The Labour Government has confirmed it is cutting funding for cadet schemes in schools, including East Norfolk Sixth Form College in Great Yarmouth, taking away the opportunities our young people deserve.
Great Yarmouth Conservatives has called on the Labour Government to reconsider this decision and fulfil its promise to ‘break down barriers to opportunity’ for young people, instead of putting them up.
Commenting, Chairman Bob Price of Great Yarmouth Conservatives said:
“I know the critical role that the cadet unit plays at East Norfolk Sixth Form College, teaching our young people the skills they need to navigate day-to-day life as a student and to set them up for the future.
“The Labour Government’s decision to cut the additional funding for School Staff Instructors will lead to a decline in cadet numbers across the country, showing you that Labour are not serious about setting our young people up for success.
“Labour promised to break down barriers to opportunity for young people but instead, are creating new ones. The Conservatives will hold them to account.”
In 2012, the then Conservative Government launched the Cadet Expansion Programme to give pupils the opportunity to build important skills such as resilience, self-discipline, teamwork and leadership skills. The Conservatives rolled out over 500 cadet units in schools and allocated School Staff Instructor (SSI) grants to 226 schools and academies last year to help facilitate instructors in spending more time on cadet duties.
However, this Labour Government has chosen to cut the additional SSI funding grant, meaning that schools will no longer be able to employ SSIs.
Treasurer for the association, Graham Plant, stated:
Cutting this programme will only save the Treasury £862,144, whilst depriving many local students of learning the skills they need for a brighter future. This cruel cut comes after Labour’s decision to impose an Education Tax that will impact the education of every child in the independent and state sector, making clear that this government does not have the interests of school children at heart.
Labour promised to ‘break down barriers to opportunity’ for young people but are doing the exact opposite by removing the opportunity for young people to learn lifelong skills.
