A simple lesson

MICHAEL Gove’s determination to raise school standards is illustrated by his willingness to preside over a short-term fall in the A-level and GCSE pass-rate if it means achieving higher standards in the long-term. It contrasts with his Labour predecessors who invariably sacrificed excellence in order to sustain year-on-year improvements.

It is why the Education Secretary is breaking up the old order – whether it be the creation of free schools that will have a degree of autonomy when it suits the coalition, or moves to add greater rigor to traditional subjects.

Yet, despite promising to cut paperwork so teachers can spend more time on lessons, it has now emerged that a record number of school staff took early retirement in the past year. It would be unfair to entirely blame Mr Gove’s reforms for this – controversial changes to local government pensions appear to have been a significant factor – but what this trend does signify is a huge loss of experience that will jeopardise the future prospects of young people across the country.

The consequence is a greater burden being placed on newly-qualified teachers who may be expected to focus on subjects that extend beyond their own specialism, a criticism that Mr Gove repeatedly made of the last Labour administration.

Rather than the Department for Education shrugging off the exodus by pointing to a fall in the number of secondary school pupils, Mr Gove should work with the schools and unions to tackle the causes of this discontent – people do not consider early retirement lightly any more.

What is certain, however, is that motivated and experienced teachers hold the key to driving up standards, and the Minister, thus far, has not placed enough emphasis on this reality. He must now do so before it is too late.