This Schools Week article focuses on Catholic schools in London, but here in Derbyshire there is also some pressure for Church of England schools to academise - though not necessarily for the reasons noted by Schools Week.
Category: News
Speaking Up for the Covid Generation
A new report from I CAN paints a worrying picture for nearly 1.5 million children struggling to be able to speak and to understand what other people are saying to them. It is already clear that Covid and the lockdowns it has involved have had a huge effect on children’s education. Children of all ages … Continue reading Speaking Up for the Covid Generation
Government responds to Ofsted criticism in RE row
The BBC reported that Ofsted had criticised Wolverhampton's RE - in a report to Wolverhampton SACRE, Oftsed had said that the city's religious education was not sufficient to prepare young people for adult life in such a diverse and multicultural community. The BBC then approached the DfE for a response, and reports that they stated … Continue reading Government responds to Ofsted criticism in RE row
UK Poverty 2024
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published a report on the state of poverty in the UK, concluding that poverty has increased, close to pre-pandemic levels. Children have consistently had the highest poverty rates, while pensioners along with working-age adults without children now have the lowest. They note: We have now experienced nearly 3 tough years … Continue reading UK Poverty 2024
Ofsted’s work with schools – Education Committee Report
The House of Commons Education Committee has published its report on Ofsted. Some of the report's conclusions are: School inspections are not currently carried out in sufficient length or depth to cover the full range of areas of a school’s work. The short notice period appears to be causing operational difficulties for many schools. There … Continue reading Ofsted’s work with schools – Education Committee Report
ChatGPT in lesson preparation in secondary schools
The Education Endowment Foundation today announced a Teacher Choices trial exploring different approaches to lesson and resource preparation in KS3 Science. Specifically, this trial tests the impact of ChatGPT-assisted lesson and resource preparation on teacher time, with implementation support via a guide for teachers, against approaches unassisted by generative AI technology. This is open to … Continue reading ChatGPT in lesson preparation in secondary schools
Financial distress in local authorities – impact on SEND
In its report "Financial distress in local authorities" published today (1st February 2024) the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee comments in detail on the current funding issues in local authorities. This includes a chapter on SEND, in which it notes: The amount of funding provided by the Department for Education has not kept pace … Continue reading Financial distress in local authorities – impact on SEND
Digital leadership and governance standards
The DfE has updated its standards on digital leadership and governance. This includes coverage on: Assigning a senior leadership team (SLT) member to be responsible for digital technology Keeping registers relating to hardware and systems up to date Including digital technology within disaster recovery and business continuity plans Having a digital technology strategy that is … Continue reading Digital leadership and governance standards
EdCon 2024
EdCon, a free online conference hosted by law firm Browne Jacobson is being held online for four days from Monday 29 January 2024 to Thursday 1 February 2024. There is a wide ranging selection of topics including keynotes and workshops, for example: Keynotes on trust leadership and measuring success A live Q&A on using AI … Continue reading EdCon 2024
Understanding Attendance: Findings on the drivers of pupil absence
In the 2022-23 academic year, 22.3% of all pupils were persistently absent. ImpactEd Evaluation launched Understanding Attendance, a national project helping schools and trusts to identify the underlying drivers of pupil absence, and the first report from this project "Understanding Attendance: Findings on the drivers of pupil absence from over 30,000 young people in England" … Continue reading Understanding Attendance: Findings on the drivers of pupil absence
Behaviour and Safety: Key Trends and Challenges
A new report from Edurio focuses on pupil behaviour. Their research on pupil behaviour and safety is based on the analysis of the views of staff, pupils, parents, and school leaders. They found that feelings of safety have declined by almost 10% in the last two years alone. Key learnings discussed in the report include: … Continue reading Behaviour and Safety: Key Trends and Challenges
Generative AI in education: educator and expert views
The The Open Innovation Team from the DfE has today (24 January) published a research findings report on the use of Generative AI (GenAI) in education. The introduction states: Although GenAI is not new, recent advances in the underlying technology and greater accessibility mean that the public can now use it more easily. This poses … Continue reading Generative AI in education: educator and expert views
Ofsted School inspection handbook update
Oftsed have recently released an updated school inspection handbook (effective from 19 January 2024) that takes into account their recent Prevention of Future Deaths report. The handbook is mainly unchanged - most of the changes are clarifications. In summary, these are as follows: Inspection can be paused under exceptional circumstances - headteachers can request a … Continue reading Ofsted School inspection handbook update
Ofsted responds to Prevention of Future Deaths report
Published today (19 January 2024) Ofsted has responded in full to a Prevention of Future Deaths report issued by HM Coroner ahead of school and further education inspections being notified next week. The response includes a new policy on pausing an inspection. A comprehensive listening exercise – the Big Listen (previously reported here) – will … Continue reading Ofsted responds to Prevention of Future Deaths report
The Big Ambition
In the run-up to the forthcoming election, The Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has launched The Big Ambition, a national survey of children and young people across England. The Big Ambition aims to hear from children and young people across England on what they think is important. You can find out about it, and … Continue reading The Big Ambition
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