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UPFRONT

Government ignores Primary Review

The government has angered many in the education world by ignoring the changes called for in the final report of the Cambridge Primary Review – the most comprehensive review of primary education in England for 40 years.

Headed by Professor Robin Alexander, the three-year review reported on the condition and future of primary education in England. It made 75 recommendations, including:
• extending the Foundation Stage to age six and replacing Key Stages 1 and 2 with a single primary phase
• reforming assessment and stopping the current SATs
• undertaking a full review of special educational needs education
• prioritising the elimination of child poverty, and narrowing the gap between vulnerable and disadvantaged children and the rest
• ending the ‘state theory of learning’ embodied in post-1997 strategies and policies
• reforming initial teacher training
• ending the primary/secondary funding differential and redirecting funds from national bodies to schools
• developing a new model of school assessment in line with the review’s aims.

NUT general secretary Christine Blower particularly welcomed the review’s damning verdict on SATs, which adds further weight to the NUT’s campaign to end the tests. “How much more evidence does the government need before it realises that this is a useless system for assessment, which has done nothing but bring unwelcome and unnecessary pressure on schools that are self-evidently successful?” she asked.

She also backed the review’s calls to tackle child poverty, overhaul the inspection system, replace the complicated national curriculum structure with a foundation and primary stage, and increase funding for primary schools. Her views were echoed by leaders of other education unions, who welcomed the review’s findings and urged the government to act on them. However, schools secretary Ed Balls and his shadow Michael Gove both failed to comment, while schools minister Vernon Coaker dismissed it as outdated and “woolly”.

“Any government worth its salt, particularly in front of an impending general election, would have embraced this immensely rich report as a source of policy ideas,” said an incredulous Christine. “Let’s hope that the Cambridge Review becomes the benchmark for both government and opposition parties when formulating future policies on primary education.”

Find out more about the Cambridge Primary Review in our feature on page 12.


A trio of top teachers

Congratulations to NUT members Edward Vickerman, Dan Lea and Maxine Pittaway, all national winners in the 2009 UK Teaching Awards. The three were presented with their gold Plato awards at a televised ceremony held at London’s Theatre Royal on 25 October.

Edward, who is director of business and enterprise at the Freeston Business and Enterprise College in Bradford, won the SSAT Award for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year. He was once told he could never be a teacher because of his dyslexia, but the judges said he is at “the cutting edge of teaching, a hugely talented and exciting
role model, especially for those who are also dyslexic.”

Dan is an advanced skills teacher and arts co-ordinator at Gearies infant school in Ilford, Redbridge. His work introducing Key Stage 1 children to sound recording, videoing and blogging won him the Becta Award for Next Generation Learning. One pupil called him “the best teacher in the world”.

Maxine Pittaway is headteacher of a special school – St Christopher’s School in Wrexham, Wales – and won the DCSF Award for Enterprise. Over the last two decades she’s set up a hair salon, car wash, café, market garden, bike recycling project and environmental taskforce at the school. Judges said that after 14 years as head she is still “fizzing” with ideas and could be running any kind of business!

Edward Vickerman is our Backbeat columnist this issue – see page 50.


Tell us your Ofsted stories

The NUT has been hearing some worrying stories from members since the introduction of the new inspection framework earlier this year.

One teacher was told by an inspector that, although her practice was outstanding, she could only be graded ‘statisfactory‘ because the introductory task outlined in her lesson plan had over-run by three minutes.

At another school, an inspector is alleged to have purposely parked in a dangerous position to see if staff noticed.

We'll be looking at the impact of the new framework in a feature in The Teacher next term. If you have a story you think we should be aware of, please email teacher@nut.org.uk or write to us at the address on page 3.