Education white paper

ePolitix.com Stakeholders comment on the news that the government has published a white paper aimed at improving the education of pupils excluded from the mainstream system. 

The white paper, Back on Track: a strategy for modernising alternative provision for young people, includes plans to involve private companies and charities in setting up new provision for those excluded in England

Party response: Conservative

Michael Gove, Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said: "Last year, David Cameron said that we need more independent organisations like charities involved in helping children with special needs and learning difficulties.

"I'm glad that Ed Balls now accepts this is right. However, we should be tackling this problem at the source. Many children suffer because they've not been taught to read properly. We need tried and tested reading schemes in primary schools to stop children going off the rails in the first place."

Tim Loughton, shadow children's minister, said: "For pupils normally sitting their GCSEs this summer who have had their whole education under Labour, the last 10 years have been a roller-coaster of inclusion/exclusion posturing.

"Undermining the authority of heads has meant that disruptive pupils continue to disrupt; failing themselves and the majority in the classroom who want to learn.

"Those excluded because of learning difficulties are shrouded in a 'whiff of inevitability' as they are condemned to fail in often inappropriate pupil referral units when they really need remedial education.

"Today's white paper amounts to an admission that the government has failed the most vulnerable members of a whole generation. It is no substitute for urgent and appropriate intervention at the root of the problem."


Stakeholder response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL)

To send a comment to the ATL, click here

Martin Johnson, deputy general secretary, said: "We are pleased the white paper recognises that the staff who work with the often delinquent and damaged youngsters in pupil referral units are heroic, and far too frequently have to work in unsuitable accommodation. 

"However, ministers must remember that young people's problem behaviour does not start with exclusion from school, but starts before and is why they have been excluded.

"The government needs to do more to clarify the conflict between reintegrating young people into mainstream education and long-term alternative placements. These require very different approaches, and the outcomes sought need to be agreed locally.

"Unfortunately, the government has marred its honest and realistic report by insisting on making space for providers with a profit motive. This is also not the right place for proposals about so-called studio schools which would suit a different kind of pupil.

"The government also needs to ensure funding follows pupils whatever the length of a placement. Any measurement of pupil performance and the success of training units needs to include personal and social skills such as reliability, personal hygiene and self-presentation, and these should be measured and credited on a par with achieving exam passes.

"The government needs to recognise that the current curriculum in pupil referral units may entrench disadvantages among these pupils who could benefit from studying diplomas and gaining work-related skills instead.

"And staff safety should be paramount so restraint training should be compulsory, and there needs to be joint working between staff in pupil referral units, schools, youth workers and the police."

Stakeholder response: Edexcel



To send a comment to Edexcel, click here

Jerry Jarvis, Edexcel's managing director, said: "Alternative provision can be an education lifeline for the one per cent of the UK's school age children who rely on it.

"The government's decision to modernise this area of education is to be applauded. I particularly welcome the suggestion that vocational learning should be made as widely accessible as possible.

"These subjects, many available as BTEC qualifications, can appeal to young people at any educational level. They can often be ideal routes to a fulfilling career for those with less academic commitment.

"Making vocational learning available to as many young people as possible opens up new opportunities for them and can help break cycles of exclusion."


Stakeholder response: Local Government Association



To send a comment to the LGA, click here

Les Lawrence, chairman of the Local Government Association's Children and Young People Board, said: "The White Paper's aim of significantly improving the lives of this particularly vulnerable group of young people is one the LGA strongly endorses. We think it's the responsibility of councils and their partners, especially schools, to work together to make this a reality.

"This can't be made to happen from the centre - it's a local problem that needs a locally designed solution.
 
"It is also the case that these particular young people usually have other serious problems in their lives, for example at home, which makes it all the more important that alternative provision is firmly part of the overall system of children's services in a locality, since many of the young people are likely to need additional support.
 
"This is why the commissioning of alternative provision must be part of the overall commissioning of children's services in an area, but that's not quite what the Paper proposes. Alternative provision is a service area in which innovative 3rd sector providers may well have something special to offer; we think their role can best be encouraged through effective local decision-making."

Stakeholder response: NASUWT



To send a comment to the NASUWT, click here

Chris Keates, general secretary, said: "There is much to be welcomed in the White Paper.

"The review is long overdue and will be welcomed by schools if it results in a coherent and comprehensive network of high quality provision across the country.

"However, if its laudable intentions are to be realised, modernisation must not become a euphemism for privatisation. History shows a poor track record of the private sector in this area of education.

"The White Paper also provides an opportunity to address the needs of the 'forgotten army' of teachers currently working in alternative provision dealing with youngsters with challenging and profound needs. The needs of these teachers in relation to pay, working conditions and access to high quality training are often neglected by employers. The White Paper presents an opportunity to address these deficiencies and to celebrate their hard work and expertise."

Stakeholder response: The National Union of Teachers