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for the discussion of new trends in education Summer 1986 Volume 28 Number 3 £1.35 The Teachers' Action Symposium on Profiling The Multicultural Debate Editorial Contents Board Michael Armstrong, Harwell County Primary School, Vol.28 No.3 Summer 1986 Oxfordshire. Harvey Wyatt Is there life after the Michael Clarke, Little Hill Primary School, Teachers' Action? 68 Leicestershire. David Ruddle Shifting Emphasis in the Annabelle Dixon, Holdbrook JMI School, Cranborne, Multicultural Debate 70 Dorset. Symposium on Profiling Diane Fairbairn Profiling — Resourcing Lee Enright, Cranborne Middle School, Cranborne, School-based Development Dorset. Work 73 Roger Seckington, The Bosworth College, Leicester­ Keith Spencer Personal Reviewing and shire. Roy Donoghue Recording — Principles Ruth Snow in Practice 75 Liz Thomson, Kent Inspectorate. Ron Needham Profiling in Pre-Vocational Roy Waters, ILEA Inspectorate. Programmes 77 Harvey Wyatt, The Woodlands School, Coventry. Penelope Weston If Success had Many Faces: the Lower Editors Attaining Pupils Programme 79 Brian Simon, Emeritus Professor, University of Leicester. Bernard Barker The Politics of Education Nanette Whitbread, President, National Association of Jean M. Howard The Swann Report and Teachers in Further and Higher Education. Pastoral Care 83 Pat DArcy Learning about Learning 85 Reviews Editor Clyde Chitty Research Student and Tutor, Institute of Michael Clarke Primary Schools — Time Education, London Universitv for Action 87 Lee Enright Self-help in the Small Village School 89 Discussion Nanette Whitbread Playing at Schools 92 R. Anthony What's in a Cluster? 92 ISSN 0046-4708 Reviews Teacher as Researcher 93 Laputa revisited 93 Educational Apartheid 94 Editorial Communications: typescript articles (1500- Content and Method 95 2000 words) and contributions to discussion (800 words maximum) should be addressed to The Editor, 11 Pendene Road, Leicester LE2 3DQ. Tel: 0533-705176. Please enclose s.a.e. Two copies please. The Next Forum Business information: correspondence relating to Caroline Roaf on Whole School Policies; David subscriptions etc. should be addressed to Anne Reynolds on the Transformative School' (case Warwick, FORUM, 4 Bourton Crescent, Oadby, study of a successful comprehensive); Anne Leicester LE2 4PA. Tel: 0533-716284. Yeoman on her teacher enquiry group; with other articles on curriculum change in a county area and Reductions available on bulk orders of current number, a critical evaluation of TRIST; these are among (e.g. 10 copies for £10.) articles planned for September — together with kGoodbye, Sir Keith1, by the editors (if Forum is published three times a year in September, appropriate). January and May. £4 a year or £1.35 an issue. Save Our Schools The Conservative party is in a state of crisis — and so, it thrust, proposals to establish 'direct grant' primary appears, education is going to suffer. This comes across schools, the so-called 'Crown schools' scheme, even to very clearly from the almost uninterrupted flow of establish secondary technical and other selective types inspired press leaks over the last few weeks; and of school can all be grouped. Central control, over the especially since the Westland affair. system as a whole, or over individual or groups of The Tory search is for credibility — for an issue (or schools, suddenly emerges as a panacea. issues) around which they can launch once more the kind So, at a time when relationships within the of populist appeal that played so important a part in their educational 'partnership' have been brought to an all- return to power in 1979. Hence the cry to bring back the time low, as a result of deliberate government policies egregious Rhodes Boyson; to hoist the flag of and actions over the last few years — when the crying privatisation here also, and so to go to the country with a need is to restore those relationships to some semblance 'radical' programme that will bring in the votes and of partnership; when above all the schools and teachers ensure a third term for Margaret Thatcher. (and local authorities) need support and encouragement At a time when the publicly maintained system of to undo the damage of the past and rebuild their education has been brought to its knees by cheese­ systems, what we get is yet another set of bizarre (so- paring and inflexible government policies, these new called 'radical') proposals, which have as their main proposals and rumours, clearly an exercise in kite-flying purpose securing the return of the Thatcher government to estimate public support, are totally irresponsible, to for yet another term. This, surely, is politics gone mad. say the least. With morale in the schools at an all-time This is a period when those concerned with the schools low and when, as a result of government initiatives, a and their well-being (and therefore the well-being of the whole variety of issues are awaiting decision, this pupils within them) need to keep their heads, refusing to continuous leakage of officially sponsored proposals can be intimidated, and above all seek to explain the real only have the effect of undermining the system yet issues facing education to the wider public, and to do so further. It is an act of desperation. consistently and without quarter for those responsible What are the proposals? These seem to have two main for this deliberate mismanagement. Local authorities thrusts. Some analysts regard them as opposite, (and the government, incidentally) have the statutory reflecting the right and left in the conservative party. function of ensuring that effective educational provision Actually the two sets of proposals could well be meshed is made for the entire population. This entails equalising together, and perhaps that is the intention — certainly provision across local authority areas and across the that would be the best way of achieving maximum country as a whole. For this reason the strongest damage to the publicly provided system, which seems opposition should be mounted against schemes which now to be the intention. seek, as their main objective, to introduce divisions — The first set are based on the theme of privatisation. and especially to enhance opportunities for the few as These range from the proposal to 'denationalise' the against the many. system by the introduction of a so-called credit (or Privatisation (and the voucher system, if it can be voucher) system whereby school funding is derived made to work) will do just this — inevitably leading to a directly from parents, though of course actually from the hierarchy of schooling within a given area. The 'Crown' central government via the parents (this was proposed in schools and an extended Direct Grant system will have an article in The Times by one Oliver Letwin, until exactly the same effect, as any enhancement of the recently a member of the Prime Minister's 'Policy Assisted Places Scheme will also. Central control, it Unit'), to hare-brained proposals to 'privatise' schools seems, is desired (among other things) as a means of in whole sections of cities by simply selling them driving new differentiating procedures through the (apparently) to industrial or other concerns (though system as a whole. here profitability, without which privatisation is a All these proposals must be thoroughly opposed. nonsense, would again depend on central government Instead, the maintained system, large enough in all monies being made available on a sufficient scale to conscience, must be given priority as a whole, as well as ensure a profit to the takers at least equivalent to the rate the resources needed to overcome the disasters of the obtainable elsewhere). And of course there are other present cutbacks. It must be developed as a unified schemes. system, with the teachers and local authorities playing The second set of proposals are for the radical their full parts in its control and functioning. What is enhancement of direct central control over the system as needed now is a crusade for state education, as called for a whole. This has now been openly proposed by Patten in no uncertain terms by Bob Richardson in his and certain DES officials (so the leaks tell us), and of Presidential address to the NUT conference in April. In course direct central control is clearly a major objective any such campaign, FORUM stands ready to play its of the latter whose determination to enhance their part. power and influence is now very evident. Within this 67 Is there life after the teachers' action? Harvey Wyatt A long-standing member of our Editorial Board, Harvey Wyatt teaches at The Woodlands School, Coventry. Here he analyses the long-term influences behind the unprecedented teachers' action over the last year, and considers its likely effects on the schools in the future. 'Curiouser and curiouser!' cried Alice (Lewis Arguably the question of teacher accountability started Carroll). as early as 1960 when David Eccles announced his To the impartial observer the present chaos in our intention to 'make the Ministry's voice heard rather schools must seem nothing short of extraordinary more often and positively and no doubt controversially'. indeed, the vast majority of teachers must feel almost as This was in line with his statements about teachers' perplexed. They do not wish to be at this point, but are control of education and his pronouncement on 'the unable to see an alternative. How is it that one of the secret garden of the curriculum'. These attacks were most conservative and conforming groups of workers in followed by the 'Black Papers' from 1969 onwards and the country appear to be dismantling and destroying the development of the A.P.U. to monitor standards their own working environment, brick by brick? As from 1974. The whole offensive on teacher sovereignty recently as eighteen months ago no one could have over the curriculum reached a crescendo with James forecast the mayhem that now surrounds us.

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