ATL: Govt not offering the right opportunities

Martin Johnson, deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) comments on the draft Queen's Speech:

"The government is right to focus on improving the opportunities for students who are failed by the current system. We support the emphasis on education and training for the over 16s, but are not convinced the opportunities being offered are the right ones.

“Education should give all children the opportunity to learn and gain skills.

“However, the government will not cut the number of so-called failing schools until it accepts the overwhelming evidence that the major cause is an unbalanced intake of pupils from different backgrounds, and finds a way to deal with this.”