Every Parent Matters

Alistair Owens www.keen2learn.co.uk/news

The primary school results are out. This year these “educational games” are on time, inaccurate and heavy criticised by teachers, parents and the marking contractor.

A lot rides on the SAT’s. The examination results reveal the performance of the pupil, teacher and school. Targets are met or missed and critically SAT’s are designed to give secondary schools an indication of a child’s potential. But they don’t.

The “teach to test” syndrome that distorts the true ability of children and a teacher’s prowess, is routinely heralded by secondary heads as a waste. The policy change where the exams are to be  moved until children arrive in their new school gives partial relief to the primary sector, the secondary schools who inherit the burden think otherwise. But perhaps the greatest shock from the latest results is the claim of government interference by the examination marking contractors.

Exam technique advice given by teachers is not to panic. A pity the schools department weren’t listening. The examiners claim their job was made impossible through constant government interference probably resulting from the 2008 results fiasco, when the original contractor was fired. But maybe there is a common denominator. Lightening may not always strike the same point twice but maybe the schools department does.

Alistair Owens www.keen2learn.co.uk

It ever it was difficult to educate children to understand the practical use of maths this case will dash all hopes of logic. To protect our interests a consortium of surveyors called CLM have been appointed to keep the bill for the London Olympic Games under control. A laudable task and meant to reassure. Last year they were paid £87m for their efforts. I am staggered by the audacity, but what do I know. This year the fee, yes it is an annual pot of gold, has risen to £151m.

Last year the taxpayer stumped up the cash gap that appeared in the funding for the athletes village and media centre. Presumable CLM were protecting our interests by passing the buck when push came to shove. But apparently they made a splendid job, as buried in this years fee payment was a bonus of £60m.

Estimates that total fees to consultants will top £680m by the opening of the games isn’t desperately reassuring. But the government believe it is value for money, but not perhaps money for value.

After 10 years in operation the Government plans to extend the number of educational academies. But are they working? Has the right decision been made by the DCSF (department of children, schools and families) based on fact or is this way to offload problem schools to third parties?

The debate looms; the protagonists either claim Academies offer fundamental benefits to children by providing schooling based on the needs of the real world, or an experiment fraught with difficulties. Many are struggling to prove the point and numerous Principals have fallen by the wayside. Operating outside many constraints of the National Curriculum these self funding and governing institutions have considerable operational freedom. Critically they are able to adopt a syllabus tuned to local commercial requirements. Matching the needs of local employers improves job prospects, surely a fundamental role of the entire educational programme. The commercial sponsorship of their operation instils a real world environment, many have become hugely successful. But others have not.

It is this situation that worries the conventionalists. The lack of detailed evidence that categorically proves the benefits of academies is causing concern. The government’s proposal to extend to 400 the number of academies has caused a stir. With the total number of secondary schools amounting to 3500, academies now represent a significant proportion of the national educational output. Maybe some of the negative comment stems from envy of their dynamic operational, although they are still subjected to Ofsted review.

Schools must evolve with the commercial demands of the employment market. It is as pointless educating children for jobs that do not exist as much as failing to provide an acceptable quality of education for the now global opportunities. Critics of the falling quality are legion, with constant concern over falling standards and the narrowed bandwidth in subject areas created by the “teach to test” syndrome. Concerns levelled by teachers, parents and employers alike over the current performance await a radical review of the schooling process. The solution is complex and will require a courageous plan from the DCSF to correct. But concern over educational matters doesn’t stop at the school gate. We now see a worrying trend developing in universities. The number of graduates finding employment in the discipline of their degree is extraordinary low. Many find that to gain employment they must now achieve a master’s degree. In the prevailing reduced employment demand employers can afford to be highly selective, but this presents additional cost in time and fees to archive a masters. Graduates who find their first degree devalued carry a sizeable financial debt as they enter the job market in a lower paid or qualified role

Academies may therefore be the answer. Tuning education to the changing needs of the now – global employment market may well be the key that academics can adopt dynamically. Their controlling influence from commercial third parties will reflect the changing market needs more readily. Certainly they stand a better change of introducing radical development programmes than the conventional school limited by systems and procedures that can isolate and frustrate new ideas. They may have their critics and still have long way to go, but academies have my vote to become established. To stick rigidly to our current system of schooling which is constantly attracting criticism is of far greater concern.