The Maharishi Schools Trust has been censured by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for using the term “outstanding” in its marketing material. The ASA ruled: “In the context of an ad for an education provider, the claim "outstanding academic results" was likely to be interpreted as referring to a current Ofsted rating; a rating which we understood had not been awarded ... read more and comment →
Increasingly schools are being encouraged, by the Department for Education and by Ofsted, to focus on achieving three levels of progress for every student. (Three levels represents going from Level 3 at age 11 to a D at GCSE, level 4 to a C and level 5 to an A.) The flaw in this approach became clear this week when ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "I'm delighted to be able to withdraw my comment. The anomalies I was concerned about are most likely facet of the transition between SATS and GCSE results (with SATS results being broken down into sub-levels and GCSE results not ......"
Comment + Debate Ofsted’s widely-publicised report alleging that non-selective schools are “failing” the brightest pupils rested on expected progression and on international comparisons. Henry Stewart has explained how the progression measure is flawed. Is Ofsted’s use of international comparisons similarly unsound? Ofsted correctly cited results from PISA* 2009: 1. 1% of England’s 15-year-olds reached the highest level in reading. This was above the OECD* average (0.8%) ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Guest: "In denial and missing the point. JD strikes again...."
Comment + Debate Ofsted told us today that schools are underperforming if students who arrive with Level 5 in Maths and English do not go on to achieve grade A or A* at GCSE. While it is clearly good to have high aspirations for our students, it is not clear why a level 5 at Key Stage 2 should be seen as equivalent ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Janet Downs: "The same applies to Level 4 Sats. The DfE says that expected progress will have been made if pupils who left primary school with Level 4 should get at least a C grade. But Level 4 is a ......"
Comment + Debate “The second challenge is to ensure, from early on, that students know what opportunities are open to them and develop the confidence to make the most of these. They need tutoring, guidance and encouragement…,” writes Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted Chief Inspector. Yes, ALL pupils should be made aware of available opportunities but this isn’t happening. Schools have a statutory duty to provide ... read more and comment →
I obtained the information in this post from Freedom of Information requests to Ofsted. In the early years of the Academies Programme, Ofsted produced a Protocol (revised November 2004 and March 2006) for working with a DfES team referred to as the ‘Academies Division’ (AD). According to the Protocol, OfSTED was informed as soon as a new academy was proposed. OfSTED then ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Janet Downs: "Roger - that's a good question. And the spending hasn't stopped. Bristol Brunel has submitted plans for a £6.2 million swimming pool in December 2012. http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Plans-submitted-6-2m-swimming-pool-Bristol-Brunel/story-17522256-detail/story.html#axzz2VtUXirkV And it appears that additional money had to be spent to adapt the new ......"
Comment + Debate “Whitehall may think it’s playing the right music, [but] too few people are hitting the dance floor,” wrote CBI chief, John Cridland, in the Guardian. Cridland said the education system should not be a barrier to great teaching but must support it. He acknowledges that the system being proposed from Government is not playing well with schools leaders. Those who heckled ... read more and comment →
Schools now have a statutory duty to provide independent careers advice and must “act impartially”. They must recognise when it is the “best interests of some pupils to pursue their education in a further education (FE) college or a university technical college (UTC),” says guidance from the Department for Education (DfE). But there’s a conflict of interest here. The Commons Education ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Schools are supposed to provide independent careers advice by law | higheredulinks.com: "[...] Read this article: Schools are supposed to provide independent careers advice by law [...]..."
Comment + Debate “Secondary schools face being told to stream pupils by ability after a major inquiry by Ofsted found that state comprehensives were failing large numbers of the brightest children,” said the Telegraph. So where is this major inquiry? You’d expect it to be mentioned on Ofsted’s news page but not a syllable. It appears Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted Chief Inspector, decided to reveal ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Ed Banks: "100! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hEEBVlJ8pA..."
Comment + Debate
The Mr Men story which Janet Downs commented on (see sidebar) is part of a bigger narrative - Gove avoiding commenting on the critics of his National Curriculum proposals. The Mr Men citation is important, but it is vital not to allow him to divert from the critics particularly the Royal Historical Society, whose comment on their web site is ... read more and comment →
Latest comment by Leonard James: ""The link to the early thread was not meant to be a “representation” of “my body of work”. It was what it said on the tin – an argument for both “knowledge” and “skills”." Then why mention it given the context ......"
Comment + Debate