Editorial: Schools must face up to their duty to society
Ravi Chandiramani
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The onus on schools to maximise children's wellbeing, as well as their educational attainment, was stepped up a notch last week. Guidance issued by the Department for Children, Schools and Families stated that schools should be the "first line of response" for tackling gang culture.
This responsibility for helping to keep one of society's toughest problems in check comes ahead of more mainstream requirements on schools to deliver the Every Child Matters outcomes. Guidance is pending for schools to implement their duty to promote pupils' wellbeing, as set out in the Education and Inspections Act 2006. So too are details of how indicators of schools' contribution to wellbeing will be incorporated in Ofsted's new school inspections framework, which takes effect in September 2009.
Some of the dinosaurs of the teaching establishment are showing stubborn resistance to wider inspections. They argue teachers should not be responsible for addressing problems in society that unravel outside their grounds. Well, try telling that to a youth worker. Indeed, as children's minister Beverley Hughes said last week, schools are uniquely placed to attend to wellbeing as they are the only truly universal service and have daily contact with children and young people.
The more Victorian factions of the media have sought to portray these efforts as somehow loopy and a distraction from the real issue of exam success. But children's welfare and educational attainment go hand in hand. A depressed, damaged and violent child is highly unlikely to be a Grade A pupil. In any case, there is plenty already happening to bring schools into the Every Child Matters fold, such as the Healthy Schools and Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning programmes, not to mention the fact that every school will have to be an extended school by 2010.
For the education community, united by a passion for learning, the challenges of addressing welfare issues are daunting. Whatever the demands placed on teachers, they must be properly supported. This might be through training in softer skills and working with other agencies. It might also be through bringing in more non-teaching expertise, with the engagement of the police through the Safer Schools Partnership being a prime example. Without this support, the wellbeing agenda risks falling prey to hollow targets rather than being a force for good.
