Redlands Liberal Democrats

Diplomas: Update from RBC

I've received a speedy response from RBC's head of school improvement, to my enquiry about the preparedness of the Council and education partners for the roll-out of new diplomas

He tells me that (perhaps unlike some other areas of the Country), teaching staff and other educational professionals in Reading have been given time and support to get up to speed. Thames Valley University, and other providers have also been allocated funding so that they can release staff for training days etc.

Concerns about the dipolmas themselves, including fears that young people could be left with no qualifications if they run into difficulties are also unfounded, according to RBC.

Very reassuring to know that our education chiefs are on top of this one, and everyone involved is working together to ensure the diplomas are a success.

Concern over new diplomas

You may remember Reading's Labour-run Council trumpeted the fact not long ago that it was going to be one of the first local authorities to trial new post-16 vocational diplomas.

This came after an announcement by the Department for Education and Science (DfES) back in March 2007 that it had approved a partnership bid by Reading Borough Council to run diploma courses in five vocational areas: Engineering; Construction and the Built Environment; Society, Health and Development; Creative and Media; and Information Technology.

The head of Edexcel, one of the leading exam boards in England said today that Labour'r flagship diplomas due to be launched this September, 'risked failure' and could be 'worthless' to students.

Labour's Lead Member for Education, Cllr Jon Hartley said at the time:

"This is a major step forward towards realising our ambition of providing broader, more wide-ranging courses, and it is very good news for the young people of Reading".

While we are very supportive of the principle i.e. the need to offer a broader programme of education to young people in Reading, it is a matter of real concern to us If the new diplomas aren't got right as it could damage the educational chances of Reading's young people.

The RBC partnership includes all Reading secondary schools, including the new John Madejski Academy, and Thames Valley University, alongside other partners such as Connexions and the Central Berkshire Educational Business Partnership.

RBC's press release issued in March declared:

"Specialised Diplomas are exciting and innovative new qualifications for 14 to 19-year-olds. They have been created to provide a real alternative to more traditional education and qualifications, and are the most important change to the country's education system since the introduction of GCSEs."

Contrast this with Jerry Jarvis's warnings today:

"If the diploma doesn't earn its spurs as a qualification, and that means respect from employers, pupils, parents and higher education, we face a serious problem. There is a huge educational risk to this country."

It turns out teachers in many areas have only had 3 DAYS training on how to teach the new diplomas, the IT system is still not in place and many schools feel very underprepared - only 5 months away from the launch.

While we support the broadening out of education for our young people, particularly those who do not wish to follow the traditional academic route, we do not want our 16 years to be the guinea pigs for a scheme which is not well-thought out. This could be an costly mistake by Reading's Labour-run Council, as usual so quick to jump on the latest government bandwagon.

The Unions have also backed Mr Jarvis on this, saying that only 43% of NUT members saying they have had sufficient training to teach the new diplomas in our schools.

The Lib Dems advocate an alternative policy which would mean the retention of GCSEs and A'Levels, alongside a general diploma.

Lib Dem Education spokesman, David Laws MP said today:

"The Government is creating a grotesquely confusing qualifications maze which will make life difficult for both pupils and schools.

"The criticisms of the Government’s diploma programme are entirely fair and accurate. The Government has chosen such a complex and muddled structure for the diploma that there must be real concerns that take-up is going to be far lower than ministers hoped for.

"Ed Balls should now seriously consider introducing a simpler General Diploma, retaining GCSEs and A-levels as building blocks of this diploma."

We will be seeking urgent reassurances from RBC education chiefs that our schools and our teachers are fully prepared to deliver the new diplomas when they are introduced in the Autumn here in Reading.

Shortage of secondary school places hits Whitley children

"The great thing about this school is that it's a fantastic quality of education for children that a few years ago wouldn't have had a chance at all and that's what it's all about."

"Whatever background you come from, if you're not able to get a quality education then you can spend the whole of your life never understanding what potential there is to do good, not just by yourself but by other people as well."

Question: Who was this speaking and about what?

Answer: Rt Hon Tony Blair and the John Madeski Academy

I thought of Mr Blair's remarks when I read more worrying reports in today's Post about the large number of South Reading families who found out recently that their children have been turned down for school places by the John Madejski Academy.

Despite everything the Labour government has said about choice as a Guardian leader article underlined recently, for many parents choice of school for their children is an illusion.

I am aware of a number of families living around the Hexham Road area of the ward who have attended local primary schools and applied to attend JMA only to be rejected and told that they are in some cases going to have to travel to attend schools the other side of Reading. Some children will be forced to travel from Whitley to Tilehurst to get to a secondary school.

A headteacher of a Whitley primary school quoted in last week's Chronicle hit the nail on the head:

"These children have not come from nowhere. The council must have known how many children in this year group are in the area, and so why are there not provisions for them?"

I have requested an urgent meeting with RBC to discuss the issues involved and see what can be done to help parents and children affected by the shortage of school places in South Reading.

Admissions to RBC secondary schools increased from 55 to 62% and the Council predicted last week that this year would be a "bumper year for appeals". Hardly a record to be RBC should be proud of.

There is no doubt the shameful closure of Ryeish Green School by Wokingham Borough's Tory Council has had an impact, as the majority of pupils at Ryeish Green came from Whitley. The closure reduced the number of school places for South Reading children and and as we are seeing has put even greater pressure on places at the new John Madjeski Academy.

You may remember the fanfare that accompanied Tony Blair's visit to JMA in December and John Madjeski's comments to the BBC at the time:

"I just think the academy programme is first class.

"It ticks all the boxes for me and I feel very privileged to be part of this and I'm delighted that it's worked out so well for the people of south Reading."

Only time will tell if Mr Madjeski is right. In the short term, only a limited number of south Reading children are gaining any advantage from the arrival of a new academy school on their doorstep.

We would all like to see standards rise in Reading primary and secondary schools and for good schools to be open to all Reading children close to where they live.

In my view, academies are not the solution to all our educational woes, nor do they serve the needs of all our children. There are clear downsides to the fact that they are separate from the local educational authority (which some would see as benefits) including the fact that they can set their own admissions policy and that they are open to influence from wealthy donors who are not accountable to local parents.

As Fiona Millar (Alastair Campbell's wife and education campaigner has written:

"Ministers argue that many parents want academies - hardly surprising when they offer spanking new buildings, state of the art facilities, a fresh start and sometimes a new school where there are too few places. But parents also want fairness, not diminished rights, especially in an era where they are constantly told they have "power" and are "in the driving seat""

There is a wider point here however about whether the Labour Council has done enough to improve educational chances of young people in Whitley.

We know that as recently as 2005, only 4% of children from Whitley went on to attend university and despite the arrival of the academy, educational opportunities for children in South Reading are still too limited.

The Lib Dems in Reading will continue to campaign to ensure that the Local Education Authority does all it can to address this issue to ensure that all Reading children have access to a good local school.

If you are affected by the shortage of school places in South Reading please do contact me.

Social mobility and hairdressing

A very interesting evening spent viewing plans for Reading's first Post-16 education centre for girls, to be based at Reading Girls School. I fully support this project. As a product of a similar all-girls comprehensive school in north London, I am keen to see more opportunites for girls who for whatever reason have not stayed at school after GCSEs, particularly those who come from families without a tradition of going to University etc.

This group of young people is now referred in Whitehall-speak as NEETS (Not in Education, Employment or Training) According to a Reading Council report  published in 2006, 6.6 % of young people living in Reading are in this category, and a significant number of these young people are girls. I notice that Concerns were expressed by local Labour politicians about the low attainment of Whitley teenagers back in 2005 but despite this the problem hasn't gone away.

I was struck by the findings of a report by researchers at the London School of Economics published last year which found social mobility in Britain lower than other advanced countries and declining:

'For...those born in the early 1980s the gap between those staying on in education at age 16 narrowed, but inequality of access to higher education has widened further: while the proportion of people from the poorest fifth of families obtaining a degree has increased from 6 per cent to 9 per cent, the graduation rates for the richest fifth have risen from 20 per cent to 47 per cent.

I'm glad that Nick Clegg has made Labour's complete failure to improve social mobility at the centre of his policies. You can see the Lib Dem consultation on post-16 education and widening access here.

Anyway, full credit to Reading Girl's School for successfully securing £5,5 million pounds towards setting up the new centre from the Learning Skills Council which will offer a range of courses leading to professional qualification for girls across Reading. I am particularly pleased to see creche facilities as part of the plans: this will make it easier for young mothers to access the new courses.

Special thanks go to the School's Facilities Manager who stayed late to talk residents and myself through the plans. I will be meeting local residents and representatives from the School in the coming weeks to see what can be done to ensure that the local community benefits from this scheme.

And the hairdressing connection? This is one of the courses that will be offered at the new centre!

Redlands Primary School pupils continue to shine!

I wrote to Katherine Forster the Head Teacher of Redlands Primary School today to congratulate her and her team for helping Redlands children to achieve great results in the last year in English, Maths and Science. The popular School in Lydford Road continues to be among the top ten best primary schools in Reading. Well done too to all at Newtown Primary School, which is one of the 100 most improved primary schools in England.