Foreword

The coalition's first test

By John O'Leary

The coalition government may be feeling its way in some areas, but the direction of travel in one field of policy was set from the start. Throughout the election, education was the Tories’ answer to accusations that they had nothing fresh to offer.

Free schools and a rapid expansion of the academies programme were promised as a means of transforming state schools. And, with the Academies Bill already making its way through Parliament, the new administration has shown its determination to hit the ground running.

But, with schools in that portion of the public sector facing 25 per cent cuts, how much room for manoeuvre is left for Michael Gove, the new Education Secretary? His free schools have been dismissed by some in education as a costly irrelevance, while his traditionalist approach to the curriculum is sure to be controversial among the teaching profession.

This edition of Policy Review looks at the prospects for schools reform following the emergency budget. Judith Judd asks where the money will come from and sees hard decisions ahead on staffing, regardless of the Chancellor’s promise to protect education.

Sir Cyril Taylor, adviser to ten education secretaries and pioneer of specialist schools and academies, questions the emphasis on outstanding schools in the early days of the new Education Department. In an interview, he urges Mr Gove to make improvements to literacy and the eradication of failing schools his top priorities. Sir Cyril would like Mr Gove to focus on 167 secondary schools that are failing to improve on low GCSE results. Persistent poor performers would be taken over by high-achieving neighbours, while new reading tests would be used to monitor progress in the key area of literacy.

ARK Schools, the network of academies in London, Birmingham and Portsmouth, has shown the benefits of federation. Lesley Smith charts the improvements in exam results at the eight existing academies and sets out plans to triple the number of pupils ARK serves.

John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, sees the change of government as an opportunity to revisit the debate on the purpose of education. His target is the “mind-numbing” National Curriculum, but the approach of the Whole Education charity, which he chairs, may be at odds with Mr Gove’s. Both believe in trusting good teachers, but the well-supported charity will no doubt initiate lively discussions with ministers over the qualities and competencies that it believes schools should be instilling in their pupils.

The second section of the magazine covers health, justice and the potential for savings on central and local government property, as well as the impact on Scotland of the developing relationship between David Cameron and Alex Salmond. Anna Dixon reports on research led by the King’s Fund on patient choice, while Jon Silverman foreshadows the new approach to prison being developed at the Justice Department.

30 June 2010

John O'Leary. Editor, Policy Review Magazine