White paper debate

The parliamentary Education and Skills Select Committee invited ASCL to brief the committee in December, on behalf of school leaders, on our response to the education white paper.

John Dunford and Sue Kirkham raised a number of points, including the need to incentivise collaboration, not competition, among schools and colleges and to reduce the number of new initiatives and the associated bureaucracy.

An ASCL briefing paper went out to all MPs in December reiterating many of these concerns and suggesting alternative actions.

For a copy, go to www.ascl.org.uk and click on publications.

In particular, ASCL opposed termly reports on pupil progress, a measure that regulates quantity, not quality. We also objected to increased local authority power in relation to school improvement. Beyond the fact that this should sit with the school improvement partner, the proposals could very well lead to more, not less, bureaucracy.

Finally, we disagreed with the creation of trust schools since they offer no new freedoms and encourage a two-tier system.