new labour policies

• New Labour Policies (1997-2010)


  • Computer Club 4 Girls (CC4G)
  • Women In Science & Engineering (WISE)
  • Sure Start
  • Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA)
  • Education Action Zones (EAZ)
  • Curriculum 2000
  • School meals nutritional standards
• Computer Club 4 Girls (CC4G)


  Encouraged young girls to build their ICT skills and general confidence when using computers and software - taught them about different programmes - photoshop etc. Framed computing problems using feminine-coded interests. Eg design a website for horse riding. Attempts to tackle lack of female representation and presence in fields such as computing. Safe space for girls to compute.
• Women In Science & Engineering (WISE)


  Programme to encourage more women to do technical A-Levels and subjects. Started in 1984 - intended to highlight career opps for girls in STEM. Host talks, events, give resources to schools etc. Aims to encourage more STEM-based subject choices for girls to address the imbalance. Gives girls role models and career plans.
• Sure Start


  Designed to work with parents to promote intellectual and physical development of infants (under 4 years old) from disadvantaged working class backgrounds. Almost like a kind of 'pre-school' - provide some educational stimulation to kids to give them a sure start in life. Attempts to tackle social class inequality - stop there from being a gap in children starting education. Give working class kids a headstart.
• Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA)


  is a weekly allowance of £30 to help students with the cost of further education. ... It provides young people, who wish to continue in education after school leaving age, with an incentive to earn rewards through good attendance and achieving agreed objectives. 16-19YOs got it. Tackles social class inequality - Helps fund student education - offsets costs of things like textbooks etc. Also encourages a demographic which tends to drop out earlier to keep attending college.
• Education Action Zones (EAZ)


  Introduced by Tony Blair's Labour government in 1998. They followed on from a 1960s initiative, Education Priority Areas and brought together a group of schools with parents, community groups and businesses and aimed to attract sponsorship and investment from the private sector. Aims to tackle Social class inequality - Raises standards in poorer and underachieving schools. Tackles schools in deprived areas.
• Curriculum 2000


  Curriculum 2000 was a reform of A Level examinations in the United Kingdom. It was introduced in September 2000 (with the first AS-Level examinations held in Summer 2001 and A2 examinations the following year). Could drop out with an AS level after 1 year. Exams were MODULAR rather than LINEAR. Everyone can leave with a qualification even if they drop out half way through. This impacts working class students more because it means that they can work earlier, bring in money for their families, gives them flexibility.
• School meals nutritional standards


  April 2001- school meals had to adhere to nutritional standards again. Food in school cafeterias being sold and given as part of Free School Meals is up to nutritional standards and helps give students the nutrients they need. Everybody is fed to a good standard. Proper nutrition helps growth, intellectual development, focus, etc. More important for working class kids because they are more likely to be malnourished or experience food insecurity.
• Evaluations - New Labour Policies

  • Early academies rose standards in poor areas a lot (Mossbourne)
  • Generally better at improving equality of opportunity than the New Right
  • Parents liked Sure Start but it didn’t improve education (improved health)
  • Tuition fees put working class kids off going to university (connor et al)
• Introduced tuition fees for higher education