Conservative Party poster
The Conservative Party will make education its top campaign message this week. The two main parties have been engaged in ‘political mirroring’ for months; it’s now time for political attack. I met Michael Gove MP, again at the weekend in Brighton at their spring policy forum. This man is in the right place at the right time. Once before he saved David Cameron’s leadership – he’s now determined to save the election with radical plans to properly involve parents in education. The Kunskapsskolan ‘free schools’ model is an attractive proposition for parents who feel they’ve been ignored by the educational establishment.
Ed Ball’s proposals for Co-operative Trust Schools designed to allow parent and community ‘ownership’, hark back to two centuries of mutualism but suffer from a lack of clarity in communication.
Gove has the journalist’s eye for a headline and is actually promoting change using Labour legislation and is determined to also tackle bureaucratic waste and muddle. Gove will also sweep away quango’s and dinosaur planning law. Balls seems defensive and distracted, is not receiving top advice and needs to raise his game.
As someone once said the ‘winds of change’ are sweeping through our schools – and it’s led by teacher’s themselves. This will be one live TV debate to watch. Because it’s personal and is all about the succession. Balls is, at the moment, losing the Battle of Ideas and the battle of presentation.
My verdict on the education battle of ideas so far: Gove 1 … Balls 0
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I beg to differ.
I listened to Nick Gibb rather than Michael Gove last week – He categorically refused to guarantee any commitment to funding Building Schools for the Future other than to those schools that have ALREADY reached financial close (well a legally binding contract usually does guarantee it) – This would be catastrophic not for education but for the economy as a whole – turning the countries back on the most ambitious programme of public works for a great many years, and leaving schools in the lurch as they struggle to regain direction after pinning their hopes on BSF.
Gibbs presentation was poor – and he failed to highlight any great innovation in Tory policies – I was interested in his plans to encourage independent providers in the education system – but he did not expand on it, and although he repeatedly talked of expanding the academy programme, and the advantages of schools becoming academies (all pretty much Labour policy by the way) – when pressed he ducked questions on what those advantages actually were.
He appeared torn between upsetting Labour voters by placing too great an emphasis on the role of private sector, and upsetting the Right of the Tory party by emphasising the party’s opposition to a voucher system to increase state pupil attendance at private schools. In the event he waffled about Sweden without explaining why.
It was extremely underwhelming – if Tories want to battle the election on education – bring it on – they will lose.
I am with Nils on this one.
I have listened to Gove,Willetts,Gibb and Sam Freedman(Tory Policy Adviser) and I have looked at the Swedish model. None are at all convincing I have to say!
You cannot just “import” a model from one culture and transplant it into our culture and expect it to work!
The other big issue is the Tories ambivalence(or lack of belief and understanding) about the role of digital technologies in the enhancement of learning.
Worse case scenarion will lead to an increased “crisis of relevance” in our schools and colleges and an even more difficult job for teachers,parents,support staff,headteachers and governors
Gove should read more Jonathan Swift…
http://tinyurl.com/34k4cr2