The major education event of the past fortnight was the publication of a government green paper putting forward the proposal that all young people will be required to remain in education or training until their 18th birthday. I thought the press response to this announcement was low-key and largely focused on the narrow point of how to enforce the attendance of the disengaged. For a quick synopsis I recommend the executive summary as a better guide http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/downloadableDocs/6965-DfES-Raising%20Expectations%20Green%20Paper.pdf . Consultation on the green paper is open until the 16th of June. Do we have anything to say?
This blog is a commentary on recent news items that were thought relevant to the work of The Brightside Trust. The views expressed here are the personal opinions of Dr John Twineham, Research and Policy Officer, at the Brightside Trust and should not be seen as either representing the official views of The Brightside Trust or that of the newspapers referenced. A link to The Brightside Trust Web site can be found just below this heading, along with links to some of our projects.
I thought this was a really bad idea at first - forcing even disengaged young people to continue studying. Having read the executive summary though I can see that we need to ensure everyone has skills to succeed. I think it would have to be a really personalised approach if it were to work. Each individual should be guided into the right kind of education or training for them.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think that raising the school leaving age is something that should have happened a long time ago - leaving school at 16 does not prepare young people for working life. However, I think that young people should definitely be given the choice as to what sort of learning they get involved in, so its not just staying in a classroom for an extra 2 years.
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