Reform The Week

18 April 2008

Reform – The Week

There are further signs that political intervention is adversely affecting education. The Primary Review shows that primary schools are being affected by political “whim” and “policy hysteria”. The announcement that ‘superheads’ will be paid more to take over management of failing schools – while in itself no bad thing – shows the continued tight-rein the Government has over pay and conditions in the state sector. Instead, we should look to decentralized education systems such as Sweden’s, where money follows the pupil and private schools are funded by the state – such as the Kunskapsskolan. It is striking that Sweden, unlike England, has one of the highest rates of social mobility. To improve education and life outcomes for all, a new approach is urgently required – see Reform’s forthcoming report “Shifting the unequal state: From public apathy to personal capability”.

Laura Kounine, Editor

Reformer of the week

Frank Field, for leading the resistance to the Government’s decision to abolish the 10p starting rate of income tax. Frank Field commented: “We have never had a measure where we are being asked to vote for a package that makes five million of the poorest people worse off, who are doing exactly what the government has asked people to do, that is work."

Reactionary of the week

Gordon Brown, for urging banks to pass on lower interest rates to their customers. Rather, as Camilla Cavendish exhorts, the British banking sector should take heed of the example of US institutions in order to set the UK on a path towards resolving the credit crisis. She warned: “The most imprudent thing the banks could do right now would be to answer Mr Brown's call to sell more mortgages, at cheap rates, at a time when their capital base is already too weak.”

Good week for

Active parents

A survey by the internet company thinkproperty.com revealed that three out of four parents would move house to be in the catchment area of a school with a good reputation and one in three would be prepared to live in a smaller home to fund their child’s place at a preferred school. The results of the survey provide further evidence of the active role that most parents seek to play in determining where their child goes to school and reinforce the view that increasing choice in education is of fundamental importance to improving standards.

Paternal involvement

Duncan Fisher, member of the Maternity Matters advisory group at the NHS, argues that fathers should be allowed to stay overnight in hospitals following the birth of their baby. The move comes after the release of evidence from a poll showing that 70 per cent of parents think fathers should be able to do so. This highlights the continued demand for public services to be more consumer-led.

American Baby Boomers

As the first of 77 million American Baby Boomers become eligible for social security benefits, projections by the Heritage Foundation suggest that the total cost of entitlement programs will leap from 8.4 per cent of GDP to 18.6 per cent of GDP by 2050. In comparison, the entire Federal Budget is 20 per cent of GDP. Given the perceived political risk of reform, Congress is largely ignoring the looming crisis and consequent tax rises that will be required. However, urgent reform of the system is precisely what is needed, otherwise it will be the next generation who suffers – see Reform’s latest report on the IPOD generation.

. Bad week for

Primary schools

The Cambridge University led Primary Review suggests that too much government interference is damaging primary education. The reports emphasised the pervasive influence of short-term policy initiatives in response to media scare stories and an increasing tendency for reforms to become “symbolic in nature”.

Diplomas

Jerry Jarvis, Managing Director of Edexcel, warned that up to 40,000 students could be left with “worthless” qualifications” unless flaws in the Government’s flagship diploma course were altered. Among the problems to emerge were: a lack of adequate training for teachers, ignorance amongst schools as to how the new features should be taught and fears that the qualification may prove too demanding for pupils. The danger here is that the diplomas may suffer the fate of other educational reforms – rushed through in haste. As the Guardian points out, “this reform is too important to risk”.

Lavish life-styles

According to a National Institute of Economy and Social Research study published last week, Britons are living beyond their means. “Consumption levels are substantially above what can be afforded if each cohort pays its own way,” they conclude.

Quote of the week

“The pieties of equal opportunities for all children were forgotten in a moment of panic: birth has become destiny more certainly than ever.”

Polly Toynbee, Guardian

Reform’s week

Reform Scotland released their latest report on Monday Power for the public and held a launch party in Edinburgh at The Caves on Tuesday. Reform Scotland also had its first mention in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday. See www.reformscotland.com for further information.

Professor Nick Bosanquet and Elizabeth Truss released a briefing on eco towns. This briefing will be published on Saturday on www.reform.co.uk.