School Just Ain't The Same

When we imagine what school might be like for our children, it’s often easy to assume that it’s mostly the same as it was when we were in school, but we’d be mistaken. 

Here’s a canter through some changes that have had a negative impact on the classroom environment:

1999   -            A New National Curriculum was issued – narrowing the curriculum, increasing academic pressure and reducing holistic education

Early 00’s -      The Rise of league tables and targets – schools were judged by SATs, GCSE results, attendance and exclusions – increasing stress and anxiety among students and staff, being heavily test-result focused

2010   -            Gove’s now notorious “knowledge rich” curriculum, increased the number of things kids had to memorise for tests – increasing pressure, reducing creativity and flexibility, and exacerbating the gap for those less academically focused

2020/2021 -   Huge spike in children’s mental health needs (likely impacted by the prevalence of anxiety in schools, personal trauma, family break-downs, increased isolation and inhibited social development, and concerns about ‘catching up’)

2021 – present – Massive inflation, tax increases and benefits reforms, make ‘making ends meet’ harder for everyone, but in particular our poorest families. Parents need to work longer hours, likely leading to more ‘screen-babysitting’ or longer days in childcare, reducing time for children to connect with family and relax. 

2025   -            The introduction of VAT to private schools – meaning poorer families who were just about able to stretch to find fees for their children with Special Educational Needs, could no longer afford to do so, with many SEN specialist schools closing their doors - flooding state schools with additional needs and over-stretching teachers.

School can and should be a place of joy, that creates the optimum conditions for building autonomy, relatedness and competence.