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The ONLY weekly voice for secondary education Issue 236 • January 21 2010 Price £1.00
www.sec-ed.com
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Teachers react angrily
to Cameron’s manifesto
and add up properly. Half of pupils
by Chris Parr
do not get five good GCSEs includ-
ing English and maths. And we’re
Teachers have reacted angrily to the slipping down the world league
launch of the Conservative Party’s tables in maths and science.”
draft education manifesto, which The manifesto, entitled Mending
claims that “better teachers” are Our Broken Society, calls for “bet-
Capital
needed to help “mend our broken ter teachers and tougher discipline,
society”. a rigorous curriculum and exam
Speaking at the launch of the system, and access to a good school
punishment
education section of the manifes- for every parent”.
to, which took place at Walworth Among the headline policies is
The death penalty is an
Academy in London on Monday a pledge to ensure that the “best
emotive subject that can
(January 18), David Cameron, lead- brains” go into teaching, by deny-
lead to engaging classroom
er of the Conservative Party, said: ing state funding for teacher train-
“The straightforward truth is that ing to graduates achieving less than
discussions. We look at how
there aren’t enough good schools a 2:2 in their degree.
this sensitive issue can be
in our country, and we’re failing far The Tories would also make it
debated in the classroom too many of our children. easier for parents, teachers or chari-
Pages 8 and 9
“Four in 10 children leave pri- ties to set up “good small schools”,
mary school unable to read, write and would allow all state schools
Melville
In their own words: The Conservative’s proposals
/
T
oby
Better teachers:
REUTERS
• Graduates will need at least a 2:2 in their degree in order to
qualify for state-funded training. Photo:
National curriculum:
to offer “high quality” interna- saying that “even Ofsted says we He said: “This Tory document
• More challenging and age appropriate.
tional qualifications, such as the have the best qualified teachers ever is disappointing in its reliance on
• Encourage setting to give struggling students extra help. International GCSE. Currently, stu- in the UK”. bashing rather than building a new
Tests:
dents passing these exams do not She added: “No-one would dis- vision for education. And will
Did you miss BETT?
• Make exams more robust and rigorous by giving academics more
earn their schools any league table pute the desire to attract students any of it be funded? How much
power over examinations.
points. with top grades into teaching and for bureaucracy will have to be cut to
In addition, Mr Cameron con- teachers to be highly qualified. But build the new technical schools, or
SecEd chief reporter, Chris • Allow all state schools the freedom to offer the same
firmed that his party would pub- politicians would be foolish to the 220,000 new school places in
Parr, discusses the highlights
international exams that private schools offer. lish more information about school ignore the other qualities which are the poorest areas, or the increased
of this year’s BETT Show
Accountability:
funding and academic achieve- vital to make a good teacher – the running costs of all these new small
Pages 10 and 11
• Reform school league tables so that schools can demonstrate
ment, allowing parents to “chal- ability to communicate, to inspire schools? If all schools are able to
lenge underperformance”, and said and enthuse young people, a good be academies, will any of them be
George Orwell
they are stretching the most able and raising the attainment of
that 220,000 new school places imagination, empathy and patience. funded for capital improvement?”
the less able.
would be created in the poorest Academic geniuses without these Dr Bernard Trafford, head
Few prose writers can be as
• Publish all performance data in order to create many different areas by redirecting funds from the qualities are highly unlikely to at Royal Grammar School in
universally taught as Orwell.
sorts of league tables.
Building Schools for the Future make excellent teachers.” Newcastle-upon-Tyne, believes that
budget. A number of headteachers con- the current Labour government is
To mark the 60th anniversary
• Establish an online database of exam papers and marking schemes.
The proposals received a stormy tacted SecEd after the launch, many “bereft of common sense, and has
of his passing, we look at
Vocational education:
welcome from educationalists. agreeing with the unions’ views. to go”.
Orwell in the classroom
• Set up Technical Academies across England and fund 400,000
Chris Keates, general secretary Ray Tarleton, head at South However, he too was unhappy at
Page 7 new apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, college and other of the NASUWT, said: “Teaching Dartmoor Community College in the way in which the Conservatives
training places over two years.
will never generally be recognised Devon, said: “So, the ‘noble pro- announced the draft manifesto.
SecEd digital
• More freedom for schools to offer workplace training.
as the high status profession it fession’ will help fix the ‘broken He told us: “Much of this (the
Giving every parent access to a good school:
is while politicians keep making society’? Mr Cameron has been manifesto) is eyewash and sound
announcements which implicitly or reading too many fairy tales to his bite. Education isn’t all broken, but
and Twitter
• Any good education provider can set up a new academy.
explicitly denigrate and cast doubt children. it is in a difficult and dangerous
• Establish new academy schools in the most deprived areas of the on the quality of teachers currently “To begin at source means start- situation. Schools face huge prob-
Thousands of teachers are
country by redirecting the school capital budget.
in service. ing with the teaching profession lems, and to solve them they don’t
reading SecEddigital, a virtual
• Give every existing school the chance to achieve academy status,
“Nothing is more demoralising he’s currently got – and they are need micro-management, they
with “outstanding” schools pre-approved.
and demotivating than constant tremendous. So are the support staff don’t need more accountability
edition of SecEd, which is
announcements of strategies to in schools. Teachers are more pro- – which means more pressure and
emailed out every week. • Weight school funding towards children from disadvantaged
attract the ‘best’ teachers, implying fessional now than they have ever more people banging them over the
You can sign up for free by backgrounds (pupil premium) and end the “bias” towards the those in post are somehow sub- been; they work far harder than we head with their alleged faults – and
emailing editor@sec-ed.co.uk. inclusion of children with SEN in mainstream schools.
standard and the bar for entry has have any right to expect and they they don’t need grand statements or
SecEd news and features are • Ensure that Ofsted adopts a more rigorous and targeted
been set too low.” are masters of their craft.” empty promises.
now also available on Twitter.
inspection regime, reporting on performance only in core areas.
Dr Mary Bousted, general secre- Melvyn Roffe, principal at “They do need a colossal injec-
tary of the Association of Teachers Wymondham College, England’s tion of both support and freedom
You can follow us at www.
For the full draft manifesto, visit www.conservatives.com/
and Lecturers, claimed that the largest state boarding school, raised from the next government. Above
twitter.com/SecEd_Education
Draft_Manifesto.aspx Tory policies were “defunct”, and concerns about where the money for all the teaching profession needs the
a “solution looking for a problem”, the proposals would come from. trust and belief of politicians.”
UK news
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Independent thinking
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Moral support
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NQT diary
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Managing ICT
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CPD page
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At the chalkface
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