Stockport Governor Association

Reinventing Schools, Reforming Teaching: from political visions to 
classroom reality

John
Bangs, John
Macbeath
and Maurice
GaltonRoutledge, 2011

For the coalition government, like the Labour and Conservative governments before it, education is a key policy area. This book
looks at how policy decisions translate into
real school practice. It asks questions. What happened in the past? Why is there always a gap between policy and practice? The questions were addressed to
37 people ‐ politicians,journalists, union officials, academics, teachers and members of lobby groups, think
tanks and education bodies. 

The book
gives a fascinating insight into how some of the policies we know so well, such as the National Curriculum and Every Child Matters, came into being. It throws light on the emergence of SIPs and Ofsted. It tells how some big ideas, suchas the Tomlinson proposals for 14‐19, widely welcomed in the education world, failed to
make it to
 the statue book. As the book 
was being written, in the weeks running up to the 2010 General Election, political parties were promoting reforms and new initiatives, presenting their ideas in glowing colours.

Now we are all facing significant change, so
 the book
is timely. It reminds us that we cannot always foresee how political promises will emerge in the everyday working of a school. It points out that political decisions about education are not always made from an entirely education‐centred perspective. It explores the constraints under which governments work, and looks at the nature of that gap between the worlds of schools and policy‐makers. Based on extensive interviews, the book includes many quotations, which engage the reader with the personalities and events. Although written in the manner of an academic report, the language is clear and lively enough to
 carry the reader along.

Some careless editing has left irritating examples of sloppy grammar and punctuation, but the arguments are well‐made. As to 
whether the current government will learn from the past, the jury is probably still out! While governors are only mentioned in passing, the writers acknowledge that some significant areas of debate, including governance, are not pursued. The issues raised, though, are of central concern to governors working to ensure that the professionals in our schools deliver our strategic vision. This is not just a book
 which will appeal to anyone who
 wants to
 understand why we are where we are, and how difficult it is to make robust, practicable and effective policy for schools, it is also 
a fascinating read.
 

Gillian Stunell