Since the GE is over now maybe I can add two pence worth?
I was taught in a calls of 48+ when I was at school. We had outside toilets, shared books and often had no writing materials. It was cold in winter (the school milk provided free at point of delivery of course was frozen in winter and we used to put it on the radiators to thaw before break.
Neither was the classroom designed to take 48+ pupils.
This was the mid 1960's/ early 1970's.
Yet most learned to read and write and had an education of sorts which was probably superior to that most are getting today.
It wasn't that the teachers were any better. Most had come through a system where they had taken a Cert Ed based on having a School Leaving Certificate which had five matriculated subjects on it (Later called O levels). A good number were also post war trained teachers who had taken the one year course in teaching when they got out of the forces. Graduates were mostly only found in independent schools or Grammar schools.
What was different was that most children were well disciplined and self disciplined too. They paid attention, were quiet (largely) when told to be so. They didnt answer back. They were obedient to authority.
There was far less disruption and most of all, there were no children with any kind of learning difficulties or educational needs in those classrooms. Such children went to different schools in rather larger numbers than now and had special teachers.
Nowadays the biggest problem facing a teacher is just hanging on to classroom control in the face of children who simply have not learned to be obedient to authority, who have no self discipline ( anhd if you try to impose any , their parents are in the school, in your face and shouting the odds in aggressive tones - no better than their offspring)). Add to that children with a multitude of learning needs and emotional issues ( and lets not forget language difficulties too as that is an issue that would not have existed at all in my days at school) and basically classes become unteachable. Even control and management are difficult.
Throwing money at schools ( or removing it) wont make any difference until there is a will to change that social pattern. No one wants to address that.
The biggest privileged pupils in an independent school have is that their parents care enough to have taught them some basic manners such that they do not pose discipline or other difficulties in class. Most parents ( like it or not) are paying to remove their children from the more challenging behaviour and issues described above. They pay more than anything else to remove their children from those with "special needs" too...... not PC but it is what goes on.
Where independent schools may sometimes take children with some educational learning needs parents of those children will pay twice - once for the school and then for their LSA to accompany that child in classes and , min may independents, if your child causes problems, they are invited to leave at as soon as they can get a parent into the school to collect them ( and they are not allowed back!).
Now, I know that reality check there may not go down well.
Angela Rayner lashes out and calls Sunak “pint sized loser”.
