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| Much of Britain's bitter division began in school | |
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| Post-Brexit convulsions continue and will do so for some time. This may slow the pace of other legislation, which may delight many people, though personally I would trade even the dreaded education bill to be remaining in the European Union. I hope we can use this pause to consider some lessons from recent weeks. | Post-Brexit convulsions continue and will do so for some time. This may slow the pace of other legislation, which may delight many people, though personally I would trade even the dreaded education bill to be remaining in the European Union. I hope we can use this pause to consider some lessons from recent weeks. |
| The reasons behind the referendum result will be picked over for years, even generations. But there seems to be agreement that we are a divided, grossly unequal society in which some communities feel isolated, let down and left behind. This has translated into anger, often directed at immigration, an understandable desire to be heard, to pull up the drawbridge and recreate a past that may well be impossible to return to. | The reasons behind the referendum result will be picked over for years, even generations. But there seems to be agreement that we are a divided, grossly unequal society in which some communities feel isolated, let down and left behind. This has translated into anger, often directed at immigration, an understandable desire to be heard, to pull up the drawbridge and recreate a past that may well be impossible to return to. |
| Are there implications for education policy? I think so. Schools can and do bring people together, but they can also divide and our schools segregate our citizens from an early age. Even if you strip out the issue of selective admissions, faith schools and the private sector, you can still see children sorted into different institutions by race, class and ethnicity in otherwise mixed communities. | Are there implications for education policy? I think so. Schools can and do bring people together, but they can also divide and our schools segregate our citizens from an early age. Even if you strip out the issue of selective admissions, faith schools and the private sector, you can still see children sorted into different institutions by race, class and ethnicity in otherwise mixed communities. |
| This is partly to do with choice, herd instinct, and residential geography. We saw the consequences played out before during the riots in the north-west 15 years ago, then articulated in the subsequent Cantle Report, then ignored. A divided school system will inevitably collide with community cohesion and reduce understanding of difference. If we want to build more tolerance and social cohesion we need to be working towards more integrated rather than segregated schools. | This is partly to do with choice, herd instinct, and residential geography. We saw the consequences played out before during the riots in the north-west 15 years ago, then articulated in the subsequent Cantle Report, then ignored. A divided school system will inevitably collide with community cohesion and reduce understanding of difference. If we want to build more tolerance and social cohesion we need to be working towards more integrated rather than segregated schools. |
| And what of the repeated claims about pressure of immigration on public services and primary school places in particular? Not being able to get a school place for your child is a deep concern. | And what of the repeated claims about pressure of immigration on public services and primary school places in particular? Not being able to get a school place for your child is a deep concern. |
| But a recent analysis of immigration figures and school place availability, by education data company School Dash, shows no clear correlation between school occupancy and recent European immigration. The availability of primary school places is largely determined by other factors. | But a recent analysis of immigration figures and school place availability, by education data company School Dash, shows no clear correlation between school occupancy and recent European immigration. The availability of primary school places is largely determined by other factors. |
| One of those factors is the failure of recent government to fund and allow local authorities to decide how they can best meet the needs of local people. While the DfE has have been busy parachuting expensive new free schools into areas where there is no need, deeply felt resentment about a shortage of places has been fermenting elsewhere. That needs to be urgently addressed, especially given the rise in pupil numbers coming down the tracks. | One of those factors is the failure of recent government to fund and allow local authorities to decide how they can best meet the needs of local people. While the DfE has have been busy parachuting expensive new free schools into areas where there is no need, deeply felt resentment about a shortage of places has been fermenting elsewhere. That needs to be urgently addressed, especially given the rise in pupil numbers coming down the tracks. |
| Then there is the question of disaffected white British working class communities – fatally underestimated by so many on the remain side, especially in the Labour party. We know that children from many of these families still underachieve compared with disadvantaged young people from other ethnic groups. This is another possible, and subtle, contributor to the cauldron of anger we have witnessed in the past few months. | Then there is the question of disaffected white British working class communities – fatally underestimated by so many on the remain side, especially in the Labour party. We know that children from many of these families still underachieve compared with disadvantaged young people from other ethnic groups. This is another possible, and subtle, contributor to the cauldron of anger we have witnessed in the past few months. |
| According to the Sutton Trust, whose work with the Education Endowment Foundation makes it the go-to place for evidence and research, a great deal is known about the stubborn gap in attainment between white working class pupils and the rest, but too little about how to tackle it. | According to the Sutton Trust, whose work with the Education Endowment Foundation makes it the go-to place for evidence and research, a great deal is known about the stubborn gap in attainment between white working class pupils and the rest, but too little about how to tackle it. |
| The trust’s chief executive, Lee Elliot Major, told me last week: “We think it has to be about convincing good teachers to teach and stay in the areas with the highest concentrations of white working pupils, plus investment in programmes to engage pupils and parents outside the school to improve cultural capital and attitudes to education.” | The trust’s chief executive, Lee Elliot Major, told me last week: “We think it has to be about convincing good teachers to teach and stay in the areas with the highest concentrations of white working pupils, plus investment in programmes to engage pupils and parents outside the school to improve cultural capital and attitudes to education.” |
| But we already know that schools in areas of high deprivation and low attainment struggle to recruit and keep good teachers. Reforms to testing, exams and league tables, which take no account of context, seem likely to impact those schools more severely, especially if linked to Ofsted judgments. | But we already know that schools in areas of high deprivation and low attainment struggle to recruit and keep good teachers. Reforms to testing, exams and league tables, which take no account of context, seem likely to impact those schools more severely, especially if linked to Ofsted judgments. |
| At a time when chronic teacher shortages are emerging, this will lead to a vicious rather than virtuous cycle for those schools. A recognition that even within the category of “disadvantage” there are subtle differences seems vital. | At a time when chronic teacher shortages are emerging, this will lead to a vicious rather than virtuous cycle for those schools. A recognition that even within the category of “disadvantage” there are subtle differences seems vital. |
| The purpose of education may well be less obvious in those communities, if there are fewer jobs and no clear career opportunities. But where there are jobs available, what were the employers saying during the referendum campaign? That they often needed to give them to more highly skilled workers from overseas. Yet “skill” has become a dirty word in recent years. Vocational, technical and practical education has been relegated even more firmly to a second-tier choice compared with a small number of fetishised academic subjects. That needs to change too. | The purpose of education may well be less obvious in those communities, if there are fewer jobs and no clear career opportunities. But where there are jobs available, what were the employers saying during the referendum campaign? That they often needed to give them to more highly skilled workers from overseas. Yet “skill” has become a dirty word in recent years. Vocational, technical and practical education has been relegated even more firmly to a second-tier choice compared with a small number of fetishised academic subjects. That needs to change too. |
| Finally, what of our duty to ensure that young people leave school with a decent understanding of how our political system works? Citizenship education is marginalised and patchy. It is perfectly possible to leave secondary school today with excellent academic qualifications but little understanding of the constitution, parliament, the judicial system and the effect all three have on our lives. Hardly surprising maybe that only 36% of young people voted and that people from all ages, many well educated, admitted to not fully understanding the implications of this once-in-a-lifetime decision. | Finally, what of our duty to ensure that young people leave school with a decent understanding of how our political system works? Citizenship education is marginalised and patchy. It is perfectly possible to leave secondary school today with excellent academic qualifications but little understanding of the constitution, parliament, the judicial system and the effect all three have on our lives. Hardly surprising maybe that only 36% of young people voted and that people from all ages, many well educated, admitted to not fully understanding the implications of this once-in-a-lifetime decision. |
| It is not all doom and gloom, though. On a thundery night at the bitter end of referendum day I was knocking on doors on an estate close to my home. One was opened by a bright-eyed 12-year-old from a non-white immigrant family, eager to understand what I was doing. As it happens he went to the (very socially and ethnically diverse) school where I am a chair of governors. | It is not all doom and gloom, though. On a thundery night at the bitter end of referendum day I was knocking on doors on an estate close to my home. One was opened by a bright-eyed 12-year-old from a non-white immigrant family, eager to understand what I was doing. As it happens he went to the (very socially and ethnically diverse) school where I am a chair of governors. |
| London is not without its problems. But two of the London boroughs with the highest levels of recent immigration voted decisively to remain within the EU. My own backyard reminds me that it is still possible to connect children from all backgrounds – the voters of the future – with an optimism and social cohesion that doesn’t exist elsewhere. | London is not without its problems. But two of the London boroughs with the highest levels of recent immigration voted decisively to remain within the EU. My own backyard reminds me that it is still possible to connect children from all backgrounds – the voters of the future – with an optimism and social cohesion that doesn’t exist elsewhere. |
| It will be one thing to manage the fiendishly complicated task of dismantling Britain’s membership of the EU, quite another to address the underlying causes of that seismic vote on 23 June. Schools, teachers and the way we organise our education system certainly can’t do this alone but they can play a part. The current reforms are wholly inadequate for this task and a different approach is urgently needed now. | It will be one thing to manage the fiendishly complicated task of dismantling Britain’s membership of the EU, quite another to address the underlying causes of that seismic vote on 23 June. Schools, teachers and the way we organise our education system certainly can’t do this alone but they can play a part. The current reforms are wholly inadequate for this task and a different approach is urgently needed now. |