The likelihood of a surge of parent power in British schooling under a future Conservative-led government has met with an ambivalent response in the current affairs magazine, Prospect. The possible adoption of the “Swedish model” allowing businesses, charities and parents to open schools funded by the government makes Prospect deputy editor James Crabtree slightly nervous.

In an essay entitled, “They run your school, your mum and dad”, Crabtree accepts the trend of greater parental involvement in schools but finds the idea of parents “actually starting schools” and “oddly challenging vision” because “we don’t, after all, imagine patients starting hospitals, or commuters building roads.” (A comparison that fails to appreciate the role of parents as the first educators of their children.) He quotes someone who says a parent-led system is “dangerously susceptible to enthusiasts” -- “enthusiast” being a euphemism for “painful… click here to read whole article and make comments