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Do you want our schools to copy football-style performance tables?
The Lib Dems launched their manifesto today and while I haven’t gone through every single line of it, the bits I have looked at and concerns me most is education; and it is not promising I have to say. They intend to invest £2.5bn extra in schools to cut class sizes, and provide 1:1 tuition and catch-up classes; my question is how will they pay for this? This is what all politicians do – make huge promises which are never fulfilled once they are in office, for the simple reason that it can’t work in real life! Have to say I am not filled with a lot of confidence with their plans – Lib Dems that is, they don’t scream out at me they are ready to govern.
Anyway that’s not my issue in this blog. I am more concerned about another promise, pledge – call it what you want that they (the Lib Dems) are suggesting. They would like to implement separate school league tables – like in football where there will be a table for ‘rich’ schools and another for ‘poor’ schools. The Schools spokesperson Mr Laws suggests that it will be a fairer way of measuring schools when local schools with similar areas are compared together. So factors such as the number of ethnic minorities, free school meals and migrant children will be used to determine which ‘league’ schools will fall in. This I find outrageous! So if an academy in South East London for example is doing well and has been rated as a high performer will be put in the ‘poorer’ league because it is in a disadvantaged area – it still maybe a high achieving school but relegated to the ‘poorer’ league that’s all. Where is the sense in this please?
Mr Laws is not worried of the effect this would have on children’s aspirations and their ability to attain for a better life – no, Mr Laws is more concerned about separating the rich and poor – in my opinion. To me it is obvious he hasn’t thought about what this policy will do to children from disadvantaged areas – it is just another label for them!
If they have been fortunate to get into an academy that’s properly run, has attracted good teachers that inspire them to ‘reach for the stars’, the students do better than average, the Lib Dems want to re-label them as coming from a good school in the ‘poorer’ league! They already live that life – it is their reality most of the time! What good is going to come out of this looking at it from the children’s perspective – NONE! The next thing will be teachers leaving to go to schools in the ‘richer’ league, and that’s the beginning of the end. Yes I know teachers do what they do because they love it but schools in the ‘poorer’ areas will have to pay a premium to attract good teachers – and the biggest losers are the children; and that’s why I have given them a yellow card.
Elections: Snapshot of the education policies
We are counting down! Everyone (well almost!) is talking about the election. I am actually glad we don’t have a long drawn out process like the States – I will be bored, irritated or quite possibly both! So the 3 main party leaders are up and down the country making serious pledges, and for once I am paying more attention to what they are saying – especially about education and family (that blog to follow next week). I am not sure I will be swayed one way or another because I have made up mind who will get my one vote come May 6th; nevertheless it is important to be engaged.
The BBC has done a snapshot of what the ‘big 3s’ policies are on key issues – with education being one of them. I thought I separate them on commonalities: Academies, Standards, Teachers, Apprenticeships, Higher Education; and identify which ones I prefer. But before I get to that, I have to say that I know we live in a democracy and all that; but it bothers me that politicians seem to have lost the essence or reason why they went into public service – to serve the public. Is it really impossible for politicians to work together for the benefit of ordinary citizens? Or I am an idealist? Anyway here goes, and let me know if you are swayed by this or you’re like me has made up your mind.
Academies
Conservatives:
• Allow charities, parent and teacher groups, and co-operatives to establish Academies – schools which are state funded but independent of local authority control; allow every existing school – including primaries – to seek Academy status
Labour:
• Encourage universities to set Academies up as well as private organisations
Lib Dems:
• Replace Academies with “Sponsor Managed Schools”, to be run by educational charities and private providers, but under local authority control, not Whitehall
My preferred policy: Conservatives
Standards
Conservatives:
• Allow state schools to offer the same international exams as private schools;
• Give head teachers power to pay “good” teachers more;
• Scrap exclusions’ appeals process
Labour:
• Give school pupils guarantees of one-to-one English and Maths tuition if they fall behind
• Encourage comprehensive schools to pool budgets in school “chains”, allowing stronger schools to raise standards in weaker schools
• Introduce school “report cards”, which would rate schools on a wide range of data, including exam performance, behaviour and parents’ and children’s views of a school
Lib Dems:
• Replace National Curriculum with a Minimum Curriculum Entitlement to allow teachers more flexibility
• Create a General Diploma made up of GCSEs, A-Levels and vocational qualifications
• Create an Education Standards Authority to monitor school standards independent of government
Preferred policy: Bits of all 3
Teachers
Conservatives:
• Raise teacher training entry requirements
• Make it easier for teachers to use “reasonable force” to deal with violence
Labour:
• Introduce a renewable “licence to teach” for teachers
Lib Dems:
• None supplied
Preferred policy: Bits of the Conservatives
Apprenticeships
Conservatives:
• 100,000 additional apprenticeships and training places a year
Labour:
• Status quo
Lib Dems:
• Increase the apprenticeship numbers
Preferred policy: All
Higher Education
Conservatives:
• Give bonuses for early repayment of student loans
Labour:
• Consider ways to widen access to universities, while retaining tuition fees; create 20,000 extra undergraduate university places in 2010-11
Lib Dems:
• Increase places on university and vocational higher education courses; scrap university tuition fees over six years
Preferred policy: Bits of all 3
Not much difference between them and are you swayed by any of the above?
Original source: BBC Website
Elections, Politicians and our Education system
I wonder if you have noticed now there’s an election coming up, MPs are suddenly accessible -available for interviews, web chats etc. Anyway the other day TES (Times Education Supplement) organized an excellent web chat with Stephen Williams from the Lib Dems, focusing on FE (Further Education) sector.
I thought I participate since I am involved in this sector (DCT helps shape young people’s attitudes as they prepare for work placements and apprenticeship). This is a direct transcript of my dialogue with Stephen Williams, which was an eye opener to how much some MPs know about what’s going on within our education system.
Viv: I am a training provider and over the past couple of months I have been running my programme on shaping young people’s attitudes as they start work placements or apprenticeships. My Q is what help will the Lib Dems provide for FE colleges to support students who need to the have the balance b/w ability and soft skills? From my experience a lot of them are not taught, but need them.
Stephen Williams: Yes, employers always moan about the lack of “soft skills” – I wish we had another phrase for them! Some of it will come from creativity in the curriculum enabling more rounded people – e.g. through drama and creative writing and other performance work making people more articulate and team players (sport is not the only way to teach this – I hated games!). But also needs to be some formal discipline about time keeping and I would like a zero tolerance of poor English – I see loads of poorly written CVs!
Viv’s follow up: Yes employers complain but the situation is still the same. FE colleges need a specific budget for ’soft skills’. A lot of people take it for granted but when you speak to Young people from inner-city London then you realise how dire the situation is – and nothing is done to tackle it. All the FE colleges I have approached want a programme like mine but don’t have the budget to accommodate it. Still didn’t get an answer though!
Stephen Williams: Viv – Not sure whether there needs to be new budget or extra money. Really this should be built into existing learning.
Really? Built into existing learning? When? I could have got into a debate with Mr Williams but to what end? I wasn’t the only one who had questions and honestly didn’t think he actually knows what goes on in an FE college. I wish MPs go and see things 1st hand and not make general statements – has Mr Williams seen a curriculum, I wonder?
People make the difference
Recently I read an excellent article by Angela Smith titled: How can FE providers effectively communicate with NEET young people? FE providers are Further Education colleges and NEET means not in education employment or training. FE colleges are the most likely step for NEETs to take – starting a course which could lead to training and possibly an apprenticeship and or a work placement.
The government’s target for 2010 was to reduce NEETs to 7.6%, but UCU statistics show it is at 9.8%; and Angela’s article gave excellent tips on how Colleges can effectively engage NEET young people. She made reference to a great partnership between Blackburn and Darwen’s Connexions, which have seen their NEET numbers fall to 6.7%. I found it particularly interesting the article [which you can read here] made reference to Red Bull and the reason their campaigns to young people are so successful. It is engagement; and Red Bull has understood their audience, so dialogues WITH them. It has a clear message – who they are aiming at and what their values are; and young people can identify and ‘buy’ into that! So could this approach be adopted in education? Absolutely! Especially for NEETs who have issues and need to be engaged with to see that there is life other than what they know. For them, they are constantly told what to do and so far it hasn’t worked apart from the case above. They have dialogued ‘with’ not ‘to’, and it clearly has made a difference.
The one point I would add (which may be obvious!) is that such a campaign is only as good and successful as the people behind it – especially those who will implement it. The ‘frontline’ workers who will often sit down with the young people and go through the options, providing advice to each NEET depending on their social and personal circumstance are the people who make the difference. How many times have we heard of teachers who made a difference in people’s lives? All the time! “It was because Mr X or Mrs Y who took the time to sit with me, that made a difference to my education”; and to me this is no different. Yes a vision can be set out but for it to actually make the difference, workers need to encouraged and empowered to go the extra mile to realise the extra rewards. So what are your thoughts? Who has anyone made a difference in your life?
What kind of apprentice do you want?
I was at a women’s conference recently and networking (as you do!); and in conversation with a young lady talking about my job. I told her about my programme ‘having a positive attitude’ which targets 16-19 years olds in Further Education Colleges and those not in education employment or training (NEETs). I said basically I look to shape young people’s attitudes for the workplace; focusing on a range of issues from attitudes to other people’s property, ethics, society, and politics to challenges etc.
She said she wished someone had talked to her what to expect and what was expected of her before she started her 1st job because the initial weeks were miserable for her! She learnt the hard way and really was fortunate to have supervisors who were willing to give her enough time to settle in. She said she saw herself in others who joined the office after her as they had the same issues.
It was interesting to compare her comments to today, and the students I see. Since our conversation, I have run some taster sessions of the programme at one of my local colleges and it was obvious to me (and the teachers actually!) how little the students know and understand these issues as they prepare for apprenticeships and work placements. After all my sessions (and I run them in double digits now!), the teachers have come up to me and ask if I can deliver a session to another group of students. Of course I am willing to do this, but once they realise my services are not free, their faces drop! They have no budget! No budget to cover anything other than for ‘core’ subjects which about the skill/ability – preparing them for such apprenticeships. But what about the ‘soft’ skills, young people need as well, don’t they?
So there is a gap! A gap that career development offices don’t cover because of their scope is limited and yes, resources. But the question still remains – whose responsibility is it? And before you say parents, I would say what if the parents are not in a position to do that – for whatever reason? Majority of the young people I have seen in these colleges come from low income families, so to an extent lack social skills and values; as one teacher said “they only see things through their own eyes, forgetting there’s a world out there that could see things differently!” And really that’s what I do – I open their mindsets to a possible, different way of seeing things which they seem to appreciate.
And if your organisation operates an apprenticeship or workplacement scheme, wouldn’t you want people who have both core and soft skills? Everyone has or is facing budget cuts – Further and Higher Education are no expection, but what happens to these young people? Is it enough to give them the ‘skills/ability’ to do a job, and not the ‘softer’, social skills to compliment their ablity? Soft skills are just as important, if not more in some cases.
If you took part or read comments on my poll on LinkedIn and on my website which asked – ‘what’s most required in the workplace – skill, attitude, accountability or integrity?’; you would have seen attitude and integrity came top.
Why should I care so much and share my concerns with you? Well I think everyone should care because it affects us all – if your organisation operates an apprenticeship or work placement scheme, you should care about the quality and calibre of people coming on your scheme – it has to be a worthwhile experience for both you and the apprentice. And even if your organisation doesn’t operate a scheme, then think about it for the long term – a strong workforce translates into a stronger economy. If this strikes a cord with you, and are interested in supporting this programme at a grassroots level through perhaps your CSR policy; and/or want to share your ideas on this issue, I look forward to hearing from you.
