Mixed reaction to free school meal announcement

Following the Deputy Prime Minister's announcement yesterday that all infant school children were going to get their school lunches for free. The cost is estimated to cost the taxpayer £600m and there is speculation that it is what the Lib Dems have got as pay off for not opposing the Tories married couples tax allowance. On making the announcement yesterday Nick Clegg described at the first step to universal free school meals saying "We will start with infant school pupils because teaching healthy habits young, and boosting attainment early, will bring the biggest benefits. Universal free school meals will help give every child the chance in life that they deserve, building a stronger economy and fairer society."

However Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg, responded to the announcement without responding to the policy and simply launched an attack on the integrity of the Liberal Democrats saying: "After three years of broken promises and empty words, people have come to judge the Lib Dems on what they do, not what they say. They talk about helping families but they will have taken up to £7 billion a year of support away from children by 2015; they talk about helping with school meals after supporting the Tories in scrapping Labour's plans to extend free meals for school kids. You can't trust a word the Lib Dems say." Although the Labour leader on the GLA (Greater London Assembly) Len Duvall welcomed the decision: "This is a fantastic policy and Labour-run London councils are already delivering it, they have shown that it is possible."

The Director General at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Mark Littlewood, criticised the decision as a "bad use of public money". Mr Littlewood commenting said: "This is an enormously bad use of public money. Not unreasonably, the government already ensures that those in need have access to free school meals, so it beggars belief that we are now going to see a policy instated which will subsidise the children of affluent families. If the government meaningfully wants to ease the burden of rising living costs then they would be better placed to introduce a £437 tax cut each year and give parents some choice."

However welcoming the announcement from Nick Clegg that infant children will be getting free school meals. Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers the largest teachers’ union, said: "The NUT welcomes the announcement on free school meals for infant pupils but remains committed to the ambition of universal free school meals for all primary school pupils, as recommended in the School Food Plan. Children however do not stop being hungry at 7years of age. We hope that today’s announcement represents just the start of rolling out free schools meals to all children in primary schools before the end of this Parliament."

Continuing Ms Blower said: "The health benefits of eating a nutritious lunchtime meal cannot be overestimated. Teachers are well aware of the impact on children’s concentration and behaviour and the long term benefits for their educational attainment. With ever increasing rates of child poverty and childhood obesity, universal primary free school meals will not only bring about clear health and education benefits but will help support low income working parents and help to tackle child poverty".

A level results show more doing maths and sciences than ever before

A level results published today by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) show there has been a big rise in the number and proportion of young people taking A levels in maths, physics, chemistry and biology - subjects that are highly valued by employers and universities. There are more students doing maths, further maths, physics, chemistry and biology at A level than ever before - both in terms of number of entries and as a percentage of the cohort.

Education Minister Elizabeth Truss said: "It is extremely encouraging that there has been such a significant rise in the number of students taking A levels in subjects like maths and the sciences. These subjects are not just fascinating and worth studying for their own sake - they are also the ones which open up modern, high-tech careers and are most in demand by employers and universities. This is good for the economy and will help the UK compete."

Turning her fire onto Labour Ms Truss said: "Every year under Labour, ministers claimed credit for grades going up even though universities and employers complained about standards. We are restoring credibility to A levels by putting universities in control and getting rid of the constant treadmill of exams. But today Labour have confirmed they would reverse our measures to fix the system. It's the same old Labour. A vote for Labour is a vote for returning to dumbing down, and it's hardworking young people who would pay the price with fewer opportunities to get on in life." 

Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, Stephen Twigg, commenting on A Level results, said: "I wish everyone the best of luck today with their results and next steps, whether this is university, an apprenticeship or a job. Young people deserve to be congratulated on their hard work. It is important that our exam system is rigorous and challenging, and that young people's achievements are properly reflected in the grade they are awarded. The continued rise in maths and science entries that Labour began is welcome. However, the fall in the number of students taking languages is extremely worrying.

"As well as focusing on those young people who are going on to university, we need to make sure we have a system that works for all young people. David Cameron has no plan for the forgotten 50 per cent - those who do not want to go to university. Labour will deliver a rigorous vocational offer with a Gold Standard Technical Baccalaureate qualification at 18, including maths and English and a work experience guarantee for all."

Education reforms to "herald a revolution in education" say the Tories but Labour call them "divisive" that only applies to some schools

The Conservatives say that their proposals for the new national curriculum "embodies high expectations in every subject" and "will raise standards for all children". It combines the best elements of what is taught in the world’s most successful school systems, including Hong Kong, Massachusetts, Singapore and Finland, with some of the most impressive practice from schools in England.

It has been designed to ensure England has the most productive, most creative and best educated young people of any nation. It aims to create a population with the knowledge and skills not just to get a good job and succeed in life, but also to help us compete and win in the global race.

The Prime Minister David Cameron said: "We are determined to give all children in this country the very best education – for their future, and for our country’s future. The new national curriculum is a vital part of that. This curriculum marks a new chapter in British education. From advanced fractions to computer coding to some of the greatest works of literature in the English language, this is a curriculum that is rigorous, engaging and tough. As a parent this is exactly the kind of thing I want my children to be learning. And as Prime Minister I know this revolution in education is critical for Britain’s prosperity in the decades to come.This is a curriculum to inspire a generation – and it will educate the great British engineers, scientists, writers and thinkers of our future."

Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove said: "We are introducing a tougher, more rigorous national curriculum. Schools will focus more on essay writing, mathematical modelling and problem solving. For the first time children will be learning to programme computers. It will raise standards across the board – and allow our children to compete in the global race."

Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, Stephen Twigg,  commenting on the National Curriculum, said: "David Cameron and Michael Gove have spent the last three years trying to personally rewrite the National Curriculum - they should have listened to the experts in the first place. They have had to go back and change the programmes of study for Design and Technology, Geography and History after experts warned there were serious omissions and they were not suited to prepare young people for the challenges of the modern world. It's right that changes have been made to ICT and Computing following concerns raised by Labour and the ICT sector, but we await further details.

"Labour wants to ensure the National Curriculum sets clear expectations for the knowledge and skills children and young people should reach by a certain age. This curriculum looks like more of the same though. The Tories' divisive approach means curriculum freedom only applies to some schools. Labour would ensure a reformed curriculum allows teachers in all schools the freedom to innovate and prepares young people for the challenges of the modern economy."

When is a free school not a free school? When Stephen Twigg is trying to appease the teaching unions

The Tories have attacked the Shadow Education Secretary, Stephen Twigg, after his appearance on the BBC's Today programme. Mr Twigg said on Today: "Existing free schools will stay open, free schools in the pipeline will go ahead, but we will not have additional free schools" He went on to say "What we will have is a new academies programme including parent-led academies, really good teacher-led academies like Peter Hyman’s school in East London - those sorts of things" the Tories point out that "Peter Hyman’s school is a free school" and what Mr Twigg described for his academies as "exactly what free schools are".

They also accuse Mr Twigg and Labour of being in "disarray" over the policy. Mr Twigg made a speech to the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts in which he said: "Under Michael Gove’s policy, millions have been spent opening schools in areas with a surplus of places, while children elsewhere face a shortage of places. This is not just wasteful, it is a scandal. It should be the first duty of any Education Secretary to ensure that every child has a place at one of their local schools'. He also said ‘Labour’s vision for creating new schools is… where priority is given to setting up new schools where they are needed most, particularly in areas with a shortage of places."

But the former Education Minister the Lord Andrew Adonis has contradicted Stephen Twigg by saying free schools should open where there are not enough ‘good quality’ places. In his blog, Andrew Adonis says: "Labour will rightly locate new academies in areas – and there are plenty of them – where there is a shortage of good quality school places’". Stephen Twigg does not include the "good quality" caveat.

Just on Saturday Labour spinners briefed the Daily Mirror, for a story which was published on Sunday, saying: "Stephen Twigg will announce parents would be welcome to set up their own schools – but with tough controls. Labour is set to drop its ­opposition to free schools in a major change in policy. Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg will announce next week that parents would be welcome to set up their own schools – as long as there is a strong demand in their area. Mr Twigg will announce in the same speech that council-run schools could have the same freedoms as academies for hiring staff and deciding the curriculum. A source said Labour was looking to give schools more independence, but added: “They must also be accountable. That means not having unqualified staff or refusing to make accounts public"

However only hours later the BBC's education correspondent Angela Harrison tweeted yesterday afternoon: ‘Labour say the Mirror story about its policy on free schools is “highly speculative, misleading and ill informed”

Education Secretary Michael Gove In response to Stephen Twigg’s speech on schools policy said: "Labour’s policy on free schools is so tortured they should send in the UN to end the suffering. On the one hand Stephen Twigg says he will end the free school programme, but on the other he says he would set up “parent-led” and “teacher-led academies” – free schools under a different name. As Andrew Adonis has said this morning, 'free schools are academies without a predecessor school'. When is a free school not a free school? When Stephen Twigg is trying to appease the teaching unions.

"Stephen Twigg also says it’s a “scandal” to set up new schools in areas where existing schools are failing and parents have no choice. We don’t think it’s a scandal, we think it’s vital. Too often the poorest families are left with the worst schools. Stephen Twigg is failing to help the poorest and failing to stand up to unions. It’s the same old Labour."

NUT welcome Twigg's education policy speech

Commenting on the Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg's speech, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers' union, said:

"The Union is pleased to welcome Stephen Twigg's announcement today that Labour Party policy will require all schools to employ qualified teachers and that there will be a national system for pay and conditions. Also to be welcomed is the focus on fair admissions and the critique of the centralising policy of the current Secretary of State, in which all schools are run from Whitehall. The NUT will engage with the review Stephen Twigg has announced today of how Labour can provide a stronger framework of local accountability."

"Many teachers will be heartened to hear that there will no longer be a need to have a change of status in order to have the curriculum freedoms available to academies and free schools. Stephen Twigg is right to talk about the success of the London Challenge which resulted in school-led improvement, where professional teachers were trusted to work together to make system-wide improvements."

"Local democratic accountability, on school provision, place planning and fair admissions for all schools, is a policy aspiration the Union shares. However, allowing parents to open schools does not ensure coherent education provision. Current free school policy has clearly led to a waste of taxpayers' money in some instances. We await the policies which arise from today's speech with interest."

Twigg to announce freedoms for all schools

Shadow Education Secretary, Stephen Twigg, will today announce a "radical plan" to free-up all schools from top-down policies and central Government control. Speaking at the RSA, Mr Twigg will set out plans to extend to all schools freedoms currently enjoyed only by academies and Free Schools, including:

• The freedom Academies and Free Schools have over the National Curriculum. While still being required to teach core subjects like English, maths and science, and offer a "broad and balanced curriculum", they have the space and flexibility around this to innovate and be creative.
• The freedom Academies and Free Schools have over where they buy their services, such as technology for their school and tailored extra support for their pupils.
• The freedom Academies and Free Schools have to change the length of their school terms -offering extra school time to help improve pupil performance.

Outlining a vision to allow all schools to innovate and raise standards, Stephen Twigg will say that in a "One Nation schools system head teachers in all schools will be trusted to lead their schools in the best way for their pupils". Labour say they will put an end to "Michael Gove's incoherent approach that grants some schools access to freedoms that help raise standards whilst denying them to others".

Stephen Twigg is expected to say: "Today I am setting out how Labour will bring order to the chaos Michael Gove has created in our schools system. We will put an end to the fragmented, divisive system under this Government and ensure that every school can excel and every child is given a great education. We know that giving schools more freedom over how they teach and how they run and organise their schools can help to raise standards. So why should we deny those freedoms to thousands of schools? All schools should have them - not just academies and Free Schools. A school should not have to change its structure just to gain freedoms. In a One Nation system, freedoms would be granted to all schools and innovation would be spread across the system."

Setting out the kind of freedoms all schools will enjoy under Labour so they can raise standards, he will go on to say: "So Labour will give all schools the same freedom over the curriculum that academies currently enjoy while continuing to insist that all schools teach a core curriculum including English, Maths and Science. Many academies say freedom to innovate in the curriculum has given their teachers a new sense of confidence and professionalism. All young people should benefit from the positive impact this brings - trusting teachers to get on with the job.

"And where a community school wants to offer longer school terms so it can offer extra classes to improve results, why should they have to jump through a series of bureaucratic hoops when academies can, working with parents, change their term dates to deliver better education? All schools should be able to do this so we will let them. And school leaders, not politicians, know best what kind of ICT or speech therapy services they need for their staff and pupils. So just as academies, can choose to buy in tailored support that better meets their needs, so should community schools."

Labour say that Stephen Twigg will also focus on Labour's plans to incentivise schools to work together for the benefit of every child. The evidence shows that extending school freedoms within a system of widespread collaboration is the key to raising education standards. So Labour rejects the idea of a Tory 'sink or swim' approach to school competition being the best way to improve performance.

Instead, Stephen Twigg is expected to say: "The evidence on school improvement, from home and abroad, demonstrates that partnerships and federations between schools are key to raising teaching standards, leadership skills, and sharing best practice. A lack of collaboration poses a risk for school standards. The lowest performing schools in the OECD have autonomy but no collaborative culture. We need more school freedoms and a collaborative culture to spread that innovation and best practice. Michael Gove used to talk the talk on schools working together but he's failed to deliver. He promised to ensure that new academies supported other schools, but nearly two-thirds of academies are not in a partnership."

Mumsnet welcome Nick Clegg's intervention on childcare

The Deputy Prime Minister has confirmed his opposition to changing the childcare ratios, during an intervention this morning on his LBC radio show Call Clegg, where Mr Clegg said: "It is not a great ideological thing, it is about getting it right for parents up and down the country. When the last government changed the so-called ratios for three- and four-year-olds, it had almost no effect in reducing the costs for parents whatsoever, so you do need to be led by the evidence and that is what I will continue to be in the debate."

Justine Roberts, Mumsnet CEO and Founder, responded to Mr Clegg saying: "Mumsnet users will be mighty relieved that some in government are listening to concerns expressed by parents and childcare professionals alike about relaxing childcare ratios. Put simply parents believe that the quality of care will be adversely affected by the proposed changes and that even with a GCSE in Maths and English four babies under one or six under twos is a lot for even the most experienced childcare worker to manage. Only 5% of Mumsnet users supported a change in ratios even if it meant lower costs. That's why Mumsnet supports the Pre-school Learning Alliance's Rewind on Ratios campaign and we very much hope that Nick Clegg's intervention results in a rethink."

The shadow education secretary, Stephen Twigg, said the government's childcare reforms had "descended into chaos", and called on ministers to appear before parliament. "After intense opposition, including from parents, childcare staff and experts, the government appear to be U-turning on ratios," Twigg said. "This is a government with no real answers to the childcare crisis facing parents."

Victory for Clegg as Gove gives in over exam reforms

Education Secretary Michael Gove

Details of a new examination regime to replace GCSEs are to be announced in the biggest overhaul of secondary school testing for a generation. Education Secretary Michael Gove and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who clashed openly earlier this year, will launch the reforms jointly after negotiating a plan agreeable to both sides of the coalition.

The changes, which apply only to England, are designed to introduce more academic rigour to exams for 15 and 16-year-olds amid concerns about falling standards and dumbing down since the introduction of GCSEs in the late 1980s. That will mean an end to modular and rolling assessments and a stronger emphasis on the more traditional exam at the end of two years of study. There will also be a limit to the proportion of top grades that are awarded after years of ever-rising numbers of As and A*s.

However, after vociferous protests from Liberal Democrats including Mr Clegg there will be no return to the two-tier system of qualifications that pre-dated GCSEs, when the academically talented took O-levels and the rest sat CSEs. Additionally, the proposed implementation of the reforms has been pushed back until autumn 2015, after the next general election, meaning an incoming Labour government could potentially repeal the changes before they were implemented. Labour has not as yet indicated that it will oppose the plans, although it criticised the timing and the leaking of details to the press.

The issue has strained coalition relations after Mr Gove's plans for a return to an O-level-style exam system were leaked in June without the foreknowledge of either Prime Minister David Cameron or Mr Clegg. The Lib Dems responded furiously to the leak, the Deputy Prime Minister saying at the time he was against "anything that would lead to a two-tier system where children at quite a young age are somehow cast on a scrapheap". It is understood that Mr Gove and Mr Clegg have worked closely together over the summer to find common ground. A source said it had been a "really good coalition process" and that the end result would "raise the bar without shutting the door".

Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, Stephen Twigg MP, commenting on the Government's plans to abolish GCSEs said: "The problem with these changes are they are totally out of date, from a Tory-led Government totally out of touch with modern Britain. Whatever the reassurances, this risks a return to a two-tier system which left thousands of children on the scrap heap at the age of 16. Why else are the changes being delayed until 2017? Schools do need to change as all children stay on in education to 18 and we face up to the challenges of the 21st Century. We won't achieve that with a return to the 1980s. Instead, we need a system that promotes rigour and breadth, and prepares young people for the challenges of the modern economy.”

Mr Gove is also under fire today from one of his Conservative predecessors as Education Secretary for failing to be radical enough. Lord Kenneth Baker, who as Education Secretary in the Thatcher government in the late 80s was the architect of much of the current education system. He believes there is no longer any need for a national exam at 16 as the vast majority of young people now stay on in education or training until 18. Instead, he believes pupils should be tested at 14 to help guide them on the subject choices they must then make. "It's vital that schools and colleges provide education which develops practical skills and personal qualities as well as subject knowledge," he said. "This has to include opportunities to learn by doing."

Mr Gove will be making his full announcement on exam reforms at 15:30 BST in the House of Commons today.