Stakeholders of UK Education

These are the people who have to be involved in the setting of objectives and development of policies:

1) The Government

The government is the agent for society as a whole. There is no dispute now that education should be compulsory for all children even though starting and finishing ages may not have the same universal agreement.

On our behalf the government collects the taxes and sets a budget for the state sector. It does not have direct control over private education but does exert a major influence on the expectations and results achieved by the private sector.

The fact that the state provides most of the resources automatically leads to a duty to ensure that those resources are used effectively for the benefit of all. This means results must be measured - but before you can measure you need to set clear objectives.

2) The Parents

Parents have the prime responsibility for bringing up - or educating - their children. They need to be involved in the setting of targets for the education system as a whole so that they can influence and understand what is being done to their offspring.

Parents are the prime source of motivation for their children. As a result it is vital that they are at least in broad agreement with the plans and activities of the relevant school. Their influence can actively help results or sabotage them.

Moreover it is the parents who can most easily spot when their children have difficulties and when the system that my be right for the majority needs to be adapted for a particular child.

3) The Teachers

Teachers have the responsibility of delivering the education required by the state and the parents. They are the ones most able to advise on the practicalities of what is possible for any group of children.

They need to work with parents to provide the flexibility to adapt the system for the individual child. They need to work with government to hone relevant objectives and decide the best use of resources.

4) The Children

School-age children should not be involved in the setting of organisational objectives. But their reactions to the system will determine its success. So they are the final arbiters of success. Even if they do not enjoy the process, their education may be judged by others to be good. Normally however the children will know very clearly if the school was right for them together with its weaknesses and strengths.

Naturally the older the child the more important their opinion. At the tertiary level, they should be effective consumers and able to choose an education that is right for them.