So, we know there are problems with the education system, we have to accept we cannot make it perfect, the rate of knowledge advancement is outpacing our ability to teach it to the youngest, but there are fundamental changes we can make that should improve matters for society as a whole.
Education must be a critical cornerstone of National Security, the more educated the population, the more productive it is, the greater understanding it has of complex matters and the more self supporting the nation is able to be, plus, this education helps support all levels of national security and society, however, for many decades, it has been a political punchbag that has lurched from pillar to post and is in a dire state, it needs a root and branch overhaul and dragged, kicking and screaming, if necessary, firmly into the 21st century. British Democracy plan to totally change education in the British Isles, to make our education system the envy of the world and create the most educated and sought after population in the world. That will take time, such changes do not happen overnight, and they certain do not happen in the life of a single 5 year parliament, we intend to create a 25 year education reform plan that will be locked in law, to prevent unecessary meddling without full debate as we have seen in the last 20 years.
Our Children, their education, and education overall is the future of these Islands, every pound spent is an investment in the future of these islands, our society and the national security. Let no-one diminish this.
Parents need to feel they are getting the best for their children, we see how well adjusted and how well many children who have gone through private education are, the state system needs to adopt the best from private educational establishments to ensure that all the children in these islands get the best opportunity, something they all deserve.
There will be costs, this will not come cheap, but in the longer term, this will be a rich reward for the Islands that are the British Isles, we once had a public education system the envy of the world, but that was decades ago, it no longer is the envy, but it can be again.
Parents need to be able to work, the more parents in work, the better the nations society and economy is, as such, we need to change school operational hours, not necessarilly the hours committed to education, but how many hours the schools are open and able to cater for the children of working parents.
British Democracy believes that child care costs are exhorbitant, exclude large portions of the population from gainful employment and children from a richer education. Of course those who care for others children need to earn a decent salary that allows them to have a good quality of life.
A change to the hours schools which would see schools open for parents to drop off children should be considered, clearly, children would need to be supervised, this could be done by employing some of the previously non-working parents and give them some basic training, along with full time employed assistants. The school day could then start at 07:00hrs and run all the way to 19:00hrs, this does not mean all children should be there for this period of time, but it will free up parents who want to work, but school hours make even part time jobs problematic.
Holiday periods are another big issue, with weeks off school the parents either need to pay for very expensive child care or take time off work, although many choose not to work due to the disruption school holidays cause. When the majority of the female population was not employed in the workforce, this was less of an issue, but in recent decades the number of females, especially mothers, who wish to work or continue with chosen careers has grown exponentially, and this should be encouraged as it creates a balanced workforce that genuinely reflects the adult population.
We would propose that schools holidays are changed to support parents as well as children, and thus society. To support parents, teachers, school staff and ensure children get as full an education as possible, we propose the following changes to holidays for educational establishments, this would require the employment of more teachers, assistants and support staff, but this is an investment in our nation’s future. Yes, we would propose changes to the 1295 working hours agreement teachers have, but this will be done in consulation with teachers and unions to ensure it is acceptable and not seen as a negative. Clearly, putting into the law the maximum number of hours any teach may work would be a step forward, as would making sure that they have adequate and fair holiday entiotlement above the national holidays. Giving teachers 40 days paid leave on top of national holidays would be a step in the right direction, as would ensuring they recieve state funded ongoing training in core subjects and related skills that counts as their core hours.
Part of British Democracy’s goal;s would be to create more public holidays, wee calendar below for proposed national holidays. Not only do we believe this would benefit all the workforce, it would improve productivity, reduce stresss and start to create a more manageable work/life balance, this would be a core for teachers as they too would have these days off on top of any holiday entitlement. Theoretically, this would give teachers 63 days off per year as a minimum, in reality, it would likely be nearer 110 days off. We would make it mandatory that teachers would not be required to work when schools are closed, the employment of more teachers and teaching assistants should enable all necessary work to be completed in normal school hours – technology shall also be employed to alleviate some of the stree teachers currently face.
