Schools: Performance

Debate between Lord Davies of Oldham and Lord Hill of Oareford

Tuesday 4th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I am afraid that I do not have those figures in my head but I will write to my noble friend and make sure that she has them.

[Lord Davies of Oldham]

My Lords, why does the Secretary of State constantly refer to Sweden as a model of good schools when the Economist Intelligence Unit in its recent survey of world performance ranked our schools in sixth place and Swedish schools in 21st?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My right honourable friend refers to a number of international examples of different kinds of system from which we can learn. However, the noble Lord will probably also know that alongside the Economist report to which he refers, which did, indeed, say what he says, there are a number of reports, including the PISA reports, which, sadly, do not yet show us in quite such a good light. The encouraging thing about the Ofsted report which I am keen to emphasise is that it points to a number of improvements over recent years, including under the previous Government, towards a more self-supporting system, the development of good new heads and stronger teachers, and that is something on which we are building.

Education: History

Debate between Lord Davies of Oldham and Lord Hill of Oareford

Thursday 8th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I agree with my noble friend. It seems to me that, in teaching history, one certainly wants to give our children a sense of Britain’s history and the broad sweep and chronological development of our history over time. However, I agree with her very much that we also want our children to have a sense of the wider world, particularly as Britain changes and develops. It is important that that balance is struck.

[Lord Davies of Oldham]

My Lords, I very much applaud the Minister’s caution in response to this Question, but does he recognise the importance of history in the curriculum? Does he particularly recognise the real dangers of appearing to be ideologically driven with regard to the teaching of history? We have had appalling examples of that in the past. I am sure he will take care to ensure that we do not repeat any such examples.

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, as I have admitted before in the House, I am a sort of historian myself, so I accept the point the noble Lord makes about ideology. It is, of course, always difficult to draw the line between history and politics. Things that I still think of as being current affairs my children are now learning as history. Therefore, I recognise that point. However, in trying to get that balance right, it is important that we try to move away from a sort of gobbet-sized approach to history. For instance, 17th century English history, which is very rarely taught, has many parallels with what is going on in Britain today in terms of the extent of change. If one could get that development, one would do a better job.