The NUT has called for the resignation of Nicky Morgan as Secretary of State for Education. We expect that other organisations of teachers and parents will soon follow.
Morgan’s position is now untenable. She was appointed to calm the storms created by Gove, but did nothing to steer the ship away from the rocks.
Nicky Morgan implemented Gove’s rewrite of the National Curriculum to the letter, without bothering to listen to teachers, heads or education experts in universities.
She ploughed forward regardless with the new primary school tests and revised arrangements for GCSEs and A-levels. They have proved disastrous, and teachers, parents and the students themselves are furious.
In her management of curriculum and assessment, Morgan has failed on every count:
- failing to modify a mind-numbing and impossible curriculum
- failing to stop tests and exams designed so that tens of thousands of children would fail
- paying no heed to parents furious about the stress their children suffer
- pushing on with baseline tests for 4 year olds which then had to be withdrawn
- forcing schools to tell parents their 5 year olds have failed, when they are simply not old enough
It is time to end the arbitrary powers of the Secretary of State over such matters.
But her woeful record doesn’t stop there:
- the plan to turn all schools into academies, whatever the wishes of parents, brought condemnation from her own party
- the morale of teachers is at rock bottom, caused by the constant bullying by numbers and hounding by Ofsted
- Morgan’s only response to the mass exodus of experienced and dedicated teachers and heads is to replace them with unqualified new recruits
- local authorities are still prevented from opening new schools despite the massive shortage of places
- her insistence on Amanda Spielman becoming the new Chief Inspector can only be described as wilful and irresponsible – she has no teaching experience and as head of Ofqual shares responsibility for this year’s test and exam fiasco.
Morgan is a liability to the Government, just like her predecessor Gove – which is saying something! She has to go – but also the disastrous policies which are rapidly destroying education in England!
Reclaiming Schools will continue to support the NUT’s campaigns with expert and reliable research.
Our thanks to Polly Donnison for the cartoons.
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