Schools face 'cumulative load' from reforms as term starts

Schools face a “cumulative load” of significant reforms without enough funding and capacity, leaders have warned MPs as many pupils return to class.

Union leaders and education experts appeared before the Commons Education Select Committee to scrutinise the government’s schools White Paper, published in February.

While broadly backing many of the government’s ambitions, including a focus on enrichment and greater support for disadvantaged pupils, they raised concerns over the pace of reforms and newer announcements such as technical qualifications.

Here are six main points raised in yesterday’s committee session:

1. Schools lack capacity for volume of change

James Bowen, assistant general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, warned of the “cumulative load that is about to fall on schools” over the next 18 months.

Schools are facing changes from the schools White Paper, the curriculum and assessment review, an updated Ofsted framework, changes to the special educational needs and disabilities system, and now vocational pathways, he said.

Darren Northcott, national officer at the NASUWT teaching union, said there appeared to be an “inherent assumption that schools have a vast amount of unused capacity that we are going to fill with these policies, and the opposite is the case”.

2. Funding will determine reform success

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said the government was asking schools “to do much more, while providing much less”.

“Funding’s not a footnote to reform,” he said. “It’s the condition upon which reform will either succeed or fail.”

Mr Northcott added that ministers could not “build multi-agency structures on the cheap with no resources”.

3. Warning over technical education

Experts at the committee broadly welcomed plans to strengthen technical pathways, but warned against creating a lower-status route for students who struggle academically.

In July, prime minister Andy Burnham announced that new technical education routes in schools will be available to 14-year-olds as part of reforms to tackle youth unemployment.

Daniel Lilley of the Centre for Social Justice said the policy would “go wrong if it is designed as something for those children who are failing education”.

And Alun Francis, chair of the Social Mobility Commission, warned: “We must not confuse technical education as being an alternative to academic learning.”

Mr Kebede said vocational qualifications would remain “second class” unless put on an equal footing with academic routes.

4. Disadvantage needs a better measure

Free school meal eligibility alone is too blunt a measure of disadvantage, the experts and leaders warned.

Julie McCulloch, chief executive of the Education Policy Institute, said a more income-based measure would capture children in poverty who were currently missed.

And Julia Harnden, deputy director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, suggested factors including persistent absence, low prior attainment and adverse childhood experiences could also be considered.

The aim should be to “level all children up, really, not redistribute scarcity”, Mr Kebede added.

The government pledged in the schools White Paper to consult on changes to the distribution of disadvantage funding, including pupil premium.

5. ‘Brilliant’ schools can’t fix regional gaps

The panellists backed the government’s Mission North East and Mission Coastal initiatives, but said education policy alone could not resolve deeply rooted regional gaps.

Mr Lilley noted that the North East performs relatively well at the end of primary school before falling behind by age 16, adding: “If every secondary school was brilliant, how much would the problem be fixed?”

Ms McCulloch said tackling such gaps required a “cross-governmental, cross-societal approach”.

6. ‘Stepping stone’ qualifications not the answer

Mr Francis criticised the proposed “stepping-stone” qualification for students who do not achieve GCSE English and maths.

The curriculum and assessment review proposed new level 1 English and maths qualifications for 16- to 19-year-olds who leave school with GCSE grades 2 or below.

The government consulted on the proposals in March.

However, Mr Francis said: “If we’re serious about this problem, then we need to stop changing the qualifications and actually invest properly in it.”

Ms McCulloch also questioned whether GCSEs were the best measure of the literacy and numeracy skills young people need.