You say you will scrap sex and relationship education for children under the age of 11. Why?

Kontiki via online comment

We’re already teaching younger children how to be safe, now that it’s more than just “don’t take sweets from strangers”. Good! We’re already teaching about reproduction in science. Good! I can see why some parents might want to teach their kids about sex, if the individual child is ready to learn that. But not all children are.

We’ve developed a culture in which children are exposed to things they’re not always developmentally ready for. The state shouldn’t be teaching such things at an age where many kids just aren’t ready for it. And particularly when our children are bombarded with sexualised imagery through magazines, clothing and advertising, the consequence is a very high rate of teen pregnancies.

You want to bring back grammar schools. Why do you think this will benefit anyone but the middle classes, who can afford coaching for the entrance exams? Won’t you also be in effect bringing back secondary moderns for the kids who fail the 11-plus?



Mark Easton, parent, St Albans

The old system was truly awful in many ways: the secondary moderns were woefully underfunded (hence your perception of them). And the technical schools, a key part of the legislation, just weren’t introduced at all by most local authorities. Instead of bringing those schools up to an excellent standard, we threw the baby out with the bathwater and abolished the system.

As grammar schools declined, so did social mobility. More working-class children went to Oxbridge in the 1950s and 1960s than do today. They had a track record of giving working-class kids a great start in life.

We should look to the German system, for example, to see what can happen when a technical or vocational route isn’t stigmatised or considered a second-class choice. We would also modify the idea of the 11-plus so that it would not be based solely on an examination but on attainment throughout the year as well, so coaching for the test would have less impact.

You say that you’re going to ensure a grammar school in every town, but that you’re not going to force existing schools to become grammars. How do you plan to achieve this?

RagdollRosie via online comment

Whichever party is in government next, they’ll have to build new schools to cater for current demand. So whether an existing school becomes a grammar or a new school is a grammar will depend on what’s right for the local area.

The latest set of EU-funded projects started in 2014 (called Horizon 2020) will allocate about £65bn to research over the next six years. If the UK leaves the EU, have you any plans on how you will bridge this funding gap and maintain scientific research standards?

Addicks123 via online comment

This is a myth: there is no funding gap. Yes, we get some of our own money back (eg agriculture, scientific research, regional development) but outside the EU we would be able to use the same money to achieve better results directly.

The EU has no failure criteria or assessment of the success of its projects; if a project provides poor value for money there’s nothing to stop further EU funding for similar projects. If we administered worthy projects ourselves, we’d allocate the money more efficiently as well as saving on the bureaucracy.

Remember also that the figure you quote for Horizon 2020 has to be shared between 28 countries, over six years – so we’re not actually talking about a lot of money each year for the UK.

What are Ukip’s plans for religious education? There is some confusion in current government policy as RE is excluded from the EBacc but multicultural RE is seen as part of efforts to combat extremism. In previous years, Ukip members have sought a more traditional Christian basis for RE.

Eve Sacker, parent and teacher, Derbyshire

As we live in a (nominally) Christian country, it’s only natural that teaching about Christianity will be a core part of religious education. RE shouldn’t be disparaging towards Christianity, or to any other religion, but taught in a neutral manner explaining the reasons why some people believe and others don’t.

Children should be taught about all religions, but not required to partake in a religious act or ceremony. But just as some Christian parents complain that schools misrepresent their beliefs, there are similar complaints in the Muslim and Jewish communities. This teaching should be factual, but the ethics component should allow expression of viewpoints and debating moral issues from a personal and religious perspective.

How would Ukip wish a future government to teach topics relating to immigration and multiculturalism?

Jacob Stevens, sixth-former, Abingdon, Oxfordshire

Immigration should be taught neutrally, in an unbiased manner, considering a range of viewpoints – in accordance with the Education Act 1996. Teaching about different cultures is important for a balanced education. My culture may be different to yours; if so, we should respect each other’s cultural identity.

You are proposing that approved university courses in science, maths and tech subjects will be free from tuition fees. What value do you place on education in arts and creative subjects, which are strong performers in the UK economy and export market?

LondonSpy via online comment

We put a high value on them, and we’d love to be able to abolish tuition fees in these subjects as well. But given the economic situation and the hikes in tuition fees in recent years, no government could realistically abolish all tuition fees straight away.

So why start with the Stem subjects? There’s a skills shortage, and some of these courses are undersubscribed. The UK’s economy needs to be strongly science and technology-driven. And there’s an ethical question as well: we have a shortage of home-trained doctors and nurses. When our NHS has to recruit so heavily from overseas, we are depriving some of the poorest countries in the world of their much-needed healthcare professionals.

But given the economic situation, no government could realistically abolish all tuition fees straight away Paul Nuttall

Labour, the Greens and the Lib Dems are committed to ensuring that all teachers should be qualified. Does Ukip share that position? If not, why not?

Gary Chambers, teacher, London

I don’t object to the idea in principle, but the devil is in the detail of any proposal. Are we saying that every specialist sports coach would need a teaching qualification? Teaching qualifications are state-sector centric: how would this fit with independent schools?

Most teachers I know found that the PGCE (or equivalent) didn’t properly prepare them to teach. If we could get teacher training right, and there were an easy way to assess those who are unqualified and have substantial classroom experience to gain the qualification, then I wouldn’t have a problem with it.

But there are far greater priorities in education: cutting class sizes, cutting teacher paperwork, reforming Ofsted and developing vocational training are all more urgent in my opinion.

If I had the choice whether my kids would be taught by an outstanding, but unqualified, teacher with 20 years’ experience or an NQT who is borderline as to whether or not they’ll pass their probationary year, I’d choose the former.

What would you do for autistic pupils and other children with special needs and disabilities? Do you think it’s better to integrate them into mainstream schools or give them separate schools?

Joe Lo, London

Autism is a spectrum; the answer’s going to vary from child to child. Do I think that a comprehensive school with 1,500-plus pupils is always going to work well for someone with Asperger’s for example? No. Does it follow that they need to be in a specialist school? No.

Part of the problem is that our education system is too mass-produced. We need different types of schools, and for some children simply a smaller-scale school with fewer pupils is all that’s needed. Ukip’s belief in innovation in education, allowing new kinds of schools to form, is important.

But I won’t deny that there are some children whose needs are so complex that they can only be met in a special school, and that means we need to make sure we have enough such schools.

What is your view on charitable status for private schools?

@turquoisehippo via Twitter

Students at private school aren’t being educated at the state’s expense. If they were to go to state schools instead, the state would have additional costs to cover their education. As private schools are saving the taxpayer money, I don’t have a problem with them having charitable status.

Paul Nuttall is deputy leader of the UK Independence party and MEP for North West England

Key policies

• Return to the three Rs in primary school.

• Scrap sex and relationships education for under-11s.

• A grammar school in every town.

• One exam board at GCSE and A-level to stop perception of “easier” papers.

• An apprenticeship qualification option to take the place of 4 GCSEs and be carried on to A-level.

• Reverse trend to shut special schools.

• “To prevent a repeat of operation Trojan Horse, an Ofsted investigation would take place if 25% of parents and governors signed a petition expressing concern.”

• Scrap the target of 50% of school leavers going to university.

See ukip’s latest policy document at tinyurl.com/kxakxjh.

A school governor on why they get his vote

Craig Sweaton, a Leeds primary school governor.

For too long, Labour and the Conservatives have only been concerned with political point-scoring. When one of them gets into government, rather than making meaningful statements about improving schools, they make wholesale changes to the system and confuse everything.

A major problem now is the lack of school places. There hasn’t been enough forward planning. We need to build more schools and tighten immigration controls. If we know how many people are in a country, we can tell how many new births there will be each year. If like last year we have 300,000 net migration, we then have a completely different ball game. You don’t know how many of those people will be children.

In principle, free schools are a good idea – they allow parents to get together and build more schools where there is a need. But I don’t think free schools have been looked at with scrutiny in the way they’ve been funded and founded. It’s troubling that they can opt out of the curriculum. We need Ofsted to be more deeply involved with free schools, and on a more regular basis.

The Conservatives’ idea of teaching British values seems like a platitude to me – something to smooth things over. Obviously, there is the argument of “What are British values in today’s society?” – it’s difficult. Part of the problem is that we’re often made to feel like we shouldn’t celebrate our heritage. The British love St Patrick’s day – and they all seem to celebrate it. But we’ve been led into a sense where if you value your Britishness you are by default slightly racist.

I support Ukip’s policy on grammar schools. I live in a council estate, I’m a semi-skilled worker. My children do fairly well in school. I’d like to think that there’s a path for them to go to a school that’s going to give them a better opportunity of going to one of the bigger universities.

Of course, we need to make sure that just because someone does go to a grammar school, they’re not considered superior. There’s a real stigma attached to vocational education. We need to change that. Lots of people didn’t go to university and they’ve done quite well for themselves.

I’m a barber and I talk to a lot of people who are degree-level educated, who work in Morrisons, Tesco’s, McDonald’s. They went to university thinking that those years of hard work, the debts they’d accrued would get them a better job. That’s not the case. Instead, we have highly skilled people doing low-skilled work. I don’t think Labour and Conservatives are in touch with the problems young people are facing.

Craig Sweaton has been a primary school governor for seven years in Leeds. He has previously run as council candidate for Ukip in Leeds.

Interview by Rebecca Ratcliffe

Next up



Send your questions now for our readers’ interview with Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary. Tweet us using the hashtag #GdnEduHunt, or email your questions to alice.woolley@guardian.co.uk with LABOUR QUESTION in the subject field. We will publish a selection of the best online and in print.

Questions by noon on Friday 20 March please.

Over to you.