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Janet Downs: 93% of Britain’s children are victims of discrimination. Why? Because they are state educated

“Unleashing aspiration: the Final Report of the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions” (2009): “…although only 7% of the population attend independent schools, well over half the members of many professions have done so. For example, 75% of judges, 70% of finance directors, 45% of top civil servants, and 32% of MPs were independently schooled.” The Panel found that the ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by eJD8owE1: ""It is a large leap from criticising this unfair advantage and persecuting parents of home schooled children (which were, in any case, not the subject of the thread)." Why would parents homeschool their children if not to obtain an advantage for ......"

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Francis Gilbert: Is coursework a fair way of assessing pupils?

A version of this article appeared in the Times, Tuesday 8th May. When a pupil of mine, Gerry, presented me with his English Language A level coursework, I couldn’t believe my eyes.  It was A* with knobs on! “Blimey, Gerry, how did you do that?” I asked, “Your last piece scarcely scraped a D grade.” Gerry, who was a bit of ‘wide-boy’, ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Ben Taylor: "Some personal reflections. In my life science degree most of the individual courses of the degree involved significant work during the course but were mostly assessed by examination. For example, maybe you had an individually assigned essay of several thousand words ......"

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Francis Gilbert: The special needs system is open to abuse

Assessment of educational needs should be overhauled, as parents may be encouraging misdiagnosis to access resources (This article was first published by The Guardian) Plans to change the "special needs" system in schools will have a big impact upon teachers like me, as well as millions of pupils and their parents. That said, the system does need an overhaul. Far too many pupils are judged as ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by eJD8owE1: "" In affluent areas the SEN label was used for specific difficulties while in less affluent schools “more children are diagnosed with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties, and moderate learning difficulties.”" Bang on. And there's a consequence to that: middle-class ......"

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Allan Beavis: A reminder – How Finnish Education reform addressed the economic inequality of society

Finnish schools and why they are an inspiring model to emulate has been discussed on Local Schools Network many times before, but it is worth thinking about them again. Posts on this site about the recent speeches and "initiaves" by Gove and Clegg claiming to prove the coalition's commitment to social mobility and cohesion have prompted debate once again about the ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "Ricky if you want to explore your insights into economics I suggest you come and do so on John Redwood's blog. I think this topic is irrelevant here. Finland went through economic restructuring in the early 90s just ......"

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Helen Flynn: It’s not rocket science: a different route to social mobility….

So, the Coalition has come up with a new incentive for schools to reduce the gap between rich and poor in attainment and increase "social mobility". How about this for an alternative? Take away charitable status from private schools so that some of the brightest "poor" kids cannot be lured into the private sector with free places and enticements of being ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "I find it amusing that you two have decided to go for me rather than the poster who was criticising the schools for not getting enough As and A*s. Those Ofsted comments don't exactly indicate As and A*s are ......"

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Melissa Benn: More futility on mobility

A new day, and another new proposal to improve 'social mobility' - this time from Nick Clegg, best known as the back half of the leadership of the Coalition government, whose education policy is making it harder for most poorer children to get a good, rounded education while upholding the privileges of the privately and selectively ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "When you are lucky enough to work in a position where day in and day out you can make a tremendous difference to children's life prospects you work in an intrinsically motivating job. We don't need incentives from outside. ......"

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Sarah Barton: Save our community schools

I am a parent in Birmingham with 3 school age children. I am horrified by the rapid privatisation of our state schools via the academies and free schools programme. I was dismayed to find that consultation was to be no more than a tick-box exercise when my daughter's school announced in May 2011 that it wanted to convert. I fought ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Allan Beavis: "Good to see that this hypocrisy is being challenged up and down the country by ordinary people who are realising that the rhetoric Gove and the media has fed them is empty. It's not just the SWP, Trots and NUT ......"

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sarah: Audit investigation into pupil place planning and capital

I understand that the National Audit Office have just been given authority to undertake a value for money audit on the planning of pupil places and allocation of capital to meet basic need. One of the things that the audit will focus on is the value for money implications of establishing free schools in areas where there is already adequate ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "Thank you for letting us know about this Sarah...."

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Fiona Millar: If the impact of private schools is morally indefensible how can they be classed as charities?

On Thursday the Secretary of State made a speech in which he paid tribute to the achievements of the independent sector , applauded its  old boys and girls,  observed their dominance of the arts, media, and political establishment and rounded off  by claiming "the sheer scale, the breadth and the depth of private school dominance of our society points to ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Tim Bidie: "Surely Gove cannot be all bad. After all, he was a scholar and he supports the idea of a new Royal Yacht! Three cheers for Her Majesty! Hip, hip...... Sorry about the rubbish link to source: Travis Fast Born in Vancouver British Columbia. ......"

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Janet Downs: Teaching in the modern world – teachers need multiple approaches to improve learning in today’s classrooms and governments should nurture teachers.

Today’s teachers are expected to use a wide range of strategies in the classroom, says the latest OECD report on developing school leaders.  OECD found that collaborative leadership which encourages teachers to contribute to decision making may be a more effective route to improving schools than top down leadership from the head alone. Education for the modern world requires more than transmitting knowledge. Teachers should have deep ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Janet Downs: "paul - thanks for the link. I notice that the article quoted Christine Gilbert, ex-head of Ofsted, who said the level of teacher professionalism was "better than ever". Despite this praise teacher morale has plumetted because of the ......"

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