The Conservative Future?

Many commentators believe that the next general election will see the election of a Conservative Government. What will this mean for education? Attain put its questions to Michael Gove MP and assesses the answers.

There is a particularly perceptive scene in an episode of the political comedy, The Thick of It, when the supposed Conservative Shadow Minister asks one of his advisors if a statement should be considered as policy. 'No... it's a... policy flavour' comes the reply. For months now, the Conservatives have held their cards very close to their chests when it comes to actual policy. Plenty of flavour but nothing concrete. If the opinion polls are to be believed, and we were facing a General Election tomorrow, the results would see the return of a Conservative Government with an effective majority to pass a programme of legislation. But what form would this legislation take with regard to education?

Attain put its questions to Michael Gove MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools & Families. The answers give us an indication of what we could expect from the Conservatives but to broaden the discussion further, we invited David Hanson, IAPS Chief Executive, to comment on the same questions - in the light of Michael Gove's answers - and assess the impact on the sector in general.

Q. Does the independent sector have anything to fear from a Conservative Government?

Michael Gove: 'No. Our independent schools are widely regarded as the best in the world. And it's their independence which is crucial to their success. If you look across the education scene in Britain, independent schools, whether in the maintained sector, or outside it, are using their independence to innovate and drive up standards. Our fee-paying independent schools are hugely successful in the global education marketplace. They pioneer new ways of teaching and learning as well as upholding the best in our academic traditions. The state independent schools, specifically Academies and City Technology Colleges, are also showing what freedom from central and local bureaucracy can help achieve. The 12 original CTCs now have a superb academic record, with a social comprehensive intake, proof that independence is a great asset when driving educational improvement.'

David Hanson: 'History tells us that, when in power, Governments always like to interfere. It is worth remembering that it was a Conservative Government which introduced the Education Reform Act in 1998 - and with that the National Curriculum - plus assessment targets and everything that followed. Twenty years later, successive Governments of both parties are still trying to untangle it all. That legislation was all aimed at the maintained sector but there was a backwash impact on the independent sector. For example, our schools now pay due regard to the National Curriculum, although they do not have to follow it slavishly. It is through the policy detail that the interference stems - on the one hand they want the profession to choose what they believe to be the right teaching methods, but then further on in the detail they say that they must teach through synthetic phonics... so which is it?'

Q. Would a Conservative Government consider reform of the Charities Act if it is found to be unduly burdensome on independent sector schools?

Michael Gove: 'My understanding is that independent schools are already very keen to do everything they can to demonstrate they provide a public benefit. We will always look at existing legislation to ensure it also provides a public benefit.'

David Hanson: 'The ongoing issue is that our schools do a good job of meeting their charitable objects, which is what they set out to do. The whole debate has been skewed by discussions of how benefit is interpreted in very large, well-endowed, senior schools. The average prep school is just 260 children (with some of them smaller than that) and their margins are tiny, so it should not be about the money as they do not have surplus to give in bursaries. It would be ironic if by making bursaries available, the school needs to raise the fees for the rest, therefore excluding more children. It is simply about being very good at doing what you say you do as a charity - the provision of education. Proportionality will be the key.'

Q. Do you believe that there should be closer links between independent and state education and, if so, how do you feel this can best be achieved?

Michael Gove: 'I very strongly believe that co-operation across the state and independent sectors is a very good thing. I would like to see more fee-paying schools collaborate in the Academies programme. I specifically want to work with those foundations which already support both fee-paying and maintained schools, such as the United Learning Trust, the Mercers and the Haberdashers to ensure their expertise can be more widely disseminated throughout the state sector.'

David Hanson: 'The answer to this for me is a resounding yes. I would like the independent sector to be perceived as an integral part of the education system of this country as a whole. In fact, to be perceived as what it is, a real jewel in the crown - a driver of standards and a leader in professional expertise and development - rather than an irritation to be solved. But Academies are not the complete answer; they are just a tiny piece of work which illuminates what is possible. The answer runs deeper than this and at two levels. Firstly, through professional engagement and an appreciation that we are humble and wise enough to learn from one another - we all have something to learn, we all have something to give. For example, the teaching of science for early years or the role of subject specialist teachers in primary schools are both topics we should be discussing in the profession as a whole. The second strand is that as a parent - as in healthcare - it should be much easier for me to choose who I believe to be the best provider for my child, take whatever it costs to educate my child in the maintained sector, and then find my school. Education really has to go on the journey that health has been on in terms of that closer relationship between the private sector and the public sector. The focus should always be what is in the best interests of the child.'

Q. At the Conservative Party Conference you unveiled your plan for a 'Swedish model' of schools. Why look to Sweden when we already have some of the world's best schools in the independent sector? Surely a better policy would be to make all schools completely independent and give parents real choice through a full voucher scheme?

Michael Gove: 'I strongly believe in parental choice - but as a means to an end - the improvement of standards in state education. We've looked to Sweden to see how more involvement from outside providers can help provide choice and drive up standards. 900 new independent schools have been created in Sweden which are outside bureaucratic control but free to all. That seems a very attractive model to me.'

David Hanson: 'There is always a danger for a Government when in power that it cherry-picks success it sees elsewhere - synthetic phonics, Swedish schools etc - without understanding the whole country and the context in which that particular model works. I would say that if you look at why Sweden or Finland is successful, and you read the OECD McKinsey Report on why top performing school systems do well, it is all about high quality teaching and learning. When you combine it with the other highlighted elements such as autonomy, responsibility, curriculum design, or assessment, there are huge parallels between the Swedish or Finnish schools and our own British prep schools. Which is why I would say to the Conservatives that we already have a world-class model of education in prep schools and that you should look more closely at them and understand the whole picture of why they work. The vast majority are academically non-selective on entry and, perhaps counter-intuitively to Government, they do not spend all their time doing literacy and numeracy. So they are rich in the humanities, early languages, sport, drama, music and art. In those areas are key skills which will prepare a child for senior school and success beyond. They also spend a huge amount of time and effort on the personal and social growth of a child, inculcating core-values - respect, service, compassion, discipline and hardwork.'

Q. How important do you feel the autonomy of the Headteacher should be in the running of schools, both independent and state?

Michael Gove: 'Hugely important. Heads should be captains of their ship - they need to have control over discipline, the curriculum, hiring practice and exams in order to secure the maximum benefits for their pupils.'

David Hanson: 'It is an essential ingredient but it does not mean that they are always accountable. With autonomy comes responsibility and accountability. The question then is if you do not want to micro-manage somebody - you want to give them autonomy to be responsible and get on and do the job - you just need to decide the necessary accountability measures. There should not be top-down instructions on how you should work; you are the professional. Instead there should be an agreed framework in place, through which your actions are held accountable.'

Q. Labour's Academies programme appears to be unravelling after the departure of Lord Adonis. Would you offer him a place in a future Conservative administration to drive forward your own plans for Academies?

Michael Gove: 'Since the arrival of Gordon Brown and Ed Balls, the Academies programme has been undermined. Academies have seen the freedoms that they used to enjoy, over curriculum, over discipline and over staff pay, eroded. Power is now increasingly back in the hands of bureaucrats. We'd reverse that. It was a great shame that Lord Adonis has moved. I have already said that we would offer him his old job back!'

David Hanson: 'I have considerable respect for Andrew Adonis, and I met him a lot with my previous close involvement with Academies. What made his work special was that he was extremely enthusiastic and passionate about education; hugely well-informed; and he had been at the Department for a long time - a rare thing in Ministers. He knew every project intimately. I remember when I was chairing six Academy projects with ULT [United Learning Trust, the largest single sponsor of Academies in the UK] which were then still being built but he knew every single one in detail - where we were on time and budget - extraordinary knowledge. He made his own judgements about what he wanted to happen and very few Ministers have the benefit of that depth and time. The Conservatives could learn from that: let Ministers have their feet under the table long enough to really come to understand and know the job.'

Q. How can you best reintroduce academic rigour and confidence into the UK examination system?

Michael Gove: 'There are many problems with the current nature of the exam system. Academic evidence suggests that questions have become easier over time and there has been a worrying trend towards lowering grade boundaries. That's why I have asked Sir Richard Sykes, former Rector of Imperial College and a distinguished scientist, to lead an independent review into what needs to be done to restore confidence. Independent schools are turning away from qualifications such as GCSEs and A Levels, in favour of IGCSEs and the Pre-U and IB. State schools are currently unable to offer this choice, and they should not be prevented from offering more rigorous qualifications. Schools should be free to compete to offer the best exams, rather than entering pupils for exams simply to help their position in the league tables.'

David Hanson: 'When the early A Level reform was being discussed, I remember thinking why do we not just look towards the International Baccalaureate (IB)? It is an international examination with which all our leading universities are entirely comfortable. It is credible, reliable, international, challenging, broad - everything which A Level is not. We have independent schools now saying that they will do IGCSE as it is more demanding and more rigorous and will also adopt the IB. The interesting thing about IB is that they also have a whole middle years programme. If you study this programme you will find that most prep schools could accommodate this; Common Entrance could also accommodate this. In many ways, the Pre-U is just an understandable reaction to a problem. I would have liked to have seen Government show real courage and rather than come up with a British solution, for once accept that our European friends got this one right! We are good at teaching and learning but are all over the place when it comes to assessment. If Government adopted IB as a proven international assessment tool, then teachers could get on and do what they are good at - teaching and learning.'

Michael Gove MP and David Hanson were in discussion with Attain's Editor, Matthew Smith.
This article first appeared in the Spring 2009 issue of Attain.