Education
Education is a lifelong process, and we learn in many different ways. Teaching and learning should be enjoyable, and not hampered by stress, bureaucracy, league tables and narrow curricula. Our education system should encourage creativity, curiosity and active citizenship, as well as academic and vocational skills. Although education is not under control of the borough council, Maidstone Greens would lobby KCC to:
- provide free school meals from locally grown and cooked food and oppose all fast food sales in schools
- provide cookery lessons for all pupils to ensure pupils know how to cook basic meals from fresh local produce, reducing reliance on expensive ready-made meals from supermarkets
- encourage all learning centres to actively promote sustainability through teaching and involving pupils/students in developing ways of reducing energy use, waste, car trips and food miles
- oppose large class sizes and support increased funding of education
- oppose the current selective school system
- oppose tuition fees and lobby for the restoration of means-tested grants for students - higher education should be paid for by higher taxes for high-earners, not by forcing students into massive debt
- press for reform of the assessment and competitive league-tabling system to avoid excessive testing, bureaucracy and intolerable workloads on teachers
- oppose academy schools and bring existing ones back into state sector
- oppose faith schools with aim to bring existing ones into line with non-faith school admission criteria
- promote life skills based learning
