Coalition government policies from 2010 Flashcards
Describe the main aim of the Coalition government’s education policy introduced in 2010.
The main aim was to encourage ‘excellence, competition and innovation’ by reducing the role of the state in education through marketisation and privatisation.
Explain the concept of academies as introduced by the Coalition government.
Academies are schools that have left local authority control, receiving funding directly from the central government and having control over their curriculum.
How did the Coalition government’s approach to academies differ from Labour’s original city academies initiative?
The Coalition allowed any school to become an academy, removing the focus on targeting disadvantaged schools and areas that was central to Labour’s initiative.
Identify the impact of budget cuts on the education system under the Coalition government.
Cuts to the education budget were made as part of the government’s broader policy of reducing state spending.
What significant change occurred in the education system regarding local authority control after 2010?
All schools were encouraged to leave local authority control and convert to academies.
Define free schools in the context of the Coalition government’s education policies.
Free schools are state-funded schools set up and run by parents, teachers, faith organizations, or businesses, rather than local authorities.
Discuss the influence of neoliberal ideas on the Coalition government’s education policies.
Neoliberal ideas emphasized reducing the state’s role in education, promoting marketisation and privatisation as key strategies.
How did the Coalition government fund academies differently than traditional schools?
Funding for academies was taken from local authority budgets and provided directly by the central government.
Describe the main argument of supporters of free schools.
Supporters claim that free schools improve educational standards by transferring control from the state to parents, allowing them and teachers to create new schools if they are dissatisfied with local state schools.
Explain the criticism regarding the impact of free schools on educational equality.
Critics argue that free schools primarily benefit children from highly educated families, leading to social divisiveness and a decline in overall educational standards, as evidenced by Sweden’s experience.
How do free schools in England compare to nearby schools in terms of disadvantaged pupils?
Evidence shows that free schools in England, such as Bristol Free School, enroll fewer disadvantaged pupils compared to nearby schools, with only 6.4% eligible for free school meals versus 22.5% citywide.
Define the concept of ‘fragmented centralisation’ in the context of education in England.
Fragmented centralisation refers to the increased fragmentation of the comprehensive education system into diverse provisions, often involving private providers, while central government retains control over the establishment of academies and free schools.
What does Ball (2011) suggest about the effects of promoting academies and free schools?
Ball argues that promoting academies and free schools has led to greater fragmentation of the education system and increased centralisation of control by the government.
Discuss the implications of pupil selection and exclusion policies in charter schools in the USA.
Charter schools in the USA have been criticized for raising educational standards primarily through strict pupil selection and exclusion policies, which may not reflect true improvements in education.
Explain the relationship between free schools and educational standards in Sweden.
Research from Sweden indicates that the introduction of free schools has not improved educational standards overall and has coincided with a decline in Sweden’s international educational ranking.
What evidence is there regarding the social impact of free schools?
Critics claim that free schools are socially divisive, as they tend to attract more affluent families and leave disadvantaged students with fewer opportunities, exacerbating educational inequality.
Describe the funding source for certain schools mentioned in the content.
These schools are funded directly by the central government.
Explain the impact of coalition policies on educational inequality.
While the coalition’s marketisation policies are said to have increased inequality, they also introduced measures aimed at reducing it, such as free school meals for young children and the pupil premium.
Define the pupil premium and its intended purpose.
The pupil premium is money that schools receive for each pupil from a disadvantaged background, intended to help support those students.
How did Ofsted’s findings in 2012 reflect on the effectiveness of the pupil premium?
Ofsted found that in many cases, the pupil premium was not spent on those it was supposed to help, with only one in ten headteachers reporting significant changes in support for disadvantaged pupils.
