This letter has been collectively compiled and is open for anyone who has an interest in Education in England to sign overtly (with name on display) or in voice (name hidden but counted). GDPR principles apply in the collection of any personal details and submitted information will not be used for any other purposes.  

18th July 2022

 The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP

Dear Mr. Cleverly,

We the undersigned are writing to you with our concerns about the pace and volume of change this government is proposing through both the Schools White Paper and SEND & AP Green Paper plus other subsequent consultations, reviews, guidance papers and Acts currently in motion across education, health & social care.

Front line workers, teachers, leaders and support staff in education, medical & health personnel and those in social care worked round the clock during the pandemic.  Many going over and above their call of duty.  There has been no time to pause, reflect and adjust to the post lock down era, as many institutions in education, health and social care are still dealing with the fallout of COVID19.  This is apparent in staff shortages, high absence rates and change fatigue that is compromising the wellbeing of colleagues.

We acknowledge the endeavours of the civil service in preparing both papers and other documents.  However, what is not clear is the prioritisation of actions that will follow and what stress this will put on an already exhausted workforce.   Multiple initiatives have been suggested across both papers, new Acts and reviews and at no point has any consideration been given to those who deliver.  There are too many simultaneous initiatives and discussions in The House of Lords have already led to modifications of The Schools White Paper directive.

Crisis management and an authoritarian leadership style during the pandemic was necessary. It yielded a high return, at the time.  However, this is not sustainable.  Even if it was, it is an unhealthy approach in a democratic society. Within schools / colleges a distributed leadership is most effective. Using data to extenuate progress is to be welcomed, but we should be driven by a vision and core underpinning values. If leadership is simply a continuous response to data, there is a high risk of both mission and policy drift, as we have already seen in the SEND Reforms cycle (2011-2018). Workforce wellbeing and enablement (not just accountability) has to be central to all decisions going forward.

Whilst The Oak Academy may provide some resources for teachers, no teacher can simply download a plan, then just go and teach.  The lesson has to be shaped and crafted to meet the needs of the children in the class.  In effect, this will create more work and possibly reduce the quality of content, delivery or both.

What we find most surprising about the government’s current trajectory, apart from crisis leadership management towards the next election, is that after over 10 years in power, this government has not clearly articulated a long-term vision or plan for education.  A vision and plan that has been agreed by all Parties and operates outside the election cycle.  This is a failure of the government.  The NHS have secured some clarity of trajectory in a 10-year plan, but this is not the case in education.  The cost is the quality of education for our children and the future adults of our society.

An agreed vision and long-term plan would provide a platform for any of the changes proposed to be sequenced, planned for high impact delivery and sustained. Defining such an agreed vision (with underpinning values) would require us as a nation to agree on the purpose of education. This in turn would positively impact accountability.  The currently defined targets for 2030 and focus on ‘levelling up’ does not provide clarity of a vision.  It is simply a list initiatives which is subject to high risk policy drift.

We the undersigned (some named and others in voice number) humbly request the government to put a pause on current trajectories and invest time and space in defining and agreeing a vision and long-term plan for education. This would not be a step back, but a step forward.  Such a fundamental joint initiative has not been enacted by any government since The Butler Act in 1944.

Without such a united vision, values and plan, any initiatives put in place are at best temporary and half thought through. Policy drift and the domino effect of implementation are a reality and with so many aspects being changed simultaneously as well as centralised, the government is creating several possible points of failure, without the mechanisms to check where fault lies and how to adapt.  Humanity learnt the power of agility during the pandemic. The government learnt how inefficient they were pre-COVID19 and as such are pursuing an elongated period of crisis management strategies and authoritarian leadership. This comes at the expense of an exhausted workforce.

A long-term vision and values based plan would provide the nation with a stable footing for moving forward, as well as a premise for prioritisation.  It would stand the test of time and political cycles.  But more importantly, it would signal a season of hope, post pandemic.  Data that measures what we do is only half the story.  We need to also consider the impact of anything we do and what difference that makes.  We believe a long-term plan and vision would enable us collectively to build a better and stronger education system for our children and our children’s children.

We look forward to your response in due course.  Equally we are more than happy to meet with you to discuss this further.

Your sincerely,

Dr Anita Devi, CEO, TeamADL
Annamarie Hassall, CEO, nasen
John Cosgrove, previous headteacher 2007-2019
Iain Simper, National Director,  Learning Partnerships
Jenny Bowers, DEO, TeamADL
Alison Willett, Education Director, nasen
Maxine Fitzpatrick, SEN Teacher
James Pope, Founding Director, Inspiredcuate Ltd (HeadsUp4HTs)
Lindsey Kelly, SEND Inclusion Advisor