Labour and Tories fight it out on the big issues. This week.. EDUCATION

BRITAIN'S top politicians are going head-to-head in the News of the World to answer the big questions you want asked.

Over the coming months we are giving YOU the reader the chance to put your questions to the Labour Ministers who run the country, and their Tory opponents who want to.

In this special series we will put our leaders on the spot with all the big issues from schools and hospitals, health and welfare to the economy and defence.

And you can put your questions on all of them straight to our most senior politicians.

Their replies should help you make up your mind who should be in charge when the nation goes to the polling booths at next year's general election.

Today we demand answers from Labour's Education Secretary ED BALLS and his Tory opposite number MICHAEL GOVE.

Mr Balls defends Labour's record on education and tells you why Labour should stay in charge of our children's future. And Mr Gove tells you why he thinks schools would be better if you trust the Tories with the keys to Number 10.

Here's how you can put your questions to the politicians. Send them by email to us at: questions@notw.co.uk

Or write to Questions for MPs, News of the World, 1 Virginia Street, London E98 1NW.

COMMUNITIES
Carolyn Grawshaw, 47, full time mum educating children at home, five children, St Albans

Q. Should communities be able to set up their own schools?

LAB That's already happening in some areas, but most parents with busy lives don't want to have to set up their own school - nor money taken from their local schools to give to these new schools. It's going back to the days when a select few got a good education.

TORY Yes. That's why we've come up with a plan to ensure that if parents don't have the schools they want it's much easier for new ones to set up. This way parents are more likely to get what they want - like tougher discipline and smaller classes.

PROFIT
Claire Shelton, 38, university lecturer, two daughters, Cardiff

Q. Does it matter if schools make a profit as long as they deliver a first class education?

LAB If businesses get involved in schools to raise standards and aspirations, that's great.

But not to raise money.

The Tories have told newspapers this week that they would allow private companies to run schools for profits. If that's now their policy they should come clean and say so.

TORY I don't think that we should introduce a system where profit-making firms can be put in charge of the nation's schools.

We want the money that is raised from taxpayers for education to be used in the classroom and not end up going to private shareholders.

STREAMING
Sean Boyle, 26, works in media, Bournemouth

Q. Do you support streaming children according to ability at secondary school?

LAB I strongly support sets in subjects, like maths, so that children are taught by ability.

But I don't like streaming, where a school makes a blanket decision to put a child in the bottom set for every subject and every class.

TORY Yes. Setting and streaming means that the brightest children can be stretched and children who need more targeted help can get it.

You only have to speak to teachers who find it impossible to teach kids who have completely different abilities at the same time - inevitably they end up pitching the lessons to the middle ability range so that those at both the top and bottom lose out.

ACADEMY
Jonathan Curtis, 35, teacher from Stockport, Greater Manchester with one year old son Jani

Q. Will my child be better off at an academy?

LAB Twelve years ago there were no academies and half of schools didn't meet the minimum standard for GCSE results. Today it's less than one in ten schools and I've pledged investment to get every school above that standard.

In some cases, that means replacing a low-performing school with an academy - with new leadership and sometimes a new building.

TORY Results at academies, where parents and teachers are in control of how the school is run, have risen much faster than other schools.

That's why we want to turbo-charge the academies programme so any school can apply for similar freedom to adopt tough discipline and smaller classes.

CLASS SIZE
Robert Stall, 49, accountant, three children, South West London

Q. Will my child's schooling suffer if her primary classes are over 30 pupils?

LAB Small class sizes and one-to-one teaching are really important, especially in the early years - and we have made it against the law for infant class sizes to be larger than 30. I don't want us to go back to the bad old days, before 1997, when Tory cuts meant a shortage of teachers, hardly any teaching assistants and over-crowded classrooms.

TORY As a parent of two young children, I want to see them getting maximum attention from their teachers, which is impossible if the class is too big. If we give the money for education direct to schools, instead of letting bureaucrats cream some off, schools can use it to cut class sizes.

GRAMMAR
Annabel Warner, 26, Public Relations, one-year-old daughter, Cheltenham

Q. Do you believe in grammar school?

LAB Small class sizes and one- to-one teaching are really important, especially in the early years - and we have made it against the law for infant class sizes to be larger than 30. I don't want us to go back to the bad old days, before 1997, when Tory cuts meant a shortage of teachers, hardly any teaching assistants and over-crowded classrooms.

TORY As a parent of two young children, I want to see them getting maximum attention from their teachers, which is impossible if the class is too big. If we give the money for education direct to schools, instead of letting bureaucrats cream some off, schools can use it to cut class sizes.

SCHOOL LEAVERS
Emily mallam, 24, student, Worchester

Q. Why are so many children leaving school unable to read and write?

LAB We have come a long way since 1997. Nearly 100,000 more children are leaving primary school with good literacy and numeracy compared to 1997. Today very few children leave primary school unable to read. What is making a massive difference is one-to-one tuition when children fall behind, but that means we need to keep investing.

TORY It's a huge problem that so many children leave primary school unable to read and write because it's often impossible to catch up later on. We want to focus relentlessly on teaching children to read in the first two years of school, using tried and tested teaching methods.

At the moment too many schools rely on trendy modern methods which aren't as effective. I think this is wrong.

UNIVERSITIES
Rachael Norton, 25, geologist, Blackpool

Q. Do universities value more traditional subjects such as maths or English over vocational courses?

LAB The evidence shows that vocational subjects like construction or IT get many young people enjoying learning and boost crucial maths and English results too. I think the Tory idea that vocational subjects should be seen as second-class is unfair. Whether young people want to go to university or get an apprenticeship, they need a choice of good qualifications, whether their strengths are practical, academic or both.

TORY There are some excellent vocational courses which can lead to good careers or even university places. The government says an A-level in further maths or physics is worth the same as one in drama or dance. But the universities and employers don't agree. It's vital we give children the right information so they can decide what to do.

BUDGET CUTS
Jean Farrugia, 54, retired, four children and four grandchildren, East London

Q. Will you cut the education budget and if so where will teh economies be made?

LAB No. We're going to keep increasing spending on schools - though in these tougher times we need to get much better value for money, for example getting schools to work together to cut costs. But I disagree with the Tory plan to cut spending on schools from next year. Investing in our children's futures should be the No1 priority - not spending billions on an inheritance tax cut.

TORY We will do everything we can to protect the front line. That's why we suggested a pay freeze in the public sector. Unless we show restraint over pay, the likelihood is that thousands of teaching jobs could go and I don't want that. I certainly don't want to see 3,000 deputy heads sacked, as the governnment suggested last month.

TEACHERS SALARIES
Liz Webber, 31, Payroll Manager, Singleton

Q. Should good heads and teachers be paid six-figure salaries and be rewarded for success with bonuses?

LAB These are tough times, but I'm not going to go back on my promise to teachers and break the three-year pay deal agreed last year. And the best heads - who are working to transform other schools - should be paid extra for taking on extra challenges. We can't go back to the bad old days when teachers, were under-paid, not recognised for what they do and forever going out on strike.

TORY At the end of the day this should be decided by schools and parents, not politicians. But I think there should be more freedom over teacher pay and incentives, so that if a school wants to hire a brilliant teacher they can. Academies have this freedom and it's one reason why they out-perform other schools.

• WHO CARES WINS
• Labour and Tories fight it out on the big issues. This week.. BENEFITS
• Labour and Tories fight it out

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