TONY Blair et al never did get it. Schools and teachers don’t use poverty as an excuse for failure, but as an explanation (TES, October 11). This allowed them to look for solutions. When they unpicked the effects of poverty on achievement, they could identify truths about the causes and begin to alleviate, remedy or overcome them. These truths, however, don’t just relate to schools’ remit but also to the wider remits of government.
But it has to be truths. This Government prefers to peddle untruths about failing schools. It is easier, and cheaper to shoot the messenger than respond to the message. To paraphrase a slogan from the 1970s: “Look after the people and the grades will look after themselves.”
Geoff Elliott
104 Crewe Road
Nantwich, Cheshire
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