In 2007 the Social
Justice Policy Group made the following recommendations to the UK
Conservative Party, recognising the overarching role of education in addressing issues of social
cohesion
'This report from
the Social Justice Policy Group, chaired by Iain Duncan Smith, identifies
five 'pathways' to poverty and makes proposals for tackling them. These pathways are:
educational failure, family breakdown, economic dependence, indebtedness and addictions.
A sixth section considers how the third sector might be better supported to help people
escape poverty. Here we concentrate on those pathways that the National Literacy Trust
(NLT) judges to have the most relation to literacy: educational failure and family breakdown.
In each case we provide a summary of the proposals and a response that considers the
NLT's role in fulfilling them'.
1 Educational failure
The policy proposals fall under three main headings: 'Every parent matters', 'Better
school
leadership' and 'Creating a culture of learning'.
Every parent matters
This theme focuses on:
Responsibility – every school to have a 'Home- school charter'
setting out the rights and
responsibilities of parents, teachers and children.
Involvement – 'Be a credit to your child' courses, targeted at
deprived areas, to show parents how
children learn and how they can help. They would be run by the school or local alternative providers
and would build on the pre- school support proposed in a 'family breakdown report'.
Support – 'Home-school support champions' to work full- time in
schools in deprived areas, helping
parents to support their children's education. These would be members of the local community and
would focus on engaging with parents and identifying the issues underlying children's poor
behaviour and attainment, tackling children's and parents' needs at an early stage – including
referring them to family literacy provision.
Empowerment – parents of disadvantaged children who fulfil their
obligations under the Home-
school charter and attend a 'Be a credit to your child' course would be eligible for a £500 per
year
credit to be spent on extra tuition, which could include extra literacy support.
Parental and third sector groups would also have greater powers to set up new schools,
called
'Pioneer schools'. Parents of children at poorly- performing schools would have freedom to move
their child (with the funding for that pupil) to another state school if their school failed to improve
over a three-year period.
Better school leadership
Proposals to reduce bureaucracy for head teachers include creating a 'Disadvantaged
primary
school personnel fund' (to reduce the administrative burden on heads and to increase their pay) and
improving head teacher training (including through an MA qualification in leading schools in deprived
areas).
Creating a culture of learning
This theme has three key objectives: universal literacy and numeracy, improved pupil
behaviour and
an engaging curriculum that increases love of learning. The report makes the following proposals:
Family literacy classes – much greater use of these is proposed, at both pre- school level
(through
the 'Family service hubs' recommended under the family breakdown proposals) and through primary
schools.
Booster classes for pupils falling behind –specialised literacy and numeracy
teams would provide
these for children falling behind in English and maths. Reading Recovery is an example of an
approach that could be taken.
The report highlights the following features of successful literacy programmes:
- Individual mentoring
- Parental involvement
- Early intervention
- Small, specialist groups for under-achieving
pupils
- Expert tuition from specialist teachers,
assistants and volunteers from the community,
including third sector groups
Improving pupil behaviour – through more alternatives to Pupil Referral
Units, including specialist
programmes on the school site and the expansion of funds for third sector providers, and through
managing the transition from primary to secondary school more carefully. The report cites evidence
that poorly behaved children are more likely to have problems with literacy and numeracy, as well
as to come from disadvantaged families, to be bored with academic work and lacking in confidence
and enthusiasm, and to suffer disruption in the transition to secondary school. It also points out
that improving family involvement and literacy skills may be to no avail if this transition is poorly
managed, and that courses for parents, home- school support workers and family learning activities
could be methods of improving the transition period.
Pathways to success – more vocational and practical options should be
available for secondary
school pupils, so increasing their confidence, communication skills, literacy and numeracy skills
(as these are built into practical tasks, allowing young people to understand their usefulness) and
other qualities valued by business.
Building better links with business and the community – a much more significant
role is envisaged
for the third sector in supporting literacy and numeracy. More tax relief could encourage investment
and involvement in schools from local businesses and individuals.
The report also highlights some characteristics of the successful schools its authors
visited in the
UK and abroad. These include:
- A strong emphasis on literacy and
numeracy, including regular assessments and extra
support for pupils who are struggling.
- Fostering a love of reading.
- Encouraging reading at home with parents.
- Engaging families (including the extended
family) in the life of the school as much as
possible (eg encouraging grandparents to be library assistants) to reinforce the message
that education is a key part of family life.
- Encouraging pupils to take personal
responsibility for their own lives and not be trapped
by their circumstances – through raising their expectations and fostering habits of
diligence, thoroughness and self- discipline.
