Five Possible Changes To Education

New Year is a time for reflection, resolution and – after an indulgent festive season – restraint. These words apply equally strongly to the education sector these days, with challenges to both the maintained and independent sector.

I am not sure how the Secretary of State for Education spent her Christmas, but I like to think that she, like many of us, will be making some New Year’s resolutions this frosty January. Here are five suggestions for some efforts she could make to improve the lot of those of us working in schools up and down the land:

Allow curriculum changes to bed in

The past few years have seen the greatest changes in school qualifications since the scrapping of O Levels. New exams at GCSE and A Level, with a change to the grading system in the former, have required teachers to spend hours and hours modifying their teaching materials for the new courses and therefore focusing less on developing their own skills in the classroom. Let these changes bed in to give teachers time to refine their practice and for parents and employers to understand the new grades.

Reduce high-stakes inspection regime

The best education systems in the world are all different and respond to the challenges of education in their respective countries. What they all have in common is that they do not have a high-stakes inspection regime such as the one enjoyed by schools in England. Ofsted myths, moving goalposts of “what Ofsted wants” and the real fear when an inspector calls can all act to stifle creativity in schools and encourage a restricted focus on a very narrow curriculum. You can’t blame schools for trying to fulfil their obligations under Ofsted; it is that organisation’s responsibility to recognise achievement in different ways.

Support heads in challenging schools

Allied to the above is the very real risk faced by heads, and other staff, who work in schools in challenging areas. One disappointing inspection or a set of exam results which are lower than expected can cost a head their job. An annual game of Russian roulette is not going to encourage younger teachers into headship and certainly not in schools that are difficult to run. Trusting and developing heads and deputies is the only way to build sustained school improvement.

Fund schools properly

A world-class education system does not come cheap. Investment in school infrastructure – whether that be buildings or books, technology or teachers – is needed so that schools are able to properly deliver an education to the youngsters in our schools. Recruitment and retention is a particular problem in teaching, with salaries of chalk-face teachers, if not of MAT CEOs, suffering real percentage decreases over recent years. Funding needs to be properly targeted at what is going to make a real difference to pupils in the classroom.

Cooperate with the independent sector, don’t coerce us

From a personal standpoint, this last issue is most relevant. Independent schools are coming under increasing pressure to be compliant in activities which most of us already do. I believe the independent sector has much to offer maintained schools and, equally, much to learn from them. However, we aren’t all Eton; schools in the northeast are more limited in our resources and need to be more targeted in our approach to widening participation. However, we are committed to it and activities in my school show genuine partnerships with maintained schools in our areas. Allow those partnerships to flourish naturally, rather than stifling them with tick box accountability mechanisms. So, many issues for the Secretary of State to reflect on as she digests the remnants of her festive turkey. I should be optimistic for change at the start of a new year, but I am not holding my breath…