Nearly two out of three secondary school teachers in England and Wales support the Tomlinson Review of the school curriculum for 14-19 year olds, according to a MORI survey commissioned by the Sutton Trust and published today.

The survey, part of MORI’s Teachers’ Omnibus carried out among a representative sample of 364 teachers last November and December, found that only one fifth of teachers disagreed with the proposals for a four-level diploma, including a minimal 6% strongly disagreeing. This compares with 21% strongly agreeing, and 41% agreeing.

But the survey shows less enthusiasm for the Government’s plans to set up 200 academies, at a cost of over £20 million each. Only 6% of teachers strongly supported this initiative, while 20% strongly opposed it. Overall the teachers were split down the middle, with 36% in favour, 37% against, and a significant 20% undecided.

Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: “These two reforms will shape secondary education for years to come and so the opinions of teachers – who have to make them work on the ground – are critical. The view of the Sutton Trust is generally in line with the findings of the survey: we welcome Tomlinson’s attempts to broaden the curriculum, but have some concerns about the academies programme, particularly the high cost per academy.”

The Teachers’ Omnibus survey was carried out by MORI Social Research Institute between 5th November and 8th December 2004. The sample of 364 teachers was representative of the population of teachers in England and Wales by sex, age, Government Office Region and phase. Data have been weighted at the analysis stage.

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