Paces

What is the purpose of schools? asked Anthony Seddon

What is the purpose of schools?

Writing in the Sunday Times (£pay site) a couple of weeks ago (“Think Tank: New Ideas for the 21^st Century”), Anthony Seddon, Master of Wellington College, approved much that Michael Gove has done as Education Secretary, whilst suggesting “If he has a blind spot, however, it is his lack of a vision for the purpose of schools”.

“Gove has let exam passes become the all-important validator of the worth of a school .... Exams, are, of course essential. They allow us to measure the progress of students and school performance. But they are not the whole purpose of schools. The objective that Gove needs to prioritise now is character building.”

Seddon sets out his case by calling on: David Levin, co-founder of the Knowledge is Power Programme, (who realised … “those who possessed character strengths such as resilience and tenacity” were succeeding at university, not necessarily those who had been the top students at their schools); Angela Duckworth, (“a psychologist who showed that self-control could be a more reliable predictor of students’ university success than IQ”) and Martin Seligman (“a pioneer of ‘positive psychology’, who had identified no fewer than 24 character strengths that could be developed in schools”).  With Dominic Randolph, Head of New York private school, Riverdale, David Levin reduced Seligman’s 24 character strengths to 7 “which they made the cornerstones of their respective school’s programmes”:

• self-control
• grit
• zest
• social intelligence
• optimism
• gratitude
• curiosity

Noting “Independent schools, as we all know, major on the development of character”, Seddon points to examples of state schools that are “showing the way”: King Solomon Academy primary school in northwest London; West Kidlington primary school in Oxfordshire; and Kings Langley secondary school in Hertfordshire.

So what is the purpose of schools? Of the purpose of schooling? Or, for that matter, the purpose of Education?

When I read this, I wanted to ask a couple of questions:

What is the purpose of parents?

What of upbringing? Is it even meaningful to talk of the purpose of upbringing?

 

 

 

 

 

Schooling: when enough is enough

Much of my thinking time yesterday was spent pondering Paces' adult services and conductive education. Prompted by a meeting in the morning, the subject whirled around my head all the rest of the day and into the evening.

Partly my pondering is about conductive education. We know something about "conductive pedagogy"; but what do we know of "conductive andragogy"? We know something about "conductive upbringing"; but what do we know about "conductive living?" Coincidentally, I yesterday, too, happened to re-read Andrew Sutton's "Memorandum to the Norwegians", about which he had posted on his blog ("CE Research: An overview"). Noting that strictly it falls outside his brief, Andrew writes that "the much smaller field of adult conductive rehabilitation has attracted a small body of empirical outcome research" to which similar methodoclogical issues apply as to research into conductive education with children. In short, nothing much to help me there.

Partly my pondering was also personal; relating to the imminent move of my daughter into a home of her own with two friends. It has been a long time coming: she, and we her parents, were ready for it several years ago. I must confess I find it difficult to stop refering to her as a "girl" - and to the three friends as "the three girls". She's 29, one of her friends is 30 and I should do better. Sometimes, I manage "young women". Anyhow, I was wondering about the movement from childhood to adulthood, from children's services to adults' services, from school to ... to what? Maybe there is no "what?"

The recent SEN Green Paper from the DfE proposed a unitary system of education, care and health assessement and the maintenance of an individual plan from 0-25 years. This would be a radical step, not just in the notion of education, care and health bureaucracies having to find ways of working with each other, but also because it forces a taking account of what it means to leave school, to set out on becoming an adult, on becoming independent. Local authorities, at least as far as I know, have always contended that their responsibility to maintain a statement of special educational need ends at 19 years.

Coincidentally, too, I yesterday had an email from Susie Mallett (thanks, Susie) alerting me to an article in yesterday morning's Daily Telegraph: "Down's Syndrome case could see thousands of special needs adults taught alongside children". Apparently, (one says "apparently", relying on only one journalist's report), "the father of a woman with Down’s Syndrome is attempting to force his local council to let her stay in school until she turns 25".

And I wonder, why on earth would he want to do that? Perhaps, because there is no real alternative for her and him and the family? That would seem a possible explanation though not one that the journalist explores. Yet that is precisely why, as I began this post, I was yesterday pondering what Paces' adult sevices should be. What is Paces' alternative? One point I was quite clear on: Paces' adult services should not be "more school"; not more 'pedagogy'.

As we all move, as I hope we will, to the introduction of 0-25 year individual plans; as the 'personalisation' policy extends ever wider across adult and increasingly children's services, the progression, the transition, from childhood to adulthood, the need for all to able to leave behind childhood and schooling will need to be argued for and the necessary arrangements funded. What these should not be, is more school.

 

 

Concocting a recipe for a new approach to conductive upbringing and schooling from four ingredients

The 4 Ingredients:

• Cyber-CE
• Flexischooling
• Family-centred education
• Free schools.

I have long puzzled about how conductive upbringing, which is necessarily child-and-family centred 365 days a year, might creatively be integrated with conductive schooling with its institutional structures and limitations – whilst having some hope at least of a sustainable business model.  Three fortuitous bits of reading and a current obsession - the 4 ingredients - can perhaps be shaken or stirred together to make something wholly new. Crazy? No problem. Have a read and see what you think.  

Ingredient 1: Cyber CE

Thanks to Andrew Sutton on Facebook, I was alerted to “Cyber Experiment in Conductive Education” an online paper by László Szögeczki.

The paper reported an experiment in "response to an issue often raised by outsiders, interested clients and other professionals as to whether distance Conductive Education could be executed". In summary, "an international 'pilot' was successfully undertaken between a USA based conductor in New York and disabled children, professionals and assistants at a CE centre near Chorley, Lancashire in the UK".

László and his colleagues are not alone. Susie Mallett has for some time been advertising distance CE services on her blog. Earlier this year, prompted by reading that there are 35 Virtual Charter Schools, I myself mused whether a Virtual Conductive Education School might be possible.  Ben Foulger, for one, expressed some interest. But there it rested.

Ingredient 2: Flexischooling

Follow me somewhere else, quite different: have you ever heard of Flexischooling? No? Neither had I until I was introduced to “Ed Yourself”, the website of Fiona Nicholson’s Home Education Consultancy, which covers “key areas of elective home education practice and policy in England”.  You’ll find Flexischooling, fascinatingly enough, under the “Special Needs” tab.

“In a flexi-schooling arrangement children are registered as pupils at the school and attend part-time, but spend other parts of the week being educated off-site by their parents. This arrangement is a matter for the head teacher, rather than the local authority, to negotiate with parents. The child will be required to follow the National Curriculum whilst at school but not whilst he or she is being educated at home.

The school register can be marked Code B for approved educational activity which must be of an educational nature and must be supervised by a person authorised by the proprietor or head teacher. More information on flexischool can be found in the Government Guidance on Pupil Registration Regulations page 22  and in the Government's Home Education Guidelines 

Ingredient 3: Family-scale education

Now just one more step: like many people, I have reservations about ‘faith schools’, so when I ask you to take a look at the website of the proposed Sheffield Christian Free School  it is not their “distinctively biblical approach to knowledge and learning” that attracted my attention.  Firstly, it was the following statement, a “Core Value”:

“We have been developing family-scale education for almost 25 years. We found that as families join together and pool their enthusiasm, expertise and ideas they can produce a stimulating and versatile curriculum for their children. For this model to be effective the numbers of families needs to be limited. Every family needs to be involved and feel that their contribution is valued. The school needs to actively seek participation from parents and equip them as they take responsibility for their children’s education.”  

The second feature that drew my attention was how the school was to be organised – on multipe small sites, responding to parental demand:

“The Sheffield Christian Free School will have all the advantages of being a large institution but, with each site having less than 100 pupils from between 40 – 50 families, it will be able to  offer the highest standards of pastoral care and academic support.” 

 Ingredient 4: Free Schools

The fourth ingredient is the potential funding that setting up a Special Free School brings for innovation in pedagogy, curriculum and parent choice, about which I shall say no more here.

Now for a trial bake.

The result may not be immediately palatable perhaps but we can adjust the ingredients later. How does this appeal to you:

A school, a Special Free School; made up of 5, 10, 20 sites dispersed around a city, a region, or the whole of the UK, maybe; for groups of, say, 20, 30, 50 families and children; attending all year round, part-time on a flexischool basis;  and part-time at home with CE delivered at a distance by a conductor based elsewhere. The whole dish funded by the DfE as a Virtual Free School.

Well? Or rather, "Why not?"

Me? I'm just a bit busy right now. But after that?

And you?

Parent founded special schools. How many, ever?

Does anyone know how many special schools in the UK are run by charities that were originally founded by parents? Or where I can find out?

On twitter @newmanswords posted:

#freeschools - loadsa money, tailor-made for the chattering classes, now big expensive consultancies to create more.. http://bit.ly/hlgBIM

To make @newmansworld's point, his link is to just such a consultancy. Following his tweet, we had an interesting exchange of thoughts.

However, our exchange led me to ponder this: the Free School invitation is to parents and other groups to bring forward ideas for new schools; we at Paces accepted that invitation and proposed a special Free School; we, in fact, had first set up Paces School from 1997 as an indpendent school - and since 2009 a non-maintained special school ... but how many special schools, or schools of any kind, have ever been set up by parents since, say, 1900?

Does anyone know? I'd be pleased to hear and will post any information.

Reaction to SEN Green Paper: former Principal of Treloar's #SENGP

If I get a moment this weekend, I'll post an up-dated listing of media et al responses to the SEN Green Paper.

Meanwhile, one that is more considered than most I have read; this from Graham Jowett, a former principal of Treloar College interviewed for BBC News: "Special School's view - Getting the system right".

Graham Jowett's view is of particular interest as Treloar School and College, as you may well know, works with children and young people with cerebral palsy - bringing his comments, for us at Paces, nearer to home than most.

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#SENGP is a twitter hashtag

 

David Cameron and the SEN Green Paper #SENGP

As I read the SEN Green Paper, these words of David Cameron stick on my mind and act as a kind of touchstone:

"I think that what we need is very simple legislation that basically gives people the right to chose. In the end, trust the parents, ....  and then I think you'll find that you'll have a system where money follows the child and follows the parents' decision and then you shouldn't have such a problem in funding your school."

Andrew Sutton recalled this statement on his recent blog post "Yes, Prime Minister".  You can see it for yourself in the YouTube clip below. It comes in the answer to the first question at about 3mins in.

David Cameron, it seems to me, here, has the core of it: very simple legislation .... the right to chose .... trust the parents .... a system where money follows the child and follows the parents' decision ...

This vision would be a truly radical reform of education.

 

Proposing a special school as a Free School

As those readers will know who have been following Paces' proposal to set up a Free School, we submitted our Proposal in August 2010. progress since then has been a little slow. The explanation is apparently the policy issues surrounding special education. We believe that maybe 11 proposals were submitted to set up special schools as Free Schools.

The situation as we now understand it is that the Department for Education (DfE) is currently reviewing its process and creating a new application form that will probably be completed online.  At the same time, DfE are preparing guidance notes covering finance and admissions for special schools. The guidance and form could be in place by March, but this is not guaranteed. Once a Proposal is received under the new process, the now familiar 3-stage process for approval will begin. The earliest that any schools approved under this new process could open would be September 2012.

Delay is always disappointing, but we are intent on using the available time to best effect, to enhance our proposal.

A virtual conductive education free school? (US Charter School model) #CondEd

Anyone care to join me in thinking through a proposal for a virtual conductive education free school?

A what? Yes. "A virtual conductive education free school".

I was reading there are 35 virtual charter schools in 25 states in America.

So why not a virtual Free School for children with cerebral palsy?  Can't be done? Who says?

SEN - Reforming provision in English schools

In passing, came across a November 2010 publication tonight from Policy Exchange which I had missed: "Special Educational Needs - Reforming provision in English schools". It  can be downloaded as a pdf or purchased in hard copy.

I have not yet fully read and digested it so do not wish to comment too soon. In my reading so far, there is much of interest, though I have an uncertain sense I would perhaps wish it to be a bit more more radical.

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Added 22.48 12 Jan 2011. If, like Andrew, the above link is a problem, here is the full URL

http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/publications/publication.cgi?id=219

Changing Education Paradigms - Sir Ken Robinson again

 Ben Sutton pointed it out to Andrew Sutton.

Posted here because I like what he has to say (and because I can), Sir Ken Robinson "Changing Education Paradigms":