The Labour government’s curriculum and assessment review must not see the party “fall prey” to the “soft bigotry of low expectations”, a former minister has warned.
Baroness Barran, who served as academies minister under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, led the Conservatives’ response to a debate on a House of Lords committee report on 11 to 16 education, published last year.
The report warned the system was “too focused” on academic learning and written exams, called for the EBacc performance measure to be abandoned and said government should reduce external assessment and lower the stakes at age 16.
The recommendations were rejected by the previous government earlier this year.
The new Labour government has launched a review of the curriculum and assessment, led by Education Endowment Foundation boss Professor Becky Francis.
Ministers say the review will “ensure that the curriculum appropriately balances ambition, excellence, relevance, flexibility and inclusivity for all our children and young people, and it will ensure meaningful, rigorous and high-value pathways for all at 16-19”.
But references to skills in Labour’s manifesto and other official documents and speeches have prompted concerns about a move away from the focus on knowledge championed under Conservative governments.
Avoid ‘mistake’ of move back to skills
Today, Baroness Barran urged the new government “to focus not just on calls for change and where the system is working less well but also on where pupils are really thriving most, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds and with SEND and work out how to scale that great practice.
“I genuinely fear that there is a real risk we return to a world where it’s precisely those children whose futures are limited by well-intentioned changes which do not deliver, falling prey to what one former secretary of state and indeed US president described as the soft bigotry of low expectations.
“Any changes need to avoid this. They need to avoid mistakes which have damaged education systems from Scotland to Finland and beyond and protect the achievements of the last 14 years.”
The phrase “soft bigotry of low expectations” was coined by president George W Bush, and then echoed by Conservative education secretary Michael Gove at his party’s conference in 2012.
Barran also asked ministers to “show me a country whose International education rankings have improved by introducing a greater emphasis on skills, a reduced focus on assessment at the expense of knowledge”.
‘Evidence supports importance of knowledge’ says Labour
But responding for the government, culture minister Baroness Twycross said Labour wanted the review “to be evidence based, and the evidence supports the importance of knowledge in helping children to learn”.
“But that should not be at the expense of and doesn’t need to be at the expense of developing skills or making sure young people can thrive, whatever their aptitudes or ambitions.”
Twycross added that she “couldn’t agree more with the noble lady Baroness Barran that we should not have predetermined routes for any child”.
“Every child should believe that success belongs to them, that they can achieve their potential and get the knowledge, skills and experience they need, so this government has committed to transforming our education system so all young people get the opportunities they deserve.”
