A GOOD LOCAL SCHOOL FOR EVERY CHILD AND FOR EVERY COMMUNITY

2 November 2007

The NUT today launches its manifesto for schools in England.  The manifesto argues that the vital role of schools in their communities needs to be enhanced and that the damaging marketisation policies of the previous government should be dismantled.

The proposals are based on the idea that global and local communities are interconnected and that the contributions of the communities of teachers and young people are vital to the success of the education system.

The manifesto urges that the barriers of social class in education needs to be tackled by a programme which increases support for schools in the toughest areas.

The manifesto emphasises the importance of solidarity in playing a part in the construction of policies to help build community cohesion, end poverty and exclusion.
The manifesto is targeted at influencing the shape of the expected Education Bill to be announced in next week’s Queen’s Speech.  Key proposals include:

Global and Local

• A timetable must be set to meet the Prime Minister’s target of matching the funding of each pupil in state schools with the current spending on pupils in private schools.  The target for spending £8,000 in real terms annually per pupil in the state sector should be reached by 2014.
• Prior to 2014, the first priority should be to increase support for schools with high incidences of child poverty and social disadvantage.
• There should be a ring-fenced grant which covers all groups of young people in need of intensive support, including young people from minority ethnic groups and white working class young people.
• The requirements to promote choice and diversity within the 2006 Education Act should be removed and all schools should be returned to the local authority family of schools.
• Local authorities should be required to promote community cohesion.
• Acting on the advice of local admissions forums, local authorities should determine the admissions arrangements for schools.
• In order to remedy the democratic deficit created by the contraction of the education roles of local authorities, the idea of establishing democratic and elected school boards should be piloted.
• A United Kingdom Council for Education should be established.  Its purpose would be to share voluntarily experiences and joint practice in education developments within the UK.
• The UK should be at the centre of the World Trade talks promoting the growth of education services in developing countries.  As part of this, the professional development and international research capacity of the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for International Development should be strengthened and integrated in order that international teacher exchanges can be increased.

The Future of the Teaching Profession

• Each teacher should have an entitlement to a one term sabbatical every seven years to conduct research.  Every teacher should receive a minimum funded entitlement annually for professional development of £1,200 on current prices.
• Consideration should be given to whether Post Graduate Certificate of Education courses should become two year programmes with proper funding provided to students to enable participation.
• The principle of a professional council for teachers and the arguments for it should be the subject for consultation with the teaching profession.  Teachers should be asked to vote on the nature of any council.
• Head teachers need to be confident that headship is not a form of Russian roulette.  The first response of a local authority when a school is given a notice to improve or placed in special measures should be professional development not dismissal of the head teacher or closure of the school.

The Voices of Children and Young People

• The Government should commission an independent review of the effects of current accountability mechanisms on the nature of teaching and learning in schools as communities.  Alongside such an independent review, there should be an independent review of the primary National Curriculum and the National Curriculum assessment arrangements for Key Stages 1-3.
• Child development studies should be at the centre of initial teacher training and teachers’ continuing professional development.
• The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority should prepare specific advice to schools on teaching about the environment, climate change and sustainable development.
• One-to-one tuition should be available to all young people who need a boost in their confidence and learning.
• A forum for representatives of the food, fashion, electronic games and advertising industries and representatives of school communities should be established by Government to examine how children can be protected from the worst effects of commercialisation.  Representatives of the alcohol industry should be invited to  participate in the forum.
• Television advertising of unhealthy food and drink should be banned.  If a commitment is not achieved from the alcohol industry to stop targeting specifically young people through sponsorship and advertising, the Government should regulate the alcohol industry to achieve this objective.
• All children and young people should be entitled to outdoor learning including cultural sporting and arts activities.  A guaranteed entitlement to such activities should be included in the Government’s commitment to raise per pupil funding in the state sector to current private sector funding level.

Steve Sinnott, NUT General Secretary, said:
 
“Gordon Brown’s vision for education, announced on Wednesday, is a positive first step.  The Queen’s speech and subsequent Education Bill must not reflect, however, past policies of choice and diversity.  Such policies encourage segregation and a two-tier education system.  Our proposals for enhancing the role of schools in their communities and restoring confidence and trust in teachers draw a line under the policies of previous governments.  They highlight the importance of tackling social barriers through strengthening the role of schools and trusting the professionalism of teachers.

“I urge Gordon Brown and Ed Balls to give a practical shape to their vision for education which all communities can support.  A world class education system for our country depends on the whole-hearted backing of all those who use and work in it. This is our national aspiration- a fight we can all support.”