All change for education - 17 Jun 2010

On Thursday May 6 there was a ‘seismic shift’ in the way we do politics in this country. Steve Mynard looks at the benefits and disadvantages for education of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats working together

Before we get swept away in a tide of change let’s take a quick look at the last 13 years and what New Labour achieved. I will dispense with statistics and relate two anecdotes. I spoke to a pilot Family Centre a few years ago. Located in one of the top 10 most deprived areas in the country this setting had seen staggering improvement among its birth to five children and was confident that children would enter full-time education with an eagerness and ability to learn rather than the stigma of their estate. Another school, a primary this time, which I have known for about six years, had been struggling to teach children in outdated buildings and a field full of mobile classrooms. This school now has a brand new building, the old part has been completely refurbished and they have a Family Centre too. It looks great and feels great to work in. The children love it. That is what New Labour achieved. But, and it is a very big but, the initiatives of the last 13 years have cost more money than the country can afford and teachers have been overwhelmed with continual change and endless assessment.

We now have a new government and I will return to my theme: what changes are likely to be made to education and how will these affect your school?

The coalition agreement

As word seeped out from the coalition discussions, it became possible to see where Conservative and Liberal Democrat policy could and would work together and where it might not. During the election campaign, the Conservatives were pushing their policy of allowing a greater range of providers to set up schools. The key policy for the Liberal Democrats was the pupil premium. Both have got their way.

The coalition agreement reads as follows:

“We agree to promote the reform of schools in order to ensure:

- That new providers can enter the state school system in response to parental demand.
- That all schools have greater freedom over curriculum and that all schools are held properly accountable.”

Emerging policy

Michael Gove, our new education minister, wants to move fast to give more schools the freedoms that he says comes from being an academy and has already presented the Academies Bill to Parliament which will pave the way for schools which are judged to be outstanding to switch quickly to academy status.

Another flagship policy for the Conservatives is what has become known as free schools. Under this policy parent groups, charities, businesses and community groups will be able to set up their own schools and again get funding directly from the government.

There is disagreement between the coalition partners over how these new academies and free schools should be monitored, with the Conservatives wanting them to be accountable to central government and the Liberal Democrats arguing for a continued role for local authorities. The new schools will get their money directly from the Department for Education (DfE) and this could be seen as a return to the grant-maintained schools of the 1980s Conservative education policy.

The pupil premium, whereby greater funding goes to schools with disadvantaged pupils, was high on the agenda of both parties in the run up to the election. There was, however, disagreement over how it should be funded. The Liberal Democrats had promised £2.5 billion of new money for this initiative, which they see as key to raising attainment. The Tories planned to find the money from within existing budgets, which some have interpreted as presaging cuts in other areas.

Mr Gove has also outlined plans that would mean outstanding schools in England will no longer face routine Ofsted inspections, allowing inspectors to focus on failing schools. These changes will form part of the Education and Children’s Bill, which is due to be published in the autumn.

Discipline is a traditional Conservative theme and many teachers would find it hard to disagree that they need more support in dealing with society’s behavioural problems. Mr Gove is not specific about how he will support teachers, but then it is early days. Discipline is another key area to watch over the coming months.

The curriculum

Change was already well underway when the new government took over. The Rose review led to the drawing up of the new primary curriculum (NPC). The unofficial Alexander review was, of course, also influential in curriculum change.

However, the DfE has announced that the government does not intend to proceed with the new primary curriculum. The government has stated it intends to return the national curriculum to its intended purpose – a minimum national entitlement organised around subject disciplines – and will shortly announce its next steps.

In the meantime, the existing primary curriculum will continue to be in force in 2011/12 and schools should plan on that basis.

School finance

No one doubts there will be less money for education. The coalition has agreed to make £6 billion worth of cuts in our sector this year. Despite early speculation a decision has not yet been made on Building Schools for the Future (BSF) funding or any other capital programmes, according to the DfE. A comprehensive spending review will be undertaken in the autumn and ministers will shortly be considering their spending priorities.

In the meantime, George Osborne, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced that he will reveal his emergency budget on Tuesday June 22. It will be worth looking closely at the figures as it is likely that some of your ongoing initiatives may suffer immediately.

And finally

The future is certain to bring even more administrative, financial and curriculum change for schools. And there will be less money to spend. There is, however, a glimmer of hope in the very nature of coalition politics. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are going to have to talk to each other before they pass legislation. This could bring an end to the bulldozer politics of the last 30 years where first the Conservatives and then Labour had pretty much carte blanche to do what they liked with education during their terms of office. Discussion, compromise and agreement could become the norm as the education agenda moves forward and if teachers’ representatives actively engage with this process then the outcome could be greater stability for schools and education than we have known in three decades.

• Steve Mynard is a former primary headteacher and can be contacted at stevemynard@sky.com