That same government, though, was also promoting 'social inclusion' - the principle that all groups in society are entitled to equal access to services. Education was no exception, and the Department for Education and Skills described inclusion as the keystone of education policy. In its current strategy for Special Educational Needs, entitled 'Removing Barriers to Achievement', it points out that "Inclusion is about much more than the type of school that children attend: it is about the quality of their experience; how they are helped to learn, achieve and participate fully in the life of the school."

An inclusive approach to schooling demands breadth, openness, flexibility and diversity of practice, but this sits incongruously with an emphasis on competition between schools and the use of examination results to place schools in league tables. In their 'Index to inclusion ', a guide to inclusive school development, Professors Mel Ainscow and Tony Booth claim that "Many teachers argue that they have to work hard to minimise the excluding pressures from policies, which in encouraging competition between schools can lead to a narrow view of the achievement of students." The introduction of the literacy and numeracy strategies, whilst supposed to raise standards, have in fact led to an even greater focus on 'the basics'. It is not uncommon to visit schools where students in Year 2 and 6, preparing for their National Curriculum tests, spend little time on other areas of the curriculum. Some schools have appeared unwilling to offer places to students with learning impairments for fear that they will lower test results, which can often trigger an Ofsted inspection as well as a drop in the league table. Although Ofsted are now expected to grade a school's 'inclusivity', and from 2005, this grade will be taken into account in the league tables, the inspection and assessment of schools continue to be based on narrow definitions of what is meant by achievement and the ways it can be measured.

The tension between inclusive schooling and standards (as currently defined) provokes the kinds of fundamental questions raised by UNESCO: "... education is more than 'reading, writing and arithmetic', and there is a growing demand for education systems to address current conditions and problems in society, notably sustainable human development, peace and security, human rights, gender equality and the overall quality of life at individual, family, societal and global levels. This leads to the question of what, today, constitutes a quality education? How should it be defined and what should it include?"

Elsewhere in the world, educational success, including success in 'the basics', has been achieved without recourse to the narrow view we experience in UK schools. A survey of student achievement among 15-year-olds in forty-three countries published jointly by the OECD and UNESCO found that Finnish students were outstandingly successful in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy. In Finland, children start pre-school at the age of six and don't begin any formal education until they are seven. They will remain in the same school until they are 16. All students are taught in mixed ability classes and there is a very high level of student choice in the curriculum. There are no formal tests or exams until after the students are 16. The National Board of Education in Finland states: "We provide guidance and not criticism. We do not publish our research and nor do we create league tables of good or bad schools." Although there is a core curriculum, teachers are encouraged to be creative and to teach according to their own judgement about what will be most effective. This means that they are free to make professional judgements without being criticised for failing to reach set targets, and can use the curriculum as a tool with which to respond to student interest and stimulate ideas and creativity. A senior advisor at the Education Ministry in Helsinki commented, in September 2003, that they had had visiting governments from all over the world wanting to find out why they were so successful - but not from the UK.

The National Curriculum has been revised several times over the last 16 years and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is currently consulting on another revision. Interestingly, the introduction of a 'Foundation Stage', with its emphasis on real experiences and play, has led to some questioning over whether the curriculum in Key Stage 1 should be more reflective of the fact that play is a vital area of learning, and that real opportunities for play, with stimulating, well-made resources and toys and with other children their own age, supports pupils' achievement in all areas of the curriculum. Perhaps this will be the beginning of a wider and deeper critique of the current narrow and tightly-controlled educational scene. It might even be the beginning of a Great Debate.

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Content last updated: 05/05/2004

About our experts

Geoffrey Court began teaching in 1973, and worked for twelve years in inner-city primary schools, for most of that time in senior management positions. He also has considerable experience as an adult education tutor, in particular in a psychiatric social club. In 1985 he established what was to become The Circle Works, an educational charity offering children and adults in east London opportunities to "learn through reflective dialogue". In practice, this means providing sessions in school where children, especially those who are troubled, can explore their lives through talk, play and arts activities, and offering time and space where teachers and others can think purposefully about their work and its meaning. The Circle Works sees the group, including the community of the school class, as a rich source of learning in its own right, and plays a part in the nationwide web of organisations and individuals working with the connections between personal and interpersonal experience and learning.

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