A recent survey suggested that we have the unhappiest school children in Europe.
What should we do to make things better, given that confident, fulfilled and well-qualified young people are necessary for our nation's future success?
- Back the teacher. Teachers must have more power to maintain standards and discipline in the classroom, just as head teachers must be backed fully in the exclusion of children who, by their poor attitudes, take away quality from the education of their fellow pupils.
- Assess only for a purpose. Too much external assessment is part of the discredited "top-down", target-driven culture and distracts both teacher and pupil from the main aims of education.
- Restore teaching by ability. This doesn't mean reintroducing grammar schools but it certainly means valuing those few we have, whilst also ensuring that, for the majority, the non-selective model doesn't obscure the need to challenge and stretch all levels of ability-- and this includes those who need more vocational courses.
- Keep our children fit. There should be more time for physical education in the curriculum. We already have a nation of couch potatoes and we should see fitness reintroduced as a weapon against obesity, behavioural problems and depression in teenagers.
- Make the money follow the child. Of course more resources need to be devoted to deprived children and those with special needs, but there should be more fairness in the amounts of money spent per child in education and Devon gets a raw deal.
I have been visiting our local schools and colleges and find that most of our young people want greater freedom to learn, whilst their teachers are yearning for greater freedom to teach. Let's give them what they all want and what we as parents deserve.
