I have now lost faith in the system and will be sending my child to an independent school, like most politicians do

Dr John Brennan, UK

I have been a teacher in inner city comprehensives for ten years and wanted Labour to shake up education and address the real issues of pay and pupil discipline. I have now lost faith in the system and will be sending my child to an independent school, like most politicians do.
Dr John Brennan, UK

I am a school governor, so I know that schools are currently hard pressed. If I really believed the government was sincere in what they say I might support it, but the steady expansion of prescribed activities (literacy hour, numeracy hour and so on) demonstrates that what the government really want is absolute control, while retaining the ability to blame the teachers if things fail. The only bright spot is that at least the current government believes in state education to some degree. My training is in control systems. I see education as a complex multivariable system with many unknowns and several very long time delays. Common sense dictates that you control such a system by applying very small control inputs. Constant, rapid changes to inputs will result in chronic instability. Perhaps the Department for Education would do well to hire a couple of control systems engineers who can explain this to them in simple terms.
Guy Chapman, UK

Who will do all this innovation? - yes, yet again, the hard pressed classroom teacher.
Sue Redmond, Herts

Many of the government's flagship schemes and policies for UK education have only been implemented in England. There is no national curriculum in Scotland, Ofsted and specialist schools aren't found in any other part of the UK. Yet despite this 'disadvantage' standards in these countries are rising. In part due to the fact that they offer higher pay and better conditions. Will this latest scheme lead to improved conditions and standards or just be a case of style over substance or change for changes sake?
SLJ, England

Haven't you got anything better to do, Estelle?

David cooper, UK

Enough! In the last couple of years, We've had Key Skills come and go, GNVQs being phased out, new GCSE and A Level syllabuses to get to grips with, Curriculum 2000 for KS3 to implement, literacy and numeracy strategies, etc etc. Haven't you got anything better to do, Estelle?
David cooper, UK

As an educator, this smells of two-tier education. Those that can raise money get more, those that struggle are left to suffer.
The Labour government has lost its way with education. Teachers don't want private initiatives; they want fair pay and even more, fairer conditions. What other profession, having studied for a minimum of 4 years, will earn �28K per annum at most and work 60+ hours per week, suffer abuse and ridicule and be condemned by most politicians? None.
David, UK

Yes - free up schools - let them become independent, run themselves and succeed - or fail - on their merits. An end to fixed pay scales for teachers, a rigidly fixed curriculum and the failed "one-size-tries-to-fit-all- but-really-fits-nobody" approach of the bog-standard comprehensive. Go to it - your children will thank you for it!
David Moran, Scotland/Australia

Ask them what education they had then do our damndest to copy it widely

Simon Mallett, UK

If we designed cars the way we educate people we would ban the designers from seeing the longer-term successes and failures of car design. As with designing cars, why not select the most successful part of society and the most successful generation within that part of society. Ask them what education they had then do our damndest to copy it widely - regardless of whether they enjoyed it or not. I believe we would have quite a few surprises, but would improve our education system rather than satisfy the 'bright ideas' fraternity's desire to make their mark.
Simon Mallett, UK

Our schools don't need more 'freedom' or 'flexibility'; they need more staff and resources!
Ben Drake, York, UK

My wife is a schoolteacher. Before introducing 'innovations', schools first need some obvious basic measures to be carried out. These are: to pay teachers a fair wage compared to other professions - in order to attract and to keep good staff - and to give teachers sufficient time to spend on teaching instead of continually changing things and introducing new tests and paperwork.
Peter, Bristol

Educational standards should be high but achievable for the majority

Yarma, UK

I think this is a great idea. Educators are generally the ones who have direct experience of children, schools as an institution and educational philosophy. There are too many people giving outdated opinions about the education system, supposedly justified by the fact that they know all about education simply because they went to school. Times change. Educational standards should be high but achievable for the majority. I bet there are kids who still leave school with nothing because they were bored or didn't have the skills to pass exams.

Learning should be fun and useful. Kids should foster a real appreciation and love of learning with a relevant curriculum based a lot on what interests them. Let's give teachers more say and allow for creativity and initiatives within the classroom. Perhaps then we'll produce responsible citizens who can go out and live into the world rather than fight against a system in which you are judged on GCSE and A level grades.
Yarma, UK

More freedom sounds good at face value, until one realises that it is just another way for the government to abdicate its responsibilities and hand over power to big business via PFI.
P, UK

This is simply applying fundamentalist capitalist ideology to the general education of future generations - it's just another way of making some schools better than others. Creating elitism and advantage for a minority of already advantaged schoolchildren from a very early age is a disgraceful way of creating showcase schools in the name of government propaganda.
Richard, UK

I feel the continuous changes in the education system have completely destroyed my son's education. He had so much potential a few years ago, but now seems to have gone off the rails. I have half a mind to keep him at home and teach him myself.
Barbara Bailey, UK

Schoolchildren are just being used as political footballs

David Harris, UK

A good school will not necessarily get the best results in the league tables but will inspire its pupils to be imaginative and creative. Yet again pupils are going to suffer because of government ideology which is designed to further weaken the unions. Schoolchildren are just being used as political footballs.
David Harris, UK

Hang on a moment, innovation is great and will teach the kids lots, but would longer school years mean dumping even more work on teachers who are at breaking point as it is. I think we need to have a rethink on this one.
Rachel, UK

I think it's about time politicians stopped messing about with education and left the people who know what they are doing to get on with the job. For too long now (at least 30 years to my knowledge) there have been endless changes of emphasis and new "initiatives", most of which show anything but initiative. For once, politicians on all sides should lay off the education system and stop seeing it as an opportunity to make a name for themselves.
David Hazel, UK