News Continued from page 1 Society in England is generally


considered to be less equal than in Sweden. Although there are pock- ets of deprivation in Swedish cities, there is not generally the deep-seat- ed disengagement and deprivation to be found in large swathes around the UK. What remains unclear is how schools free from local author- ity control will be encouraged to work to support these communi- ties. How will local areas be ena- bled to deliver an education that has an eye on all its constituents? The parents who do emerge with


a mission will be of a certain kind. They will be professional, eloquent and determined. They will have the skills to lead and create the schools they wish for in areas where fight- ing for a school place has become a full-time occupation. For these par- ents, free schools may well be a gift. But what of the others? The


emerging model is one of a patch- work of provision unevenly spread across the country with a confusing mix of variously sponsored, priva- tised and semi-private schools. No wonder the government is having to offer a dowry to tempt their for- profit providers into catering for the less attractive groups in our society. So how long before these ‘free’


schools become ‘fee’ schools spon- sored by public money? What is perhaps most worrying is that we are standing face-to-face with a formula that could mean the end of state-funded, locally controlled education. Privatisation of educa- tion by stealth it would seem.


Government confirms new primary curriculum plans to be scrapped


Ministers have confirmed that the new primary curriculum, based on the findings of the Rose review, will be scrapped. Under the previous administra-


tion’s plans, primaries would have been expected to implement the new curriculum from September 2011. However, in the final debate of


the previous government, the Con- servative Party blocked the legisla- tion. Nick Gibb, the schools min- ister, has now confirmed that the plans have been abolished outright. Mr Gibb said: “A move away


from teaching traditional subjects like history and geography could have led to an unacceptable ero- sion of standards in our primary schools. “Instead, teachers need a cur-


riculum which helps them ensure that every child has a firm grasp of the basics and a good ground- ing in general knowledge, free from unnecessary prescription and bureaucracy. “It is vital that we return our


curriculum to its intended pur- pose – a minimum national enti- tlement organised around subject disciplines.” Mari Jones, headteacher of


Ombersley Endowed First School and one of 20 heads who worked directly on the national review,


Global issues: The coalition want to keep traditional subjects in the curriculum


criticised the move, claiming that the new curriculum would have given pupils more “transferable skills”. Speaking to the Worcester


News, she said: “The idea behind it was preparing our children for a working world where they will have more than one career and need to have flexible skills for dif- ferent jobs.”


The longer they stay in power, the less they listen to evidence


The longer they stay in power, the less attention governments pay to evidence and research when for- mulating education policy, new research claims. Instinct or Reason, a report


published by the CfBT Educa- tion Trust, claims that the gap between evidence and legislation grows wider in the later stages of a government, and also alleges that media attention to short-term issues can create “severe difficul- ties” for policy-making. The report, which interviewed


former ministers, education civil servants and academics, states: “Both Tony Blair and Barack Obama entered power commit- ted to evidence-based policy, to implementing what works. David Blunkett (Blair’s first education


2


secretary) established a unit spe- cifically to judge the effectiveness of policy. But as the years pass, we were told, governments show an increasing inclination to downplay evidence.” One of the reasons, according to


the report, is the reliability of the evidence that governments receive. It continues: “Some of our


witnesses said that a major problem with using evidence for educational policy was that there was little useful stuff about. More than one senior civil servant commented critically on the availability of worthwhile research, comparing the resources available to education departments unfavourably with the useful material accessed by other government departments.”


Another expert claimed that


“until research becomes more timely and relevant, politicians will continue to ignore it”. As for the media, the report claims


that government departments now house “hundreds (of press offic- ers) who are more concerned with image and sound bites than the careful weighing of evidence”. Introducing the report, Estelle


Morris, former secretary of state for education, said the relationship between education policy-mak- ing and evidence was “not an easy one”. She added: “Given how impor-


tant education is, we know rela- tively little about how key policies are made.” For more on the report, visit


www.cfbt.com


News in brief


LANGUAGE RESOURCES: A range of free resources to assist with the teaching of key stage 2 French and Spanish have been launched by the National School Partnership (NSP). The Partnership, in


association with P&O Ferries, has created a range of lesson plans, pupil activity sheets, and interactive whiteboard games for use in the classroom, and has also produced homework activities and online games to encourage parents to get involved. Dr Sylvia Jaworska,


languages lecturer at the University of London, said: “The materials are based on activities that engage learners in real life situations by teaching them useful phrases. The cultural contexts of countries are nicely interwoven into the activities. “They also maintain a


coherent approach to grammar and lexis and are well-suited to the needs and interests of primary school children.” To access the resources, visit


www.nationalschools partnership.com


HOME HELP: Children who are not encouraged to read by their mother are three times more likely to say reading is boring than those who receive support at home. The National Literacy Trust research, which surveyed more than 17,000 young people, also found that one in four children do not have books of their own at home, while nearly half (46 per cent) rarely or never talk about reading with their family. Of those surveyed, eight


out of 10 said they get some encouragement to read from their mother, compared to seven out of 10 from their father. Fathers are also twice as likely as mothers to not be seen reading by their children at all, the survey found. Jonathan Douglas, director


of the National Literacy Trust said: “By encouraging children to read for pleasure families can help them to do well at school and to enjoy opportunities throughout their life.


“One in six children in the


UK will grow up without the literacy skills they need to fulfil their potential. We are campaigning to change this.”


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