Government Policies 1980s Onwards Flashcards
Conservative Party, 1979-1997
Growing Independence and LMS
LMS transferred control of school budgets + other to governors, headteachers, and consumers, not local authority
Independent City Technology Colleges in some cities
Schools encouraged to become independent- self-governing Grant Maintained Schools
Conservative Party, 1979-1997
Formula Funding
Funded by formula based on number of students
Though it would drive up students- reward successful schools, incentivise improvement
Conservative Party, 1979-1997
Open Enrolment
Before, children allocated to local schools, after, parents allowed free choice
Unpopular schools risk losing students, so money.
Most cases, little choice of school, places fill up quickly in high performing schools
Conservative Party, 1979-1997
National Curriculum and Testing
Established National Curriculum- range of subjects + set programmes of study followed by all students (Academies + free schools later exempt)
Attainment targets with formal teacher assessments at end of KS 1-3 + NC tests for KS 1 + 2
Conservative Party, 1979-1997
Ofsted
1992 created, renamed Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills in 2007
Regular inspections of state-funded schools, sixth forms + FE colleges
Aimed to ensure institutions doing a good job- publish inspection reports
Conservative Party, 1979-1997
League Tables
Published Performance Tables, information about test + exam results, and absence rates for schools + colleges
Known as ‘league tables’, rank schools
Designed- w/ prospectus- to help parents decide how well schools are doing
Labour Party, 1997-2010
More Funding + Nursery Education + Smaller Classes
National max class size (30 for 5,6,7) + extra money allocated
Literacy + numeracy hours established
Children 3-4 given 5 half days of free nursery education
Sure Start Children’s Centres established- support + advice for parents
Labour Party, 1997-2010
Helping Most Disadvantaged
2000 City Academies to replace under-performing schools
Academies highly controversial- aim to help most disadvantaged, but covert selection
1988- Tuition fees for HE harmed poorer students, in debt
Labour Party, 1997-2010
Specialist Schools
1994, but Labour massively extended
Special focus on subject area, attempt to move away from ‘bog standard’ comprehensives
Originally had to raise money for priv businesses- extra money from gov
Select 10% by aptitude in subject- raise standards, nearly all specialised
Cons-Lib Dem, 2010-2015
‘Something Old, Something New’
Ball and Exley
Something old: trad Cons emphasis on parental choice
Something new: new form of policies- EBacc + new style academies and free schools. Continued emphasis on Lab gov’s attempt to tackle inequality
Cons-Lib Dem, 2010-2015
New Style Academies
Post 2010, state schools encouraged to become independent academies, free from local control + national curriculum
Increase in academies + poorly performing schools forced to be academies under high-performing neighbouring schools
Cons-Lib Dem, 2010-2015
Free Schools
All-ability, state-funded independent
Similar to academies, set up to respond to local people’s wants + needs
Means of improving standards + meeting parents’ wishes in disadvantaged areas
Run by teachers, parents, charities, faith groups, education experts or private companies
Cons-Lib Dem, 2010-2015
Pupil Premium
Extra money per head for FSM pupils
Aimed to encourage schools to attract + work harder for poorer pupils
Change to School Admissions Code- allow positive discrimination in favour of PP children, would encourage poorer parents to apply to good schools
Cons-Lib Dem, 2010-2015
EBacc
Belief in ‘real subjects’ and ‘old methods are the best’ for teaching discipline + curriculum
Made proportion of EBacc students feature of school league tables- emphasis on Maths, Eng, Science, MFL + humanities
DFE- 49% GCSEs in 2014 would study EBacc subjects, could cause surge in AS students taking ‘traditional’ subjects
Cons-Lib Dem, 2010-2015
Reform of the NC
Rewritten, more demanding programmes of study in english, maths, science, languages, computing, geography, and history
More rigorous and demanding NCTs
