Education Attainment (Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats)

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats <info@oxfordshirelibdems.org.uk>

Education Attainment

January 12, 2010 2:00 PM
By Cllr Zoe Patrick in Council

I am a little unsure about what the outcome of this debate is intended to be, especially as it says in the first sentence that the paper is to 'stimulate a debate on Educational Attainment in schools in Oxfordshire'. I struggled to see in the report any suggestions for improvement. I am also not clear about the recommendation and how it will actually make a difference.

However, I would like to add some ideas and some thoughts into the debate in the hope that they will be useful.

The paper does not actually give us any information that many of us do not already know, but I would take issue with the sentence that low birth weight is a result of poverty. That is not always the case, and indeed, there are babies with low birth weights born each day to mothers not in poverty.

We touched on much of this work in my group's themed debate about Breaking the Cycle of Deprivation, especially the Director of Public Health's report, and indeed, he wished us to take the matter seriously, and we have tried to do that. I am hoping that the recommendations which are now taking this forward are being acted upon, and we shall see some real results in some years time. And here is the rub - we cannot change things overnight, all this effort takes time until we see real results, and this is what I am hoping for.

I am not sure about the slogan 'it takes a village to raise a child' because this isn't what happens here. Children learn from their environment, and we would hope that both their home environment and their school environment gives them the hopes and aspirations that Cllr. Brighouse points to in her paper. I agree with her about good teachers; how many of us remember our good experiences at school, where passion for a subject is given by a particular teacher - the 'magic' she refers to? But it doesn't end there, because if our home environment is chaotic then the child at home is just living to survive - and this is what happens when some children live in a family of no hope and despair, even though their time at school is valuable.

But in an average family, where children are raised by aspiring parents who hope their children will achieve their potential, how many of us have received complacency from the schools? Some schools we know have been coasting for years, and I am sure I am not alone amongst parents here who were not always content with their local authority school. How many teachers accuse parents of being 'pushy' when it is really only parents wishing the best for their children? And how many children are left to settle for second best, when they could have aimed for the sky? It works both ways, and we have to get the balance right.

And there are no easy answers; there is no quick fix. All parents, all children and all teachers are different with different personalities, which may clash or may gel - who knows about that chemistry, but it happens and we know it.

Above all, I would hope that we listen - listen to parents, listen to children and listen to our teachers. We must accept that we are not always right all of the time. Our young people must be the testimony to that.

Let us hope that out of this debate will come forth something meaningful which we can work towards. Smaller classes, less stress on our teachers to chase targets, and more emphasis on learning all skills - and for some children that will not necessarily mean the top grade in GCSEs. We need to develop our young people's potential and aspiration whatever that is.

But we do need to have ambition, and I hope we can achieve that as a Council. An ambition for our young people to do well in life.