We would value your opinion of our manifesto. Which of the Six Steps do you support the most? Do you agree that we need to reform the education system? Do you think we're missing an important step?
Jean Osbourn | 17.04.2010 10:06am
I would like to know which of the parties I can rely on to deliver EXACTLY what is on a special needs statement, particularly for Dyslexic students of all ages. So often a number of support hours is stretched out among other students who's names do not appear on the statement and the student allocated these hours suffers from reduced personal support which subsequently impedes their progress. Those hours should be SPECIFIC to the student named on the statement. This will affect my vote considerably although I doubt I will receive an appropriate answer from any.
Anonymous | 16.03.2010 09:51pm
A master craftsman/woman used to be, and should be, a valued and esteemed member of society.
Many young people, as with children and adults, learn best when they can imitate, when the fruits of their labour can be seen, evaluated and valued. Then they become innovators.
Young people, therefore, should be given the right to choose to take a vocational pathway into work, as an apprentice/student employee.
Young people also need to belong, to have a place that makes them feel that they too are contributing to society. As an apprentice/student employee they would have this 'supported niche' as a first stepping stone.
A partnership between Employers, the Government, the Educational System and the Student.
Ros Lucas | 11.09.2009 12:19pm
Entering education as a mature student from industry, my BEd qualification obtained after 4 years of study 5 days a week between 9.30 and 3.30 (a supposedly part-time course) covered the essential Sociology, Psychology and Philosophy studies that are essential to understanding the how, when and where of the learning process.
Also being a sports enthusiast with Tennis and Badminton coaching certificates and a love of English Literature, I entered the Secondary sector, working in the PE and English Departments. After 7 years I was asked (because of my business experience) to join the Vocational Education Department to set up a Post-16 Course, suitable for students with insufficient grades to take A Levels but staying on in order to acquire suitable skills and qualifications in order to enter the job market. BTEC, CPVE, TVEX, GNVQ, AVCEs followed.
These vocational courses involved me (as Head of Careers and Work Experiences) making sure everyone spent time looking at a variety of occupational areas and the work (Units of Careers Research under CPVE)undertaken was also used with A Level students at tutorial sessions.
The learners and courses were successful because the subjects were seen as relevant, work experience was undertaken and jobs acquired. It was then that more boys started taking up 'Business Information' courses as the old apprenticeships began to disappear.
Sufficient time for learners to consider what they are learning, why they are learning it and its eventual use for employment opportunities, is one of the largest gaps in the education system. There is insudfficient time for structured sessions of reflection, discussion of aspirations and planning or management. A half-hour tutorial twice or even three times a year is woefully inadequate.
If we really want to be radical in a way that will help all our learners to succeed, then we must look at the inflexibility of the timetables which still ensure that many youngsters are studying too many subjects they have not chosen (we wonder why they achieve 9 Ds and Es insteady of studying perhaps 5 and getting higher grades - oh far too simplistic and too difficult to manage)
There is very little taught in schools today that equips learners with the skills to acquire jobs at 16, 17 or older without them having to pay to take further courses - budding journalists have to acquire more efficient note-taking and keboarding skills - these were stopped being taught in schools because we were told by those who thought they knew, that there would be no need for such skills as new technology would take over. Well 15 years have passed and the technology is still lagging behind! Much the same happened with the practical skills mainly for boys and because locally there were insufficient places for some who wished to try out some practical skills, I managed to acquire £75,000 Aimhigher funding to provide a Mobile Workshop and a Trainer to take the skills to the learners across three boroughs.
Unfortunately, the very bright learners are often persuaded not to continue along the practical route and but some do continue to university through the Built Environment/Engineering routes. We are obviously not making sure knowledge of careers is done throughout the schools because there reamin far too many youngsters, even those studying the new Diplomas and previously BTECs who are unaware of the vast numbers of different careers available in these areas.
Over the years, from observations and comments from many teachers in Secondary schools it became clear that this shortened 'teacher training' was and remains inadequate to equip degree students, straight from school, with enought time to develop their own skills together with gaining sufficient knowledge and understanding of how learners learn, the ability to manage and develop acceptable behaviour,classroom management and organisation. Is this why CPD is now expected to be undertaken from the beginning of their teaching career instead of 'learning the trade' for a while?
Training that requires teachers to complete only a year (9 months!) on a PGCE, often with very little prior experience outside the education world, does leave a very large gap in the knowledge and understanding required at the beginning of a very complex life-consuming career.
I will finish by stating the very obvious and very radical - until we manage to obtain classes of 15 or at the most 20 learners in our Nursery and Primary schools, each with a qualified teacher and assistant, we will continue to have the very large problem of NEETS and learners who have not succeeded. And one observation about the numbers of students who need another year to succeed to Level 3 qualifications - the majority of our classes (mainly boys) were those born in the summer, having had less time to acquire the early learning processes!
Edge | 30.03.2009 06:14pm
There's an interesting consensus emerging here that experience is a vital ingredient of education, whether it's the need for young learners to gain experiences outside the classroom (Step 1) or for their teachers to have a reliable grounding in their subject(Step 4).
The percentage poll would seem to back this up.
To all who have posted so far, thank you and keep your comments coming! We want to hear as many points of view as possible, so if you know anybody with an interesting perspective, please send them our way.
Anonymous | 29.03.2009 12:48pm
We should not only be working towards getting vocational education the recognition and prominence it deserves, but the teachers who deliver it too. I work in FE in a team of hard-working staff who are passionate about educating young people and preparing them for the world of work. We have always been the 'poor relations' of the education system, receiving lower pay, less holidays and working longer hours (we work a 9-5 working day). Each year we change our teaching to meet the changing needs of the business world. Although some staff possess years of vocational experience rather than degrees, some of us have both experience and degrees or even masters degrees. Because our enrolment numbers are falling (partly due to the lack of emphasis placed on vocational education in schools, partly due to the fact that school teachers are now being asked to deliver our vocational qualifications with little or no experience) we are now being 'restructured' and half of us will no longer have jobs next year, so losing years of valuable experience of teaching vocational qualifications. Vocational teachers and school teachers can, no doubt, learn from each other and can both contribute to the way education should be structured in the future.
Anonymous | 02.03.2009 05:59pm
I am retired now but I was Head of Marketing Recruitment for a very large Company,CEO of a Chamber of Commerce and Director of very.. small industrial company. Lastly a founding Director of a very successful start-up internet based business. I am the Father of 3 Graduate sons who are all businessmen. All have degrees with numerate skills, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Economics. All were encouraged to WORK away from our home in Kent between A-levels and University entrance. All my sons-of thei own volition are involved in voluntary work in their own time. This allows them to put back into the community some practical effort from their not inconsiderable experience. They enjoy it too!! It is called 'People Skills' and all young people should consider such social responability as life is very exciting. I am myself a Governor of a Primary School - really interesting and I hope useful to the schhol too.
All areas should have an innovation centre like the St Johns I C in Cambridge - good Schools, Interesting futures. The untrammelled minds of the young are a great resource believe me!! NC
Aine ALAM | 11.02.2009 09:46pm
I agree students should be taught about the real world from professionals who have current industrial experience.
Time and time again I come across text books and teachers/lecturers who impart out of date information to the students. I observe that this fails to inspire our young people.
Current work on the new diplomas is a little dissapointing as I feel the applied learning is "lip service" because of the obsession with bums on seats and keep them controlled and in the classroom, just look at how these are assessed, mostly assignments to be marked by the in-house educationalist.
I have given talks to educationalists and feel there is a fear of allowing the practing professional real access and shared control of the students learning and assessment.
Last year while undertaking an MA in work based learning I co-designed a foundation degree which a compulsory component of HE/employer involvement through a practice development document (PDD). It worked as long as I was supporting it but when I moved on the PDD was s*****ed.
The HE instutition involved could save money and claim equal opportunities by not providing time for the lecturer to engage with the employer in the work place. Yes, no one can gaurentee consistency in the workplace like possibly in the classroom. That is life, work place learning that is properly facilitated helps our young peaple to realise that the real world is unpredictable and they will need to developep skills to have sustained learning outcomes there. As an educationalist myself I understand where this phobia comes from - rigid learning expectations from classroom interaction between teacher and students.
I am also a practicing midwife in a midwifery led unit part time and am working with a pilot programme traing and assessing midwifery support workers through NVQ where candidates are immersed in the real world.
With experience of constraints from the educationalist and the practicing professionals point of view I believe I can help Edge in their quest.
Baroness Perry | 11.02.2009 11:31am
All six steps are so important, it is hard to choose. However, putting in vocational choices and getting rid of SATS (both vitally important) will be no good if the courses are badly taught by teachers who know nothing of the commercial and industrial world, and if they are badly resourced.
Chris Stanton | 11.02.2009 11:07am
“Learning Related Work” – a radical proposal for education in Year 10
Core Idea (Pre-recession - more difficult to implement with high unemployment):
To pause education at Year 10 (age 14/15) and enable every student to experience paid employment for one year.
From this experience of real work they can then make informed decisions about GCSE subject choices and career options before resuming their school careers or – for those less able to cope with academic learning at this age – remaining in employment to follow an alternative progression route better suited to their personal developmental needs and which helps them to achieve their full potential.
Key Aims:
? Practical experiential education for every young person – learning by doing.
? The acquisition of essential life skills.
? Community benefits through enhanced civic commitment, coupled with reduced disaffection in school, less anti-social behaviour and crime.
? Recognition that every job has a value and is important to the economy
? Paid employment through which young people can learn the financial basics of earning, saving, budgeting, consuming, etc.
Benefits for the student employee:
? Essential workplace skills including confidence, self-discipline, responsibility, trust, self-esteem, team-working, communication, customer relations, etc.
? Basic grasp of the relevance of education to business and how both contribute to the economy – and the effects of economic change.
? Understanding how a business works and the opportunities from enterprise.
? Experience through which they will be better able to make informed choices of GCSE options and/or potential careers – including the possibility of continuing in paid work rather than returning to formal education.
? Responsibility for training up their student employee successor to ensure continuity.
Benefits for the business/employer:
? Low-cost student employees willing to learn.
? Opportunity to influence directly the soft skills of student employees.
? Positive contribution to both the education process and the local/national economy.
? Corporate responsibility opportunity to benefit local community.
? Potentially – increased business!
Benefits for the school and local community:
? More rounded and better motivated young people.
? Fewer NEETs – those who are not in education, employment or training.
? Less likelihood of anti-social or disruptive behaviour.
? Reduced crime.
? More skills and higher-level skills – which will benefit Further and Higher Education by providing higher quality students and enable future employers to select from a better-prepared and more employable pool of young talent.
For more information please contact Chris Stanton on 07989 712752 or email c.stanton@surrey.ac.uk