Opinion: Government and teachers’ realities are increasingly worlds apart

Dr Alice Bradbury (UCL Institute of Education) comments on the A-levels exam results controversy and how this has served to increase distrust in the UK Government from parents and the teaching sector. The fiasco over A level exams over the last week followed by the U-turn on advice on the use of face masks in schools has widened a gulf between the teaching profession and government which has been opening up through the course of this crisis. The disastrous handling of A level results in England demonstrated to a wider audience a problem which many teachers and school leaders have become familiar with through the course of the pandemic: a government which produces education policy based on a startling lack of familiarity with the sector, an absence of concern for the individual child, and an indifference towards those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The much-maligned algorithm, for example, was designed to 'correct' teacher grade predictions, but disproportionately impacted on schools with lower prior attainment. The upshot is that teachers' lack of trust in government has intensified during the pandemic. Many teachers feel government decisions have exposed a huge gap between policy and the reality of life in schools, and they do not feel listened to. Communication and consultation with schools has been a real problem.