1. Education in the UK

2. Lesson Objectives I will get the opportunity to apply my understanding of the principles of the Welfare State to the different education systems of Scotland and England. I will get the opportunity to take part in a debate on whether or not higher education should be free in Scotland.

3. One giant – four principles Remember “one giant” that would be tackled in the post- war era would be ignorance. Ignorance would be tackled by expansion and investment in education. However this giant would be challenged around the four principles; Collectivist Comprehensive Equality Universal. Remember education includes from nursery to university.

4. Two models of education ScotlandEngland Free university education. EMA – money to help S5/S6 students to stay on. Curriculum for Excellence – aim is to close the attainment gap. Free school meals for P1 to P3 since 2010 – although this has not been implemented due to cuts. University fees of £9,000 per year. Bursary – similar to EMA. Return to rota learning and tougher exams – aim is to improve standards. Free school meals for P1 to P3 from 2014 – announced by Clegg in September.

5. The Motions Motion 1 – England should follow Scotland’s lead and re-introduce free university education. Motion 2 – Both the UK and Scottish Government should expand their provision of free school meals to every school pupil up to the end of primary school.

6. Class Debate You should be in groups of four for this task (hint four principles). You will have ten minutes in your group to adopt your position. Come up with reasons to argue in favour or against the two statements – remember to apply the principles of the welfare state to your reasoning. Each group will take part in the debate A closing speech/summing up is required by each group at the end of the debate. This should be around 1 minute long.

7. Task Person 1 Read the article “The education class ceiling.” To what extent does free university education in Scotland meet the original aims of the welfare state? Person 2 Read the article “Are free school meals a good idea?” To what extent does the Coalition’s plans to introduce free school meals for primary 1 to 3 meet the original principles of the welfare state? You should be in pairs for this task.

8. The Education Class Ceiling Scotland It is collectivist in nature as it is free this should encourage people from every background to attend. However young people from poorer backgrounds are less likely to go – e.g. in 2008-09 no students from a manual background went to St Andrews. It is comprehensive in nature as Scotland has increased support for young people attending university – from August 2013 this means they will receive bursaries/loans of £7000 per year if family income is less than £17,000. England It is not collectivist in nature as young people are charged up to £9000 per year to attend university – Oxford University has asked for this to be increased to £16,000 per year. However English universities are spending more to encourage poorer students attend e.g. in 2010/11 over £370 million compared to £10 million in Scotland. It is not comprehensive in nature as fees are charged. However support is available for those on low incomes e.g. every English university has to provide details of support for low income families and outreach programmes.

9. Are free school meals a good idea? Yes – Magic Breakfasts Universal free school meal policy is a good idea because it will help improve the education and health of the next generation. Universal approach is important as 400,000 children in England don’t claim a free school meal they are entitled to due to stigma. Equality is improved as the gap in education is closed e.g. in Durham a free school meal pilot site – pupils were on average two months ahead of their peers. Comprehensive as it will help reduce malnutrition – the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has said there are 10,000 children hospitalised due to this. For 1 in 4 children the only hot meal they receive is at school. Long term impact – help reduce obesity and the £6 billion spent annually on dealing with the health related problems. It works – schools that took part in the pilot reported improved concentration and behaviour and better grades. No – Institute of Economic Affairs Universal – it is not the job of government to provide lunch for every child – that is the job of the parents – only the most disadvantaged should be helped. Universality – the country cannot afford universal policies as welfare spending is too high. Equality is not improved as the state funds free lunches for the children of millionaires – help should be targeted to those in most need. The policy is a gimmick to win votes – if it was a serious policy to reduce hardship taxpayers would not pay for the children of millionaires to have “free lunches.”

10. Conclusions The issue of funding of education, whether it is university funding or free school meals will remain a source of debate both in England and Scotland. Policies such as free university education in Scotland and free school meals from primary 1 to 3 are clearly comprehensive and universal in nature and it therefore can be claimed that they are keeping in with the original aims of the Welfare State. However in reality these policies appear to offer greater benefit to those who already do well and therefore has the Welfare State offered more than “a safety net?” e.g. 35% of Scottish students attending St Andrews went to private school. On the other hand, should the Welfare State, as suggested by the Institute of Economic Affairs, “……the obligation on the state be to spend less but spend where it is most needed.”