The North of England Educational Priority Area Projects 1968-1971
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The North of England Educational Priority Area Projects 1968-1971. An area-based response to educational underachievement. Keith Williams Institute of Education, University ofLondon Doctor ofPhilosophy, Ph.D Examination 1 ABSTRACT The use of area-based positive discrimination as a response to the persistent educational underachievement of children was adopted by the Labour governments elected in both 1964 and 1997. Much has been written about recent policy, but the first use ofthis approach during the 1960s is, at present, no more than a footnote in the history ofeducation. This thesis presents an historical account ofthe Educational Priority Area projects that took place in Liverpool and the West Riding ofYorkshire between 1968 and 1971. The lessons from the past which emerge from this 'novel' policy response to a seemingly intractable problem help us to understand the dilemmas ofthe present. The EPA project was part ofan ideological tradition concerned with enduring pedagogical and political ideals relating to social justice and equality. Theoretically, the EPA projects raise questions about organisational structures and the agency of individuals. The actions of the Liverpool and West Riding teams challenged the ideological construction of teacher identity. Their work provided evidence that the relationship between the professional and the home is not unalterable. The approach taken was to analyse a range of primary sources including original documentary evidence and extensive interviews with the surviving EPA team members. The actions taken by the teams and the voices ofthose responsible revealed distinctive practices that contribute to existing understanding of the potential ofarea-based interventions. At a time when the respective roles of teachers and parents were clearly demarcated, the EPA projects demonstrated what might have been. They effectively challenged existing preconceptions held by professionals regarding their relationship with the home and provided a legacy of innovations with which to challenge educational underachievement. For anyone interested in overcoming educational inequality the EPA projects offer a contribution to debates concerned with what works, what doesn't, and why. I hereby declare that, except where attribution is made, the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own. The word count, excluding bibliography is 79,093. 2 Contents Title Page 1 Abstract 2 Contents 3 Acknowledgements 4 Abbreviations 5 Dramatis Personae 6 Chapter 1: Introduction 8 Chapter 2: Review ofLiterature 29 Chapter 3: The emergence ofthe EPA project 63 Chapter 4: The West Riding Educational Priority Area Project 90 Chapter 5: The Liverpool Educational Priority Area Project 123 Chapter 6: EPA Characters and Ideas 161 Chapter 7: The North ofEngland EPA projects and their legacy 189 Chapter 8: Conclusions 220 Interviews and Archival Sources 235 Bibliography 241 3 Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor Dr David Crook for his guidance, knowledge, and most of all his patience, during the research and writing ofthis thesis. David's feedback and suggestions for improvement were always helpful. Despite moving to a new post during the latter stages of the writing process he continued to provide expert supervision and was always very supportive. Without David's guidance and love of history it would have been much more difficult to complete the thesis. I would also like to thank my wife, Hefin, for her understanding during the many hours of research when she was effectively a single parent. Finally, I would like to thank the Liverpool and West Riding EPA teams, particularly Eric Midwinter and George and Teresa Smith. All three gave willingly oftheir time, provided answers to each of my questions and were generally very supportive. Without their support the thesis would not contain the same degree of insight or richness of evidence. Their commitment to the pursuit ofsocial justice was inspirational. 4 Abbreviations used within the thesis ABI Area-Based Initiative ACE Advisory Centre for Education CEO ChiefEducation Officer DES Department for Education and Science CCCS Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, Birmingham University HMI Her Majesty's Inspectors HV Health Visitor LEA Local Education Authority LEPA Liverpool Educational Priority Area Project MP Member ofParliament NUT National Union ofTeachers NCC National Consumer Council OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PEP Project Extension Plan (LEPA) PRIORITY Priority Urban Education Centre Liverpool SSRC Social Science Research Council TES Times Educational Supplement TUC Trade Union Congress WEA Workers Education Association WREPA West Riding Educational Priority Area 5 Dramatis Personae West Riding characters Mike Harvey WREPA Project Director George Smith WREPA Research Officer Teresa Smith WREPA Action Assistant GeoffPoulton Red House Warden Lin Poulton Red House Warden Gina Armstrong WREPA Educational Home Visitor MrTimothy Divisional Officer for district 18 ofWest Riding LEA Alec Clegg ChiefEducation Officer for West Riding LEA Liverpool Characters Dr Eric Midwinter LEPA Project Director Keith Pulham LEPA Research Officer Eleanor Connor LEPA Preschool Fellow Tom Lovett Workers Education Association Officer Gerry Bailey Teacher in LEPA School C.P.R. Clarke Liverpool ChiefEducation Officer Tom McManners Liverpool ChiefInspector ofSchools W.A.L. Blyth Professor ofEducation Liverpool University Margaret Simey LEPA Steering Committee 6 Tom Ward LEPA Steering Committee John Moores Jnr, LEPA Steering Committee Norman Garner Chair ofCollege Liaison Committee National EPA characters Michael Young EPA National Steering Committee Chairman A.H. Halsey EPA National Project Director Basil Bernstein Institute ofEducation Head ofSociological Research Alan Brimer National EPA research adviser Roger Dale Assistant to Alan Brimer Other characters Professor J.M. Tanner University ofLondon and Plowden Committee Lady Bridget Plowden Chair ofPlowden Committee Sir Edward Boyle MP and Conservative Party Spokesman for Education Roy Hattersley MP and Labour Party Spokesman for Education Margaret Thatcher Secretary ofState for Education Anthony Crosland Secretary ofState for Education Shirley Williams Junior Minister at the DES 7 Chapter 1 Introduction Following their victory in the 1997 general election the new Labour government placed great faith in the use of area-based intervention policies to address the persistent educational underachievement of children growing up in England's poorest communities. Diane Reay has effectively summed up both the apparent class-based nature ofthe problem and the failure ofeducation policy to find a solution, thus: Against a policy backdrop of continuous change and endless new initiatives it appearsthat in relationto social class the more things change the more they stay the same. Social class remains the one educational problem that comes back to haunt English education again and again and again; the area of educational inequalityon which educationpolicy has had virtually no impact.' Reay's repetition of the word 'again' indicates the seemingly intractable nature of the problem. New Labour's education policy, at least the element relevant to this thesis, represented a return to the use of area-based policy targeting the glaring inequalities of both opportunity and outcome inherent within the English education system. For more than a decade targetted attacks on the causes of underachievement were a consistent strand within education policy, from Education Action Zones (EAZs) to Children's Centres.' The ministerial foreword to the 2007 Children's Plan acknowledged the then government's intention to strive for improved educational outcomes for children in deprived areas. Secretary ofState, Ed Balls, called for ... a new role for schools at the centre of their communities, and more effective links between schools,the NBS and other children's services so that together they can engageparents and tackle all the barriersto the learning,health and happiness of every child.3 1 Diane Reay, 'The Zombie stalking English Schools: Social Class and Educational Inequality', British Journal ofEducational Studies, 54, no. 3 (September 2006) 305. 2 Department for Education and Employment, Education Action Zones An Introduction, (London: DFEE, 1997). Her Majesty's Treasury, Choice for Parents, the best startfor children: a ten year strategy for childcare, (HM Treasury: HMSO, 2004). 3 Department ofChildren Schools and Families, The Children's Plan. Building brighter futures Summary, (London: DCFS, 2007) foreword. 8 Government policy aimed to bring together all essential services to support the growth offamilies in areas where standards had refused to rise. Ed Balls declared that 'more than ever before families will be at the centre of excellent integrated services that put their needs first, regardless of traditional institutional and professional structures'." The government claimed it was challenging the traditional relationship between school and community. The use of area-based interventions in poor communities represented an acknowledgement by government that, as an educative force, the home and community are hugely important. According to New Labour, schools were not doing enough to maximize the positive impact parents can have on their children's educational performance. The Index of Multiple Deprivation, Education Action Zones, Excellence in Cities, the London and Manchester Challenges, Surestart Neighbourhood Nurseries and Children's