Upcoming Project: The Education Campaign

The Education Campaign is an emerging project due to be launched at the turn of the year. The RSA is working with a range of experts to development the Campaign, and are consulting Fellows on the concept and potential impact at local level.

What is it?

The Education Campaign will define a broad and progressive vision for 21st Century education in Britain, communicate that vision to parents, students, and teachers, and stimulate practical change in local areas.

How would the Campaign work?

The Campaign, which is currently in its first stage, has three phases:

• First, the Campaign will bring together a Charter for 21st Century Education to express the vision for the nature and purpose of schooling that we believe is shared by many parents, teachers, students and educationalists.
• Secondly, the Campaign would promote this vision in a high profile national publicity campaign centred on the launch of the Charter.
• Thirdly, using real-life examples of inspiring initiatives in schools across the country, the campaign will make people aware of the potential for radical change in schools within the current legal and policy framework. The Campaign will stimulate action by creating new connections between people at local level.

Why do we think is it necessary?

Educationalists have long been talking about creativity, the importance of children enjoying learning and developing the capacity and desire to carry on learning throughout life, the untapped potential in teachers as creative professionals, and the problems that result from expecting thousands of diverse individuals all to learn in exactly the same way. Most people, we believe, want their children to be happy, and to become capable individuals who are able to choose and pursue their own goals in life.

However, the media debate remains dominated by falling standards, SATs results, league tables, discipline, teachers' pay and class sizes. The questions of how we educate children and what we are educating children for are left unaddressed.

The current accountability framework discourages schools from innovating, and restricts students' potential learning by focusing narrowly achievement in exams. Many schools are afraid to change or do not know what is possible within the current framework.

RSA projects like Opening Minds which have been taken up in around 175 schools are gaining increasing support and excellent innovative practice is happening in many schools. More is possible than most people think.

The Education Campaign seeks to start a national debate about the purpose and practice of schooling in Britain. By bridging the gap between what is possible and what is believed to be possible, the Campaign seeks to empower parents, teachers and students to think about what they really want for their local school, and then to make it happen.

How can I get involved?