Labour's plan for schools can be summarised as follows: Deliver high and rising standards in early education With childcare that delivers life chances for children as well as work choices for parents Boosting early language skills and spotting children who need support sooner Support all our children to achieve and thrive With free breakfast clubs … Continue reading What does a Labour government mean for edcuation?
Author: Bruce Levitan
New anti-bullying guidance for Church of England schools published
The Church of England has published new anti-bullying guidance for use in its 4,700 Church schools. This is currently out for consultationn - closing date: 31 July 2024. The document, entitled ‘Guidance for preventing and tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying’ is the first of a new suite of resources and will come into effect … Continue reading New anti-bullying guidance for Church of England schools published
All about Oracy
Oracy as a term was coined by Andrew Wilkinson in 1965 to describe ‘general ability in the oral skills’. Schools Week are running a series of articvles about this, and you can find the first two artcles as noted below: What is oracy? The four defining traits of classroom talk (Schools Week) Why you should … Continue reading All about Oracy
Stark decline in girls studying computing could harm the UK’s ambition to be a tech ‘superpower’
A new report by King’s College London, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, highlights how fewer girls in England are studying computing at secondary school since the curriculum became narrower in scope and the authors call on the incoming government to take action to address the problem. The researchers note that the number of girls in … Continue reading Stark decline in girls studying computing could harm the UK’s ambition to be a tech ‘superpower’
Issues for schools requiring RAAC buildings works
An atrticle from Schools Week highlights the continuing issues for schools in respect of keeping their buildings up to scratch. It highighhts the fact that some schools have had requests turned down by Ministers, and that the system is very unbalanced. You can read the article on their website, here.
What happens to bright 5-year-olds from poor backgrounds?
The results of a longitudinal study by John Jerrim and Maria Palma Carvajal of the UCL Social Research Institute conclude that "We find that "the cognitive skills of bright 5-year-olds from low-income families keep pace with those of children from high-income families through to the end of primary school. However, the transition into secondary is … Continue reading What happens to bright 5-year-olds from poor backgrounds?
Understanding current practice and research priorities in teaching Writing
A new report from The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) focuses on furthering the understanding of current practice and research priorities in teaching Writing. Key findings include: Similarities in schools between all key stages in terms of their approaches and/or programmes to teach Writing, and how the decisions on the approach to Writing are made and … Continue reading Understanding current practice and research priorities in teaching Writing
How do the last five years measure up on levelling up?
The IFS has issued a new report looking at the effectiveness of the Levelling Up strategy. It covers more than just education, but in the case of education it finds that The share of pupils in England meeting the expected standards at the end of primary school has fallen from 65% in 2018–19 to 60% … Continue reading How do the last five years measure up on levelling up?
Free breakfast clubs in schools
An article by the Institute for Fiscal Studies looks at the issue of school breakfast clubs and analyses Labour's promise to expand provision to all primary schools. Some of their conclusions are: breakfast clubs can be a cheap way to provide nutritional support to children; breakfast clubs have been shown to boost grades; breakfast clubs … Continue reading Free breakfast clubs in schools
The private schools debate is asking all the wrong questions
The Guardian's Eva Wiseman column observes that Private schools don’t put children first, they put everyone else last She goes on to argue that the key issue around this debate - which isn;t being mentioned - is that the children at state schools are suffering. She concludes by saying "I’m starting to feel ... increasingly … Continue reading The private schools debate is asking all the wrong questions
What do SEN parents want would-be MPs to know?
This aticle from BBC News (Essex) highlights parents' concerns that SEN does not figure highly enough on political parties' agendas. SEN is an increasingly serious issue in schools across the country - including Derbyshire - so this is a timely article. It usefully summarieses what each party is promising around SEN. You can read the … Continue reading What do SEN parents want would-be MPs to know?
Outcomes for pupils suspended in primary school
This interesting, but unsurprising, article from the Education Policy Institute found that suspended pupils left primary school having not met the expected standard in reading and maths, and in fact suspended pupils were, on average, approximately 10 months behind their not-suspended peers. You can read the full article on their website, here.
Problems with SEND provision
Several articles focus on the issues with SEND funding - here are a few of them: Schools Week has documented the growing crisis; BBC: Councils in England are forecasting a massive shortfall in budgets for SEND; The Guardian: Record 576,000 pupils have special needs support plan in England; The Independent: Children with special needs are … Continue reading Problems with SEND provision
The State of Governance in England’s Schools and Trusts
A new report from the NGA focuses on the State of Governance in England's Schools and Trusts. It draws upon the analysis of external reviews of governance (ERG) reports from the National Leaders of Governance (NLG) programme and NGA's wider sector intelligence. The report identifies eight common governance challenges and provides practical insights and resources … Continue reading The State of Governance in England’s Schools and Trusts
Recruitment and Retention in 2024
The Teacher Tapp and SchoolDash annual report on teacher recruitment and retention provides insights into the current state of the teaching profession in England. The report covers a number of topics: Primary School Recruitment; Secondary School Recruitment; Teacher Availability for September; Technician Posts; The Education Quality Challenge in Disadvantaged Schools; Perceptions of Teaching in Disadvantaged … Continue reading Recruitment and Retention in 2024
dsga.org.uk 