§ 4. Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Education and 58 Science if she will make a statement about the present dispute between the teachers' union and the local education authority over primary class size in Stockport.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonThe National Union of Teachers and National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers are imposing sanctions in primary and secondary schools in Stockport this term in protest against staffing standards in the authority's schools. Pupil-teacher ratios in Stockport are higher than the national average, particularly in primary schools.
§ Mr. BennettIs my hon. Friend aware that in Stockport more than 1,000 children are excluded from school? Will she consider inviting to her Department representatives of both the teachers and the local authority to see whether the problems in this dispute can be resolved?
§ Miss JacksonI shall consider my hon. Friend's suggestion. But it is only fair to say that, as is always the case, the answer in these disputes lies with the local authority, the teachers and the local ratepayers, since Stockport is one of the lower-rated areas.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonAlthough I understand the concern of teachers about the effect of public expenditure cuts on many local authorities, may I ask the hon. Lady to accept that it is the quality of teaching that is important and that in years gone by, when class sizes were as large as 50 per class, basic literacy was in many cases very much better than it is today?
§ Miss JacksonI regret that all too often contributions to our education debates by the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) are not noted for their grasp of the evidence. It is not true that literacy in the past was better than it is today.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonMost certainly it was.