In 1994 Tony Blair made a personal commitment on becoming leader of the Labour party to transform education in Britain. At least, that is what people tell me – I was eight at the time.
As someone who has been through the educational system and is now England’s youngest cabinet member for education, employment and skills here in my home town of Oldham I suppose I have a particular perspective on the educational transformation of the last 20 years.
There is no doubt that the investment of the last Labour government has paid off in terms of new building. Here in Oldham over 90 per cent of our secondary schools have been rebuilt and the scandal of outside toilets and leaky classrooms finally removed. Moreover, more people like me are continuing their education on to university.
However, what seems perverse is that in the same period the rich and powerful seem to have increased their hold on the positions of influence. Private schools educate only seven per cent of the population but seem to have tightened their grip on public life. We witness this nor only in the current cabinet but the vast majority of judges, newspaper editors and commentators. Increasingly even our musicians and comedians come from the privileged environment of private education. I am not sure what the Gallagher brothers and Peter Kay would make of that! Allied with this concentration of power has come a concentration of opportunities in London and the south-east. Far too many of my generation have to make the trek south to find worthwhile careers adding to the problems of congestion and housing costs in the capital.
So what can a future Labour government do to counter some of these trends and create more opportunities for the many in a balanced economy? Education is critical and we as a party have to think hard about what our offer is.
Here in Oldham we have the full plethora of the various educational initiatives – faith schools, academies, university technical colleges, further education and sixth form college, free Schools as well as a well-regarded fee-paying school. All of them have something to offer but the point is that in this new educational market they have little incentive to work together or to work with the other agencies and organisations in the town. It is no accident that I am the cabinet member for employment and skills as well as education. Oldham made a massive contribution to the industrial revolution and the wealth of the nation 100 years ago but now like many northern towns has to find a new future for its citizens. To do that we have to encourage young people to acquire the relevant skills and confidence to apply successfully for the jobs on offer. One of the worst outcomes of the last decade has been the marginalisation of the schools careers service. To help rectify this we have been working with our local businesses to provide both work experience and relevant careers advice for school leavers. I also believe that part of the reason for the domination of the professions and top universities by the private schools is that they focus on building confidence and contacts as well as qualifications. We need to think about how we can do the same with all our state schools.
Education also cannot be divorced from the reality of the economy. Many young people struggle to find worthwhile jobs, add this to the current burden of student loans of over £50,000 for a university education and we are creating a system where there are more losers than winners.
In Oldham we have decided we cannot wait until the general election to start resolving these problems and have started on three major initiatives that build on our ambition to become a cooperative borough where everyone both contributes and reaps the rewards:
‘The Oldham Promise’ – in association with our local businesses we will guarantee all school leavers the opportunity of a job, apprenticeship, training, further education or a route into self-employment. This is a tall order but absolutely vital if we want to provide the incentive for all young people to work hard.
‘Oldham Scholarships’ – an opportunity for some hard-working students from every school and college in the borough who would not have had the opportunity otherwise to continue onto university with the benefit of a scholarship scheme.
‘Oldham Enterprise Trust’ – thanks to the generosity of Norman Stoller, a self-made businessman who donated a million pounds to the people of Oldham, we have established an enterprise trust to promote enterprise and entrepreneurialism among young people and support them to set up their own businesses.
What is critical here is not that Oldham council wants to be in charge of these initiatives but that we act as a catalyst to bring on the talents and energy of local people and organisations. That is the role of modern local government and the future of the Labour party.
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Amanda Chadderton is cabinet member for education, employment and skills on Oldham council. She tweets @CllrAmandaOL2
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