State schools should be so good that their excellence leads to independent schools being “phased out”, a new report argues.
The study, published by the Jimmy Reid Foundation (JRF), also states: “There is no place for private schools in a country which sees education as a public good.”
But The Herald newspaper also reports the response of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), which argues that the sector’s popularity reflects its focus on individualised learning and extracurricular activity, and that access to its schools has been widened.
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The report, published on the first day of the 2021 STUC (Scottish Trades Union Congress) Annual Congress, was written by Brian Boyd, Henry Maitles (both emeritus professors of education at the universities of Strathclyde and the West of Scotland respectively), and John Kelly, a business lecturer at West College Scotland.
‘Phasing out’ private schools
They state: “We need to intervene early, postpone the age of formal education, ensure that early years are based on play and outdoor learning, and raise staffing levels and funding in our nurseries and primaries.
“Secondary schools should never again be in thrall to an examination system which distorts learning and teaching, and institutionalises failure for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Nor should internal selection in schools, supported by universities’ ever-increasing entrance requirements, be continued. Further and higher education need to become much more student- and community-focused.”
Professor Maitles told The Herald: “There’s no need to have private education. We want secondary schools to be so good in an area that well-off parents opt for their local secondary and that, in this way, you would have a situation in which private schools are gradually phased out.”
He added: “It’s interesting that private education in the primary sector is much smaller in Scotland. Why are parents more likely to send their kids to private secondary schools if they can? It’s primarily because those schools get better exam results, which takes you back to the whole issue of the exams ‘tail’ wagging the ‘dog’ of the wider education system.
“And why do the private schools get better results? It’s because they’re choosing students from the most affluent parts of the country, and you have advantages such as far better teacher-pupil ratios. It reinforces the fact that the education attainment gap reflects the wealth gap in society.
“If you had a more creative, active learning-based assessment system, it might make it easier for the kids in the deprived areas to do better - and then you’re changing the whole ball game. Although to really challenge educational inequality, the government must tackle poverty.”
In response, SCIS director John Edward said: “The simple reality is that generations of Scottish families have chosen to use the independent sector, and that shows no signs of changing.
“Subject choice, focus on the individual learner, teacher numbers, extracurricular focus and support for learning are all offered as reasons families chose the independent sector. In the last 15 years, the independent sector in Scotland has undertaken a unique and radical charity test - which widens access through mandatory means-tested fee assistance and other forms of support for families and communities.
“That widening access, supported by parental fee income, is equal per capita to the state-funded bursary support in higher education.”
Mr Edward added: “An active debate on all aspects of Scottish education is welcome. Independent schools will remain a vocal, successful and supportive part of that as long as families and pupils want them to.”
