Time to stop the infighting and put our children's education first - the YEP says
Educators have warned that a generation of children will suffer due to the impact of lockdown.
It was just a matter of weeks ago that the Children’s Commissioner warned in this newspaper that keeping children out of school - especially those among the most disadvantaged - for a prolonged period could damage their prospects.
And now today we report on a row breaking out between Leeds councillors over the cost of providing extra school places.
This is against the backdrop of a rising population and the need to ensure that extra space is created to accommodate the new cohorts of children in the classroom.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show just how dramatically the population of Leeds has increased in recent years.
Since 2001, it has risen from 715,609 to 793,139. This isn’t a new problem.
But now is not the time for political infighting - we need to work on a solution for the city to ensure that every young person gets the education they deserve.