The Coalition and Education

The Conservative-Lib Dem Coalition can't be accused of having let the grass grown under its feet on education. They are clearly starting as they mean to go on. The centrpiece of their plans revolves around the massive expansion of the Academies programme and the introduction of Free Schools.

Let's be clear from the outset I am strongly opposed to these policies and believe they will have unwanted consequences for education in Britain. However, one should not forget that Labour had already opened the doors to the priviatising agenda in education and the new government has driven a coach and horses through it.

So why am I opposed?

1. I don't think education as a market works like other areas. If schools continually open and close the education for many is likely to get worse not better. If one school fails will others be able to enter the market quickly enough to provide places to a high enough standard?

2. The conditions for those working in education are likely to diminish and this is unlikely to lead to better provision.

3. There is a profound democratic deficit - schools will not be locally accountable. You only choice will be to go there or not to go there and often you won't even have that choice due to oversubscription elsewhere.

4. The supposed improvements in Academies have often been for reasons far removed from excellence. 'Easier' courses are chosen which carry more points. Academies, I believe, are not covered by FOI legislation - what have they got to be scared of? What will academies do for the number of linguists, scientists etc. that are needed -my guess is not a lot. There is a real fracturing of comprehensive education. Many students from poorer backgrounds are doing better in one sense, but at what cost? I heard from a college principal who was concerned that students were keen to do A Level Sciences but their GCSE courses and increasingly equivalents had made this near impossible. Also academies have a tendency to 'alter' their intake leading to better results.

5. I fear we will move back to de facto secondary moderns and I can already see this in some schools. I would be very surprised if there is not more selection in a decade's time.

What is wrong with local schools, democratically accountable to their local community? Seems to work pretty well in Finland.