The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has criticised new proposals to change the admissions code for abandoning pupils at struggling schools to a slow educational decline.
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT, said: “Playing with the admissions code is not the route to a fairer, better education system. The proposals favour the children of the affluent and engaged at the expense of those who are unable or unwilling to navigate the system. Increased mobility will not eliminate failing schools, it will merely prevent them from improving and condemn them to a lingering decline.
If a school is unable to improve, after proper support over the long-term, we need a radical solution to address the problem either through restructuring or even closure. Working only through slow expansion/contraction passes the buck from those with the responsibility of improving our school system to those who should be able to trust that every school is a good school. There is no evidence that market-based mechanisms actually work in any system in the world – this is pure ideology.
Allowing good schools to grow is entirely sensible, but it must be managed or it will throw the education system across an entire locality into disruption; harming pupils. We should also remember that popularity is not the same as quality.
A simple, straightforward code is a good ambition, as long as it doesn’t create loopholes – covert selection through culture and ethos is a constant risk. Any proposals must apply equally to all schools. And if children on the pupil premium are given priority access to free schools they should be given priority access to all schools. After all, there are, and always will be, far greater numbers of outstanding maintained schools.
The consultation document is available here.
The National Association of Head Teachers has criticised new proposals to change the admissions code for abandoning pupils at struggling schools to a slow educational decline.
