I realise that in writing this blog I will probably be seen as an enemy of the state (or perhaps even of the ‘Big Society’) or perhaps even as a ‘defender of failure’? I am neither. I am the Head of an Independent School that is a unique place where all are valued irrespective of their family history; where not just top academics are admitted and where all are valued for who they are and who they want to be. My own education was at Maintained Primary, Middle and Secondary Schools. All of these were very small. The Secondary School was brand new and we were the first year through. I gained my First Class Honours Degree from Trent Polytechnic and I am proud of my achievements and I am proud of all the places I studied and worked in.

The latest debate over education and standards seems to me to have missed the point. David Cameron talks of our ‘broken society’; he says that it’s clear what works. Well I think that it is clear what works but that it’s a million miles from his understanding.

People succeed in endeavour due to a variety of influences. Teachers, physical surrounding, parents and family, peer group, intrinsic aspiration and competition with oneself are some of the commonly identified influences. One that seems to have been lost is the sense of belonging. I am talking about education here but I could equally be talking about the recent riots or youth offending and re-offending.

Schools such as St Chris have a strong sense of identity. The people involved feel deeply protective of this identity and want to nurture it and to do well by it. They feel part of the community and care for it in all of its guises – the building, the grounds, the other people here and indeed our local community. The same goes for schools who wear their identity more openly in the form of a uniform who also have a deeper sense of belonging. Why else would Old Scholars remain in such close contact and care for their alma mater?

Yesterday I was at Adams Park with my 14 year old son to watch the Wasps play Leicester Tigers. The stands were packed and there was a real sense of community. I didn’t hear one swear word. I saw people taking each other’s litter to the bins. We were greeted like old friends by the people sitting around us. The sense of community was palpable. The sense of respect equally so.

This morning in Morning Talk I talked about the 9/11 anniversary and some of the conspiracy theories associated with that terrible event. Albert played the saxophone and all 450+ of us shared a silence. Deeply respectful.

If there was one thing that I would do to improve standards it would be to reduce the size of Schools so that each Head knows every member of staff and every pupil. Not just their names but who they are, where they come from and where they want to go.

In order to drive up standards it will not be enough to declare which subjects are more important than others. It will not be enough to create an environment which is alien to young people. It will not be enough to spout rhetoric about ‘bringing back the values of a good education’ (backward thinking – oh joy…). What the education system needs is engagement and a desire to belong and we will only get this when young people feel that we are taking an interest in them personally and not them in terms of a statistic on a value-added spreadsheet.

So, do I defend failure? No, I offer no defence for an Education Secretary and Government that is alienating young people and the people that do care deeply for them. I offer no defence for a systems driven education that fails to nurture aspiration. I offer no defence for a man who says that if I don’t agree with him then I must be defending failure.

Richard Palmer