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12 March 2010
23 February 2009 / An Educational Oxymoron

Rt Hon Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners
An Educational Oxymoron: Can Every Child Matter in the Culture of League Tables?

Charities Parliament is a dynamic new hub dedicated to inspiring debate, dialogue and action between local churches, faith groups and Government.

On 23 February 2009, as part of the Charities Parliament programme of lectures, briefings, debates and workshops, Rt Hon Jim Knight MP spoke on the topic, An Educational Oxymoron: Can Every Child Matter in the Culture of League Tables? and  answered questions from a select audience of sector leaders and activists.

Jim Knight3

 

 

Listen here to Jim Knight's speech:

Please click on the document link in the right hand navigation bar to download:

  • A transcript of Jim Knight's speech 
  • Charities Parliament letter and questions to Jim Knight
  • Jim Knight's letter in response to questions from the evening

Questions brought to Rt Hon Jim Knight on the evening:

“If Every Child Matters, then benchmarks force schools into focusing their gifts into specific groups of students. If schools are doing this, then how can every child matter equally? Also, the focus on Maths and English, although of crucial importance, may force the curriculum to be narrowed for these targeted students and again how does that square with ECM?”
Craig Monaghan

“Can I say being the Chairman of the 1st Academy to open, that for 6 years I have watched it claw it way up the league tables in terms of SVA and royal results table, as well as the attendance and rate of exclusion going down. I think there is a false dichotomy in the education establishment and maybe in this room as well that somehow there is an either or. My experience in this school and others is that it’s very very rare, if not unheard of to find a school that is doing well in the league tables which isn’t also giving all those other terrific experiences to young people, and its not a question- you can do both."
Tom Perry

“I’ve been part of a number of round tables about youth engagement over the last three months, and two of the things that have come up are the importance of mentoring and the importance of young people being part of a community. What I’m interested to hear, particularly from DCSF, is what part do they feel that faith groups have in that, and how are they looking to engage with faith groups on that area?”
Daniel Singleton, Faith Action

“Jim, your quotation from T S Elliot, ‘It is the journey not the arrival that matters.’ Could league tables be defined as being all about the arrival rather that the journey? What about the kid that journeys and journeys and journeys and gets a D?”
Steve Chalke

Email your questions and responses to debate@charitiesparliament.org.uk

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