Passing the test of time

Many parents will support the Education Secretary's instincts – the national curriculum has become too cluttered, standards have slipped, the notion of classroom discipline has been undermined and too many children are being let down by poorly-qualified teachers who fail to inspire.

In this regard, Mr Gove does not disagree with any of his Labour predecessors. They all expressed similar sentiments when they unveiled their respective shake-ups. The problem, however, is that social inequality actually increased – the opposite of their intentions – because of their failure to execute their policies properly. Can Mr Gove fare any better? That is now the issue.

Leaving aside the headline-making proposal to encourage military leaders to become teachers, a gimmick that is likely to benefit very few pupils, Mr Gove is right to measure schools by the number of pupils who pass GCSE exams in five key subject areas – including English and maths. By adding a language, science subject and humanities course to this list, the Minister is placing a premium on a more rounded education.

Yet, while this is laudable, the more immediate issue is the fact that there are insufficient specialist teachers to go round. Even with the support of the new teacher training schools, it will take many years for the benefits of this approach to pay dividends.

However, the biggest regret of the Minister's Commons statement was the fact that he overlooked two key areas – the number of pupils leaving primary schools without a basic grasp of numeracy and literacy, and how pro-active parental involvement is fundamental to child's education. And, unless these issues are properly addressed, his reforms – however well-meaning – will fail to fulfil their potential.

This is why Mr Gove needs to finalise his reforms, before they pass into law, and then give them to work. For, in many respects, what schools require, more than anything else, is continuity rather than being in a perpetual state of policy flux.