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| Reforms favour privileged |
The government’s education reforms will only
reinforce existing divisions, argues Dorothea Hackman
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Camden pupils at Kentish Town Primary School on Islip Street
in front of their artwork done for Black History Month
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THE main points of the education white paper are the following:
• Schools will be encouraged to become trust schools
like academies, and a commissioner will be appointed to help schools
on this road to independence – all secondary schools will become
“self-governing independent state schools”.
• Schools will set admissions policies, run their budgets,
appoint governors and vary the national curriculum;
• Local authorities will commission education, but no
longer be direct providers;
• Parents can call on the education secretary to intervene
where Local Education Authorities (LEAs) do not respond to their
requests and receive advice on choosing the best schools;
• Private schools can receive state funds;
• Failing schools will be given one year to improve,
then put out to tender;
• There will be one-to-one tuition for literacy and
numeracy and children taught in ability streams;
• “Better discipline to enable teachers to teach
and pupils to learn” meaning the legal right for teachers to
discipline pupils.
Having considered the main points of the proposals, my main fears
are:
• Schools can avoid admitting children who will achieve
less well, to improve their exam results;
• The children of parents who understand how to use
the system will benefit most, rather than the disadvantaged children;
• The gap between high and low achieving children will
widen;
• Seeking to raise standards and make funding fair is
obviously good, but will yet more structural reform in a heavily
overstructured and reformed system achieve this? How will it benefit
pupils?
• Market forces – “contestability” –
will produce a two-tier system of schools;
• Capital investment (Building Schools for the Future
programme) will not be fair or enough.
The great tragedy that will be left as a legacy is that yet another
chunk of education – the secondary schools this time –
is being taken out of local accountability. This is the sort of
legislation that you expect of Conservatives.
Camden is justly proud of its educational achievement. In contrast
with many boroughs, the LEA has put taxpayers’ money into our
schools and welcomed significant voluntary involvement from citizens.
This resulted in excellent primary schools, and our secondaries
are so successful that our main problem is finding enough places
for Camden children.
This is no mean achievement in the hostile climate of a Conservative
government for the first half of the short life of the LEA –
in just 15 years.
In Camden we have most valued the collective approach to running
education, led by a director of education.
Tiring of reform by regulation with micro-management from Whitehall
with its endless target setting and performance management, Tony
Blair has taken to even more radical legislation to enforce legendary
reform on the school system.
A ‘pivotal moment’ bannered: “Fair funding, fair
admissions and higher standards.”
This is the 12th education white paper in eight years – a case
of too many, too quickly, trying to fix the last reforms.
The push to create the new council departments with schools run
by social services was seen by many including chairs of governors
as preparing the terrain for the demise of the LEA and here it is
already with the department not yet a month old.
These reforms are directed at perceived inadequacies of the LEAs,
with the constant criticisms of children leaving primaries without
the basic skills, and an academic bias in our secondaries that at
best meets the needs of 20 per cent of children.
However, we know from well documented research that the way to improve
literacy, numeracy and language is to reduce class size.
Although these reforms are presented as giving power to parents,
in reality it will be middle class families – who currently
benefit disproportionately from the education system anyway, who
will be best placed.
The LEAs are left with duties but no power, which is centralised
although ostensively devolved to schools. Schools run their budgets
and admission policies, with the LEA involved as an overseer of
choice and standard, no longer the provider.
In response to a variety of consultative and policy making needs,
Labour educationalists are meeting on November 12 at the Town Hall.
• Dorothea Hackman (pictured) is chairwoman of Camden
Joint Chairs of School Governors |
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