I’d be worried if they agreed.”
square NEWS 'We've had to dip into our savings to keep our SEN son at private school'
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“We remain concerned that there might not be the right spaces in the right places for children whose education is disrupted by this policy, especially exam students and those transferring mid academic year.
In October the Office for Budget Responsibility suggested the policy would mean 35,000 pupils would be unable to attend private schools as most of the increase would be passed on to parents.
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