The government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is a bundle of legislative activities to keep civil servants busy. It promises little in raising standards in schools.
In short, the bill is timid and does not do justice to an expectant profession, whether serving early years, primary, secondary or further education.
Unlike in 1997, Labour has come into office with no clear vision or project for improving education beyond the bland rhetoric of breaking down “barriers to opportunity”.
Labour education policy
On illegal schools, teacher qualifications, safeguarding, children’s social care and home education, the bill offers tightening up. And yes, in each case this tightening up is timely.
But, at the same time, why seek to inhibit the academy freedoms that have led to innovation, raised standards for pupils and teachers, exciting curriculum development and a level of system generosity never previously seen? Why undo those fruitful reforms, seeded by Blair and Blunkett in 1997?
No rationale is offered.
The real puzzle lies in what is not in the bill but was in the Labour manifesto.
What about the manifesto pledges?
Arguably, the government does not wish to be judged on the areas it recognises are most difficult - areas that, while in opposition, it was committed to resolving.
Quoting from the manifesto, why is there no legislation on these four key pledges?
- “Recruit 6,500 new expert teachers in key subjects” - a figure that has become a refrain for the education secretary but that no one in the DfE can explain. There’s nothing in the bill about it.
- “Labour will improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools” - the Commons Education Select Committee is happily taking a cross-party approach to special educational needs and disabilities. Nothing in the bill.
- “Labour will transform further education colleges into specialist Technical Excellence Colleges.” Not a whisper on this.
- “We will expand early years and drive up standards” - what happened to the review carried out by Sir David Bell?
And the prime minister, as one of his milestones, has set a desultory target of 75 per cent of Reception children reaching a “good” level of development by 2028. Again, nothing in the bill.
The disconnect is extraordinary.
It was Sir Simon Stevens, former chief executive of the NHS, who observed that the greatest enemy of progress in the public services is the electoral cycle.
This fiddling and unambitious Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill has much in common with dull classrooms: lots of activities to give a semblance of progress but in practice little new learning for pupils.
To demand sharply of government: what exactly in this proposed legislation will be value added in classrooms for the nation’s 21,000 state schools?
The bill now has to find its passage through Parliament. In the meantime, as term starts, the nation’s teachers will resume their happy and vital craft, children and young people as ever the rich beneficiaries.
Roy Blatchford was founding CEO of the National Education Trust and previously served as one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools (HMI) in England, with national responsibilities for school improvement and for the inspection of “outstanding” schools. This article originally appeared on his website here.
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