IMMEDIATE
19 June 2015
Nicky Morgan Speech
Commenting on Nicky Morgan’s speech to the Festival of Education, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said:
“The Education Secretary has made much of her commitment to social justice, but it is a fact that the policies and actions of the Coalition Government have done much to exacerbate the problem. Regrettably, the present Conservative Government promises more of the same.
“One need only look at the key education policies in the Conservative Manifesto and the Queen’s Speech. The forthcoming Education and Adoption Bill will seek to drive another 1,000 schools towards academy status, many of them primary schools and this despite a complete lack of evidence that a change to school structure is in any way related to a rise in standards. As we now know, 133 academies are deemed inadequate, and Nicky Morgan has been markedly reluctant to acknowledge this. The academies programme has led to a fragmentation of the education system, meaning that it is harder to plan places at a local level and puts constraints on local authorities budgets to provide support services for the neediest.
“The NUT has always stood for every child’s best possible achievement but what runs counter to this aspiration is the Government’s latest move to make the Ebacc subjects compulsory. Even Lord Baker, the former Conservative Education Secretary, has cast doubt on whether the Ebacc is appropriate for all students. In addition, the forthcoming baseline assessment - compulsory from September 2016 - seeks to label children at the age of four. A verdict of ‘failure’ at such a young age is devastating. It is at best an insecure start to an education, if not a disastrous one.
“Free schools can enjoy curriculum freedoms, but for a truly level playing field those same freedoms should be good enough for all schools. Nicky Morgan could also make guarantees to tackle the school places crisis which is resulting in increased class sizes in primary schools. This is bad news for children who are coming into the system and need one-on-one attention. It stands to reason that the larger the class size, the less time teachers will be able to devote to each individual member of their class.
“Sir Michael Wilshaw has said he wants more ‘maverick heads’ and we want more teachers freed to use professional judgement. Despite Nicky Morgan's apparent aspirations, this looks very much like more prescription, leading to risk averse and compliant, rather than creative, teachers.”
END pr115-2015
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