Political intervention in schools is 'counterproductive and damaging', say teaching experts in a letter to the Guardian

Politicians are damaging Britain's schools by attempting to control everything that goes on in the classroom, a letter from 14 leading education academics argues in today's Guardian.

The professors accuse MPs from all political parties of devising policies that micro-manage the school curriculum, teaching methods and pupils' tests.

Led by Michael Bassey, an emeritus professor of Nottingham Trent University, they call on politicians to stop meddling with schools – "de-politicise them" – and place trust back with teachers.

"It is time to shift the prime responsibility for education towards schools and colleges and so enable teachers to build the public trust they deserve and need ... to be effective guardians, with parents, of the ... young," the letter states. "What happens in classrooms should no longer be micro-managed by government, irrespective of who wins the election."

The professors argue that while political intervention was necessary by 1988, when the national curriculum was introduced, "it is now counterproductive and damaging".

This intervention appears in the form of national tests in maths and English sat by 10- and 11-year-olds – formerly known as Sats, the professors argue.

Headteachers' jobs are under threat if their pupils fail to achieve the required standard in the tests. As a result, the school timetable is geared towards cramming children and teachers are forced to stick to the government's curriculum.

"Much of the school timetable in the final years [of primary school] focuses on preparing for the tests and in many schools, the neurosis spreads from teachers to children ... the widely accepted need for an all-round education becomes subordinated to two subjects – numeracy and literacy. Thus the educational experience of children is damaged," the professors argue. "In all classrooms, children follow a tight regime of lessons where most teachers rarely dare to be spontaneous, but more or less rigidly stick to the government's curriculum and pedagogy rule books."

The Conservatives and Labour have pledged to keep Sats, although the Conservatives are considering moving the tests to the first year of secondary school.

Classrooms have been further politicised by the school inspectorate, Ofsted, the professors argue. If schools cannot provide evidence that they have adopted government initiatives, they are given a poor report, the academics claim.

Government-set targets, such as that at least 30% of pupils in a secondary school should achieve five A* to C grades, including maths and English, are "political gestures ... [which] can damage ... young people's learning," the professors write.

"Schools and colleges should shape classroom practice. What is taught (the curriculum), how it is taught (pedagogy), whether it is learned successfully (assessment) and how effectively each school tackles its tasks (evaluation) should properly be the local province of teachers, working collegially and supported by school governors, neighbouring schools, parents, a constructive inspectorate and, nationally, educational researchers," they argue.

The academics call for the creation of a National Education Council, which would be an independent body that gives advice to schools based on research of what works in classrooms across the world.

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