The new White Paper on education is flawed in its proposals. Nevertheless, these mild reforms have not convinced a public that is aware of the need for change and sceptical that the government will ever meet its own goals.
Even more have been the critics from the educational sector, tired out by constant managerial change and yet, unable or unwilling to combat the decline in standards:
The general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, John Dunford, said the government was getting it wrong. "It's very disappointing that the government has moved from its agenda of improving standards and has begun to fiddle around with school structure again.
"These reforms will be widely ignored by the vast majority of headteachers who are far too busy raising standards and dealing with the huge agenda already on their desks."...
Andrew Haldenby, the Director of Reform, was also sceptical of the potential changes:
However, the director of Reform, Andrew Haldenby, backed an overhaul of the state system, arguing that the government's preferred model is right. "If the forthcoming white paper meets the benchmark of real reform - that taxpayers' resources will pay for children's education whether in the state or independent sector - it will be the biggest advance in education policy for a generation.
"If it does not, the best that can be expected is marginal improvement little different from the current trend."
Blair will run into criticism from producer lobbies in Cabinet and Parliament as they favour continued control of schools by local education authorities. The Local Government Association has already accepted that schools will acquire more independence and have responded by demanding greater powers over admissions policy and otheraspects of education, to avoid "cherry picking" or parental choice. The Liberal Democrats proved themselves the champions of the town hall bureaucracy, the enemy of the aspirant parent. Similar to this is the response of Louis Berk, socialist teacher. It is quite revealing, in his defence of local planning, allied to a contempt for parents.
Firstly, if attendance at parents evenings, in my experience, is anything to go by, I would not hold my breath in anticipating of a wave of enthusiastic parents champing at the bit to help define the nature and purpose of their local school.
Perhaps the structure of schooling today does not allow parents much choice or power over the education of their children within state schooling. Hardly a recipe for enthusiasm.