Stories + Views: Accountability

Page 10 of 16« First...89101112...Last »
Avatar Image

Adrian Elliott: Tim Brighouse Lecture at the Oxford Education Society 16/09/2011

Just come across this and thought I would share it in case anyone missed it. Will comment later when I have time to read it properly read more and comment →

5 comments

Latest comment by Janet Downs: "Nick Gibb's latest pronouncements about the thousands of children failing to achieve 3Rs at Level 1 and about the wide gap between children on free school meals and the rest were based on some faulty statistics and a glaring arithmetical ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Ken Muller: Mossbourne academy’s high proportion of pupils with English as a first language: what impact, if any, does this have on its performance?

I’ve just had a very quick go at the new DfE tool for comparing schools . One statistic which at first sight stood out in Hackney was that 69.3 % of Mossbourne pupils have English as a first language. Living close to Mossbourne, this figure is surprisingly high to me, so I compared it with other local secondary schools. Petchey Academy is even ... read more and comment →

7 comments

Latest comment by Howard: "“how (and why) does it come about that Mossbourne and Petchey admit a far higher percentage of English as a first language pupils than neighbouring schools?” It's likely that this is due to the different admissions criteria. While the primary criterion ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

David Lewis: Where Is The logic?

First of all, even though I find Tory politics abhorrent I do agree with Michael Gove's E-Bac initiative. I do believe that all children should be studying Maths, English, Sciences, a foreign language, History and Geography right up to the end of compulsory education. The Tories pathological hatred of local government and trade unions has however been allowed to take root ... read more and comment →

26 comments

Latest comment by David Lewis: "What is beyond doubt is that students from independent schools are disproprtionately represented in the Oxbridge and Russel Group universities. The reference to state educated students should be mindful that many of these indeed a disproportionate number will have come ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Fiona Millar: What parents really want from schools

For the past few months I have taken some time out from the daily blogging and journalism and spent time travelling around the country for a project looking into school accountability and what parents really want from schools. It has been a fascinating experience. Working with the national parenting charity Family Lives, I took part in focus groups in the North ... read more and comment →

2 comments

Latest comment by Judith Houghton: "It makes for an interesting read and something I will be encouraging my fellow governors to debate as we look at our school improvement plan...."

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: Lincolnshire advises all its schools to become academies – but parents not consulted

Lincolnshire County Council  is abdicating all responsibility for the county’s schools by advising them to become academies under the aegis of CfBT, an education charity which already runs Lincolnshire’s school improvement service. The Conservative council admits that the number of converted schools will leave the council with insufficient money to support the rest, especially the small village schools.  Opposers of academies ... read more and comment →

5 comments

Latest comment by Stephen Mayo: "Perfect! Many thanks...."

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: Accountability tail wags education dog, says think tank.

Centre Forum  , a liberal think tank, says “we have allowed the accountability ‘tail’ to wag the education ‘dog’”. It recognised that failure to meet performance targets has ‘potentially grave consequences’ on schools which result in perverse incentives: teaching to the test, narrowing the curriculum, focussing on particular students such as those on the C/D borderline, and steering pupils towards ... read more and comment →

No comments

Be the first to comment!

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Sarah Dodds: No More Fear….

We have just returned from our summer holiday. It gave me very much needed relaxing and thinking time to evaluate the campaign. On one of our day trips we took our four children to a fun fair. We have a very gutsy five year old, who goes on rides that I would never dream of going on! Knowing how brave she ... read more and comment →

6 comments

Latest comment by chris: "I am not saying they don’t. I am just saying that if you want to have any hope of infuencing the future, opposing academies is the place you need to be at the moment...."

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Henry Stewart: Hackney’s Learning Trust: An Example of What a Local Authority Can Do

Three weeks ago Toby Young challenged Local Schools Network writers to set out the conditions that academies and free schools needed to fulfill to be acceptable. It was an interesting discussion. I argued that they should be co-ordinated by their local authority, to whom they should be accountable for the quality of their education and who should organise admissions. Toby ... read more and comment →

14 comments

Latest comment by Ric Euteneuer: "To be honest, I'm never sure it's worth engaging people like Toby Young. What he effectively wants is a return to a mythical golden age of education that is neither relevant today, nor was effective when it supposedly existed in ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Ian Taylor: Mr Gove’s awfully big experiment

Changing the Examinations System Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the RSA, has written a very thought provoking blog.  He makes excellent points about Mr Gove’s latest idea to change the examination system from modular exams to terminal exams. That Mr Gove’s proposals are risky and untested. Matthew questions the concept that making the hurdles higher will motivate more children to reach them. ... read more and comment →

5 comments

Latest comment by Alan Gurbutt: "Exactly, not only are non-grammar schools viewed as a poor second the effects of this mindset have far reaching consequences for everyone in the community – no need to reiterate. Selection, plus or minus deprivation indices still equals rejection whichever way ......"

Comment + Debate
Avatar Image

Janet Downs: The myths of academy conversion

Many local authority (LA) community schools, particularly secondary schools, are rushing to convert to academy status in just a few weeks - hardly enough time for governing bodies, let alone parents, to understand fully the implications. So let’s nail the myths. Claim: Academies can opt out of the national curriculum. Fact: Yes, they can, but community schools already have ... read more and comment →

29 comments

Latest comment by Oakmeeds – Reasons Not To Become An Academy: "[...] http://www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk/2011/06/the-myths-of-academy-conversion/ -The Local Schools Network address the myths of academy conversion http://www.hcaa.org.uk/about-academies/about-academies-2/ ‘Why we oppose acadamies’ A report by the Haringey Campaign Against Academies group [...]..."

Comment + Debate
Page 10 of 16« First...89101112...Last »