Another Tory u-turn - this time it's schools

nabby

Government climbdown over forced academies plan in England - BBC News

So the Conservatives have chosen today to conveniently bury a huge about-turn with regards to forcing all schools to become academies.

This come after other big u-turns on housing, tax credits, Syrian refugees.

This shows what a shambles the Government is becoming in terms of planning policy and consulting people on those.

IronGiant

Doesn't affect us directly, as my children are at an Academy, but thank gawd for that

Member 581642

U Turn or listening to the people ?

Cant really win can they

Sloppy Bob

As a Scot I don't understand the English school system. Academies, Grammar, Secondary Modern, Comprehensive ......

Up here you go to a secondary school, it may be called one of the above names but they all have the same curriculum. Some schools are obviously better than others but you don't want your kids to go to an Academy rather than a Grammar as it's the same. The difference is in the teachers.

Obviously we have fee paying schools and secular ones as well but the majority attend their local secondary regardless of it's name.

pandemic

Pretty sure it's the same here, everyone follows the National Curriculum regardless of the type of school. It's how they run that is the difference.

nabby

So when the PM stated repeatedly just 2 weeks back in PMQs in Westminster that the Government was pressing ahead with this plan, irrespective of the fierce questioning on this policy from Jeremy Corbyn in that PMQ session, he was in fact just biding his time to listen to people outside of Government who did know better than those in his Government who proposed this idiotic idea in the first place?

I refer you back to my original post which stated "This shows what a shambles the Government is becoming in terms of planning policy and consulting people on those."

Why not consult people (stakeholders, etc) in the first place and then use this as the basis for a policy change? It's ridiculous.

Member 581642

Or stick to your guns, which would you prefer

nabby

I'd prefer the option you haven't mentioned in your binary choice - the one where they tell us in their manifesto they they're going to reform schools further, hold proper discussions with stakeholders and then make a decision and justify it properly, rather than policy being thrown about on the hoof for 6 weeks then suddenly u-turned, on today of all days.

IronGiant

Isn't it obvious why they announced it today "of all days" ?

It's what politicians do, not just Tories.

Member 581642

The question is if they have come to the "correct" option now then what harm has it done, a lot more debate and you could even say that listening to people rather than just a manifesto pledge that they then enact is better governance