“We are, and always will, be the party of education”. So Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said in his speech at Bloomberg last Monday. This is indeed what the Liberal Democrats stand for, and it’s not just an empty sound bite. The policies we pledge to adopt will be to ensure that school pupils will have the right to be taught by qualified teachers and taught a core curriculum – a truly national curriculum.
The recent ‘Trojan Horse’ controversy has shocked the national conscience. It highlighted that some schools ran a risk of depriving children of an all-rounded and fair education. Academies and free schools are based on the concept of autonomy, but this should not mean that children should suffer because of particular interests. Some schools that did have discretion over their curriculum were abusing that by stripping back the curriculum and narrowing the experience of schooling for every young child. Action needs to be taken to ensure children’s futures are not put at risk.
Our policy, which was made clear at the federal conference in March 2013, would change legislation so that, by September 2016, all schools will have the same obligation to employ qualified teachers. We have also planned for every school to deliver a minimum curriculum entitlement, setting out the basic skills and knowledge that every child deserves. This is based on listening to professional educationalists. Both the National Association for Head Teachers (NAHT) and the Association for School and College Leaders (ASCL) supports such policies.
This is the idea behind our “parental guarantee”. We want to ensure that all parents can be confident that a properly qualified teacher will teach their child a core curriculum.
We have given all schools the freedom to attract, keep and incentivise the best teachers. We have condensed the national curriculum so there is less direction on how to teach. The Pupil Premium is given to schools without strings attached because teachers know better than politicians how best to spend that money.
Liberal Democrats are supporters of freedom, diversity and choice. That’s why, as part of the Government, we have supported measures allowing schools and academies to overreach their autonomy. We must keep in mind that education is best served when teachers are allowed to teach a curriculum that is important and wholly relevant for children, but also flexible to allow schools to capitalise on particular talents and experiences.
* Mike Storey, Lord Storey CBE, is the Liberal Democrats’ education spokesperson in the Lords. He is Co‐chair of the Party’s committee on education, family and young people. He was previously Headteacher of a large inner‐city primary school, a Liverpool Councillor (1973‐2011), Leader of Liverpool City Council (1998‐2005) and Lord Mayor of Liverpool (2009‐10). He is a member of the Independent Advisory Panel for the Regional Growth Fund, and takes an active role in education, the arts, and regeneration matters in the Lords. Follow his work via TheyWorkForYou.
