New Labour (1997-2010) - Third way

• What did the New Labour want to intervene?

  They wanted to stop educational inequality, but they also wanted increased choice and diversity
• How did this policy enable the continuation of marketisation?

  Through allowing schools to specialise in certain subjects e.g. music or language colleges. To try to create diversity and increase parental choice
• How did eduction become more privatised?

  Through agencies being given contracts for trying to improve things like reading. They claimed this would improve efficiency through increased competition, but it is criticised a taking too much control away from then schools.
• What were the New Labours Interventionist policies?

  • Reducing infant class sizes to 30
  • Introducing numeracy and Literacy hours in primary schools
  • Trying to increased the numbers of people going to university
• What was curriculum 2000?

  Policy was changed to make A levels broader. Vocational A levels were introduced, which were supposed to be of equal weight to academic A levels.

  Key Skills qualifications were introduced, which were supposed to be useful for all jobs
• What are some policies to reduce gender inequality for girls?

  1. The National Curriculum (1988) gave all pupils the opportunity to study the same subjects
  2. New labour introduced initatives such as Computer Club for Girls, Women into science and engineering (WISE), Girls in science and technology (GIST) to encourage girls to get involved with subjects they traditionally would have avoided.
• What are some policies to reduce gender inequality for Boys?

  1. In 1999 the government gave grants to primary schools for extra handwriting classes for boys to help push up their SAT scores
  2. In 2005 the Breakthrough Programme introduced mentoring, after-school classes and e-tutorials for teenage boys to help improve their GCSEs
• What policies did the New Labour introduce to reduce social inequality?

  1. Material Deprivation
  2. Cultural Deprivation
• What did Sure Start (1999) offer?

  Offered 2 years of free childcare and early education to all 3-4 years old
• What is the Education Maintenance Allowance?

  Gave up to £30 a week to children from poorer families in post-16 education. Also, offered bonuses for good attendance and progress. Ended in 2010
• What reduces class inequality’s ?

  Free school meals and breakfast clubs
• What is meant by the academies programme?

  Opened new schools in disadvantaged areas where existing schools were failing. They were run in partnership with local businesses to improve performance
• What is meant the education action zones?

  Introduced to try and tackle educational inequality by area. Local public, private and voluntary organisations worked together to raise standards
• What is a strength of this policy?

  Policies to reduce inequality were successful. For example, EMA helped many students to attend college who may not have done previously due to worries about travel costs
• What is a weakness of this policy?

  Benn (2012) criticised New Labours policies because they were contradictory - at the same time as introducing policies to reduce inequality they introduced policies to increase inequality.Introducing university tuition fees 1998 of £1000 and increasing them to £3000 in 2004. Tuition fees put WC students off going to uni