Coalition government policies 2010 – present day Flashcards
What three policies did the coalition government introduce
-Free schools
-Academies
-Tougher GCSEs and A Levels
Educational reforms, 2010 – present day
continued the policy of marketisation of education.
At the same time, they abolished the New Labour policies designed to reduce inequality because they are opposed to welfare spending as they believe it creates a dependency culture.
Academies
All schools are encouraged to leave local government control and become academies.
Outstanding schools do not need business sponsorship.
Funding is given directly to academies so the schools themselves decide how the money is spent.
Academies also have control over the curriculum taught in their school.
This is further marketising education as it reduces gov interference in schools which now run themselves.
+c of academies
-Ball argues these policies have created fragmentation of the education system as now there is a variety of provision which limits equality of opportunity.
-It has also increased the centralisation of control over education as only the government can decide if a school can become an academy. This is in opposition to the government’s aim to reduce gov interference in schools so the gov policy is contradictory to its aims.
Free schools
new, state funded schools that can be set up by anyone(e.g. parents, faith organisations)
They are free from gov control, do not have to follow the National Curriculum, do not have to employ professional teachers and can set their own admissions criteria.
The government claims these schools raise standards by taking control away from the state and giving parents the power.
This is further marketising education as it reduces gov interference in running of schools and because it gives parents more choice of schools to send their child to.
+c of free schools
However, critics claim they only benefit middle class children whose parents have the cultural capital to know how to open such a school. Therefore, these schools
widen the gap between the rich and the poor. Furthermore, they only appear to raise standards, but in fact they tend to get good results because of their strict pupil selection
policies.
Also, the money spent on opening these schools could be spent on the existing schools instead.
University fees and EMA
The fees have been increased to over £9000 per year.
While the EMA has been abolished.
+c of Uni fees and EMA
University fees discourage poorer students from
pursuing higher education.
Pupil Premium
In addition to the funding schools receive per student, schools in disadvantaged areas also receive the Pupil Premium – extra funding for the students on Free School Meals.
The aim of this policy was to compensate students for the
disadvantages they face.
Schools received around £900 per student on FSM, but this is a lot lower that the extra funding schools received under New Labour.
+c of pupil premium
This money is meant to be spent on the more disadvantaged pupils, but it often isn’t as head teachers have the power to decide how the money is spent. For example, it is being used to fill the gap in school’s budgets created by government spending cuts.
