It’s still a Tory schools policy, and it’s still wrong

By James Valentine

David Miliband claimed in his speech on Saturday that he had helped to initiate Labour’s Building Schools for the Future programme and, interestingly, the most applause in his speech came when he spoke up for its defence. But there’s some doubt about whether it will survive.

The Coalition’s “Programme for Government” is extremely brief – about one page in total for its entire schools policy – so the fact that it doesn’t mention BSF does not, presumably, mean that it won’t happen. But the scheme is currently suspended and, where I live, teachers, parents and students are anxiously awaiting the results of a meeting between the DCSF, now Department for Education, and the authority, which will determine the outcome.

Yesterday’s leak of the Queens Speech shows that Michael Gove’s “reforms” will be high on the agenda; that’s to say, more academies, a pupil premium and so-called “free schools” – opened and run by parents but funded by the state.

In my borough there’s already a planned academy; it will be a new build, situated in the most deprived area of town and due to open later this year. All the other schools have recently reorganised as trusts or clusters; for example the school where I’m a governor is part of vertical trust. The ability to form additional academies is not of any particular relevance.

As for “pupil premiums”, the borough already funds a scheme for disadvantaged pupils according to a more accurate formula than Free School Meals, and under which schools in certain areas receive a significant premium.

Where I live there are also four private schools based on an ancient charitable trust, which also funds free bursaries, sponsors the Academy and contributes to the maintained school trusts. It is doubtful how far Gove’s “free schools” will be of interest: a significant proportion of the professional or middle class parents who might be interested in founding new schools already educate their children privately.

Which brings us back to Building Schools for the Future. Our borough has decided to switch from a three tier schooling system back to the two tier system used in the rest of the country. It’s better from an educational point of view because it’s contiguous with the Key Stages and it will be economically beneficial because at a stroke, surplus places, which are mainly in the middle schools, will be eliminated. But the changeover is dependant on the BSF money which will allow the upper schools to be remodelled to take on the extra children who’ll start two years earlier than at present.

If BSF is stopped then the whole system will be thrown into chaos. Although the coalition is currently high in the opinion polls, I don’t think that the electors quite appreciate what is coming their way, and in my area I believe the parents will protest.

The local politics matches the national scene. There’s a Lib Dem Mayor, who is already committed to the change in school structures, based on Labour’s planned BSF investment. But it remains to be seen how our newly elected Tory MP would react.

I would be interested in other LabourListers’ views of the likely impact on schools in their own areas.