Tagged with Schools

What does a good early years care and education system look like?

The latest National Policy Forum consultation document on ‘Early Years, Education and Skills’ recognises there is much work to be done within the education sector yet seems to miss some key points. Our education system has taken quite a battering over the last few years and Labour must ensure that it addresses all crucial areas.

The consultation document starts by rightly acknowledging the need for quality early years provision. Since 2010 the Tories have closed 1,240 Sure Start Centres despite their promise to protect them. The Tories have also struggled to deliver on their 2015 election promise of 30 hours a week of free childcare. The NPF document asks:

What does a good early years care and education system look like? How can we ensure value for money but also that children have access to the best care possible?

How can we spread excellence in early years education so that every child, regardless of their background, is given the best possible start in life?

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The transforming power of music education

Geordie symphony school orchestraAnyone with doubts about the transformative power of music could not have have come across the work of the Venezuelan Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra or the work done with music education in Soweto, South Africa. It is enough to listen and watch a little of the music made by children, many of whom come from deprived backgrounds to see that this could not happen without serious personal engagement on the part of the young musicians.

Music is a part of virtually everyone’s life and often a major part. It is ubiquitous. Any given individual may spend days without reading a book, looking at a painting or listening to poetry. But music, well that would be hard to exclude. The ubiquity of music has its downside. Often it is used and even created for purely commercial reasons. Powerful commercial interests in the music business, advertising and venues regulate a great deal of the music that is made, although fortunately their tentacles do not reach every form of expression – I can enjoy some pretty good music-making in my local pub along with others keen to give their attention to what the musicians have to offer. Continue reading →

Poverty is the real difference between school attainment levels

school pupilsThe Scottish Government’s Parentzone website has published data on the performance of school leavers. The Daily Record highlighted how these figures show a shocking class divide between the wealthiest and least well off areas of Scotland. This is Dave Watson’s opinion piece in the Daily Record that ran alongside the article. In it he argues that the difference tells us more about poverty than schools.

These figures don’t tell us much about schools. What they tell us is that poverty ruins lives. The enormous gap in qualifications between children in poor and wealthy areas is simply a reflection of the inequality that scars Scottish society. An appalling number of families are relying on foodbanks. You don’t need to be an educational psychologist to work out that a well fed child is going to be a better pupil than one who is hungry. Saying that looking at these figures tell you more about house prices than it does about standards in schools is no joke, it’s the truth. Continue reading →

What the general election means for education

School studentsThe basic facts behind Labour’s commitment to education are impressive. Between 1997 and 2010 there were 360,00 more teachers, 172,000 more teaching assistants, and 1,100 new schools built. Results improved, with 12% more pupils achieving five good GCSE grades, and 20% more 11 year old achieving expected standards in English and maths. The further education sector saw £4.2 billion investment, and Education Maintenance Allowances (EMA) of up to £30 per week allowed tens of thousands of young people from poorer families to stay in education until 18.

Outside of schools, the last Labour government invested £50 million into the Union Learning Fund, supporting 490 projects in 3000 workplaces, helping 10,0000 workers improve their skills, and therefore benefiting both themselves and their employers. In addition, over 3,000 new Childrens’ Centres were established, to support parents, on the understanding that early years’ intervention has a lasting benefit, particularly for children from disadvantaged families. Continue reading →

The Gove legacy undermines exams

school examsThere is a broad consensus on education policy across the main parties at Westminster, which has only cracked in two areas: (i) Labour is demanding qualified teacher status in state schools and it does so with solid parental support; (ii) less immediately controversial is a split over exam reform.

Despite cross party support for exam reform, the planned decoupling of the AS and A Level exam systems, has destabilised the consensus with Labour opposing the split. Michael Gove’s planned return to traditional end-of-course exams was intended to build support among academic traditionalists and the wider public but criticism has mounted. The GCSE pass rate has dropped from 59.2% to 52.6% focussing attention on the GCSE reforms – still supported by Labour, unlike the AS reforms. Continue reading →