Education is the key to so many things – to unlocking productivity, unlocking opportunity and unlocking talent up and down the country. So we are delighted to welcome the report from Labour’s Skills Council headed by former education secretary Lord Blunkett.
The report sets out a number of recommendations for a Labour government, which would reshape the curriculum to celebrate skills as well as knowledge, reconsider the current assessment model, support teacher development, and provide support to students who need it most. Below we have outlined the recommendations that we believe could make the biggest difference:
1. A National Curriculum authority set up to reshape and provide a modernised curriculum.
This body would be apolitical and made up of experts including businesses, scientists and teachers to move the curriculum away from the current ‘knowledge-rich’ model and ensure it provides a truly broad spectrum of knowledge, skills and aptitudes. It would also include a renewed focus on skills such as oracy and digital literacy throughout the curriculum.
At Edge, we have long called for education to be depoliticised and have called for a review of the National Curriculum to one that is more balanced and linked to the real world. Our Edge Future Learning team are supporting pioneering groups of schools and colleges to develop creative, inter-disciplinary curriculums. Our skills shortages bulletins also continue to highlight the importance of essential skills – such as creativity, collaboration and communication as well as digital and green skills.
2. Championing a breadth of subjects that have been hit in recent years by EBacc and Progress 8 including drama, D&T and art.
Our skills shortages bulletins highlight that employers are looking for skills such as creativity, curiosity, problem-solving. Exactly the type of skills that are being squeezed out through the decline of arts and creative subjects. At Edge we have called for the abolishment of EBacc and Progress 8 performance measures which currently force schools to teach a narrow range of academic subjects and have resulted in a decimation of topics like Design and Technology, Art and Drama[1].
3. A move towards assessment being ‘multimodal’ so that young people’s progress is no longer just measured through written exams.
We currently have a high-stakes assessment system focused on performance in a narrow range of assessment approaches such as academic and written assessment, with many young people finding exams increasingly stressful and not a true reflection of all they can achieve.
Alongside colleagues at Rethinking Assessment, the Independent Assessment Commission, and the Times Education Commission, we agree that it’s time to rethink our assessment system. We have called for a national baccalaureate model to be used alongside a greater suite of multi-modal assessment options to evidence a greater portfolio of projects and skills.
4. Teacher sabbaticals as part of continuing professional development, which could include work placements, research opportunities or overseas exchange programmes.
We have highly skilled and enthusiastic teachers in schools and colleges who are keen to make the most of engaging pedagogy to bring learning to life. The recommendation for teacher sabbaticals will bring out the best in teaching – with more freedom for teachers to plan, collaborate and engage with employers to bring learning to life. At Edge, our teacher externships already offer a proven model with teachers visiting local employers, and then developing a curriculum project linked to the world of work.
5. Launch a national review of the inspectorate to ensure that the inspection and accountability regime makes the most positive and constructive contribution possible.
We should look to reform the inspection and accountability regime [including reform of the Ebacc and Progress 8] moving from an adversarial to a performance improvement role - similar to inspectorates in the other three nations as highlighted by our recent research.
In line with the Times Education Commission who called for a ‘balanced score-card’ we believe schools should be reporting on a broader basket of indicators including wellbeing, inclusion and extra-curricular opportunities. We would also encourage a focus on long-term outcomes by placing a detailed set of destination measures at the centre of performance tables at both KS4 and KS5.
6. Reintroducing the Education Maintenance Allowance.
As part of forward long-term thinking, we also need to look back and learn lessons from the past. This is something we have consistently called for at Edge through our learning from the past series.
So we are delighted to see the Skills Council reconsidering past policies such as the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). The EMA supported 16-18-year olds with the costs of post-16 education. Evaluations found the scheme to have a positive impact on increasing participation rates, but it was scrapped under austerity and we now have a discretionary, uneven and inconsistent form of funding to support full-time post-16- learners. We encourage Labour to re-instate the scheme, following examples from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where the EMA is still in existence.
