Live webchat with Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, Thursday 18 December 11am - 12pm

[KateHMumsnet]

We're pleased to announce that Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, will be joining us for a webchat on Thursday 18 December at 11.00am.

Nicky was elected for the Loughborough seat for the Conservatives in the 2010 General Election, and was appointed was appointed Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities on 15 July this year. She is married and a mother of one.

Nicky will be joining us on Thursday to discuss all things education-related, and in particular will welcome discussion of behaviour and bullying, mental health, character and careers. Of course, we will welcome questions from across the education spectrum and Nicky will reply to as many as she is able to between 11am and 12pm.

Please do join us live on Thursday, or post your questions in advance on this thread.

@JeanetteDanielsBenziger

I would like to hear your opinions on enforced Christian worship in state schools. I realise there is an online petition for its removal (which I have signed)

Do you see Christian worship being removed from state schools in the near future?

Hi JeanetteDanielsBenziger. Well the 1944 Education Act introduced a compulsory act of worship in state maintained schools and this was re-confirmed in the 1988 Education Act. Of course many schools interpret this in different ways, parents can withdraw their child from the act of worship but I do think it provides an opportunity to encourage young people to show respect for other views. Since July we have published new Religious Studies GCSE content and we are keen students should study more than one religion and in Key Stage 3, before GCSE, the RS curriculum in all state schools should include an awareness of a range of major religions.

@PastSellByDate

Without going into huge details (but you can search my posts and others) - DD1's school spent the entirety of Y6 focusing on pupils below the NC L4 standard by dividing the class in two and leaving those of NC L4+ attainment to substitutes/ KS1 Teachers.

The school did get 93% of 2014 cohort (single form entry) to NC L4+ in English/ Maths combined - but...BUT...at the price of a very boring year for more able pupils.

I commend the school for achieving this - and absolutely understand the reasons why that was the priority - but wonder why 'the system' doesn't reward schools who don't pull out all the stops like this but instead attain similar or better results whilst continuing to deliver a stable and rich curriculum to Y6 pupils?

Should OFSTED be inspecting the delivery of curriculum in Y6 to avert this kind of 'hot housing' for results?

Hi PastSellByDate. Sorry it took me so long to get to you (and I did do touch typing at school and the biscuits here are good!). We do expect schools to teach a broad and balanced curriculum but clearly if our young people do not master the basics they are going to struggle at secondary school and beyond. That is why we have been clear to primary schools that our priority is getting young people to read, write and add up well by Year 6 and we can see that is happening which is testament to the hard work of teachers.

Nicky Morgan MP

Ok I grant you that getting majority to NC L4+ is the goal - and that is why I condone that.

But - I do query why those who have achieved that level or higher are virtually neglected. That is a waste of an educational year/ their potential and tax payers money.

Thank you for taking the time to answer. Removal of children from worship is a Hobson's choice surely? I refuse to emotionally damage my daughter in this way and wholly resent that this is my only option.
Why are the schools Christian beliefs more important than my non beliefs?
Education=school
Worship=church, synagogue, mosque (pick your poison)

I agree with religions being studied but as a theory& not being expected to pray & sing hymns in a communal act of worship.

And why should I withdraw my children from communal assemblies where achievements are celebrated generally such as Star of the Week & class milestones!

Precisely magrats.

If this is the OFFICIAL VIEW of how things should be (ignore higher ability pupils for benefit of low ability) [and I'm not disputing that priority - I understand why it's important to help less able pupils get to an appropriate level prior to senior school] - but then

can those of us with high ability pupils clearly about NC L4 and of no interest to their primary school educationally in Year 6 be given the freedom to take holidays in term time or take our children out for enhancing events (like concerts/ plays/ museum exhibitions)....

instead of parents being faced with fines for taking them out of a school (which according to you is justified in not really doing much with them throughout Year 6).

as after all this is their last year of proper childhood and some family time would not go amiss?

I think we are quite similar jeanette in that we are not frothing atheists & we teach our children to respect fully people of faith & to be open minded about faith. However faith & religion should not be interacting with each other in this way!

@ReallyTired

What are you doing to attract the most talented teachers to the most difficult schools? At the moment it is a non brainer for a gifted teacher to work in a challenging school. Why risk career suicide working in an OFSTED inadequate school when you can get a job at a nice school with easy to teach (possibly brighter!) children (like Surbition High?)

My daughter's primary is OFSTED inadequate and there has been constant stream of newly qualified teachers who leave after a term because they cannot cope. How can we avoid schools that are in difficult circumstances having the dregs of the teaching profession?

Hi ReallyTired. I agree with you that the quality of teaching is critical and we have invested heavily in the expansion of schemes such as TeachFirst, which places top graduates in some of our most challenging schools. We also see (and want to see more of) the growth of collaboration between schools so, for example, a Head in a good school spends time supporting a Head and staff in a more challenging school. As a party we have announced we would like to see the creation of a National Teaching Service which would encourage teachers to work in more challenging parts of the country. Often the issue is not that teachers don't want to take on more challenging schools but that schools in certain parts of the country find it hard to attract teachers.

Actually children with spld eg dyslexia. who are below national average levels because they need additional support, actually learn in other ways like physically seeing plays, museums, science fairs etc. I have to "educate" (in the broadest sense) my DS this way as school bores him rigid as he doesn't engage. So I would like to take my DC out for enhancing events too.

Apologies, faith & education

:)

Thank you everyone. I have really enjoyed all the questions and will follow up on some specific ones later. Have a great day and Happy Christmas.

Hi ReallyTired, we've got an answer from Nicky for you, which we'll post in a sec - tech issues, sorry

@ReallyTired

What are you doing to attract the most talented teachers to the most difficult schools? At the moment it is a non brainer for a gifted teacher to work in a challenging school. Why risk career suicide working in an OFSTED inadequate school when you can get a job at a nice school with easy to teach (possibly brighter!) children (like Surbition High?)

My daughter's primary is OFSTED inadequate and there has been constant stream of newly qualified teachers who leave after a term because they cannot cope. How can we avoid schools that are in difficult circumstances having the dregs of the teaching profession?

Will Q's that are not answered today on this thread, be answered at another time?

Oh - and here it is. As you were!

@NickyMorganMP

[quote ReallyTired] What are you doing to attract the most talented teachers to the most difficult schools? At the moment it is a non brainer for a gifted teacher to work in a challenging school. Why risk career suicide working in an OFSTED inadequate school when you can get a job at a nice school with easy to teach (possibly brighter!) children (like Surbition High?)

My daughter's primary is OFSTED inadequate and there has been constant stream of newly qualified teachers who leave after a term because they cannot cope. How can we avoid schools that are in difficult circumstances having the dregs of the teaching profession?

Hi ReallyTired. I agree with you that the quality of teaching is critical and we have invested heavily in the expansion of schemes such as TeachFirst, which places top graduates in some of our most challenging schools. We also see (and want to see more of) the growth of collaboration between schools so, for example, a Head in a good school spends time supporting a Head and staff in a more challenging school. As a party we have announced we would like to see the creation of a National Teaching Service which would encourage teachers to work in more challenging parts of the country. Often the issue is not that teachers don't want to take on more challenging schools but that schools in certain parts of the country find it hard to attract teachers.[/quote]

I feel like I've been reading a web chat with Nicola Murray.

Absolutely magrats for me its all about removal of choice.
Educate about all different religions to your hearts content, but by actually practising Christian worship surely you are telling children that the other religions are wrong? Iyswim?

Hi springalong, we'll ask Nicky to look at any outstanding questions (she's just left to get her train just now) and get back to you once we hear back. Thanks

@springalong

Will Q's that are not answered today on this thread, be answered at another time?

LineRunner

thank you :)

:) According to every religion every other religion is wrong!

I agree with you, practice of Christianity above everything else does confer the idea that it is correct.

Isitmebut

Are you seriously not aware that the UK is not skint it's a playground for the rich and privileged. www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/gerry-hassan/uk-isnt-skint-it-is-playground-for-rich-and-privileged

Are you seriously not aware that Thatcher's legacy of deregulation of the Bank's caused the problem that Labour had to rectify and a collapse in manufacturing.

The Labour deficit is a Tory myth. There is evidence to show that Labour spent on public services health and social care, it's called a civilised society.

The same argument of profligacy was being shouted about by fat cat Tories when Thatcher was in power. I remember it well because I was studying Health Studies and it was part of the Tory argument back then.

Where is the privatised led recovery that Cameron promised in 2010? What we have is a country brought to it's knees and a Government based on encouraging a low wage economy dominated by the finance and service sector. Cameron's talk of 'rebalancing the economy' has come to nothing.

The facts are that after four and a half years of Tory government child poverty is at a record high and many children are so hungry they have to prostitute themselves to eat. There has been a 40% increase in youngsters self harming because of poverty since Cameron came to power and 90,000 plus children are homeless this Christmas.

However in my opinion what you have written is a rant.

JaneAhersey...I have never seen such an inaccurate, ideologically incorrect post on here in over a year, well done.

“Gordon Brown: I made ‘big mistake’ on banks before financial crisis”
metro.co.uk/2011/04/11/gordon-brown-i-made-big-mistake-on-banks-before-financial-crisis-650630/

“Gordon Brown has admitted making a ‘big mistake’ in regulating Britain’s banks before the country was plunged into recession by the 2008 financial crisis, as current chancellor"

"George Osborne prepares to hand power back to the Bank of England.”

“Labour's lax regulation of the City contributed to RBS collapse – watchdog”
www.theguardian.com/business/2011/dec/12/labour-regulations-city-rbs-collapse
“FSA says Labour leadership had encouraged it to take a 'light touch' on banks and must take share of blame for financial crisis”

During a 10-year UK 'boom' this is where the money went in 'job creation' paid for by higher taxes including Council tax ;

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1358144/Labours-3m-town-hall-jobs-bonanza-employed-deliver-frontline-services.html

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1214001/The-cost-quango-Britain-hits-170bn--seven-fold-rise-Labour-came-power.html

And Labour's record on manufacturing- losing 1 million jobs before the crash, and seeing manufacturing halve from the 22% of our economy in 1997 under the Conservatives;

www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/million-factory-jobs-lost-under-labour-6150418.html

And housing with children involved;

"Shelter (2009); The housing crisis in numbers" – and the need for spare bedrooms, never mind homes.
england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns/why_we_campaign/the_housing_crisis/what_is_the_housing_crisis.
• Over 1.7 million households (around 5 million individuals) are currently waiting for social housing
• 7.4 million homes in England fail to meet the Government's Decent Homes Standard
• 1.4 million children in England live in bad housing. [3]
• In 2008/09, 654,000 households in England were overcrowded. [4]
The number of new households is increasing faster than the number of house builds.

And here it is the 2003/4 UK Housing Report WARNING not enough homes were being built.
"The (2004) Barker review:key points"
www.theguardian.com/money/2004/mar/17/business.housing

And Labour spending on schools etc:
www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8779598/Private-Finance-Initiative-where-did-all-go-wrong.html

www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9356942/Blair-defends-PFI-as-NHS-trusts-face-bankruptcy.html

Compare all that Labour legacy to the Conservatives after a 10-year of spending plenty boom, with the one Labour inherited from the Conservatives in 1997 - or the one Thatcher inherited from labour in 1979.

Oh and this was Labour's help towards 'the cost of living crisis' that from 2007 to 2010 saw 'real earnings fall about 5% - and Mr darlings confirmation on the siuze of the deficit

“Labour's planned National Insurance increase will cost jobs, Alistair Darling admits”

“Labour’s plans to increase national insurance next year will cost jobs, Alistair Darling has said.”

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/7539343/Labours-planned-National-Insurance-increase-will-cost-jobs-Alistair-Darling-admits.html
“In his evidence, Mr Darling defended his plans to increase national insurance, saying it was necessary to raise extra money to reduce Government borrowing, which will be £167 billion this year.”