The school curriculum risks becoming a target-driven quagmire - Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Robert Dring, Washington, Tyne & Wear.

Dr Gurmit Singh treated us to a refreshing dose of common sense in his piece "How national education policy is holding back Yorkshire schools” (TYP, October 2). A wise deputy headteacher once said to me, "In education, pay is in direct proportion to distance from the classroom," a room where many issuers of directives to schools have never worked.

I heard of an academy empire that decrees which colour pen must be used for which type of marking! We must break out of this dismal straitjacket.

The school curriculum risks becoming a target-driven quagmire where only the measurable is valued, while lunch hours have shrunk, sport, music, drama and social activity struggle to find breathing space.

We really must stop putting obstacles in the way of voluntary extra-curricular activity. My wife and I ran the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme in the secondary school where we taught for many years.

Gradually it became a labyrinth of risk assessments, compliance requirements and hurdles to clear. At the time I served as Administrator in a church situated in a popular seaside resort. We ran a children's beach club each August with enjoyable, and entirely safe, activities.

Gaining permission from the Council for this event each year entailed ploughing through over 100 A4 pages of guidance, requirements and risk assessments! I decided to exact revenge.

Next time the Council asked to use our church hall as a polling station I requested a risk assessment. They responded by sending a blank risk assessment form for me, not them, to complete!

Clearly, compliance and risk management are just for the ‘little people’. For the sake of our young people's sanity it's time to stop putting up with all this. I hope we'll hear more from Dr Singh!