What prompted me to put the question up was something I heard on "Today" [R4] this morning. They were talking about the government telling schools to concentrate on the 3Rs. The speaker questioned if the very things that a school can offer, that disadvantaged children otherwise will not even know about, will disappear.
There is this. There have been other, less teacher orientated views, raising concern also. I won't look for those at this point as others may have seen them.
"According to two recent YouGov polls commissioned by GL Assessment, teachers and parents are becoming increasingly concerned that exam pressures are forcing schools to offer a limited, bare-bones education while prepping pupils for those exams from an increasingly young age." [source - The Headteacher]
I am aware that this government's stated aims before the last election were for a "small government. That must mean the collapse of government-driven help and structure. However, it seemed to me to be beginning to bite. We have seen dentistry returning to a mainly private organisation. It looks as if the government intends to push GPs in the same direction. I wondered if the next project will be/is schools.
Many of my friends have been paying for things recently or helping children and grandchildren, where we once would have received the care/help/general basics via a state-run organisation. It is not that we didn't know this was the government's intention. it just seems to be becoming more obvious. I wondered how it will affect our citizens if many are priced out of education and health care.
Those friends that pay up for really basic and also essential, life-saving items often say, "I know I am lucky I can afford this". They are aware that they are - at the moment. But each person will have a point where, if we have to pay for more and more basics, we will not be able to have ourselves, or give our families, what we once thought of as what our country is and how it behaves towards its people.