Youth and Education

Currently, our nation's children are the unhappiest in Europe. As they come of age these unhappy children become unhappy adults, and that is a cycle that cannot be left to go on. We need drastic changes for our children-- they are our future.

They deserve the best, so that in the future they will give us their best in return.

Of course personal responsibility shoudl prevail when it comes to child-rearing, but it seems that is simply not enough. Therefore, we must encourage responsibility, aid parents, and watch as the nation blossoms. A genertaion of well-raised children is a benefit, and credit, to us all.

Education, and the role of the school

Health

Children may no longer suffer due to the typical 'childhood' diseases, but instead due to lifestyle-related ones. Child obesity, and obesity in general has become so endemic we have lost sight of what normal is.

Children’s health is top priority, because most lifestyle-related health problems are caused by bad habits formed in childhood and adolescence. Here are some steps we will take toward a healthier life for our children.

Parents and schools must work together. There must be a change in mindset. Schools will now provide the child’s main meal (should they opt to have school dinners), and so parents ought to be mindful they don’t give the child another. We will remove the nationwide school-dinner menu: schools will have their own knowledgeable cooks, who know what menu will suit the needs of their pupils.

Free school milk will return to all primary-aged students, along with an introduction of necessary vitamins for free: namely vitamin D, something almost the entire nation is lacking. Schools will be supported in introducing 'open air' schemes-- a staple of the early 20th century, it is needed more than ever now. Schools will be aided in arranging for outdoor areas (playing fields, local parks, etc.) where children will be taught outside in the spring and summer terms.

There will be new Children's Radio Stations (more on this later), whom twice a day will broadcast music-based 'daily dozen' style exercises. Light physical activity-- which does not alienate the less sporty child as competitive sports might-- will be the staple of every school day.

We will also instate a children's sweet ration card: limiting the amount of sweets and unhealthy foods children may buy for themselves. Of course is adults wish to buy them more, they may, but this is simply to prevent after-school binges at the corner shop every day.

The New British Schools

Our current schools are floundering: we can all agree that the current over-reformed, under-funded and muddled school system is not fit for purpose. We will begin it anew. Schools will be one of our greatest new approaches— although this is less some radical change and more a return to the very best of what we had in the past.

Organisation

The chart below outlines the new (or rather, a return to the traditional) organisation of schools.

School Age Sex Notes
Infant 4-7 Mixed Infant schools will have two halves: girl and boy. 'Academic' subjects (such as English composition, reading and mathematics) will be taught in single sex groups, while others (for example art, PE and nature study) will be taught in mixed groups. Playtimes will also be mixed.
Junior 7-13 Mixed Junior schools will be as above, except with the addition of split-sex PE lessons.
Senior 13-18 Single Senior schools will be entirely split by sex for lessons, but may be based in the same school building. Each school will be 'twinned' with their opposite equivalent if buildings are seperate. In this way children will be able to socialise with the opposite sex, without sacrificing academics.

The ideal organisation of schools will be that they are split into houses which they remain in for the duration of their school-life. Each class will stay together, as most forms do now. They are taught by one teacher and their room is their own. Even throughout secondary they are based in this room apart from for practical science lessons, PE, Music and Technology, and later for lessons where it is deemed important that they be placed into 'sets'.

Education will be partially inegrated in terms of special educational needs. There will be special classes in schools designed for children who can mostly cope in mainstream school but may need extra support. We are aware, however, that there is a massive shortage of special school places, which are generaly preferable as they are able to cater totally for the needs of their pupils. While the integration of those with special needs in regular classes was an admirable goal, it had become evident that this was simply a money-saving exercise, and many of these children (most, even) are left with their needs unmet.

Class sizes will be capped at 20, but preferably kept at the ideal of 18 for standard classes, while special classes will be capped at 14. We hope that this will be one step toward making state schools rise to the standard of private.

Behaviour

Discipline is important. 1950s-style (which, incidentally, had continued in private schools) pomp and circumstance in school, consisting of school songs, complex and idiosyncratic uniforms, and no excuses for bad behaviour are what kept them at such high standard. Schools will be encouraged to enforce uniforms and good behaviour— they ought not hesitate to use exclusion and even expulsion. No more excuses for bad behaviour, we understand that some children do have needs that result in class disruption, we will aim for there will be enough special places to ensure that these children are comfortable and able to reach their full potential.

This is very important, as with better behaviour we wish to reduce the amount of paperwork teachers must do. Schools cannot be liable for commonplace childhood accidents: trips to the local park do not need a risk assessment-- they need an ounce of common sense and a class of children who listen. Spontaneity adds more fun to the school day, but has become impossible since a spontaneous trip to the park now would require a few hours doing paperwork and 32 permission slips.

No more giving in to whims. School dinners back to no veg, no pudding. Some rules must be put in to set a standard, that no one is exempt from. It is better for the whole if there is a structure, and children thrive in a (fairly, not too strictly) regimented school, where they see everyone is held to the same standard. The aim is for low-level disruption-- which is endemic in our schools-- to stop. However, we hope that with the reduced class-size there will be a closer atmosphere between students, which always encourages better behaviour because no one wants to be the 'odd one out' who is bothering everyone with silly interruptions.

In an environment where children come to school dressed in the same clothes, know they will be treated equally, know there is a standard of good behaviour: then they can begin to learn. Schools ought to reward not things like 100% attendance, which are arbitrary, but most improvement in work, or consistent good behaviour. Aims which all children can achieve if only they put their minds to it.

Teachers ought not explain themselves to parents unless there has actually been misconduct. We recommend a rule that parents are not to come onto school grounds unless invited—- for assemblies and such. Queries to teachers ought to be spent by notes through the children. Corporeal punishment is no longer a thing, and the culture of humiliating children in schools is dead. A missed ten-minutes of golden time is not going to scar a child for life— no matter how unfair they think it is.

Curriculum

Our current curriculum is ludicrous. If one takes a look at past teacher’s textbooks, it is clear that they had no trouble teaching children their three R’s without forfeiting the arts, which are so useful and enjoyable for the growing mind.

Mathematics, English Composition and Reading will be nationally regimented-- or, we will provide textbooks and workbooks for children to work from. Music, singing, history, art, geography, nature study and handicrafts will be reintroduced fully and timetabled even into the infant child’s day. It will be a timeless education. Education should begin close to home, meaning that in the early years teachers ought to teach local history, local geography, etc. Afterwards children will be taught British history from the beginning in the way that is most enjoyable— stories.

Songs ought to begin with nursery rhymes (what a shame it is that so few children now can sing songs like Bobby Shaftoe, Bye Bye Baby Bunting). In the beginning we would like schools to help with our scheme to reintroduce children to once-common games which are so useful for a child’s physical health; teaches teamwork and improves musical skill. Two-balling, skipping, hopscotch, handclaps, ring-games. Of course children aren’t keen to exercise when they have so few options that come naturally to them.

Practical lessons will no longer have the unnecessary theoretical weighting. Cookery, for example. How can PE and Cookery be 60% theory?

No more WILT, LO, red pen, green pen, or any pointless marking. Leave the acronyms, let teachers teach. The level of bureaucracy in education is simply too high, and more than anything we need lessons that are enjoyable and get something taught.

We hope that this will make schooling better for both teachers and students. High teacher burnout is an issue that needs to be tackled not just by encouraging more people to train into the profession, but by keeping the already trained and experienced teachers working.

This was not an issue in the past. Children haven’t changed much, nor have teachers; it is the system. Education has made a full circle and has returned to the Victorian ideal of being purely for making a good manual employee, a robot, when in reality it should foster personal, moral, intellectual and social development.

OFSTED’s inspection standards will stop ruling school life and making it all about producing evidence, and it will assess in a way that is more similar to the ISI, allowing for freedom and individuality, and simply checking that the school is fit for purpose.

We aim for every Infant and Junior child to have a strong basis of English (Reading, Writing and Literature), Mathematics, Art, History, Geography, Religion, Handicrafts (inlcuding knitting, sewing and woodwork), Singing, Domestic Sciences (inc. hygeine and cookery) and Nature Study. Most important, however, is that schools are able to regain the freedom they once had to provide children with a timeless and enjoyable education.

SRE

There will be drastic changes made to the controversial SRE. Sex Education will be moved up and taught at the end of Juniors, at which point the children will be 12 or 13. It will not be graphic (such as the sex act dice which have recently graced our news), but straightforward and factual. The government will provide these resources, outside companies ought not to get involved. Education on puberty should be taught in Hygiene lessons and gently presented to the class at an appropriate point for them. It ought not to be presented as frightening nor repulsive. Schools will not teach about transgenderism or pronouns. If a child is truly transgender, then they will surely come to the conclusion themselves as they had for thousands of years beforehand. Now it is constantly rammed down their throats, and the exponential growth in Transgenderism in youths is surely a result of social contagion. Femininity and masculinity must be disconnected from being Female and Male. Many people before all this spent their childhoods certain they were meant to be the opposite gender, but puberty tends to be the thing that dispels these feelings. If we stop puberty, how will they realise? On the flip side a child who has always felt fine in themselves might be distressed at puberty— particularly if it comes early, or is a taboo topic in the family— and for a few hormonal years might be sure they are the opposite gender, but if they are given no room to work this out themselves, how can they ever be sure? If they are never free to be themselves, how will be they know? If a child is in therapy, being medicated or changing their pronouns at school, then their parents must now be notified if they are under-16. Of course parents are entirely within their rights to either pull children from these lessons, or alternatively teach their children earlier/different material if they so wish. All material will be openly available for parents to view online, or on request from the council.

Community

Children should be more involved in their community. This will surely be difficult in the beginning, but some lessons are ideal for doing more. Gardening is a good example. Schools want fields to play on, not for ornament, and a stray football is likely to spoil any attempts at growing flowers. Every community is full of seniors, or even simply people who do not like gardening, but would love some flowers. People from the community can sign up to have their gardens tended to by school-children doing Gardening lessons. Senior school plays should allow community audiences, cross-country should go back to being in local parks, schools shouldn’t hesitate to use their local parks as spaces for outdoor events: let us stop shutting our children away.

The Radio

I truly believe the radio is the best piece of technology ever used in schools. With a radio even the smallest country school can teach proper music, singing, languages-- without having to worry about working out often unreliable websites, without having to spend any time on set up, and without a potential for web-based distractions. We will start up a radio education station as there was in the past— not in its current watered down state. Full lessons, timetabled. Radio lessons are hassle-free, offer no more opportunity to go off-task than a regular lesson and allow for all schools in the country to reach a certain level of education in unusual subjects, without requiring a specialist teacher. Of course a specifialiat teacher would be preferable, but with a lack of primary school teachers with German fluency, or horticultural knowledge, this is the next best thing. It is cheap, high-standard and live.

Specialist Schools

We want to cultivate talent and offer world-standard opportunity. We wish to excel: in our artists, our dancers, our actors and actresses, our singers, our athletes. In every part of this country lies great talent and skill, hidden away, and it would without a doubt beat the nepotism and year of acting school that seems to qualify today's actors.

It is all well and good that private schools offer bursaries for skills such as this, but ask most people in a downtrodden town whether they have a clue about bursaries— no. Imagine how much raw talent is being missed because these children do not know they have chance.

We will open proper arts schools, with boarding facilities, to support unusual talent. No more half-hearted ‘specialist’ schools which means they had a new Performing Arts block thrown up in the last decade.

True meritocracy will prevail. All schools will nominate children who appear to be unusually talented or have extreme potential in any of the arts, and after examination they will then have the opportunity to be nominated to attend an arts school in a cultural centre where they will have more opportunity to excel in their art.

Examinations

A massive examination overhaul will take place.

No more GCSEs. As school-leaving age is 18, there’s no need for them anymore. We wish for sixth-forms to become the only place where children study for academic qualifications until 18, while colleges should narrow their focus to vocational teaching. Sixth-forms taking in new students should set their own examinations.

A-levels will be replaced by a widened matriculation examination, at the end of which the pupil will earn their School Certificate. It will be taken over time and can be a mixture of courseworks and examinations: schools create their own system (following a standard set out by the government). Those wishing to move onto university will take seperate, university specific examinations on top of these.

League tables will be abolished— state schools will not be allowed to publish the results of their examination-year classes to the public.

Further Education

We will once more make university free, but with many, many fewer people attending. These people will be the ones who attain exceptional exam results. There will be grants for lower income students in order to fund their living costs, but all in all the university system will stop being the sham it currently is.

Universities will also be strictly for academic subjects. Nursing is a brilliant example of the sort of highly-trained occupation which ought to be taught at a specialist school or college-- not in a university. The government, however, will provide grants to all those professions for which we are always in need: teachers, nurses, doctors, social workers, etc.

Extra-Curriculars

We want every child (and adult, for that matter) to have the opportunity to take part in various sports, arts and musical endeavours. In order to make this possible we will arrange for a set of new-- yet to be named-- buildings to open, which will form a one-stop shop for a variety of affordable sports and arts-related endeavours.

Any shortfall in teachers will be made up by students (from first year to one year after completion of their degree) who will be compelled to give up one evening a week in order to teach at such a centre.

National Service

If, one year after finishing school, a young person is not in a full-time education, or do not have some form of regular, part-time employment (being a single parent counts as employment), then they will have to enroll in National Service.

There are two options here: