This government is taking a sledge hammer to state education. Hands up who's disgusted...

[Shamster]

Just wondering how people feel about what the new government are going to do to our state school system. I'm a teacher and the Special Needs Coordinator and every teacher I've talked to is in dismay at what the government are rushing through including:
scrapping the brilliant new curricuum that has already been printed and circulated to every school in the UK (serious amount of money wasted). Free schools can be set up in shops and houses taking money away from local schools and possibly being funded also by businesses too. Local LEA schools can become academies if the Governers fancy without consulting parents or teachers. These free schools and academies will not be able to access the SEN services that the LEA provide to schools without paying for them. This will lead to two waiting lists to see Ed Psychs etc where one client is a paying client and one isn't. Which do you think will be seen first? Any thoughts?

Agree with Zap. They're actually not doing most of these things up here in Scotland, and I wish they would.

I don't think the new governments plans for education are clear yet so I'm reserving judgement.
However I'm happy with the demise of the GTCE and QCDA so that's positive and I prefer Robin Alexander's review to Jim Rose's.

Me too - it was independent, for a start.

Thank god the government are doing this. What a refreshing thing it is that they are freeing up schools and parents to act independently.

I'll stand up and be counted for being disgusted by this privatisation by stealth, Shamster. Unfortunately, it sounds like the (already) privileged minority will be sapping resources from the common pot.

I know the current system is very far from perfect, but proposal sounds like it will consolidate and reinforce the (IMHO) bad points ie the privileges that money can buy, rather than try and improve the system for all of our children.

Gross.

I'm not convinced by this free school thing, either....heading for a two-tier system, I fear.

How likely do you think the Cambridge Review is to be taken up by this government, mrz (and feenie)?

I feel they will introduce a more QCA-like curriculum (knowledge rather than enquiry based), despite all their talk about 'freedom for teachers'. Let's hope I'm wrong.

I agree we have heard the last of the Cambridge review, more's the pity. Anything new on the curriculum will be completely subject based and probably a very reactionary interpretation of the 'subjects' at that. Will be interesting to see what happens to citizenship. On a more personal note am worried about SN provision in mainstream, DS currently doing very well because of the excellent support he gets, worried he will be left to sink.

I am extremely alarmed by the free schools and new academies ideas - although, 'tis true, we have not seen the details yet - for the following reasons:

1. Comparisons with Sweden seem really inappropriate. Before the introduction of free schools there were fewer faith schools and a smaller private sector so the introduction of a little diversity may have been more popular. However, studies have shown mixed results even there.
2. Fast-tracking outstanding schools as academies makes no sense. LEAs provide useful HR, legal and other services and thus free up the time of head teachers to concentrate on teaching and that may have contributed to their very success. Conversely I've heard tales of really bad management in private schools, e.g. not doing proper CRB checks, poor health and safety and data protection procedures, low morale and bullying of staff, etc. This would happen when the head teacher/owner operates in isolation and is out of touch with good practice, and when they think they can ignore legal requirements. Some of the new free schools could be extremely badly managed - due to lack of experience/supervision.

I'm wondering whether in the end (bar the odd success), free schools will just be a flop. They may be poor value for money for the state or may not attract enough support from parents to be sustained for long. There may be a few hundred of them but pupil numbers will be tiny and it will represent a very small minority of children. I think they will mainly be nursery school or infant school level and there will be a lot of religious schools. I'm not even convinced they will be a middle class preserve - most of the people I have seen interviewed on TV have sounded very amateurish and I would not trust my child with them.

I can't see the present government taking on suggestions from the Cambridge review en masse but I wouldn't be surprised to see elements repackaged.
I can only hope that they detail the knowledge children should have but leave teachers free to decide how they impart that knowledge.

The situation varies greatly around the country because SEN is funded differently.
I know it's frustrating if your child is entitled to 1-1 and the support works with other children in the class but it's more frustrating if your child becomes totally dependent upon the support sometimes encouraging a little independence is a good thing as long as the statement child's needs come first.

Before the election, Michael Gove was saying he wanted schools to offer the curriculum of 50 years ago. Let's hope not!

My parents were at school 50 years ago and were taught very little; just adding up in pounds, shillings and pence with no support for disadvantaged children.

The only ones who got anything approximating a decent education were those who got into grammar schools (my parents included) and the rest of their class stayed on in their primary schools until they left at 14 without qualifications.

I do not want my children to waste their time at school learning 'facts'; I want them to be educated.

However, luckily, they're bright and will learn despite whatever may happen to the curriculum.

The Butler Act of 1944 created a similar system to the one we have today - children attended primary school before beginning secondary education from the age of 11 (it should have begun in 1939 but was delayed by the war) and compulsory education to the age of 15 was introduced in 1947. Increased to 16 in 1964.

"I do not want my children to waste their time at school learning 'facts'; I want them to be educated."

Part of learning does involve knowing facts! All higher thinking skills are founded on knowledge. You can't analyse or apply etc something that you don't know.

I think that now is a time to reflect on how all schools will have to reduce their staffing.

We have already seen some sizable reductions in grants that will be available via LAs from BECTA, National College, TDA, CWDC and the local area grants. Those will start to feed through to school over the next 12 months. However Education is not ring-fenced from next years cuts!

Something between 80 to 90% of school funding is spent on salaries of teachers and non-teaching staff and I suspect that we could be looking at a 10% reduction taking everything into account.

So teachers if you think that you are looking for pay rises, smaller classes etc then I think you are going to be out of luck. A lot of schools are going to be in for a real shock come the end of this year.

Oh aye, I was really expecting a big fat pay rise and a class of 20!

Then I woke up!

Add message | Report | Contact poster By TheNextMrsDepp Mon 21-Jun-10 21:16:30
I'm not convinced by this free school thing, either....heading for a two-tier system, I fear

I used to work in GP Fundholding during the last Tory Government - now I'm a teacher, and my first thought on the Academy schools was "It's School Fundholding" - and GP Fundholding was definitely a 2-tier system; great if your practice was in it, not so great if not...

This is really interesting. I agree that some facts are useful and necessary. But a fact based curriculum basically means that children are not learning the skills they need to go on learning through their entire life.

As for provision. Now we know that Education budgets are to be cut by 25% over 5 years, all provison will suffer. SEN are in the front line to suffer. Already, the PSHE budget has been cut so clearly that shows that the emphasis on care, building self esteem and making children independent is not valued. But hey, atleast these children will know every British monarch from the year dot. Oh, actually, they won't, because there'll be no TAs to support learning and challenging children. Exclusions will go through the roof.

Swedish education experts are telling us that this system hasn't worked and has lead to a more segregated system. I compleytely sympathise with people who would like to start their own school; but why does it have to take money from the established state schools. I believe in a strong state school system so that everyone has the right to a good, unbiased and free education.

I think needs to be a balance knowledge (facts if you like) and skills to use that knowledge.

I did say part of learning! All I was pointing out was that without knowledge, you have nothing to use!

Tinuviel, as someone who works in engineering, I find my ability to process information, do difficult maths, and plan research more relevant than trying to remember all the facts that my engineering is built on. The important thing is to remember which book to look in to find the odd bit of information.

But learning capitals of the world and kings and queens of england - which is what MG was suggesting - sounds like a completely dumbed down activity. Something a 6 year old could look up in a book if they wanted to know.

And proper, useful information, is only properly understood and remembered if used in real thinking.

mrz, the butler act may have brought systems in line with today, but in many places the secondary education was within the primary school

We grew up in Cornwall and - unless you passed your 11+ and went in to town for grammar school - you had your secondary education in the village school that you had started in. (Later on, odd cupboards of nasty chemicals were discovered dating from 1950s science lessons)

Cornwall was so behind in building schools that they barely got round to building the secondary moderns and most of them were only finished by the time comprehensive education came in. So, they were converted straight to comprehensive schools along with the few grammar school.

So, the majority of secondary schools in Cornwall date from the 1960s when the county had to catch up with the rest of the UK.

Your dates regarding school leaving age must have been for children born in those years, because when my parents were teaching in the 1970s, they over-saw (within secondary education) the age going up from 15 - 16 (causing much disgruntlement amongst some pupils)