Education Team Administrator Emily Bourne discusses why parents can no longer assume that schools will be able to provide what their children need
With a new term about to get underway, many children will be starting school for the first time whilst others are moving from primary to secondary school.
These are seen as significant milestones in children’s lives, and the assumption is that children will learn many things throughout their school career which will help them take their place in society.
Most importantly, parents assume that their children will be safe in their local school. We have previously explored the reality that this cannot always be taken for granted.
And so it remains important to consider the following question: can we assume and expect that the schools in our nation are the best environments where children can learn and flourish?
How do teachers feel?
The attitudes and actions of teachers can have a lasting impact – positive or negative – on the lives of children because of how they absorb everything around them. It matters whether teachers feel happy and safe in their jobs and are able to convey this to children to help them feel the same. However, latest official figures reveal that the number of empty teaching posts in England has more than doubled in the past three years. And whilst the number of teachers has risen, the number leaving has also increased. Reasons for leaving will vary in each individual circumstance, but a recurring theme seems to be that the pressure and stress of the work is affecting the physical and mental health of teachers.
Teachers are regularly subjected to physical and verbal abuse from pupils which is driving them from the profession. This is further evidenced by the record number of school suspensions and exclusions, with persistent disruptive and challenging behaviour being the most common reason for this. Issues of recruitment and retention can lead to situations where schools are not able to meet even the minimum levels of staff required to look after children safely. As well as the safety aspect, there is potentially a decrease in the quality of teaching due to the difficulty of recruiting teachers in specific subject areas. Whilst some may well be capable of covering lessons in the short-term, it is far from ideal and not sustainable in the longer-term.
This is why the new Labour government is desperate to plug the gaps with their flagship policy to fund 6,500 new teachers from taxing private schools. However, their pledge to recruit thousands more teachers is unlikely to go far enough.
Teaching the parents
Primary school teachers are increasingly being expected to not only teach children the core subjects, but also key life skills. It would previously be assumed that parents would impart these skills before the child starts school. In some schools there are cases where children, whose parents speak English at home and have no learning disabilities, are coming to school unable to communicate, meaning that teachers have to use a basic form of sign language to allow them to make simple requests like asking for a drink. It is estimated that one in four children are due to start school this September without being toilet trained. So teachers are having to create ‘intimate care plans’ to keep children clean as well as providing support to parents in how to potty train them.
It is true that many parents struggled during the Covid pandemic which has impacted their mental health – and we should be thankful that teachers will often go above and beyond to support children and families in their care – but what we are seeing in schools is also a consequence of the demolishing of family life and a decline in Christian values more generally. Aspects of feminist ideology has caused some women to prioritise their careers over their family, whilst for some families the mothers are forced to work as it is practically impossible to survive off only one parent’s wage. Combined with rising divorce rates, many children are missing out on regular contact with at least one of their parents at critical stages in their development.
Changes to the level and extent of support that teachers are expected to provide, often with very limited support and funding, is leading to many feeling overworked and undervalued. Concerns of safety and questions around the quality of the teaching being given (because of how teachers are being stretched) is why many parents are starting to consider alternative education provision for their children such as independent schools or home education.
Sexual harassment and abuse
A key part of safety in schools regards preventing sexual harassment and abuse. It has previously been reported that 90 percent of schoolgirls have received unsolicited sexual images and been subject to sexist name calling. The scale of the evidence has led to Ofsted requiring schools to assume sexual harassment and online sexual abuse are happening in their setting, even when there are as yet no specific reports of it. Research from the start of this year is even more concerning with reports that children themselves are now the biggest perpetrators of sexual abuse against children.
We have long reported about the harmful nature of explicit Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) which has contributed to these problems by creating an oversexualised culture in schools. This prompted the previous Prime Minister to order a review of RSHE and issue new guidance on the subject. Whilst the draft guidance could still have been clearer in some places, it was a genuine attempt to rein in some of the inappropriate content (such as gender identity) being taught in these lessons.
The announcement of the general election, and the subsequent result, means there is some uncertainty about what will now become of this draft guidance. Education Secretary Bridget Philipson failed to provide a clear answer on whether Labour will ban the teaching of the concept of gender identity in schools. Their proposal to add VAT to independent school fees and plans to enforce registration for children not in school means that parents who want to seek alternative provision outside of the state system will face more challenges.
New government, new curriculum
Not long after their election victory, the government announced that there would be a review of the school syllabus which would seek to “to breathe new life into our outdated curriculum.” All state schools will be required to teach the updated curriculum once the review is completed next year. This will include academies, which do not currently have to follow the national curriculum.
The review is being led by Professor Becky Francis, who specialises in the ‘social construction’ of gender in the classroom. Parents expect their children to be learning to read, write and do sums. They don’t expect inappropriate and contested ideologies to be presented to them as facts.
This is especially true for many parents who send their children to Church of England schools with the hope that they will be taught in line with a Christian worldview. However, the most recent anti-bullying guidance to the Church of England is steeped in transgender ideology and includes contested ideas around gender and intersectionality. Parents will increasingly need to engage with schools where there are concerns about what is being taught, if they even become aware. Understanding more about what schools are expected or required to teach is important, particularly if this is likely to conflict with your faith.
Continued crumbling structures
The crumbling theological thinking is exemplified in the prophetic metaphor of the physically crumbling buildings. In the summer of 2023, the government announced that more than 100 schools would have to close immediately due to the presence of a crumbling concrete known as RAAC. However, more than a year before that, it was reported that 1 in 3 school buildings included materials either at the end of their shelf life or that pose a “serious risk of imminent failure.” Data showed more than 7,100 schools were given the worst possible rating for at least one aspect of their buildings.
Problems with buildings continue to plague schools, with pupils forced during the winter months to keep their coats and gloves in the classrooms due to lack of funds for maintenance and upgrade of buildings. In one school, draughty windows are stuck together with sticky labels.
The only way government can afford education provided by the state is for school buildings to be large enough to hold many children. The question is whether the best environment for children is to be with hundreds of others, in cramped classrooms for 32 hours a week which are often freezing cold in the winter and unbearably hot in the summer. How could anyone, let alone children, be expected to learn and flourish under these conditions where they exist?
An Education Revolution is underway
The purpose of highlighting these issues is not to shame schools or teachers who so often do amazing work to help individual children and local communities. You can use this video to help you find ways to positively influence your local school were possible. In addition, where you see your school doing things well, do take time to encourage them. Where Christians are thoroughly engaged in their local state school, the Lord can be truly honoured.
But this doesn’t mean that these issues should be ignored, especially when they relate to the safety of children. It seems that many are starting to realise what is at stake, and this has led to a rise in home education. Because this isn’t possible for everyone, we are working with over 25 groups across the UK who are wanting to start new Christian schools or part-time learning centres. Our sold-out Education Revolution conference in April brought many of these groups together and focused on ensuring that our children can access genuinely Christ-centred education initiatives, and to be inspired by faithful Christian teachers.
We will be hosting another Education Revolution conference in Oxford in 2025. If you want to be part of the movement that is seeking to create a more Christ-centred education for the next generation, do consider attending this conference with members of your church.
With the current education system at breaking point, the safety of children is at stake. Only Jesus can ultimately fix this brokenness, but he often uses his people as instruments of change. Could you be a catalyst for building Christian culture in the area of education in the years to come?
