Children Last

One morning, whilst listening to the head of a rather large school where I was training to be a teacher, I realised something. Children have become something of an inconvenience to a school like this. Once up and running this school, and all state schools I have ever seen, is a self-perpetuating entity whose primary function is its own survival. This is a natural process which affects all institutions, companies, government bodies. It is sadly true even of most charities- pretty soon their own survival is paramount over their original mission.
The head's little morning speech was about Ofsted or behaviour or something, the content was not significant, and it was all about jobs and financial security for the school. Financial security is for the school what survival is for the organism. It is its primary and overriding drive. Second to survival of the school is its 'health'. This is measured in the number of jobs it can sustain and is demonstrated by the head's repeated requests for teachers to conform in order to keep their own jobs. Teachers are therefore second to the school itself. In order for the teachers to keep their jobs, and the school to remain healthy, it must constantly strive to attract children. As children rarely choose their own school themselves essentially this translates to attracting parents. The head of this school was well aware of this. Thirdly then the school's function is to attract parents. As the government, along with large numbers of pressure groups including the vastly rich exam boards, has almost succeeded in persuading parents that success in examinations is the only thing their child needs out of 12 years of schooling they are willing to select a school based on examination results and league tables (actually I am not so sure this is entirely the case but it is how the school sees it and that is what matters). To return ot our analogy the great beast of the institution known as 'school' therefore sees exam results as the bait to lure in its prey. Examination results are therefore the third prority of school after the school's own pertuity and the teacher's jobs, and parents are fourth as they are lured in using exam results.
Fifthly, and finally, we come to the children. Once at the school it is essential that as many children as possible get 5 A*-C grades in order to rebait the trap. Therefore one must coach them through their examinations. This takes up all of your 11, half of year 10 and nearly 1/4 of all lessons during the previous 3 years as they are required to sit an end of unit test which takes 1-2 lessons every 6-8 lessons. (I shall return to the moster of testing later). If there is any time left we might be able to squeeze in some education but don't hold your breath.