BONUS: “What’s the point of this, Miss?” What’s gone wrong with education and how we can fix it

Original recording of this special episode was on video, references to slides are mentioned throughout the recording.

This episode is part 1 of 2 of a education series special. Part 2 of the education series is available on our Compasstv YouTube channel 

Covid-19 has exposed the vast inequalities baked into the way we educate children in the UK. But there’s a whole lot more that needs changing – and most politicians don’t like talking about it.

Are we genuinely providing children and young people with the education they need to deal with the huge challenges ahead? Are we finding the spark in every child? Have schools become exam factories? What do we want for our children, here and now – and in the future?

In short, what’s the point of education in the 21st century?

Joining us to discuss are this and much more are four education thinkers and doers:

• Peter Moss, Emeritus Professor of Early Childhood Provision at UCL Institute of Education, University College London
• Christine Merrick, former Ofsted inspector and ex-headteacher with nearly fifty years’ experience in early years and primary education in the UK and abroad
• Robin Duckett, founder of the Sightlines Initiative for creative practice in UK early education
• Madeleine Holt, education campaigner and filmmaker in innovative primary and secondary schools through Schools on Screen.

At the event we’ll explore:

• The spread of GERM – the Global Education Reform Movement – throughout our system
• Its symptoms – standardisation, market-led competition, a narrowed curriculum and test-based accountability
• The human cost: a burgeoning workload and unhappy staff and students.
• It’s time to question what’s driving education: is it the needs of children and young people, or something else entirely?