As promised in yesterday’s Budget announcement, the government has today released a white paper on schools, entitled ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere.’ Forget the 3 ‘R’s – it’s all about the 3 ‘E’s.
The key headlines include a couple of new initiatives, and some further details on policies that have been emerging for some time:
- Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) will be replaced with a ‘new, stronger accreditation’. This will be “based on a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom, as judged by great schools”. It seems the accreditation decision will lie with headteachers.
- Initial Teacher Training (ITT) will be strengthened, with a greater focus on subject knowledge and evidence based practice. The focus seems to be on developing a school-led ITT system. Character Education will be built into ITT programmes.
- An “improvement period” is being introduced for underperforming schools. This means that schools requiring improvement and that must appoint a new headteacher will have 30 months of breathing space before a follow-up Ofsted inspection, and schools with new sponsors will not be re-inspected until their third year.
- “Most schools” will be expected to form or join Multi Academy Trusts (MATS). The idea here is that strong MATs will take over weaker schools, and improve practice.
- There will be a consultation into “a number of changes to the schools admissions system to make it simpler and clearer.”
- In what the government has termed “embedding changes to assessment,” there is confirmation that existing changes to GCSEs and A Levels will help to “ensure that the vast majority of pupils study the English Baccalaureate (EBacc)”. Nicky Morgan confirmed long ago that the target was for 90% of pupils to enter the Ebacc; this is now in writing in the document.
The move towards more MATs seems to mirror the ideology of FE Area Reviews; a move towards ‘fewer, more resilient’ institutions. Teaching unions have already expressed displeasure at this, and it’s unlikely to improve morale at a time when we don’t have enough teachers. Will the changes to teacher training and status do anything to address this?
The prospect of 90% of students entering the EBacc is worrying for those who understand that pupils have different learning styles, and know that an academic route will not suit all. This policy also seems at odds with the government’s drive towards more apprenticeships, and damages the brand, making it seem second best.
The scale and scope of the changes is certainly ambitious, and we’ll be watching with interest to see how this affects the most important people of all; learners.
