Blog posts for tag:Schools

Careers advice is once again in the news, as a new law that states vocational and academic options must be promoted equally is touted. This follows the Ofsted Annual Report 2014-2015, which revealed that one of the most common reasons learners don’t continue study or enter into employment is because the careers advice they receive before choosing their route after school was flawed. In particular, vocational education or training and Apprenticeships were poorly promoted; in fact, Apprenticeships are often presented as a last option to learners.

Concerns have once again been raised around the mental health of our young people, as ChildLine has stated they are “deeply unhappy” due to modern pressures. Around 1 in 10 young people suffer from mental health illnesses, including depression and anxiety. Professor Tanya Byron, an expert in child and adolescent mental health, argues the education system is partly to blame, because: “We are teaching kids to pass exams – this is a fake marker of intelligence. While we are fetishising IQ, children and young people are so unbelievably anxious.”

The government is introducing new exams from next year that will mean that primary school pupils need to know their times tables off by heart. In what it sees as part of its “war on innumeracy”, the government’s new exams will see pupils expected to memorise their times tables, and be able to recite them by heart. Commenting on the new tests, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan stated, “Maths is a non-negotiable of a good education. Since 2010, we've seen record numbers of 11 year olds start secondary school with a good grasp of the three Rs. But some continue to struggle.

Labour came out swinging early in the new year with a press release on teacher recruitment, pointing to what they see as “the Government’s failure on this extremely basic issue.” Shadow Education Secretary Lucy Powell seems to be stepping up the rhetoric at a time when the government seems determined that there is no crisis. Schools Minister Nick Gibb said in December that “the profession is in very good shape” and accused those who use the word ‘crisis’ of “talking down the profession.” This is the latest in a long running battle of words on the issue. The government seems determined that there is no crisis, and claims that “the number and quality of teachers in our classrooms is at an all-time high”. Labour points out that the government has changed the way it presents figures in the initial teacher training census, taking out figures from undergraduates and adding those who come through Teach First. This makes it difficult to compare against data from previous years, and to understand whether enough teachers are being recruited.

Every year, Ofsted releases an annual report looking at the key findings and emerging themes from “over 5,000 inspections of schools, colleges and providers of further education and skills.” We’ve pulled together the key highlights for secondary schools from the report for you.

With recent reports showing that just 16% of private schools offer vocational qualifications, we explore the important role of both academic and vocational qualifications within the school curriculum. Andrew Fleck, Headmaster at Sedbergh School in Cumbria said: “There seems to be little consensus in the nation’s debate about anything relating to education, with one exception. The country needs more high-quality vocational education.

New research has shown that teachers work more unpaid overtime, and suffer more workload-based stress than any other profession. The Trade Union Congress (TUC) found that in secondary schools, 57.5% of teaching staff worked unpaid overtime, averaging 12.5 hours per week. The figures are similar for primary school teachers, as 61.4% worked overtime for an average of 12.9 hours a week.

The government has recently announced it intends to scrap GCSE and A Level qualifications in ICT. Schools Minister Nick Gibb is believed to have summoned the British Computing Society (BCS) to fight to save the qualifications, before taking his final decision.

This week saw the start of National Anti-Bullying Week. Running from 16-20 November 2015. The Anti Bullying Alliance have organised the event with the theme ‘Make a Noise about Bullying’ and the #antibullyingweek social media hashtag. The organisation has partnered with Barclays and is seeking to achieve a number of aims including empowering children and young people to make a noise about bullying – whether it is happening to them or to someone else. The Alliance is also seeking to help parents have conversations with their children to prevent it and to help those children worried about bullying.

The government’s lack of support on statutory PSHE and SRE in schools, particularly in relation to sex education, has been labelled “feeble”. Chair of the House of Commons Education Committee, Neil Carmichael, said: “The response made by the government is…disappointing.