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Housing Seminar: Partnerships with the Public Sector – Avoiding the pitfalls
Thu 31 May 2012
Minerva House, 5 Montague Close, London, SE1 9BB
Government outlines plans for education
Thu 20 May 2010
The coalition government has stated its intentions for the next five years, with reforms being announced for schools and universities.
In a document entitled The Coalition: Our Programme For Government, it has been stated that schools will be given greater freedom over their curriculum, as well as the chance to raise the salaries of high-performing teachers.
Groups such as charities and the local community will be given additional powers to set up schools to enable more providers to enter the system in response to demand.
Vocational education is set for an overhaul, with new apprenticeships and internships being created, Technical Academies being set up, plus more flexibility of choice for 14 to 19-year-olds.
Decisions affecting universities in terms of social debt, improving teaching quality and increasing social mobility will be made after the final report from Lord Browne has been received.
The Russell Group recently told the former head of BP to consider an increase in tuition fees for certain subjects to cover the cost of tertiary education.
Stephen Hart, senior solicitor at Winckworth Sherwood, said: "As expected, the reform of schools will be a major part of the new government's programme. Encouraging parents, communities, businesses and faith groups to open new schools will see more competition and - ministers hope - a driving-up of standards. This reform has the potential to lead to a quiet revolution in England's schools.
"The proposal to reform teachers' national pay and conditions is geared to rewarding better performers. The corollary will be that poor performance will need to be tackled and schools should ensure that their capability policies and procedures are updated. The government could also see a hostile reaction to this proposal from trade unions.
"For universities, there are signs - probably welcome in vice chancellors' offices - that the new government is leaving them to manage without further legislation. The key document is clearly Lord Browne's Report - described last week by UUK as the "only show in town", which will impact upon their funding and recruitment of students."
"I look forward to seeing the contents of the Bill in the Queen’s Speech."
