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Probably giving a bit too much away here, but I'll throw my two cents in.

I worked in the prison service, particularly around offender learning, for three years. I think the system was roughly equivalent to the academies that we're going to be getting soon in that they were free to teach whatever they wanted. Naturally they taught english, maths and ICT to cover their OFSTED bases, then the rest of the subjects were essentially whatever they could gain the most funding for with the least effort. This meant a lot of incredibly useless courses with the least amount of resources needed.

I feel as if the academies will probably follow the same arrangement. In some cases it might mean that the technology subjects are most cost effective, particularly in schools where they already have the equipment. I can't see them replacing those nice big bandsaws and drum sanders in five to ten years when it'll be cheaper to shut down that course and replace it with a sociology qualification taught by an apprentice teacher who earns less than most of the kids will be getting from their education maintenance allowance.

Personally, as a 16-17 year old I was swindled in to taking a useless degree by a university using it to subsidise their STEM courses. I thought I was smart enough to make my mind up back then and I did blame myself entirely for a while (and still do partially). Looking at the few mid-teenage kids I know now, however, I would never trust them to decide their future particularly when most colleges and schools seem to have conflicting interests these days, as bright as some of them are. I wish I had either put more time in to serious academic subjects and made steps in to a career earlier, or learned something that would get my hands dirty and maybe teach me some skills that I could moonlight with.

The second is more likely. I feel as if I'm fairly bright, but I would never have finished at the top of my class at medical school and the myriad of subjects that fill the space between the doctors, mathematicians and engineers, and the builders and plumbers are such a minefield that they're almost not worth considering unless you're happy to be another shelf-stacker with a degree.

I feel like this government are seriously setting the country up for even more mass-unemployment in the next decade.
 
I did a bit of exam invigilation at the local school and the local sixth form college, so knew some of the teachers when I had to go for the meeting about my daughter's "A" level choices. The woman sat and gave me all the bumpf, and told me that all "A" levels were of equal value. Great, I said, so if my daughter wants a first class degree from a world class university she can take "A" levels in sociology, media studies and world film studies (subjects rooms full of kids at the college were taking) instead of maths, physics and chemistry? She smiled faintly and said Mr. P ... you know I can't answer that ... :?
 
Bm101":2x8bqj3v said:
My lad is Five. He comes home every day with homework.

This just seems crazy. I don't remember getting homework till I about 11/12 and I'm sure it's the same for many of you, do any of us think we suffered through not getting enough homework when we were that young? I consider my self lucky that although I guess I was in the 'academic' group for exams I was still able to do one practical exam course, I wanted to do two but that wasn't allowed. So I did get a reasonable grounding in metalwork skills. I really can't get my head around the idea that clever kids can't be practical, i wonder if that's why we hear so many complaints about officials such as H&S or Building inspectors that have read the manuals but don't have a clue about reality.

It actually occurs to me that if your child is already struggling, with supportive parents, then the ones who's parents who don't spend the time helping their kids will start to fail from the point they start school, not when they get to their teens.
I just wish people in charge would actually look at some evidence before making idealogical decisions, in many cases their own experiences are far too removed from the majority for them to have any real clue what's needed. They then follow up by making enemies of the people who do know what going on.

As someone else has eluded to, the practical skills may require investment in equipment and materials and maybe that's why they have been excluded.
 
Parliament is going to debate the petition you signed – “Include expressive arts subjects in the Ebacc”.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/111731

The debate is scheduled for 4 July 2016.

Once the debate has happened, we’ll email you a video and transcript.

Thanks,
The Petitions team
UK Government and Parliament
 
Perhaps now that it is to be debated, we should have a word with our local MP, ask him/her if he/she will be taking part in the debate and if not/why not? We could also perhaps express our views to them on the desirability of craft courses being included on the curriculum for those who have a talent for working with their hands or who have a talent for design. I have to confess I have neither as my only talent lay in doing sums.
 
Student":16v85h3d said:
Perhaps now that it is to be debated, we should have a word with our local MP, ask him/her if he/she will be taking part in the debate and if not/why not? We could also perhaps express our views to them on the desirability of craft courses being included on the curriculum for those who have a talent for working with their hands or who have a talent for design. I have to confess I have neither as my only talent lay in doing sums.

If people can make contact and put pressure on their MP this will help the debate and possibly make them re-think the policy.

Cheers Peter
 

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