... Between the period of 1976 and 2001 was extremely significant in the history of education in England and Wales. It started with a speech by the former Labour Prime Minister, James Callaghan. It happened on the 18th October 1976 at the Ruskin College, Oxford which signalled the 'Great Debate' on education. Callaghan called for a public debate on education which was to give full opportunity for employers, trades unions, parents, teachers and administrators, to make their views known. The curriculum did not pay a lot of attention to the basic skills of reading, writing and maths. Teachers did not have very good professional skills, and did not know how to discipline children or to encourage and praise them for their hard work or good manners. Underlying all this was the feeling that the educational system was out of touch with the fundamental need for Britain to survive economically in a ...

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