INTERVIEW


Tackling Twigg


Shadow education minister Stephen Twigg was the schools minister when the original academies programme was introduced. Three months into his new post, SecEd sat down with him to talk academies among other issues. We also put to Mr Twigg questions from our editorial board of education professionals. Daniel White reports


Stephen Twigg MP returned to the education department late last year for a second bite of the cherry after taking over the portfolio in Labour’s first major shadow cabinet reshuffle. Mr Twigg, has worked in educa-


tion before, serving as minister for schools between 2002 and 2005 and he was one of the key men in the introduction of Labour’s origi- nal academies programme. This was before he lost his


Parliamentary seat in Enfield, London, in 2005 – a seat he had held since 1997 following his sym- bolic defeat of Michael Portillo. Despite Mr Twigg’s belief in


Labour’s academy programme, he claims the brand has now been “poisoned” by education secretary Michael Gove. It is clear to see Mr Twigg is


frustrated with the government’s insistence that all schools become academies and the aggressive lan- guage Mr Gove has used of late about those schools not converting. “Michael Gove has poisoned


the academy brand,” Mr Twigg claims. “There was controversy about the Labour academies and some of those that are critical about Michael Gove’s were equally as critical of us, but I think most peo- ple – and many of Labour’s critics – would admit that our approach was to bring about improvement in areas where the schools were struggling. “It was also a very careful pro-


gramme. Michael Gove says that Labour only created about 200 academies (there are now more than 1,500) and that’s right because we saw it as something exceptional, but he’s turned it on its head so that all it takes is a vote from a governing body. Some schools will benefit and others will not – it just won’t have the effect it did when we created academies.” He attacks Mr Gove’s “extreme


tactics and dogma” after his oppo- site number used a recent speech to brand those who oppose the academy movement as “enemies of promise” and being “happy with failure”. He continued: “Michael Gove


seems to think it is all about the Department for Education and cre- ating academies and anyone who has a different point of view is a block in the way. I don’t think that and I equally don’t accept those who dismiss all academies.” Referring to cases such as


which is seeking a judicial review to stop its forced conversion to academy status as one of the 200 worst-performing primary schools in the country, Mr Twigg said that instead of attacking these schools, his counterpart should be “rolling up his sleeves”, sitting down with the school community, and work- ing out how improvements could be made. He added: “It is easy to con-


demn, but how you bring about change is much more complex and it’s about hard work. I have no doubt that councils like those in Haringey will want to work with the schools, parents and the secre- tary of state to see how improve- ments can be made.” Mr Twigg says he is open to the


idea of schools working together as families and having the same con- trols and freedoms of academies, but does not believe academy status is needed for this. He continued: “In principle


schools having more autonomy, flexibility and freedom to be more innovative is a good thing. You could decide to enable more flex- ibility on the curriculum or give them greater flexibility on the school day without necessarily say- ing you have to become an acad- emy. “Mr Gove is a bit fixated that


becoming an academy is a solution and there is a real risk that what we will end up with is all the outstand- ing schools as academies, the origi- nal Labour academies that tended to be struggling schools, and those that aren’t academies in-between struggling. “So let’s look at the freedoms


that schools have and how they can be extended to all schools – but you don’t need to do that by making all schools academies.” Elsewhere, Mr Twigg also


has fears about the free schools programme, not least because the schools can employ unqualified teachers and also because Mr Gove is the person who makes the sole decision on whether a free school should be created or not. Mr Twigg still holds the record


of being the youngest ever president of the National Union of Students – at the age of 23 in 1990. He grew up in Enfield, London, attending his local comprehensive school, Southgate Secondary, before study- ing philosophy, politics and eco- nomics at Oxford. After his enforced break from


Downhill Primary in Haringey, Westminster in 2005, he was elect- 4 SecEd • January 19 2012


ed as MP for Liverpool West Derby in the 2010 General Election. Moving away from the gov-


ernment’s academy movement, Mr Twigg is continuing the education policy review launched by his pred- ecessor, which will decide the edu- cation policies upon which Labour will fight the next election. Despite his opposition to large-


scale academy conversion, Mr Twigg admits that in the review he has to be realistic and realise that a large percentage of schools will be academies by 2015 and the struc- ture and landscape of education


will be very different. However, because of the review, Mr Twigg is still unable to set out a clear range of Labour policies for education. However, he does have some ideas that he is keen to expand on. The English Baccalaureate has


been in the spotlight and Mr Twigg is worried that it is reinforcing an academic and vocational divide that has “plagued this country’s educa- tion for decades”. One of his ideas therefore is


to suggest expanding key stage 4 across three years to enable a broad- er curriculum and prevent boredom


setting in during the early years of secondary school. His support for a broad cur-


riculum catering for both vocational and academic learners is clear and judging from his answers to ques- tions put by SecEd’s editorial board (see below), he is a proponent of skills education. He also raises concerns about


the move to a examination system dominated by end-of-course written examinations. He explained: “I think we need


to see changes to exam specifica- tions. I worry on this issue that


Michael Gove is moving in the opposite direction to which we ought to. He is focusing more on the final written examination, but I don’t think that’s wise at all. When people are concerned about teaching to the test and the integrity of the exams, we are putting more empha- sis on the final written exam. “Testing people in examination


conditions should be an important part of any written assessment but I think programmes that assess ongo- ing work, provided they are rigor- ous and appropriately moderated, are important.”


SecEd Questions from the chalkface


SecEd asked Mr Twigg to answer a range of questions posed by members of the newspaper’s editorial advisory board, which is made up of practising teachers and educationalists.


Q: Is there a danger that with the shift in retirement age proposed, we will end up with a significant number of teachers who are no longer able to perform with the energy and drive that we expect and that we will be left in a situation where we are ending their careers ignomiously in capabilities and draining leadership resources in pursuing these matters? (Hugh Bellamy, headteacher, South Dartmoor Community College, Devon)


A: “There is that risk and the expectation of everyone to work until they are 68 is a major concern. You have to be careful because for some teachers that won’t be an issue but for some it will and I think you need to get a settlement on the pensions issue that enables those teachers who can’t carry on until 68 to retire earlier. There has been some progress in that regard in the recent offer.”


Q: Should we focus more on skills and less on knowledge? (Phil Parker, educational consultant and former headteacher)


A: “There is a certain core knowledge that you absolutely need to get on in life and still too many people are leaving the education system without the required literacy and numeracy skills. But you’ve got to have the skill to be able to research, the skill to find things out for yourself and skill to be able to present and I think that if you go down a very narrow route that is just about knowledge then you lose something much more important.”


Q: In my borough, which has some of the most effective secondary schools in the country, all of them well above floor targets and with spare capacity, we already know of four free school proposals. Are you aware of the possible impact that over-capacity can create for all other schools and their students? (Chris Dunne, headteacher, Langdon Park Community School, London)


A: “I am concerned about it and what we need to do is have an effective system for commissioning places at a local level. I am very open to the idea of a schools commissioner. My instinct and preference would be local, so for example in Liverpool, if there are to be changes in school places in Liverpool then the communities and parents can have an input into that and a Liverpool commissioner can deal with that instead of central government.”


Q: The majority of classroom teachers don’t know who you are because you have had such a low profile since you came into post. (Paula Roe, English teacher, Redhill School, Stourbridge)


A: “There is always a risk in politics if you get something in The Guardian or The Times, you’re on Newsnight or the Today programme, you think “wow”, but then you remember most people don’t read those papers or listen or watch those programmes. I think in the end you can break through it partly by saying something interesting and sparking a debate, such as the school day headlines last week, and partly by getting out of Westminster and London. I’m trying to visit all areas of the country, trying to meet parents and governors of schools and communities. I think the answer is having interesting ideas that get people talking.”


Q: Do you support the recommendations of the curriculum review expert committee? (John Steers, general secretary, National Society for Art Education)


A: “I certainly welcome the recommendations – this is their first phase so there is more work to do. I have a few certain principals that I can set out – one is literacy and numeracy at the core and that is in the curriculum so I support that. “The second is a broad curriculum in primary and secondary and


that is reflected in the review. I know there were big concerns prior to the publication that practical skills such as design and technology would be devalued. My sense is that isn’t happening. “Third, the curriculum has got to be one that engages young people


so I am interested in different ways in which the curriculum can be delivered – such as the three years at key stage 4.”


Q: What are your thoughts about private schools now being funded by the state as free schools – it seems many are seeking conversion as a result of falling rolls due to the recession hitting parental incomes (Brian Rossiter, education consultant and former headteacher).


A: “It is about fairness on admissions – so if a private school which selects by ability as well as those choosing by a selection of wealth want to become a free school, not only must they drop the fee paying element we can’t have them selecting by ability either. “If that helps remove fee paying – and that can be one of the most


divisive policies in the education system – and provide what is often a high quality education for a group of children in a local area, provided it is all ability then it can be a positive thing.”


Photo: Lucie Carlier


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