Heads unite against PM’s plan for more grammars
‘Selective system erodes self-confidence and limits aspirations’
Head teachers have launched a blistering attack on government plans to allow new grammar schools, saying selection erodes children’s confidence and the system should be scrapped.
A joint letter from 31 heads of non-selective schools across Kent says there is no evidence to support the government’s claim that selection improves standards.
They say there is an urgent need to highlight “fundamental philosophical and systematic flaws” in the proposals for a new generation of grammars outlined by prime minister Theresa May.
The letter has been sent in response to the government’s consultation on its plans, outlined in its White Paper ‘Schools that Work for Everyone’, which ended last week.
It says the government should consider the impact on children who do not go to one of the county’s 33 grammars in the face of a lack of evidence that selection benefits all students.
It asks: “What does the selective system achieve in Kent? It certainly serves to erode selfconfidence, to limit aspirations and develop a culture of ‘second best’ that good leaders in nonselective schools then spend time undoing so that they can unlock the students’ true potential.”
It goes on to say the gap between disadvantaged children and their peers in Kent is one of the widest in the country.
“The very existence of a twotier selective system is the biggest cause of this inequality.
“We challenge the government to provide convincing evidence to parents, school leaders and children that not being selected aged 11 will motivate any child to make better progress than before.”
The letter mirrors those submitted by groups of head teachers in many other parts of the country who oppose the government’s proposals.
Meanwhile, an education think tank has questioned the government’s approach.
It claims that applying the conditions under the government’s own terms for new grammars would benefit just six areas.
The Education Policy Institute modelled the impact by looking at how 32,844 districts would be affected.