Stephen Twigg

Tuesday

Stephen Twigg

Super-sized primary schools will damage education standards

From our UK edition

This morning, as parents were getting their children ready for their first day at school, the Education Secretary was taking to the airwaves. To many parents, who will be sending their children into overcrowded classrooms, they will be astonished by the complacency shown by Michael Gove. David Cameron’s Government has created a crisis in primary school places, of its own making; with a forecast shortfall of places of 240,000 by 2015. Michael Gove has no business grandstanding about his record. He and David Cameron cut schools capital spending by 60 per cent on taking office - twice as much as the cuts to other departments’ capital budgets.

Thursday

Stephen Twigg

Multiple entry is making a mockery of the GCSE system. Michael Gove needs to clamp down

From our UK edition

When I took my O Levels in 1983, I was nervous enough taking each exam once. But this year, increasing numbers of teenagers will take their GCSE exams in the same subject more than once. Some took their maths GCSE more than seven times. Michael Gove will be familiar with this – he took his driving test seven times in total before he passed. Today, he needs to get a grip on multiple entry at GCSE. More and more pupils are sitting exams in the same subject with more than one exam board. Many are also being entered for alternative ‘IGCSEs’, originally designed for international students, alongside a GCSE in the same subject. Why are schools putting pupils into exams in the same subject so many times?

Thursday

Stephen Twigg

The rigour of the future that will deliver ‘secondary ready’ pupils

From our UK edition

On entering government in 1997, Tony Blair and David Blunkett set about transforming primary education. It was a sorry state of affairs that we inherited. In Maths and English, only 59% and 65% of pupils respectively, were reaching the expected level of learning outcomes in these core subjects. When we left government in 2010, the figures were 79% and 80%. This was great progress and indeed more needs to be done to raise achievement and aspiration for all young people. There is cross party agreement on this. We can all agree that raising standards during primary education increases the life chances for young people in later life. The disagreement comes in what we mean by ‘standards’ and how we achieve system wide improvements.

Tuesday

Stephen Twigg

Schools can teach good character and the 3 Rs

From our UK edition

Education debates are riddled with false choices, as Michael Barber notes in his recently published essay Oceans of Innovation. It's academic or vocational; it’s best practice or innovation; it’s the three Rs or character development. These are the choices, we are told, that must be made. It plays well for those in pursuit of the politics of dividing lines but it is detrimental in policy terms. I want to see rigorous academic and vocational routes for young people in 14- 19 education. That is why Labour will bring forward a Technical Baccalaureate, with a strong focus on technical education and with Maths and English to 18 for all. If we are to succeed as a nation, we need to equip young people with the skills, knowledge and resilience for the jobs of the future.