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NLT policy

Literacy in the run up to the next election

1 Aug 2009

As we approach the last parliamentary term before the next election the NLT considers the likely policy direction of each party

Party conference season – The Liberal Democrats open conference season in Bournemouth on Saturday 19^th September, followed by Labour in Brighton then the Conservatives in Manchester.

Following party conferences the Queen will formally open Parliament on 18^th November, setting out the planned bills for the 2009/10 parliamentary session. The recently released draft legislative programme[1] for 2009/10 contains two bills that will affect literacy. The Improving schools and safeguarding children bill will legislate for the proposals set out in the recent Schools White Paper.[2] The Digital economy bill will legislate the recommendations from Lord Carter’s Digital Britain report[3] including universal provision of broadband.

Autumn party conferences traditionally provide a platform for major policy announcements, but with a general election due next May this year’s conferences will be particularly significant. Both Labour and the Conservatives have spent the summer preparing their approach to the next election, and priorities for both parties are becoming increasingly clear. The Labour party has firmly embedded literacy within the draft legislative programme, while the Conservative’s have continued their attacks on exam standards and ‘soft skills’.

Labour will spend the next parliamentary session preparing for the next election while simultaneously pushing forward their current programme of reform.

Increased use of ICT as a cross-curricular discipline in classrooms, backed up by universal provision of broadband, is the current Government’s attempt to ensure no-one is excluded from the digital revolution. This will be a significant step because of concerns that as literacy is increasingly experienced on-screen and online many are being left behind.

For schools, the Government plan is to grant high performing schools increased independence and to promote clusters of schools that will give children and young people access to a broad, skills-based, curriculum. This summer has again seen school results rise, something the Government has been forced to defend. Along with defending rising pass marks the Government has also faced accusations that many of the ‘softer skills’ now taught in school equate to a ‘dumbing down’ of the curriculum.

Many of the accusations about school standards being ‘dumbed down’ have come from the Conservatives, with Michael Gove saying in interview “there is objective evidence from people who care about academic standards that they are not what they could be”.[4] This is part of a wider Conservative strategy focused on exam standards and a ‘knowledge-based curriculum’, a clear divergence from Labour’s ‘skills-based curriculum’.

More details of the Conservative plans will emerge at, or soon after, their conference in Manchester, but we now know they will include adjusting league tables so certain subjects will be worth more, while some vocational routes, such as diplomas, will not count at all.

These developments are a natural extension of existing Conservative policy. The party has long supported a movement towards a ‘back-to-basics’ approach in schools, which goes hand in hand with a strong belief among many conservatives that Labour’s education policy has given too much credence to soft skills. Promises of universal decoding tests for seven year olds, more emphasis on traditional subjects and the use of universities in ensuring A-level standards, all show a clear direction of travel.

There are some areas where both parties agree, expanding the academies programme being the most obvious, but as a May 2010 election approaches it seems there will be a clear choice between Labour’s ‘skills based-approach’ and the Conservatives ‘knowledge-based approach’.

George Dugdale, Policy Adviser

National Literacy Trust, [August 2009]

Downloadable: literacy autumn parliament [pdf].

[1] Draft legislative programme 2009/10 http://www.commonsleader.gov.uk/output/page2826.asp

[2] DCSF (2009) Your child, your schools, our future

[3] DCMS, DBIS (2009) Digital Britain

[4] BBC, 16^th August 2009, Tories plan league tables review http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8203673.stm

Tags: Policy