Nansi Ellis, assistant general secretary of policy at the
Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said: “The
Government’s response to the English Baccalaureate (EBacc)
consultation is both unacceptably late and woefully inadequate.
No school should be punished for doing right by their pupils, yet
the EBacc policy will penalise schools for offering a broad and
balanced curriculum, tailored to the needs and interests of their
children.
“The EBacc policy has reduced the breadth of subjects offered in
many secondary schools, limited opportunities for our children,
and driven many staff out of the teaching profession. Long-term
damage has been inflicted on creative and technical subjects
excluded from the EBacc; subjects such as art, music and
technology, that are not just crucial for our economic prosperity
but also enrich lives, are disappearing from our schools. As GCSE
entries continue to collapse across these subjects the Government
must stop interfering in the school curriculum before it is too
late. Many schools have resisted fully implementing the
Government’s proposals for the EBacc because they recognise that
this narrow range of subjects is not the right choice for every
child.
“When ATL recently asked members whether the EBacc performance
measure has impacted on students being able to access the best
subjects for them, 53% said that it had. Anecdotally members
stated: “I now have a student in GCSE History who can barely
read and write”, and “this has absolutely decimated the
opportunity for students to choose subjects which could actually
enable them to succeed”.
“The modified targets for EBacc take-up remain unworkable and
simply saying that teachers can decide what’s appropriate for
their students is meaningless if they are forced to meet
impossible Government accountability targets. The EBacc was
introduced because of ministerial whim and nostalgia, and must be
withdrawn.”
