Co-operative Schools – the Alternative to Gove’s Private Academisation
Education has been a political football for decades. Perhaps some are surprised to hear it was Margaret Thatcher who got rid of grammar schools. Grammar schools selected on academic performance rather than income, so many Tory voters found disappointment.
“The reason for the change from a selective to a comprehensive system was controversial, but not deeply divisive, at the time: middle-class parents in the Sixties and Seventies began to resent a test that could consign their children, at the tender age of 11, to schools which they regarded as second-class.”
Comprehensive education should be about the very best high quality education and opportunities for everyone, but in truth there has never been a true comprehensive system, since private and elitist public schools have remained. Now Michael Gove’s policies of Academisation and Free schools are being introduced by the Coalition at an alarming pace. And why? So that they can be ripe for privatisation and profiteering. The world’s best achieving education systems are in fact in countries such as Finland where private schools are banned.
This animation was commissioned by the Co-operative College and the Co-operative Group to explain how co-operative values and principles are being used in schools to make a real difference
Weston-super-Mare Labour Party reports: ” South Ward Labour Councillors , and the party’s candidate in the forthcoming by-election on 2nd May, are calling on local parents to wholeheartedly and actively support moves to bring the Wards three local primary schools together into a ‘Co-operative Schools Trust’.
Under plans to be discussed shortly, Bournville, Windwhistle and Oldmixon Primary Schools (together with Walliscote Primary and Milton Park Primary) are considering becoming foundation schools, and operating as a co-operative Trust , which would be known as ‘the Weston-super-Mare Education Trust’.
Co-operative Schools are about developing a balanced set of values that will help young people become the good citizens our society needs.
The Values and Principles we have adopted are internationally agreed and used by Co-operatives across the world.
Membership of SCS is open to any school or educational co-operative as long as they share our values and principles. Our members use these values in their own organisation and work with other SCS members for everyone’s benefit.
“The Trust and partner organisations can exert influence, so who those stakeholders are is important, but the degree of openness, accountability and democratic participation that is afforded to educational professionals, parents and other commnunity stakeholders is such that we really believe this is the way forward – particularly given the challenges facing our schools in South Ward.”
If you would like to find out more about them use one of the following links:
At the very least, Michael Gove is selective with the truth. Deviously and deceptively he has pursued a campaign to demolish state education. (1) Ambitious for a five year parliament, he hopes the speed of his changes (2) will ensure they are permanent, schools ensnared in long term contracts. We observe school-bully tactics and, where sweeteners did not work, Gove forcibly ensured the conversion to Academies.
No longer does the public believe him, and recent polls (YouGov) YouGov Education and Skills show confidence declining. The conservatives led on Education in January and are now 10 points behind Labour. (24 % compared with 34% Labour)
Early in this parliament, Gove instigated visits to observe the highly performing Finnish Education system regarded as one of the best in the world. Subsequently, the Finnish free-school model was included in the government’s white paper. Simultaneously, the media continued to drive home the message of failing schools, and sell us the Academy argument, veiling the truth of the plan to privatise.
What was obvious to observers who visited Finland is how teaching is regarded as one of the most prestigious careers, along with medicine and law. Children enjoyed learning. They were allowed to develop interest are not constantly jumping through the hoops of competition, which achieves nothing but to label children as failures. Education provision for sick children is enabled by technology. There is a lot of snow in Finland, but children unable to get to school can still access lessons. Gove’s policies are hitting the education of sick children in the UK (3) harder than ever.
Finnish communities differed than British towns, where contrasting affluent and less affluent residential areas demonstrate the inequality in our society. Inequality is perpetuated because of the power exercised by a privileged minority, products of a private education system.
“Finland’s educational system. Fascinating thing about three decades ago Finland has an educational system that is doing terribly and they look around and they go okay what are we going to do about this, we gotta revamp the whole thing.”
Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss the revolutionary educational system Finland has instituted and the results of that system on the education of their children. Read more about it here (4), (5)
Every child in Finland must have access to good schools. Having a parallel private and state schools prevents this. There can be no true comprehensive school system while the elitist private school system exists. It was a brave decision to make it illegal to charge for education in Finland. Banning private education should improve education for all children. (6), (7)
In mentioning the revered the Finnish system in his white paper, Gove omits to state the most obvious factors.
Privately funded education is banned in Finland.
The emphasis is on equality, and not excellence.
There is no standardised testing until 16.
Competition is frowned upon.
Children are encouraged to follow their interests, and develop their skills, rather than forced to follow a homogenised curriculum devised by governments.
Teachers are well paid, well qualified and respected in the community.
Without supporting evidence , Mr Gove’s justification for his changes were that the education system was failing. This demonstrates more deceit.
In January 2011 he said, “In the last ten years, we have plummeted in the world rankings from 4th to 16th for science, 7th to 25th for literacy and 8th to 28th for maths. These are facts from which we cannot hide.”
Yet, recent reports assess the UK Education system as sixth in the world (8), but this is unlikely to feature on Mr Gove’s press release.
Any educationalist knows that competition kills learning. What it does facilitate is a means to ensure to the privileged few prosper. The furore which followed the fiasco of the GCSE English results, demonstrates how Gove plans for more children to fail.The European Baccalaureate is examined at 18, but Gove’s Bac is proposed at 16. The recent introduction of the English Baccalaureate concentrates on core subjects of English, Maths, Science, a foreign language and humanities. Creative subjects are sidelined. Teachers must be allowed to focus on the children they teach, not tables and achievement targets.
Mr Gove, please can we have our schools back? And most important of all, our children?
More Dishonesty, Disharmony and Broken Strings from the BBC
Challenging the false consciousness, in which much of the public are suspended has long been the greatest hurdle of the Left.
Even those who are cynical or sceptical of the lies and spin presented by politicians and the media are left uninformed. The break-up of trade unions by Margaret Thatcher made it more difficult to challenge the status quo, to question the propaganda, the pre-written scripts which led to demands for materialism and a rejection for socialism. The impression endured because of a faith in the BBC. There endured a respect for an institution, which they felt must be unbiased and truthful because it was publicly funded. The public looked to the BBC, expecting it would serve the public interests, inform, educate and entertain.
If it wasn’t on the BBC’s News, then as far as many were concerned it didn’t happen or was of little importance. Or in any case, anyone disagreeing was in a minority and could do little about it.
Whether that was ever true is questionable. But it is true that the BBC is publicly funded, and there is a moral responsibility for presentation of facts backed by sound evidence and a balance of opinions, as well as quality broadcasting.
WELFARE REFORM :
Since the 2010 general election, the BBC has presented the “News” in such a biased way, and this has been discussed by many including Think Left .
Last week the BBC (Oct 3rd, 2012) the BBC reported on a case of benefit fraud (1), a typical report from the right wing media. There is no balance here of argument, of context or of relevant statistics. It is, without doubt an inflammatory report and intended to be so. It is just an example of the Coalition’s plan to harden support (2) for its welfare cuts.
The public would be better informed by the DWP’s own figures which show very low figures for fraud. 3) Better still , considering the fraud of non- tax payers or tax avoidance might be far more informative and educational.
Additionally, a Freedom of Information document (4) from the DWP has revealed that rather than an average of 32 deaths per week as a result of Welfare Reform that figure has now risen to an average of 73 deaths per week.
We asked, “Who was pulling the strings at the BBC?” ( 6 ) Why, we might have asked, have we been constantly bombarded with ‘news ‘from the Middle East, if not to obtain broad support for a future war in Iran, even though the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have now been widely discredited ? The media and the BBC maintain their status as puppeteers of the same oil-speculating corporations, who look to manufacture consent for a war in Iran. (7)
HEALTH
Privatisation of the NHS was cynically planned by the Conservatives prior to coming to power. Manufacturing consent for the privatization of the NHS was never going to be straightforward for the Conservatives. After all, not only was the NHS, Labour’s finest policy, it is loved and valued by the British people. It was no accident that Cameron faced the electorate with this promise. “The NHS will be safe in our hands.” (8)
David Cameron launched a presidential-style election campaign yesterday with a focus on what party strategists believe is their greatest asset: himself.
A close-up photo of the Tory leader’s face will feature on hundreds of 15ft-wide posters as part of a £500,000 nationwide advertising campaign.
The posters – targeted at marginal seats the party must win to take power – were rolled out across the country to promote Tory health policies.
Think Left’s article The NHS will be shown No Mercy (9) shows clearly that the plan to privatize the NHS was in place well before the election. Yet, Cameron denied any knowledge of Mark Britnell, yet he had been invited to several very high profile meetings about the future of the NHS before coming to power. Mark Britnell was advisor to David Cameron, also has connections to the then Health minister, Andrew Lansley.
That the billionaires who own the media will exert influence over their editorials is hardly surprising, but we should demand more transparency and balance from the BBC. Without orchestrated support for the government’s policy on the NHS, it is doubtful that the Conservatives would have nudged into power, albeit without a majority, as they did so on the back on Liberal Democrat voters who would never have supported NHS privatization.
In the two years building up to the government’s NHS reform bill, the BBC appears to have categorically failed to uphold its remit of impartiality, parroting government spin as uncontested fact, whilst reporting only a narrow, shallow view of opposition to the bill. In addition, key news appears to have been censored. The following in-depth investigation provides a shocking testimony of the extent to which the BBC abandoned the NHS.
Considering the enormity of reactions against the bill, from the public , the press and the medical profession, and considering the NHS is the most highly regarded institution in the country, it would be reasonable to expect the BBC to inform the public that it was being “reformed” without a democratic mandate. Indeed, it was being broken up in direct violation of explicit election commitments. How did the Beeb cover it?
The broken pledge of no more “Top down re-organisations” was mentioned in online articles (analysis and reporting) just six times in nearly two years: twice in 2010, three times in 2011 and just once in 2012 – the year of the bill’s climactic passing. Of those six, half appeared when quoting critics of the bill. Only three times did the BBC independently raise the broken agreement themselves.
In news and analysis articles, the issue was in fact raised just twice in nearly two years, and only once directly on the NHS. Neither example is the BBC’s own analysis; it only ever appears in two quotes. It was cited directly here [13], on an obscure blog as part of a resignation speech. The only other mention was in a general article on critics of the coalition, with their broad “mandate” to govern questioned by both Rowan Williams and Andy Burnham – who mentioned the NHS within that context.
In an unprecedented move, a UK court effectively ruled on the bill’s lack of a democratic mandate, in its judgement on government attempts to withhold the infamous ‘risk register’. The court’s judgement included the following comments:
“From the evidence it is clear that the NHS reforms were introduced in an exceptional way. There was no indication prior to the White Paper that such wide-ranging reforms were being considered. The White Paper was published without prior consultation. It was published within a very short period after the Coalition Government came into power… Even more significantly the Government decided to press ahead with some of the policies even before laying a Bill before Parliament.”
EDUCATION:
As with privatization plans for the health service , the Coalition’s plan to break up local school networks, the stripping of assets and the of forcing schools to become Academies, seemed almost to pass unnoticed. The lack of, or false reporting by the BBC has muted the dialogue, for the Coalition to pursue their plot.
Anyone who doubts that free schools and academies are about privatisation and will ultimately lead to ‘for profit’ schooling should read this report from the ATL’s Martin Johnson . It tells how IES – a company that has a contract to run a school in Suffolk has seen its parent company sold to a huge US private equity firm. This is the corporate takeover of education!
The stark reality behind Free schools is summed neatly is this publication from the NASUWT
So, who does pull the strings at the BBC? The close links between the Conservative led coalition and the BBC are revealed in the Open Democracy document, explaining why the BBC chose to represent the government on the NHS.
A number of senior BBC staff have links with the healthcare industry. As Media Lens note , Dr Mike Lynch OBE, a member of the BBC’s executive board, has links to a number of firms in the health sector, including Apax Partners, “one of the leading global investors in the Healthcare sector”. BBC Chairman, Lord Patten, is on the board of Bridgepoint, a private equity firm with substantial healthcare interests. Bridgepoint also employed the Labour health secretary, Alan Milburn.
“One company acquired by Bridgepoint for £414 million in July 2010 is the residential care company Care UK”
That’s the same Care UK who donated £21,000 to the personal office of Andrew Lansley. On BBC links with government, David Cameron’s Director of Communications is in fact Craig Oliver, whose prior job was as a senior news editor at the BBC.
In light of evidence uncovered by the Open Democracy, the British people are entitled to feel betrayed, and to ask what further strings are being pulled at the BBC Barclays chairman Marcus Agius was a BBC director. 14) He resigned in July.
It is quite clear that there are procedures in place ensuring that is in the interests of those with influence in the BBC to support the government’s policies. The corruption is not confined to the NHS. The BBC is attempting to keep its employees on strings too. It seems the BBC has actively been supporting people who work for the BBC to avoid paying tax. The cross-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it was “shocked” to discover how many off-payroll contracts, under which individuals must make their own tax and national insurance payments, were provided by the BBC.
According to the committee, that number includes 13,000 people who appear on television and radio – so-called on-air “talent” – and another 12,000 off-air staff. Some 3,000 are paid via private companies, potentially allowing them to limit their tax liabilities.
A study by Think Left revealed that one third of BBC newsreaders went to Oxbridge, A Think Left investigation into the profiles of News presenters from BBC 24, Newsnight, Radio 4 Today/News at Ten has unsurprising outcomes. Where information was known, it was discovered that there is inherent sexism. There is and under-representation of women, and where there are women the age profile contrasts sharply with that of men.
Almost exactly two thirds of newsreaders went to private, independent or public schools, hardly representative of the general public.
This pie-chart shows the tertiary education of newsreaders, furthermore, exactly one third have had an Oxbridge education, much in line with MPs, as shown below.
Perhaps ordinary people might have more confidence in the message from the BBC if its newsreaders were paid realistic salaries in line with the majority of other public sector workers. The Director General earns £838,000. Other directors as of March 2011 had salaries of £488,000, £517,000, £467,000 and £452,000.
The personnel employed by the BBC, can hardly be regarded as representative of the people. They are very similar in their range of backgrounds to the MPs, and the same criticisms can be levelled at the news presenters who interrogate the politicians, and issues of the day. For the most part, they can have little personal experience of the lives of a majority of the population, and consequently do not ask the questions or single out the issues which would be of significance for that majority. For example, why would privatisation of the NHS be a priority for a presenter who has always used private medicine? Why would tuition fees of 9K/y seem enormous to a privately educated interviewer when top public school fees are 29K?
It might be forgiven if they showed an understanding of ordinary people’s lives. That was certainly not the case here – this filmed during the riots, and since removed from the BBC website. Darcus Howe , a West Indian Writer and Broadcaster with a voice about the riots. Here is speaking about the mistreatment of youths by police.
This was filmed during the riots, and since removed from the BBC website.
Corrupt politicians, media employees pull the strings in government and at the BBC. They attempt influence people’s understanding of reality. They have snapped the strings of democracy and it is a discordant tune they play.
People, quite rightly expect public servants to be accountable, and freedom of information is designed to ensure that. We ask it of our teachers, of our civil servants and our doctors and nurses. Isn’t it about time that we had accountability, transparency and honesty from our politicians and our publicly owned and funded BBC? It is at the very heart of our democracy. The people did not vote to sell of our NHS and schools. The TV licence is not a Licence for Lies.
On re-election we look to a new Labour government to reverse the privatization of our public services, and to ensure we have a BBC to provide a quality broadcasting service to entertain, educate and inform as expected in a democratic society.
Let’s have a fair society. We deserve it. Every one of us.
Young people strive for independence. Fears of unemployment, debt, tuition charges make the transition to independence possible much later in life. Carefree teenage years seem a thing of the past, with anxiety and pressure put upon our children from an early age. Rather than allowing them freedom to discover the world through their education, the obsession with exams leads many to anxiety, and even suicide. Yet the government seems intent on labelling our young people failures rather than celebrating achievement and motivating them to learn. Darrell Goodliffe’s article ( previously published here) laments this and urges a stronger response from Labour.
GCSE results day was a day when many, justifiably, were celebrating outstanding academic achievement. However, for different reasons, both the government and opposition failed to make the grade. Exam result days have become somewhat ritualistic, there are winners and losers but no matter what the outcome it has become typical for the political classes, usually accompanied by the media, to frown sternly and wag their finger. Little thought is given by either side to the far-reaching effect that the different outcomes have on so many lives. The government has however, have elevated this thoughtlessness to a whole new level. It is simply not fair that many pupils were denied a better grade in subjects, especially GCSE English, to satisfy the political whims of the Westminster class. It becomes even more unfair when you realise that had they been but a year older they would have obtained a totally different grade and their whole prospects would have been different.
Sadly, we should expect no better from a government which views us all as lab rats, pawns in its grand ideological designs. However, to play with the futures of so many in such a crass and uncaring way is a new low even for the current incumbents. Michael Gove has defined himself in his position by his subservience to ideological dogma and the ravenous gaggle of private interests looking to carve up the state education system in the name of making a quick buck. Flexibility in the National Curriculum is desperately needed but when that extends to the teaching of a religious belief, ie, in creationism, as established fact, you can be pretty its not the kind of flexibility that will help educate critical, and socially and crucially, economically, active human beings. His desire to batter state schools into becoming academies, against the wishes of all those involved, is democratically abhorrent.
Mr Gove is many things and sadly, for us, a political heavyweight is one of the things he is.
Meanwhile, his opposite number, Stephen Twigg, is scraping a featherweight. I accept that he is hampered by Labour’s continued lack of an over-arching meta-narrative with which to oppose the government but that still doesn’t excuse his generally poor performance.
He merely suggested that the government may be responsible for an unfair manipulation of the grading of today’s papers in the case of English rather than asserted what we can all see plainly to be a established fact. In being so equivocal he let down the students themselves, the teachers who had worked so hard and he let down his own Party. He had a golden opportunity to land a sucker punch on Mr Gove and he fluffed his lines.
Furthermore, he has no real vision to oppose Mr Gove’s let-alone any sensible policies. So, even given the restraints placed on him by the wider problems Labour has, his performance in-office is consistently poor enough to warrant a swift reshuffle away from the education brief.
Labour’s political garden looks especially rosy at the moment. However, there are plenty of signs that this is due merely due to dissatisfaction with the government as opposed to popular enthusiasm for a early Labour return to the corridors of power. We cannot afford to be carrying dead weight like Stephen Twigg and have to be cautious. At times, we barely look like an effective opposition, let-alone a potential government-in-waiting. Until we convert popular dissent into popular assent for our program the opinion polls will matter little in the grand scheme of things. Labour is sitting its own exam and there is along way to go for it to be able to reach the heights that so many achieved today.
