Dear Stephen (an open letter to Stephen Twigg)

 

Dear Stephen

I was really pleased to read that you had recognised the importance of giving young people confidence, although I am not convinced that a school debating society is the place where most will find it. I do however strongly agree with your with your initial premise although I would choose to use the phrase self esteem rather than confidence.

It struck me that developing the self esteem of young people would be a great starting point when considering what your agenda should be if you are the next Secretary of State for Education. In my 8 years as a headteacher and 30 years as a teacher I have come to know that self esteem is at the heart of all of the challenges we face in improving the life chances of young people.

This is why the current debate about the curriculum and the EBC is so crucial. I don’t know anyone in education who is against assessment, challenge and standards but what I do know is that this will not be the same for all young people. Memory and the ability to complete 3 hour exams are skills to be admired but so are creativity, researching and evaluating information, presenting knowledge in different formats and the ability to work with and lead others. Gove’s proposals for the curriculum only value a very narrow outdated range of skills.

The second most dangerous aspect of Gove’s EBC is the lack of recognition of creative and performing arts, the very subjects which buld the self esteem and confidence of young people. It is absolutely vital that we have a curriculum and assessment system that recognises all of these qualities. We cannot afford to tell a generation of young people that only half of you have qualifications which are of value and the rest have a statement of experience. I am heartened that you seem to agree with most of this and I hope that you will in time make a clear statement that you oppose the EBC.

The curriculum is not the only place that we build the self esteem of young people. The quality of teaching and the classroom experience are vital too. Gove is right that we should only expect the best for our young people but he fails to recognise that the current generation of young teachers are the very best we have ever had. Their commitment, ability to reflect and improve their practice is undeniable but we must continue to invest in their development and retain their motivation. The proposals that teachers have to meet expectations to progress in their pay will be rightly welcomed by many but to pay two people doing the same job equally well different salaries because of their subject specialism for example will be hugely destructive to the team ethos that exists in great schools.

The next concern is that  we neglect school sport, school visits and extra curricular activites at our peril if we really want to build self esteem. I have no issue with the goverment support for competition in sport but it is about much more than that. We need very young children to be participating before they compete and they need to be physically literate, supported by experts. The demise of School Sport Partnerships and the appalling lack of an Olympic Legacy is shameful and should be another commitment for an incoming Secretary of State. In my own school we have been able to use the power of sport to develop confident leaders, to form links around the world which have raised the aspirations of my students but I hear nothing about these incredible opportunities from Mr. Gove and the DfE.

Finally the challenges to School and Local Authority Budgets mean that the pastoral and emotional support that many young people need to develop the self esteem to be successful are under serious threat. The mental health of young people and the levels of poverty and neglect are the real obstacles to progress for many students. The incredible work that my colleagues and thousands like them across the country do re-building the lives of young people and guiding many others is rarely mentioned by politicians. I know that this part of our work is as important as the work of inspirational teachers in the classroom. The Pupil Premium is welcome in this regard but in many cases it has only been able to replace existing funding steams that have been cut.

I am not asking for a blank cheque, all of my colleagues understand the economic context in which we work. What we do expect however is a Secretary of State who consults and listens, to those of us who have everyday experience of the needs of all young people, and who will then use our input to create a policy agenda which genuinely makes a difference to as many young people as we possibly can.

Yours sincerely

David Ellis – Headteacher York High School.

What I have learned from Ken and Dolly Cooper

I first met Ken and Dolly in the 80’s when I first became involved in the Labour Party in York. It was my privilege in the years that followed to get to know them both very well. My own children came to see them as their third set of grandparents and Sue and I learned a great deal from their wisdom and positive outlook on life in spite of the many challenges they faced during their lives.

Ken and Dolly became very well know in the city of York, not least for their memorable year as Lord and Lady Mayor in 1984-5. The picture below shows them being trumpeted back home after their year in the Mansion House to the tune of Hello Dolly!

These are just a few of the lessons I learned from this wonderful couple.

1. Don’t be afraid of change. The Coopers never dwelt on the past. In political terms it would have been easy for them to hark back to a bygone age but unlike many of their age they recognised the need for the Labour Party to change. That it was more important to gain power and make whatever difference was possible rather than become hung up on dogma whilst those in need suffered.

2. Don’t be afraid to forgive. Ken and Dolly were key players in establishing strong links between York and Munster and were staunch supporters of the European Union. In all of their civic roles they welcomed visitors to York from all parts of the world. This is particularly  remarkable given that Ken was a prisoner of war for many months and suffered terribly. Ken rarely spoke of this experience but knew that future peace would be maintained through friendship and forgiveness.

3. Always encourage young people. One of the great tragedies of Ken and Dolly’s life was that they lost their only son Andrew, in his thirties, whilst they were resident in the Mansion House. This meant they never had any grandchildren. This however seemed to spur them on to make as much difference to the lives of young people as possible. Dolly as a teacher and governor, and Ken as a governor and Education Committee member. Dolly especially always had time for young people and offered words of advice well into her eighties. It was usually forthright, always well meant and rarely wrong.

4.Communities Matter. Ken and Dolly spent over 100 years between them working for their community. Ken was a councillor from 1963 until 2000. They were both loved and respected by people of all sections of York’s community because they believed it was important to bring people together. They were passionate about the Labour Party but were always willing to look beyond party politics if it would help make a difference. It was no coincidence that Ken was the first Labour Chair of North Yorkshire County Council and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of the same county. These roles represented the esteem  in which he was held by his political opponents as well as allies.

5. Investing in friendship pays dividends. Ken and Dolly showed enormous generosity to many people during their lives in many ways. In return they had a huge circle of friends. This sustained them in their later lives and in the twelve years after Ken’s death Dolly was rarely alone and had a busy social diary. It was my pleasure to accompany her to the past Mayors dinner only a couple of years ago.

Ken Cooper sadly died of cancer in 2000 at the age of 80 and Dolly passed away at the ripe old age of 91 last year. Dolly’s funeral was a celebration of her remarkable life but also of her partnership with Ken and the difference they both made. Their legacy feels as though it is engrained in the walls that circle the city of York and within the souls of  the next generations who work to make it an even better place to live and grow up.