Though I was enormously relieved to read Labour’s first statement of their own education policy, I was disappointed that we still are in awe of a word that has rarely meant less than it does now – ‘Standards’.
From www.centuriontoysoldiers.co.uk
Blunkett did a good job, grounding the proposals to improve accountability on the strengths in the system, and a clear focus on what is wrong now. Let’s not forget, this policy has been a long time coming. Twigg was a crushing failure in opposition, and there has been no shortage of areas in the Coalition policies that they could have improved on. So, we can take some comfort from the fact that not only has the opposition to the coalition (and specifically, the very clever Mr Gove) has published something that actually makes sense and does much more than reiterate old ideas.
That said, as we approach the next election, we find ourselves still trapped in the mire that New Labour helped to create, in the Swamp of ‘Standards’. As I argued in my piece for the Fabians, we are held by a rhetoric where we have constructed the dialogue about weighing of the pig, not the quality of the meat (Standards are NOT the problem in education that this policy statement is fixing. These recommendations are about accountability and collaboration – and that is a good thing. The role of Director of School Standards, (DoSSer!?) has a clear remit – and I applaud this first statement of policy from Labour. I would like to see far more bravery from Labour to bring the focus towards a massive shift in pedagogy and introducing new metrics – and to encourage communities to measure what matters. I would like to see skills, competences and wellbeing matter as ways to develop social justice.
Most of all, I want to see ‘Standards’ removed from the political debate, and left in the classroom, where it can be given meaning by professionals, rather than politicians.