The mainstream media seem to like nothing better than stereotyping and sensationalism. The teaching unions’ conferences in the Easter holidays inevitably generate headlines designed to shock and alarm. This year the media focused on strikes, censure of Michael Gove and his many reforms, and the idea of refusing to co-operate with Ofsted.
During this conference period, state schools (and academies) are frequently characterised as rather wild places where teachers are often assaulted, pupils are pre-occupied with “sexting” and online pornography, and standards of education are generally low. Such stark caricatures hardly reflect what happens in most secondary schools.
At the opposite end of the media spectrum, all independent schools are portrayed as being like Eton, Winchester or Westminster, all of which are very wealthy schools with boarding pupils and hardly typical of the sector.
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