Tory Mark Two

Gordon Brown’s educational initiative today looks like a Cameron Mark 2 effort. It did not work with inheritance tax. Our watered down, slightly less-outrageous,  rich-people friendly  version upset Labour’s friends and failed to please our opponents.

 

The Tories are hooked on parental rule.  It is superficially attractive. They intend to ape the Swedish model.  There, a small number of schools have some  autonomy. They are all neighbourhood schools and have no choice of pupils. All Scandinavian schools are impressive  as are all their social services. That is the result of half a century of Social Democratic government. Finland's system is superior. All Finnish schools are on an equal footing.

 

Cameron's parents' power is likely to be as successful as Major's 'parents' choice'. Well-heeled articulate parents thought they had the right to elbow their way into the best performing schools.  Most were disappointed and complained loudly. All parents opt for the best-performing schools. If 'choice' became a reality the favoured schools would expensively expand and others schools would have empty wasted places. That cannot work without pushing up costs and damaging  education for most people.

Parents in England might be able to trigger council intervention in unsatisfactory local schools under new plans announced. 'Parents' would be challenging 'Teachers.' Inevitably fathers and mothers concentrate their enthusiasm onthe well-being of their own children's achievements. Teachers have wider responsibilities and interests.

 

Lamely it is admitted today that 'Details have yet to be worked out but might involve local authorities surveying parental opinion.' We know where that will lead us.  It was promised today that the 'drive for world class schools in Britain will require a more strategic role for government, intervening when schools consistently under-perform, but standing back and allowing teachers and school leaders greater freedom to innovate.' So that's government interfering and not interfering.

 

Thank goodness it will not happen in Wales. We have some splendid schools in Newport and no sink schools. The disparity between the best and worst schools does not happen in Wales. The Assembly will ensure that it will happen. That is the result of allocating resources on those schools that have the greatest challenges.

 

Many years ago, I sat on a body that appointed all Newport's heads and deputy heads. It was a constant irritation that only half a dozen candidates applied for jobs in schools on the wrong side of the tracks. A good fifty would apply for the schools in prosperous middle class areas. Those kids who had already lost out with semi-iterate parents of low ambition were losing out in the restricted choice of headteachers.

 

We all want world class schools. Getting rid of the once politically inspired mistake of SATS would help. Trusting in the teachers and keeping them well resourced would be even better.

 

Parents and children, beware of politicians offering Utopian bright ideas.

 

They usually fail.

Polly bares all

She said it was like going naked. To do it on your own is embarrassing. But if everyone else is naked, what the hell?  Polly Toynbee was asked  by Gordon Prentice how much she earned. MPs are already naked. We get £65,000.

Out of a panel of four, only Polly Toynbee revealed her salary as £106,000. The three declined. Now we are in the world of abject openness, could we hear what our critics on the Mail or Express are getting - and their expenses. But they are not paid out of public funds-directly. What about David Dimbleby? He is paid out of public funds.

Perhaps Polly is leading a new spirit of openness. Tomorrow she will praised in an early Day Motion which will invite others to follow her example. I look forward to reading these frank confessions in our tabloid press.

  

 

Comments

[Kay Tie]

"I guess the other side of the coin KT is that 'free at the point of care' access is sometime perceived by certain individuals as 'free' = worthless"

That's right. But charging £10 doesn't come close to the real costs of seeing the doc. Putting a price of £10 on it makes certain people perceive it as nearly free = nearly worthless.

[greg]

I guess the other side of the coin KT is that 'free at the point of care' access is sometime perceived by certain individuals as 'free' = worthless, leading to either frivolous complaints jamming up the appointment book or, worse, missed appointments or cancellations which are a massive waste of resources.

I think you're right, it's a form of rationing/deterrent to making appointments, but I don't think there's any one perfect system to access primary health care.

[Kay Tie]

"Why did you have to pay £10 to see a doctor?...because you are a foreigner or rich? Do the poor and the chronically sick pay a tenner?"

No, it wasn't because I was an immigrant. And I was poor at the time. Everyone paid (although I think the truly destitute must have escaped charges).

Have a look at:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmhealth/815/81513.htm

I hate the idea of these user charges. They are a deterrent to seeking medical advice, raise little money in the overall scheme of things and are divisive.

Of course, Sweden has many many many many things that are better than here. You can't assess the whole country from these individual facts. To listen to Polly Toynbee the country is nirvana.

[Paul Flynn]

What we saw as Select Committee Jon were two schools selected by the British Embassy as typical of the 'privately run ones' and the rest.

The differences were not striking. They were both good schools who passionately defended their own systems. As I recall MPs of all parties onthe committee were of the same view that there was no great lesson to learn from the Swedish experience.

[Paul Flynn]

The other side of Swedish Health Service, KayTie is the thoroughness of their knowledge of their procedures. In a debate about the outcome of failing hip protheses some years ago, there was no information from the UK but full information from Sweden. They identified protheses and cement used in hip operations that fail while we had no evidence on which to improve use.

Why did you have to pay £10 to see a doctor?...because you are a foreigner or rich? Do the poor and the chronically sick pay a tenner?

[Jon Worth]

You're a bit wide of the mark with this Paul: "They are all neighbourhood schools and have no choice of pupils" - yes, that's true, but the schools run by private firms tend to only open in smarter areas. So the schools don't have a choice of pupils, but do have a choice of areas to operate in - not too different.

I agree with your overall point though - British politicians always seem to be intent on learning the wrong lessons from Sweden.

[Kay Tie]

"All Scandinavian schools are impressive as are all their social services."

When I was living in Sweden I had to pay £10 to see my GP. Impressive?

I think you should spend a bit more time seeing the real Sweden: avoid their Potemkin tours and avoid taking Polly Toynbee seriously.