government educational policies

new labour policy overview

* supported modernisation of comprehensives
* supported increase in school diversity and the introduction of specialist schools
* labour aimed to promote diversity and choice by encouraging schools to apply for specialist school status in a specific subject area. it argued that this offered greater parent choice and raised standards.
* emphasised equality of opportunity through surestart and other policies

educational action zones (lab)

* these were implemented in deprived areas which provided people with proper resources.

aim higher (lab)

* this aimed to raise aspirations of those who underrepresented in higher education

educational maintenance allowance (lab)

* payments were introduced to encourage poorer students to stay in education £30 a week

national literacy strategy (lab)

* reducing primary school class sizes
* it claimed these policies are of greater benefit to disadvantaged groups and so help to reduce inequality

NEETS (lab)

* not in education, employment or training
* proposed raising the school leaving age to 18 in order to prevent NEETS

city academies (lab)

* this gives a fresh start to struggling inner city schools, with mainly working class backgrounds.

criticisms of new labour

* labour are criticised for their contradiction in policies
* example: EMA’s may encourage working class students to stay in education but tuition fees may deter the working class from attending HE.

coalition government 2010

* accelerated the move away from an education system based on comprehensives run by local authorities.
* policies influenced by neo libs and new right about reducing the role of the state, through marketisation and privatisation.
* David cameron stated the aim of education was to encourage excellence, competition and innovation’ by freeing schools from the state.

coalition gov academies

* from 2010 all schools encouraged to leave local authority control and become academies
* funding was taken away from local authority budgets and given directly to academies by central government.
* academies were given control over their budget and curriculum
* by 2012 half of all secondary schools had converted to academy status which no longer existed to reduce inequality.

coalition gov free schools

* these are funded by the state
* set up by parents, teachers, faith organisations or businesses rather than the LEA
* supporters say this improves the quality of the school by taking it away from state control and allowing for an alternative if people are unhappy with the local state school.
* criticisms: research shows only people from highly educated families benefit from free schools. free schools also take fewer disadvantaged students then nearby schools.

Ball (academies)

* promoting academies and free schools has led to increased fragmentation and increased centralization of control over education provision.

how the coalition increased educational inequality

* spending on school buildings cut by 60%
* closure of surestart centers, EMA was abolished
* uni fees tripled to £9K
* new OFSTED criteria was established in line with marketisation of education
* reform of national curriculum to promote more rigorous testing of both students and teachers
* A level reforms introduced where they are performed over a two year period without modular exams.

coalition policies which reduce inequality

* free school meals for under 7’s
* pupil premium
* increasing compulsory education/ training up to 18