It feels a bit gratuitous to pile in to Labour at this point. With so many people criticising the government, what use this humble newsletter joining in, showing all the courage and commitment of Argentina, when they declared war on the Axis powers in March 1945?
However, last week saw “Rickety” Bridge Phillipson release Labour’s plan for education and it is this newsletter’s duty to cast a critical eye.
You can read the whole thing here, but we’ve done the heavy lifting, so you don’t have to.
Highlights
- The report recommends a deeper more “knowledge-rich” curriculum available for all students. This means that all students will be offered all three single sciences at GCSE.
- There will be diagnostic tests for all children in year 8 to identify gaps.
- There will be a big emphasis on the inclusiveness of curricula.
- Vocational pathways for sixth form students will be prioritised.
- The curriculum will be enriched with digital literacy, media literacy, oracy, financial literacy, equipping students with skills for life.
Clarendon’s Take
- Clarendon is broadly positive about some of the plans – vocational pathways, media, oracy and financial literacy, to name a few.
- However, pushing single sciences at GCSE, whilst there is already a shortage of specialist teachers, seems fanciful. Labour is discouraged that the Triple Award seems to be preserve of independent and grammar school students, but saying all students will be offered Triple Award Science does not address the issue of shortages in Physics and Chemistry teachers. Around 10% of UK schools no longer offer Physics A level because the teachers do not exist.
- The emphasis of inclusiveness seems misplaced. The rest of the report seeks to harness student outcomes, whilst this feels like politicking. Reviewing syllabi for their inclusiveness is a distraction for a review that wants to increase the number of good passes for Maths and English, deepen students’ knowledge and harness them with life skills. This is a problem with this government generally; it wants to be everything, so ends up being nothing.
- We applaud the acknowledgment that AI is going to massively shift the education system and we need to equip our educators and students with the skills to navigate this changing landscape. BUT these recommendations won’t come into effect until, most likely 2029. How much will AI have transformed education at that point? What training will have been provided to teachers? Will another report need to be commissioned at this point? The timeline for digital proficiency needs to be sped up and it needs to include AI.
- Diagnostic tests – though Clarendon has misgivings about constant automative testing and how it skews teaching – seem like a no-brainer.
