Schools Policy : There are Striking Similarities between the Tory-led government and US Right Wing Republicans says Jamie Shaw, Wyre Forest Labour

The similarities are compelling. In this country the Tory-led government, through academies and Free Schools, is dismantling the democratic structures which support publicly-funded schools. There is no precedent elsewhere in the world for this deliberated fragmentising of provision, except for the USA. Indeed, on 20th February 2012, Rick Santorum, the new front-runner for nomination as Republican candidate for President, took right-wing sentiment to a new extreme, suggesting that there should be no involvement by government in the provision of schools.

The Tory-led government and the Republicans, it has to be admitted, are the true revolutionaries in current world politics. Far to the right of, for example, the Christian Democrats of mainland Europe, these ideological extremists are brazenly attacking the very principle of equality of opportunity through universal provision, which has underpinned the growth of civil society since the nineteenth century.

Consider an example from this side of the educational pond. A private secondary school, with an ethos which values purely academic subjects and small class sizes, is accepted as a Free School. Therefore, it now receives its pro rata share from the public purse, although entitled still to receive private funding. It is allowed to maintain its ethos, but, admittedly, in return for public funding, its admission policies have to be open to application-by-all. However, “maintaining its ethos” means it does not have to widen its curriculum, so it does not offer, for example vocational subjects, or support for slow learners. Unsurprisingly, it proves popular with parents, so an actual selection process of pupils follows, those selected, of course, being the pupils whose aptitudes best fit the school’s ethos. Thus, the academically more able are accepted, while neighbouring schools, to their detriment, find the proportion of remaining pupils capable of five GCSEs at Grade “C”, or above, and of studying at A-Level, diminished.

The now-Free School is set fair to retain its reputation. Moreover, it is an example of independence from the structures of the Local Authority. The school does not need much of what the Local Authority offers, because its pupils need less in the way of support; much less Special Needs provision, for example. Whatever outside-agency support it had as a private school, it retains as a Free School.

So its “success” is quoted by the Tories as the way forward for other schools. Like the Free School, they should become independent of Local Authorities and compete for the “best” pupils. Also, they should seek private sponsorship and be allowed to cherry-pick their relationship with other educational agencies, including other schools. Thus autonomous schools, freed from the responsibilities placed upon Local Authorities to provide publicly-funded education for all, pursuing their own self-interests in a competitive marketplace, play their role in fragmenting public provision of schools.
And the purpose of this deliberate destruction? Rick Santorum’s utterances shows us where the Tories are heading, towards a norm of the unstructured, privatised market-place in which the Rich will be able to justify their children’s privilege simply as a consequence of successful parental choice.

Jamie Shaw Wyre Forest Labour