Scottish Union for Education – Newsletter No70
Newsletter Themes: escape from the state, and should we promote independent schools?
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SUE online event with Frank Furedi: Wasted – Why Education isn’t Educating
One of the UK’s leading sociologists and public intellectuals will be online and in conversation with Stuart Waiton on Monday 20 May, 18.00-19.30 (GMT).
Frank Furedi has written dozens of books, including Wasted – Why Education isn’t Educating, and is currently working in Brussels, where he has helped establish a new international organisation that aims to establish a knowledge-based education system.
Join us online to talk with Frank and to help us move forward in our attempt to make Scottish education something that we and future generations can be proud of.
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What is the purpose of education, and how can the education system in Scotland be improved?
As we go to press, there is news that schools in England and Wales will no longer teach trans ideology to children, and sex education will be kept out of classrooms for younger primary aged children. More on this next week.
For SUE, the key purpose of education is the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next. This is no small task, and it is one that has been, and indeed should be, developed around subjects taught to children by subject specialists. How this education system is structured is debatable, and in this week’s newsletter Julie Sandilands makes the case for the importance of independent schools.
In the past few weeks, we have seen some real gains when it comes to the questioning of transgender ideology. Hilary Cass was presenting, online, to Holyrood last week, and explaining what is wrong with clinicians adopting unquestioningly the identities presented to them by some children. However, questions need to stretch way beyond the clinical setting and to focus on what is happening in schools. Because it is here that ‘social transitioning’ – the very approach that Cass cautions is not a neutral act but rather one that ‘may change the trajectory of gender identity development’ (pp. 32 and 164 of her final report (download here) – is being encouraged through the use of government guidance and the content of relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) resources, which include, for example, a link to the video How to be a Girl (‘I’m a girl with a penis and she’s a girl with a vagina’).
Many of you reading this newsletter will be familiar with the guidance and with the critique of it. What you may not know is that MSPs and councillors who are ultimately responsible for the schools’ approach are, at times, far less familiar with the issues than you may think.
With that in mind, it is worth considering getting in touch with your local representatives, sending them Dr Jenny Cunningham’s pamphlet, Transgender Ideology in Scottish Schools: What’s wrong with government guidance? about the guidance, and making a few observations, for example:
Transgender terminology and ideology are embedded in the RSHP guidance.
This is a highly contested and controversial outlook, and as such should not be taught as fact, especially to primary-aged children.
The Cass Review indicates that schools adopting this approach risk harming children.
Rather than being ‘progressive’, the idea that someone can be ‘born in the wrong body’ is viewed by many people, including gay, lesbian and bisexual people, as a regressive one that denies biological reality and has no basis in fact or reason.
Rather than challenge stereotypes, the ‘born in the wrong body’ narrative revitalises them by persuading boys and girls who feel that they do not ‘fit in’ (e.g. by not conforming to accepted ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ behavioural norms) that their minds actually belong in bodies of the opposite sex, thus requiring ‘correction’ via the use of hormones or surgery.
This is happening, in the main, with extremely vulnerable children: children with autism, looked-after children, and children who will, if left alone, grow up to be gay, lesbian or bisexual.
As Marion Scott reported in the Sunday Post this week, LGBT Youth Scotland, who have an increasing role in schools, have no expertise qualifying them to be advising on this issue, and yet they continue to promote transgender ideology in schools. Consequently, politicians are now demanding that they be suspended, to allow these concerns to be investigated. This comes at a time when we hear story after story of the way in which young children continue to be encouraged by professionals to change their gender. (Note to politicians: there is no material thing that can be called a person’s ‘gender’.)
This week, we continue to hear from parents who are nervous, frightened even, about what their children are being taught via RSHP lessons. This relates to both the inappropriate sex education and the transgender ideology being taught. But we are also hearing of sensible headteachers who are increasingly listening to parents’ concerns, and at times, changing what is being taught.
Dr Jenny Cunningham will be at Holyrood this week discussing some of these issues, and we will be able to report back on what progress is being made.
Finally, in response to Cass’s conclusions, but also with reference to Julie Sandilands’ article below, we also heard this week from a grandparent who is considering using some of his pension to support ‘going private’, encouraging his own children to send their kids to an independent school. We have previously also heard from parents who are home educating for similar reasons.
The very fact that this is happening should be seen as a serious problem in and of itself, and it cannot be right that we have a situation where our schools are literally scaring parents and grandparents into seeking alternatives.
So, what about private schools?
I’ve never been much of a fan – partly because of my Labour background and the way that private schools appeared to replicate and perpetuate the inequalities in society.
Grammar schools appear to be an alternative, but again, from the perspective of my mother, who did not go to such a school, there is a potential lack of opportunity for those who did (and do) not pass the 11+ exam. My mother, for example, left school with no qualifications and spent years in further education until she became a teacher. My father, on the other hand, is an example of someone who gained a very good education from going to a grammar school and, at the very least, this system did appear to offer some working-class children the opportunity to get a good education.
Ideally, I would hope that we could ultimately get to the point where standards and expectations, and the understanding that all teachers should be subject specialists, is so high that state schools would put private schools out of business. But as a SUE colleague observed, perhaps we could think about this the other way around, and hope that independent schools became so affordable that they put the state schools out of business – and I confess, with the state of state education and the education authorities at the moment, I like the sound of that.
There is a debate to had about this. It is both a personal matter for families and a social and political matter for society. At the moment, I tend to defend private education, in part because some of my ‘socialist’ colleagues tend to turn this issue into one of their own virtue, simultaneously looking down their noses at the parents, and even the children, using independent schools, while making sure that they themselves move into the nicest areas of a town to ensure that their children go to the best state school there is.
Other than that, my starting point for thinking about education at the moment is to look at the issue of standards and to supplement that with the question of parents and what parents want. As it stands, I think you can hold to both positions, i.e. that ideally we would want a society that provides the best education for all its children, but that if that is not a reality, then the fact that parents (or some parents) have a choice, and that that choice appears to encourage independent schools to provide a proper education, could and perhaps should be seen as a good, perhaps even a vital thing.
Get in touch and let us know what you think: info@scottishunionforeduction.co.uk.
Stuart Waiton, Chair of SUE
The role of independent schools in Scotland
Julie Sandilands is SUE’s education correspondent, and an English and business teacher who worked in several secondary schools in Fife until 2017.
The provision of education by the private sector in Scotland plays an important role in terms of creating choice: choice in terms of avoiding plummeting standards; the effects of budget cuts; and the Scottish National Qualifications (many of the best Scottish private schools instead follow the English curriculum, with some offering a blend of A-levels, Highers and Advanced Highers at sixth form level, or IGCSEs (International General Certificates of Secondary Education), or the International or Scottish Baccalaureate, at phase five). Contrary to popular belief, not all the parents who make this choice are above-average earners; some are working-class parents who simply want to give their children the best possible start in life, prioritising and making sacrifices in the process. Indeed, I remember the words of a friend, who fell into the above category, to both her children: ‘This is your inheritance, kids. Make of it what you will.’
Another common misconception is that by having charitable status, independent schools negatively affect the public purse in terms of tax revenue. However, a report commissioned by Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS) identifies the substantial contribution made by the independent sector. In fact, rather than being exclusive, the argument could be made that they strive to be inclusive, investing at least £55 million annually in fee assistance, with 24.9% of all pupils in Scottish independent schools receiving some form of assistance, and 3.1% of senior school pupils receiving 100% fee assistance. Furthermore, independent schools do not operate in a parallel universe. They often play an important role in the community. One such example is Dollar Academy, who work in partnership with Clackmannanshire Council with their ‘Learn to Swim programme‘ aimed at children between the ages of 5 and 14, thus providing access to a local resource that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Remarkably, the independent sector is now under threat from Labour’s plan to introduce VAT on school fees. Scottish Labour’s National Recovery Plan states that they, ‘Will end all public sector support for fee-paying private schools, implementing the recommendations made by the Barclay Review to end their charitable status for rates relief.’
Much has been discussed regarding this controversial plan as to whether or not it would cost the taxpayer more in the long run and increase the burden on the already-struggling state sector. According to a Telegraph poll of 350 independent school leaders in March 2024, ‘95 per cent expect to increase prices as a result of the policy,’ adding that ‘Labour’s VAT tax grab on schools could put seven out of ten fee-paying establishments at risk of closure, including faith schools, family-run schools and special schools’.
Therefore, it is appropriate to ask what the purpose of this policy actually is? Is it about increasing centralised control over the content and delivery of education? Does it come from a socialist perspective that by restricting choice the world becomes a fairer place? Out of the 71 schools registered with SCIS, 20 are small specialist providers supporting pupils who are unable to access education within mainstream provision. With Scottish schools already accommodating 259,036 pupils with additional support needs, a trend that shows no sign of slowing, the forced closure of any of these schools as a result of this policy risks excluding a vulnerable sector of society who require highly specialised care. While Labour have indicated that exemptions could be granted to pupils with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), pupils who do not qualify for an EHCP, but who still have significant additional needs, will not be exempt, potentially losing their place.
I asked Pam Duncan-Glancy, Shadow Secretary for Education and Skills, and the Scottish Labour head office, if either could provide me with an assessment of the potential impact to Scotland of the Labour government’s policy to add VAT to independent school fees; specifically, I wanted figures on the estimated additional amount raised in tax revenue, and the impact on resources and subsequent cost of students having to transfer to the state system, especially those who require bespoke, specialist provision. I am still awaiting a response, although a similar Freedom of Information Act request, sent on 4 December 2023 to the Scottish government, returned the following response: ‘It is not possible for the Scottish Government to fully evaluate the consequences of the proposed VAT policy by the Labour Party because full details have not been made available’.
So, until I hear otherwise, I will assume that Scottish Labour do not have the requested information.
A similar request was also sent to the SCIS. Their timely response was as follows.
VAT on independent school fees would disrupt the learning of around 6000 pupils in Scotland who will be forced out of the sector.
A significant number of children forced out of their school will have additional support needs and the disruption will have a disproportionate impact on them.
An independent report shows if the sector shrinks by just 13 per cent or more, the policy will cost the state sector money in Scotland.
The policy would harm not only the education of independent school pupils forced out but also the education of pupils in state schools, given the funding and capacity pressures such schools are already facing.
The independent sector in Scotland is already fairer with schools making greater bursary provision as the Scottish government has already removed business rates relief in Scotland using its devolved powers.
Alison Herbert, Deputy Director @ Scottish Council of Independent Schools
It would be politically naive to think that a good state education would ultimately always be free or fair. Houses in areas with good schools achieve higher market values than similar properties outside those areas. Those with the financial clout are therefore able to buy sort after school places through this fee alternative route.
With the balance of power likely to change at Holyrood in 2024, the Scottish Union for Education will follow and report on the implementation of this proposed policy, carefully examining the impact on the economy, the state sector, and those individuals who receive education service they believe is not available in the state sector. Ultimately, it is about retaining the right to choose, and for the families who believe the state system is no longer fit for purpose, independent provision is a price worth paying.
News round-up
A selection of the main stories with relevance to Scottish education in the press in recent weeks, by Simon Knight
https://archive.ph/2024.05.02-224831/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/school-reported-parents-of-trans-child-to-social-services-ngm80gpc5 Helen Puttick + Marc Horne, School reported parents of ‘trans’ child to social services. George Watson’s College in Edinburgh alerted social workers in 2020 after the parents asked the school to adopt a ‘watchful waiting’ approach to their child. 02/05/24
https://corvinak.hu/en/velemeny/2024/05/02/in-defence-of-standards Joanna Williams, In Defence of Standards. The determination of parents to secure a place for their child at a good school suggests that, among the general public at least, high educational standards are valued. However, among teachers, policy-makers and educational theorists, there is disagreement about the meaning of standards and little consensus that securing high standards is an important aim for schools. 02/05/24
https://substack.com/home/post/p-144442147?source=queue Sarah Phillimore, Consent to Medical Transition at 16 - where are we now?. Two cases have now been decided in the wake of the Cass Review concerning the decision of 16 year olds to take cross sex hormones. In both, the court declined to intervene. 08/05/24
https://archive.ph/2024.05.09-213559/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/09/autism-school-pushing-pseudoscientific-trans-ideology/ Daniel Sanderson, Autism school signed up to LGBT charter pushing ‘pseudoscientific’ trans ideology. Kaimes, which takes children from age five, accused of ‘breathtaking’ recklessness over what it teaches vulnerable pupils. 09/05/24
https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/05/09/the-entitlement-and-intolerance-of-the-campus-gaza-camps/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3xTgOMs2SOHnHuNC9elGzXHlpI-uDG97ZRprV3vbyjWD62k2B4XSnkx-w_aem_Adz5XkFq3N8m3tho6NftvhHPGvvMOb10M1Y0LjO7WVWcI-Zl2KScLOnwUV32I8cTFaD4-mrFtMPeWrV-6ir0OYr0#google_vignette Joanna Williams, The entitlement and intolerance of the campus Gaza camps. Anti-Israel bigotry is spreading like wildfire across UK universities. 09/05/24
https://archive.is/XlqyY Helen Puttick, vI’ve seen first-hand that we’re too quick to help young people change gender. A Scottish clinician warns that girls robbed of their own childhoods are directed unquestioningly towards cross-hormone treatment that may make them infertile. 11/05/24
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/john-swinney-first-minister-and-snp-leader-addresses-question-on-whether-trans-woman-is-a-woman-4625784 Alistair Grant, John Swinney: First Minister and SNP leader addresses question on whether trans woman is a woman. 13/05/24
https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/dispelling-the-suicide-myth/ SexMatters, Dispelling the suicide myth. 10/05/24
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Great analysis- on public/independent education- it does concern me that a ‘one state solution ‘ for school would be damaging. As it stands there are few if no checks and balances related to the scot Ed system. Hence a very expensive failing system. If there was some sort of choice every school would be (theoretically) more driven to ‘provide the best’. Right now the best is ensuring they tick scot gov boxes based on loose parameters which barely provide competency let alone excellence. And a generation of mediocrity will feed into future generations of mediocrity.