Recent government announcements relating to schools have been designed to make waves in the media.
Yet the plans for guidance on pupils’ use of mobile phones and letters to schools about relationships, sex, and health education (RSHE) have left many school leaders scratching their heads.
First came the education secretary’s announcement on phones. Gillian Keegan said all schools will have to ban pupils from using mobiles throughout the school day, including during breaks.
The point of this was lost on most school leaders, who have been dealing with the issue of mobile phones for years.
They understandably became even more confused when it turned out that the widely publicised “ban” is actually to be just non-statutory guidance.
Schools help to prepare young people for the world, equipping them with awareness and strategies to monitor their screen use, and the ability to respond to potentially harmful content. Almost all secondary schools nevertheless have clear policies on pupils’ mobile phone use.
While some have banned phones, others have restricted their use to certain areas of school or times amid concerns that a total ban could make pupils more secretive about their phone use – meaning issues are hidden from staff and therefore more difficult to spot.
For some schools, a comprehensive ban may feel impractical and won’t stop young people bringing in phones. Logistical issues, such as storage for phones, may be a consideration, while some parents might oppose a ban for practical reasons, such as safety while travelling to and from school, or if their child is a young carer.
Given that schools already have powers to deal with this issue and do so in different ways, the government’s ban is nothing more than a headline-grabbing gimmick.
Ultimately, schools know their pupils and communities, so they are best placed to develop policies based upon what works for them and their education and wellbeing.
But it’s not just phones. The education secretary recently shared a letter with the media that had been sent to all schools in England, purportedly to clarify that they should share RSHE curriculum materials with parents.
The reassurance, included in the letter, that schools need not worry about copyright may have been helpful for some.
But regrettably the announcement was “spun” into a press release implying that schools were being secretive about what they teach.
Ms Keegan vowed that there could be “no ifs, no buts and no more excuses” from schools when it came to sharing materials. The aim appeared to be to present the government as “getting tough” with schools.
This is misleading. Schools follow statutory guidance on RSHE which requires them to consult parents on developing and delivering the curriculum. This includes setting out subject content and how it will be taught.
We encourage our members to be transparent with parents, sharing curriculum plans, examples of resources used, and additional materials when requested. The vast majority of schools do so, and if there are instances where this has not happened, it represents a very small number of cases.
Again, this announcement seemed designed to generate an attention-grabbing headline rather than to help schools.
At a time when school leaders are facing all manner of challenges, the government should be encouraging parents to support schools, not making that relationship more difficult.
Instead of wasting time pursuing headlines which distract from the big issues we face, we urge ministers to listen to the profession and address the real problems.
They include a recruitment and retention crisis, fuelled by issues including unreliable high-stakes inspections and oppressive workload, and a decade in which staff pay and school funding both plummeted in real-terms.
In settling the industrial dispute earlier this year, the government pledged to work with unions and the incoming Ofsted chief inspector to address the damaging impact inspections have upon staff wellbeing, mental health, and workload. Fundamental changes are also needed to ensure reports paint a more accurate picture of schools.
Excessive workload also harms staff wellbeing, and we need on-going talks with the government to produce tangible proposals which reduce the existing burden.
A decade of government under-investment in vital services like children’s social care and CAMHS is coming home to roost following the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. This is adding to workload in schools.
Staff are increasingly finding themselves helping pupils suffering with anxiety, who arrive hungry, or whose attendance is affected by issues outside of school – but for whom community support is unavailable.
We need significantly more government investment in these services and a faster roll-out of the pilot school mental health support teams.
The government must also consider how to build upon both the 6.5% pay rise finally agreed for school leaders and teachers, and the two-year uplift in school funding announced last year. Both must be just the start of sustained action to restore the value of pay and funding.
On SEND funding specifically, if the government’s SEND improvement plan is to make a real difference, it must be supported by a massive increase in investment to ensure all pupils get the support they need in both mainstream and special settings.
The sense of a government which is slow to listen to the profession was also evident when it threw so many schools into turmoil at the start of term with its guidance on RAAC concrete.
The last-minute scramble to mitigate risks could have been avoided had ministers heeded earlier repeated warnings from us and others. We still need more transparency from the government on the scale of the problem and progress in tackling it, with clear timescales for completion.
This month’s Autumn Statement, due on November 22, presents a golden opportunity for the chancellor to finally announce a properly funded long-term plan for improving and rebuilding the crumbling, outdated school estate, among other issues.
School leaders, staff and unions know what is working in schools and what is hindering their hard work to support and enrich children’s learning.
By focusing less on chasing headlines and corroding trust in schools and more upon engaging with the profession to fix the pressing problems we face, ministers will stand a much better chance of persuading parents and school staff that they have children’s best interests at heart.
- Paul Whiteman is general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers. Read his previous articles for SecEd via www.sec-ed.co.uk/authors/paul-whiteman