Children's Service Research Snapshot

Government pledges extra sport for schools

2008-10-07T08:38:00.002+01:00

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport announced an increase in funding for school sports.

Key points:
- By 2012 high quality coaching and competition will be on offer to all school children in all the main sports like cricket, tennis and athletics.
- Sport England also announced the first phase of government plans to offer young people more sport outside of school. The £36 million ‘Sport Unlimited’ scheme is designed to attract into sport those young people who do not take part in sport regularly. It will set up 4000 taster sessions across England in non-traditional sports, including cycling, sailing, kayaking, American football and dodgeball. The nationwide scheme will be available from the beginning of this new school term.
- The extra investment was put in to offer all 5-16 year olds five hours of government funded sport a week, two in school and three out. All 16-19 year olds will be offered three hours of out of school sport a week.

World Class Education Systems

2008-10-01T14:22:00.003+01:00

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) commissioned McKinsey & Company to develop a comparative fact-base for an analysis of the performance of England’s education system and high-performing systems overseas, drawing on its international benchmarking framework.

Key points:
- The world’s highest-performing education systems share three mutually reinforcing attributes:
1. high challenge: high expectations of pupils and fair evaluation of schools and other parts of the system
2. high support: enough resource and capacity-building to meet those high expectations
3. aligned incentives: incentives and consequences that induce schools and other parts of the system to meet expectations

When benchmarked against international comparators, many school reforms implemented in England are shown to be world-leading. However, they are not yet delivering consistently world-class teaching for every student, in every classroom in every school. Following significant improvements attainment can be seen to be levelling off, and evidence suggests performance still has a stronger link to socio-economic background than is the case in the world’s best systems.

Most aspects of England’s schooling system can be rated as ‘good’, or ‘world-class’. One exception to this pattern is high expectations for student achievement - a key attribute of high performing systems – which is rated as ‘fair’.

There is also evidence that academic content and standards are not fully meeting the demands of employers and universities.

Strengths identified in the English system include:
- Devolution of resources to schools and three year budgets
- A focus on turning round or closing failing schools
- Intervening in poorly performing local authorities
- Reform of teacher training and best practice marketing of teaching as a profession

The analysis identified scope to strengthen performance in other areas, including the consistency of classroom teaching and the quality of professional development, and the ability to codify and scale up best practice.

Survey of school break times

2008-10-01T14:06:00.002+01:00

This study aimed to provide current information on break and lunch times in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales. The research was based on survey responses from 1566 schools and 1300 pupils (from a separate survey of pupils undertaken in 19 schools). This study was funded by the Nuffield Foundation and updates similar studies undertaken in 1995 and 1990.

Key points:

- The duration of all break times added together tended to decrease as children got older with 91 minutes at KS1, 77 minutes at KS2 and 69 minutes at secondary school. As a proportion of the school day break times took up 24 per cent at KS1, 21 per cent at KS2 and 18 per cent at secondary. These figures indicated a decrease from the previous surveys undertaken in 1995 and 1990.

- Pupils were very positive about break times (particularly the lunch break) and the majority felt that these times should be lengthened (particularly at secondary level) or remain the same.

- Primary schools valued break time as an opportunity for pupils to get physical exercise and to socialise. Secondary schools tended to regard break times in more functional terms as providing time for eating and drinking and giving teachers a break.

- Pupils in primary and secondary schools valued break time as free time for them to do what they want and as an opportunity to socialise and get physical exercise.

- Schools and pupils were in agreement that the main problem at break time was poor behaviour but pupils also noted insufficient opportunity and space for fun activities, and time to eat.

- Staff supervision of break time was three times higher in primary than secondary schools. Supervisory staff numbers and ratios to pupils were similar to those reported in 1995.

- Secondary schools were less likely than primary schools to offer formal training and support for supervisory staff, and tended to rely on informal arrangements instead.

- The majority of primary and secondary schools were neutral to positive about the suitability of school grounds for break time activities. Over half of secondary schools had CCTV in the grounds and the school.

- Nearly all schools reported that they organised clubs and activities for pupils during break time and after school.

- Most schools allowed facilities to be used by the local community but only a minority reported that these are used on a daily basis.

Peer relations at primary school

2008-10-01T13:50:00.005+01:00

This report by the Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning
explored friendship patterns and children’s general relationships with their peers between the ages of 8 and 10 and examined how children’s early development (ages 3 to 4) may predict their later development in terms of social behaviour including likelihood of becoming a bully.

Key Points:
- Three quarters of the sample belonged to one of three positive friendship groups - positive, many friends (48 per cent), positive but fallout with friends (18 per cent), and positive but few friends (10 per cent). Normal 0 false false false

- The remaining quarter of the sample had poor social relationships characterised by few friends and a higher prevalence of bullying and or victimisation than the other groups.

- Victims and bully/victims had poorer social relationships than other children, and were more likely to have limited early language skills and social development. Difficulties (e.g. low self-esteem, depression, antisocial behaviour) had existed from age 3 to 4 through primary school years and were most acute for bully/victims.

- Socio-demographic influences on friendship were complex. Children from the positive, many friends cluster were more likely have privileged backgrounds and victims more disadvantaged backgrounds. However, bully/victims did not significantly differ from the other clusters in terms of income and maternal education, although their parents were less likely to be married.

- Some friendship-patterns had a strong gender bias with positive, few friends and bully/victims more likely to be boys. The other groups were more balanced.

New Relationship with Schools Policy

2008-10-01T13:42:00.004+01:00

This Research Brief presents the summative findings from the national evaluation of the New Relationship with Schools (NRwS) policy.

The policy, announced in 2004, was recognition of the need to streamline and improve the relationship between the then Department for Education and Skills (DfES), Local Authorities (LAs) and schools; ensure closer alignment of national and local priorities; and address ‘bureaucracy’ as an ongoing area of concern at both the primary and secondary phases of education.

Key points:
- The evaluation demonstrates that a number of the strands of NRwS, both independently and collectively, have supported a move towards the intelligent accountability framework envisaged when the policy was first announced. There is also evidence that these developments are contributing to improvements in quality and standards for some schools and LA areas, particularly in the secondary sector.
- The outcomes achieved place LAs and schools in a good position to respond to some of the challenges set out in the recently published Children’s Plan, including those associated with preventative school support, challenge for coasting schools, improving attainment for specific groups and engaging parent’s in their child’s learning.
- There is a need for continued efforts at national level to work towards more coherent
policy development and delivery across all ECM services and ensure schools have the capacity and necessary support to respond to the significant developments currently affecting the sector. There is also the potential for greater value to be achieved from addressing some aspects of consistency and effectiveness associated with school self-evaluation, data availability and the School Improvement Partner (SIP) programme.

Ofsted: Quality of childcare

2008-09-30T12:14:00.003+01:00

Leading to Excellence from Ofsted based on evidence from 90,000 inspections of 84,000 early years and childcare settings during the three years to March 2008. The report shows how well the whole sector is doing to promote positive outcomes for children. It focuses on how early years and childcare settings are organised, led and managed so children make good progress.

Key points:
- Almost all settings (97%) provide at least satisfactory childcare, and approaching two thirds are good or outstanding. Of the small minority of settings (3%) judged inadequate most improve quickly although a few have not yet done so. We have set stringent actions for these settings and continue to monitor them closely.
- The quality of childcare varies across the sector. The proportion of good or outstanding provision ranges from 47% in out-of-school schemes to 65% in full day-care settings.
- Well-established provision is generally of a higher quality than recently registered provision. There is also variation across the country with provision in socio-economically deprived areas generally below that elsewhere. There are, though, deprived areas that buck this general trend.
- The proportion of day-care group providers inspected with good or outstanding childcare has risen from 53% in 2005–06 to 64% in 2007–08, though the proportion of childminders judged good or outstanding has fallen from 65% to 59%.
- The quality of organisation, leadership and management is key to ensuring provision supports positive outcomes for children. The best settings place children at the heart of all that happens, and how the best providers are continually working to improve their already excellent practice.
- Almost all registered early years and childcare settings (97%) are satisfactory or better in the way they are organised to promote positive outcomes for children. Over half the settings (54%) are good or outstanding.

Raising Education Achievement and Breaking the Cycle of Inequality

2008-09-18T12:25:00.005+01:00

This OECD report examined the two big strategic objectives which the government has for education policy (as outlined in the Public Sector Agreements). This report compares recent policy against international standards.

Key points:
- Whereas the UK often ranks very highly on certain measures of economic policy and outcomes, this is certainly not the case when it comes to educational standards.
- The test-dominated education system in the United Kingdom has pioneered the use of school benchmarking techniques and the use of targets to raise school quality. However, targets may have biased some national measures of education performance, and there is relatively little evidence of improvement in performance when evaluated using international tests of cognitive ability, such as PISA and PIRLS.
- Socio-economic background plays an important role in explaining education performance, and the government has tried to address this through the use of funding formulas which direct additional resources to areas with a higher proportion of pupils from deprived backgrounds. There has been some improvement in the most disadvantaged schools but pupils in the middle and lower half of the distribution continue to perform particularly poorly relative to students in countries with the best performing education systems.
- One explanation may be that local authorities and schools are not distributing deprivation funds as intended by the central government, resulting in outcomes which can be seen as inequitable. Stronger measures may be required to correct this imbalance.

The paper makes the following recommendations:
• Increase regular participation in quality early childhood education, and continue to target childcare services provided by Sure Start Children’s Centres to disadvantaged families. Sustained intervention once disadvantaged children have entered primary school will also be required, to ensure that the benefits of pre-school interventions are sustained.
• Continue to promote a focus on the acquisition of core literacy and numeracy skills for pupils at primary and secondary school.
• Ensure that the focus on core skills is not compromised by the goal of expanding the average number of years of schooling. Emphasise the role of core literacy and numeracy skills within the new Diplomas. Consider introducing a higher age for compulsory participation only for those students who have not already achieved a certain minimum standard of core skills by age 16.
• Evaluate returns to the new diplomas closely. When A-levels are reviewed vis-à-vis the new Diplomas in 2013, give serious consideration to moving towards a more unified framework of qualifications as originally recommended by the Tomlinson report.
• Ensure continued participation in international tests of cognitive ability, such as PISA and PIAAC.
• Reduce the focus on testing and targets and put more focus on supporting weak students and schools.
• Design all remaining targets in a way that limits the potential for gaming, by ensuring an interactive performance management system that captures the complexity of the education process. Ensure that remaining key performance measures are not based on targeted outputs.
• Encourage a public debate about whether the goal of the education system should be to make all schools high performers, and what societal values that would reflect.
• Consider ways of encouraging the highest quality teachers to move to the most disadvantaged schools – such as by giving bonuses for high quality teaching performance at such schools.
• Promote a national benchmark formula for local authorities to use in allocating funding between schools, while still permitting flexibility (i.e. deviation from the benchmark formula) to meet local needs.
• Promote the transition to a more efficient allocation of funds by providing standard procedures for taking deprivation-targeted funding out of the formula used to determine the Minimum Funding Guarantee.
• Evaluate the pros and cons of introducing a differentiated voucher system of funding (as in Chile) where pupils from poorer families receive vouchers that are valued more highly than those for the general population.
• Encourage more research into determining which resource mixes within schools are most successful at narrowing socio-economic gaps.

Jobs for youth, OECD

2008-09-18T09:52:00.012+01:00

This OECD paper on youth employment offers an objective critique of recent government initiatives and policy.

Key points:
- Measures of youth labour market performance and indicators describing the transition from education to work over the past 15 years paint a mixed picture. On the one hand, there is evidence that youth labour market integration and career progression have improved considerably since the mid-1990s, however, other indicators paint a less rosy picture.
- In 2007, the youth unemployment rate was 14%, slightly above the OECD average, compared with just 11% in 2004. These figures hide significant differences between teenagers (16-19-year olds) and young adults (20-24-year olds).
- 13% of 16-24-year olds were neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET) in 2005 (the latest year for which comparable data are available), and many youth in this group are at high risk of poor labour market outcomes and social exclusion. This rate is just above the OECD average of 12% and has increased slightly over the past decade.
- The New Deal for Young People – has helped many youth return to work, sustainable employment outcomes have proved difficult to achieve and there are signs that the programme is no longer as effective as in the early days.
- In terms of the education system, the priority is to reduce early leaving from education and training.
- Provision of free early childhood education, which helps reduce early leaving from education and training particularly when interventions are sustained beyond the pre-school period, is lower in England than in many OECD countries.
- Raising the age of compulsory participation in education and training to 18 by 2015 has the potential to ensure that youth enter the labour market better prepared for work. However, the part-time learning participation option may bring in its wake some enforcement problems when job separation occurs.

The report provides a good, objective, introduction to recent policy in this area and the current planned changes to the 14-19 agenda.

Family Nurse Partnership programme

2008-09-18T09:52:00.009+01:00

This report commissioned by the DCSF and Department for Health examined the first year effects of the pilot Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) programme found that the scheme can be successful but further development is needed.

The pilot is based on a model developed in the USA by Professor David Olds, it is an evidence-based nurse home-visiting programme designed to improve the health, well-being and self-sufficiency of young first-time parents and their children. It involves weekly or fortnightly structured home visits by a specially trained nurse from early pregnancy until children are 24 months old. The curriculum is well specified and detailed with a plan for the number, timing and content of visits. Supervision is ongoing and careful records of visits are maintained. The programme has strong theoretical underpinnings, with the formation of a strong therapeutic relationship between nurse and mother at its heart. The programme is designed for low-income mothers who have had no previous live births and starts in the second trimester of pregnancy.

Key points:
- The conditions of being a test site, learning the programme and demands of the tight set up timetable i.e. birth clustered around same time.
- There were wider demands on Family Nurses’ time from organisation and multi-agency working.
- There were challenges in providing this service within the UK context, with national health care, compared to the USA.
- There was a lack of integration between maternity and child health services.
- The FNP reached those who are likely to benefit most and the current eligibility criteria of all 19 years and under first time births should continue. Any further testing of the FNP with non-teenage mothers should focus on 20 to 22 year olds.
- The FNP is acceptable to first-time, young mothers but attrition during pregnancy exceeded the fidelity target in some sites. Further work is needed to understand why clients refuse or leave the programme.
- The FNP seems acceptable to fathers. The evaluation found that fathers:
• Participated in visits;
• Used programme activities;
• Valued the learning on prenatal development, diet and smoking, and preparation for labour and delivery; and
• FNs reported that many clients requested materials for fathers who could not be present, and conveyed questions that fathers had asked about the FNP programme.
- FNs recognised the benefits of using a structured programme, developing a different kind of relationship with clients, using new skills and reaching real need.

Parenting in ordinary families

2008-09-18T09:52:00.004+01:00

This JRF report examined the literature around parenting.

Key points:
- Research into cultural differences and similarities in parenting indicates that aspects of parenting relevant to all cultures include parental sensitivity to the child’s needs, socialisation towards cultural norms and support for the child’s need for autonomy across time. The parenting to which a child is exposed may act as a buffer against adversity if it is warm and supportive or, alternatively, it may increase the risk of poor child outcomes if it is hostile or rejecting.
- Within the literature, a variety of parenting themes have emerged but those which recur consistently include sensitivity towards the needs of the child, management of the child’s behaviour and qualities of the parent–child relationship, including warmth and support, hostility and rejection.
- There is evidence that childhood anti-social behaviour increases in conjunction with increases in physical punishment but another school of thought proposes that, as long as its use is rare and only backs up other types of discipline, the effects of physical punishment may be beneficial.
- Much of the literature has focused on the parenting undertaken by mothers but it is important that paternal parenting is also examined.
- Although there were some aspects of parenting which were affected by factors which are immutable (maternal age, education and ethnic group), these were few and far between. Younger parents were more likely to be ambivalent about the timing of the child’s arrival but older mothers were more likely to report that they felt less fulfilled and that they had less time for themselves.
- Mothers who had spent fewer years in formal education reported that, on the whole, they felt less confident in caring for the child and they were less likely to report that they spent time teaching the child. It is difficult to draw any firm conclusions with respect to the effects of ethnic group on parenting.
- Parenting varies little by ethnic group, maternal age or education and that on the whole parenting is warm and supportive in all groups.
- There was a large amount of variation in parenting across time: parenting remained stable for fewer than one in five families. In part, this is likely to be a function of the increasing age of the child.
- The factors which had the most influence regarding changes in parenting score were mother’s mental and physical health. Deteriorations in health were associated with reduced parenting scores and, in contrast to all other variables, improvements in health predicted increased scores.

Young people and social networking services

2008-09-17T14:55:00.003+01:00

This report by Digizen investigate how social networking services can and are being used to support personalised formal and informal learning by young people in schools and colleges. A good guide for those wanting a grounding in these dynamic subject area.

The report opens by asking “What are social networking services?” This section investigates current definitions of social networking services and provides a comprehensive review of current social networking service types and activities.

In Evaluating social networking services, the report then describes how to use a toolkit – a social networking evaluation chart covering six different social networking services, and an accompanying checklist, which are available to download from the Digizen website:
(www.digizen.org/socialnetworking/ checklist.aspx) – to evaluate services. The chart is not definitive, but provides a comprehensive framework covering significant relevant issues such as site age restrictions, the presence of adverts, collaborative tools, security issues and data management restrictions.

The benefits and opportunities to individual users, as well as outlining some of the opportunities that educators and schools using social networking services might take advantage of are also laid out. This section looks at issues around digital literacy and social engagement, skills and identity development, and opportunities for better understanding e-safety and data management issues.

Then the barriers and risks section looks at current barriers to using social networking services within education, including staff development and support issues, and risk evaluation and management approaches. Risk areas that educators should be aware of are outlined, and approaches to manage these are addressed.

Issues include users’ perceptions of the environment they are posting in, personal data management, and cyberbullying and potentially illegal behaviours.

An ideas and examples section showcases innovative practice, providing links to a range of projects and examples where social networking services have been successfully used to support both teachers and students. Links to current debates around specific services are also included.

Finally, the Glossary describes some terms that readers may be unfamiliar with.

Supporting children in families affected by mental illness

2008-09-17T14:16:00.003+01:00

This Barnardo's report "Family Minded" is based on the experiences of a number of Barnardo’s services that work with children whose lives are affected by parental mental ill-health. It is informed by the academic literature in this field. The authors explore the challenges of parental mental illness for both policy and practice, addressing mental health policy and practice in all four nations of the UK.

The report makes the following recommendations:

Improve understanding of how mental illness affects parents
- Recognise that patients are often also parents and offer opportunities to discuss concerns they have about the impact of their illness on the family.
- Provide better information about the support available to families and if needed, help to access such services.
- Offer advice and support with parenting.
- Continue to raise awareness of the stigma that can surround mental illness and how this can prevent some families from asking for help.
- A named lead professional (or key-worker) to act as the main point of contact for the family, sharing information and advocating on their behalf.

Work in partnership with children to sustain the whole family
- Offer age-appropriate information to help children understand and cope with their parent’s mental illness.
- Provide the opportunity for children to be involved in planning support for themselves and for their parents.
- Work with schools and other children’s agencies so that, if necessary, social, emotional and practical support can be given.
- Make child-friendly visiting facilities available when parents are treated as hospital in-patients.

Put services and practitioners in the best position to ‘think family’
- Develop strategic commissioning and service design which ensures that children’s and adults’ services can work together.
- Offer ongoing professional development and training that raises awareness of the needs of parents with mental illness and their children.
- Disseminate best practice about how to ‘think family’ – such as how to communicate with children.
- Professional guidance, processes and protocols must contain clear expectations about the need to take children into account when treating parents.

Volunatary and community services sector role in supporting parents and families

2008-09-17T14:02:00.004+01:00

This report by the Tavistock Institute on behalf of the DCSF examined the role the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) plays in supporting parents, carers and families under the Every Child Matters agenda.

Key points:
- The number of support services for parents and families (provided by all sectors) usually matched the population size of a local authority. The proportion provided by the VCS was subject to considerable variation, ranging from less than a third in some areas to nearly two-thirds in others, and did not typically bear a close relationship to population size.
- Half of all the services in the mapping were in the broad category of ‘social interventions’ (for example, generic and targeted parenting support, family relationships, early years services and support for families in which there had been sexual or domestic abuse or the death of a child). Health-related services accounted for a further 29%, education 17% and housing 1.5%. The largest proportions of service types, provided by all sectors, were targeted parenting support (social) and services for families in which there was a disabled or ill child (health).
- Rural areas tended to have very few services with a large number of users.
- In terms of approach (preventative or crisis driven), access (open or targeted) and the nature of support offered (therapeutic, educational, social or practical), there was a marked tendency for VCS services to be multi-faceted. For example, while the focus of a service might be on a targeted intervention for families in crisis who benefited from therapeutic support, this did not exclude the provision of other approaches or types of access and support.
- The vast majority of VCS managers struggled to maintain the service with their current funding, which varied from £10,000 a year or less in 25% of cases to £500,000 a year or more in 6% of cases.
- The majority of service managers sought to expand future provision, by diversifying their work or by increasing their number of users and/or staff. However, a major obstacle to continued, consistent or increased provision was a lack of funding, and especially secure and long-term funding.
- The mapping exercise pointed to relatively little provision directed at fathers, either specifically or as part of wider family provision. Other groups for whom there was a low level of service provision were Gypsy and traveller families and Black and minority ethnic (BME) groups, though areas which had been selected for their ethnic diversity did provide some specific provision for the latter group.
- The majority of voluntary sector service providers in the interview sample found the ECM framework useful in their work, by encouraging them to think more about outcomes for children, by making work with parents and children more focused and structured, by providing a common language and shared agenda when working with other services, or by providing a uniform structure for use in funding bids.
- Their practical implementation of the framework tended to be focused on ‘being healthy’, ‘staying safe’ and ‘enjoying and achieving’. Very few VCS services in the sample addressed ‘achieving economic well-being’.

Violence against children

2008-09-17T13:46:00.003+01:00

The Children's Rights Alliance for England have produced this report to complement the UN study on violence against children.

They use official statistics to paint a vivid picture of the scale of the issue -

"Imagine a large English city – bigger than York, smaller than Birmingham. One hundred thousand children live in this city.

In an average year one child aged under 15 in this city will be murdered, probably by his or her parent. In the same year 240 children will be on the child protection register as a result of having been mistreated. Forty-six of these will have been physically assaulted and 24 sexually abused. The rest will have been neglected or abused in other ways.

In the city’s homes, large numbers of young children will routinely endure physical pain at the hands of their own parents. In one year in this city of 100,000 young people, at least 38,000 children under the age of 13 will be hit, whacked, beaten, slapped or smacked. Three-quarters of the babies born that year in this city will be hit before their first birthday. Around 3,500 children will experience corporal punishment deemed to be “severe”, and should doubtless join those 51 children whose physical abuse merits investigation by the authorities.

As many as 11,000 of the city’s children will, at some point in their childhood, be sexually assaulted by touching or penetration. Most will know their abuser and most will not tell anyone about it. Only a small proportion will see the abuse brought to an end."

The report goes on to share research into violence against children; child death and violence in homes, on the streets and in schools before making recommendations.

Why children phone childline

2008-09-17T13:28:00.008+01:00

This briefing gives basic statistics into why children and young people use the counselling service.

Key points:
- In 2006/07, 20,586 children and young people spoke to ChildLine about family relationship problems, representing 12 per cent of all calls. As well as the 20,586 callers, 22,704 children and young people rang to talk about another issue but also mentioned family relationship problems.
- In total, 43,290 children and young people spoke to ChildLine in 2006/07 about family relationship problems (either specifically or among other subjects), making it by far the most commonly discussed issue overall.
- In 2006/07, 4,215 children and young people in the sample spoke to ChildLine
about conflict between themselves and their parents. Some of these callers described very serious conflict. 18% talked about being physically abused and 12% said that they had been emotionally abused.
- Parents/carers abusing alcohol was an issue mentioned often by those who called ChildLine to talk about conflict between themselves and their parents.
- 395 children and young people in the sample spoke to ChildLine because they were worried about conflict between their parents. In some cases, they talked about violence between their parents that they had witnessed and found very distressing.
- ChildLine also received calls from young people (under the age of 18) who were struggling to cope with being a parent, with one in five of them being under the age of 15. Some were struggling so much they were concerned that they might smack or hit their child.

Childcare and early year's providers survey

2008-09-17T13:16:00.003+01:00

This survey by the DCSF gives data on the make up of this provision and it's workforce.

The report has many data, here are some points:
- All types of childcare provision have increased in quantity since 2001 (with the exception of sessional child care provision).
- The number of after school clubs continues to rise, although at a lower rate than previously, whilst the number of holiday clubs is in decline.
- Full day care and out of school providers appeared to be distributed reasonably proportionately across all areas (30% of these providers were located in the 30% most deprived areas). In contrast, childminders (18%) and sessional providers (17%) appeared less likely to be located in the 30% most deprived areas.
- The majority of full day care provision was privately run (66%), with just one in five settings run by a voluntary organisation. The opposite pattern was true for sessional care.
- With the exception of sessional providers, there has been a real increase in the number of paid and unpaid staff working in childcare settings since 2003.
- For most childcare providers, the proportion of staff having attained at least a level 3 qualification increased sharply between 2003 and 2006 while continuing to increase at a slower rate in 2007. While in early years provision in maintained schools, the proportion of staff with at least a level three qualification has increased steadily since 2003.

Evaluation of the Child Trust Fund

2008-09-17T13:01:00.002+01:00

The IPPR have evaluated the Child Trust Fund, which has been operational in the UK since September 2005. The government scheme gives a voucher to all parents to invest in any bank offering the Child Trust Fund (CTF) account. The amount of the voucher ranges from £250 to £500, based on parental income. If the parent does not open an account within a year the government will open one on their behalf. A further deposit is made by the government on the child's 7th birthday (again variable according to parental income). Parents can also add a further £1200 to the account each year. Upon reaching 18 the young person can spend the money as they wish.

The scheme is intended to encourage saving, both by parents and the young people.

Using official data from the first two and a half years of operation along with academic research, industry data and original research, the report draws some initial conclusions:

Regarding initial parental involvement:
• Parental involvement is relatively high but could be improved.
• 75% of all accounts are opened by parents, which compares favourably with similar products.
• Parents who fail to open an account are more likely to be on a low income.

Regarding impact on savings behaviour:
• The initial government investment encourages further contributions.
• Positive effects on savings behaviour are becoming evident, even amongst low income households.

Regarding investing in shares
• 80% of all CFTs are shareholder accounts
• Private sector participation is extensive

Expansion of primary literacy and numeracy pilots

2008-09-12T11:46:00.004+01:00

The DCSF have expanded their flagship literacy and numeracy initiatives:

Every Child a Reader - by 2010/11 this will cover to 30,000 children in 3,000 schools (and 150 local authorities) a year struggling with early reading getting extra support. A recent report from the Institute of Education found that the pilot had been a huge success, with children getting higher than average results for their age. Within Yorkshire & Humber Every Child A Reader is being expanded this year to: Bradford, Kingston Upon Hull, Leeds, Sheffield, Wakefield & Kirklees.

Every Child Counts - being piloted in 21 local authorities from this month and then rolled out over the next two years, so that by 2010/11 30,000 children in 1,900 schools (105 local authorities) will be covered. Within Yorkshire & Humber Every Child Counts will be initially piloted in: Leeds & Bradford.

Every Child a Writer - being piloted in nine local authority areas, a total of 135 schools and 2,500 children, from this month and will be rolled out nationally by 2011 so that it covers over 45,000 children in up to 9,000 schools and 150 local authorities. Despite the improvements in numeracy and literacy over the last decade, writing lags behind early reading improvement rates. No local authorities within Yorkshire & Humber are piloting this initiative.

Every Child Counts, like the established Every Child a Reader programme, focuses on the bottom 5% at Key Stage 1 and will mean that children struggling with early maths are given high quality intensive specialist support from trained teachers.

OECD Education at a Glance 2008

2008-09-12T11:15:00.005+01:00

The Annual survey by the OECD found the following for the UK (note this refers to all education, including HE):

- Below average class sizes are afforded through an above average teaching load for teachers.

- The highest spenders on educational institutions are Denmark, Iceland, Korea and the United States, with at least 7% of GDP accounted for by public and private spending on educational institutions.

- The proportion of GDP spent on tertiary institutions in Belgium, France, Iceland, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom is below the OECD average; these countries are among the OECD countries in which the proportion of GDP spent on primary, secondary and post secondary non-tertiary education is above the OECD average.

- For all levels of education combined, public and private investment in education increased in all countries by at least 8% between 1995 and 2005 in real terms and increased on average by 42%, with the UK increasing spending by more than 50%.

- The UK comes fourth out of 30 OECD countries for per-pupil funding in early years and enrolment is far above the OECD average.

- Teacher salaries at primary school level are above the OECD average.

- Secondary school class sizes are below the OECD average.

- The rate of increase for teacher salaries is above the OECD average.

- The UK has the highest private rate of returns to upper secondary education or post-secondary non-tertiary education.

- High completion rates of full degree courses which results in a flow of graduates that remains above the OECD average and the UK continues to be an attractive destination to foreign students, especially in science and technology subjects, and is only second to the USA overall.

- The UK has the 6th highest number of science graduates per 100,000 employed aged 25-34, placing us ahead of Japan and Germany.

HE; Academies; State Boarding Schools & New Schools

2008-09-12T10:45:00.005+01:00

The DCSF are on a mission to have every university in the country supporting a local academy school. Currently more than half of the 88 universities are committed and a further 20 are developing towards supporting an academy.

For more and a full list of which academies and universities are involved click here.

The hope is that with the raising of the educational age to 17 by 2013 and 18 by 2015, that links to universities will encourage young people who had never considered a university education to stay on post 18.

The academic year 2008 witnessed the opening of over 180 new schools, including 51 new Academies (taking the total number of academies to 134). Many opened as part of the "Building Schools for the Future" programme, including a purpose-built multi-faith centre which will be used by all members of the community at Allerton High in Leeds.

These new schools includes 5 new "all through" academies, schools which provide a seamless primary and secondary education, taking the total of such schools to 14, with a further 5 in development.

Additionally, the DCSF have announced two new academies will eventually take boarding students, with a focus on those students from the armed services in Lincoln and Salisbury Plain.
This comes on top of additional funds aimed to expand the places at state boarding schools aimed at vulnerable children, such as those looked after by the local authorities.

Draft legislation: Children's Trusts; Sure Start; Pupil Groups; Apprenticeships; Wellbeing; School Buildings; Admissions

2008-09-12T09:53:00.004+01:00

In the last three months (June-September) there have been ten draft legislation pieces open for consultation from the DCSF alone. These are listed below, in order of initial publication.

Admissions - a technical area, so best reading the document if interested.
Pupil wellbeing - educational establishments are required to promote pupil wellbeing, this is draft guidance as to how they could achieve.
Schools causing concern - proposed changes on how to deal with schools which cause concern.
Strengthening Children's Trusts - proposals aimed at making the Children's Trust the main strategic body for children's services.
Zero carbon schools - calls for evidence so the government can realise their 2016 target.
Apprenticeships - steps to legislate for the provision of apprenticeships, including making the LSC ensure apprenticeships exist.
Draft guidance on safeguarding children from sexual exploitation.
Draft guidance for children not receiving a suitable education.
Under performing groups - changes to which groups of children are monitored reducing the overall number but including pupils on free school meals for the first time.
Sure Start Children's Centres - legislation to make this provision a legal requirement.

Summer holidays - good for education?

2008-09-07T11:44:00.003+01:00

Mike Baker questions the role of the annual summer holidays for schools and considers how they effect children. The DCSF have recognised that summer born children do occur extra difficulties compared to their peers as a result of their time of birth and have vowed to offer additional support to them via extra tuition for catch up classes.

Ofsted: weak teachers hard to fire

2008-09-04T20:24:00.004+01:00

The Chief Inspector of schools, Christine Gilbert has written in the Sunday Telegraph that students are being let down by inadequate teachers (BBC News).

Ms Gilbert called for schools to be able to fire underperforming staff more easily and criticised a "revolving door syndrome" which enabled poor to teachers move from school to school.

She said: "As I go round the country heads tell me how difficult it is to get rid of weak teachers.

"They say they start the procedure and they might be 18 months down the line and the teacher will move... we need to be thinking of ways of preventing that.

"That isn't Ofsted's role but I sympathise with head teachers about that."

A Failed Generation - Conservative Party paper: "schools increase inequalities"

2008-09-04T20:09:00.004+01:00

This paper by the Conservative party states that in the past decade educational inequality has increased and that the current education system entrenches disadvantage.

Key points:
- 55% of secondary schools in the 10% most deprived parts of England do not achieve 30% of children getting five good GCSEs including English and maths – the Government’s official benchmark for a failing school. This is compared to just 3 per cent in the 10 per cent least deprived areas.
- Last year five local authorities – including Islington, Darlington and Blackpool – did not have a single pupil from a maintained school attempt GCSE Physics.
- Last year, over 60 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals did not gain the 3Rs at Key Stage 2.
- Shockingly, 33,909 pupils eligible to receive free school meals did not attain any GCSE grades higher than a D in 2006/07 – 47% of all FSM pupils.
- In the last year, the attainment gap at GCSE between the poorest areas and the wealthiest widened by 15pp – from 28% to 43%.
- In 2002, the gap between free school meal pupils and the rest in science at Key Stage 2 was 10pp; it now stands at 15. And the gap has widened to 20% in maths – up from 16% in 2002.
- In 2002, at Key Stage 2 (aged 11), the gap between 11 year-olds eligible for free school meals (FSM) and those who were not reaching the expected level was 26 points for English, 16 points for maths and 10 points for science.
- In 2005, for the same pupils aged 14 this gap had grown to 27 points for English, 27 points for maths and 30 points for science.
- And in 2007, by the time pupils came to take GCSEs 21.1% of FSM pupils gained five good GCSEs including English and maths, compared to 49% of non-FSM pupil s- a gap of nearly 28%

The paper does not state any recommendations nor give Conservative Party policy.

A Level results 2008

2008-09-02T11:33:00.007+01:00

The key headlines from this years A Level results:

- 2.7% increase in the number of entries at A Level and a 1.2% increase at AS level.
- 7.5% increase in maths A Level entries and a 15.5% increase in further maths.
- Biology, physics and chemistry witnessed 2-3% increases in the number of entries.
- English is the most popular A Level (with 10.8 of all candidates taking English) this is followed by maths and then biology.
- A-C grades are up from 72.8% to 73.9%
- A grades see a small rise to 25.9%

Yorkshire and Humber has made one of the smallest improvements in the number of candidates gaining grade A at A level (2002-08) and only 22.3% of entries gain a grade A (second worst government office region).

For full report refer to the JCQ paper here.

GCSE results 2008

2008-09-02T11:23:00.006+01:00

The key headlines from the GCSE results 2008 are:

- Overall pass rate at A*-C grades are up by 2.4pp to 65.7%
- English is up 0.7pp and maths 1.1pp
- Entries receiving either an A* or A grade has risen from 19.5% last year to 20.7%
- Entries to chemistry, physics and biology have increased by around 30%
- Boys pass rate is exceeding that of girls, hence the gender gap is closing: boys pass rate in English is up 0.9pp (girls 0.4pp) and in maths it is up 1.2pp (girls 1.0pp)
- For the first time boys pass rate went through the 60% mark and now stands at 62.1%

pp = percentage point(s)

Yorkshire & Humber remains the government region with the lowest percentage achieving a grade C (60.8%) or grade A (16.8%).

For full results see JCQ paper here

Equity within education

2008-08-21T15:43:00.003+01:00

This is the third report on the state of equity in the English education system from the Centre for Equity in Education based at The University of Manchester. It argues that efforts to create a more equitable education system are now at a strategic crossroad – trapped between a target-driven ‘effectiveness and improvement’model of service reform, and efforts to develop localised and coordinated responses to inequity.

Key findings:
- The report argues that if equity is to be enhanced, the space must be created for policies to be joined up locally and oriented to meeting community needs.
- Despite repeated policy interventions, the most disadvantaged children and young people continue to be at greatest risk of impoverished educational experiences, low achievements and limited life chances.
- Policy has focused on ‘improving’ schools and other education settings and making them more ‘effective’, yet the source of inequities lies largely beyond the school, in social disadvantage. Efforts at educational improvement have to be linked into a coherent strategy to address wider social and economic issues.
- There is currently more potential than ever before to achieve greater equity within the English education system. In particular, we find that multiple co-ordinating mechanisms exist in the form of Local Strategic Partnerships, neighbourhood management initiatives, integrated children’s service networks, extended services clusters and the like. In practice, however, these deliver little by way of co-ordinated strategies that might address educational inequity.
- Often, these co-ordinating mechanisms have little effective involvement from schools and wider community stakeholders. Even where they do, their ability to generate strategy is hamstrung by the perverse consequences of the government’s target-setting regime. Participants are accountable for separate sets of targets, and have to achieve these within short timescales.
- Despite this, there are examples of more genuine collaboration. These are characterised by a contextual analysis leading to a local strategy. Participants probe beneath the surface of headline performance indicators to understand how local dynamics shape particular outcomes.
- If these approaches are to flourish, action is needed at three levels:
• Head teachers and other education leaders need to:
− be proactive in joining and forming partnerships with other key actors in the areas they serve
− work with their partners to understand ‘how things work round here’ and to formulate a long-term area strategy to tackle inequities
− harmonise work within their schools and settings with this wider strategy.
• Local authorities and other local leaders need to:
− promote the development of partnerships at area level
− offer support to partnerships for contextual analysis and strategy formulation
− develop their own contextual analyses and strategies as a framework within which area partnerships can operate
− bring a democratic voice to bear on the work of area partnerships.
• Central government needs to:
− continue to create spaces in which local partnerships can flourish
− encourage these partnerships to undertake contextual analyses and formulate long-term strategies
− counter the perverse consequences of the target-setting regime by locating accountability at the level of the partnership, entering into dialogue about local goals, and extending the timescale over which achievements are measured and the range of evidence this involves
− develop its own contextual analyses and strategies as a framework within which local authorities and area partnerships can operate.

Home-school partnerships

2008-08-19T15:36:00.003+01:00

This report by the New Zealand Ministry of Education describes the findings of a research project designed to improve understanding of the key elements of successful home–school partnerships and how they operate in some different school settings. The project includes a review of evidence and an empirical research component.

Key points:
- The research literature is unequivocal in showing that parental involvement makes a significant difference to educational achievement. Given this, it is not surprising that during the last decade there has been a high level of interest in interventions aimed at involving parents (especially “hard to reach” parents) more fully in the education of their children, as a means to raising educational achievement of children who are currently not performing to expectations in the education system.
- The research literature does suggest that successful home–school partnerships display many of the following features:
- Relationships in successful home–school partnerships are collaborative and mutually respectful.
- Successful partnerships are multi-dimensional, and responsive to community needs.
- Successful home–school partnerships are planned for; embedded within whole school development plans; well resourced and regularly reviewed.
- Successful partnerships are goal oriented and focused on learning.
- Effective parental engagement happens largely at home.
- There is timely two-way communication between school and parents in successful partnerships.
- Building successful home–school partnerships takes time and commitment. In nearly all the case study schools, teachers, parents, and sometimes children, thought the principal was a key player in the establishment of successful partnerships. Teachers’ attitudes also seem to be critical to the success of home–school partnerships.
- Context affects the nature of partnerships and the way they develop. Home–school partnerships are perceived to be easier to establish in small schools, and in closely knit communities, and more difficult with secondary age students.
- The case studies show that technologies such as mobile phones, the internet and DVDs are being used creatively to strengthen links between school and home. Several case study schools are also exploring ways of modifying current school practices such as parent–teacher interviews and homework as ways of facilitating genuine two-way communication between school and home.
- One interesting finding was how little we really know about the effectiveness of home–school partnerships as strategies for reducing disparity and/or developing successful 21st century learners. The report concludes by raising some questions that we think are important to consider. Specifically it suggests that there is a need to find out more about exactly what sort of home–school partnerships are beneficial, how they are beneficial, and to whom.

Customer Perception of DCSF, young people's view

2008-08-19T15:02:00.007+01:00

This survey by the BMG, for the DCSF, follows a similar survey directed towards parents. It asks young people (10-19) for their views, as aligned to the DCSF Departmental Strategic Objectives.

Key points:
- Young people report that their parents are generally involved in their school or college life (82% disagreed that their parents prefer not to get involved), they feel supported by their parents in their work (95%) and they generally always tell their parents how they are getting on in their education (85%). The majority of young people also reported that their parents usually know what kind of homework they have (as 72% disagreed that their parents do not know what kind of work they have).
- In general, car usage amongst this group is the exception rather than the norm, as two in five (41%) young people report that they never travel to school, college, university or work by car, and a further one in four do so rarely (26% travel by car less often than not). The remaining one in three (32%) travel by car every day or more often than not.
- All young people were asked whether they have someone they could talk to about things that matter to them if they were feeling worried or angry. The majority of young people feel they definitely have someone they could speak to in such a scenario (71%), while a further one in four (23%) feel they probably have someone they could speak to. A minority of 6% feel they do not have someone to talk to, or are unsure of whether they do.
- Overall, young people feel that there is not very much of a problem of bullying in their school or college, as reported by over eight in ten (84%). This comprises one in four (24%) who feel that bullying is not a problem at all, while six in ten (60%) feel it is not very much of a problem.

- Around nine in ten young people feel safe during the day in the given situations. Over nine in ten feel it is safe in school or college, 93% feel it is safe in the local community, and just fewer feel safe on public transport during the day (91%) or travelling to and from school or college (91%).

- Amongst all young people primary schools are rated positively (good or very good) by the highest overall proportion (97% rate them as good), followed by universities (96%) and 6th form colleges or Further Education colleges for those aged 16-19 (94%). Secondary schools are also rated positively by the majority (88%). However universities are rated as very good by the highest proportion (39%), followed by sixth form colleges and further education colleges for 16-19 year olds (37%) and then secondary schools (27%), with primary schools rated as very good by one in five young people (20%).

- Young people were asked how they would describe pupil behaviour at their school or college. Half feel that pupil behaviour is generally good (51%), while just over one in three (37%) feels it is acceptable, and one in eight feels it is poor (12%).

Family Intervention Projects Evaluation

2008-08-19T14:52:00.002+01:00

This evaluation by the DCSF and the Department for Communities and Local Government examines the national network of Family Intervention Projects (FIPs) which were set up as part of the Respect Action Plan, launched in January 2006. These projects aimed to reduce anti-social behaviour (ASB) perpetrated by the most anti-social and challenging families, prevent cycles of homelessness due to ASB and achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes for children and young people. FIPs use an ‘assertive’ and ‘persistent’ style of working to challenge and support families to address the root causes of their ASB.

Key findings:
- 53 FIPs were set up during 2006 and 2007. Of these 34 were effectively set up from scratch and the remaining 19 projects existed prior to 2006 and were not making fundamental changes when they became a FIP. Typically FIPs were working with families in their own homes for between six to 12 months. Most projects were either being run by a team within the Local Authority (LA) or a voluntary sector provider.
- 885 families were referred to a FIP between February and October 2007, of these 78% met the referral criteria and agreed to work with a FIP. FIPs appeared to be working with their intended beneficiaries as families had high levels of ASB and criminal activities and were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless because of their ASB. These families were also well known in the area for causing ASB.
- The early outcomes reported by FIP staff for 90 families who completed the FIP intervention displayed considerable improvements in all key areas of the FIPs’ work. ASB and criminal activities had declined considerably at the point families exited from a FIP, as had the risk of families engaging in ASB. The risk of families being evicted had also considerably reduced. The outcomes for children and young people were also reported to have improved.
- Eight features of the FIP model appeared to be critical to its success: recruitment and retention of high quality staff, small caseloads, having a dedicated key worker who manages a family and works intensively with them, a whole-family approach, staying involved with a family for as long as necessary, scope to use resources creatively, using sanctions with support, and effective multi-agency relationships.

Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinder Evalaution

2008-08-18T16:44:00.002+01:00

This report builds on earlier papers by the DCSF and presents the evidence of the evaluation of the Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinder (PEIP). The PEIP was a DCSF funded programme over the period September 2006 – March 2008 at a cost of £7.6 million in DCSF grant payments to LAs. PEIP funded 18 local authorities (LAs) to implement one of three selected parenting programmes with parents of children aged 8 – 13 years: Incredible Years, Triple P and Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities, selected as having a sound evidence base for their effectiveness. The main aim of the study was to explore the roll out of these three programmes on a large scale across a substantial number of LAs: to examine parent and child outcomes, cost-effectiveness and the processes that optimise (or impair) the delivery of parenting programmes.

Key findings:
- The Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinder has been successful in rolling out three evidence-based parenting programmes across 18 LAs with high levels of positive gains for parents and their children.
- The PEIP increased the pool of trained facilitators: approximately 1100 additional trained staff.
- PEIP provided parenting training for 3575 parents on 425 courses of which 338 courses finished by the end of the PEIP and 87 were continuing.
- Parental course completion rate was good and similar across programmes: 73% of parents overall.
- The training was very successful as measured by improvements in the parents’ mental well-being, their parenting skills, their sense of being a parent, and also in the behaviour of the child about whom they were concerned.
- The three programmes produced comparable outcomes on all measures of improvement.
- Cost effectiveness varied greatly between LAs using the same programme indicating the importance of local policy and organisational factors.
- Cost effectiveness also varied between the three programmes: the average cost per parent completing was £2955, with Incredible Years courses being the most costly.

Support needs of children and young people who move due to domestic violence

2008-08-18T16:28:00.004+01:00

This is the summary report of findings from research funded by the Scottish Executive and commissioned by Women’s Aid. The research explores the views, experiences and support needs of children and young people who have to move home as a result of domestic abuse.

Key findings:
- Information from prior studies suggests that children experiencing domestic abuse are likely to know about it and be affected by it; have sophisticated understandings and information about it; and to have mixed views about refuge life. Earlier studies also suggest that given the complexities of their lives, it can be difficult for organisations to find effective ways to support them.
- Moving school or returning to school following having to move house because of domestic abuse was a major source of anxiety; this seemed to be focused on anxieties about implications for relationships with friends and friendships.
- One theme emerging strongly from the interviews was the value young people placed on having someone they could completely trust to talk to about their experiences. However, finding someone appropriate to fulfil this role could be difficult.
- Support agencies should prioritise helping them maintain old friendships and networks; helping them build new ones where this is not possible.
- Recognition should be given to the value young people in this situation place on being able to talk about their experiences to someone they completely trust who will keep their information private; recognise how difficult it is for them to find support at this time from friends and relatives.
- Schools should acknowledge the difficulties young people have when return in to or moving school in this situation; appreciate this is a very difficult transition; make planned and appropriate provision.
- Schools should take seriously the concerns and anxieties young people have about peer relationships when returning to school or moving school in this situation; find ways to acknowledge this; make planned and appropriate provision.

Training and Development Needs of Leaders of Children's Services

2008-08-18T15:59:00.003+01:00

This report follows a study involving six in-depth local area case studies including interviews with the Director of Children’s Services, assistant directors of children’s services, members of the Children’s Trust, the Chief Executive of the local authority (LA) and the Lead Member for Children’s Services (LMCS). A further sixteen interviews were carried out with DCSs over the telephone.

Key findings:
- The study highlighted the importance of strong leadership underpinned by a number of personal qualities and values necessary for effective delivery of the DCS role. The qualities identified were generally similar to those that might be expected for other local authority leadership roles. However, one in particular was considered critical for the DCS role - the passion for the children’s rights and entitlements agenda.
- Stakeholders described a range of professional characteristics (or behaviours) which they
considered to be important. These included:
• displaying a personal and professional demeanour which commands the confidence of
others;
• the ability to anticipate, manage and take risks;
• working collaboratively and recognising and respecting the skills of others;
• a commitment to developing others;
• ability to remain robust under pressure, and inspire others to do the same.
- Other issues which were considered to influence effective delivery of the role were raised by the DCSs consulted. These were:
• the corporate and political demands of the role;
• the mismatch between the statutory responsibilities and decision making powers;
• the expectations associated with the size and breadth of the role;
• the emphasis of responsibilities across all ECM outcomes.
- Given that many DCSs currently come from a specific professional background, gaining
experience of the sectors they were less familiar with was initially important;
- The integration agenda means that DCSs’ attention is predominantly focused on issues
such as: developing robust lines of accountability; outcome based management.
pooling budgets; joint appointments; and commissioning services. These represented
new challenges and have therefore required strong leadership skills.
- Some consultees identified that, for them, leading the partnership required an additional
set of skills and a change in style.

DCSF Customer Perception Survey

2008-08-18T15:37:00.005+01:00

BMG (commissioned by the DCSF) have undertaken this customer perception survey by interviewing 1000 respondents across the UK (a sample designed to be broadly representative of the general public). The survey is structured on the 6 Department Strategic Objectives which the DCSF have.

Key points:

- 65% believe it is very important that 3-4 year olds attend some form of pre-school.

- 80% believe that bullying is a problem in schools, to some degree. Females being more likely to assert this claim.

- The majority of respondents feel that all situations are safe for young people during the day, although opinion is divided when considering situations for young people at night.

- The majority of general public respondents feel that the current quality of publicly funded education is good, with a minority rating any stage as poor to any degree.

- Respondents were most likely to rate the current quality of university or higher education as good as almost nine in ten gave a positive rating here (87%). This is followed by the younger education stages as nurseries, pre-schools and early learning were rated positively by 85%, while 84% feel that the quality of primary education is good. 6th Form colleges or Further Education colleges were felt to provide good quality education by 81%. Secondary schools were most likely to be rated as very or quite poor, by a third of general public respondents (34%), although still the majority of respondents rate secondary schools as good (66%).

- The majority of respondents feel that pupil behaviour is generally good (30%) or acceptable (40%), while around a quarter (27%) feels that it is poor.

- Seven in ten respondents agree that England is a good country for children to grow up in, while just over a quarter disagree that this is the case.

The influence of context on attainment in primary school

2008-08-18T15:22:00.002+01:00

Growing awareness of the importance of parents and the home environment in shaping children’s achievement, coupled with the recognition of the school as a site for engagement in broader aspects of social and personal development, has raised interest in the interactions between these different influences as a way of addressing issues of educational attainment and inequality. This study by the Institute of Education explores the nature of these links and considers the relative contribution of different aspects of four different ‘contexts’ or likely spheres of influence on pupil achievement in England at Key Stage 2 (age 10/11), as well as their associations with one another.

Key findings:
- Pupils with better contexts – i.e. better individual, school and family background and experience – have higher scores in Key Stage 2 assessments in English, maths and science.
- Child capabilities are most important in predicting Key Stage 2 attainment across all three subjects. Social and economic family background factors carry the second-largest influence. Much weaker in predicting attainment are proximal features of the family (family relationships and behaviours), with the school-peer context having the weakest influence.
- Individuals who have a good quality experience in one sphere of their life are also more likely to have good experiences in other contexts.
- The effect of each context on attainment is affected by its relationships with other contexts.

Involvement of business in education

2008-08-18T15:13:00.003+01:00

This DCSF review of the most robust evidence on the impact of education links with employers
specifically focused on measurable impacts.

Key points:
- There are positive impacts of employers’ involvement with education. However, there have been only a few studies that provide evidence of a measurable improvement in grades, or other measures of students’ attainment.
- Other positive impacts include preparedness for work, developing job and work skills, improving work-based competencies, attitudes and behaviours, enhanced employability and higher initial wage rates. Although not directly related to student attainment these findings provide valuable evidence of the impact and importance of business involvement in education.
- In ‘Business Involvement in Mathematics’, communication and exchange of ideas between teachers and the business community about the curriculum and teaching was a key contributory factor to the positive impacts.
- For mentoring to be effective it should be part of whole-school approach to raise attainment, and that there should be clear selection criteria for students receiving mentoring.
- In the Increased Flexibilities Programme, which provided vocational learning opportunities for young people, having employers as visiting speakers contributed to students gaining higher qualifications.
- Having employees working with schools as an actual work assignment, rather than as an extra-curricular activity, was a key feature of the success of the IBM business links with education.
- Positive impacts on students’ outcomes other than objective measures of student
attainment included:
• Lower drop-out rates, improved attendance, increased academic course taking, and the increased likelihood of graduating on time. (Kemple and Snipes, 2000).
• Higher rates of enrolment and continuity in post-secondary education, sustained higher levels of employment, and higher hourly wage rates.
- Of the higher quality studies, some found positive impacts on academic attainment. But, a similar number did not detect any impact.
- No high quality research has detected a negative impact on attainment.

The impact of programme led apprenticeships

2008-08-18T14:29:00.003+01:00

This Ofsted survey evaluates programme-led apprenticeships (PLA) and their impact on improving participation and achievement. Programme-led apprenticeships provide an important alternative to the more traditional employer-led apprenticeship route for young people who have found it difficult to gain employment or for those who require an initial period of planned training before taking up employment. This report looks at the different methods of delivering programme-led apprenticeships and evaluates their success.

The Learning and Skills Council published "A Strategy for programme-led apprenticeships in England for 2007–2010 in July 2007". This report also looks at the implementation of this strategy.

Key points:
- Learners on PLAs were better prepared for their apprenticeship and were more likely to achieve their full apprenticeship framework in a shorter time period where PLAs were well-designed and provided an initial period of planned training which included elements of the apprenticeship framework.
- Employers were positive about the initial period of planned training that learners on PLAs had undertaken prior to becoming employed. It enabled employed apprentices to settle more quickly into their work roles.
- Too few further education colleges had converted their programme-led full-time vocational courses to ensure there was progression to an employed apprenticeship.
- Work placements, as part of a programme-led apprenticeship, gave a valuable opportunity for young people to start an apprenticeship where there were insufficient employers offering apprenticeships or where they needed work experience prior to being employed. But learners who spent too long on a work placement, without the prospect of securing employment, lost motivation and were more likely to leave their programme.
- The low level of payment available for learners on PLAs is a potential deterrent for those on work placements. There were examples of learners on PLAs working for 30 hours a week and receiving no payment.
- Insufficient use was made of PLAs as a progression route from Entry to Employment.
- Learners’ views on PLAs were mixed. Learners on PLAs who were completing an initial period of planned training were generally more positive than those on work placements.

The report also contains recommendations for the Learning & Skills Council, Government Departments, Skills Sector Councils and Learners and Providers.

White boys from low income families: good practice in schools

2008-08-15T12:30:00.002+01:00

This report by Ofsted is based on a small survey of good practice in the education of white boys from low-income backgrounds. It is based on a study of six primaries, 10 secondaries, 3 special schools and 1 pupil referral unit.

Key points:
- Examples of good practice are grouped under the following questions that inspectors asked schools during the survey.
~ What teaching and learning strategies work best to raise standards?
~ How do schools promote the personal development and well-being of white boys from low-income backgrounds?
~ What do schools need to do to understand and meet the needs of white boys from low-income backgrounds?
~ How do schools support white boys from low-income backgrounds to become independent learners?
~ How should schools make use of increased flexibility in the curriculum to support white boys from low-income families?
~ How should schools seek to engage parents and carers?
~ How should institutions make the best use of resources?
~ What are the roles of others beyond the school in helping to personalise teaching and learning?

- Schools that are successful in raising the attainment of white boys from low income have these features:
~ an ethos which demonstrates commitment to every individual and which
treats staff and pupils with fairness, trust and respect
~ consistent support to develop boys’ organisation skills and instill the importance of perseverance; any anti-school subculture ‘left at the gates’
~ rigorous monitoring systems which track individual pupils’ performance against expectations; realistic but challenging targets; tailored, flexible intervention programmes and frequent reviews of performance against targets
~ a highly structured step-by-step framework for teaching, starting with considerable guidance by the teacher and leading gradually to more independent work by the pupils when it is clear that this will enhance rather than detract from achievement
~ a curriculum which is tightly structured around individual needs and linked to support programmes that seek to raise aspirations
~ creative and flexible strategies to engage parents and carers, make them feel valued, enable them to give greater support to their sons’ education and help them make informed decisions about the future
~ a strong emphasis on seeking and listening to the views of these pupils
~ genuine engagement of boys in setting individual targets, reviewing progress, shaping curricular and extra-curricular activities and making choices about the future
~ key adults, including support staff and learning mentors, who are flexible and committed, know the boys well and are sensitive to any difficulties which might arise in their home
~ a good range of emotional support for boys to enable them to manage anxieties and develop the skills to express their feelings constructively
~ strong partnership with a wide range of agencies to provide social, emotional, educational and practical support for boys and their families in order to raise their aspirations.

Professional Development of Teachers

2008-08-15T12:06:00.004+01:00

This report by the think tank Policy Exchange considers how to recruit, retain and develop a new generation of talented, inspired and effective teachers to tackle educational inequality.

It argues instead that we should embrace methods more attuned to today’s graduates and the modern employment market. This involves allowing new teachers to ‘earn while they learn’, giving all teachers much more say over their ongoing training and freeing schools to develop remuneration schemes which are bespoke to their particular needs. These methods would lead to the creation of a dynamic, well trained and motivated workforce – teachers who are more appropriately qualified before they enter teaching and who become better teachers in the classroom.

Key points:
- Pay, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), recruitment and training should be linked and considered together.
- More on the job training, especially at the start of the career ("earn whilst you learn"), as this would help both new starters as well as experienced teachers.
- More flexibility in employment and pay scales, allowing some to "fast track" current systems.
- Teaching is considered to be similar to social work and nursing (by managers and graduates) but is seen as a noble profession and would be considered if flexibilities exist allowing for fast entry and exit.
- In shortage subjects the standards to accept new teachers are too low and hardly any applicants fail.
- Phasing out the BEd route, as it is the most expensive route and usually attracts the least academically able teachers.
- Far more CPD should take place in schools.

There are also recommendations on teacher pay and linking this to CPD.

Experiences of teachers, 2nd year in post

2008-08-12T15:05:00.003+01:00

The Becoming a Teacher study is a six-year longitudinal research project (2003-2009) exploring beginner teachers’ experiences of initial teacher training, Induction and early professional
development in England. This report presents findings relating to beginner teachers’ experiences of their second year in post.

Key points:
- Primary school teachers were less likely to report teaching Year 6 classes (the year group associated with the Key Stage 2 National Tests) than other year groups within the primary phase. In contrast, the percentage teaching Year 11 (i.e. the GCSE year) was the largest across the secondary phase.
- Over two-thirds (68%) of primary school teachers reported being a subject coordinator during their second year of teaching. Those teachers who held this role were, on average, younger than those who did not.
- A quarter of teachers working in secondary schools reported acting as a form tutor during their second year of teaching and nine per cent as head of department.
- Teachers working in schools perceived to be ‘in difficulties’ were more likely to report taking on the roles of form tutor and head of department than those not working in such schools.
- Secondary school teachers were more likely than primary school teachers to report having ‘covered classes’ for other teachers, to have taken part in ‘extra-curricular activities’ and to have ‘taught pupils with challenging behaviour’ during the school year. Primary school teachers were more likely than those working in secondary schools to report ‘taking pupils on school trips as part of the curriculum’.
- Younger teachers were more likely than older teachers to report being involved in ‘discussions about the goals and policies of your school/department’, ‘formal discussions about the allocation of financial resources’ and ‘formal discussions on any whole-school issues with the head teacher’.
- Just under a third of teachers (30%) reported working up to ten hours per week on top of their (timetabled) school day, a third (32%) between 11 and 15 additional hours, and over a third (37%) 16 or more additional hours.
- Teachers working in schools reported as ‘high in the league tables’ were more likely than those not working in such schools to rate themselves as ‘very effective’ teachers (54% and 42% respectively).
- When survey respondents were asked who or what, if anything, had helped them in their development as a teacher during the year, four out of the five most common responses all related to specific individuals/groups of people. These were:
• ‘colleagues at school/college’ (mentioned by 49% of respondents);
• ‘head of department’ (14%);
• ‘contact with other teachers with a similar amount of experience’ (10%); and
• ‘head teacher/principal’ (10%).

Povery and inequality in the UK: 2008

2008-08-12T14:53:00.002+01:00

This report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows why tackling child poverty is a difficult.

Some extracts:
- There was a small rise in poverty amongst families with children. As with overall poverty, this was not statistically significant, but it is the second year that child poverty has risen.
- Between 2006–07 and 2010–11, child poverty needs to fall by an average of 300,000 per year to meet the government’s targets. Although Budget 2008 announced a £0.9 billion package of measures to reduce child poverty, additional spending of £2.8 billion will be required to have a 50:50 chance of meeting the target.
- Child poverty has risen slightly since 2004–05 using income-based indicators, but it has fallen using the government’s new combined low-income–material deprivation indicator over the same period. Our own indicator of relative material deprivation is unchanged since 2004–05, showing that the living standards of poor families with children have risen since 2004–05 but have not caught up with those of richer families with children.
- Levels of material deprivation generally fall as incomes rise, but children in households with less than 40% of median income – so-called ‘severe’ poverty – are, on average, less deprived than those in households with between 40% and 60% of median income.
- Children in a working lone-parent family are less likely to be in income poverty than those in a one-earner couple family, but they are more likely to be in poverty using a material deprivation indicator. Also, they tend to have higher levels of deprivation than children in a one-earner couple family with similar levels of equivalised income.
- Families with children and disabled adults are less likely to be in income-based poverty than those without disabled adults, presumably because many receive disability-related additions to state benefits. However, they are more likely to be in material deprivation poverty

Welsh school transition planning

2008-08-12T14:44:00.004+01:00

This report by Estyn (the inspectorate for children's services in Wales), evaluates the initial impact of transition plans and their use by primary-secondary school partnerships to improve the quality of learning and standards and includes case studies of good practice in key areas.

Transition plans are the means by which secondary schools and their partner primary schools formalise their arrangements to work together on curriculum, learning and assessment issues that relate to the 7-14 phase of education. This follows Welsh only legislation requiring schools to cooperate in this area.

Key points:
- While most schools have improved some aspects of transition, particularly pastoral support, only a few primary and secondary schools have comprehensive arrangements to secure effective transition arrangements, including:
• agreed approaches to managing and co-ordinating transition with partners;
• joint curriculum planning to ensure continuity and progression in learning;
• arrangements to achieve continuity in teaching and learning that build on primary school methods;
• ways to achieve consistency in assessment and to monitor and track pupils’ progress against prior attainment; and
• the means to evaluate the impact of transition arrangements on standards.
- As a result, pupils often slip back when they move from primary to secondary school because they do not receive teaching appropriate to their needs and abilities.
- Plans include information on how schools intend to improve arrangements in the five core aspects of transition. Nearly all plans also include arrangements in optional areas, such as pastoral links.
- The clusters2 of schools that have the best plans know what they have achieved so far and have identified specific priorities for improvement that they plan to address over the three-year period 2007-2010. Their transition plans are an integral part of their school improvement agenda and include measurable outcomes for learners.
- The common shortcomings in many transition plans are that they:
• are not evaluative enough;
• are not specific enough to inform planning over a three-year period;
• do not include, where appropriate, national or local initiatives;
• focus too much on processes and not enough on outcomes; and
• do not enable the cluster to measure the impact of planned action.

- The report lists 14 recommendations for schools, LAs and the Welsh Government

Parental views of schools

2008-08-12T14:03:00.007+01:00

A representative sample of parents with children in English schools were consulted on their views of their child's education in January 2008 for this DCSF report.

Key points:
- Most parents were satisfied with the their child's school, with 73% being very or extremely satisfied:

- Parents who said they were dissatisfied were asked why they had said this. The main issues highlighted by these parents were poor quality teaching (mentioned by 37% of dissatisfied parents), problems with discipline, bullying or other forms of antisocial behaviour (34%), and poor academic standards or exam results (28%). Poor quality special needs provision was also an issue for a substantial minority of dissatisfied parents (21%).
- Parents were also asked how good they thought their child’s school was at dealing with parents’ concerns effectively. About three fifths (58%) of parents described the school as very good at this, with a further 29% saying it was fairly good.
- When asked for the most important factors when choosing a new school the majority of parents (59%) stated the location of the school or ease of getting to the school had been among the most important factors in choosing a school. A quarter of parents mentioned academic success or success in exams (25%) and a similar proportion mentioned the overall reputation of the school or whether the school had been recommended to them (23%).
- Seven out of ten parents (71%) said they felt they had had a choice of good state-funded schools within their own local authority area; a quarter said this had not been the case, with 10% of parents saying there was only one good state-funded school within their local authority area.
- The majority of parents supported a range of school types in their local area:

- The vast majority of parents seemed to endorse the idea of state schools forming partnerships with Further Education colleges (89% said this was a good thing), parent groups (88%) and universities and Higher Education colleges (87%), with only one or two per cent of parents indicating that they thought such partnerships would be a bad thing. Approval of the idea of partnership with other state schools and community groups was also strong, with 82% and 80% of parents respectively saying these were a good thing and again small proportions indicating disapproval. Three quarters (76%) of parents said they thought partnership with charities was a good thing and two thirds (65%) said the same about partnership with businesses. Parents as a whole were less sure about partnerships with independent schools.
- 37% of parents were mainly favourable or very favourable towards academies.

Transition information sessions evaluation

2008-08-12T13:35:00.003+01:00

This report by the DCSF examines the impact of Transition Information Sessions (TIS) which form part of the parenting support core offer within the Extended Schools prospectus, Access to opportunities and services for all. This pilot covered two years, which included 9 LAs in year 1 and a further 11 LAs in the second year.

TIS aim to:
• lay the foundations of effective home-school partnerships;
• give parents information, ideas and an opportunity for discussion about parenting issues, including how to keep their child safe, happy and learning; and
• signpost parents to local and national sources of information, advice and support

Key points:
- Sessions were offered to a cohort of parents with a child entering a new school setting. Session content was shaped by local preference and need but with a focus on how parents can keep their child safe, happy and learning. Session duration was expected to be around one hour with some additional time for informal conversation. All sessions were expected to signpost parents to local and national services that are there to support them and sessions often directly involved such service providers - in planning, delivery and providing materials.
- The key success factors for local strategic planning were reported by local authorities to include; clarity of aims, effective publicity and branding, and strong leadership from the local authority. Local authorities and schools routinely benefited from the lessons learned from year 1.
- Despite the similarities to TIS in year one, a number of characteristics were found to be distinctive to the project in year two. The main ones were identified as follows:
o more defined links with other local programmes and strategies;
o expanded local authority performance management for TIS, such as the requirement for schools to produce action plans or mini-funding bids, to confirm their approach;
o a greater focus on accountability and value for money ;
o more ambitious TIS formats, with a wider view of 'transitions'; and
o positive influences from the TIS capacity-building programme for all local authorities, drawing on a toolkit for sessions and models of delivery developed within the demonstration project, and offered to all local authorities in 2007-08.
- The evaluation showed that schools were at a varied baseline position in developing their extended service core offer, with some already having a wide range of services in place and others making slower progress. The project often coincided with school-level issues that affected the priority of TIS. These included leadership changes and inspection.
- Steps to engage whole local populations were said to include –
o the use of mapping and consultation data to establish levels of need,
o closer work with district or cluster teams to reach deprived local communities; and
o strengthening third sector involvement within local TIS partnerships

- In Yorkshire & Humber Calderdale and Leeds have schools which took part in this pilot.

Teaching and learning in FE

2008-08-12T13:15:00.002+01:00

This think piece by the Learning and Skills Network explores changes to the Further Education sector by considering what the impact would be if the focus was on Teaching and Learning.

Key points:
- A focus on teaching and learning would ensure increased professionalism of tutors and the agency of learners, alongside improved relationship between tutors and learners, which is the cornerstone of success. This means improving the cultures of learning in every centre of post-16 learning, in the
post-16 sector and in the educational system as a whole.
- A definition and theory of learning is needed.

The paper is intended to be used with activities for professionals to complete whilst reading.

Participation in HE

2008-08-11T16:44:00.003+01:00

This report by the DIUS presents an analysis of the relationship between prior attainment and
young participation by gender, socio-economic class and ethnicity

• Historically, women had been under-represented in Higher Education. By 1992, however, the Age Participation Index suggested that young women’s participation rates had caught up with those of men. The 2005/06 Higher Education Initial Participation Rate figures showed a 7.2 percentage participation gap in favour of women - a gap which appears to continue to widen.
• This gender gap does not appear at the point of entry to Higher Education, and can be observed early on in the educational system. In 2007, 65% of girls achieved 5+ A*-C GCSEs or equivalent, compared to 55.8% of boys. Girls are also more likely to stay on in full-time education at age 16 (82% of girls and 72% of boys). They are more likely to be entered for A levels, more likely to pass them, and also more likely to do better than boys.
• For young people (18-19 year olds) who are English-domiciled and who did not attend an independent school in Year 11, we find no conclusive evidence of a gender difference in the likelihood of participating in HE - once prior attainment is controlled for and hence, efforts to reduce the gender gap in HE participation should predominantly be aimed at increasing the relative attainment of young men prior to HE.
• We find that young people from ethnic minority backgrounds are overwhelmingly more likely to enter HE compared to White people with the same prior attainment. In the case of young people who were eligible for FSM, we find that prior attainment explains the vast majority of the gap in participation compared to non-FSM pupils. In both cases this suggests that something else affects the likelihood to participate in HE, over and above prior attainment.

Evaluation of Parent Support Advisors

2008-08-11T16:40:00.003+01:00

The Parent Support Adviser Pilot (PSA) pilot is a government funded initiative to support 20 Local Authorities to introduce PSAs into their workforce. The DCSF commissioned the Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research to evaluate the PSA pilot programme from September 2006- August 2008. A government grant (£40 million) has been made available to fund employment of PSAs over this period. This second Interim Report of the Parent Support Adviser Pilot reports the findings of interviews with 105 parents and 69 PSAs from the 12 case study LAs held between November 2007 and January 2008.

Key findings:
- Parents were generally very positive about the support from their PSAs: 9 out of 10 rated them very helpful;
- The types of support offered in the pilot were very varied, ranging from informal support, through individual and group support such as parenting classes, to intensive support for parents in substantial need;
- PSA characteristics that were associated with high parent satisfaction can be summed up as a balance between empathic professionalism and being seen as a ‘friend’;
- Overall, most PSAs spent more time on 1:1 work with parents and relatively less time with pupils, but the balance of work varied widely; and
- Indicative evidence of PSA effectiveness was provided by both parents and PSAs for engaging and empowering parents, improving parents’ relationships with their children and improving their children’s behavioural, emotional and social development.

Australia 2020... sound familar?

2008-08-11T15:45:00.002+01:00

In much the same as the various strategy and consultation events in the UK which have looked at the long term needs of Britain, Australia ran a 2-day event examining what the nation needs for 2020. Pages 5-32 ("The Productivity Agenda") of the report looks at education.

Similar themes emerge: the need to be a world-leader at educational services; a strong emphasis on early years; life-long learning; higher status for teaching professionals; business-school connections. However, there are some new elements also.

Well worth a look if interested in this "bigger picture" future thinking... or just to see how similar Australia is to the UK direction.

Assessing the potential of e-learning to support re-engagement amongst young people

2008-08-11T15:39:00.003+01:00

This BECTA study highlights a range of systemic aspects concerned with supporting young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) and suggests a number of improvements in systems and practices. The research has also identifies some gaps in the data for this group and highlights the need for more information in order to ascertain the size and nature of the ‘NEET problem’.

Key points:
- the population of young people who are NEET is far from homogenous and includes a wide range of young people including those with serious problems, those who lack skills, those who have poor relationships and attitudes, as well as gap year students and those who are simply temporarily between courses or jobs.
- There is a clear case that ICT has a place in supporting young people 16- to 18-years-old who are NEET. However, the development of the implementation of appropriate support practices will not be simple. It is made more difficult because of the wide variety of differences that exist across the population of young people who are NEET. No single ‘one size fits all’ solution will be effective.

Children and young people's experience of domestic violence

2008-08-11T15:29:00.003+01:00

This briefing by the Social Care Institute for Excellence focuses on the experiences of children and young people (under the age of 18 years) of domestic violence between those adults who have, or previously held a parental role towards them. It includes both biological parents and non-related adults significant to the young people.

The effectiveness of interventions is beyond the scope of this briefing which is concerned with the experiences of children and young people in the context of this type of inter-partner violence. In examining experiences and coping strategies it also considers how the voices of children and young people are heard in research and practice, advocacy on their behalf, and evidence-based practice relating to work with children and young people affected by domestic violence.

Key points:
- Professional understanding of, and responses to domestic violence should be informed by the perspectives of children and young people.
- Practitioners need to recognise that domestic violence may be a cause of a range of physical, emotional and behavioural difficulties for children and young people.
- The complex relationship between domestic violence and safeguarding children requires respectful and sensitive handling.
- Children and young people aware of domestic violence have the right to be listened to and need help to understand what is happening.
- Some children and young people cope well despite their experiences of domestic violence.
- Work with perpetrators, though controversial, is an important aspect of reducing domestic violence and its impact on children and young people.

Children feeling safe (Australia)

2008-08-11T15:09:00.003+01:00

This report is the third in a series of studies undertaken by the Australian Childhood Foundation, Child Abuse Research Australia and Quantum that seek the views of children and young people about their experiences of childhood in Australia today. It specifically seeks to further explore children’s sense of safety. A national representative sample of 600 children and young people aged between 10-14 years across Australia completed an online survey in April 2007.

Key points:
- Even though on the surface the vast majority of children surveyed believe that Australia is a good place to grow up in, many of them reflect an undercurrent of worry and concern for their own safety and the protection of other children.
- More than a quarter of the children in the sample were actively concerned that they might be hurt by an adult or become a victim of crime. One in five expressed a degree of anxiety about children not being protected from abuse.
- Over half of the children in the sample reported feeling worried about being bullied, teased and not fitting in with their peers.
- The internet, in particular, is perceived as a new source of anxiety and threat for a large number of children and young people. 46% of children reported that they had been exposed to material on the internet which worried them. 27% are worried about the dangers they face over the internet.
- 2 in 5 children surveyed felt unsafe in public places, such as shopping centres, cinemas, sporting grounds, walking to school. Just over a quarter of children (27%) were anxious about catching public transport. In each of these findings, a substantial proportion of girls felt more unsafe than boys.
- Half of the children felt that children their age were not made to feel welcome by adults in public places. 1 in 8 children surveyed wanted better spaces for children to be engaged in childhood activities.
- It is only when children feel safe in the relationships with important adults that they are able to experience a broader sense of safety in the world around them.

People's attachment to place, especially in deprived communities

2008-08-11T15:04:00.003+01:00

This study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation examines the attachment that people feel to their current neighbourhood, particularly for those living in more deprived areas. Attachment is generally seen as having positive impacts for both individuals and for neighbourhoods. More recently it has been linked to the regeneration of deprived areas where it is associated with stable, cohesive neighbourhoods and where it is viewed as encouraging resident engagement in the neighbourhood in some positive way. This report examines the extent and nature of place attachment in deprived areas and looks at the impacts of neighbourhood instability and social mix on attachment.

Key Points:
- Place attachment tends to be higher for older people and those who have lived in an area longer, and for those who feel their area has strong social networks or cohesion, and low crime.
- Although the most important factors associated with place attachment are the same in deprived neighbourhoods as elsewhere – people are less likely to be attached in deprived areas than more affluent areas. This difference is mostly a result of weaker social networks or cohesion and worse views on crime or lack of safety in the neighbourhood.
- High turnover can negatively affect place attachment by undermining social networks, and by eroding trust and feelings of safety or security in an area.
- Social mix in deprived areas is not by itself associated with reduced attachment, though rapid changes in mix (particularly ethnic mix) may be problematic although it is not clear whether this is a temporary or more permanent phenomenon.

Wellbeing and Community Empowerment

2008-08-11T14:55:00.002+01:00

The Local Wellbeing Project is a three-year initiative to explore how local government can improve the happiness and wellbeing of their citizens. The project brings together three local authorities – Manchester, Hertfordshire and South Tyneside – with the Young Foundation; Professor Lord Richard Layard from the London School of Economics, who has led much of the debate about happiness and public policy; and the Improvement and Development Agency, who are leaders in local government innovation. The project is also backed by key central government departments.

The project covers five main strands: emotional resilience for 11 to 13 year olds; wellbeing of older people; guaranteed apprenticeships; neighbourhoods and community empowerment; and parenting. In each of these areas it will test out new approaches; measure their impact; develop replicable methods; and look at their cost effectiveness. Two underpinning themes will investigate the relationship between wellbeing and environmental sustainability and how best to measure wellbeing at a local level.

This report has been undertaken as part of the neighbourhood and community empowerment strand, which aims to accelerate understanding of how local authorities can, through their community engagement and neighbourhood working practices, increase the wellbeing of their residents.

Key points:
- A growing body of research supports the suggestion that community and neighbourhood empowerment has the potential to improve the wellbeing of residents and communities.
- Some forms of community empowerment involve power which is a ‘zero sum’ – where power is handed from one group to another, such as councillors devolving decisions on budgets to the community. However, empowerment does not always require this redistribution; often it requires that communities maximise their own capabilities by working together and involving themselves in civil society.
- Some of the less tangible outcomes of empowerment, such as increased contact between neighbours or improved knowledge of the local democratic process, have the potential to enhance wellbeing.
- empowerment that helps individuals and communities to exert control over the circumstances that affect their lives, thereby improving local wellbeing.
- Empowerment ‘done badly’ can lead to individuals and communities feeling that they cannot influence local circumstances and that they have very little control over some aspects of their lives. Poorly thought out empowerment initiatives can lead to disempowerment, which in turn reduces local wellbeing.

Teachers as Innovative Professionals

2008-08-07T15:34:00.004+01:00

This report by the DCSF Innovation Unit and the GTC follows case study research during 2007 about classroom innovation.

Key points:

- When asked what was meant by innovation the responses for most where that it is either (i) responding in the moment to events and to the particular needs of the pupils in a way that enables or enhances their learning; or (ii) trying something new or taking risks in the planning and execution of lessons as part of a systemic approach to continuously improving teaching and learning. Experienced teachers are more confident with the former, more spontaneous, approach. For a minority, it means freedom from following a set curriculum.

- This distinction between systemic and non systemic approaches to innovation seems to be important in any analysis of what innovation in teaching looks like, when it happens, and how it can be nurtured and sustained. In order to move beyond the spontaneous, opportunist approach to innovation, teachers need to be able to discuss, share and promote examples of innovation – at the individual, as well as the systemic, or school level.

- While most teachers believed innovation was an important and indeed an essential part of teaching, it was interesting to see that initial responses were different. Teachers innovating in a non systemic way were more likely to readily name things such as role plays, bringing external speakers into the classroom and organising day trips as examples of innovative practice. Their examples were about encouraging creativity, responding to the needs in the classroom, keeping things fresh and interesting. Whilst those teachers who felt that innovation was part of the ethos of their school talked about innovative timetabling and curricula; peer mentoring among pupils; non traditional management structures, professional development and involvement of pupils in the design of physical school places. Their concept of innovation was more one of managed continuous improvement and necessary change and they said “it’s not really about innovation – it’s about doing what works best for the children and their learning.”

- Teachers innovated within their own classroom primarily:
o To respond to the needs of their pupils (a major part of maintaining their own interest and increasing their job satisfaction)
o Because meeting pupils’ needs and producing interesting, successful lessons inspires and motivates them
o To meet the expectations of their head or senior manager
o In response to peer encouragement.
o Because the world is changing and pedagogy must reflect that. Learning must be designed to equip pupils for the world they will inhabit.

- Heads and other senior managers spoke of the main reasons for introducing innovation as being in order to:
o Improve results – particularly in failing schools
o Use education and the skills of all staff to open up possibilities in pupils’ minds and increase their self-belief
o Respond to a changing world i.e. recognising that schools needed to constantly change to keep pace with changing needs of their pupils and to make best use of new evidence about what works well
o Respond to the expectations of their pupils and parents.

- This differs from the rationale for innovation in the commercial world, where it is used to get or stay ahead of the competition, attract a bigger market share and attract and retain the best staff. Innovation in teaching, as far as teachers are concerned, is about pupils and their opportunities in the future.

- The most fundamental building block is leadership. Where there is a whole system approach to innovation, the headteacher and senior management team usually display strong and reflective leadership, principally through a clear vision of what the school is trying to achieve, and communicate this effectively through learning and collaboration.

- A number of other building blocks were common across our case study schools. Whilst strong and reflective leadership was still at the core, the creation of different forms of distributive leadership, where leadership is shared widely across the school, was also either a common feature or being developed as part of a programme of supported change:

Analysis of Children & Young People's Plans

2008-08-07T15:11:00.003+01:00

This NFER paper follows similar reports in recent years which summarises the main trends emerging from Local Authorities (LAs) Children and Young People's plans. This analysis is based on a representative sample of 50 LA plans.

Key points:
- Current priorities to LAs are commissioning, safeguarding and looked after children. The plans format and presentation was also analysed.
- On commissioning: half of LAs referred to commissioning, with a big focus on the development of a commissioning strategy since 2006. Where joint commissioning teams where mentioned they mostly referred to Primary Care Trusts and Council or LA teams. Most were commissioning by service, whilst some are commissioning by ECM area. CAMHS is the priority area for joint commissioning and looked after children are the priority group.
- On safeguarding: the priorities were child protection, closely followed by violence and abuse with all LAs reporting they had a Local Safeguarding Children's Board in place.
- On looked after children: the priority was on ensuring participation of looked after children in service planning and reviews; improving placement quality, stability and choice; educational attainment and improving health. With regards ECM the focus was on "staying safe" and "enjoy and achieve".
- Format and presentation (this analysis relates to 106 plans): plans are either highly designed or mainly word-processed (about half each). The average length has grown by an additional 22 pages to 74 pages since 2006, but there is wide variation in the length of plans. 69% of plans used pictures etc. (I think this is enough on this here, if you want more read the report).

Movements between employment and child poverty

2008-08-07T14:43:00.002+01:00

This study uses longitudinal data from the Families and Children Study to explore the impact of movements in and out of paid employment on the economic circumstances of families with children. It also looks at the circumstances of families that receive in-work tax credits to investigate how their economic circumstances change following employment transitions.

Key points:
- 53% of lone parent families and 94% of couple families had at least one parent who worked for 16 or more hours per week. 5% lone parents worked for less than 16 hours per week. Couple families were more likely to be dual earners than sole earners. In sole-earner couple families the father was more likely to be in work than the mother. Only 5% couple families had neither parent in work for any hours per week.
- 65% of working lone parent families were in receipt of Working Tax Credit (WTC). One quarter of single-earner couple families and one in ten dual-earner couple families were receiving WTC. On average lone parent families received £101 in tax credits (£58 WTC and £43 Child Tax Credit (CTC)). Sole-earning couple families received a similar amount to lone parent families (£56 WTC and £42 CTC), and dual-earning couple families received a lower amount (£30 WTC and £35 CTC).
- In 2005 18% families with children were living in income poverty.
- Family work status has a clear relationship with income poverty. More than half of families that did not have a parent who worked for at least 16 hours per week were in income poverty. There were very few dual-earning couple families in income poverty. However, having just one parent who works for 16 or more hours per week does not guarantee that the family will avoid income poverty. 13% working lone parent families were in income poverty, as were 15% of couple families where just one parent worked for 16 or more hours per week.
- Following a transition into work, a substantial proportion (70%) of families had moved out of income poverty a year later, and this figure was the same for lone parent and couple families. Lone-parent families who received in-work tax credits had higher income poverty exit rates after one year than couple families who received them (75% 62% respectively exited poverty). Rates of income poverty exit improved further for families that remained in work for a further year – 77% of lone parent families and 78% of couple families had escaped income poverty two years after finding and remaining in work.
- Movements in and out of work were the key factors associated with changes in income poverty and hardship status over time. Other factors were also associated with these changes, including family size, ethnicity, and tenure.

Good practice in literacy and numeracy

2008-08-06T17:39:00.003+01:00

This paper by PwC for the Northern Irish Education Department to examine good practice in literacy and numeracy by looking at Irish and British cities.

Key points:
Respondents thought that reasons for the ‘long tail’ of underachievement in Northern Ireland included:
- A lack of parental involvement in their children’s education;
- A perceived lack of value placed on education in certain areas, particularly deprived Protestant areas;
- A shortage of positive role models;
- The impact of ‘The Troubles’;
- A decline in the readiness for schooling of pupils entering primary school in recent years (e.g. in terms of behaviour, linguistic development etc);
- A lack of baseline data on young children, hindering early intervention in schools;
- The transition between pre-school and primary and between primary and post-primary schools; and
- A lack of strategic direction and consistency of approach at the system level.

Measures to improve boys’ performance were identified at the individual level, the pedagogical level, the school level and at a system-wide level.
These include:
- Mentoring;
- Target-setting and more personalised learning;
- Introducing greater variety in teaching styles and activities;
- Creating an ethos of high expectations and aspirations throughout the school;
- Using data effectively to identify areas of difficulty;
- Developing appropriate professional development for teachers; and
- Disseminating good practice.

Respondents also raised concerns about:
- The weight given to teaching literacy and numeracy in Initial Teacher Training (ITT), particularly for those planning to teach in post-primary schools;
- The level of support for special educational needs;
- Resources for literacy and numeracy (including the layout of school buildings); and
- The need for strong strategic leadership across the sector.

Effective schools and school systems are characterised by:
- Strong leadership and strategic vision;
- A focus on learning and development for all staff;
- Close linkages with parents and the wider community;
- An emphasis on personalised learning, tailored to the needs of the individual pupil;
- Creativity and making learning fun;
- Collaboration with other schools, particularly at transition stages; and
- The effective use of data.

Northern Ireland: closing the gap

2008-08-06T16:35:00.002+01:00

This strategy paper by the Department for Education (Northern Ireland) provides a useful summary of the successes and failures of this education system in raising standards, especially of certain groups of students who tend to consistently under-achieve in numeracy and literacy.

The paper summarises research (national and international) which informs the strategy:
- Targeting the allocation of resources in favour of children and schools in socially deprived areas and highlighted the positive contribution of Reading Recovery as an effective mechanism in improving standards in literacy was recommended.
- Teachers should have suitable initial and subsequent training in numeracy, as well as sound subject-specific knowledge and recommended that pupils should experience a wider and more challenging range of learning opportunities, including mental calculation in a range of contexts, tasks requiring strategic thinking, higher-order questioning, collaborative problem-solving, and increased use of ICT.
- The teaching is most effective when it is interactive and contingent on the pupils’ responses, includes collaborative activities, encourages discussion, involves problem-solving and investigative work, and links the learning with other subjects, including the use of authentic problems.
- The indications are that far more attention needs to be given, right from the start, to promoting speaking and listening skills to make sure that children build a good stock of words, learn to listen attentively and speak clearly and confidently. Speaking and listening, together with reading and writing, are prime communication skills that are central to children’s intellectual, social and emotional development. All these skills are drawn upon and promoted by high quality, systematic phonic work.
- High and lower-attaining children in year 2 who had access to linguistic phonics outperformed other children in year 2 who did not participate in the programme.
- A systematic approach to phonics at an early stage is more effective than later less systematic phonics and that a phonics approach corresponded well with the emphasis in the revised curriculum on enriching the children’s learning environment and learning experiences through activities such as learning through structured play at the Foundation Stage.
- The impact of socio-economic disadvantage on levels of attainment in literacy and numeracy, and on educational standards generally, is highlighted consistently in research fi ndings and specifi cally in a report commissioned by DE on Barriers to Recognising the Benefits of Education. That report recommended the further development of extended schools to establish the school as a hub for multi-agency services to support families and encourage educational involvement.

Improving outcomes for low-achieving students

2008-08-06T15:32:00.004+01:00

This report by HM Inspectors (Scotland), visited a number of schools that were making a significant difference for lower-achieving groups of pupils, often in less advantaged communities to find out what these schools had in common and what good practice could be found and shared.

Key points:
- Inspectors found common characteristics of effective practice in raising achievement for the lowest attaining 20% of pupils. The characteristics of effective practice which make a difference to young people’s lives by improving their literacy and numeracy skills are not new or innovative. They are characteristics that should be present in every school, in every class, and in every lesson.

- In particular, they relate to:
• the quality of relationships between staff and pupils
• consistently high expectations
• opportunities to work collaboratively
• well designed opportunities for pupils to be actively involved in learning and to contribute to discussions
• the commitment to a shared vision of how to improve the quality of pupils’ learning
• effective use of self-evaluation for improvement
• valuing and empowering staff, pupils and parents in order that they can work together to improve learning
• creating a climate of ambition and high aspiration for all
• ensuring that the school has a clear framework for teaching literacy and numeracy.

A useful document for leaders and teachers interested in classroom practice.

Expenditure and attainment at primary school

2008-08-06T15:07:00.002+01:00

This report by the LSE for the DCSF examined whether the dramatic increase in school expenditure in the last 10 years has led to increased pupil outcomes at primary school.

Context:
In much of the academic literature, it has proved difficult to find any positive relationship between school resources and academic outcomes, mainly because of the funding mechanism that exists for schools in England. Local authority grants for education are determined as a basic per pupil amount plus supplements for measures of social deprivation and additional educational needs. Local authorities in turn allocate funding to schools by a formula, which is largely driven by the number of pupils but also gives additional funding for pupils from socially disadvantaged backgrounds or with special educational needs. Pupils with these characteristics achieve, on average, lower results and hence the funding mechanism may introduce a negative correlation between resources and pupils’ performance; schools with more resources perform worse on average.

Key points:
- An increase of £1,000 in average expenditure per pupil (roughly an additional third of current expenditure) implies an average improvement in attainment corresponding to 4.3, 3.5 and 1.9 percent of a level in these subjects (key stage 2 levels).
- It seems to be easier to translate expenditure increases into improvement in Key Stage 2 attainment for English in more disadvantaged schools (compared to less advantaged schools), whereas the opposite is true for Science. For Maths, the effect of expenditure is higher in more advantaged schools, but the differential between school types is not as high as for the other subjects.
- Pupils eligible to receive Free School Meals do seem to benefit more on average from increases in expenditure in terms of attainment in English and Maths. There is less of a differential for Science.
- There is a stronger effect of expenditure on higher ability pupils (on the basis of their Key Stage 1 assessment) across all subjects.
- It would appear that spending on staff (teachers, support staff and other staff) are driving the overall effect. Learning resources are also potentially important for raising attainment in English and Science.
- We conclude that the increases in expenditure probably have been cost effective. To evaluate this fully, future work should investigate whether the effects of increasing expenditure in primary school persist and are evident for pupils when they undertake assessments in secondary school.

The effect of USA: No Child Left Behind

2008-08-06T14:59:00.003+01:00

This report from the USA describes findings from the second year of the most comprehensive, intensive, and carefully constructed study to date of trends in student achievement in all 50 states since 2002, the year the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was enacted.

Key points:
- It is not possible to directly relate improvements in student achievement to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy.
- Since 2002, reading and math achievement has gone up in most states according to the percentages of students scoring at the proficient level. Gains tended to be larger at the elementary and middle school grades than at the high school level. Achievement has also risen in most states according to effect sizes.
- In states where sufficient data exists, gaps have narrowed more often than they have widened since 2002, particularly for African American students and low-income students. Gap trends were also largely positive for Latino students, but this finding is less conclusive because in many states the Latino subgroup has changed significantly in size in recent years.On the whole, percentages proficient and effect sizes revealed similar trends of narrowing or widening, although percentages proficient gave a more positive picture of achievement gap trends than effect sizes.

CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services) Review

2008-08-04T10:56:00.003+01:00

The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service review commissioned by the DCSF and Department of Health have published their interim report:

Key points:
- There is evidence that the range of developments since 1995 in all services has achieved some notable improvements in all education, social care and health services, particularly the requirement on Local Authorities and Primary Care Trusts to produce a co-ordinated Child and Adolescent Mental Health Strategy.
- Comprehensive improvement in access to services for all children and consistency of provision across the full range of services has not yet been achieved.
- It has not been possible to monitor improvements in outcomes for children and young people as reliable routine outcome measurement and data collection is a complex task that is only just beginning to be undertaken by many services.

Child abuse and adult suicide

2008-08-04T10:51:00.002+01:00

Child abuse victims are among the most at-risk groups of committing suicide in later life, according to research.

A study in Canada involving 3,000 adults found that those who had been abused as a child were far more likely to have attempted suicide. Just under a third of sexual and physical abuse victims had attempted suicide, compared to just six per cent of those who had not experienced abuse.

Of those that took part in the survey, around one in ten had experienced either physical or sexual abuse. Repeated abuse over a number of years and abuse by a family member was the most strongly associated with suicide attempts. The research, which has been published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, was carried out by academics at the McGill Group for Suicide Studies in Montreal.

Reaching the hardest in Children's Centres

2008-08-04T08:36:00.004+01:00

A report by Capacity was carried out to look at the effectiveness of children’s centres in reaching the most highly disadvantaged families, the ways in which they meet the needs of those families and the outcomes achieved.

Ket findings:
- The study revolved around four “exemplar” children’s centre case studies, examining their work within the context of current government policies, best practice and a wide range of research perspectives.
- The centres within the study were found to be highly effective in delivering multi-agency services to and for children and families. Each has been successful in reaching a number of families who would be considered “difficult to include”, giving thought to and overcoming the practical and other barriers which might prevent those families using the various services on offer.
- It is possible that more resources than are currently allocated for the children’s centre programme are needed to ensure that it can meet its objectives. In acknowledgement of this, the DCSF has recently announced a cash injection of more than £4billion to children’s
centres which will include additional funds for outreach workers.
- The reach strategies adopted by successful centres have been implemented in a particularly thorough way. Some of the community consultations, for example, have been extensive and highly structured, utilising focus groups, outreach and public information campaigns, as opposed to more limited consultations and surveys.
- If children’s centres are to achieve their objectives, they need to capture detailed information about their users, both at the point of first contact and at subsequent intervals.
- In all four centres, the expertise and depth of experience of those leading the work was very considerable and this was a critical factor in their extensive achievements.

Childcare costs prevent parents from working

2008-08-04T08:27:00.001+01:00

More than a quarter of low-income parents are unable to work because of childcare costs, according to a YouGov survey.

The survey, carried out on behalf of Save the Children, found 28 per cent of parents on incomes lower than £15,000, could not afford to work.
Douglas Hamilton, head of policy and research at Save the Children, said parents often have to quit work to look after their children. He said: “The costs of childcare are so high that by going to work parents lose more money than they make. The majority of parents in poverty want to work, but with no-one to look after their children, they can’t.”

The children’s charity is calling on the government to introduce £100 grants for children from poor families to help fund holiday childcare. YouGov’s findings coincide with a Daycare Trust report that found the cost of holiday childcare in Great Britain rose by almost ten per cent in the past year, to a weekly average of almost £88.

Engaging parents in their children's learning

2008-08-01T11:49:00.002+01:00

This report by the GTC asked a diversity of parents of their experiences with schools via 6 structured workshops in three English cities.

For the purposes of this report, involvement is defined as activities that parents undertake in relation to their child’s school, such as attending parent-teacher consultations, performances and fetes and talking to their child about school and any homework they may have been given. Engagement is defined as the activities that parents undertake to learn about learning and develop their own knowledge in order to help their child.

Key points:
- Primary school teachers were accessible, but access to primary school teachers was becoming more difficult.
- In high school, access to teachers was restricted to formal events (such as parent evenings).
- Parents found it difficult to contact head teachers and were often restricted by gatekeepers.
- Fathers (who tended to be working), working parents generally and lone parents tended to have much less informal contact with primary and secondary schools; they were also less likely to be school volunteers or members of the PTA.
- Parents thought that schools expected them to be involved in their child’s learning and thought that schools assumed they would know how to do so, although this was not necessarily the case.
- Parents thought that it was important to be involved in their children’s learning.
- They were mixed in their opinions about how much they wanted to be involved apart from generally helping with homework and attending the formal parent-teacher consultations provided by the school.
- Parents also thought that by engaging with their child’s learning they gained a better understanding of their child’s abilities and interests; understood their child’s weaknesses; gained an insight into any other issues that may be occurring in their child’s life; and would be better able to tailor social activities to their child’s interests. It also reinforced the value of learning, for both the child and parent alike.
- Some parents did not feel that they wanted to be engaged with their child’s learning. This was for a range of reasons: it is the school’s responsibility to engage in a child’s learning; time pressures; and a lack of knowledge and skills about how to engage with a child’s learning.
- Parents often expressed a desire to know more about the curriculum that their child was following, or the teaching methods that were being used. This was particularly so for maths and science, for which teaching methods were thought to have changed considerably since they were at school.

Emerging Patterns of school leadership

2008-07-31T15:21:00.001+01:00

This paper outlines the key findings from a study examining emerging forms of school leadership, conducted by the University of Manchester on behalf of the National College for School Leadership (NCSL). The findings are drawn from a literature review and accounts of practice based on research conducted in 20 schools and collaborative arrangements. This study set out to map and explore emerging practice and to highlight possible future directions in leadership, management and governance that may support the further development of the education system.

Key findings:
- The research literature currently available provides only a partial account of developments on the ground.
- Changes in local arrangements are helping schools to cope with an increasingly complex education agenda.
- Innovative and traditional approaches appear in combination.
- New leadership arrangements that are seen as liberating by some staff can be seen to increase constraints and pressures felt by others.
- The picture is fluid and the pace of change rapid.
- The local context plays an important role in the adoption and development of new leadership patterns and structures.

The report makes the following conclusions:
- Movement is towards better coordination of education provision (such as through collaboration)
- The role of leaders has expanded to include partnership working with a range of agencies.
- Although the drive behind of this is to improve student outcomes, there is little evidence of this, mostly because it has not been tested.

Horizon Scanning: Innovative Teaching and Learning

2008-07-31T15:04:00.005+01:00

This report by the DCSF Innovation Unit examined "Next Practice" in teaching and learning by horizon scanning (examining innovative pedagogy's which are at the leading edge of current practice).

Through a series of case study materials the paper identifies four key domains where actions should be focused in order to improve learner engagement and the integration of learning, the following framework was devised:

The 4 domains are:

Engagement through relevance (what is relevant to the learner?)
Engagement through co-construction (enabling and allowing the learner to lead)
Integration of in/out of school learning (removing the home/school boundary)
Integration of teacher-learner mix (using a range of relationships)

Safeguarding children report 2008

2008-07-28T15:59:00.003+01:00

This report by Ofsted (on behalf of 8 inspectorates) examines arrangements for safeguarding children, is the 3rd such report and assesses arrangements for safeguarding children and young people in four key areas:

1. the effectiveness of the overall safeguarding systems and frameworks that are in place
2. the wider safeguarding role of public services
3. the targeted activity carried out to safeguard vulnerable groups of children. This includes updated evidence on the groups considered in the previous report, including asylum-seeking children, children in secure settings, looked after children and children treated by health services
4. the identification of and response to child protection concerns by relevant agencies.

Some key points:
- Local Safeguarding Children Boards have grown in independence but are still not fully developed.
- Strategic Partnerships are developed in all areas, but still need to improve joint commissioning and the management of high risk offenders.
- CRB checking is standardised, but good practice is not always followed.
- Inspections found evidence of a strong commitment by agencies to focus on the wider safeguarding needs of children and young people in addition to child protection.
- A shared, consistent understanding of safeguarding is still lacking, particularly between social care services and the criminal justice system.
- Some children and young people continue to express significant levels of concern about their personal safety and about being bullied, particularly in institutional and secure settings.
- There is better identification of needs at an early stage and increasingly effective provision of preventive and earlier intervention services.
- Many areas have identified domestic violence as a high priority area for action.
- Most areas are making good progress in developing the Common Assessment Framework.

The report goes onto make a series of recommendations, relevant at national and local level.

Effective School Leadership

2008-07-28T12:10:00.002+01:00

An OECD study into improving school leadership found that policy makers from all countries need to enhance the quality of school leadership and make it sustainable.

Key points:
- School leaders need to have the authority and freedom to make decisions, alongwith appropriate support.
- Ensure leadership roles are clearly linked to pupil learning.
- Ensure distributed leadership.
- Treat leadership development as a continnum.
- Make school leadership an attractive profession.

Danish model reduces youth crime in Scotland

2008-07-28T11:14:00.004+01:00

In 2005 East Renfrewshire Council (ERC) made a commitment to implement an approach to preventing and addressing youth crime and anti social behaviour, based on Danish principles. The resulting project, School, Social Work, Police and Community (SSPC) is led by Social Work.

This report examines the funding, delivery of outcomes and output of the programme.

Some key points:
- An integrated response is the most effective and beneficial approach to dealing positively with vulnerable, damaged or difficult young people.
- Shared aims, practice, and ethos are at the core of what is making the approach operate successfully.
- It is a key strength of the Group, and exemplary practice that members do not say "this is not my remit". If something needs to be done they are in a position to do it then they do so.
- The approach fits with the relevant standards for the quality of the youth justice process and fits with the standards for the range and availability of programmes.
- We recommend, as a preventative measure, targeting resources on the transition from primary to secondary education, and in the first term of the first year at high school.

Next Practice in Education Programme

2008-07-17T10:16:00.002+01:00

The DCSF innovation unit have produced this report which examined their Next Practice in Education Programme.

"Next Practice is ‘practice that is aware of conventional 'good' practice, its strengths and its limitations; and which explicitly sets out to move it to a new level, or even in some cases radically to change it.’

Next Practice significantly changes methods of service delivery, organisation or structure. It is so far in advance of good practice that little hard evidence of its effectiveness currently exists. That does not mean that it lacks rigour. Next Practice is consciously designed with an awareness of the strengths and limitations of conventional ‘best’ practice and draws on ideas generated by informed practitioners who are aware of the existing knowledge base. It is informed by critical scanning of the wider environment. Usually, Next Practice is not (yet) officially sanctioned so it may entail some political risk. It tackles important, contemporary long term educational problems and, above all, is focused on outcomes for children and learners."

The Next Practice in Education Programme has 4 projects.

Key points:
- The Next Practice Innovation Model has three clear phases: Stimulate, Incubate and Accelerate, relevant to all projects.

- The Next Practice System Leadership work has generated six main conclusions:
1. Energy and commitment – School leaders are eager to invest time, energy and commitment in working as system leaders.
2. The challenge of moving from vision to practical delivery.
3. The lack of models of leadership and governance.
4. Local Authority support - without active support from the local authority, new forms of system leadership struggle to survive.
5. Changing leadership requirements - new forms of system leadership for schools and their partners have needed at least one strong leader with the vision and tenacity to drive them forward in order to get off the ground. But
6. The critical role of governance - it is usually these emerging forms of system leadership that precede the development and adoption of new governance structures for the new system.

- The main emerging conclusions from the Community Engagement in Learning project, which also bear directly on ‘achieving an excellent education for every child’, are threefold:
1. Within communities there is a great deal of motivation to contribute to student and community learning, in ways that complement and add to the school curriculum.
2. The learning that results from engagement with the community tends to be practical, relevant and a rich model for learning for life, with learners taking greater ownership of their learning and becoming more confident.
3. This learning has substantial implications for the roles and responsibilities of teachers and support staff, and thus for their recruitment, training and development (plus for support staff their terms and conditions of employment).

- The Next Practice work in parent and carer engagement in learning generated four key findings:
1. Evaluation and measurement is vital to making the case for parental support.
2. Supporting parental engagement is best achieved by projects that involve parents in their design, delivery and evaluation - the most successful projects are parent-led projects such as parents led mentoring programmes, or peer parenting classes.
3. Parental engagement in children’s learning grows outwards from the school and requires a ‘whole school approach’ – the school might become a hub where professionals lead projects to develop family learning, or it might be a site where regeneration programmes and charities run projects which then support family learning.
4. Existing policy already promotes the greater inclusion of parents, for example parents can be involved in supporting children when they take part in progression pilots at KS2.

- The Resourcing Personalised Learning programme has identified the essential characteristics of schools that personalise a student’s education:
1. Provision is designed to suit learners – the school diagnoses pupil learning characteristics and supports or intervenes appropriately because it believes all pupils can be successful learners. It makes flexible use of time, place, pace and space because pupils learn in a variety of ways and at different rates. Assessment is personalised.
2. The school fosters a sense of belonging - pupils actively participate and take increasing responsibility for their learning and school experience. They organise themselves in such a way that pupils have a sense of belonging and can learn both individually and collaboratively.
3. The school draws on a broad range of skills – it has an ethos of support, congeniality and co-operation embracing all who work in the school, parents and carers and the local community. It makes innovative use of staff and pupils by creating new roles and responsibilities.
4. Teaching and learning is grounded in the real world – the School has a flexible curriculum which helps pupils connect their education to their future.

Youth Crime Action Plan

2008-07-16T11:25:00.004+01:00

The UK Government have published their Youth Crime Action Plan, a joint plan between the Ministry for Justice, DCSF and Home Office. The plan which has a focus on early intervention and none-negotiable challenge and support.

Key points:

- Extension of family intervention projects.

- More use of ASBO's and Parenting Orders and sanctions for those parents who do not engage.

- More "community" work for offenders, overseen by new citizen's panels.

- More support for young offenders on release of custody.

- Local Authorities to take responsibility for education and training of young people in custody.

- Everyone over 16 found to be carrying a knife can expect prosecution.

- Increasing the provision of youth services at times when offending is likely.

- Making permanent exclusion from school an automatic trigger for Common Assessment Framework assessment of needs.

- Expanding Safer School Partnerships.

- Working closer with Local Authorities to improve family support which will help ensure problems are addressed early.

- Plus a series of longer term changes to legal processes for the most serious offenders.

See BBC news article

Talent identification: future leaders

2008-07-15T19:27:00.003+01:00

This study explores current practices and potentialities with respect to talent identification in contextually different primary and secondary schools in England. Contextually different schools were chosen as context has been shown to be influential in shaping what leaders prioritize and do to develop their schools in the future.

Key points:
- Little research has been undertaken on the identification of leadership talent within the education sector, nor have the characteristics perceived important in talent identification been articulated or explored within a research context.
- Most research in the UK has been concerned with overcoming barriers to leadership succession and has not included study of the linked parameter of talent identification.
- 20 characteristics indicative of leadership talent were identified:

Has people skills
Has good communication skills
Has vision
Has the respect of staff
Has the respect of pupils
Possesses professional values
Shows enthusiasm
Shows initiative
Can deal with stress
Good self-organization
Works hard
Is a very good teacher
Has energy
Shows confidence
Is a competent teacher
Has good subject knowledge
Has experience of project leadership
Has an ‘aura’
Shows ambition
Accesses development courses

- Agreement and disjuncture were recorded concerning the importanceof characteristics among respondent groups.
- School-based changes arerecommended so that individual school's longer-term leadership requirements may be better addressed.

Innovative school system

2008-07-15T14:31:00.003+01:00

Charles Leadbeater has produced this report, having examined activities undertaken by schools supported by the DCSF Innovation Unit.

Key points:
- A national peer-learner programme should allow children to become learning mentors to other children and in the process gain credits towards their qualifications.
- Mass secondary schools should be broken up – if not physically then at least organisationally, into units of no more than 450, so that even large schools feel small allowing more different learning environments – vocational, specialist, academic, catch-up – to co-exist.
- Families in which children are at significant risk of early drop out, school exclusion, teenage conception, drug and alcohol abuse should be allocated personal support workers with an integrated ‘family support budget’ to devise self-directed support plans.
- Young people clearly at serious risk of leaving school with no qualifications should be given an individual learning mentor and an individual budget to devise learning programmes in Years 10 and 11.
- All young people should have an electronic Personal Learning Plan and Portfolio which would record their work, achievements and set targets and goals.
- All pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 should spend at least part of the summer term engaged in a personal challenge which they choose, collaborate with others to undertake and gives them the opportunity to learn outside school.
- The standard school day should become a thing of the past: children should be able to opt to learn early – 7.30 am till 1 pm – or late 1 pm till 6.30 pm – so they are better able to make learning part of their lifestyle.
- All children at age 11 should be given the opportunity to acquire skills of emotional resilience.
- All schools should be the base for a productive, social enterprise – such as a recycling centre – so that children associate learning with work, get pleasure from working productively together and contributing to a business.
- Instead of seeing schooling as a system of years and grades, with key stages and examinations, it should be seen as a set of relationships between teachers, pupils, parents and the wider community. Children need to be able to rely on ‘relationships for learning’ at school, home and in the community.

Leadership of Academy schools

2008-07-15T14:03:00.002+01:00

This NCSL Research Associate study examines and analyses the nature of successful leadership of academies and investigates the leadership styles, qualities, skills and contextual dimensions which enable previously seriously under-performing schools to transform themselves whilst their leadership operates under the microscope of close public scrutiny.

Key points:
- Amongst the twelve Academy Principals interviewed there was a general consensus that they had all received, mostly unwelcome, media attention during their first three years in post.
- Leaders of academies identified a need for political and entrepreneurial leadership skills to cope with the demands of this context. Distributed leadership was also found to be an important and effective strategy.
- Academy leaders need to be aware of political developments at both the macro and micro level. While important in any school, the need for such leadership skills in academies is particularly marked.
- The Principal respondents reported the maturation of bodies such as the Academies Division at the Department for Children Schools and Families, have helped to address broader concerns reported in the media.
- Changes in both local and national political climates during the period of research were felt to have impacted positively on the way in which Academies were viewed by the media and local communities.
- The international interest which the Academies programme seems to have generated has added a different dimension to the way in which Academies are seeing themselves and their work.
- The incorporation and formal recognition of Academies into the Specials Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) has had a significant impact on their national profile amongst secondary schools.
- As a very publicly high profile programme the government has made use of several of the new Academies as centres from which to launch the announcement of major new
national initiatives. This has brought with it extensive national media coverage including television. Respondents talked of the very positive impact such media exposure
has had for their Academy.
- Respondents talked of the importance of involving the local community in the work of the Academy. They also commented on the impact of engaging the community in improving attitudes to learning and generating a culture of aspiration through winning their confidence.

School Business Managers and Distributed Leadership

2008-07-15T13:51:00.004+01:00

This NCSL Research Associate report examined the impact of the key drivers on school leadership by evaluating distributed leadership research from an School Business Manager (SBM)/ bursar perspective; and carry out a survey of what is happening across UK state schools.

Key findings:
- 69% of respondents to the survey indicated their school had a SBM/bursar.
- Funding and teacher perceptions were the main barriers to not having a bursar. While headteachers broadly supported the SBM/bursar role, comments indicated that in practice, this support related largely to the SBM/bursar authorising involvement in professional development programmes and less to an understanding of the wider value of the role within the school.
- Completion of the Certificate in SBM/ Diploma in SBM, staff changes and the introduction of the Department for Schools, Families and Children’s Financial Management Standards in Schools were quoted as the main drivers in SBMs/bursars becoming members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
- SBM/bursar roles have existed in primaries on average only for two years, compared with five years for secondaries. This suggests that primaries are still in the process of adapting to SBMs/bursars.
- 59% of bursars were on the SLT. In many cases, their responsibilities were restricted to managing aspects of the office team. Furthermore, the ‘average’ bursar only oversaw around 40% of support staff, indicating that in a number of schools, the SLT and headteacher continue to retain control over many support functions.
- The work of SBMs in primary schools was more likely to be restricted to operational issues relating to finance, personnel and office issues, than was the case in secondary schools.
- SBMs in secondary schools were far more likely to operate at a senior or strategic level than their primary counterparts. Organisational size was likely to be a major factor in this, as larger budgets and staff numbers offer greater flexibility to operate.
- 52% of SBMs/bursars are paid at or below Newly Qualified Teacher rates. Some SBMs felt this reflected poorly on the perceived value of their work and in some instances led to resentment.
- 33% of SBM respondents possessed a degree level or higher qualification. This figure rose to 85% when the CSBM/ DSBM qualifications were taken into account. Respondents indicated that increased take-up of the CSBM/DSBM would help to reduce both perceived and real inequalities in the professional status of teaching and school business staff.
- Around one third of CSBM/DSBM graduates expressed interest in continued professional development.

School governors and Head Teachers

2008-07-15T13:42:00.002+01:00

This research associate report from the NCSL explores the strategic role that headteachers and governors carry out in partnership in three case study schools. Although small-scale, it seeks to:
- Identify similarities which may facilitate a higher level of strategic operation.
- Describe some of its benefits and barriers to this.
- Provide practical examples of how this vision of strategic partnership might work in action.

Key points:
- Each of the governing bodies adopted a structure which enabled an inner-circle of experienced, committed governors to work alongside school leaders in review and futures thinking activities. This model was recommended by both the governors and headteachers interviewed.
- However, allied to their adoption of this approach, was an awareness of the need for succession planning and the need to build the capacity for strategic planning amongst governors more broadly. This was critical if a culture of dependency was to be avoided.
- The way in which these governing bodies worked in partnership with the headteacher was aided by a range of practices and specific attitudes, including: a clear understanding regarding each other’s roles and remits; the creation of opportunities for staff and governors to work together; a focus on utilising governors’ skills in order to maximise the contribution of individuals; providing development opportunities for governors’ skills to grow and, linked to this, planning for succession; the promotion of a trust-based relationship that facilitated both honest and open dialogue; governors offering challenge within the remit of critical friend.
- Identified practices employed by governors, which enabled them to function strategically, included; not involving themselves in the day-to-day management of the school unless it was to enable the headteacher to focus more on their core purpose of teaching and learning; working alongside school leaders in review and futures thinking activities and offering support and challenges; enabling innovation and risk-taking; establishing a clear understanding of strategic leadership linked to self-evaluation; viewing change as challenge and not being daunted by it.

The role of school leadership in England

2008-07-15T13:21:00.004+01:00

This NCSL research associate report aimed to answer the question: How can the role of headship be made possible, maintaining a headteacher’s energy and enthusiasm?

There were two sub-questions to this:
1. What is the nature of a headteacher’s working week?
2. What approaches and strategies can be adopted to help headteachers deal with the demands of their role?

Key findings:
- During the course of the study, on average the group of headteachers worked 42.5 hours per week. There was relatively little variation between individual members of the group.
- 22% of the head teachers time was spent on administration and a further 20% spent on development of self and working with others. Just 1% of time was spent on shaping the future.

- The study identified a range of factors that inhibited headteachers’ effectiveness and threatened the longer-term sustainability of the role. These ‘inhibitors’ could be broadly classified as being either emotional (guilt and anxiety) or operational (such as "fire-fighting"; administering; controlling or procrastinating).

- Headteachers should be encouraged to undertake a critical reflection of the nature of their work, based on the following principles:
1. Headteachers should be supported to focus on the strategic rather than the operational dimensions of their work.
2.While recognising the emotional difficulties involved, headteachers should endeavour neither to carry guilt nor avoid the critical issues they face.
3. Headteachers should model the importance of professional development, displaying a commitment to their own learning.

Critical Incidence for school leadership

2008-07-15T13:10:00.003+01:00

This NCSL research associate report examined "critical incidences" within schools and the response of school leaders.

The main research questions are:
1. What factors/experiences give an individual the capacity and capability to deal effectively with Critical Incidents (CI) and Critical Episodes (CE)?
2. What specific strategies /support mechanisms do colleagues/organisations use to deal effectively with CIs and CEs?
3. What leadership styles and preferences enable individuals and organisations deal with CIs effectively?

Key points:
- The following factors and experiences were highlighted as helping individuals develop the capacity to cope effectively with CIs and CEs.
• Having a significant professional mentor who has shaped ethos, philosophy and modus operandi featured significantly in participant’s responses.
• A positive, happy childhood including positive happy experiences at school.
• A close, stable family, partner or significant other who is supportive.
• Experience of activities that helped to develop their EQ. That is being self aware, aware of others an understanding of ones personality.
• Positive experiences that has helped to develop feelings of self-efficacy.
• Experience of dealing with CIs and CEs.

The following actions are proposed:
- Develop a scheme to identify a professional mentor either within one’s own school or one who stays with an individual throughout their career. This would be problematic to establish but not impossible.
- Take time to carry out a review of CIs each term and identify what was learnt from them. Experiencing and coping with a CI or CE effectively builds up one’s immunity/resilience to their effect and helps to develop one’s capacity to cope initially and afterwards. Therefore protecting individuals from CIs might not always be beneficial to the individual or organisation.
- A sense of self-efficacy can be encouraged through a supportive professional development programme where staff have the skills, knowledge and opportunities to work effectively.

Determinants of aspirations

2008-07-15T12:14:00.004+01:00

This report by the Institute of Education for the Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning is the result of a general review covering an extensive literature across a range of disciplines - psychology, education, and sociology. The focus of the material was principally longitudinal quantitative studies, although a small amount of qualitative material was included.

Key points:
- There is a strong relationship between the aspiration of parents for their children and those of the children themselves. This is reflected in the patterns of those who have high and low aspirations.
- Girls, young people from minority ethnic groups and from higher socio-economic backgrounds tend to hold higher aspirations than their counterparts. Parents from these groups also tend to have higher aspirations for their children. Conversely, socially disadvantaged groups such as teenage parents tend to have low aspirations for themselves and for their children.
- Aspirations begin to be shaped early in a child’s life, but are modified by experience and the environment. Aspirations tend to decline as children mature, in response to their growing understanding of the world and what is possible, and to constraints imposed by previous choices and achievements. This decline is particularly marked for those facing multiple barriers.
- Practical and attitudinal barriers to the formation of high aspirations are evident. Financial constraints may limit some groups’ access to opportunities and enabling resources such as computers and private tuition. Equally, some individuals are limited by earlier achievement and choices such as leaving school or becoming a parent at a young age. But attitudes are also important. Young people who believe they have the ability to achieve and who attribute their success to hard work, rather than luck, or fate tend to have higher aspirations than their peers.
- Those who have, or whose parents have, high aspirations have better outcomes, even when taking into account individual and family factors, but this is not a universal effect. There are some groups for whom high aspirations do not lead to higher achievement. In particular, there is a gap between educational aspirations and academic achievement for young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds and from some minority ethnic groups and a gap between occupational aspirations and career achievement for females.
- The early years of a child’s life are a key time in the formation and development of aspirations. During this time, parents may need support to overcome both attitudinal and practical barriers to high aspirations. Schools can play a part in maintaining and realising ambitions, and the support they provide becomes more important when family resources are limited. Later, young people need easy access to advice and guidance and the involvement of professionals or volunteers – for example in a mentoring role – when necessary.

Young People's experience of global learning

2008-07-15T11:58:00.002+01:00

This research by Ipos MORI, for DEA, asked secondary school children for their perceptions of global issues. Specifically, the survey set out to cover the following key issues:
• Whether pupils are experiencing global learning in school;
• Whether pupils feel it is important to experience global learning at school; and
• Whether pupils believe they have an impact on the world, and whether they do take action to make the world a better place.

Key points:
• Over 50% of students say they have experienced global learning in school since September 2007, while a slightly larger proportion see global learning as important. Over three – quarters of pupils for example, think it is important that schools help pupils understand what people can do to make the world a better place (78%).
• There appears to be a demand for global learning, with more pupils believing global learning is important than actually experience it in school. Findings suggest that there are a proportion of young people who are not experiencing global learning in school; one in five (19%) for example, say they have not discussed news stories from around the world at all in school.
• Findings suggest that global learning has an impact: those who have experienced global learning in school are keen to understand more about the problems in the world, as well as being more likely than average to believe that what they do in their daily lives can affect those in other countries and that people like them have the ability to make a difference. These more informed pupils also appear to be more open to people of different backgrounds than those who have not experienced global learning in school, and more likely than average to say that they try to do things to make the world a better place.
• 66% of school children feel that they can do something to make the world a better place, while 42% believe that what they do in their daily life affects people in other countries.
• 50% of pupils think it is a good idea to have people of different backgrounds living in the same country together. 28% are neutral or unable to give a response, while 14% disagree that it is a good idea. Those who have thought about news stories from around the world from different points of view are more likely to think it is a good idea (66% vs. 50%).
• 22% of young people say they would prefer to make the world a better place than earn a high salary, whilst nearly twice as many (39%) say that making money is more important to them.

For more on the full project click here

Delivery of the "core offer" of extended schools

2008-07-15T11:29:00.006+01:00

Ipos MORI have produced this report for the DCSF which explores delivery of the "core offer" which all schools should be moving towards providing. The core offer comprises:
- A menu of activities, including study support and homework clubs, sport, music, arts and special interest clubs, combined with formal, ‘wraparound’ childcare in primary schools;
- Parenting and family support, including family learning;
- Swift and Easy Access to targeted and specialist services (for example, speech and language therapy, behaviour support);
- (If appropriate) community access to school facilities such as sports grounds, ICT and adult and family learning.

Key points:
- At the time when this research was undertaken, around 8,400 schools in England were delivering the core offer with a further 11,000 working towards this. By April 2008 the number of schools in England delivering the core offer has reached 10,000. Many other schools are delivering parts of the offer.
- The DCSF has pledged to support existing extended schools, and those schools that will start providing access to extended services by 2010, by a significant increase in investment from 2008 to 2011.
- Evaluation work to date has demonstrated how access to extended services through schools can have positive benefits to children, families and local communities, including not only pupil motivation, behaviour, attendance and attainment, but also parents’ own engagement with learning, and supporting a sense of community locally.
- Most schools have used a wide range of information sources and methods to gain an understanding of local needs when planning their extended services.
- Consultation carried out by schools rather than other local agencies plays a key role in this process. Research among parents conducted by the school is the most popular method of gaining information, closely followed by research among pupils conducted by the school.
- Detailed information about other relevant services already available is also used by the vast majority of schools, especially by those delivering services in a cluster.
- Most schools believe that they have been successful in building up a full picture of needs, though it is noted by some schools that they may not be aware of the gaps in their understanding.
- Across the board, there is some acknowledgement that understanding needs is an on-going process, informed either by further research or through engagement with existing service users. - Parental support services and Swift and Easy Access services are the two core areas that many schools believe they are not delivering adequately.
- Schools adopt a wide variety of approaches to monitoring the provision and take-up of the services they deliver, ranging from those that hold no monitoring information whatsoever to those that are rigorous in their collation and analysis of the data.
- The majority of schools at least have details of the services that they offer access to, the number of places that are available and figures in some format on the levels of take-up, though this varies service by service.
- Schools tend to hold most monitoring information on their childcare and activities offer but are less rigorous in their monitoring of parental support services and community access. The usage of Swift and Easy access services tends to be kept on file for individual pupils and only a minority of schools log the number of children they help through the system.
- 98% of schools provide activities for children after school, whilst most of these schools offer these services on-site, around a third offer them off-site. In addition to this, 86% of schools provide some form of childcare after school. Childcare before school is also widely provided. The provision of childcare and activities in the holidays is less common, but these are still provided by around two thirds of schools.
- The number of after-school activities provided by schools in a typical week is wide-ranging, though just over a third of schools provide six to ten different activities. The size of a school determines the number of after school activities provided.
- Schools appear to provide a good variety of activities. Sports activities, ICT clubs, drama clubs, arts, crafts or cookery clubs, music tuition, groups or clubs and academic support are all commonly provided.
- The numbers of children making use of childcare and activities each day varies greatly.

Children's Centres - reaching the hardest

2008-07-15T11:04:00.004+01:00

This study was carried out to look at the effectiveness of children’s centres in reaching the most highly disadvantaged families, the ways in which they meet the needs of those families and the outcomes achieved. The study revolved around four “exemplar” children’s centre case studies, examining their work within the context of current government policies, best practice and a wide range of research perspectives.

Key points:
- There might be a case for additional resources if children's centres are to achieve their objectives, this is more likely as children's centres attract middle class parents who can afford to pay for services.
- The reach strategies adopted by successful centres have been implemented in a particularly
thorough way. Some of the community consultations, for example, have been extensive and highly structured, utilising focus groups, outreach and public information campaigns, as opposed to more limited consultations and surveys.
- Achieving high visibility for the work and value of children's centres, particularly among those who are most remote from services, requires motivation, painstaking research, rigorous planning, effective communication and a range of professional skills and expertise. Children’s centres which have not yet formulated their strategies may not have ready access to this range of skills and expertise.
- If children’s centres are to achieve their objectives, they need to capture detailed information about their users, both at the point of first contact and at subsequent intervals. Only by this can they demonstrate both that they are engaging the most “difficult to include” and offering them services of value.
- Best practice involved highly differentiated and personalised planning for individual parents, built around their specific circumstances and needs, whether in relation to support for particular family difficulties, or involvement in centre activities, learning or volunteering opportunities. The concept of progression was very evident, each parent moving through a continuum of involvement at the pace which was most appropriate.
- In all four centres, the expertise and depth of experience of those leading the work was very
considerable and this was a critical factor in their extensive achievements. It would be difficult for any qualification to provide benefits comparable to this level of experience.
- On the evidence of the studies, a critical requirement for reaching the most disadvantaged families is an understanding of poverty and disadvantage. Training to provide skills and knowledge in this area should be part of the updated strategy for the children’s workforce.

Byron Review Action Plan: safe use of technology

2008-07-15T10:18:00.003+01:00

The Byron Review Action Plan set's out the government's response to Dr. Byron's review of technology.

Key Points:
- Full acceptance of all the recommendations of the Byron Review.
- Establishing a UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) whose members will come from industry, the third sector and other key partner organisations. One of the first tasks the Council must undertake is to develop a Child Internet Safety Strategy and this plan is the first step towards achieving that.
- Plans to raise awareness of e-safety issues among children, young people, parents and other adults through a public information and awareness campaign. This needs to be more than a one-off advertising campaign and should ensure that e-safety messages are part and parcel of communications to parents, young people and children, which will empower them to keep themselves and their families safe.
- Reforming the classification system for video games, which Dr Byron said many parents remain confused about.
- Government will work with industry to improve information and support to parents on video games.
- Better regulation including Rolling out of the new kitemark for parental control software.
- Better support for schools including: providing guidance and support to schools on e-safety; ensuring that Initial Teacher Training takes account of e-safety issues; ensuring extended schools support children and families around e-safety and media literacy; and ensuring school inspection frameworks support and challenge schools in improving e-safety (Ofsted).

Supporting refugee and aslyum seekers in secondary school

2008-07-15T10:12:00.003+01:00

This report by the Refugee Council examined how secondary schools can work with parents and children of the refugee and asylum seeking community.

Key points:
- Young people reported that a high level of parent/ carer involvement existed, but this varied between one-off meetings to frequent encounters. Young people also felt that their parents did not allow a lack of English to prevent them from being involved, and generally felt very positive about the support they received from parents or carers.
- Parents and carers were generally satisfied with schools, and had high levels of involvement, particularly where there was good communication with the school and where the staff were supportive and approachable.
- Suggestions for improving engagement included better communication and feedback.
- Schools found effective engagement was an important factor in young people’s well-being and achievement and empowered parents to participate in their education. The importance of a welcoming environment and inductions was noted.
- Refugee Community Organisations emphasised the need to support parents and carers as they often found integration more difficult than did their children.
- Barriers to inclusion include: difficulties in accessing school places; bullying; racism; and financial barriers to extracurricular activities, school books, and uniforms.Practices found to break down barriers include: extended school status, home-school and community link workers, peer mentors and language support.

Williams Review of Mathematics

2008-07-15T08:56:00.004+01:00

The final report into primary mathematics by Peter Williams was released in June 2008.
It draws on evidence which includes robust published research; relevant data and statistics; and a programme of visits to schools and settings throughout England; an extensive consultation with teachers and practitioners, trainers, providers of resources and policy makers.

Key points:

- The teacher, even more than the parent, determines learning outcomes in mathematics, the more so given that the way in which mathematics is taught has undergone considerable change since most parents’ own schooling.
- most initial teacher training does not in itself constitute a sound basis for deep subject and pedagogical knowledge in mathematics, and this report therefore lays great emphasis on continuing professional development.

- There should be at least one Mathematics Specialist in each primary school, while recognising the need to make sensible allowances for small and rural schools.

- The Mathematics Specialist would be drawn from within the existing teaching force. This teacher will in effect ‘champion’ mathematics in the school and act as mentor and coach, as well as being an outstanding classroom teacher.

- The role of local authorities, universities and other providers of CPD is reviewed, and specific recommendations made regarding programmes for the Mathematics Specialists, in which progression to a Masters-level qualification is a key feature.

- the curriculum, by and large, is well balanced, and recommends that it should continue in its current form.

- Two issues only are singled out: the need for an increased focus on the ‘use and application’ of mathematics and on the vitally important question of the classroom discussion of mathematics.

Watch BBC News piece

Listen to Radio 4 Interview

Read BBC News page

Read Government reponse

League tables do not assist choice

2008-07-15T08:42:00.002+01:00

A report by the University of Bristol statisticians claims that league tables do not assist with parental choice as they do not predict future performance of the school.

Read BBC news article

School funding in England

2008-07-15T08:13:00.004+01:00

This report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies examined school funding by answering four questions:

• How have overall levels of public spending on education and schools in the UK evolved in recent years?
• How does the English school funding system allocate money to individual schools?
• How redistributive is the school funding system, and to what degree do funding variations reflect educational needs and parental background?
• What incentives do state schools face to attract new pupils and to improve school quality?

Key points:
- Education spending in the UK has seen increases averaging 4.3% a year in real terms over the past ten years. However, this rate of increase will slow to 3.4% a year over the years 2008–09 to 2010–11.
- Schools spending in England has enjoyed larger increases than education spending as a whole over the past ten years (averaging 6.0% per year in real terms), with particularly large increases in schools capital spending.
- School spending per pupil has increased by 6.4% a year in real terms under Labour to date, compared with increases averaging 4.7% in the private sector. State spending per pupil has risen from 50% of the private sector level in 1997–98 to 58% in 2006–07.
- While the provision of schools may be the responsibility of local authorities, the vast
majority of schools’ funding comes from the central government’s education budget.
- Changes to the system over recent years have gradually reduced the discretion local authorities have in distributing these funds. This is the result of increased ‘ring fencing’ (whereby local authorities are forced to spend grants on specific purposes) and increased use of direct payments and grants that must be passed on to schools in full.
- Other changes have also reduced the discretion local authorities have over school
funding in their area, including the Minimum Funding Guarantee, which guarantees minimum increases in funding per pupil for nearly all schools.
- However, powers over funding decisions have not simply been transferred up from local authorities to central government; schools themselves now have an increasing influence on funding decisions via Schools Forums.
- Funding is skewed towards schools with relatively large numbers of pupils from deprived backgrounds. On average, pupils who are eligible for free school meals attract over 70% more funding to their school than those who are not eligible. This holds true for both primary and secondary schools, and the funding ‘premium’ that follows FSM pupils has grown over time.
- Local authorities only allocate around 40–50% of the extra funding they receive for pupils who are eligible for free school meals towards the schools these pupils attend. In other words, local authorities seem to spread the funding targeted at low-income pupils more widely. If local authorities did not flatten extra income in this way, the additional money following a low-income pupil would be roughly 50% higher in secondary schools and more than doubled in primary schools.
- Under the current system, the amount of funding that schools receive does not respond quickly to changes in their numbers of pupils from deprived backgrounds or with additional educational needs.
- Most money ‘follows the pupil’ in the English school funding system, with the majority of funding directly determined by pupil numbers (weighted by age and background).
- The current system does not live up to the ‘school choice’ programme enthusiastically
described in the 2005 White Paper, in which successful schools expand, new entrants compete with existing providers, and weaker schools either improve their performance or else contract and close.
- Rigidities elsewhere in the school system blunt the incentives created by parental choice. Of the three criteria often used to determine whether genuine ‘school choice’ exists (pupil-led funding, supply flexibility and management freedom), the English system probably ‘fails’ on the last two.
- The supply side appears to be largely inflexible, with little threat of entry from new
providers. New school entry is decided by local authorities, which have little incentive to encourage new entry.
- School management is constrained by binding collective agreements covering many aspects of school operations, including pay and conditions. Where schools (such as Academies) have been given freedom from these agreements, they appear to have responded with innovation and experimentation. However, Academies supply only a tiny fraction of school places in England, and the success of these experiments is as yet unproven.

Read BBC news article

Pupil population, England

2008-07-11T17:20:00.003+01:00

This statistical release from the DCSF updates on the number of pupils by age, gender, free school meal eligibility, ethnicity, first language, SEN (special educational needs) and gifted and talented pupils together with a range of class size information.

Key points:
- The full time equivalent (FTE) number of pupils in primary, secondary and special schools stood at around 7.3 million, the same as in 2007, with both the primary and secondary sectors showing a decrease.
- Figures indicate a decrease in the proportion of pupils in state funded schools known to be eligible for free school meals.
- In 2007 the percentage of pupils in LA maintained nursery and primary schools known to be eligible for free meals was 15.9% and this has fallen to 15.5% in 2008.
- In January 2008, 13.1% of pupils in secondary schools were known to be eligible for free school meals. This represents a decrease from 13.4% in 2007.
- In secondary schools, 12.8% of were known to be eligible for free school meals in 2008, representing a decrease from 13.1% in 2007.
- In primary schools the percentage of pupils who were classified as minority ethnic origin has increased from 21.9% in 2007 to 23.3% in 2008. A similar trend is apparent in secondary schools with 18.0% of pupils classified by minority ethnic groups in 2007 and around 19.5% in 2008. These changes may be due in part to an improvement in the completeness of the data held by schools.
- The percentage of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English was 14.4% in primary schools and 10.8% in secondary schools. These figures represent an increase almost 2 per cent points in primary schools.
- There are 331,680 pupils in the Gifted and Talented cohort in primary schools, this is an increase on the 2007 figure of 282,410 and represents 8.1% of the school population. In secondary schools the figure for 2008 was 448,570, an increase on the 2007 figure of 416,540 and represents 13.6% of the school population.
- Some 223,430 (or 2.8% of) pupils across all schools in England had statements of SEN. The proportion of pupils with statements of SEN is similar to the proportion in 2007.
- In 2008 the percentage of pupils with SEN without statements across all schools was 17.2%, which represents an increase from 16.4% in 2007.
- The incidence of pupils with SEN without statements is greater in primary schools (18.1%) than in state funded secondary schools (17.8%). Distribution across the types of SEN is similar to last year. In primary, secondary and special schools the most prevalent need amongst pupils with SEN was ‘Moderate Learning Difficulty’ (around 26%) followed by ‘Behaviour, Emotional & Social Difficulties’ (around 23%) and ‘Speech, Language and Communication Needs’ (around 15%).

School Workforce in England

2008-07-11T17:09:00.003+01:00

This statistical releas e from the DCSF updates data on the school workforce.

Key points:
- In January 2008, results for state funded schools show that the full time equivalent (FTE) number of teachers rose by 1,900 (0.4%) to reach 441,200 compared to January 2007.
- In the state funded sector, the total number of support staff rose by 18,200 to 326,400 in January 2008. Within this, the number of teaching assistants rose by 13,000 to 176,900 and the number of administrative staff, technicians and other support staff rose by 5,000 to 149,500.
- Teacher vacancies in LA maintained nursery/primary, secondary and special schools went up by 470 to 2,510 in January 2008 compared to January 2007.
- The overall pupil: teacher ratio for the state funded sector was 16.8 in January 2008, compared to 17.0 in 2007. In the LA maintained sector the pupil: teacher ratio was 16.9 in January 2008 compared to 17.1 in 2007.
- Teacher vacancies in nursery/primary, secondary and special schools went up by 470 to 2,510 in January 2008 compared to January 2007.
- In January 2008, 94.3 per cent of teachers were recorded in the white ethnic groups, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from 2007.
- An estimated 313,300 full-time and part-time teachers in England took sickness absence in 2007, approximately 57 per cent of the workforce. This is the same proportion as reported in 2006.

Exclusions in England

2008-07-11T16:56:00.003+01:00

This Statistical First Release by the DCSF provides information about permanent and fixed period exclusions from primary, secondary and special schools and exclusion appeals in England during 2006/07. It reports national trends in the number of exclusions together with information on the characteristics of excluded pupils such as age, gender and special educational needs as well as the reasons for exclusion.

Key Points:
- There were 8,680 permanent exclusions from schools in 2006/07, which represents 0.12% of the number of pupils in schools (12 pupils in every 10,000). Compared with the previous year the number of permanent exclusions has decreased by almost 7%.
- In 2006/07 there were 363,270 fixed period exclusions from state funded secondary schools compared with 348,380 in the previous year. This represents an increase of just over 4%.
- The average length of a fixed period exclusion in state funded secondary schools was 3.3 days, for primary schools the average length of a fixed period exclusion was 2.7 days. The majority of fixed period exclusions (almost 90%) lasted one week or less.
- Overall, 61% of pupils who received a fixed period exclusion during 2006/07 were only excluded once, 19% of pupils received two fixed period exclusions.
- In 2006/07 the permanent exclusion rate for boys was nearly 4 times higher than that for girls. The ratio of permanent exclusion between boys and girls has remained stable over the last five years with boys representing around 80% of the total number of permanent exclusions each year. A similar trend is apparent with fixed period exclusions.
- Boys are more likely to be excluded (both permanently and for a fixed period) at a younger age than girls, with very few girls being excluded during the primary years. The most common point for both boys and girls to be excluded is at ages 13 and 14 (equivalent to year groups 9 and 10). Just over 50% of all permanent exclusions were of pupils of this age.
- Pupils with special educational needs are over 9 times more likely to be permanently excluded from school than the rest of the school population.
- The most common reason for exclusion (both permanent and fixed period) was persistent disruptive behaviour. Some 31% of permanent exclusions and 23% of fixed period exclusions were due to persistent disruptive behaviour.

Provisional Key Stage 1, 2, 4 (GCSE) and post-16 attainment 2006/07

2008-07-11T15:42:00.004+01:00

This Statistical Release by the DCSF provides information showing attainment for 2006/07 broken down by pupils' characteristics, namely gender, ethnicity, eligibility for free school meals , special educational needs (SEN) and English as an additional language (EAL). It includes data for Key Stage 1 and 2 National Curriculum assessments, GCSE and equivalent achievement and Post-16 achievement and is provisional.

Key points:
- Across all major assessments at key stage 1, 2, GCSE and post-16 there is a correlation between poverty and attainment and rural areas out-perform urban areas.
- Across assessment at key stage 1 & 2 it is travellers, gypsy, Romany children who score lowest, although these populations are also small in comparison to other ethnic groups.
- Chinese, pupils of Mixed White and Asian heritage and Indian pupils consistently achieve above the national average across Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4.
- All the minority ethnic groups within the Black category and pupils of Mixed White and Black Caribbean heritage are consistently below the national average across Key Stages 1, 2 and 4.
- Bangladeshi and Pakistani pupils perform below the national average across all Key Stages.
- Those who receive free school meals consistently perform those who do not receive free school meals at key stage 1 & 2 attainment.
- Yorkshire and Humber has the lowest GCSE attainment of all nine government office regions and there is a s very large gap between the national attainment of Asian students and the attainment of Asian students in Yorkshire & Humber.

Annual survey of teacher resignations & recruitment

2008-07-08T14:22:00.004+01:00

The National Employers’ Organisation for School Teachers together with the teacher unions and Local Government Association, and with the support of the DCSF, has conducted an annual survey of teacher resignations and recruitment. The survey collects details of the movements of teachers to and from maintained schools in England and Wales over the calendar year. Forms were sent to all schools, 57% replied.

Teacher turnover has been calculated by expressing the number of teachers who have left as a percentage of the total number of teachers employed in all schools. Recruitment rates are calculated by expressing the number of teachers who joined schools as a percentage of the total number of teachers employed in all schools. Any moves within schools were excluded.

Key points:
- In 2006, there were 57,749 resignations of full and part-time, permanent and fixed term contract/temporary teachers from all maintained primary and secondary schools. This was a turnover rate of 11.9%, a slight decrease from 12.3% in 2005.
- The turnover rate for all full-time teachers in 2006 was 11.8% and for all part-time teachers it was 12.3%. This included those teaching in both primary and secondary schools.
- In 2006, 57,454 full and part-time permanent and fixed term contract/temporary teachers were recruited to work in local authority maintained schools. This recruitment rate of 11.9 % was a decrease from 13.0% in 2005.
- The recruitment rate for all full-time teachers in 2006 was 12.3%, similar to the rate in 2005 which was 12.8%. The recruitment rate for all part-time teachers was 10.0% in 2006, much less than the rate of 13.6% in 2005. This decrease of 3.6 percentage points between the two years represents the largest difference in recruitment rates for any group of teachers between the two years.

"On Track" evaluation - reducing youth crime and anti-social behaviour

2008-07-08T13:58:00.004+01:00

This is the final report from the second phase (March 2003-April 2006) of the national evaluation of On Track, a multi-component initiative which operated in 24 areas of high crime and high deprivation in England and Wales (including Bradford, Scarborough and Sheffield in Yorkshire & Humber region). The aim of the programme was to reduce the propensity of youth crime and anti-social behaviour for children aged 4-12 and their families. The evaluation included monitoring and tracking of 1,100 On Track services and 17,000 service users, longitudinal surveys of primary and secondary school staff and pupils in On Track areas, as well as a longitudinal cohort study which compared On Track area residents with similar families in non-On Track areas.

Key points:
- On Track was primarily a multi-agency, cross-sector programme with partners drawn from education, social services, youth offending services, health and local councils.
- Overall, home-school partnerships accounted for the greatest proportion of On Track services (33%), and by the second phase of the evaluation in some areas On Track was almost entirely school-based.
- Referrals to On Track projects came from a variety of routes, and overall education agencies were the largest single source of referrals comprising 35% of all referrals.
- Three quarters of all service users were children (53% girls), and almost a quarter were parents (mostly mothers – 88%).
- Across the programme as a whole, nearly seventeen thousand children and parents were recorded as users of On track in the second phase of the evaluation.
- Children in On Track areas and those using On Track services reported increasing warmth and praise from parents over time, and a decrease in hostility and criticism. Primary aged children were most likely to report these findings.
- In the primary school range, both children and their parents reported increased communication over time, and younger children were reported as reading more often with parents.
- Overall, there was no clear impact of On Track on school truancy and exclusions rates. However, there was some indication that for primary school children and for children and young people in a booster sample of high-need families that temporary exclusions had dropped over time. Results were also mixed for the impact of On Track on bad behaviour and bullying at school.
- Older children’s attachment and enjoyment of school showed significant positive changes over time including increased involvement and participation at school.

Role models and the gender gap

2008-07-08T13:54:00.001+01:00

This study by the University of Durham investigated whether teacher gender had an identifiable impact on pupil outcomes (for boys and girls) in Year 6. The study was based on approximately 9000 Year 6 children in 1997/98. Data on these children were drawn from the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools and included attainment tests in reading, mathematics and science, tests of non-verbal ability and English vocabulary, and assessments of attitudes to subjects and school in general. Multilevel modelling was used to identify any impact of teacher gender whilst controlling for other variables.

Key points:
- There was no evidence that teacher gender influenced pupil outcomes on any attainment measure, for boys or girls.
- On the attitude measures, an association between gender and outcomes was seen only for attitudes to school, where children (boys and girls) who had female teachers had more positive attitudes, although the size of the effect was relatively small.

Secondary school staff survey

2008-07-08T13:31:00.003+01:00

The aim of this survey was to create a picture of the secondary school teaching workforce in terms of teachers’ qualifications and the curriculum subjects they taught. The results of the survey are comparable with those last produced in 2002. Teachers’ post A-level qualifications were matched to the subjects they taught to demonstrate the proportions of teachers with qualifications relevant to the subjects they delivered in the classroom.

Key points:
- Ninety-six per cent of teachers’ highest post A-level qualification was a degree, a higher degree, a BEd, or a PGCE;
- In thirteen of the twenty nine subject categories used in the survey, over 70% of teachers held a post A-level qualification in a subject relevant to the subject they taught;
• The proportions of teachers with post A-level qualifications in the subjects they taught varied across subjects from less than 20% in some subjects (e.g. Careers Education at 7%) to over 80% in others (e.g. Music at 87%);
• The subjects with the highest proportions of post A-level qualified teachers were Chemistry, Biology and Physics where 90% and over of teachers had post A-level qualifications in relevant subjects; and
• Analysis of the qualification subjects of all science teachers demonstrated the relative proportions of science specialisms within schools, showing that 32% of specialisms were in Biology, 22% were Chemistry, 22% were Physics, 16% were Other Science and 8% were non-science.

The Extra Mile - Raising Aspirations in Deprived Communities

2008-07-04T16:15:00.005+01:00

This DCSF paper is the first of a series which will explore in detail the barriers which face the children from deprived communities at school and seek ways to improve their chances of success. It is a project which is focused on children whose families have been poor for generations, in this sense it links to other research on persistent poverty (click here). The project focuses on the cultural attitudes between poverty and aspiration.

Key points:

- Generational poverty adds to material deprivation the weight of historical expectation and ingrained culture.

- Despite a closing gap, there is still significant difference of attainment of those on free school meals (FSM) and those not.

- By visiting 50 secondary schools working in the most deprived wards in England, but with a great track record of success with their pupils, it was seen that they do similar activities to any great school: they have dynamic leaders, who lead from the front, set the tone and establish a ‘can do’ culture; they have strong systems for quality; they are passionate about the quality of the classroom experience; they shape the curriculum to serve the needs of their intake; they track the progress of pupils with ardent regularity and intervene immediately if anyone falls off trajectory; they are unusually creative about recruitment and retention.

- these schools also go the extra mile for the children of their community. They implement some deliberate extra measures specifically targeted at the most disadvantaged. The research found 12 "extra mile" practices:
1: To increase interactive and participatory learning
2: To develop a listening campaign
3: To promote a culture of respect for local values
4: To broaden pupils’ horizons
5: To develop a culture of achievement
6: To offer a more relevant curriculum
7: To build pupils’ repertoire of language
8: To develop pupils’ social, emotional & behavioural skills
9: To cultivate traditional values
10: To track pupils’ progress and intervene promptly
11: To develop effective rewards and incentive schemes
12: To support pupils at transition points

Impact of High Performing Specialist Schools

2008-07-01T16:47:00.003+01:00

PricewaterhouseCoopers have published this interim report, on behalf of the DCSF, on High Performing Specialist Schools (HPSS). Specialist schools are those which are recognised as being a centre of excellence in their chosen specialism (such as a curriculum subject or for Special Educational Needs). Since 2004 Specialist Schools have had the chance to apply to become High Performing. This implies that they gain a second specialism (i.e. a second curriculum and/or vocational subject as specialism) or that they take part in the Leading Edge Partnership Programme; become a Training School; take part in the Raising Achievement Transforming Learning Programme; or Youth Support Trust School Leadership Programme.

This report evaluates the success of the HPSS only, as opposed to evaluating the success of the Specialist School Programme in general.

Key points:
- Schools are optimistic that the HPSS option is contributing positively to raising pupils’ aspirations and attainment. A small number of interviewees (mainly those schools with a SEN HPSS option) emphasised the importance of assessing the impact upon achievement as well as attainment, as this was important for pupils with Special Educational Needs;
- Approximately one-half of interviewees believed that recruitment and retention of staff had improved as a result of the school taking on the high performing role;
- Schools were generally positive about the opportunities that the programme has provided to enhance and extend training and development opportunities for staff. Approximately four-fifths of headteachers indicated that training and development opportunities have improved as a direct result of involvement in the programme;
- Staff workload has increased in two-thirds of the schools visited (in particular for the Director of Specialism(s) and class teachers), but this was not generally resented by staff; as interviewees suggested that job satisfaction has simultaneously improved. A large number of interviewees suggested that workload peaked during the planning stage and the early implementation of the specialism and that it would reduce as the programme was being implemented;
- Over 90% of headteachers believed that curricular choice and personalised learning opportunities for pupils have improved as a result of the HPSS option;
- Many HPS schools are collaborating effectively with partner primary schools, but the outreach activities with local secondary schools, the wider community and local businesses are less well developed. Many of the examples of best practice in terms of collaboration with local secondary schools and businesses exist in training schools and schools with a vocational specialism; and
- Over one-half of interviewees believed that HPSS contributed specifically to the achievement of wider Government objectives, including the 14-19 agenda, the workforce remodelling agenda, extended schools and Every Child Matters.

The Best Teachers - Australia

2008-07-01T16:30:00.005+01:00

This paper, Teaching Talent: The Best Teachers for Australia’s Classrooms (BCA), comprises a paper prepared for the Business Council of Australia titled ‘Investing in Teacher Quality: Doing What Matters Most’, preceded by an introduction and recommendations authored by the BCA .

Key points:

- The quality of teaching is the main driver of successful student learning outcomes.

- Every student deserves teachers who are suited to teaching, well trained and qualified, highly skilled, caring and committed to moving forward the learning of their students.

- One of the main roles of leadership in professions is to build a framework for professional learning from registration to advanced levels of standards, and systems for providing assessments and certification for members who reach those standards. It is important, therefore, to strengthen leadership in quality teaching at the wider professional level as well as at the level of the individual school.

- Stakeholders are unanimous that the first step in achieving improved outcomes in education is to attract the best people into teaching.

- Salary may not be a strong reason why current teachers have chosen to teach, but it is a strong reason why many abler graduates choose not to teach, and this is cause for considerable concern if we want our education system to remain among the best in the world.

- Attracting enough people into teacher education and attracting people of suitable quality are two major issues that tend to work against each other.