In the run-up to June’s general election, BESA is initiating the Resource Our Schools campaign, dedicated to highlighting to government the need for schools to be adequately resourced with the equipment they need, even during a time of unprecedented budgetary pressures.

We agree wholeheartedly that teachers should be at the heart of the UK education system, but they need support! They need access to the right training and course guides to ensure that they are well positioned to introduce students to the “best that has been thought and said” in order to give them the best possible life chances.

To bring this learning to life for students, they need the right pedagogical equipment at their disposal: literature, textbooks and teaching aids. Importantly for the 21st Century classroom, it’s vital that pupils have access to the unprecedented learning opportunities that the digital world provides. It’s equally important that teachers and schools can access the rich data that is consequently generated to shine a light on a student’s performance in innovative new ways. 

We know schools are having to make some tough financial decisions at the moment, and there is a wealth of evidence suggesting that they are cutting back on resources as a result. While there are doubtless efficiencies to be made, the impact of cutting back on resources upon a child’s education should not be underestimated. There is a powerful evidence base to show that resources matter – from the size of the furniture, to the quality of the science equipment

The Education Secretary has recently outlined her vision to build “the capacity to enable genuine and sustained school improvement in the future”. Core to school improvement must be ensuring teachers and schools alike can access the right resources. Throughout their careers, teachers need access to the right CPD materials and training. Not least during a time of considerable curriculum and assessment reform. Improving the quality of what is taught and how it is taught cannot take place without the right teaching aids.

Cutting-edge developments in education technology have the potential to transform the way in which classes are taught, pupils are assessed and in which schools are managed. Parental and community engagement is being taken to another level, and pupils can explore the entire globe from within the classroom walls like never before. Its potential should be seized.

But this is only possible if schools have adequate access to the internet. Worryingly only 44 per cent of the UK’s primary schools say they are currently well-resourced with broadband, meaning millions of pupils across the UK are currently being denied access to the transformative potential of education technology.

The Resource Our Schools campaign is dedicated to ensuring that every school has access to the resources they need to deliver the education that our children deserve.

The UK is renowned the world over for its high standard of education and there is a voracious demand for UK educational resources, technology and talent overseas. As schools across the globe benefit from the UK’s leadership in education resources, it is of the greatest importance that pupils across the UK do as well.

For more information, and to sign the Resource Our Schools statement, visit: www.resourceourschools.com