Well, I’m not sure what happened there, as I thought that I’d set this for 10.30 yesterday evening. Nevertheless, here are yesterday’s official press releases…
Scrapping Ofsted must be the beginning of the end of teaching to the test – Lib Dems
Responding to today’s announcement by the Labour Party that they will campaign to abolish Ofsted, Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary Layla Moran MP said:
It is always good to see the Labour Party copying another key Lib Dem education promise, just as they followed us in calling for SATs to be scrapped, here they are trailing in behind again.
The Conservatives’ high stakes testing regime is hurting our children. SATs and Ofsted inspections are causing stress and anxiety for pupils and teachers, even though they mean nothing for a child’s life chances.
Ofsted lost the trust of the teaching profession long ago. We need an inspection system that parents and teachers can trust, supporting schools to succeed rather than punishing them for failure.
But Angela Rayner must go further. We must end teaching to the test – which is why Liberal Democrats want to scrap league tables in their current form. Parents should be able to see the full picture of how their school is doing, not just how well Year 6 pupils do in a week of English and Maths tests.
Liberal Democrats demand better for our children. They should come home from school happy, healthy and with the skills they need to succeed in life – not just as children who know how to pass exams.
In March 2018, Liberal Democrats announced they would campaign for a widescale package of education reforms, including abolishing Key Stage 2 SATs, replacing Ofsted, overhauling league tables, and taking future curriculum reforms out of the hands of politicians. The Policy Paper, Every Child Empowered, can be found here.
Corbyn refuses to deny he will lead a Brexit government
Responding to Jeremy Corbyn’s interview on the Andrew Marr show, Liberal Democrat Shadow Brexit Secretary Tom Brake said:
Jeremy Corbyn has once again refused to deny that if he becomes Prime Minister his government will be a Brexit government.
This will be deeply concerning to millions of Labour supporters who want to campaign to stop Brexit and cannot get any clarity from Labour.
People who want to stop Brexit must support the Liberal Democrats, the strongest remain party. In a general election every vote for the Liberal Democrats will be a vote to stop Brexit.
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One Comment
Yes, Layla, agree all the way. Having left academia at 36 I had the rewarding experience of teaching all levels of ability students. Some of the most rewarding was with the less able who, in the league tables assessments, are discounted. With regard to the SATS testing, one of my N.Devon NASUWT colleagues likened the education system to a pig farmer who spent so much time weighing the pigs, he wasn’t feeding them enough. Yes, anything that encourages student centred teaching, rather than test centred , is to be applauded. I think a reintroduction of local authority accountable inspectors like the old HMI would be welcome. They were available on a helpful support basis throughout the calendar, in addition to making the regulatory quality inspections.