The Liberal Democrats have launched a package of education reforms
that would inject greater parental and teacher trust in the English
schools system.
These reforms will go before the party’s Spring Conference in
Southport this weekend and comes shortly after the Lib Dems’ health
report, which recommended an earmarked tax for the NHS and
care.
The education reforms proposed include:
- replacing Ofsted with a reformed independent schools
inspectorate system that assesses teacher and pupil well-being,
as well as results, and a focus on whether school leaders can
deliver future improvement
- Replacing league tables with a broader set of indicators,
including qualitative data on pupil well-being
- Qualitative information would come from getting pupil and
parent feedback on how well a school is doing, as well as looking
at indicators such as what happens to a pupil when they’ve left a
school, like attaining university places
- Scrapping mandatory Sats for years two and six and replacing
with moderated teacher assessment and lighter-touch testing
- A ‘curriculum for life’ that includes relationships and sex
education, financial literacy and first aid
- Establishing a specific individual responsible for mental
health in schools to help children
- An end to Conservative cuts to education, such as protecting
per-pupil spending in real terms, including in further education
Liberal Democrat leader said:
“Children must have a well-rounded education and our systems should
not just be tick-box exercises. The Gove revolution has produced a
Dickensian approach to education. We need to take account of
information from teachers, parents and children views as part of
improved qualitative and quantitative assessments of our
schools.”
Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson said:
“The over-emphasis on high stakes testing has meant the system has
overlooked so many other elements of the development of the child.
Parents want to know there children’s well-being is looked after
and that they are taught lessons for life, such as first aid and
financial literacy, and have the prospects to succeed.
“We need inspectorate and league table systems that recognise these
values, in addition to looking at exam and test marks in maths and
English.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
The education policy paper is scheduled for debate at Lib Dem
Spring Conference at 11.20am on Saturday 10 March.
The full text of the policy motion is as follows.
Every Child Empowered: Education for a Changing
World (education policy paper)
Conference believes that:
A. Education is core to our Liberal Democrat Values.
B. It opens the mind, fosters understanding and tolerance, and
empowers our children and our communities to be the best they can
be.
C. Every child deserves a great start in life so they are
equipped to shape their own future, and are determined to make
sure that the education system finds and unleashes the best in
everyone.
D. Education helps break down the unfair divisions in our
society, it ensure a productive, competitive economy and it
overcomes intolerance.
E. Despite the excellent work of schools, parents and children,
persistent levels of educational inequality mean far too many
children leave school without the skills and knowledge they need
to succeed.
Conference regrets that:
i)
The Conservative government’s spending plans continue to
underfund education.
ii)
Excessive bureaucratic demands and constant changes in policy
place an unnecessary workload on teachers.
iii)
Pressure to pass exams restricts schools’ ability to focus on
developing a wider education: on the arts, creativity and skills
for work and life.
Conference endorses the approach of policy paper 128, Every Child
Empowered: education for a changing world, as a statement of
Liberal Democrat policy to meet these challenges. Conference
particularly calls for:
1. An end to Conservative cuts to education including:
a) A commitment to at least protect per-pupil spending in real
terms, including in Further Education.
b) Protection of the pupil premium.
2. Support for early years education including:
a) Increasing the early years pupil premium from £300 per year to
£1000.
b) Ensuring all early years settings have a training programme
for staff, with the majority of staff who are working with
children to either have a relevant qualification or be working
towards one; each setting should be Graduate-led.
3. Boosting the readiness of children to learn and supporting
household budgets by extending free school meals to all
primary-age children.
4. Action to improve the quality of teaching and boost the morale
of teachers by:
a) Supporting the Chartered College of Teaching.
b) Requiring all teachers in state schools to be Qualified
Teachers (or be working towards Qualified Teacher Status).
c) Providing 50 hours per year of high quality Continuing
Professional Development.
5. Delivering a more coherent and accountable structure for state
schools in England by:
a) Making places planning, exclusions, admissions including
in-year admissions, and SEND functions the responsibility of
Local Authorities.
b) Abolishing Regional Schools Commissioners.
c) Giving a level playing field between Local Authority Schools
and Multi-Academy Trusts, ending the assumption that if a new
school is needed it cannot be a Community School.
6. Modernising the curriculum by:
a) Requiring all state schools including academy and free schools
to teach a broad and balanced curriculum.
b) Including a ‘curriculum for life’ (eg. RSE, Citizenship, First
Aid, Financial Literacy) and ensuring every child has access to
high quality, independent careers advice.
c) Allowing the detail of curriculum to be worked out by a new,
independent Education Standards Authority, working alongside the
profession and without political interference.
7. Maintaining high standards while reducing unnecessary
distortions in the system arising from the current accountability
framework by:
a) Replacing the existing Ofsted with a reformed independent
inspection system which should focus on judging whether school
leaders are capable of leading improvement and an assessment of
the long term success of the whole school, looking at pupil and
teacher well-being as well as results.
b) Replacing existing government performance tables (‘league
tables’) of schools with a broader set of indicators including
more qualitative data about pupil wellbeing.
c) Scrapping existing mandatory SATs tests at both KS1 and KS2,
and replacing the them with a moderated teacher assessment at the
end of each phase and some lighter-touch testing.
d) Have decisions to intervene in schools or change their
governance arrangements normally be made by the Local Authority
or MAT, ending the presumption that a temporary dip in results
will trigger academisation or re-brokering of schools already
functioning as academies.
8. Improving the way the system treats pupils with Special
Education Needs and Disabilities by:
a) Screening for children to identify trauma and neglect in early
years, and proactively provide early and evidence-based
interventions to stop the trauma becoming entrenched.
b) Supporting measures to reduce the number of children with
special educational needs who are excluded from school – these
children are six times more likely to be excluded than children
with no SEN.
c) Emphasising SEND provision in inspections.
9. Giving greater support to the mental health of pupils by:
a) Developing a mental health care pathway beginning in schools
that links with local mental health services.
b) Establishing a specific individual responsible for mental
health in schools, who would provide a link to expertise and
support for children experiencing problems and would also take a
lead on developing whole school approaches to mental
wellbeing.
Applicability: England.
