Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Labour must invest in renewal to save our schools
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NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede
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FOR Daniel Kebede, the new Labour government offers hope of renewal for an education sector in crisis.
“The crisis in education is deep and severe. Buildings falling apart. A recruitment and retention crisis which means that we now have a million children taught in class sizes of 31 or more,” the National Education Union (NEU) leader tells me when I catch him on the fringes of last weekend’s Durham Miners’ Gala.
“What I hope is that this incoming government invests in education and invests in our children.” Kebede is pleased at Labour’s immediate invitations of union leaders to discuss the issues facing their sectors with relevant ministers, and publicly contrasted the constructive approach of new Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to his last meeting with a government minister — when he had to push back against the attempt to undermine educators’ right to strike.
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