As headteachers, we were very concerned at the flight from consensus in the last stages of the education bill last week and the blocking of a number of guarantees for children, including the right to one-to-one tuition. We see these guarantees as the culmination of unprecedented investment in schools over recent years. It is clear now that only the present government is committed to guaranteeing ringfenced and increased investment in all our schools.
The alternative proposals are not about steady investment in the whole system but the threat of across-the-board cuts coupled with boutique experiments borrowed as a result of naive educational tourism. These experiments will involve taking millions of pounds from existing schools to create artificial surplus places. There is absolutely no research consensus around the achievements of Swedish "free schools" or American charter schools. A few flatpack free schools will not reform a national system.
The educational landscape presently evolving is already a powerful force for change. It is led by a group of professionals who collaborate for the good of children, who have a shared vision for the whole system and think beyond the boundaries of their own schools. So please, no return to year zero.
Signed:
Mike Gibbons, Chair of PEN and Chief Executive, The Richard Rose Federation, Carlisle
Lynne Ackland, Headteacher, Heaton Manor School, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Ahson Mohammed, Headteacher, Holly Lodge School, Smethwick
Fiona Allen, Executive Headteacher, Corsham Primary School, Corsham
Jane E Barry, Headteacher, Dane Royd Junior & Infants School, Wakefield
Sally Bates, Headteacher, Wadsworth Fields Primary School, Stapleford
Colin Bell, Principal, The South Leeds Academy, Leeds
Mike Berrill, Principal, Biddenham International School & Sports College, Bedford
Elizabeth Bird, Headteacher, Sibertswold CofE Primary School, Dover, Kent
John Bird, Headteacher, St Mary's CofE Primary School, Folkestone, Kent
Geoff Bowles, Headteacher, Barrow Hall Community Primary School, Warrington
Laura Brodie, Headteacher/Head of Centre, Allens Croft Children's Centre, Birmingham
Stuart Campbell, Headteacher, St Mary's C of E Primary School, Twickenham
David Carter, Chief Executive and PEN Advisory Group Member, Cabot Learning Academies, Bristol
Eddie de Middelaer, Principal and PEN Advisory Group Member, Lutterworth College, Lutterworth
John Dowler, Headteacher, Haydon Bridge High School Sports College, Haydon Bridge
Mark Elms, Headteacher, Tidemill Junior School, Lewisham
Patrick Ferguson, Headteacher, De La Salle Humanities College, Liverpool
Eileen Field, Headteacher, Accipio Learning, St Albans
Beverley Gardner, Headteacher, Christ Church (Erith) CE VA Primary School, Erith
Iain Gilmore, Headteacher, Isambard Brunel Junior School, Portsmouth
Keith Hollins, Executive Headteacher and PEN Advisory Group Member, Westwood College, Leek
Lynne Jackson, Headteacher, Chesterton Community Sports College Newcastle-under-Lyme,
Dr Reena Keeble, Headteacher, Cannon Lane First School, Harrow
Mark Klekot, Headteacher and Member of PEN Advisory Group, Rough Hay Primary School, Walsall
Travis Latham, Headteacher, Shireland Hall Primary School, Sandwell
Mandy Lloyd, Headteacher, St Briavels C of E Primary School, Coleford
Joanna Manson, Headteacher, The High Arcal School, Dudley
Rachel Martin, Headteacher,West Twyford Primary School London
Anne McCormick, Headteacher, Queens Park Lower School, Bedford
Chris McShane, Headteacher, Winton School, Andover
Val Metcalf, Headteacher, Harwich Community Primary School and Nursery, Harwich, Essex
Ged Murphy, Headteacher, Broughton Hall High School, Liverpool
Jeremy Nicholls, Headteacher, Litcham High School, Litcham
Darren Nickerson, Headteacher, Paulsgrove Primary School Portsmouth
Ian Nurser, Headteacher, St.Peter's CE Primary School, Wembley
Byron Parker, Headteacher, Woolwich Polytechnic School, London
Cherril Pope, Headteacher, St Mark's School, Bath
Margaret Rannard, Headteacher, West Derby School Derby
Paul Rincon, Headteacher, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, London
Dave Smith, Advisory Headteacher, Longlevens Junior School, Gloucester
Dame Dela Smith, Executive Director, Darlington Education Village, Darlington
Sir Alan Steer, Member of Pen Advisory Group and ex Secondary Headteacher
Derek Sutherland, Headteacher, Federation of Our Lady's and English Martyrs' RC Primary Schools, York
Mark Sutton, Executive Headteacher, Hagley Park Sports College and Fair Oak Business & Enterprise College, Rugeley
Ray Tarleton, Principal, South Dartmoor Community College, Ashburton
Nick Taunt, Headteacher, Bishop Luffa School, Chichester
Brian Worrall, Headteacher, Sidney Stringer Secondary School Coventry
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