Policies by political era - New Labour, Coalition govt, Tory austerity

New Labour influences

• Cultural deprivation theory → compensatory education

• New Right thinkers → marketisation

NL Aims

• Reduce inequality

• Promote diversity, choice and competition

12 NL policies

• Designation of deprived areas as Education Action Zones

  • EAZs provided with extra resources

• Aim Higher scheme

  • Raise aspirations of groups underrepresented in HE

• Educational Maintenance Allowances

  • Encourage and facilitate students from low-income backgrounds to study post-16

• National Literacy Strategy

  • Decrease primary class sizes (30 and under)

  • Begin literacy and numeracy hours

  • Attempt to benefit disadvantaged groups

• City academies

• Increase state education funding

• 21 steps for 21st century education

• Encourage leading scientists to return to Britain

• Modernise comprehensives

• Mandatory qualifications for heads

• Improved teacher training

• Home-school contracts

IFS (2024) - impact of surestart centres on achievement

• those who lived near a SS centre performed 0.8 grades better at GCSE than those who lived further away

• Increased GCSE grades by 3 grades for FSM pupils

CRITICISM of NL: Benn (2012)

• ‘New Labour paradox’

  • Marketisation and tackling inequality contradict each other

    • EMAs vs tuition fees

• Did not abolish private schools or remove their charitable status

CRITICISM of NL: Whilty (2003) - cosmetic reforms

• Merely cosmetic reforms

  • Grammar schools remain

  • ESI remained and increased

• Emphasis on competition allowed M/C to manipulate market and benefit themselves

Aim of Coalition policies

• Reduce inequality (that ironically stemmed from their marketisation policies ❤ )

5 Coalition policies

• Free school meals

  • For all children from reception to year 2

• Pupil Premium

  • Extra money for schools for each pupil from a disadvantaged background

• Focus on PISA league tables

  • 23rd in reading, introduced phonics, 13th in reading

• Cuts to education budget

• Reforms to NC, GCSEs and A-Levels - also including reduction of coursework

OECD (2023) — 2 impacts of NC/GCSE/A-Level reforms

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 significantly outperformed international average

• Especially reading ability of 9-10 y/o (4/43 countries, best in the west)

2023 — GCSE gender gap (thanks to reduction of coursework)

• 5.8 % pts (smallest since 2016)

CRITICISM of PP - Ofsted (2012)

• 1 in 10 headteachers say PP has significantly changed support for disadvantaged pupils

• However, PP is not spent on those it’s supposed to help

Tory austerity policies

• Spending on school buildings cut by 60%

• Surestart gradually shut until all closed

• EMA abolished

• Tuition fees tripled to £9,000+/year

Tory austerity policies - impact

• Decreased opportunities for W/C pupils

• Discouraged W/C pupils from HE

CRITICISM of Tory policies - Hall (2011) Marxist

• Tory govt policies part of ‘long march to neoliberal revolution’