Commenting on the secretary of state's speech at the Labour Party Conference, Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Europe's largest teaching union said;
"Ed Balls was at his strongest when he underlined the moral purpose of education. Stamping out racism and tackling the pernicious influence of far-right parties including the BNP on school communities, and supporting school communities in doing that, must be a top priority.
"Parents have an equal responsibility to ensure their children are well behaved and the government's leaflet is long overdue in emphasising that schools cannot solely be responsible for making sure that children respect each other and their teachers. However, Ed Balls should reflect on whether the balance of demand from government on teachers gives them enough time to intervene to tackle the root causes of bullying.
"I welcome Ed Balls' continuing commitment to a national framework for teachers' pay and conditions. Deconstructing it would create immense and damaging turbulence to schools and fuel future teacher shortages.
"Ed Balls' comment about keeping tests in Year 6 is out of step with the overwhelming opposition from parents, teachers and school communities. I urge him once again to dismantle what is a fundamentally counterproductive assessment system."
