A YOUGOV survey of 2,008 parents commissioned by the NUT shows that the vast majority are opposed to the government and its privatisation of education.
After almost three years in power only eight per cent of parents believe that the government has made a positive impact on the education system.
After themselves, parents thought head teachers (59 per cent) and teachers (58 per cent) were the people they most trusted with their children’s education.
In sharp contrast, only six per cent of parents trusted either education secretary Gove or an academy chain.
Only 14 per cent of parents believe that academy status improves educational standards.
Seventy-eight per cent of parents disagree with Gove and believe that all schools including academies and free schools should follow the same national curriculum.
Again, in contrast to the stated government view, a majority of parents (60 per cent) believe that there should be a national pay system for all teachers.
Seventy-three per cent of parents described the quality of teaching in their child’s school as either good or excellent.
A majority of parents (59 per cent) said that, within a prescribed curriculum, teachers should be allowed professional freedom to teach in the best interests of children.
There was a similar negative response to many of the government’s policies and vision for the future of education.
Just one in five parents (19 per cent) believed that the academies and free schools programme is taking education in the right direction.
An overwhelming 84 per cent of parents are opposed to Gove’s willingness for state schools to be run for profit and only nine per cent agree with the government’s policy to allow academies and free schools to employ unqualified teachers.
The majority of parents (56 per cent) do not agree that free schools should be allowed to open in premises without planning permission for school use.
The responses of primary school parents reflect many of the views and concerns of teachers.
The overwhelming majority (93 per cent) of primary school parents felt that time for reading for pleasure in the curriculum is important and 89 per cent felt there should be time for fun and learning through play in the school day.
The majority of respondents were not convinced that the Year One Phonics Check was helpful, with 73 per cent of parents believing that the use of nonsense words in the tests such as ‘snemp’ or ‘thazz’ could confuse some children.
Parents are clear that where decisions are being made about primary schools becoming academies it is parents (76 per cent) and teachers (68 per cent) whose views should be taken into account.
Only five per cent of parents believed that the view of central government should be prioritised.
Eighty-five per cent of parents of children in secondary schools believe that the curriculum should be broad and balanced and embrace both vocational and academic subjects.
Sixty per cent agree that GCSEs provide a good breadth and depth in range of subjects and 61 per cent do not believe that getting rid of coursework and having an end of course examination is the right decision.
Commenting on the survey, National Union of Teachers general secretary Christine Blower said: ‘It appears that it is now only the Secretary of State who believes that his policies are taking education in the right direction.
‘Michael Gove’s proposals for examination reform, the national curriculum and academies and free schools are all being questioned.
‘Michael Gove does not have the confidence of the profession or parents.
‘He needs to urgently accept that he is wrong and rethink his vision for education to one which includes all children and does not involve the privatisation of our education system.’
A survey of 2,159 NUT members released at the NUT conference in Liverpool shows that the majority of teachers do not agree with the proposals for the National Curriculum as set out by education secretary Gove.
Two thirds of teachers felt that there is far too much emphasis on ‘facts’ rather than skills.
The fear that many teachers have is that this will lead to rote learning and will squeeze out creativity and critical thinking.
Clearly pupils need to learn facts but rote learning must not displace experiential learning.
One teacher responded saying ‘this must not be the future for the children of England’.
Another pointed out that ‘learning facts and figures is a very small part of the learning journey’.
Only eight per cent believed that the proposal gave teachers more freedom.
A NUT-commissioned YouGov survey showed 85 per cent of parents believe that the curriculum in secondary schools should provide a broad and balanced range of experiences and areas of knowledge which embrace both vocational and academic subjects.
The survey shows 72 per cent of teachers do not believe that the new proposals for the curriculum will ensure that student’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum will be met.
One teacher wrote: ‘I want to create a society of critical thinkers who can interpret the world around them and innovate it to make life better. I do not want to create a society of robots who just know stuff!’.
Again, the vast majority (71 per cent) of respondents did not agree that the proposals would meet the needs of pupils with English as an additional language, special educational needs or disabilities.
‘It is evident that these proposals were written by people who had privileged upbringings and to whom learning came naturally and easily. I really fear for children who find learning challenging or schools an intimidating place,’ wrote one teacher.
Commenting on the survey, NUT leader Blower said: ‘This really is quite a damning view of the government’s education policies. The National Curriculum, like so many of Michael Gove’s proposals, appears to have been written with no understanding of how children and young people learn and lacking in relevance to the 21st Century.
‘Teachers really are at their wits end with a government which cares little for the consequences of these ill-thought out changes. Michael Gove really must be stopped for the sake of education and the pupils who will suffer under this curriculum.’
Both the NUT and sister union NASUWT annual conferences voted no confidence in Gove and for campaigns to resist the spread of academies and free schools, and for joint strike action over pay and pensions.
At the NASUWT annual conference in Bournemouth, the union released a survey showing that unqualified staff are being widely employed as teachers.
The figures were released as the conference prepared to debate a successful motion rejecting the removal of the requirement for schools in England to employ qualified teachers.
Well over half of the teachers (59 per cent) who responded to the online survey said that unqualified staff are employed as teachers in their school, not only to cover lessons, but to perform a variety of roles that require the skills and talents of a teacher.
These include: preparing students for external examinations (51 per cent); developing the curriculum (45 per cent); and reporting on learning (65 per cent).
Almost three-quarters of teachers (72 per cent) believe that the situation is getting worse because schools cannot or will not pay for qualified teachers.
The survey of nearly 2,300 teachers found that:
• 97 per cent of unqualified staff hired by schools teach lessons;
• nearly six out of ten teachers (59 per cent) of teachers report the use of unqualified staff in their schools and of those teachers who reported this, 85 per cent said they were used regularly;
• the vast majority of unqualified staff (77 per cent) are not on programmes to gain qualified teacher status (QTS);
• nearly three quarters (74 per cent) of unqualified staff are required to plan and prepare lessons;
• over two thirds (69 per cent) have responsibility for assessing and monitoring pupils’ progress;
• over half (51 per cent) prepare pupils for Key Stage tests and external examinations;
• 89 per cent of teachers said that unqualified staff in their school are employed on a permanent basis.
NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: ‘The extent of the Secretary of State’s decision to remove the entitlement of children and young people to be taught by a qualified teacher can now be seen.
‘Parents and the public should be deeply concerned at the results of this survey. Now when a parent sends their child to school they have no idea who is teaching them.
‘Unqualified staff who are not being given the appropriate training, support and remuneration for their responsibilities are also being exploited.
‘The purpose of the change the coalition has made is nothing to do with raising standards.
‘This is part of the wider strategy to depress costs to encourage more private providers to take over schools.
‘If any suggestion was made that unqualified doctors were let loose on patients there would be public outrage.
‘Why should our children and young people, the future of this country, be treated with any less concern?’
