Teachers must forge their own charter for education
Why do we all put up with it? Wherever I go in the education sector, I hear people at all levels, from eminent academics to headteachers to TAs, denouncing the way that education policy is made. Their principal objections are the short termism and the stress it causes.
Nonetheless, a weary stoicism seems to prevail. As one deputy headteacher put it: "Every new government thinks it knows best. This means there is constant change. There's nothing you can do about it so you just have to accept it... It's just a pity they never think of consulting teachers."
The Guardian's survey last autumn did consult teachers and confirmed both that they felt extremely disgruntled and that they felt powerless to change the situation. This is not for lack of ideas about how education should be improved; books and papers on the subject are legion. Why then are those ideas not implemented in a way that commands the profession's respect?
Many believe that the core problem is the excessive influence exerted by politicians and civil servants. While many of them are no doubt genuinely concerned about children's futures, they are, as a group, driven by political imperatives, customs and timescales.
And, as we can see from the actions of the current Secretary of State for Education, there appears to be little to stop a "Minister with a Mission" doing whatever he or she wants with schools – even though they change every three or four years and most of them have absolutely no credentials in the field.
The good news is that recent statements by politicians acknowledge the need for change. Michael Gove's ambitions to streamline the curriculum, give teachers more autonomy and encourage inter-school collaboration seem praiseworthy, even if many of us disagree with his restructuring of the system.
Andy Burnham, when shadow Secretary of State for Education last year, made the radical proposal that all political parties should agree on an education entitlement that could be sustained across successive administrations.
Now his successor, Stephen Twigg, has made a fine speech about the importance of having evidence-based policy.
The bad news is that even Stephen Twigg mars the many good things in his speech with a strangely authoritarian touch. He warns us all, "Yes, we will drive up rigour and standards" – to which my response is, pretty much, "Yeah? You and whose army?" The fact is that no politician gives more than a nod to the feelings of the school staff who have to obey their orders. This lack of appreciation is a major cause of teachers' disenchantment – and it undermines the prospect of education improvement.
So, while we can welcome the ideas that politicians contribute, we cannot rely on them to bring about the sustainable policy we need. Instead, we who work in the sector must forge our own strategy - one that commands such widespread support that the politicians and civil servants would look foolish or tyrannical to oppose it.
I have drafted some ideas for such a strategy in the form of a charter. It consists of a set of principles to be used as the guiding lights for further debate about practicalities. I would welcome your feedback about how to use or improve the charter, with the aim of firing up all those weary practitioners and reconnecting them with their passion for improving the life chances of the nation's children.
Read and comment on the draft Charter for Rational Education Development by Nick Nuttgens.
In 2005, Nick Nuttgens abandoned a career in theatre to run the Creative Partnerships programme in South Yorkshire, working with schools to support creative approaches to teaching and learning. He is now training as a primary teacher.
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