Do Standerds Really Matter?

Once again it appears we are being asked to be aghast at the overbearing government for demanding that staff in education have a basic level of literacy and numeracy in order to qualify to work with even our youngest children. And quite dramatically, too.

“Catastrophic” is the word of choice word for today as it is “announced” as if it has never been stated before, that there could be a recruitment crisis if we keep insisting that nursery staff have this unattainably high level qualification of a GCSE C-grade in English and Maths.

Now, I don’t wish to sound like I support this government in anything they have to say about education, but I must say that I do happen to share their opinion that we should indeed insist on a basic level of ability of those whom we leave our children in the care of each and every day. I can hear people now exclaiming their disgust that talented, caring potential nursery nurses are being turned away or prevented from entering the profession because of a seemingly insurmountable goal of a mere GCSE in English and Maths at C or above.

However, we should take a moment to pause and reflect upon this. Firstly, this idealism is not exactly a new one as the drive to try and get everyone to that standard has been the main focus of education for well over fifteen years now. Those in their twenties have all been through an education system that was driven since the “Curriculum 2000” that saw over a decade of the hour-a-day numeracy and literacy strategy (that the Labour government seemed to think it “invented” but teachers had in fact been doing it for centuries). So one has to wonder what basis anyone has to claim this is a “barrier” or “unfair” in any way. Even if they couldn’t achieve it at school there are plenty of adult learning opportunities presented. For pity sake, even career criminals undertake these qualifications whilst in prison! Some even go on to get A-Levels, degrees, Masters and PhDs!

When I took my PGCE I was forced to pass QTS Skills Tests in Literacy and Numeracy that were, quite frankly, offensive to anyone like me who has not only A-Grades in those subjects at GCSE, but also top grades A-Level. Alas, I still had to play the game, and that was way back in 2003/4. So why should it be of any sudden “catastrophic” nature to recruitment now? The standard is hardly one of a lofty PhD in linguistics and a NASA-level mathematical prowess. Quite honestly, anyone trying to argue that we are asking “too much” with such a requirement is tantamount to a chef trying to tell claim that they “do cooking” but can’t see why a “Basic Food Hygiene” certificate of some kind is a relevant addition to their CV.

As a teacher for many years I watched the standards sink, slip and dive-bomb to the ground and further below, so I know what it takes to get a C grade in English and Maths now falls below what was expected of previous generations. So it seems even more embarrassing that this “entitlement” generation who seem to think they have “rights” to everything but “responsibilities” to nothing and no-one should be claiming a “right” to less educated and qualified.

It’s even more embarrassing because for the money spent on everyone for their FREE education in this country (somewhere close to £70,000*) there are plenty of children in the world who won’t experience that investment in their entire lives – and that’s if they even survive into adulthood.

Some people might find these challenging to achieve the loft heights of C grades, but that’s okay. That is what we call “learning” – starting from a place when you do not have knowledge, skills and understanding, and through process of practise and hard (ish) work one comes to a point where the standards you achieve are good enough to take on a role you desire. It might be that someone needs to gain the qualification level by other means, or later after the age of 16. But that’s okay too. Just don’t apply to be a nursery nurse until you have the qualifications, in the same way that you should not be driving a car on a public road until you have passed the relevant tests to show your basic ability to complete that task, too.

I personally think we should require people to gain qualifications to be a parent…

(I can hear the gasps and hissing…)

Here’s the problem. “But I will never need to use poetry/algebra/essay-writing/graph-reading etc. to be a nursery nurse, so why judge me by that standard?”

Simple. If you are not prepared to put in the effort to achieve the level of education in basic skills that is handed to you on a plate, for free, why on earth should YOU expect to be PAID to look after the children of this country? To be entrusted with their care and education? To be entrusted to read and write reports that might affect their development or indeed safety. How many child protection issues have been mishandled because a poor quality of literacy meant that the issues were not fully communicated? How many children’s progress was not monitored properly because of a misinterpretation of data kept about their progress?

How many letters to children or parents were embarrassingly signed “sincerily”? (There was no chance our incompetent Minister for Education was escaping that mention!).

For me, it’s not the specifics of the qualifications of GCSE that matter, but it is the attitude to learning and self-development. All professions have a baseline of ability that has to be measured in some way. We have a baseline for jobs in education, and it is has been in place for long enough now for you to choose whether you are able or prepared to meet that standard. If you aren’t, then look elsewhere. Stop expecting the nation to accept lower standards in the care of our children. Stop making every excuse you can to wave your flag of entitlement when there are many people out there who have far higher levels of education doing totally unappreciated and unnoticed jobs, working for less money, that you aren’t prepared to “lower” yourself to.

Those who wish to work in and around professions that focus on the nurturing of our next generations in a caring and educational capacity are simply wrong to claim that their own educational level should be allowed to fall below the basic target of a sixteen year old. If nothing else, they undermine the credibility of the vocation that is constantly be hammered, criticised, and derided at every turn already.

*Calculated based on approximately £5000 per child over 14 years.

#education #standards #politics #NickyMorgan #Labour