NEWS

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However, the government said

that the money allocated to indi- vidual school budgets for 2010/11 would not be affected by the reduc- tions, while funding for Sure Start centres and 16 to 19 education spending will be protected for this year. The Treasury said: “Efficiency

savings made within schools, Sure Start and 16 to 19 education will be recycled within their respective budg- ets. The Department for Education will still make savings of £670 mil- lion from reducing waste and quango costs elsewhere in its budget. “Frontline funding to schools

will be protected, and money allo- cated to individual school budgets for 2010/11 will not be affected by the reductions and 16 to 19 core participation funding will be main- tained in 2010/11.” Announcing the cuts, chancel-

lor George Osborne said: “Schools will have to become more efficient, like everyone else, but their savings will be reinvested in the classroom this year.” Dr Mary Bousted, general secre-

tary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, responded: “We are pleased that schools funding is being

protected and ringfenced by the new government, however we are con- cerned about the cumulative impact of the wider cuts in education spend- ing on children’s education.” Ms Keates added: “The £670

million from the budget for the Department for Education could have serious implications for main- taining the quality of education pro- vision in schools.” Phillip Parkin, general secretary

of Voice, said Mr Osborne was “giv- ing with one hand and taking away with the other – as chancellors do”. “Reduced budgets for the

National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services, the Children’s Workforce Development Council and the Training and Development Agency for Schools will inevitably affect their ability to provide key services and so will impact on the career development of headteachers and teachers when their training is more important than ever,” he said. Chief secretary to the Treasury,

David Laws, who in his time as Liberal Democrat education spokesman promised additional funding for education, will now co-chair a new Efficiency and Reform Group in charge of over- seeing the cuts.

Reaction to Becta’s demise:

Graham Badman and Stephen Crowne, Becta’s chairman

and chief executive: “Naturally we are very disappointed at the government’s decision. Becta is a very effective organisation with an international reputation, delivering valuable services to schools, colleges and children. Our procurement arrangements save the schools and colleges many times more than Becta costs to run. Our Home Access programme will give laptops and broadband to over 200,000 of the poorest children. Our top priorities now are to make sure we have an orderly and fair process for staff, and that as far as possible schools, colleges and children continue to benefit from the savings and support that Becta has provided. We will be talking to government departments and our other stakeholders including the industry about this.”

Gregory Anderson, teacher, St Augustine’s School in Scarborough, and member of the National Association for the Teaching of English ICT committee: “I’m disgusted by

this frankly. If there’s one thing a country of this size and waning political influence needs, it’s surely the wider dimension of learning possibilities that ICT offers the common classroom teacher and pupil. What use is the structural investment without sharing the good practice?”

Chris Baker, head of e-learning, John Cabot Academy,

Bristol: “Personally, I’m gutted that Becta has gone. I was inspired by speakers and delegates at numerous Becta events, made

some great friends and shared some even better ideas with Becta colleagues. Just as we were starting to make progress with new technologies in schools in my local area it has all been taken away. I just hope that the new government see it as a high enough priority to replace its provision in some way.”

Dave Gibbs, assistant manager, Sheffield West City Learning

Centre: “We in the UK are world leaders in our use of educational technology, and Becta brings all that together in one place. They analyse, research and guide – not always brilliantly – but there’s no-one else with the expertise to support such a complex set of organisations and we are in danger of squandering the many years and millions of pounds of investment that have got us this far.”

Mike Griffiths, head, Northampton High School for Boys:

“I have not found anyone that would mourn Becta’s passing. If there is a need, I am sure a commercial organisation will pick up the baton and sell its services to schools. Hopefully this would absorb some staffing. It is always the staff one feels sorry for.”

Twitter reacts to Becta’s demise:

“Becta scrapped? Shall I give up now, throw iPod in bin and return to contacting students by pigeon message?” @abbybarker “Becta claimed to save money, but its procurement policies prevented schools investing in cheaper alternatives.” @Socialtechno “Maybe the closure of Becta will make open source adoption in schools less of an uphill battle. Let’s hope so.” @jamesholden

Tories and Lib Dems set out vision for education

by Chris Parr

The government has set out its vision for education after publishing the details of its Coalition Agreement. The agreement outlines the com-

promises made by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. As expected, the pupil premi-

um, which was originally a Liberal Democrat policy but also featured in the Tories’ manifesto, remains, along with support for the Teach First programme – which encour- ages high-achieving graduates to take up teaching posts. In the build up to the election,

the two parties had clashed on a number of key issues, including the Conservatives’ controversial “free

schools” policy, which would allow parent groups to set up their own educational establishments. Following the coalition negotia-

tions, this policy remains intact, as do other key Conservative mani- festo pledges, including the recog- nition of qualifications such as the International GCSE, and anonym- ity for teachers facing accusations from students. Conservative plans to create

vocational technical academies have also made it into the agreement, however the Liberal Democrats’ ideas on creating a general Diploma, to streamline the existing 14 to 19 Diplomas programme, has been overlooked. Chris Keates, general sec- retary of the NASUWT, said the

Coalition Agreement made it clear that the Liberal Democrats had “accepted the invitation to join the Conservative government of Britain unconditionally”. She continued: “Nothing in the

section on schools comes as any surprise as it was all previously published when the Conservative Education Manifesto was issued prior to the election.” Christine Blower, general sec-

retary of the National Union of Teachers, said the free schools pro- posals were a “major step back”. “It will create planning gridlock

and social division. The govern- ment needs to step back from this obsession that anyone other than a local authority must be better at running schools,” she said.

Ms Blower also raised concerns

about the agreement’s promise to allow schools to “pay good teach- ers more”. She continued: “Performance-

related pay has been a failure. There is no evidence that it improves standards. National pay scales for teachers are transparent and give a far greater guarantee of fairness and non-discrimination than pay levels determined at school level.” Away from the schools section,

the agreement also confirmed that an independent commission will be cre- ated to “review the long-term afford- ability of public sector pensions”. For the full Coalition Agreement

on education, see right.

• Comment: page 6.

Cuts, academies and free schools as Queen addresses Parliament

As SecEd went to press on Tuesday (May 25), the Queen was addressing Parliament in her first speech of the coalition government. In it, she outlined the govern-

ment’s intention to introduce a raft of new legislation, including sev- eral Bills that will directly impact schools. The Queen made direct refer-

ence to academies, and a Bill is expected to be implemented soon which will allow all state schools rated “outstanding” by Ofsted to become academies. The address also referred to

plans allowing “new providers to run state schools”. This now paves the way for an expected Education/ Children’s Bill which is likely to introduce legislation allowing par- ents, charities and others to set up their own “free schools”. This Bill might also include proposals for the so-called “pupil premium” which will provide additional funding for

SecEd • May 27 2010

schools that take students from dis- advantaged backgrounds. And following on from

Monday’s announcement from the Treasury of £600 million in cuts to government quangos, including £80 million from education bodies, a Public Bodies Bill is expected that will implement the budget cuts and confirm the demise of the technol- ogy in schools agency, Becta (see front page). Mick Brookes, general secretary

of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “We hope that the proposed Bills will be given suffi- cient Parliamentary time to be scru- tinised in detail giving ministers and others sufficient opportunity to listen to the profession, think about the implications, and make com- promises where necessary to ensure the best for our schools and most importantly our children.” For the latest on the Queen’s Speech, visit www.sec-ed.co.uk

Coalition pledges for schools:

• We will promote the reform of schools in order to ensure that new providers can enter the state school system in response to parental demand; that all schools have greater freedom over the curriculum; and that all schools are held properly to account.

• We will fund a significant premium for disadvantaged pupils from outside the schools budget by reductions in spending elsewhere.

• We will give parents, teachers, charities and local communities the chance to set up new schools, as part of our plans to allow new providers to enter the state school system in response to parental demand.

• We will support Teach First, create Teach Now to build on the Graduate Teacher Programme, and seek other ways to improve the quality of the teaching profession.

• We will reform the existing rigid national pay and conditions rules to give schools greater freedoms to pay good teachers more and deal with poor performance.

• We will help schools tackle bullying in schools, especially homophobic bullying.

• We will simplify the regulation of standards in education and target inspection on areas of failure.

• We will give anonymity to teachers accused by pupils and take other measures to protect against false accusations.

• We will seek to attract more top science and maths graduates to teaching. • We will publish performance data on educational providers, as well as past exam papers.

• We will create more flexibility in the exams systems so that state schools can offer qualifications like the IGCSE.

• We will reform league tables so that schools are able to focus on, and demonstrate, the progress of children of all abilities.

• We will give heads and teachers the powers they need to ensure discipline in the classroom and promote good behaviour.

• We believe the most vulnerable children deserve the very highest quality of care. We will improve diagnostic assessment for school children, prevent the unnecessary closure of special schools, and remove the bias towards inclusion.

• We will improve the quality of vocational education, including increasing flexibility for 14 to 19-year-olds and creating new technical academies as part of our plans to diversify schools provision.

• We will keep external assessment, but will review how key stage 2 tests operate in future.

• We will ensure all new academies follow an inclusive admissions policy. • We will work with faith groups to enable more faith schools and facilitate inclusive admissions policies in as many of these schools as possible.

• We will commit to establishing an independent commission to review the long-term affordability of public sector pensions, while protecting accrued rights.

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