Government Policy

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Fiona Millar: London schools – another success story

I am feeling very proud of my local schools today. The latest Primary Performance Tables have just been published and show a story of improvement across the country. This is especially interesting as so few primary schools have converted to academy status which proves that success isn't actually due to 'independent' status and is instead down to the sheer hard ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by agov: "The statement quoted by Janet Downs is not a matter of statistics nor was it necessarily written by statisticans. It is a statement about control. It is also in part a lie and the DfE must know it ......"

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Dave Prodrick: The best community schools will never be given a fair judgement under this current system.

It is becoming increasingly impossible for excellent community schools to be judged fairly under this current system. Yes we need a fair admissions system, but we need to move away from this narrow academic way of measuring what makes a school good. I work in a school that is a seamless part of it's local community with a superb Head ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Dave Prodrick: "Thanks Sarah New to this site how do I go about getting your email from LSN is it through their contact us page? Dave..."

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James Hargrave: We are the conservatives now. The fight to save good local schools

Gove is having to look for nasty sounding rhetoric to describe opponents of his free schools and academies policies. So we have been described as "enemies of promise" and even "trots". The reason for the use of this language is simple. It would be hard to mount a huge attack on people who just want good locally managed schools for ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by For the Benefit of the Conservative Party – “FOR SALE – Local Hospital and Schools “ | Think Left: "[...] We are the conservatives now – the fight to save good local schools: Local Schools Network [...]..."

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Tim Rose: A rapidly improving comprehensive was turned round – the wrong way – when an independent school chain took it over and got it dumped into Special Measures.

Woodard Schools chose the former Boundstone Community College in Lancing to be their "flagship" academy & named it after the grandson of their founder, the Revd Nathaniel Woodard, because its exam results had been on a rapidly rising trajectory and it had been described by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust as one of "the most improved schools in the ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Heather Gould: "As the parent of a child who has just sat GCSE's at the above mentioned school I agree with a lot of what has been said about it. I was lucky enough to transfer my younger son who was ......"

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Allan Beavis: The best performing schools in London are Local Authority funded community, voluntary aided and foundation schools

A study published by CentreForum shows that nine London boroughs - Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster, Redbridge, Barnet, Hackney, Camden, Sutton and Tower Hamlets - rank amongst the 10 best local authorities in England for the quality of their state schools. The study examines the educational attainment of public sector schools in London compared to the other major regions ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Allan Beavis: "There's no point or need to repeat yourself Charlie. I've already responded in full to your assertions. I think you overstate when you claim I effectively call you a liar. Is this a milder form of smear than the "trotskyite", ......"

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Stephen Smith: Teachers don’t fear “Crackdowns” – We fear ignorance

Having a few extra hours to spare over the holiday period, I made the mistake of browsing a few articles about education on the internet (this is how teachers get their pleasure). Well it didn’t exactly fill me full of the joys of the season of goodwill. One piece that caught my eye was this – on the BBC news website, but ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Adrian Elliott: "Excellent post, Stephen..."

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Bromley Parent: How an academy chain’s dominance in an area creates a monopoly and undermines parental preference

Parents in Penge, South London, who want to send their child to their local school are being effectively denied any meaningful preference since the Harris Federation now runs the four main secondary schools that serve the area. To adapt Henry Ford’s famous maxim to this area parents can choose any local school they want as a long as it is ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Penge Parent: "I am also interested that Royston and Malcolm are becoming Harris academies. I have no experience of how they do at primary level so I will be watching to see how they get on. I understand St Johns ......"

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Ian Taylor: How Finland Really Can Help Us Improve Our Education System

How Finland Really Can Help Us Improve Our Education System A lot of Mr Gove’s education policy seems to come from examples of education systems in other countries. These examples are chosen because their school systems are producing better “results” than ours. Finland receives hundreds of visits a year from the world’s educationalists, who are all trying to find the secret ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Tom Arnold: "I think Finland model will help only if the political system has the heart to change...."

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Martin Field: I don’t want the school, where I’m a teacher and both my sons attend, to become an academy and foundation school.

Our state education system is one of the things that makes us a civilised country and we shouldn't allow it to be given away, or sold off, so easily. I can understand why Tories and anxious heads and governors might accept the "easy" or "safe" or "pragmatic" cop out but I can't understand why teachers, parents and ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by rosalyn: "I agree entirely. Unfortunately I think people arent furious because they arent told enough about it and there is so much else going on the economy that little attention is paid. I also blame politicians in opposition for not having ......"

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Ian Taylor: Why Michael Gove must be right with Free Schools

Our Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, has benefitted from the type of “liberal classical education” so beloved of Toby Young. Both men see the benefits of ensuring that our young people are introduced to Latin or Greek. I am sure that they are both familiar with Greek philosophy. Up until now I had not realised why they were ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Adrian Elliott: "From the article: “If Britain’s education sector were to emerge as an education industry, it is easy to see sink schools – our national shame – being eradicated within five years.” Just as the private care home industry has eradicated sink care ......"

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