Education Bill

Memorandum submitted by the City of York Council Labour Group (E 02)

Training and Leadership

Positives

· Practical experience often as important as academic qualification

· Publication of targets removed

· Reduced bureaucracy

· Teacher training higher profile

Negatives

· Diminishing of university-based training

· Uniformity at degree level – not consistent standard of degrees between universities

· Free schools – no teaching qualification required

Behaviour

Positive

· Whilst not having to give 24 hour detention notices, some parents may not be able to manage the lack of notice to make alternative caring or working arrangements

Negatives

· Proposals don’t take into account current system of cooperation between schools

· Exclusion units within schools are expensive, need more in school support such York High facilities

· Safety of teachers in searching pupils

· Head teachers being responsible for discipline outside school is impractical

Curriculum, Assessment and Qualifications

Positive

· Welcome freedoms of reducing the constraints of the national curriculum

· Increasing retirement age has an impact on the young, so increase in training and education may be positive

Negative

· Lack of modern foreign language teachers to achieve English Baccalaureate

· Question merit of English Baccalaureate as it also constrains the curriculum choices for young people by pushing them down a particular route that may not be suitable for many young people. A ‘Success for all’ approach is preferable

· Will penalise non-middle class areas in attainment comparison and it is wrong to apply retrospectively

· Query forcing people down an inappropriate route of ‘breadth of learning’

· Diplomas and certificates are dead

· Lack of respect and focus on vocational education which will go to ‘special’ institutions, technology college. Return to 3 sectors of 1940 grammar, secondary modern and technical college.

New schools system

Negative

· Legal liability for Governors under Academies questionable

· Loss of role of LA in future strategic, if there isn’t one it will have to be reinvented. Lack of joint/partnership

· Atomization of schools with too much competition, wasting resources

· Freedoms without substance to back them up – what is different? What can academies do that schools currently can’t?

· More centralisation using the discourse of freedom to cover it up

· Lack of capacity for small school, particularly primary sector to work together

· Oppose Free School

Accountability

Positive

· Smarter data systems

Negative

· Regrets over CVA removal from school comparison scores

· No proper challenge and support for Academies

· No election of Governors or consultation with parents

School improvement

Negative

· Clusters grow from cooperation, but this is a financial incentive

· People don’t want to be heads anymore

· Staff retention a problem under the Academy system

· Loss of collegiate approach

· LA role not recognised

School funding

Positive

· National funding formula

· Scrapping FMSiS

Negative

· 10% loss at 6th form level

· £100k lost in specialist college status reduction

· Top slicing of Lea and school budgets to pay for Academies and Free Schools

February 2011