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2024: CASE Policy Checklist for an Incoming Government

CASE believes that education provides a fundamental underpinning to a fair, just, and equitable society, one that values all its citizens and believes they all have a right to feel safe and to be fulfilled.

 

We believe that all children should be educated in schools that are fully funded by the state, that are comprehensive and inclusive in both ethos and operation. All learners should attend good local schools regardless of ability, gender, ethnicity, religion, social status, or family income.  

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Schools should provide a welcoming space for all children and young people, nurturing pupils, enriching their lives, and enabling the discovery and development of their myriad talents and abilities. Education should be enjoyable, improving health and well-being, and providing the skills necessary to be an active citizen contributing to the community and interacting with others for the greater good.  

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This requires well-trained staff, at every level and in all positions, working in spaces that are well-maintained and equipped, with resources that are sufficient for the task.

To this end, we believe that the education policies of an Incoming Government should:

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  • Make schools happy fulfilling places, with staff who enjoy their jobs, and children who love to be there.  

  • Promote teacher professionalism: recognising and developing the complex blend of skills they need; the role of good relationships with pupils and parents; and the importance of supporting their well-being and mental health.

  • Provide schools with the range of other staff necessary to support children and young people with the challenges they face now, and in the future.  

  • Ensure funding goes into classrooms, and pupil support services, rather than systemic costs.  

  • Recognise that assessment is a tool for teaching and pupil development and not institutional accountability.  

  • Encourage cohesion, collaboration, and cooperation, appreciating that education is not a competitive activity that is improved by commercial approaches.  

  • Improve the physical and mental health and well-being of everyone in the school community.

  • Develop inclusion across the system, recognising that a diverse school community provides both a richer environment and important skills and understanding for life.  

  • Give local authorities the necessary powers to fulfil the responsibilities they hold, including place planning and effective provision for additional needs.

  • Root schools within their communities, providing mechanisms for governance that give local accountability and democratic oversight.  

  • Establish an inspection regime that understands the individual context of each school, works with schools to identify areas for development and helps them to plan and implement the strategies necessary to address these.  

 

CASE believes that “what a wise parent would wish for their children the state must wish for all its children" (R H Tawney)

 

An Incoming Government should:  

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  1. Abolish the inefficient and financially wasteful "academy" structure, restore public accountability to the system and ensure that, as far as possible, all schools have an inclusive and comprehensive intake.  
     

  2. Ensure sufficient funding to make inclusion a reality rather than an aspiration.  
     

  3. Return school teaching to a genuine profession with university-based education and continuous professional development.  
     

  4. Abandon the obsession with "high stakes" public examinations and testing; overhaul of the current divisive system of examinations to reflect current needs, with equitable funding for academic, technical, and vocational courses.
     

  5. Rebalance the curriculum away from the current “knowledge-rich” model towards skills for learning, problem solving and creativity.  
     

  6. Review education funding to ensure that schools can provide a fulfilling and enriching curriculum for their pupils, in establishments that are safe and properly resourced, with staff that are well-paid.  
     

  7. Transform OFSTED from a punitive, judgemental organisation to one dedicated to collaboration, support, and development.
     

  8. Invest in the early years up to the age of 7, appoint graduate leaders and ensure career progression for all staff.  
     

  9. Resource schools to meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of children, young people, and staff.
     

  10. Promote and resource wide ranging extra-curricular provision.

 

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CASE is governed by its Constitution, which can be found here.

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