Member

As my noble friend Lady Barran said, schools are under considerable financial pressure already. For me, the most frightening impact is the issue of persistent absence, where we particularly need non-teaching staff. For example, one of our schools in a very deprived area uses a retired taxi driver. How does he fit into this rigid new system? We use him because he knows the community; he has been ferrying people around that town for 30 years. He is the right person for that job. That would not necessarily apply in Tower Hamlets.