AN INTERVIEW WITH NICK GIBB
The Conservative’s Plans for the Education System
current Admissions Code
and we agree that there are many problems with it that we need to address. We are actively reviewing this at the moment. Overall, we believe that the main problem with admissions is the lack of transparency for parents. Our overriding principle in this area is that we want all admissions to be fair and equal.
David Cameron said last month a Conservative government would “bar students with a poor degree from taking government cash to train for the classroom” - what response has this approach received?
The first point to make is that this applies only to people who want to do a PGCE. Those who prove themselves through other means such as a successful career in industry would be able to become a teacher via our Teach Now programme no matter what degree they have if at all. However in order to
drive real improvement in our education system, the Conservative Party has consistently argued that we must learn from the most educationally successful countries in the world, the common factor of which is their relentless focus on teaching. The commitment, talent and skill of teaching staff are the most important factors in determining the quality of education which a child will receive. In the countries which achieve the best results, entry into the teaching profession
14 • School Management Today
is restricted to the best graduates. In Finland teachers are drawn from the top ten per cent of graduates, in Singapore and South Korea from the top third or quarter. The bar on entry into the profession, like entry into the most attractive graduate-level positions here, is deliberately set high so that securing a place as a teacher is a clear sign to all that the candidate is among the best and brightest of his or her generation. The Conservative Party
is determined to drive up standards in education and the key to that is to raise the status of the teaching profession. Some people have suggested that our focus on standards overlooks the need for other skills in a prospective teacher, such as empathy and enthusiasm, or an ability to inspire young people and to get the best out of them. We fully appreciate that academic success is not the only factor which makes a great teacher. Nonetheless, we want academic success to be an essential part of the requirements.
What do you think are the most important issues for parents in terms of education?
We believe that the educational priorities for parents are choice of schools, attainment and standards, quality of teaching, and effective discipline. We want to give all parents the opportunity to send their children to schools free from central bureaucratic control. We
will liberate existing schools and allow them to become Academies. And we will open a new generation of independently run state schools. One of the tragedies of the current system is far too many children fail to secure robust, rigorous and respected qualifications. To address this, we would deliver more robust examinations and a
us to pledge to reverse these cuts should we win the next election. We’ve always been completely honest about the fact that public spending will be very tight, whoever is in power. What we need to do is identify alternative sources of funding which can fill the gap – for example, we would introduce an early repayment discount on student loans, encouraging
Education is the single most important factor in closing the gap
between rich and poor and in helping people to make the most of their lives and their potential.
more rigorous curriculum. We will allow pupils in state schools to sit the same high quality international exams that private schools offer. The quality of an
individual teacher is the single most important determinant in a child’s educational progress. So we will move to a high quality system of teacher recruitment similar to those in countries with the best education systems in the world.
Labour has announced cuts of more than £900m over the next three years for universities, would a Conservative government follow through with these cuts?
We’ve not set out details of our plans for higher education spending but, given the mess that Labour have made of the public finances, it’s not possible for
graduates to repay money ahead of schedule, which we would then use to pay for an extra 10,000 university places this year.
Finally how important is education in the UK?
Education is the single most important factor in closing the gap between rich and poor and in helping people to make the most of their lives and their potential. In my role as Shadow Minister for Schools I have visited schools most weeks of the year for the last five years, all over the country. In that time I have seen at first hand some excellent schools, some satisfactory schools, and some unsatisfactory schools. What drives me is the urgent need to improve the quality of education for all children, so that every child will leave school educated to the best of their ability.
•
NEWS & INFORMATION
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80