Heads they win, tails we lose
Ideology cannot let profiteers off the hook and continue to damage children's lives
Having moved from Rome to Troy in my ramblings, I'm beginning to feel the pain of Cassandra with the added heat of a system that could be referred to, at this time of Thanksgiving, as a dumpster fire.
John Dickens at Schools Week has been banging this drum for a long time, I've had my say here: https://bit.ly/3CRBMUP and here, for what it's worth: https://bit.ly/4fT4gft
My concern is meaningful change is sacrificed on the alter of ideology. In February of this year I met with the then schools minister. I presented evidence from a Safety Valve LA that showed among other things:
I'm unsure whether the DfE's nascent Market Interventions Group survived the election. If it did, those I spoke with will hopefully remember the data and solutions I put forward; solutions that came from a schools sector wanting to answer a call to arms but terrified about the repercussions.
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Who would want to be labelled as novel, contentious and/or repercussive? Count me in because what we have at the moment is a source of national shame.
If you're going to curb profiteering (not profit) in Children's Social care, you must do so in SEND education. Otherwise, those organisations with a foot in both the SEND Education and Children's Social Care camps can simply refocus into areas where they can continue to maximise their profits. Heads, SEND kids lose. Tails kids in Children's homes lose. Either way, the taxpayer, the LA, community and society loses.
Clamp down on both and maybe the profiteers will realise that the gravy train, while not being nationalised, is more Stockwell than Bisto.
Is this such a difficult concept to grasp or are the most vulnerable in society going to be made to suffer for a plate of red meat that felt like a good idea at the time but is quickly going rotten.
Left unchecked, the tsunami of kids entering a mainstream sector currently ill-equipped to cater for them will be a disaster. Will commissioners recognise this or will they be complicit? It's a toss up as to who should be most worried, mainstream schools, parents or kids. Then answer is all, because all will lose out.
I hope Dame Rachel de Souza is prepared to speak truth to power and I hope that this is heard.
Chief Executive Officer at ST BART'S MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
1moDelyth M. George Barlow - Tom is the MD of PAG that we are working with.
A leader in education, employment and citizen services.
1moThe way to solve this is through cultivating a competitive market place and giving MATs and charities access to the capital they need to invest.
Education Research | EdTech | Social Impact and Philanthropy | Strategy
1moVery informative piece. It seems to me that policy is too often playing catch-up on these issues, leading to exploitation of the system. Hopefully, this won't go on for too much longer.