Education Education Education

[LimburgseVlaai]

Why isn't education being shouted about ?

The government has made savage cuts to the education budget - see here.

Unlike the government, schools are not allowed to budget for a deficit. They cannot borrow money. Result? Schools are having to make people redundant.

How can this be right??

And why aren't people shouting about it in the election campaign?

Are we so bludgeoned by news about the NHS, welfare cuts, Brexit, that there is just no brain space or no news space for education?

[caroldecker]

Schools should be cut back to provide academic education, like many other countries. Sport, music, citizenship etc do not belong in a school.

There is no evidence class sizes of 30 are better for education than 40 (although harder on teacher for marking/assessing children etc)

[echt]

Class size does matter, though it suits right-wing agendas to say it doesn't. Why do private schools big up small classes if they don't matter?

www.aeuvic.asn.au/sites/default/files/class_size_research_summary.pdf

[Iggi999]

Caroldecker there isn't physically room for 40 pupils in a classroom - unless you want to take the tables out and seat them on the floor with a clipboard.

[noblegiraffe]

(although harder on teacher for marking/assessing children etc)

This would appear to entirely contradict your point about classes of 40 being just as good as a class of 30, unless you think the teacher is some kind of robot.

"Oh yeah, class sizes of 40 are fine, it just means that the teacher doesn't get to sleep or eat, but y'know teachers will always whinge about something".

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

Because it was supported by all the parties.

[ShiningArmour]

Are you a teacher carol?

[noblegiraffe]

Cutting school funding wasn't supported by all parties. It even goes against the last Tory manifesto where they promised to protect per-pupil funding. Lies.

[Orlantina]

Nothing wrong with education.

DFE spokesperson says we have record funding for schools.
DFE spokesperson says we have more pupils in good or outstanding schools.
DFE spokesperson says nothing to see here, move on, look over there, talk about Corbyn.

I think that's the standard response.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

There was a letter signed by MPs from different parties to reallocate funding. That was the catalyst for this.

[YoullNeverWeeAlone]

I am fucking furious about this. I regularly find myself shouting at the TV/radio as a government spokesman claims education funding is at highest level ever etc.

I've been to meetings, I will march this weekend, I won't vote Tory, but they have no chance here anyway,. What else can I do? I hate feeling like I am a bystander to the destruction of my DC's education (and the NHS, social care, public services...) but how do I resist? Am guessing armed insurrection is frowned upon.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

Also you do realise that all the manifestos are bull anyhow. Once in power the parties have free reign to do whatever they wish.

[Orlantina]

That was the catalyst for this

Imagine a cake. Schools got different amounts of that cake depending on issues and needs of that school.

What's happened is the cake has got smaller. And the amount of that cake schools get has also changed.

So most schools have been hit by funding issues. The degree to which they have been hit depends on the new funding formula.

[noblegiraffe]

There was a letter signed by MPs from different parties to reallocate funding. That was the catalyst for this.

No it wasn't. The National Fairer Funding Formula is being conflated with this as a diversion tactic by the Tories. They are trying to confuse people into thinking that money being lost by some schools is being reallocated elsewhere to needy schools, where in fact the National Audit Office shows a £3bn shortfall in national school funding by 2020. Pretty much all schools are losing out.

[Foxyloxy1plus1]

Caroldecker where do music, sport etc belong then? Why are they not academic subjects.

Every week, there is something in the news about schools needing to spend more time teaching about relationships, financial matters, current affairs, etc, etc, etc.

Are you advocating a curriculum devoted to English, Maths and Science? What about languages, humanities, technology? What a dismal prospect that is.

[noblegiraffe]

Also you do realise that all the manifestos are bull anyhow.

Tell that to Philip Hammond. Apparently manifestos are very important and need to be stuck to when it comes to tax increases. That caused a u-turn.
The Tories should be held to account for this too.

[Orlantina]

I regularly find myself shouting at the TV/radio as a government spokesman claims education funding is at highest level ever etc

Shouting? I just tell Theresa May to fuck off (on the screen) when she repeatedly makes that comment.

I used to work in 4 schools. Now it's one school as they've had to make cuts where they can.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

Indeed. Every school in my constituency and the neighbouring one is hit. In the area we are in, poorest area in borough, we are hit even harder. Stupid government doesn't mind stealing from children as they unable to vote.

[Orlantina]

The National Fairer Funding Formula is being conflated with this as a diversion tactic by the Tories

THIS.

Most schools are facing cuts due to increased cost pressures.

[squishysquirmy]

"Dump the bad teachers that all schools have."

...Yeah, because the best way to employ quality staff is to reduce the amount you can afford to pay them, and make working conditions as unpleasant as possible.

[SomewhatIdiosyncratic]

My data analyses last year showed a consistent pattern that the smaller my classes, the better their progress was. The smaller the class, the weaker the students, but I could get around them and personalise their learning in a smaller setting. Teaching 15 weaker kids was much easier than the top sets of 35 where they were shoe horned in and it was physically difficult to walk around the room.
Class size does matter.

A balanced curriculum also matters. My subject is one of Gove's chosen ones. The end result being a much fuller classroom of GCSE students shoehorned in that don't want to be there and don't care. They've been denied access to courses that suit their strengths. I despair.

My 6 year old can tell me about how split diagraphs change the pronunciation of his name. Very impressive when he can't get the 5 letters of his name the right way round.

I'm not teaching now so that I can give my time to my DCs. They need down time at the end of the school day and I couldn't give them that by the time I was done with planning, marking, remarking, meetings and data analysis.

The education system is currently designed around teaching to a narrow set of tests with little breadth. There's no coincidence that a rise in mental health issues in young people is connected to increased emphasis on regular assessment.

[wordlemcfuddle]

I think it's so confusing now with academies/free schools/ grammars/ faith schools etc etc that it makes it harder to argue for any one thing. Maybe that's the point - divide and rule?

[Orlantina]

And what is worse - she knew this was a hot topic at the moment. She was facing revolts from her back benchers.

But then she called an election. So they have to go along with her new vision of education. Where they fund new free schools and new grammar schools whilst letting most schools have budget cuts.

[patheticpanic]

Because people don't realise just how bad it is? I volunteer in one school and am a governor at another and the damage done to schools over the last two years particularly is shocking.

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

A lot of the free schools haven't even opened either.

[Fruitcorner123]

I am a teacher and we have significant redundancies in my school this year. What that means for students is that subjects have been dropped from the curriculum. As well as this department budgets have been slashed which means we can't afford to do things like photocopy activities, past papers, worksheets and homework sheets or keep spare equipment to loan out. We have also had to close accounts with good online revision services and resources because we cant afford the fees. We used to have many students going to college in hers 10 and 11 for vocational courses which would prepare them for careers but this has all been cut partly for financial reasons and partly because of Gove's agenda. There are far fewer teachers going on training courses than there were 10 years ago. This is the same in many other schools I am aware of in my area. As far as I know it is set to get worse and worse.

The holidays are great but they won't help the students have a varied, engaging and rewarding education which prepares them for adulthood and are not relevant to a debate about school budgets.