The British Education Systen

Unit 1 Assignment: Part A
Write a short essay in which you assess critically the importance of historical and contemporary changes which have occurred within the United Kingdom’s education system e.g the comprehensive system.

During the 1800s there was no formal education system for lower class children. The 1944 Education Act aimed to provide children of all classes more equal educational opportunities. It introduced the 11+ exam, the tripartite system and raised the school leaving age to 15 (UK Government, 2013). The tripartite System divided education into three types of schools, Grammar, Secondary Modern and Technical Schools. The children that attended Grammar Schools had significantly better opportunities than the children that went to Technical or Secondary Modern Schools. In many cases they would have received extra tutoring for the 11+ exam from either a ‘better class’ primary school or from privately funded tutors. These opportunities were not available for lower class children whose parents could not afford this. Although the 1944 Education Act provided more opportunities for lower class children it was criticised that it duplicated the class system within the schools and placed an unfair amount of responsibility on the children during the 11+ exam. Even though it was criticised it still managed to initiate changes that have been necessary to today’s education (Gillard, D. 2011c.5).
1964 saw more education changes. Labour got “rid of the segregation of children into separate schools” and secondary education was “reorganised on comprehensive lines.”(Gillard, D. 2011c.6). The tripartite system was no longer promoted as the government chose to opt for Comprehensive Schools by combining the Grammar, Technical and Secondary Modern Schools. Whilst this provided even more equal opportunities based education system for children, again classes continued to be duplicated within schools due to setting and screening. This 1964 change introduced the Certificate of Secondary Education which later became the modern day GCSE.
Further changes were made during the 1970s with the introduction of the Manpower Services Commission in 1973 and the Youth Opportunities Programme in 1978. These initiatives aimed to provide work related education and to reduce the growing unemployment levels (Youth Employment Inventory, 2013). Both initiatives were replaced by more modern initiatives in the 1980s but it is clear to see that these initiatives opened the door for modern vocational training like NVQs.
The Education Reform Act of 1988 was described as the most influential change in Education since 1944. It introduced the National Curriculum, League Tables, SATs, and Ofsted was created to inspect and regulate schools within England (Ofsted, 2013). Parents were given more choice in which school to send their children. Whilst it was criticised that there should not be competition between schools, many of the changes that were initiated during this time are still in place today. A recent article in Wilby (2013) states “all schools today whether under local control or not, are governed by the principles of "open enrolment" laid out in Baker's 1988 Act”
The 1997 New Labour government introduced Education! Education! Education! It aimed to reduce class sizes, increase literacy and numeracy hours and include Special Educational Needs pupils into mainstream schools (UK Government, 2013). Coughlan (2007) argued that these changes have not achieved their aims and that whilst the number of pupils ending with compulsory qualifications has risen by almost 10%, there is still a noticeable difference in the number of children achieving these grades from affluent and deprived communities.
Today’s coalition government is set to make more changes in education. The Pupil Premium was initiated. Academies are becoming more popular, there are on-going talks about whether schools should set their own term times and currently there are talks about the standard and type of GCSE examinations children shall be sitting (Shepherd, J. and Williams, R. 2010). So far the coalition government in particular Michael Gove have sustained heavy criticism over their proposed changes (John, G. 2013)
(Word count 576)

Unit 1 Assignment: Part B
Compile a chart which analyses examples of three initiatives which are designed to overcome educational equalities, with reference to gender, race and class.

Title of Initiative
Aims and key features of the initiative
Analysis: How successful was the initiative in overcoming educational inequalities, with the focus on gender, race and class? (Support analysis with referencing)
The Race Relations Act (1976 and 2000)

Prevents discrimination based on ethnicity, colour, nationality and race.
Made unlawful for educational institutions to treat students differently because of race including all teaching and support.
Admission decisions cannot be based on race (UK Government, 2013)

The Swann Report (1977) showed that white British students achieved considerably better educational results than West Indian students. The outcome of the report showed that was “low teacher expectations and racial prejudice amongst white teachers.”
A report produced by the National Union of Students (2011) showed 1 in 6 black students experience racial discrimination in education and many black students do not apply to certain universities due to a history of poor recruitment of black students.
BBC News (2012) reported between 2007 and 2011 there were more than 87,000 incidents of racial bullying recorded, in schools across the UK. This was an average of 22,979 recorded cases per year. The figure decreased to 18,996 in 2011. There are no statistics to show if this number continued to decrease as the Coalition Government changed the guidance relating to racial bullying and therefore schools no longer have a duty to record this information.
The above information shows that The Race Relations Act, although amended in 2000, has not been successful in completely eradicating racial discrimination. Levels may have improved but there is still a large number of students across the UK that are being discriminated against due to their race.

The Pupil Premium (2011)

Increase achievement in disadvantaged children.
Approximately £425 per year available for pupils receiving free school meals or in care for six months or longer.
Increased to £600 per pupil in 2012-2013.
Extended to include pupils who had received free school dinners within the last six years (Department for Education 2013)

Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw explained how a study of 117 schools highlighted that the Pupil Premium was not having the desired effect on disadvantaged pupils (BBC News, 2012).
Ofsted (2013) reported that although some schools were able to make significant changes using the Pupil Premium Grant for their disadvantaged pupils there was still a large number of schools that were unable to use the funding from the Pupil Premium Grant effectively.
Russell Hobby, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (2013) criticised the Pupil Premium Grant because it was introduced at the same time as government funding to schools was reduced. This could be seen as a strategy to fill the gap left by this reduction in Government funding.
Plans to increase by another by 2015 and will continue to review the fund during each Ofsted Inspection (UK Government, 2013).

The Equality Act (2010)
Provides legislation for pupils who are or have been pregnant whilst at school (Department for Education, 2013).
Deems it is unlawful to discriminate against a pupil because they are pregnant or on maternity leave.
It is now unlawful to exclude a pupil due to pregnancy if she wishes to return back to school after the birth of her child (Department for Education, 2013)
.Pupils are now treated with the same respect as adults. The emphasis is placed on an empowering approach (Department for Education, 2010).
The BBC News (2010) reported that 70% of young mothers had dropped out of education.
New changes in education require all students to stay in education and training until they reach 18.
The government will be investing more funds into providing flexibility for young mothers to combat this.

Word Count (525)

Unit 1 Assignment: Part C
Evaluate two current initiatives and issues (one academic initiative and one vocational initiative) eg Modern Apprenticeships; Ofsted; Every Child Matters; National Curriculum; Early Years Foundation Stage.
The National Curriculum was introduced as part of The Education Reform Act of 1988. It aimed to provide a standardised levels education for all state schools. Private schools and academies do not have to follow the National Curriculum. The Curriculum is divided into different sections called ‘Key Stages’ by the years that they cover. Each subject covered by the Curriculum has a programme of study and contains targets so that children can be effectively evaluated (UK Government, 2013). In a review titled The National Curriculum, Fourth Report of session 2008-09 published by parliament in March 2009 it was stated that “the National Curriculum is central to education provision” (pg 7.) The Curriculum has been reviewed several times since it was formed in 1988 due to poor pupil performance, teachers’ complaints, changes in government and the need for modernisation, but it has stood the test of time and has now been in place for 25 years. In an article published in by Lispett (2008) it was described as giving education a more “coherent structure” but makes teachers “afraid to tailor teaching to pupils’ needs.” In this same article the Curriculum came under heavy criticism from both the National Union of Teachers' education and the National Association of Head Teachers. In another article published by Mansell (April 2013) it has been criticised again stating that new changes to earlier years education may be “too much too soon” but education secretary Michael Gove defends this claim by stating that there are lower “expectations of children.” It is clear that since its conception the Curriculum has received heavy criticism but the fact that it is continuously reviewed by government bodies makes it an invaluable initiative within education even 25 years after its original implementation. Throughout numerous changes and reviews it has never been suggested that the Curriculum is abolished all together.
Modern Apprenticeships were initiated in 1995 after plans for a Level 3 scheme were released in 1993 and prototype apprenticeships were introduced in 1994. Modern Apprenticeships did not originally require their apprentices to have any technical knowledge. They have since been reformed include a technical knowledge certificate. Since 1997 apprenticeships have been reviewed and now include level 2 apprenticeships, technical certificates which require all apprentices to have theoretical knowledge and a new blueprint was released in 2005 to provide an apprenticeship framework. There has also been an increase in funding for apprenticeships since 1997 (Apprenticeships 2012) In 2009/10 there were 279,700 apprenticeship starts in England; this is compared to 2011/12 where there were 520,900 apprenticeship starts (Parliament, 2013). There has been a 26% rise in the number of apprentices aged 25 and over. Because of this the adult skills budget will now decrease by £200 million but the adult apprenticeships budget will increase by £49 million (Evans, J. 2013). Although the statistics show there has been an increase in popularity and effectiveness of Apprenticeships an article published Tovey (2013) explains that Modern Apprenticeships need to be reviewed to take into account the changes in today’s economy. In a report produced by The Work Foundation (2013) the inability of apprenticeships to counteract the youth unemployment levels and the limitations of apprenticeships are highlighted. A criticism is that the educational content of the apprenticeships is too low and that UK employers have less input than European employers. The statistics show that although apprenticeship levels and funding for adults aged 25 and over has increased, there is still an evident lack of effectiveness in improving youth unemployment.
(Word Count 549)
Reference List
Apprenticeships (2012) History of Apprenticeships [Online]. Available from: http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/about-us/history-of-apprenticeships.aspx [Accessed: 2 November 2013]
BBC News (2012) Ofsted says poor pupils losing out on 'premium' fund [online]. Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19649306 [Accessed: 28 October 2013]
Coughlan, S. BBC News (2007) ‘Education, education, education’ [Online]. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6564933.stm [Accessed: 3 November 2013]
BBC News (2010) Policy-by-policy: The coalition government’s plans [Online]. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8693832.stm[Accessed: 9 November 2013]
BBC News (2010) Teenage mothers ‘forced out’ of education – report [Online]. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8565993.stm [Accessed: 9 November 2013]
Department for Education (2003) Modern Apprenticeships Employers: Evaluation Study [Online]. Available from: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/ACF4B9.pdf [Accessed: 3 November 2013]
Department for Education (2003) Modern Apprenticeships Employers: Evaluation Study [Online]. Available from: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/ACF4B9.pdf [Accessed: 3 November 2013]
Department for Education (2013) Equality Act 2010 – Advice for School Leaders, School Staff, Governing Bodies and Local Authorities [online]. Available from: http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/e/equality%20act%20guidance%20february%202013.pdf [Accessed: 29 October 2013]
Department for Education (2013) Equality Act 2010 – Departmental Advice [online]. Available from: http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/advice/f00215460/equality-act-2010-departmental-advice [Accessed: 29 October 2013]
Department for Education (2010) Getting Maternity Services Right for Pregnant Teenagers and Young Fathers [Online]. Available from: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DCSF-00673-2009.pdf [Accessed: 9 November 2013]
Department for Education (2013) Schools Funding Settlement Including Pupil Premium: 2013 to 2014 Financial Year [online]. Available from: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/a00218077/funding-settlement-2013-14 [Accessed: 28 October 2013]
Education in England (2012) The Swann Report (1985) Education for All [Online]. Available from: http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/swann/ [Accessed: 29 October 2013]
Evans, J. (2013) The House of Commons Library, Apprenticeships Statistics SN/EP/6113
Gillard, D (2011) Education in England, chapter 5 [Online]. Available from: http://www.educationengland.org.uk/history/chapter05.html [Accessed: 30 October 2013]
Gillard, D (2011) Education in England, chapter 6 [Online]. Available from: http://www.educationengland.org.uk/history/chapter06.html [Accessed: 30 October 2013]
House of Commons (2009) National Curriculum, Fourth Report of Session 2008-09, Volume 1 [Online]. Available from: http://www.publicati7ons.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmchilsch/344/344i.pdf [Accessed: 30 October 2013]
John, G. The Guardian (2013) Michael Gove is running Britain’s Department for Inequality [Online]. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/06/gove-running-department-for-inequality [Accessed: 9 November 2013]
Legislation.Gov.uk (2013) Race Relations Act 1976 [online]. Available from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1976/74 [Accessed: 29 October 2013]
Legislation.gov.uk (2013) The Education Act 1997 [Online]. Available from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/44/contents [Accessed: 9 November 2013]
Lispett, A. The Guardian (2008) National Curriculum Constrains Teachers and Pupils [Online]. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/jun/11/schools.uk4 [Accessed: 2 November 2013]
Mansell, W. The Guardian (2008) Is the Proposed New Curriculum too Much too Soon? [Online]. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/apr/01/new-curriculum-teaching-concepts-younger [Accessed: 2 November 2013]
National Association of Head Teachers (2013) NAHT Comment on New Raft of Pupil Premium Measures [online]. Available from: http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/news-and-media/key-topics/funding/naht-comment-on-new-raft-of-pupil-premium-measures/ [Accessed: 28 October 2013]
National Union of Students (2011) Racism Widespread Across UK Education System, Report Shows [Online]. Available from: http://www.nus.org.uk/en/news/racism-widespread-across-uk-education-system-report-shows/ [Accessed: 29 October 2013]
Ofsted, (2013) The Pupil Premium: How schools are spending the funding successfully to maximise achievement[Online]. Available from: www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/130016 [Accessed: 28 October 2013}
Ofsted (2013) Who we are and what we do [Online]. Available from: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/about-us [Accessed: 30 October 2013]
Parliament (2013) The Education Act of 1944 [Online]. Available from: http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/school/overview/educationact1944/ [Accessed: 30 October 2013]
Parliament (2013) Apprenticeship Statistics – Commons Library Standard Note [Online]. Available from: http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN06113 [Accessed: 2 November 2013]
Shepherd, J. and Williams, R. The Guardian (2010) What the coalition agreement means for education [Online]. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/may/20/coalition-education [Accessed: 9 November 2013]
Talwar, D. BBC News (2012 )More Than 87,000 Racist Incidents Recorded in Schools [Online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18155255 [Accessed: 29 October 2013]
Tovey, A. The Telegraph (2013) Apprenticeships need to be shaken up for Modern Economy [Online]. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/10430912/Apprenticeships-need-to-be-shaken-up-for-modern-economy.html [Accessed: 3 November 2013]
The Work Foundation (2013) The Road Less Travelled? Improving Apprenticeship Pathways for young people [Online]. Available from: http://www.theworkfoundation.com/DownloadPublication/Report/344_Apprenticeship%20policy%20paper%20FINAL.pdf [Accessed: 3 November 2013]
UK Government (2013) The National Curriculum [Online]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/overview [Accessed: 30 October 2013]
UK Government (2013) Raising the Achievement of Disadvantaged Children [online]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/raising-the-achievement-of-disadvantaged-children/supporting-pages/pupil-premium [Accessed: 28 October 2013]
Wilby, P. The Guardian (2013) Margaret Thatcher’s education legacy is still with us – driven by Gove [Online]. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/apr/15/margaret-thatcher-education-legacy-gove [Accessed: 30 October 2013]
Youth Employment Inventory (2013) Youth Opportunity Programme [Online]. Available from: http://www.youth-employment-inventory.org/inventory/view/234/ [Accessed: 30 October 2013]