Education Reforms

Controversial plans to change England’s school system are in the news.

The Government wants more schools to decide which children they take, to own their land and buildings separate from the local community and to allow new groups to takeover schools from their existing governing bodies.

I believe these ideas are wrong: it would become more difficult for parents to choose a good local school. The reforms focus on “structures” – who is on the Governing Body – rather than “standards” – what is happening in the classroom.

Take admissions. When schools set their admissions policies, it can make applying for a school more difficult and complex for parents. In Kingston, where a few schools already have such freedoms, some parents complain to me that they can’t get their children into their local school.

The Education White Paper could make this far worse. At least now in Kingston, we have a Local Admissions Forum, where parent representatives, schools and councillors work together to make admissions fairer. If every school had freedom to choose their pupils, parental choice would actually be reduced. Some schools might choose not to take some local children.

I’m all for reforms and freedoms – but we need the right ones. Why not reform Whitehall’s rigid national curriculum? Once pupils master core skills including literacy and numeracy, schools should be free to teach what’s most appropriate for their pupils. Let’s hope MPs force Blair to change.