All posts tagged: schools

Schools get more positive Ofsteds after headline grades ditched

Schools get more positive Ofsteds after headline grades ditched

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles More schools have been graded good or outstanding across the majority of Ofsted inspection areas since headline grades were ditched, new figures show. The watchdog has scrapped the use of single-phrase headline grades this academic year following the suicide of Reading headteacher Ruth Perry. While schools are not given overall grades, inspectors have continued to rate them outstanding, good, requires improvement, or inadequate across four key judgment areas. Grades keep getting better Latest inspection data for September to the end of December shows the proportion of schools rated good or outstanding for quality of education remained the same as last year, at 84 per cent. But the percentage of good or better judgments across the three other areas – behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management – all increased by between one and two percentage points. Overall, the proportion of schools judged good or outstanding by Ofsted was: 84% for quality of education, compared to 84% last year 94% for behaviour and attitudes, compared to 93% last …

Christian Indoctrination in Schools? Yeah, We Have a Form for That

Christian Indoctrination in Schools? Yeah, We Have a Form for That

Published by skeptic

“The U.S. Department of Education is committed to ensuring all students have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination. This submission form is an outlet for students, parents, teachers, and the broader community to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning. The Department of Education will utilize community submissions to identify potential areas for investigation.” That’s a goal humanists can get on board with, but unfortunately Secretary McMahon has a different kind of “ideologies and indoctrination” in mind;: the language above is the heading of a new informant portal launched by leadership at Trump’s Department of Education called “EndDEI.ed.gov.” Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility make schools better for students of color, LGBTQ students, disabled students, along with so many others. And evidence shows that supportive and inclusive learning environments lead to better outcomes for all students, regardless of whether or not they directly benefit. (Ironically–or not–this author is loath to cite the study, because it’s a federal program currently under attack by the administration and doing so could bring additional ire.) …

Bill to tackle unregistered schools proceeds to House of Lords

Bill to tackle unregistered schools proceeds to House of Lords

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A bill which would introduce new measures to protect children from unregistered faith ‘schools’ has cleared the House of Commons. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which aims to close legal loopholes allowing unregistered schools to operate within the margins of the law, was voted through in Parliament yesterday. The bill would also give the school inspectorate greater powers to investigate suspected unregistered schools, and introduce new registers to identify children who are not in school. Home education is sometimes used as a pretext for sending children to an unregistered school. The National Secular Society has long campaigned for the measures included in the bill to tackle unregistered schools. Schools unwilling to be regulated “must be shut down” Labour MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale Lizzi Collinge highlighted how unregistered schools are often “run by religious groups, which tend to be fundamentalist, extreme, highly controlling or isolationist in their outlook”. She raised how in many unregistered schools, children “only study religious texts and receive no other form of education”, and instead of having a broad and …

Starmer backs campaign to show Adolescence in schools | Politics News

Starmer backs campaign to show Adolescence in schools | Politics News

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Sir Keir Starmer has revealed he is watching Netflix’s Adolescence with his family and supports a campaign for it to be shown in parliament and schools. The drama, starring Stephen Graham, depicts the aftermath of the stabbing of a teenage girl – as a 13-year-old boy from her school is arrested for her murder. Politics live: PM challenged over tax rises Graham and co-writer Jack Thorne have said they want it to be a show that “causes discussion and makes change”, after it was hailed by critics and topped Netflix’s charts around the world. Asked by Labour MP Anneliese Midgley if he backs the creators’ calls for it to be aired in parliament and schools, Sir Keir said he does. He told PMQs: “At home we are watching Adolescence. I’ve got a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, and it’s a very good drama to watch. “This violence carried out by young men, influenced by what they see online, is a real problem. “It’s abhorrent, and we have to tackle it.” Image: Stephen Graham as …

Schools can afford less than half of 2.8% rise

Schools can afford less than half of 2.8% rise

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‘Headroom’ in next year’s budget only leaves enough for an increase of 1.3 per cent, official government analysis finds ‘Headroom’ in next year’s budget only leaves enough for an increase of 1.3 per cent, official government analysis finds Schools will be able to afford less than half of the 2.8 per cent pay rise proposed for next year, the Department for Education has admitted. In its annual school costs technical note, the Department said it expected school funding to rise by 4.3 per cent next year, while costs will rise by 3.6 per cent. But that headroom only leaves enough to pay for a 1.3 per cent pay rise, when government has recommended teacher pay rises by 2.8 per cent. Assuming school support staff pay rose by the same amount, it would leave schools having to fund the money for most of the rise from their own budgets. Schools were warned this would happen. In its evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body, the DfE said “most schools will need to supplement the new funding …

£1bn for schools for contributions hike

£1bn for schools for contributions hike

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Schools with special units and resourced provision to get additional grants in recognition of ‘higher staffing costs’ Schools with special units and resourced provision to get additional grants in recognition of ‘higher staffing costs’ The government will provide more than £1 billion in funding for schools to cover the rise in employer national insurance contributions. For the first time, the funding for mainstream schools will also include additional grants for those with special units and resourced provision to “support the higher staffing costs”, government said. Overall, £930 million will cover rises in mainstream and high needs settings from April 2025 to March 2026. Another £25 million will be issued for schools with early years provision, and £155 million for post-16 schools and further education colleges. The cash will cover increases for both teachers and support staff, and for councils employing centrally-employed teachers. From April 6, employers’ national insurance contributions will increase from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent. Previous analysis by the National Foundation for Educational Research estimated a two per cent increase would …

Pupils find Christian privilege in schools “unfair”, research suggests

Pupils find Christian privilege in schools “unfair”, research suggests

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Children at both community schools and faith schools are critical of the dominance of Christianity in education, new research suggests. An article published in the British Journal of Sociology of Education has examined how Christianity has “remained privileged” in both religious education (RE) and collective worship in schools in England. It says current practices relating to religion in schools “fail to mirror growing non/religious diversity”. The study, led by Dr Anna Strhan at the University of York, noted how locally agreed RE syllabuses must “reflect the fact that religious traditions are in the main Christian”, while all schools are legally obliged to provide ‘broadly Christian’ collective worship every day. The study was welcomed by the National Secular Society, which campaigns for an end to collective worship laws and reformed education around religion and worldviews. Recent polling has found 70% of senior teachers “disagree” or “strongly disagree” with the law mandating collective worship, while RE is consistently considered one of the least useful subjects. Christian privilege “in tension” with celebrating diversity at community school The research …

Five steps to tackle Islamophobia in our schools

Five steps to tackle Islamophobia in our schools

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More from this theme Recent articles One of us is a Muslim parent, the other is his son’s headteacher. Through open conversations and shared experiences, we have seen first-hand how schools can foster trust, understanding and social cohesion. But we have also seen the challenges. Islamophobia, like all forms of prejudice, is not something schools can afford to ignore. Saturday marked the UN’s International Day to Combat Islamophobia – a timely reminder of the role education must play in tackling discrimination. But addressing Islamophobia is not about grand statements or one-off assemblies, it is about the everyday decisions that shape school culture and pupil experiences. Real change does not happen in a single day. Schools need to be places where every pupil regardless of their faith or background feels safe, valued, and able to be themselves. We both have experience working with schools to challenge racism and build community ties. We have seen the impact of proactive approaches and the harm when issues are ignored, so here are five practical steps to make a lasting …

Ofsted reform critics want ‘low-accountability’

Ofsted reform critics want ‘low-accountability’

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More from this theme Recent articles Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver has accused the “most vocal critics” of proposed inspection reforms of seeking a “low-accountability system”, as he insisted report cards “are not and never were going to bring about the end of grading”. In his keynote address at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) conference in Liverpool on Friday, Oliver urged sector leaders to take part in Ofsted’s ongoing consultation into proposed reforms. The most vocal critics of the proposed reforms seem to be under the misapprehension that a new low-accountability system is possible The inspectorate proposes to replace single-phrase judgments with new “fairer” report cards with five grades across at least nine judgment areas. It will also end ungraded inspections and increase monitoring of under-performing schools. The proposals have been heavily criticised by ASCL, which said the new report cards would be “worse than single-word judgments” which were scrapped last year. General secretary Pepe D’Iasio said the new system would be “bewildering” for teachers, leaders, and parents, and accused the …

United Learning trust makes its schools shareholders

United Learning trust makes its schools shareholders

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More from this theme Recent articles Academies in England’s biggest MAT will be made shareholders of its parent charity to “guarantee that they can always make their voice heard”. United Learning Trust will hand local governing body (LGB) chairs “share certificates” giving them the right to speak and vote on binding resolutions at annual general meetings. The share will represent legal membership of charitable foundation United Learning – which is actually a company limited by shares and acts as the trust’s parent organisation. Trust CEO Sir Jon Coles (pictured) said the move would strengthen “the voice of local governance” among his 90 academies “in national decisionmaking”. “I am sometimes asked by schools joining us, ‘how do we know that the group will always work in this way – even when there is a change in the board and the executive?’ Sir Jon Coles “This is our answer: by making every school a shareholder in the group, we guarantee that they can always make their voice heard.” Each LGB chair who has been in the position …