A think-tank report said that the government's White Paper on education would do little to help the most disadvantaged pupils. It called for all children at failed state schools to receive up to 6,000 additional funding per annum - the 'advantage premium' - to help them access better education.
Source: James O'Shaughnessy and Charlotte Leslie, More Good School Places, Policy Exchange (020 7340 2650)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Dec
A group of Labour politicians, including former ministers, published a document highlighting their concerns regarding the proposals contained in the government's schools White Paper.
Source: Estelle Morris MP and others, Shaping the Education Bill: Reaching for consensus
Links: Report | NUT press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Dec
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on secondary education.
Source: Secondary Education: Government Response to the Committee's Fifth Report of Session 2004-05, Third Special Report (Session 2005-06), HC 725, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2005-Dec
The Department for Education and Skills published its autumn performance report for 2005, showing progress towards achieving its public service agreement targets.
Source: Autumn Performance Report 2005: Achievement against Spending Review Public Service Agreement targets, Cm 6719, Department for Education and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Dec
A new book provided a critical overview of education policy under the first two terms of the Labour government (1997-2005). It also examined the relationship of education policy to social class, race, gender, and the economy.
Source: Sally Tomlinson, Education in a Post Welfare Society, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2005-Nov
A White Paper proposed the creation of 'Trust schools' that would have greater independence and freedoms to run their own affairs. A new 'Schools Commissioner' would be created to get Trust schools up and running, identify backers and match them with schools. Local authorities would change from being a direct provider to a strategic commissioning role. Parents would be able to ask for new schools to be set up to reflect local need and demand. A teachers' union called the White Paper "extraordinarily wrong-headed".
Source: Higher Standards, Better Schools for All: More choice for parents and pupils, White Paper Cm 6677, Department for Education and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 25 October 2005, columns 169-187, TSO | Press release 26 October 2005, National Union of Teachers (020 7388 6191)
Links: White Paper (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | Hansard | DfES press release | NUT press release | SHA press release | LGA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Oct
A report highlighted the "strong recent performance and progress" of the United Kingdom's education system, both in terms of educational investments and outcomes, for example at the pre-primary and primary level. However, in areas such as university-level education, progress had levelled off and no longer matched that in other countries.
Source: Education at a Glance: OECD indicators 2005, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (+33 1 4524 8200)
Links: Summary | OECD briefing (pdf)
Date: 2005-Sep
A book chapter examined education policy under the Labour governments since 1997.
Source: Rob Hulme and Moira Hulme, 'New Labour's education policy: innovation or reinvention?', Social Policy Review 17: Analysis and debate in social policy, 2005, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2005-Jun
The Department for Education and Skills published its annual report for 2004-05.
Source: Departmental Report 2005, Cm 6522, Department for Education and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
A report sought to clarify different approaches to applied and practice-based research in education, with a view to developing appropriate quality criteria for the academic, policy, and user communities.
Source: John Furlong and Alis Oancea,Assessing Quality in Applied and Practice-based Educational Research: A Framework for Discussion, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2005-May
An article examined aspects of the debate in education about the role that research evidence could play in policy-making and practice, stressing the wide spectrum of views held by different stakeholders.
Source: Andrew Morris, 'Evidence initiatives: aspects of recent experience in England', Evidence & Policy, Volume 1 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-May
The government announced plans (in the Queen's speech) for an Education Bill. The Bill would give schools more autonomy, and extend new powers to parents, in order to drive up standards and tackle failing institutions. Local councils said that plans to allow new educational providers to set up state schools could destabilize existing schools and give a false impression of parental choice.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 17 May 2005, columns 29-31, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 17 May 2005, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000)
Links: Hansard | LGA press release
Date: 2005-May
An article discussed recent policy developments in education in Northern Ireland, in the light of the 1998 Belfast Agreement. It said that the Agreement was providing a policy-making framework which promoted equality, human rights, and inclusion.
Source: Caitlin Donnelly and Robert Osborne, 'Devolution, social policy and education: some observations from Northern Ireland', Social Policy and Society, Volume 4 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2005-Apr
The Education Bill was given a third reading, and received Royal assent. Key elements of the Act included the reform of school inspections, powers to allow three-year budgets for schools, and a widened remit for the Teacher Training Agency.
Source: Education Act 2005, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 7 April 2005, columns 1600-1603, TSO
Links: Text of Act | Explanatory notes | Hansard | DfES press release | Ofsted press release
Date: 2005-Apr
A series of articles examined the record of the Labour governments on education since 1997.
Source: Oxford Review of Education, Volume 31 Number 1
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2005-Mar
The Labour Party published an election manifesto on education. It promised continuing investment in schools, better parental choice, and universal childcare provision.
Source: Schools: Forward not Back, Labour Party (08705 900200)
Links: Manifesto (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
The Education Bill was given a second reading. The Bill provided the legislative basis for a reformed school inspection system, extended the Teacher Training Agency s remit, and provided for the sharing of certain data.
Source: Education Bill [HL], Department for Education and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 14 March 2005, columns 39-98, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Hansard | HOC Library research paper (pdf) | Children Now report
Date: 2005-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs said that it was difficult to detect a coherent, overarching strategy in the government's proposals for the reform of secondary education. There was 'minimal' evidence to show that the money to be spent on the new arrangements would produce significant educational benefits. Although the strategy offered some welcome changes, it also contained much that had not been properly thought through. Despite the government's proclaimed attachment to evidence-based policy, expensive schemes seemed to be rolled out before being adequately tested and evaluated, compared to other less expensive alternatives.
Source: Secondary Education, Fifth Report (Session 2004-05), HC 86, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Children Now report | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Mar
A study examined whether increased choice would improve outcomes in education and healthcare. It concluded that a successful choice policy in education would improve standards for most school students, and might mean that the working class gained and the middle class lost, as the house price premium from living near a good school was reduced. In healthcare, hospitals might react by merging, thereby reducing the benefits of competition.
Source: Simon Burgess, Carol Propper and Deborah Wilson, Choice: Will more choice improve outcomes in education and health care? - The evidence from economic research, Centre for Market and Public Organisation/University of Bristol (0117 954 6943)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
The opposition Conservative party published the education section of its general election manifesto. It said that it would give parents the right to choose the best school for their children, and would abolish university tuition fees.
Source: Action on Education, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Manifesto (pdf) | Conservative Party press release
Date: 2005-Feb
The government published a White Paper on the reform of education for children and young people aged 14-19. It said that the four main pillars of the White Paper were: vocational opportunities from age 14 which gave clear routes to higher education and/or employment; a renewed focus at secondary level on the basics of maths and English for all; greater 'stretch' for the most able students; and ending the disengagement that led to some pupils leaving education early. But it decided not to implement one of the central recommendations of the Tomlinson review, involving subsuming GCSEs and A-levels within a new system of diplomas.
Source: 14-19 Education and Skills, White Paper Cm 6476, Department for Education and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 23 February 2005, columns 311-328, TSO
Links: White Paper (pdf) | Hansard | DfES press release | QCA press release | TUC press release | Universities UK press release | CESI press release
Date: 2005-Feb
