The Consultation “Schools improve most when teachers have the autonomy to decide how best to teach their pupils, while being properly held to account for their pupils’ education8. The most effective education systems around the world are those that have high levels of autonomy along with clear and robust accountability. All schools are accountable to parents, governors, Ofsted and, via the statutory assessment framework, to government.” (S. 6.1)

PISA in focus 9 (OECD, 2011) “At the country level, the greater the number of schools that have the responsibility to define and elaborate their curricula and assessments, the better the performance of the entire school system, even after accounting for national income. School systems that grant schools greater discretion in deciding student-assessment policies, the courses offered, the content of those courses, and the textbooks used are also those systems that show higher reading scores overall. This association is observed even though having the responsibility to design curricula is not always related to better performance for an individual school.” • Caveats: PISA data from 2009; data from secondary students not EY or Pri; Reading tests only • Autonomy over C&A = better student performance • Posting achievement data publically is +ve correlated with autonomy over “resource allocation” not with autonomy over C&A • Resource allocation = “selecting teachers for hire; dismissing teachers; establishing teachers’ starting salaries; determining teachers’ salary increases; formulating the school budget; and deciding on budget allocations within the school.” • Autonomy over C&A is not what government is proposing

OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education Synergies for Better LearningAN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT (OECD, 2013) • Take a holistic approach • Align evaluation and assessment with educational goals • Focus on improving classroom practices • Avoid distortions • Put students at the centre • Build capacity at all levels • Manage local needs • Design successfully, build consensus

Phonics Testing • “Schools will continue to administer the phonics screening check at the end of year 1. School-level results will continue to be included in RAISEOnline (and therefore available for the school and Ofsted), but will not be included in published performance tables.” (S 4.5)

Public Consultations? The Consultation: “Do you agree that this screening check should be focused on phonic decoding? Yes: 28% No: 66% Not Sure: 6%:” The Response - Nick Gibb: “The focus on phonic decoding 28% of respondents agreed the check should focus on decoding using phonics. 20% [sic] respondents argued that children learn to read using a variety of strategies, including using visual and context cues, and the check should take into account these alternative strategies.” “Taking into account the consultation responses, findings from the pre-trialling and the academic evidence, we propose to continue to develop the phonics screening check.” (op cit., p.6 emphasis added)

Public Consultation? • http://ioelondonblog.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/what-are-consultations-for/

“Take Care Mr Baker!” The need for reform is now urgent. All the evidence shows this - international comparisons, the reports of HMIs and, most recently, the depressing figures on adult illiteracy ... The opinion polls also clearly show its popularity with the people who count - the parents. That applies, above all, to the national curriculum which is the bedrock of our reform proposals. Kenneth Baker MP: Debate on the second reading of the ERA, 1 December 1987 (in Haviland, 1988)

Pre-1988 Much more significant, however, are the inroads being made on the principle of the separation of powers ... A very significant transfer of powers is being made from local elected authorities to the Secretary of State ... To argue, as it might be argued, that ministerial responsibility will provide all the safeguards necessary to expose the unreasonable use of the new powers by the present or any future Secretary of State is to fly in the face of reality. Modern governments are adept at using ministerial responsibility to conceal rather than expose. Professor Patrick McAuslan LSE

Pre-1988 There has been recognition in recent years that traditional subjects alone are not an adequate vehicle for conveying the knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes required by pupils ... New subjects and themes have entered the curriculum ... There appears to be no place for them ... The national curriculum allows little room for pupil choice ... School Curriculum and Development Committee

What do we want? • Genuine control of the curriculum • Creativity in the curriculum • Young people who are motivated and inspired • Choice over the curriculum: entitlement not necessarily the same as national uniformity

Assessment Consultation “The new national curriculum creates genuine opportunities for greater school autonomy over curriculum and assessment, and will focus teaching on the core content rather than on a set of level descriptions. Prescribing a single detailed approach to assessment does not fit with the curriculum freedoms we are giving schools.” (S 3.3)

Creativity in the Curriculum Ratios of occurrence (per thousand words) of creativity in national curriculum texts in the countries of Europe (Cachia, et al. 2010)

Creativity in the Curriculum • The national curriculum provides pupils with an introduction to the essential knowledge that they need to be educated citizens. It introduces pupils to the best that has been thought and said; and helps engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement. (Department for Education, 2013, p. 5 emphasis added)

Creativity in the Curriculum • Defense of the inclusion of two lengthy statutory appendices of spelling, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation content which must be taught: “This is not intended to constrain or restrict teachers’ creativity, but simply to provide the structure on which they can construct exciting lessons.” (p. 15)

Creativity in the Curriculum • Only occurrence of creativity in the statutory section of the English requirements (and the third occurrence overall in the national curriculum text): “Composition. Pupils should be taught to: draft and write by: in narratives, creating settings, characters and plot” (op cit. p. 38 – grammar as in original; emphasis added) • Fourth occurrence of creativity in the statutory requirements is on page 88: “Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems.” • Creativity does not appear at all in the mathematics statutory requirements after that. • There is a slightly greater number of occurrences in the subjects of Art and Design and music but in general creativity has a much reduced emphasis.

Inspiring Young People Sarah: I think all the universities are really good, you can really understand them, I don't think there's anything… Andrew: I don't think you can improve them, I think they're perfect. Not bad, not good, they're brilliant. Harriet: The only thing that would be better for me is if it was all day, like all day Friday, that would be better for me. DW: What happens Friday afternoon? Harriet: We have to go back to work. William: Like Michael was saying, it's like learning things and you learn a lot and you have great fun while you're doing it, so you never say oh we've got to do this or that, it's like oh yes! we've got to do this or that, and it's really good. Oliver: Yes, you get a choice of what your main priorities are they choose what you want, so if you're really desperate for it you'll have it at the time and if you've had your first choice then at the first thing you get your second or your third choice and then you get your first choice again, so it varies.

The voices of young people

Choice is fundamental

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