As we move into the festive season, it is time for some soul searching.
Over the past 15 years, the education sector has faced huge structural upheaval. The introduction of academies, hubs, the changes to initial teacher training and the early career framework, not to mention the changes around curriculum and assessment.
Evidently, there have been those who have benefitted from these changes. But have these changes had a positive impact on the lives and education of the children of our country?
Many of the reports and studies that have been published in the past year suggest not. So let’s pause for thought and consider the implications for 2025.
Disadvantage in schools
There are currently 4.3 million children living in poverty in the UK, with 58 per cent of those children living in the north of England.
In June 2024, the lnstitute for Fiscal Studies published a study suggesting that the Covid-19 pandemic reversed a decade of progress in reading.
The gap in outcomes for children experiencing disadvantage and those who are not is at its greatest for over 10 years. Even at the start of school, only half of pupils eligible for free school meals achieve a good level of development, compared with 72 per cent of their less disadvantaged peers.
Studies from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, the Programme for International Student Assessment and the National Literacy Trust suggest that the development of reading for children in England may not be encouraging them to read for enjoyment.
And the phonics screening check does not seem to have had much impact on outcomes for children.
Absenteeism has increased by almost two-thirds, with 37 per cent of pupils living in disadvantage classed as persistently absent. Fixed-term and permanent exclusions are rising, in both primary and secondary schools. The education available for children with special education needs is in crisis.
The 2024 Good Childhood report highlighted that children’s self-reported perceptions of their happiness with their friends, appearance, school and schoolwork were significantly lower in the 2021-22 survey than before.
Schools are losing more and more experienced teachers and as they go, they take with them the hard-won tacit knowledge of the classroom, the pupils and their communities.
All these reports suggest it is time for a change. Time for an approach that values and respects the institutions we call schools. A time for a change that respects teachers for the professionals they are and enables them to use their expertise appropriately.
Most importantly, time for a change that puts the voices of our children and young people at the heart of the conversation.
Megan Dixon is a doctoral student and associate lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University
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