Author: Bruce Levitan

Were the year 6 SAT English reading tests more difficult than previous years?

~ Bruce Levitan

There has been a lot of media coverage on the apparent difficulty of this year's SATs English reading tests. You can read the official government repsonse here, where they describe the process by which the tests are created and trialled. The conclusion is that "Evidence from these processes indicated that the tests were of similar … Continue reading Were the year 6 SAT English reading tests more difficult than previous years?

SEND improvement plan

~ Bruce Levitan

In March the government announced its new SEND and alternative provision improvement plan which is available here. The Minister in charge of SEND, Claire Coutinho MP, noted "We will develop new national standards, covering early years, schools, colleges and alternative provision, so that parents and teachers know what should be ordinarily available" in a blog … Continue reading SEND improvement plan

NGA joins education coalition to stage ‘save our schools’ lobby of parliament

~ Bruce Levitan

From the NGA website: Teachers, leaders, support staff and governors are joining forces to lobby MPs for a better deal for schools, colleges and children. Members will be highlighting to their MPs the unprecedented crisis facing the sector in particular as a result of the underfunding of education, staff shortages and the rising pressure on … Continue reading NGA joins education coalition to stage ‘save our schools’ lobby of parliament

Take the NGA’s annual governor survey

~ Bruce Levitan

The National Governance Association (NGA) has just launched its thirteenth annual survey for governors, trustees, and local academy committee members in state schools across England. The survey covers a range of themes, including challenges facing schools and trusts, pupil success and wellbeing, and Ofsted. Responses to the survey will be used to amplify the voice of school governance in … Continue reading Take the NGA’s annual governor survey

Calling all governors – We need your insights!

~ Bruce Levitan

This message comes from Governors for Schools Are you a governor who feels passionately about inclusion in the education sector? Perhaps you’re unsure how this broad topic affects your role and want to find new ways to help young people succeed? Whatever your background, we’d love to hear from you. We’re looking to conduct brief, 30-minute … Continue reading Calling all governors – We need your insights!

Laura Kuenssberg interviews Amanda Spielman, Ofsted chief inspector

~ Bruce Levitan

In today's (24 April 2023) "Sunday with  Laura Kuenssberg", an interview with Amanda Spielman, Ofsted chief inspector, looked at the recent tragic events around Caversham Primary, and subsequent calls for changes to Ofsted (including scrapping it completely). Spielman remained confident that Ofsted has a part to play, but separated the politics - where decsions are made by … Continue reading Laura Kuenssberg interviews Amanda Spielman, Ofsted chief inspector

National Leaders of Governance programme to end

~ Bruce Levitan

National Leaders of Governance (NLGs) are experienced college governors, governance professionals and clerks with a strong record of supporting college improvement. They provide mentoring and improvement support to governance boards. The current leaders are listed on the DfE website here. A useful summary of what they do can be found on the Edapt website here. The programme … Continue reading National Leaders of Governance programme to end

The Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership

~ Bruce Levitan

Derby City Council, Derbyshire County Council, Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board and Derbyshire Constabulary (the Statutory partners) work in partnership with relevant agencies such as health providers, schools and education settings, probation providers and others to improve local safeguarding arrangements and hold each other to account as to how they are keeping children safe. … Continue reading The Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership

Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders

~ Bruce Levitan

A long term research project, "Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders" is entering its second year. Initial findings have not yet been published, but Schools Week has obtrained some of the results, and reports on them here. They note that teachers’ average working week is 48.7 hours long, Senior leaders’ average week now stands at 56.8 hours.