Coalition government policies of 2010

• David Cameron: 'The aim of the coalition education policy was to encourage excellence, competition, and innovation'
• Academies


  Schools that left local authority and gained control over their curriculum
• Allowing any school to become an academy


  Removed the focus on reducing inequality for those in deprived areas and schools
• Free schools


  Run by parents, faith organisations, businesses, or parents, directly funded by the state
• Free schools


  • Supporters claim these schools improve standards by taking control away from the school and giving it to parents
  • Provides the opportunity to create a new school if they are unhappy with the state schools in the area
• 20% of schools in Sweden are free schools, however they only benefit children from highly educated families
• Fragmented centralisation


  Promoting of academies and free schools has led an increase in both fragmentation and centralisation
• Fragmentation


  • The comprehensive system is being replaced by patchwork of diverse provision much as it involves private providers this leads to a greater inequality in opportunities
• Centralisation


  • Central government alone has the power to allow or require schools to become academies or allow free schools to be set up
  • These schools are funded by central government, their rapid growth has greatly reduced the role of elected local authorities in education
• Policies to reduce inequalities have been introduced
• Policies to reduce inequalities


  • Free school meals for all children in reception, year 1+2
  • The pupil premium - money that schools receive for each pupil from a disadvantaged background
• Ofsted in 2012 found that the pupil premium was not adequately used by the schools
• Privatisation of education


  • Transfer of public assets such as schools to private companies
  • Education has become a source of profit for capitalist in what Ball calls the education service industry
  • Private companies are getting more and more involved in activities to do with education, building schools, work-based learning, careers advice and some even run entire local authorities
• Public-private partnerships (PPPs)


  Large scale school building often involves these