Choice in education (5)

Latest figures confirm the earlier estimates that some 100,000 children failed to get admission to their first choice secondary schools for September - about 1/5 of the total.

Not only does that make a mockery of ministers' promise of choice, it also removes one potentially effective automatic control mechanism.

Choice gives the opportunity to avoid bad schools. Good schools are encouraged by parental support, bad schools are left to wither away. When you stop that process, the bad schools are given an undeserved lifeline.

It must seem sometimes that it is a tremendous waste of resources to let an established school die away. BUT that is precisely the process that nature has used most effectively to ensure continuing development and renewal.

Choice in education (4)

As many as 100,000 children are expected to miss out on their first choice of secondary school this year, according to analysis of official figures by the Conservative Party.

That means that nearly 20% of parents will not be sending their child to the school of their first choice. What a way to motivate a child to learn!

Nuffield Review 14 - 19 Education & Training

The Nuffield Review, whilst recognising these achievements, has also highlighted the
persistence of deep-seated problems concerning the structure of the system, its performance and the conduct of the policy process.

The specific problems mentioned are typical of those to be expected from a large top-down organisation trying to manage a diverse service at all levels. If the government wants to decide the details and methodology to be applied, there will always be problems of forecasting the changing needs of pupils, society, educational institutions and employers.

The solution must be found in a more student-centred, devolved approach that gives each child and its parents more real choice and control. Providers then can adapt to progressive change.

The Children Left Behind

Last night's Channel 4 documentary suggests answers for several issues of class size and motivation.

Research carried out in Bristol by Wetz uncovered the fact that many of the children who left school with no qualifications were doing well in their education at the age of 10 or 11 - the turning point came as they joined their secondary schools. He asks if the giant new schools now being built all over Britain, in the biggest school building programme since Victorian times, are the best way to engage these disaffected pupils, to improve standards and reduce truancy and exclusion rates.

So if a 2000 pupil school were split into 4 smaller ones, the choice for parents would be greater, the schools more personal, and the resulting motivation for teachers, children and parents significantly higher.

Why then does the government seem so intent on building big schools? Presumably they think the cost per pupil comes down and the justification for extra facilities is easier. It is time these assumptions were seriously questioned. No supposed economic analysis should ignore completely factors such as the power of motivation which are potentially critical in achieving a quality result.

Choice in Education (3)

Grammar schools should be abolished and a lottery admissions system introduced to make education in England fairer for all, says a government-funded report.

Basically this seems to say that because selection encourages differences, it should be abolished. That's a classic Stalinist approach. How about the alternative of providing extra support to those suffering from disadvantage?

Then you might level up instead of just levelling down.

Choice in Education

Choice in Education! Must be a GOOD THING!

But is it practical?

In theory a totally private school system is the ultimate guarantee of choice. The immediate barrier of course is the payment system. Anyone who cannot afford the fees does not have the choice.

If they can afford the fees, there are still other limitations:

1. Physical distance - unless you accept a boarding school, the child has to be able to get there and back daily so is limited to those accessible.
2. Even where several schools are accessible, the strengths and specialisms they offer may not be the ideal for any given child.
3. A parent may want to make a clear choice but that can only be done when the school is prepared to accept the child concerned. Some schools may be oversubscribed; some may want to concentrate on a specialist area and make their own choice of entry.

The opposite philosophy insists on a standard education for all pupils so far as is possible. This seems the main driver behind the comprehensive system. Children should go to their local school and be subject to the statutory curriculum laid down by the government. The advantages should be that all have the same opportunity so the social divides are minimised.

I think we have to accept that the human condition is unsuited to standardisation. No system can be perfect. As usual in life we have to optimise our solutions within conficting criteria.