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  • Why are “free” schools getting so much money when most schools are seeing their budgets cut?

    The news that schools will not see a rise in spending in real terms in the coming four years is very troubling for parents and teachers like me. The government had said that spending would rise by 0.1% and it had been touted that the pupil premium for our poorest children would be £2500. It…

  • New research claims to show “for-profit” schools are great, but can it be trusted?

    The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) new research publication, Schooling for Money: Swedish Education Reform and the Role of the Profit Motive looks at the role of for-profit schools in Sweden and for the first time attempts to provide valid quantitative evidence regarding how these schools perform. The results claim to show that the competition…

  • Let’s give our state schools some prizes for putting play at the heart of learning

    Last night, I attended my school’s prize-giving; the longer I stay at the school the more significant the event becomes for me. I was moved that pupils I had taught as 11-year-olds in Year 7 were now grown adults, returning to collect prizes that they had earned in the last year of their school life…

  • PISA versus SATs — which assess reading the best?

    The key question that arises from much of the data that’s generated about pupils’ attainment is what test best assesses pupils’ ability in reading. We know that the current government like the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) a great deal and are suspicious of Key Stage 2 tests, which they don’t like because they…

  • Five reasons why Media Studies is a great subject

    I used to be a bit sceptical about the whole idea of Media Studies until I started teaching it at A Level. The process of choosing a suitable syllabus (we opted for OCR), devising schemes of work and delivering the lessons over the last few years has now convinced me that it should be an…

  • Are the government’s claims that it’s saved funding for school sport a sham?

    Yesterday, David Cameron announced that the government has backtracked on slashing the funding for Specialist Sports’ Partnerships (SSP) in schools and has ear-marked £65 million to continue the programme. Yet speaking to a Partnership Development Manager (PDM) of a SSP today makes realise that this amazing programme will be more or less dismantled and only…

  • The hippest, edgiest pop stars attended state schools! (Only the wimps went to private schools)

    The biggest rock and roll acts of the past twenty years attended state schools. Robbie Williams, possibly the most successful pop act of the last decade attended Mill Hill Primary School at Stoke-on-Trent then St Margaret Ward Roman Catholic School in Tunstall, both community schools. The edgiest, hippest band of the past few years is…

  • If Gove likes Finland’s schools so much, why doesn’t he imitate them?

    The new results from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are about to be published which compare the achievements of education systems across the globe. The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is expected to show the achievements of UK and Swedish schools falling behind, while Finnish schools are surging ahead. Michael Gove,…

  • Is extending the school day the key to raising standards?

    Braving the ice and snow on my bike, I cycled down to the King Solomon Academy (KSA) near Marylebone station today. Behind the black gates of the entrance there’s a huge banner proclaiming  ”Climbing the mountain to university” which told me a lot straight away. This Academy, run by ARK, an education charity, is all about instilling high…

  • Now the Lib-Dems have got their way over sports funding, can we have more of their education policies please?

    It’s brilliant news to read today that the government is now considering saving specialist sports teaching in our state schools. The general outcry against the axeing of sports’ provision in schools should make the Coalition think again about their policies. It appears that Cameron is now intervening to save the funding, essentially over-ruling Michael Gove,…

  • Why does Gove believe dead languages and Ancient History are more important to learn than the Arts, R.E, Sports and Technology?

    It’s official. Finally, Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, has proclaimed that Ancient History is more important than a whole raft of subjects that might actually teach our teenagers something of value. If you look at the list of “approved GCSEs” for the English Baccalaureate, you’ll see that Ancient History sits proudly there as an approved…

  • Is extending the school day the key to raising standards?

    Braving the ice and snow on my bike, I cycled down to the King Solomon Academy (KSA) near Marylebone station today. Behind the black gates of the entrance there’s a huge banner proclaiming  ”Climbing the mountain to university” which told me a lot straight away. This Academy, run by ARK, an education charity, is all about instilling high…

  • A teacher’s view of the protests

    Children should be in school, however they feel about the tuition fee rises I think it’s highly irresponsible of teachers to condone, tacitly or explicitly, pupils walking out of school. It indicates that they don’t see the primary importance of education in the classroom; if they don’t believe in that, why are they teaching? It’s…

  • Demobbed soldiers in the classroom: a deeply nostalgic policy

    The education secretary, Michael Gove, is seeking to put more ex-soldiers in the classroom. He has outlined plans in his education white paper for the taxpayer to fund ex-army personnel to be trained as teachers. The subtext of his plans is that our classrooms are so out of control that drastic military action is called…

  • Training teachers at college is better than on the job

    University training sounds like a luxury, but is actually cheaper and more effective Not many people outside academia will protest about the axing of teacher training in universities — but they should. The new Education White Paper, which is due to be published this week, will stipulate that new teachers should be trained “on the…

  • Education white paper: an assault on schools

    This week’s education white paper will seriously undermine standards of teaching in our schools On the surface the new education white paper, due to be published next week but widely leaked in the press today, appears to be all about promoting good teachers. Having a good degree and two decades of experience in the classroom,…

  • Don’t panic about your child’s schooling!

    Help! I’m in a complete panic about schools! I feel that every decision I make about my children’s school is wrong. What should I do? Firstly, be aware that you’re not alone. Being a school teacher for the last twenty years in various state schools, I’ve noticed that a lot of parents panic about their…

  • The penny has dropped: scrap academic and social selection and opt for an ‘ecological admissions test’

    How many teachers really know how the pupils sitting before them actually got there? If you’re teaching in a grammar school, are you aware of the hours of agonised torture your pupils endured preparing for the 11-plus? If you’re in a school that deals with its own admissions, are you aware of all the hoops…

  • The Coalition’s Academy Plans backfire

    A new report shows that the Coalition’s education policy of allowing all schools to become Academies has seriously backfired. The stated aim was to raise standards across the board, particularly in our most socially disadvantaged areas. A new report published by the Centre for Economic Performance shows that the majority of schools who have become…

  • The Local Schools Network: a broad church

    The aim of the LSN is to support and celebrate local schools. I was talking at an Academy, Barnfield South in Luton, yesterday as a guest speaker at their prize-giving. It was very clear to me that this was an excellent local school, with fair admissions and a staff committed to their local community. All…

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