Election Editorial

So, an invitation at last to join the Government of Great Britain. I thought they’d never ask. But this tricksy Tory attempt to get my vote reminds me of my feeble attempts in assembly to persuade the school that the Student Council are now part of the Leadership Team and have shares in the Governing Body.

‘You are the young leaders of the school and your voice will be heard in decisions we make,’ I proclaim in the Sports Hall, half believing my own rhetoric. It could be an election rally. Well, I know that it will look good in the SEF and be an OFSTED crowd pleaser. But, of course, the reality is that schools these days are so complex, even the heads barely understand them, never mind the governors. What chance does a bunch of well-meaning students, even if they are democratically elected, have to get their heads around curriculum, finance and buildings?

So the great Cameron Con (and that’s con as in ‘con’, not in ‘Conservative’) is to pretend that we can be partners in the Government of the Big Society. Their radical educational idea is an import, something from the European Union they can agree to. The Swedish model has been chosen because, we must assume, it’s the most successful educational system on the planet. Well, this is the country that gave us the music of the pop group, Abba, so perhaps the Tory theme tune should be: ‘Take a Chance on Me.’

The three parties are promising much that is similar in education. Test yourself. Who is offering pupil premiums to direct funding to the most disadvantaged schools? Definitely the Lib Dems who thought of it but now also Labour and probably the Tories as well. Who wants to create a form of national service for young people? It’s a great idea and hopefully will become a compulsory part of the curriculum but it’s Labour and Conservatives with likely Lib Dem support. Who is promising one- to-one tuition? Wasn’t that a Labour policy before the Lib Dems snatched it? Feel a coalition government coming on?

My SEF is as long as War and Peace. So the Conservative policy of reducing OFSTED’s brief from seventeen areas to four will appeal to every school, especially after the Alice in Wonderland adventures attempting to monitor safeguarding, happiness and even health.

But the free schools concept will have unexpected consequences. Parents and charitable groups have a strong record of establishing their own schools in this country. It’s not a new idea. It’s just that these schools have, until now, been outside the state system and funded privately. If they can be established through the state and without regulation, checks and controls, why would any parent continue to pay, for example, to send their child to a prep school? Why not start an alternative, using existing resources and get the state to pay for it? And the biggest irony is that the Tories, the Party of the free market, could be responsible for the decline of private education in this country. Now that’s something to cheer about.

The Labour Government has a proud record in education - as long as you’re not a graduate with a £20k debt to start your career. Results have improved dramatically, with practically half of all Year 11 students achieving the Government’s GCSE benchmark - a remarkable achievement and a tribute to teachers.
There is now an educational community of schools sharing ideas, curriculum practice and even leadership. Academies, Trusts and Federations have blossomed, based on British educational research and rooted in what works rather than what has been stolen from the shelf in a Swedish store. And the budgets for bowls to catch water from leaky roofs- high spending areas during the last Conservative Government- now register zero.

In a three party race, this time it looks as if Abba’s other hit lyric, ‘The Winner Takes it All’, might be a thing of the past where politics is concerned. We may find ourselves, after a long night on May 6, with both a parliament hung over and a personal hangover. That would get my vote.

Ray Tarleton - this editorial also appeared on page 6 of the May 6th edition of SecEd digital: http://bit.ly/9Cks8W