With the recent announcement by Government to turn all schools into Academies, I am wondering whether what is essentially private control of our schools is better than state control? Although I believe businesses are often more focused than local authorities, is education more about broadening and widening children's perspectives so that they may make wise life and career choices. It's a conversation I had many years ago with Sir Ken Robinson and the arguments on creativity run something like this, in this extract from Leading Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise from Bloomsbury:
I worry that Academies will set too narrow a focus for education and that non core subjects will fall by the wayside if there are attempts to run them as businesses, based on some recent experiences of dealing with poor leadership at a Grammar School in Chatham. Lesson plans, KPI's, league tables et al have all but driven out creativity in teaching in all but the most reslient schools. HR professionals can influence the debate.
What is your view on the slow drift towards privatisation?
Come discuss creativity and its applications in HR at The Virgin Lounge in London on April 1st – Free to attend but booking essential via The Virgin Lounge.
