Another re-heated education policy has been put forward by the government in a desperate bid to counter increasing criticism over their policies.
The Children’s Plan, launched yesterday by ministers, is a £1billion 10-year strategy for education, welfare and play. Some of the significant parts of the plan include changes to the primary school cirriculum, and the ending of the hated SATS testing within two years. It also proposes spending on new and refurbishing playgrounds across the country and giving parents greater information about their childrens’ education.
Childrens’ secretary Ed Balls said that the mission was to make Britain “the best place in the world to grow up”.
Oh, come on, Mr Balls, do you so seriously think that this “plan” will help improve the education of our children? Parents, teachers and independent experts will look at this announcement and breathe a collective groan. There has been so many education initiatives from the government over the last ten years, but almost every respected independent reports show that our pupils are falling behind most of their equivalents in the industrialised world. Our schools are suffering from the dead weight of bureaucracy. Our children are being routinely tested to destruction.
The government has continued its top-down approach to delivering education…. and to most people, it stinks.