Education for Tomorrow 127 by Communist Party

EDUCATION for TOMORROW DEFEND STATE EDUCATION!

Protecting education after the Referendum Advance towards unity at teacher conferences Asbestos – silent killer in our schools Scottish teachers’ conference Review – Rethinking Education Crisis, what crisis in education? International news

‘There is no more natural alliance than the one that can and should exist between parents and teachers’ – p 3 SUMMER 2016

ISSUE 127 1

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Editorial Board Anne Brown, Martin Brown, Tony Farsky, Gawain Little, Diane Randall, Hank Roberts. EDUCATION for TOMORROW is produced by people involved with education of like mind most of the time and certainly on all vital matters of education and politics. It does not claim to represent the views of any one political party of the working class. Nonetheless its aim is at all times to speak in the interests of all working people. Fully involved in the struggle for peace and socialism it aims to publicise workers’ achievements and to counter misinformation about past and existing struggles to build socialism. It is to promote the aims of the organised labour movement in Britain; with common schooling for ALL our children (i.e. a good local state school for every child - truly comprehensive and democratically accountable) together with everything necessary to make this possible, in terms of provision of buildings and equipment, and staff properly trained and properly paid. We therefore support the campaign for one union for all education workers as a step towards achieving this goal. Our columns are open to all who share these aims - even though they may at times disagree with particular articles and want to say so, and why!

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Contents Editorial – 3 Priorities after the referendum – 4 Huge advance at conferences – 5 Asbestos – silent killer – 6

ISSN 2066-9145

Birds not bombs – 7

Website: www.educationfortomorrow.org.uk

Scottish teachers riding high – 8

Published and printed by the EDUCATION for TOMORROW Collective

Cover photo: Scottish contingent, Stop Trident Demo 27 February 2016

Trade Union Act 2016 – 10 Book review – 11 Crisis, what crisis? – 13 International - 14 2

Editorial

Parents, teachers, students – stand up for education! When Kitty and Tom Higdon were unfairly sacked from their jobs at Burston School, the children, then their parents, then local, national and finally the international labour movement rallied to their support. At a time when ‘children should be seen and not heard,’ the children’s strike and march was almost unprecedented. Their action caught the imagination of others who found practical ways to assist in the struggle – finding temporary premises, raising money to pay fines, and finally to build the strike school. They recognised that the attack on their teachers was an attack upon them all. Today, more than a century later, that boldness and solidarity is needed more than ever. Following the attacks on trade unions initiated by Thatcher and reinforced by the Trade Union Act 2016, fewer British workers are protected by collective agreements than at the time of the Burston Rebellion. The gains made by workers over the generations since then are disappearing at an increasing rate. No gain is safe, be it working conditions, pensions, housing costs, health services or education. While workers’ rights and conditions in Britain are worse than many comparable countries, the attack has a global dimension as the current struggle of French workers reminds us. In their bid to increase the rate of profit, the world’s rulers are clawing back hard won concessions. The Global Education ‘Reform’ Movement (GERM) is a part of this attack. In England, academy chains are being promoted to take over the role of locally accountable education authorities with parent and teacher representation on governing body removed, In the USA Charter schools are fulfilling the same function and a similar process is going on in Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. Standardised testing, performance-related pay, competition and marketisation of education are international trends and ‘edu-businesses’ are there to make profits from the process. They are even making profit from the dismantling of public education in Africa and Asia (see articles on pages 11 and 16)

International fightback Resistance to GERM is growing. In Chicago, a coalition of teachers and parents has halted the continued privatisation and won support for an alternative vision of how schools could be run and funded by taxing the rich. In Mexico and Ecuador similar struggles continue. In England there have been two examples this year of how united action by education workers, parents and the wider community can defeat, or at least delay, the GERM. The Government was about to introduce ‘baseline’ tests for children as young as four within a few days of their starting school,until they were forced into a humiliating U-turn by teacher and parent pressure in March. Then, in May, having announced that legislation was to be introduced to force all schools to become academies by 2022, it made another humiliating retreat, described as not so much a Uturn as a Z turn, since they still plan to complete the process by other means. Another example of parent-teacher solidarity was the thousands of schoolchildren who took ‘strike’ action in May in protest at the Year 2 Sats tests. The ‘Let our Kids Be Kids’ campaign highlighted the way children are ‘over-tested, overworked and in a school system that places more importance on test results and league tables than children’s happiness and joy of learning.’ Angelo Gavrielatos, Australian teacher trade unionist and currently a Project Director at Education International recently wrote: ‘There is no more natural alliance than the one that can and should exist between parents and teachers. After all, after parents, it is teachers who have the greatest interest in the well-being of children. But of course we need to reach further and deeper than that. We need to build closer alliances with the broader union movement given that all workers are feeling the negative impact of global capital and its desire to redefine and reduce employment standards and conditions, and of course we need to build alliances with other social movements that share our broad objectives.’ 3

Protecting teachers, the young people we teach and the education service after the referendum Following the referendum result, the NUT has thought carefully about what immediate steps we need to take to protect teachers, the young people we teach and the education service. Three immediate priorities are: We have written to all of our overseas teachers to reassure them of our support and of our determination to do everything we can to make sure that they are entitled to stay in this country working with our young people. Secondly, we are working with members to produce materials for teachers to use in the classroom to address any questions that come up around the increased racial tensions. And thirdly, we decided that it was important to go ahead with the strike on July the 5th and to begin our ongoing campaign of action. Indeed, if anything, it became more important to take the action as a result of the referendum. The reasons are clear. We all know that schools are facing a very difficult funding situation at the moment. The base reason of that is because George Osborne is freezing the money he gives to schools per pupil, while he is increasing the money he takes from schools per member of staff. Increased national insurance costs that governing bodies have to bear, increased teacher pension costs that governing bodies have to bear, all amounts to about a five per cent charge on a teacher payroll, so that for every 20 teachers a school employs, they have to find a whole extra salary to give back to George Osborne and the Treasury. And that difficult financial situation is leading to real problems in our schools. Class sizes are going up. Many of our members have told us that they will be teaching classes of 35 from September. Subject choices are reducing because art, drama, dance teachers are being made redundant or not replaced when they leave. Individual attention is going down, learning support assistants are being dismissed. And in many other cases, teachers’ terms and conditions are being reduced.

All of these changes are happening because George Osborne isn’t funding our schools well enough and he is not doing anything to keep pace with inflation. And we believe that one of the immediate consequences of the referendum result will be a sharp spike in inflation. All the economic experts are telling us that. If we can’t persuade George Osborne that he has to allow school budgets to match inflation, then these situations will be even worse than those I am describing. So our action is aimed at being part of a campaign to convince George Osborne and Nicky Morgan that they have to invest in education, not cut back on it, and that investment is the right thing to do for our country, for our young people and for our education service. Only by putting that funding in can we protect teachers’ conditions of service and our children’s learning conditions. We know the situation is difficult. It’s difficult for our overseas qualified members, it’s difficult for many children. But we’re asking our members and the general public to support our ongoing industrial action as part of a wider campaign to force the government’s hand and ensure that teachers’ terms and conditions are protected and that our children get the education they deserve. At the same time, we want to work alongside parents and others to tackle the very real issues within our education system – overtesting, narrowing of the curriculum, loss of parental involvement in governance. Tackling these issues must go hand in hand with ensuring the system itself is properly resourced. Let’s campaign together for the education investment that can protect teachers’ conditions of service and our young peoples’ conditions of learning. Thank you for your support.

Kevin

Courtney

General Secretary (Acting) National Union of Teachers

A huge advance at the teacher conferences The British trade union movement was once the strongest in the world. It saw off legislation attempting to shackle the unions (In Place of Strife and the Industrial Relations Act) and their threat of a general strike forced the release of the imprisoned dockers. We are now halved in numbers and the assaults on our ability to defend ourselves, never mind advance, is in my lifetime at an all-time low. What to do? In truth, our organisations, from our individual unions to our Trades Union Congress (TUC), are not yet fully fit for purpose. Look at education and the plans – all schools to be turned into academies to be followed, with certainty, to their being opened up for private profit. Plus all the other outrages teachers know so well, complain about, but still in the main, tolerate. Having six unions assists this situation because a non-united response enables the Government to get away with ‘divide and rule’. Nonetheless, education, being the most unionised profession, puts us in the forefront of the Government’s attack, because their true aim is to destroy, not just effective trade unionism, but trade unionism per se. This requires that we unite our forces. The prospect that this could occur between the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) is wonderful; a breath of fresh air. The vote at their respective Conferences to proceed with talks (only a handful against at NUT and an 88 per cent vote in favour at ATL) augers well. If agreement is reached it would be put to the respective executives and, if agreed there, would then go to special conferences in the Autumn term. We will urgently need to address the task of uniting all in education – teachers, lecturers and support staff – to counter attack on a united front. Long term I think it should go further – the US model, ‘If you’re in the building you’re in the union’. We in education can give a lead. But the process must extend across the TUC. We need a coherent structure. Competition between unions for members is not just a waste of our money and resources but a complete misdirection of our effort and activity, so vitally needed to confront our enemies.

In addition to restructuring our army – the TUC and constituent organisations, we need to do, vitally, two other things. We need to become social movement trade unions. The wrongs we face are not facing just our sector. They face the whole of society, or rather the whole of society excluding the tiny ruling elite. We are, as unions and workers, all under massive attack on multiple, but totally interconnected fronts. Government actions in one area have connotations to, and repercussions in, other areas. So we must understand, act and fight as one. Next, because in relative terms, at the moment, we are weak and they are strong, we have to concentrate our forces. Strategically one against 10: tactically 10 against one. We have to choose one issue at a time. Pick their weakest point. Pick an area we can win on and unite our forces to achieve it. Where we have the strength because we have control, we can do it. We’re not forcing them to concede something (as we have to do with pay for example). No, we can simply not implement it; a good example is baseline assessment.

Recognising our potential strength with this tactic in this area, the Government has had to U turn yet again. We need guerrilla struggles in workplaces, making advances one at a time on the basis of what the members prioritise and is achievable to build our strength. If ATL and NUT form a new union fit for the 21st century from that moment attention must be turned to widening this process to encompass all in education. Acting in unity through one united

organisation at workplace level is an absolute necessity in the present situation to save our state education system and indeed our country. Let’s get to it.

Hank Roberts UNIFY Organising Secretary

Asbestos: silent killer or state facilitated violence in our schools? Last Easter, the Brent Joint Unions published a evidence that successive governments have shown disturbing report into years of systemic a scandalous disregard for life when they mismanagement of asbestos across schools in the permitted inadequate surveys and risk assessments London borough of Brent. Their report was in order to keep down costs. Schools and parents supported by the TUC, Joint Union Asbestos were not consulted about this government Committee (JUAC) and the Asbestos in Schools decision, which has inevitably elevated the risk of Group (AiS). former pupils dying from the lethal and painful At the heart of their joint union investigation asbestos cancer called mesothelioma. was the story of how a former Brent school pupil, Currently 300 former pupils die each year Sarah Jane Bowman, developed the asbestos cancer from mesothelioma because they were exposed to mesothelioma at the age of 40 because she was asbestos in the 1960s and 1970s. This number will exposed to asbestos increase as buildings and whilst a pupil at school. the asbestos within them The report are disturbed by normal ( h t t p s : / / school activities and www.teachers.org.uk/ building deterioration. n e w s - e v e n t s / The same governments conference-2016/ also failed to require all shameful-asbestosschools to keep asbestos schools) details shocking records and inform evidence showing that parents about asbestos in some pupils in Brent their child’s school. They schools are still being also failed to ensure exposed to asbestos and records are kept if schools that such poor asbestos are closed or demolished Sarah Jane Bowman management is also a This has enabled the national problem. One of culprits to evade the pupils probably exposed was Sarah’s eldest responsibility for asbestos exposure leading to son, and in the very same temporary classroom she mesothelioma, allowing them to escape with was exposed in. impunity. The Joint Unions challenged why asbestos Fortunately, in Sarah’s case the Joint Unions that was quite evidently being disturbed in schools were able to uncover the necessary evidence to was described as safe by surveys and risk present to Court because Brent Council had lost its assessments. In so doing they found compelling records. Nothing can be done to put right past 6

asbestos exposure, but we must do more to protect future generations of school children and staff. The Brent joint unions urged the Government to support the All Party Parliamentary Group and TUC recommendations for the adequately funded phased removal of asbestos from all schools, starting with the most dangerous situations first. The unions also recommended improved surveys and risk assessments that identify all asbestos and take into account the known increased vulnerability of children to asbestos. Parents and staff should have access to all asbestos records like their counterparts in the United States and be involved in the funding decisions which potentially increase the asbestos risk to their children. Professor Tombs (see link below) has described how we are taught that the greatest harms faced by citizens are crimes dealt with by the police, courts and other criminal justice agencies. However, his recent Briefing makes clear that this is far from the case. He describes there are also harms that are the result of political and economic decisions. They are not random happenings. They are ‘avoidable business-generated, state facilitated violence: social murder. And, quite remarkably, it proceeds, daily – met only by academic, political and popular silence’. See http:// w w w. c r i m e a n d j u s t i c e . o r g . u k / s i t e s / crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/Better%20regulation %20briefing%2C%20April%202016_0.pdf This Easter the joint unions made one step towards breaking the silence about the social murder of pupils in our schools. We all need to act now to ensure that no more pupils are exposed to asbestos. We need to say that this state facilitated violence is unacceptable.

Leanne Mohamad The video of Mohamad’s speech was subsequently removed from the website, with a report in The Jewish Chronicle claiming that Speakers Trust had prevented Mohamad from advancing in the competition following complaints by an antiPalestinian blogger. On June 1, the video was restored to the ‘Speak Out Challenge’ website with this comment: “Following temporary suspension to safeguard a minor, we are now able to reinstate the video of our Redbridge Regional Final champion Leanne Mohamad, with authorisation from her family.” In an official statement, the competition organisers explained that Mohamad has not proceeded to the final through an impartial decision-making process, consistent with the mechanisms of the contest, and before the complaint was made by the anti-Palestinian blogger. In addition, Speakers Trust CEO has now reportedly claimed that her letter to antiPalestinian blogger Edgar Davidson was “inaccurately represented” and “made public without her consent.” A copy of the video published on YouTube by Middle East Monitor has been viewed more than 50,000 times, while the controversy was also covered by AJ+. A petition on Change.org urging the competition organisers to ‘uncensor’ Mohamad has attracted more than 6,600 signatures to date. Meanwhile, Redbridge Police are ‘investigating allegations of malicious communications’ in relation to attacks on Mohamad on social media. The head of Mohamad’s school, Wanstead High, said: ‘using social media to harass anyone, especially a young person, is always completely wrong.’ www.middleeastmonitor.com

Dr Gill Reed (Brent NUT)

Birds not bombs A British-Palestinian schoolgirl’s winning speech has been restored to the website of a leading public speaking competition, following protests over censorship and hate speech. Leanne Mohamad, a 15-year-old student at Wanstead High School in London, won a regional final of the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge with her speech ‘Birds not Bombs’, in which she describes the historical and contemporary reality for Palestinians under Israeli settler colonialism.

Scottish teachers ‘riding high’ Over 80 per cent of the teaching profession in Scotland belong to one union, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS). Speaking with one voice, it’s no surprise that they have had more success at defending education and their own pay and conditions than their colleagues south of the border, even though there may be storms ahead. The EIS met in June in Dundee for its 170th Annual General Meeting – its supreme decision-making body. Before the event, EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan wrote in the Morning Star; ‘In the recent Scottish Parliament election, education was the stated priority of each of the main political parties. The EIS welcomed this focus on education and is determined to ensure that enhancing support for Scotland’s education system remains high on the agenda for the Scottish government and the Scottish Parliament. ‘There are many challenges facing our schools, colleges and universities and many of the 62 motions that will be debated over the three days of the EIS AGM reflect these challenges. ‘Nicola Sturgeon’s appointment of her Deputy First Minister John Swinney as the new Cabinet Secretary for Education was an obvious signal of intent. It seems clear that the First Minister is committed to enhancing Scottish education and to tackling the effect of poverty on educational achievement. ‘While the EIS is highly supportive of this agenda, and will welcome additional resources to tackle the issue, we have consistently argued that the real solution to tackling the impact of poverty is to eradicate that poverty outside of the school gates. ‘For example, the recent recorded drop of one per cent in numeracy standards (according to the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy) can be traced almost entirely to pupils in the 30 per cent most deprived category — the children living

in families affected most directly by Chancellor George Osborne’s benefit cuts. Austerity has its victims. ‘In common with most public services, the scourge of austerity-driven cuts has had a major effect on Scottish education throughout the last decade. Funding is down, and school resource budgets have been pared to the bone. ‘The recent dispute in West Dunbartonshire, where teachers took six days of strike action to successfully oppose a cutsbased restructuring, is perhaps a sign of things to come as council budgets are pressed even further and staff are forced into action to defend their conditions. While these cuts have a direct effect on pupils, who are faced with increasing class sizes and a decrease in the support available for their individual learning needs, they are also bad news for staff, who are facing increasing workload and the continuing pressure to produce more from less. This has serious implications for staff health and well-being, with incidences of stress-related illness reaching unforeseen levels and an increasing number of staff leaving the profession on grounds of ill-health. ‘Currently in the secondary sector the EIS is carrying out a statutory ballot of members for action against Scottish Qualifications Authoritygenerated workload, with the ballot closing next week. The victory of our further education members in their recent dispute will no doubt be an inspiration for teachers to vote Yes in the workload ballot. ‘Lecturers in colleges and universities face many similar challenges, related to funding cuts, soaring workload and related issues of stress and ill-health. In the college sector, deep cuts to funding and to the number of student places have removed vital learning opportunities for many people across Scotland. ‘The impact on part-time places, which are normally most attractive to women, people with

caring responsibilities and learners with disabilities, has been disproportionately severe. In higher education, the scourge of zerohours contracts continues to damage the employment rights of too many lecturers across Scotland. We will be sending a clear message that Scottish education deserves to be fully supported and properly funded by the Scottish government, the Scottish Parliament and the country’s local authorities.’

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan welcomed Mr Swinney’s ‘comments on the need to tackle excessive workload and cut bureaucracy as a means to freeing up teacher time to support the raising attainment initiatives,’ as well as his ‘commitment to investing in education.’ However, Mr Flanagan warned: ‘Delegates in the hall made clear their very real concerns over the Scottish government’s plans for national standardised assessments within the National Improvement Framework. ‘Mr Swinney was left in no doubt that any return to a target-setting, leaguetable approach to education would be fiercely resisted by teachers.’

Successes The EIS has had some notable successes in the past year with a victory for the further education section EIS-FELA members in a national strike for equal pay recently. The long-running dispute arose after many colleges failed to sign up to a national bargaining frameworks and an attempt by Colleges Scotland to impose a one per cent pay increase that workers rejected. Members balloted for strike action and sought agreement from the union for up to 32 days of strikes, to escalate in the run-up to the Scottish Parliament elections. After the first day of industrial action, and with a huge rally outside Holyrood, the EIS was asked to attend negotiations the following day. Through the strike action and negotiations, members won their claim for equal pay, with a commitment for a national pay scale within three years. Some members will see their pay increase from £24,000 to around £40,000, and to top it all off college managers also agreed not to deduct pay from members involved in the strike.

Reorganisation Since the AGM, Scottish teachers have reason to be wary of another Scottish government initiative – a reorganisation of education based on a regional model. Scotland’s two largest teaching unions, the EIS and the Scottish Secondary teachers’ Association (SSTA), have urged caution. Larry Flanagan commented , ‘It is clear that the last thing Scottish Education needs at the present time is structural reorganisation. This would be a huge distraction and frankly a waste of resources and I would caution the new Cabinet Secretary against such a move.’ ‘Regionalisation should be about enabling teacher dialogue, networking and collaboration to enhance education provision in schools, he said, rather than about a turf war between Scottish Government and Local Authorities, much of which is largely budgetary driven.’ He continued, ‘In terms of the role of local authorities, the EIS has long held the view that local accountability is important and that local authorities help to fulfil that function.’ ‘The EIS believes that it is essential that Councils remain as the employers, and that both the SNCT and LNCTs remain as the negotiating frameworks for teachers. Teachers have lost those types of frameworks in England and we don't want to follow suit.’ ‘That is not to say that there isn't space for looking at the dynamics of how schools are supported effectively. Additional funding direct to schools would be welcome if it helps ring-fence education spending, is accountable to teachers, and does not create additional workload pressures for school leaders.’ For further information visit:

Trouble ahead When Scottish Education Secretary John Swinney addressed the AGM he was booed when he told delegates that the Edinburgh government will impose new standardised assessments despite widespread opposition and fears that they will add to the burden on teachers and students. The Scottish government has issued a tender to buy an online system that would conduct the assessments contained within the new National Improvement Framework. He claimed the new tests were ‘the modern approach to sensible, proportionate, teacher-led assessment that we need and that is exactly what we will work with you to deliver.’ Mr Swinney also pledged to ‘take forward a sustained programme of intervention to reduce teacher workload by maintaining dialogue with Education Scotland, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and schools.’

www.eis.org.uk

sector. there is to be a three year postponement during which time the government will assess the information which public sector employers must provide on the number of union officials, amount spent on paid facility time etc before deciding whether to exercise the reserve powers. • Although the plan to ban check-off has been dropped, it can only remain if the employer agrees and the union covers the costs. Source: Labour Research Department

A serious threat to good industrial relations

Pay per play The government’s National Plan for Music Education (NPME) was launched four years ago, since when many of the music services that used to support schools and provide peripatetic music teaching have faced severe cutbacks and outsourcing. NPME was meant to tackle the postcode lottery in the standard of music education children were offered, but the growth of academies and free schools means schools can choose whether or not to work with the music education ‘hubs’ set up under the plan. Some do, some don’t and some have spotted a handy money-spinner: billing visiting musical instrument teachers for the use of the rooms they teach in. Peripatetic music teachers usually teach small groups or short one-to-one instrumental classes during the school day. Although there is usually a charge to parents (other than to children on free school meals), the lessons offer a cheap and accessible way to learn an instrument. A new report from the Musicians’ Union (MU) says some headteachers, driven by tight budgets, are picking the cheapest music education on offer. Many of the hubs use self-employed musicians and avoid providing training and appraisal, to avoid complicating the contractor relationship. The MU highlights the resulting ‘extremely low rates of pay’, reports of serious breaches of data protection and confusion over safeguarding. ‘Worryingly, we have reports of schools looking at instrumental teaching as a way of creating revenue for the school by charging teachers for being allowed to teach there’, adds the MU. Music teachers either have to take the hit themselves or hike their prices – so parents end up paying extra for their children to be taught in their own schools.

Although the labour movement has secured ‘significant changes’ to the the Trade Union Act 2016 it remains a major threat to the fundamental right to strike. • Industrial action will only be lawful if backed by a majority in a 50 per cent turnout, and for key staff in public services there must be a ‘yes’ vote of 40 per cent of all those eligible to vote. These cover fire, health, education ,transport, border control and nuclear services. Some private sector workers will be caught by the higher threshold. • There will have to be a ‘picket supervisor’ willing to give their name and contact details to the police. Without this pickets are at risk of claims for damages for inducing contract breach. • There is to be a government commissioned review on electronic balloting in the Autumn and there may be pilot schemes before any roll-out. • Unions will have to ask new members to ‘opt-in’ to making political fund contributions, after a 12 month transitional period. • The ‘neutral’ role of the Certification Officer is to be replaced by one of ’state snooper’ with powers to launch investigations into a whole range of unions’ internal affairs, and will have the power to impose enforcement orders and fines on unions of up to £20,000. It is to be funded by a levy on unions and employers. • The act retains reserve powers for the government to cap facility time in the public

Private Eye 1419 10

Rethinking Education: Whose Knowledge is it Anyway? Adam Unwin and John Yandall, New Internationalist, newint/books/nononsense, £7.99 ‘Education is held to be a universal good and its fundamentals are rarely questioned. Yet the education system increasingly resembles a production line: schools are forced to chase a higher league table position; students learn to pass tests rather than how to think; teachers, increasingly paid by their pupils results are ground down by the machine. Worse still, new edubusiness corporations are rolling out this model to the Global South.’ Rethinking Education is the the latest publication from the New Internationalist in their series of ‘no nonsense guides’ to global issues. In just 143 pages the authors attempt to get back to basics. What is knowledge? Who decides what is important? Who owns it? These are central themes which run through this title which aims to change perceptions and understanding of education. Using historical and contemporary examples the authors examine the motivations, conflicts and contradictions in education. Breaking down the structures, forces and technologies involved they chart an alternative approach. It is organised in chapters that cover; the purpose of schooling, learning processes, the use of technology, curriculum control, how schools reproduce inequality, education as a commodity, and finally alternatives to the neoliberal model where they examine the ideas of, amongst others, Paulo Freire and his influence on Cuban education. The chapter on education as a commodity uses the growth of Pearson, now the biggest education company in the world as an example of how privatisation works. Pearson's strap line may be 'always learning' but it has been suggested that 'always earning' might be more appropriate. The Pearson Affordable Learning Fund promotes forprofit alternatives to public schooling in high-

growth emerging markets, while their Bridge International Academies (BIA) chain already runs 400 for-profit schools in Kenya and seven in Uganda. These low-fee schools operate in competition with state schools and undermine existing provision. They also have an extremely narrow definition of education; 'The strategic feature of BIA's business model is based on a vertically integrated Academy-ina-box model (also referred to as 'Starbucks-style' schooling). This involves a radical standardisation of processes and methods, including curriculum and pedagogy, and a heavy reliance on data analytics and technology that enable the company to expand rapidly and achieve huge economies of scale. A scripted curriculum, providing instructions on what teachers should do and say during any given moment in a class, is delivered through tablets synchronised with BIA headquarters for lesson plan pacing, monitoring and assessment tracking'. It is an excellent summary of the changes that have taken place in publicly funded education in recent decades and perfect for someone starting teacher training or wanting to understand what has happened. For those who want to delve deeper, there are comprehensive references.

John Lawrence 11

Crisis, what crisis in the education sector? Recently the Government announced it is going to accelerate its academy agenda. Every school is to become an academy regardless of the opinions of the teachers, parents, school governors, local authority or community. This has led to an intense debate on the subject, with teaching unions discussing joint strike action. Nelson Mandela famously said that ‘education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’. Conversely, it could be said that education can be used to suppress people, societies and nations. It could be argued that a lack of creativity, wisdom, knowledge, critical thinking and questioning - all contribute to the growth of a powerful elitist minority with extreme control. The failure of our education system is not just true of the academies but of all facets of our education sector and system. The current problems cover all aspects of education from the ‘cradle to the grave’ – including the ethos of education. From early years to adult education, primary and secondary education, further and higher education, adult education including prison, community and workplace education. Whether it’s funding or measuring, each is being pimped in different ways.

Primary and secondary education Primary and secondary education are suffering from continual changes to the national curriculum, while teachers are undermined by the media and politicians and stressed out with increased workloads. Debates around academies, free schools and faith schools continue to add to this pressure, along with threats of Ofsted tests, exams, observations and subjective checks. This puts teachers and schools under a relentless pressure to improve rather than to celebrate achievements. Children along with staff are placed under unnecessary and overwhelming pressure which is causing and contributing to mental ill health in both teachers and young people.

Further and higher education Further education continues to thrash about with funding problems, zero hours contracts, semi privatisation of the sector as well as being judged by Ofsted in an oppressive and undermining environment. Many courses have closed and lecturers made redundant. Privatisation is prowling around HE. The impact of loans and grants on students, the ever increasing consumerisation in the sector and the use of fixed term and zero hours contracts. There is a myth that public services can be run like a business. Education is not and cannot be a commercial enterprise. Like law it has to be above the political ideology of any particular government and definitely above any commercial enterprise and interference. There are many issues and questions that have to be addressed, including: The debate on the education sector cannot be left to education unions or those working in the profession – it needs a more holistic approach. What is education for and how do we ensure accountability and democracy are at its core? How do we have a comprehensive education strategy, covering all sectors that is properly funded, supported and measured? We need an empowered, democratised, properly resourced education sector and one that is accountable to the local community, subject to national professional scrutiny and which provides the broadest educational experience. An education

Early Years Early years education suffers from a lack of state ownership – most providers in the hands of private organisations with varying degrees of competency and proficiency. Also, with a lack of independent scrutiny or direction and bounced around with political interference and not professional strategy. The EYFS (Early year’s foundation framework) sets standards that all early years providers must meet. What is worrying about this framework is the formalising of learning at a very early age. Scandinavian countries have long since valued the process of socialising children into learning in their early years. Letting them explore their surroundings through play rather than formal structured learning. It is argued that this prepares them for formal learning later and there is research to show that these children are better prepared to learn, advance further and enjoy the challenges of formal education when they later engage with it.

system which raises consciousness, that challenges narrow prejudices, that values difference and is inclusive and that values creativity and innovation.

overwhelming majority of incidents involving violence and abuse had come from pupils, a number had come from parents. The report found that more than half of teaching assistants had received verbal threats and of these, more than eight out of ten had faced threats from pupils and a quarter from parents. UNISON is calling for school governors and headteachers to do more to manage the behaviour of unruly and disruptive pupils to minimise the impact in the classroom, and provide full support to staff encountering violence. The union also wants more to be done to make sure that parents understood that unacceptable behaviour would not be tolerated and for schools to ensure their behaviour policies were up to date and rigorously enforced.

Janet Newsham Janet Newsham worked in the FE sector as a lecturer at various colleges in the North West for more than 10 years. She is also the Chair of a Board of Trustees for a small pre-school and after-school club in Preston. She has experience of education as a parent of three boys who are at university, college and secondary school.

School support staff flag up workload crisis

Academies watch

ALMOST half of school support staff are considering quitting their jobs because they are struggling to cope with huge workloads, according to a UNISON report published in May. The union’s survey of 14,500 workers found that two-fifths have difficulty completing their work, while more than one in eight said that they find it impossible to manage all that is being asked of them. Almost half of those interviewed said that they are considering leaving their jobs, citing issues such as low pay, stress and huge workloads. One worker said: ‘Staff cuts are at a dangerous level. People are off sick due to stress because there aren’t enough staff. Teaching assistants are taking on teaching roles on a regular basis.’ Unison’s head of education, Jon Richards said the ‘shocking’ findings reveal a crisis in health and well-being in schools, which the union warns could lead to a mass exodus of staff. ‘Teaching assistants are putting in nearly four hours of unpaid overtime each week, and with increasing cuts in school support staff numbers, the situation can only get worse,’ he said. ‘There’s a danger that if the government doesn’t buck up its ideas soon, parents will start to notice the impact in the classroom.’ Another report from UNISON, published in June, has revealed that school support staff face high levels of violence and abuse Almost a fifth of support staff had experienced violence, with teaching assistants bearing the brunt. Although the

Partial retreat

Nicky Morgan's retreat on total academisation by 2022 is a humiliation. Like Gove before her, she now has to face reality: right wing ideology does not make good education policy. All the rhetoric about choice, markets and autonomy are really just hot air. The market cannot be trusted to deliver high quality education for all. We have won a partial retreat - it is an important victory. But piecemeal academy conversion will continue unless parents and teachers fight every attempt to convert. Too many heads and governors are using bogus excuses to convert. There is no good reason to convert. Even where schools are struggling, the evidence shows they are turned round faster if they remain with local authorities.

Nick Gibb and Nicky Morgan will now have to explain how they will make this chaotic system of different providers work. How will academy chains and multi-academy trusts be made accountable? How will the needs of children with special educational needs be protected? When promoting the White Paper, Gibb and Morgan argued that it was not possible to sustain this unaccountable and chaotic mixed economy. They said full academisation was the answer. Now that has been rejected, are we going to move to an accountability framework that applies to all schools equally and administered locally? Nicky Morgan has crashed the gears into reverse in order to avoid defeat. But she is still not fit to drive the car. www.antiacademies.org.uk

and Lord Adonis, trooped through the doors on visits. The chain was cited more than once by Michael Gove as a blueprint for other schools to follow. Yet all the while there was a giant hole in its financial oversight and nearly £4 million had been siphoned away. That such a fraud could happen in a trust supposedly so exemplary rings alarm bells about what could be happening in academy trusts whose governance is often considered shoddy by inspectors. In a note to HAFT’s accounts in 2014, current chief executive Adrian Percival said that, following Keyode’s fraud being uncovered, the trust now had ‘much improved financial monitoring’ and a ‘significantly tightened’ procurement process. So that’s alright then.

Private Eye 1421

Trust issues The conviction of former school accountant Samuel Kayode for fleecing Haberdashers Aske Federation Trust (HAFT) schools to the tune of nearly £4 million could cause some embarrassment to government school policy adviser Elizabeth Sidwell, as well as to the academies project as a whole. Kayode was found guilty of fraud and theft at Woolwich crown court in June, having used bank transfers to pay his own Nigeria-based company sums of thousands of pounds at a time, over several years, beginning in 2006, during which time Sidwell was the chief executive of the multiacademy trust. She has since moved on to the role of national schools commissioner in 2011 and then become a consultant to the Department for Education. She is currently advising the multiacademy trust Bright Tribe which runs schools in Essex, Suffolk and Cumbria. The fraud was only made public in HAFT’s 2012 accounts, in which the payments were identified as ‘unauthorised transfers’ as revealed in Private Eye 1367. Following our report, the schools wrote to parents asking them not to discuss the missing millions. The disappearance of the money went unnoticed during a period when the chain of academies was awash with funding, carrying out major capital works, upgrades and refurbishments at several different schools, including rebuilding Hatcham College after a fire. Meanwhile HAFT was regularly being hailed as a major success story for the academies policy and numerous Labour and then Conservative ministers, including Ed Balls

International News Middle East Schools attacked More than 300 schools run by the United Nations have been attacked, damaged or rendered inoperable by armed conflict and violence in the Middle East over the past five years, disrupting the education of thousands of children, a new report says. In Syria, more than half of schools run by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, have ceased to function due to damage, access restrictions or the need to use the premises as shelters for displaced families. More than 400 qualified teachers have left the country, forcing UNRWA to hire untrained teachers, the report says. Most schools have been looted of equipment and learning materials. Dozens of UNRWA schools in Gaza suffered devastating damage during the 50-day war between Israel and Hamas in the summer of 2014. Altogether, almost half of UNRWA’s 700 schools in Syria, Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Jordan have been badly disrupted by conflict.

The report was unveiled at the World humanitarian summit, held in Istanbul in May with a special focus on education. ‘A staggering 44 per cent, that’s 302 of our schools, have been attacked or shut down,’ the UNRWA chief, Pierre Krahenbuhl, will tell the summit. Both states and non-state parties must ‘refrain from attacks, to respect the civilian character of UN installations and to spare the lives of children, civilians and humanitarian workers. For children around the world, education is their passport to dignity. The impact of such disruption on children is profound, says the report. As well as deaths and physical injuries, violence in places of education has had a deep psychosocial effect. Incidents of disruptive and antisocial behaviour have risen, along with manifestations of trauma such as bed-wetting, nightmares, clinginess and withdrawal. Yet schools can also provide relatively safe havens for traumatised children, says the report. It quotes Doha Ali Ahmad, 14, from Qabr Essit in Syria: ‘What I love the most about school is the psychosocial support sessions. During these sessions we feel relieved from the pressure we live in, as well as the crisis and conflicts. I dream that my school stays as it is, and that I can continue going there every day.’ Before the conflict in Syria, 96 per cent of Palestinian refugee children were enrolled in UNRWA schools, but in the past five years the numbers have dropped by about one-third. All 29 schools in Yarmouk, whose population is under siege and where many are starving, are closed. Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, 29 schools have been ‘physically affected by shells, mortars or barrel-bombs, vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, stray bullets and unexploded ordnances’, says UNRWA. In Gaza, at least 83 UNRWA school buildings, out of a total of 156, were damaged during the 2014 war – the third large-scale conflict in a five-year period. At the peak of the 2014 crisis, 90 UNRWA schools were used as emergency shelters for 300,000 Palestinians displaced by bombing, shelling and ground incursions. Six of the schools being used as shelters were struck directly or indirectly by shells or other munitions, causing deaths and injuries. The report says: ‘In addition, during the hostilities, weapons or alleged weapons components were placed in three empty UNRWA

schools in the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militant armed groups.’ Schools in the West Bank have been ‘facing increasing challenges in a context marked by military occupation, settler violence, delays at checkpoints and school closures’, says UNRWA. The difficulties have been exacerbated by the rise in violence since October 2015. In Lebanon, six out of nine UNRWA schools in the Ein El Hilweh refugee camp in the south of the country sustained major damage during widespread armed clashes between factions last August. Fighting elsewhere in the 12 recognised camps in Lebanon has disrupted schools in the past few years. As well as meeting children’s right to education, schools can provide stability, normality and hope for the future, says UNRWA. If attendance at school ceases, the resulting shortfall in education can cause long-term harm to life prospects. UNRWA urges all armed personnel not to target schools nor fight in their vicinity; to guarantee children’s safe access to schools; and to respect the civilian character of its schools and ensure they are free from military use. Attacks on schools should be properly investigated by the relevant authorities, and those responsible held accountable.

Harriet Sherwood, Guardian, 20/05/2016

United Nations Poorer children get sub-standard schools The United Nations (UN) warned yesterday that British aid money funding private education in developing countries leads to substandard state schools for poorer children. The UN committee on the rights of the child (CRC) released an unprecedented statement condemning the funding of a for-profit chain of schools called Bridge International Academies, which operates in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and India. According to its website, Bridge is also bankrolled by tech tycoons Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg as well as venture capitalists and the World Bank. The millions of pounds that the Department of International Development (DfID) spends on such schools every year should instead be used to establish free, high-quality primary education for all children regardless of their family income, the CRC said.

Funding ‘low-fee’ private schools, which cost around £4 a month for each child, could contribute to violating the rights of children in recipient countries under international law as only some families can afford them. It also channels money away from state schools, the CRC added, noting that they are often overcrowded and blighted by teacher absences. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) called for the government to launch an immediate review into DfID spending. The Commons will debate foreign aid on Monday. The CRC warning comes after the Star reported yesterday that only two per cent of the DfID budget reaches poorer people in need after corporations have taken their cuts. NUT acting general secretary Kevin Courtney said: ‘The British government, which claims in the UK that it is against profits being made from state education, should respond to this damning criticism and immediately launch a review of DfID’s financial support for and promotion of these privatised schools in the global South.’ DfID funding to commercial schools in developing countries is ‘illegal’ as they are ‘undermining children’s rights,’ said Sylvain Aubry of the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Delphine Dorsi of the Right to Education Project added: ‘The CRC confirms the suspicion we had raised in our report that UK funding to Bridge International Academies and similar commercial chains could be violating international law.

private partnership (PPP) advocacy campaign has taken steps towards direct advocacy with the Government squarely in its aim. at the Government, the Senate and the Lower House. The group, which includes the Liberian education union, NTAL, a member of Education International (EI), recently met with lawmakers and the Legislature’s joint committee on Education. The Minister of Education was due to appear before the Plenary of the Lower House to address critical and emerging issues in education, including the controversial PPP.

Meetings at the Lower House On Tuesday, 19 April, LUCSED visited the Capitol Building to witness Minister Werner’s appearance before the Plenary of the Lower House to address the PPP issue. Members of the group used the opportunity and met with g o v e r n m e n t representatives, who welcomed and supported its advocacy efforts and promised to thoroughly scrutinise the Ministry’s decision. While attending the session of the House of Representatives and meeting with individual lawmakers, some teachers held a peaceful protest outside the Capitol Building holding anti-PPP posters and a banner in opposition to government’s attempt to outsource public primary schools in the country.

Ready-made conclusions The group has also recently met with the Senate and Lower House’s Joint Committee on Education. The LUCSED had the opportunity to address legal and procedural issues associated with the PPP process as well as its implications for the sector and the country at large. While acknowledging that national procurement guidelines had been broken by handpicking Bridge International Academies, the Joint Committee failed to take appropriate action to remedy the situation instead labelling the Minister’s actions ‘honest error.’

Lamiat Sabin, Morning Star, 11/06/2016

Liberia Government plan to outsource entire primary school system Despite the Government’s intention to embrace a public-private partnership with Bridge International Academies, a group of civil society organisations remains steadfast in its opposition to the government’s plan to outsource its entire primary school system. The Liberian United Civil Society for Education Dialogue’s (LUCSED) anti-public

Disappointment Despite deep disappointment at such an outcome NTAL remains resolute its campaign to save their schools from being outsourced..