The Government white paper "Higher Standards, Better Schools for All " is seen as one of the most contentious for years. Here is a summary of the GTC's response, put to the Education and Skills select committee of the House of Commons at the end of last term.
The white paper has a bold and welcome aim: "to raise standards for all especially amongst the least advantaged". The correlation between under-achievement and social class, gender, ethnicity and deprivation is more severe in England than in many other countries.
But the GTC has serious concerns that the proposals do not currently contain the right balance of measures to make real progress on the most intractable of all education issues - the attainment gap. Unless variations of attainment within and between schools are tackled, educational under-achievement may merely be moved around the system. Furthermore, pockets of extreme deprivation in relatively affluent urban and rural areas need to be better targeted.
There is clear evidence that it is not school structures that have the foremost influence on outcomes for pupils. It is the quality of teaching and learning, institutional and professional leadership, the curriculum offer, parent/carer engagement and resourcing that make the difference.
The GTC believes that the white paper proposals do not, in combination, place sufficient weight on these factors and so will not deliver an entitlement for all pupils to excellence and equity in either provision or outcomes. The opportunity to make the difference for those children who are least well-served by the system is only half grasped.
We fear that the proposals on school structures undermine the Government's stated objective. The criterion for change of school status or school expansion should be whether change will improve the attainment and well-being of all groups of pupils in an area. This should be placed alongside sustained additional provision to tackle the attainment gap.
We propose a series of measures that would deliver flexibility and authority to the local community and schools. They focus on the goal of entitlement for all pupils to high quality provision tailored to their needs.
"The proposals on school structures undermine the Government's stated objective to raise standards for all"
