Martin Allen argues that Labour's manifesto leaves as many questions as it provides answers Claiming to offer a new alternative for young people at the upper end of secondary school and in Further Education, Labour’s election manifesto retains some old themes –particularly in its policies for vocational education where it wants to introduce a Technical Baccalaureate and … Continue reading Labour’s Techbacc and Apprenticeships.
Author: Martin Allen
Labour’s Fees Promise
PATRICK AINLEY WELCOMES ‘LABOUR’S FEES PROMISE – AS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION’ IN LATEST ISSUE OF POST-16 EDUCATOR Introduction: a decision at last! Labour’s long awaited promise of a reduction for all English undergraduate student fees to £6,000 from 2016-17 (so many applicants may defer entry this year) will require speedy legislation in … Continue reading Labour’s Fees Promise
Young people pile up the debts
Recent figures provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers show that ‘unsecured’ consumer debt rose 9% during 2014 –to nearly £10 000 per household, an all-time high. http://pwc.blogs.com/press_room/2015/03/pwc-uk-unsecured-debt-set-to-rise-to-nearly-10000-per-household-by-the-end-of-2016.html Though £4 billion of the increase came from credit card spending, £9 billion (around 46% of the increase) came from student borrowing, with PwC estimating graduates who started courses after 2012 … Continue reading Young people pile up the debts
Parents climb walls to help their children cheat.
This astonishing picture from the Indian state of Bihar, published by several news agencies (also as part of a Daily Telegraph video report), provides a chilling example of the faltering relationship between educational credentials and the labour market. Some were apparently trying to hand in answer sheets folded into paper planes to the 12th grade … Continue reading Parents climb walls to help their children cheat.
Alternative education policies
The National Union of Teachers has been using the run up to the General Election to promote its policies http://www.teachers.org.uk/node Download manifesto Education researchers who support the Union have published supporting material Download reclaiming schools Downloaded chapters from Martin Allen and Patrick Ainley's Education Beyond the Coalition still available at http://radicaledbks.com/
Still nearly 1 million NEETS
While unemployment amongst 16-24 year olds has fallen (down nearly 200 000 compared with a year ago), it still remains much higher than that for the population as a whole. What’s more the figures for the last quarter of 2014 show a small increase. Latest ONS figures for NEETS (Not in Education, Employment or Training) … Continue reading Still nearly 1 million NEETS
Are apprenticeships a real alternative to university?
Post for Reclaiming Schools Schools have been criticised by government ministers and Ofsted for not doing enough to promote apprenticeships, but do they serve as a real alternative to university? Our research shows that most apprenticeships are low-skilled and ‘dead-end’ and don’t guarantee employment after completion. There are of course some very good schemes that lead … Continue reading Are apprenticeships a real alternative to university?
Ed Miliband’s Haverstock speech: Neo-liberal schooling goes rolling on?
It’s Ed Miliband’s commitment to limiting primary school class sizes that’s received most attention, alongside his pledge to protect the education budget http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-31431456. Yet in his speech, delivered at his old school, Haverstock in Camden, Miliband also backed more personal, social and citizenship education, arguing that school should be more than just about passing … Continue reading Ed Miliband’s Haverstock speech: Neo-liberal schooling goes rolling on?
New league tables bed down Gove’s curriculum
Still running the show? Last week’s secondary school league tables began to bed down the first of Michael Gove’s examination changes for 14-19. The 2014 tables excluded performances in resits or in BTEC style vocational qualifications –and gave further prominence to English Baccalaureate subjects. As a result many schools found that though their overall performance in … Continue reading New league tables bed down Gove’s curriculum
Desperate Dave and the three million apprentices
Desperate to have something new to offer, David Cameron now promises 3 million more apprenticeships during the next Parliament. Estimated at £300 million per annum, these would come at the expense of further benefit cuts for families and unemployed young people. According to the Tories, reducing total benefit eligibility ‘within the first few days’ … Continue reading Desperate Dave and the three million apprentices
