What Labour thinks of Charter Schools

Labour has announced that should it be elected to government next year, it will repeal the legislation enabling the establishment of Charter Schools, or as they are officially known, Partnership Schools.

Doubtless the education sector unions will be pleased at this. We suggested that to Labour's Education spokesman Chris Hipkins this afternoon, and were flabbergasted when we received this response:

If anything reinforces the perception that Labour's objection to Partnership Schools is driven by political ideology rather than concern for the 20% of students who are being failed by the current education system, it is a patronising attitude like this. "Ghetto schools" indeed; that's appalling.

Still; it's another reason to hope that Labour does not have any place in government after next year's election. Who knows; by 2017, Partnership Schools may even be making a significant difference to the education of those children who are failing in the conventional system. Then we'd be wondering what all the fuss was.