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I don't think Labour have 'failed' miserably, although I am not saying that the system is a complete success. Over their 13 years, Labour have almost doubled the spending per student, showing a clear commitment to education. This has been able to facilitate smaller class and supporting teachers. However we are still a long way off the level of funding (% to GDP) provided to Scandinavian countries, which amuses me because the Conservatives rightly see Sweden etc as successful in education (as do educationalists) but are happy to cut funding, the opposite of the Scandinavian approach.
The arbitrary statistics set largely by the National Curriculum are more representative of demographics and do little to improve standards. The achievement (or not) of these standards are just used as a beating stick and a desperate way of proving that the state could learn a lot from the private sector. But then Public Schools (An antiquated term that speaks volumes about class bigotry) do not have to follow the National Curriculum and so can concentrate on education rather than meeting mindless targets. Bureaucracy is generally a fault of the Left, but the Tories did a pretty good job of introducing plenty. Double the funding to the state and introduce the NC to private schools, let's see how they compare then.
Also our new government propose the abolition of CVA (contextual data) to their 'League Tables' ensuring schools and pupils in more deprived areas are reminded of their 'failure' (by the governments definition). E.g. A child in Dover may make more progress in his/her education than one in Tonbridge Wells, yet still 'fail' because this is below a national average. The teachers in such a context possibly work harder than those in Tonbridge Wells yet their school is placed under scrutiny by HM Inspectors.
I don't think that paying teachers more is the answer (although this may entice more from industry). It is a case of providing more funding, getting class sizes down (thus improving discipline, something people seem to think is a case of beating) and offering every child the chance of a good education (not necessarily wholly academic) irrelevant of wealth. Then we can see people pull themselves up through society, rather than be put in place by an antiquated system of privilege.