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| Market forces won’t improve our schools | Market forces won’t improve our schools |
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| Michael Moszynski says “the only way to improve state schools is to offer parents choice and to encourage competition” (Letters, 29 August). It is worth a reminder that 2018 is the 30th anniversary of the 1988 Education Reform Act. Among other things, it linked school funding to open enrolment (parental choice), which had already been introduced by the Education Act in 1986. In other words, we have had over 30 years of a national competitive regime, which expected successful schools to expand and unsuccessful schools – in the chilling words of the Department for Education – to “wither on the vine”. | Michael Moszynski says “the only way to improve state schools is to offer parents choice and to encourage competition” (Letters, 29 August). It is worth a reminder that 2018 is the 30th anniversary of the 1988 Education Reform Act. Among other things, it linked school funding to open enrolment (parental choice), which had already been introduced by the Education Act in 1986. In other words, we have had over 30 years of a national competitive regime, which expected successful schools to expand and unsuccessful schools – in the chilling words of the Department for Education – to “wither on the vine”. |
| If competition between schools was such a great idea, we might expect that 30 years on it would have brought us to the promised land. And has anybody ever seen “parental choice and competition” cited as a reason for success in a school Ofsted report? School improvement is complex, often difficult and involves a lot of different factors. Attributing it to the magic of market forces isn’t helpful to anyone.Andrew WingardMatlock, Derbyshire | If competition between schools was such a great idea, we might expect that 30 years on it would have brought us to the promised land. And has anybody ever seen “parental choice and competition” cited as a reason for success in a school Ofsted report? School improvement is complex, often difficult and involves a lot of different factors. Attributing it to the magic of market forces isn’t helpful to anyone.Andrew WingardMatlock, Derbyshire |
| • Michael Moszynski’s letter is both irritating and ridiculous. My daughter went to local state primary schools, the local comprehensive (passing 11 O-levels), the local sixth form college (passing four A-levels) and went to Oxford to read PPE then into the civil service fast stream, where she joined the Foreign Office. Some 25 years later, my oldest grandson has gone to the same state schools, the same comprehensive, the same sixth form college, where he got four A* A-levels, and went on to get an MSc in physics. Both children happened to be very academically able. | • Michael Moszynski’s letter is both irritating and ridiculous. My daughter went to local state primary schools, the local comprehensive (passing 11 O-levels), the local sixth form college (passing four A-levels) and went to Oxford to read PPE then into the civil service fast stream, where she joined the Foreign Office. Some 25 years later, my oldest grandson has gone to the same state schools, the same comprehensive, the same sixth form college, where he got four A* A-levels, and went on to get an MSc in physics. Both children happened to be very academically able. |
| To call their comprehensive school “bog-standard” is deeply offensive. Their sixth form college regularly takes in students who are leaving rubbish private schools to get a decent education, decent qualifications, and to be taught by properly qualified teachers. Parents using private schools are buying privileged access, to facilities and future connections. You can’t buy brains. We need equal access to opportunities for all children, across the curriculum. This can only be done by having a real “level playing field”, not the humbug of the present system.Celia BerridgeRodmell, East Sussex | To call their comprehensive school “bog-standard” is deeply offensive. Their sixth form college regularly takes in students who are leaving rubbish private schools to get a decent education, decent qualifications, and to be taught by properly qualified teachers. Parents using private schools are buying privileged access, to facilities and future connections. You can’t buy brains. We need equal access to opportunities for all children, across the curriculum. This can only be done by having a real “level playing field”, not the humbug of the present system.Celia BerridgeRodmell, East Sussex |
| • The government has a stark lesson to learn from the anticipated shortfall of secondary school places by 2023-24 (Warning of 134,000 shortfall in secondary school places, 31 August). The dogmatic drive to push schools out of local government control, coupled with restrictions on the building of new schools, are responsible for the shortfall. It begs the question how the shortfall will be overcome. If the government is wedded to academies and free schools it cannot expect cash-strapped local government to pick up the slack. Furthermore, given the time taken to build new schools, it needs to provide investment sooner rather than later.Neil MacehiterCambridge | • The government has a stark lesson to learn from the anticipated shortfall of secondary school places by 2023-24 (Warning of 134,000 shortfall in secondary school places, 31 August). The dogmatic drive to push schools out of local government control, coupled with restrictions on the building of new schools, are responsible for the shortfall. It begs the question how the shortfall will be overcome. If the government is wedded to academies and free schools it cannot expect cash-strapped local government to pick up the slack. Furthermore, given the time taken to build new schools, it needs to provide investment sooner rather than later.Neil MacehiterCambridge |
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