The Latest News
The real safeguard of democracy is education
3rd March 2022
On 18 October 1976 the UK’s then prime minister, James Callaghan, gave a controversial speech at Ruskin College, Oxford. It was a speech that started what was to become known as the Great Education Debate. A debate which gave birth to the school improvement movement.
Driven by central government and initiatives such as the national curriculum, national strategies and the national college and by democratically accountable local authorities increasingly focused on the quality of education in their schools, the following decades witnessed radical improvements in school leadership and the quality of teaching. However, it was the improvements driven by school leaders themselves that were to have the greatest impact. And when those leaders worked collaboratively in what David Hargreaves labelled in 2010 a “self-improving school system” then that change became all the more significant. When a certain section of the press argued – as they still do – that examination results are improving because tests are getting easier, I believe that they are fundamentally wrong. Examination results are improving because the teaching is getting better.
In the twilight of my career (in the words of the wonderful Barry Cryer, I no longer invest in green bananas) it is a privilege to be engaging yet again in these self-improving school systems. In the last few weeks, I have been working with a team on supported school review – the purpose of which is to empower our school leaders with key information so that they have a sharpened awareness of what their school is doing well and what steps they should consider taking to further improve. The team has brought in the expertise other school leaders from the Trust together with an experienced ex-HMI. At the same time our Trust Lead Practitioners are once again providing additional support, often informed by outcomes from our school reviews.
Working with Anna Wallis, our Trust’s Secondary Lead for Pedagogy, we’ve begun to define some key principles of what great teaching looks like. It’s a piece of work that follows on from our recent curriculum statement (click here to view) and which will develop further with input from colleagues including those from the primary phase. For the time being, the diagram on the following page provides a flavour of where this work is taking us (see diagram1).
Finally, words from Franklin D Roosevelt seem appropriate to explain why we are all working in education and doing what we are doing, especially during these challenging times.
"Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education"
Graham Tuck, Director of Education, Learning Partners
On 18 October 1976 the UK’s then prime minister, James Callaghan, gave a controversial speech at Ruskin College, Oxford. It was a speech that started what was to become known as the Great Education Debate. A debate which gave birth to the school improvement movement.
Driven by central government and initiatives such as the national curriculum, national strategies and the national college and by democratically accountable local authorities increasingly focused on the quality of education in their schools, the following decades witnessed radical improvements in school leadership and the quality of teaching. However, it was the improvements driven by school leaders themselves that were to have the greatest impact. And when those leaders worked collaboratively in what David Hargreaves labelled in 2010 a “self-improving school system” then that change became all the more significant. When a certain section of the press argued – as they still do – that examination results are improving because tests are getting easier, I believe that they are fundamentally wrong. Examination results are improving because the teaching is getting better.
In the twilight of my career (in the words of the wonderful Barry Cryer, I no longer invest in green bananas) it is a privilege to be engaging yet again in these self-improving school systems. In the last few weeks, I have been working with a team on supported school review – the purpose of which is to empower our school leaders with key information so that they have a sharpened awareness of what their school is doing well and what steps they should consider taking to further improve. The team has brought in the expertise other school leaders from the Trust together with an experienced ex-HMI. At the same time our Trust Lead Practitioners are once again providing additional support, often informed by outcomes from our school reviews.
Working with Anna Wallis, our Trust’s Secondary Lead for Pedagogy, we’ve begun to define some key principles of what great teaching looks like. It’s a piece of work that follows on from our recent curriculum statement (click here to view) and which will develop further with input from colleagues including those from the primary phase. For the time being, the diagram on the following page provides a flavour of where this work is taking us (see diagram1).
Finally, words from Franklin D Roosevelt seem appropriate to explain why we are all working in education and doing what we are doing, especially during these challenging times.
"Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education"
Graham Tuck, Director of Education, Learning Partners
