Here is the comment I made near the end of the online form. I decided to take the opportunity to speak my mind about the whole process of consultation, right from the beginning. Unfortunately, I referred to the Royal Society of Engineers by mistake rather than the Royal Academy of Engineering. It was a simple mistake which I hope won’t undermine the legitimacy of my statement.
I also took the opportunity to say what I think about the constant messages from ‘on high’ about ICT being ‘boring’. I think it undermines teachers, and from that point of view is unforgivable.
Anyway, here’s what I said:
As far as Computing is concerned, the original consultation involved organisations which have no idea of how children learn and develop, namely the BCS and RSEngineers, and individuals from several organisations who were, in fact, linked by their commitment to computing before the process even started; there were not enough teachers involved, and none of the very good ICT practice was considred, and none of the very experienced and commended ICT teachers consulted. Therefore, a great opportunity has been missed to create a really exciting and fit for purpose new PoS which would have satisfied the aims of the computing advocates without alienating the other excellent people involved. And whay were pupils not consulted?
I also feel very strongly that the Government message, whether stated or implied, that ICT is boring has led to people who have evidently not even read the original PoS to comment publicly to that effect. It is making dedicated and hardworking and highly effective ICT teachers feel they are being undermined professionally and personally. The pupils are also getting this message, possiby making them feel they have wasted the last few years. How is any of this useful? Government personnel should take a leaf out of Spider-man's book: "With great power comes great responsibility"
Other responses in which you may be interested
You will find it useful to read Peter’s history of this process.