Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 7 September 2022.

Figures out today (Friday 7 September 2012) reveal that 282 academies open this month, taking the total number to 2,309. There are now more than 10 times as many academies as there were in May 2010 when there were just 203 academies.

Failing schools have been specifically targeted by the government for radical improvement. A record 130 sponsored academies open this month. The total number of sponsored academies is now 501.

The government is tackling chronic educational under-performance by installing new leaders and providing great sponsors for weak schools. In 2011, the GCSE results of sponsored academies open for at least two years improved almost twice as fast as those for all state-funded schools.

This month

• 54% of secondary schools are either already academies or in the pipeline to become academies.
• 1.7 million pupils are now taught in academies.
• 120,000 teachers – a quarter of the frontline school workforce – are now employed in academies. 48% of the secondary workforce are in academies.
• 14 academies for children with special educational needs will open this month taking the total to 56, compared to just 1 last September.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

We believe in trusting the professionals. That’s why we gave teachers the opportunity to take on more freedom and responsibility and they have grabbed it with both hands. Many are now going even further and taking on responsibility for turning around less successful schools. These outstanding converters are becoming the new academy sponsors of the future raising standards across the state sector.

Schools Minister David Laws said:

Academies help to ensure that the professionals – teachers on the frontline – are in charge of schools not politicians or bureaucrats. I am pleased that more schools are choosing to increase their capacity to innovate and our vision is that all schools will take on these freedoms and responsibilities.

Academies put power back into the hands of headteachers. Academies have introduced longer school days, benefiting parents and pupils, and have introduced new contracts that reward high-achieving teachers.

Examples

• David Young Community Academy, Leeds, operates a seven-term academic year which starts in June and finishes in May, with a four-week summer holiday.

Headteacher Ros McMullen said:

This ensures that by the time everybody else starts year 7, the academy’s pupils have already had a good 10 weeks of secondary education.

• Wigmore School in Hereford will from September supply hot healthy lunches to 3 of its 6 feeder primary schools, with the hope of supplying all 6 in the future.

Headteacher Andrew Shaw said:

Due to their geographical locations sending food out to three primary schools will be a challenge for us. But if it means other children will benefit from the same quality food, it is worth it. We could not have done this without the freedoms gained through academy status.

• Samworth Church Academy in Mansfield, has 90% of employees who voluntarily switched to individual contracts. This has given more flexibility to use traditional school holiday time for creative and innovative programmes ranging from traditional revision classes and coursework catch-ups to ‘study residentials’ that have combined adventure and outdoor activities with intensive study programmes.

Examples of new sponsored academies

• Willow Brook Primary School Academy in Leyton is opening this September to replace the under-performing predecessor school. It will be sponsored by Yardley Primary School Academy in Chingford, which has been judged outstanding by Ofsted.
• Slade Junior and Infant School is an under-performing school in a deprived area of Birmingham. It will become an academy in September joining the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership. Arthur Terry has a rich history in securing improvements in other schools including Stockland Green, which also converted to an academy with the Arthur Terry School in May 2012.
• Tregolls Primary School in Cornwall was placed in Special Measures by Ofsted in June 2011. It will become an academy this September sponsored by Penair Schools. Penair is an outstanding secondary academy which converted in April 2011.
• King’s Houghton Middle School in Dunstable is an under-performing school rated satisfactory by Ofsted in July 2011. It will become an academy in September joining the successful academy chain Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust.

Tom Clark, Chairman of The Freedom and Autonomy for Schools National Association (FASNA), said:

It is great to see the academy programme successfully demonstrating the effective use of autonomy in raising standards for pupils. Our member schools are actively involved in supporting other schools thinking about becoming academies and are sharing best practice about how they have used curriculum, staffing and budget freedoms to benefit their pupils and their community.

David Wootton, Chair of the Independent Academies Association and Regional Executive South for Academy sponsor, United Learning, said:

Academies are using the freedom they have over the curriculum and use of resources to innovate and drive school improvement across the country both within academies and beyond, particularly challenging areas of disadvantage. This is not only leading to a significant improvement in pupils’ attainment but in using freedoms to innovate in many areas like inclusion, additional needs and community engagement. Academies are transforming the future of education in England.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 6 September 2022.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has today (Thursday) announced the continuation of a £2m-a-year partnership between the Department for Education (DfE) and the Institute of Physics (IOP).

In a sustained effort to overcome the chronic shortage of specialist physics teachers, Michael Gove has announced that IOP’s teacher training scholarships will continue.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

Following the successful recruitment of 115 excellent trainee teachers this year, I’m delighted to announce another recruitment round over this academic year.

We are starting to see the root causes of our physics teacher shortage being addressed. By raising the status of the profession, we’re bringing highly sought-after physics graduates and career-changers, all with incredible aptitude to teach, into the classroom.

The £20,000 scholarships – available to graduates with a 2:1 or first class degree intending to do a mainstream physics, or physics with maths, initial teacher training course – have contributed to another year of record high physics teacher recruitment.

IOP has also today published a summary of trends in physics education and, as the note reports, “While there is no magic bullet to remedy the chronic shortage of physics teachers, the situation is starting to improve as steps have been taken by both the IOP and the Department for Education”.

With a need to recruit 1,000 new specialist physics teachers every year for more than a decade to address the imbalance between the number of specialist biology, chemistry and physic teachers in science departments across England, there is still a long way to go.

Professor Peter Main, director of education and science at IOP, said:

For the second year running, we are seeing record numbers of would-be teachers starting teacher training courses in either physics or physics with maths.

Last year, we saw 889 new trainees start their initial teacher training and this year all evidence suggests that we’ll see more than 900 entering teacher training. This is up from below 600 just two years ago.

IOP credits a range of developments with the strides being made to address the teacher shortage; from the government’s introduction of ambitious teacher recruitment targets for physics through to the teacher training scholarships and efforts being made to retain greater numbers of physics teachers in the profession once qualified.

With the shortage due to persist for at least a decade another government-funded programme called the Stimulating Physics Network continues to work with non-specialist physics teachers to ensure non-specialists (often biologists) have the knowledge, enthusiasm and confidence to successfully teach physics.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 4 September 2012.

Ofsted has today announced changes to the way it inspects early years providers, such as nurseries and childminders.

From September, Ofsted inspection of early years providers will be more focused on children’s education and their personal and emotional development. Inspectors will give greater attention to the progress children make in their learning.

The changes will also give those looking after children more freedom in managing their own service, while continuing to keep children safe by strengthening registration and maintaining rigorous enforcement for those who are not complying with requirements.

National Director Education, Susan Gregory, said:

It is crucial that children’s earliest experiences give them the best start in life. Through better inspection Ofsted wants to help ensure that every child has the best possible support in their learning and development, whilst ensuring that they are safe and well cared for. That’s why inspections are going to focus even more on interactions with children, and less on paperwork.

Observation of activities to develop children’s knowledge, understanding and skills in the main areas of learning, as well as care practices, will continue to be at the heart of inspections and providing feedback to those working with children will remain a high priority.

Early years providers will be given a judgement on their overall effectiveness that will take into account how well their provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend, how well they identify any particular needs children may have and arrange appropriate help; the contribution practitioners make to the well-being of children and the effectiveness of leadership and management. In particular, inspection will consider the extent to which all children are supported to acquire the skills and capacity to develop and learn effectively and be ready for the next stages in their learning, especially school.

In order to improve the information provided to parents, Ofsted will be making inspection reports more user-friendly. The new reports will include a front page summary, recommendations for good practice and any actions we have required providers to take.

To ensure that parents get more information about the quality of provision for their children, Ofsted is changing the way it investigates concerns. In most cases where Ofsted receives information that raises concerns, rather than simply investigating the issue, inspectors will carry out a full inspection and publish the report on Ofsted’s website. This will allow parents to have a fuller picture of provision and also gives providers more opportunity to set the concern in context of the overall quality of provision.

The timing of these inspections will depend on the nature of the concern and its potential seriousness for the welfare of children attending. In cases where the information, if true, would suggest there are, or could be, risks to children, we will carry out that inspection as quickly as possible.

To allow providers more flexibility in managing their own service, Ofsted will no longer routinely issue restrictions or conditions on registrations, such as the number of children they may care for. Instead Ofsted will draw parents’ and providers’ attention to the relevant legal requirements set out in the EYFS. This means that when providers want to do something such as change the number of children they can look after, they simply need to check if the EYFS allows them to do this.

Ofsted will also introduce changes to the way it registers people wishing to provide childcare. Childminder applicants will be expected to apply for registration only when they are confident that they know and understand everything they need to do to meet requirements. This includes completing all of their training before registration.

 

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 3 September 2012.

The revised inspection arrangements follow a comprehensive consultation ‘A Good Education For All’ which received more than five thousand responses from teachers, headteachers, parents, carers and governors. Respondees agreed that children deserve the best education possible and as a result Ofsted has introduced inspection arrangements that challenge the education system to do better.

Ofsted is raising the bar for school inspections. This is a real challenge for schools but it is also a challenge for Ofsted. To meet this challenge Ofsted is making a number of structural and organisational changes, putting more senior inspectors in the field to promote improvement through inspection and to ensure the right amount of time is spent giving support to schools when they need it.

Launching the new inspection framework Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, said:

I believe all children, regardless of where they live or what their parents can afford for them, have the right to a good education and that belief is at the heart of our work at Ofsted. From today, the school inspection arrangements will further challenge schools to ensure a good education is provided for all our children.

I make no apology for introducing an inspection framework that raises expectations and focuses on the importance of teaching. The new short-notice inspections allow inspectors to see schools as they really are. Schools judged ‘requires improvement’ will receive strong support from Ofsted to help them get to ‘good’.

We know inspections are crucial in driving better performance. Showing the need for improvement is often the spur that brings about change. I want Ofsted to be giving the right support to the schools that need it. Her Majesty’s Inspectors will spend more time doing inspection and improvement work locally and they will be supported by eight new regional directors, each responsible for learning and improvement in their respective areas.

From September 2012 the key changes to the inspection framework for schools are:

• to be judged ‘outstanding’, a school must have outstanding teaching. Not every lesson needs to be outstanding but over time schools must show outstanding teaching is helping pupils make excellent progress
• from today a new grade ‘requires improvement’ replaces the ‘satisfactory’ grade. Satisfactory should never have been more than a staging post on a school’s journey towards providing a good or outstanding education for all children
• schools judged satisfactory at the end of August 2012 will have a clean slate before being inspected by the end of the academic year 2013/14, but schools that have already been judged inadequate and given a notice to improve will be treated as schools that have ‘serious weaknesses’
• schools will be notified of an inspection by telephone the afternoon before the inspection starts. This means inspectors will see schools as they really are whilst giving headteachers and governors the opportunity to be present at the inspection

1. Ofsted announced the changes to the inspection of schools, further education and skills and initial teacher training on 30 May.
2. Thanks to the dedication of teachers and headteachers across England, most children go to a school that Ofsted has found good or outstanding.*

	Outstanding (%)	Good (%)	Total (%)
North East	21	51	72
North West	24	50	74
Yorkshire and the Humber	18	49	67
East Midlands	17	49	66
West Midlands	18	47	65
East of England	20	47	67
London	28	48	76
South East	21	47	68
South West	21	51	72

	Outstanding (%)	Good (%)	TOTAL (%)
Birmingham	23	45	68
Bolton	21	49	70
Bristol	21	38	59
Coventry	9	43	52
Derby	13	39	52
Lancashire	21	50	71
Leicester	13	48	61
Liverpool	24	53	77
Manchester	25	41	66
Newcastle Upon Tyne	22	48	70
Norfolk	12	49	61
Nottingham	18	51	69
Oxfordshire	15	48	63
Reading	23	37	60
Sheffield	19	47	66
Stoke-on-trent	22	41	63
Suffolk	20	47	67
Sunderland	14	46	60
Warrington	31	40	71
Wolverhampton	17	44	61

*Most recent inspection as at 31 March 2012. The most recent school inspection outcome statistics can be found on the Ofsted website.

1. The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 3 September 2012.

The government has today announced that 55 new free schools will open this September. The first 24 free schools opened in September 2011 while a further 114 have been approved to open in 2013 and beyond.

Free schools aim to achieve higher standards and offer a genuine alternative. They are funded by the government but have greater freedoms than local authority-run schools. They are run by teachers – not local councils or Westminster politicians – and have freedom over the length of the school day and term, the curriculum and how they spend their money.

The schools opening this month include:

• Dixon’s Music Primary Academy, in Bradford, which is the first specialist music primary school in England.
• Everton in the Community Free School, on Merseyside. The alternative provision school is being run by Everton Football Club and will cater for pupils aged 14 to 19 not in mainstream education.
• Bilingual Primary School, in Brighton & Hove, will be the first bilingual Free School in England, specialising in English and Spanish.
• School 21, in Newham, east London, is a teacher-led all-through Free School, including a sixth-form, in an area of significant deprivation. One of the founder members, and the executive head teacher, is Peter Hyman, previously a speech-writer for ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair.
• Rosewood Special Free School, in Southampton. A special school for children who have Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities.
• Tiger Primary School, in Maidstone, Kent, where all children will learn Mandarin and a musical instrument.
• Perry Beeches II The Free School, in Birmingham, is a new 11-18 Free School set up by an existing outstanding secondary school, Perry Beeches The Academy. The academy’s head, Liam Nolan, turned round the school’s performance from 21% of pupils achieving five A* to C GCSEs including English and maths in 2007 to 77% this year.
• London Academy of Excellence, in Newham, east London. This is a sixth-form free school which is being run by eight leading independent schools including Brighton College and Eton College.

Of the new free schools opening this September:

• 19 are primary schools, 19 are secondary schools and seven are all-age schools. There is one 14-to-19 school and one 16-to-19 school. Five are alternative provision schools – the first free schools of their type – and three are special schools.
• The schools are spread across England. They are primarily concentrated in areas of deprivation or areas where there is a shortage of school places. 25 of the 55 schools are located in the most deprived 25% of communities in the country. 33 of the schools are in areas where there is need for more school places.
• 12 have been set up by teachers, 19 by parent or community groups, 9 by charities and 13 are set up by existing education providers. Two existing independent schools will join the state sector as free schools.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

Every child should have the choice to go to an excellent local school. These new schools have been set up by idealistic people who are determined to give parents the kind of choice that only the rich can currently afford. The first 24 free schools are enormously popular and I expect this second wave to be equally successful.

Liam Nolan, executive head teacher of Perry Beeches II, Birmingham, said:

This is a fabulous opportunity for us to expand our brand of success into a new community and to work with a new group of young people in the heart of Birmingham. This is one of the beauties of free schools, that the very best schools can extend their outstanding practice.

Marina Gutierrez, Chair of the Bilingual Primary School Trust, Brighton, said:

I am delighted that this project has now become a reality and that Brighton & Hove’s children will have bilingualism as an educational choice.

Free schools have proved hugely popular with parents. All 24 which opened last year have filled, or almost filled, all their places for this year. Many have expanded to meet demand and many have large waiting lists.

New York charter schools, one of the inspirations behind free schools, have been shown to substantially narrow the attainment gap between rich and poor – by 86% in maths and 66% in English. In Chicago they halve the achievement gap between inner-city students and their wealthier suburban counterparts.

In England academies, which have the same freedoms as free schools, improve at a faster rate to state secondary schools – between 2010 and 2011 the proportion of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at A* to C including English and maths rose by 5.7 per cent in academies, compared to 3.1 per cent in state secondary schools.

This press notice relates to England only.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 3 September 2012.

The government has today published draft provisions to improve the support provided to children and young people with special educational needs (SEN), and to their parents. These provide for:

• a new duty for joint commissioning which will require local authorities and health bodies to take joint responsibility for providing services
• a requirement on local authorities to publish a local offer of services for disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs
• new protections for young people aged 16 to 25 in further education and a stronger focus on preparing them for adulthood
• parents and young people, for the first time, to be entitled to have a personal budget, extending their choice and control over their support
• further education colleges for the first time and all academies, including free schools, to have the same duties as maintained schools to safeguard the education of children and young people with SEN

Previously further education colleges had not been subject to SEN duties. The provisions relating to academies reflect the requirements currently in the majority of funding agreements signed since the introduction of the Academies Act 2010. Placing these requirements on the face of the legislation will give greater clarity to academies, parents and young people and will ensure further education colleges face the same requirements for the first time. The draft provisions would ensure that parents, young people and children are on the same footing whether they attend (or wish to attend) a maintained school, an academy, or a further education or sixth-form college.

Sarah Teather, Minister for Children and Families, said:

As the Paralympics are powerfully reminding us, disability is not necessarily a bar to outstanding achievement as long as people are given the right opportunities. We must do all we can to ensure that our schools give those with special educational needs and disabilities the best possible start in life.

Too many parents have faced bureaucratic barriers. We are making it easier for parents to access help for their children. And we will empower parents and young people, giving them greater control over the services they receive, by putting them in charge of personal budgets.

We are also increasing rights and protections for disabled young people in further education to prepare them for adulthood and paid work better. Taken together, our reforms package is giving young people with special educational needs the platform to succeed.

The Minister of State for Children and Families has today written to the chair of the Education Select Committee to seek the committee’s agreement to consider the draft SEN and disability provisions. The committee will decide formally later this week if it is willing to carry out pre-legislative scrutiny of these draft provisions.

The government looks forward to receiving views and feedback on the draft clauses, whilst it continues to learn from its pathfinder programme, before introducing legislation at a later date.

In September 2011, the Departments for Education and Health appointed 20 pathfinders (involving health and local authority partnerships in 31 areas across England) to test ways of achieving these reforms. Pathfinders have already played a valuable role in supporting the development of draft provisions and evidence emerging from the pathfinder programme will continue to inform regulations and guidance over the coming months.

Two of the delivery partners for the reform programme, Preparing for Adulthood and the Early Support Trust, have been working with pathfinders on a series of case studies describing their experiences as SEND pathfinders and setting out some of the early learning from their work. The first case studies are now available for download on the ‘Food for thought’ pages of the SEND Pathfinder website. Further case studies will be added in future.

The department is also sending out an invitation to disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs to join the young people’s advisory group (YPAG). This group will influence the policy making process by bringing disabled young people together with ministers and officials who are taking forward the government’s reforms set out in its green paper, ‘Support and aspiration: a new approach to special educational needs and disability’. It will enable those working on the reforms on a day-to-day basis to hear directly from disabled young people and test out policy proposals.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 31 August 2012.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb today announced more than 650 new recipients of teacher scholarships, which includes special education needs (SEN) support staff for the first time.

The second year of the £2 million National Scholarship Fund will see the government supporting teachers and SEN support staff to develop their skills and deepen their subject knowledge.

The continuation of the scheme is further evidence of the government’s belief that continuing professional development is the key to creating a world-class teaching profession.

The scholarships are worth a maximum of £3,500 for teachers and a maximum of £2,000 for SEN support staff. The value of each award is dependent on the type of activity funded.

Just over half of the applicants for both categories were successful:

• 387 teachers (35 English, 101 maths, 15 science and 236 SEN teachers).
• 274 SEN support staff.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

We have awarded these scholarships to teaching staff who have demonstrated their potential to develop deep subject knowledge and their desire to pass it on to their pupils.

A teaching profession that values scholarship and subject knowledge, with a commitment to continuing professional development is crucial to raising standards in our schools. These scholarships, along with our other reforms to improve teacher recruitment and training, will help deliver our objective of raising the status of teachers.

Applications in respect of the three priority subjects – English, maths and science – were received for a wide variety of activities ranging from a level 5 diploma to a Masters:

• Masters in Mathematics Education
• Masters in Victorian Literature
• Post Graduate Certificate in Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Level 7 Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties and Dyslexia
• BPhil in Special Education: Autism (Children) Distance education

The scholarships are awarded where applications are judged to be of sufficient merit. This round of the scholarship fund, the first for SEN support staff, was awarded based on the following criteria:

• priority subjects/specialism – to include maths, English, science and SEN;
• support from school – teachers and SEN support staff will be required to demonstrate support from their school in terms of accessing resources and being able to carry out activities within and outside the school; and
• level and type of scholarship activity – encourages serving teachers and SEN support staff to deepen knowledge independently to Masters level and beyond.

Brian Lamb OBE, Chair of Achievement for All and Chair of the Lamb Inquiry into SEN and Parental Confidence, said:

Having expert and knowledgeable teachers to improve the attainment and outcomes for children with SEN is crucial. These scholarships will help support the development of that real expertise and greater focus on the needs of children with SEN. I was hugely impressed with quality of applications and the commitment of teachers to improve their skills that I saw in the applications this year.

Ian McNeilly, Director of the National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE), said:

This scholarship fund is a helpful step towards making teaching exactly what it should be – a profession full of highly qualified practitioners.

Philippa Stobbs, Principal Officer of the Council for Disabled Children, said:

I welcome the overwhelming level of response to the scheme and people’s enthusiasm for developing expertise in such an important area.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 15 August 2012.

In the next fortnight there will be many more opportunities to applaud the talent, ambition and achievement of our young people.

Thousands of them will find that they have surpassed their own expectations and that years of hard work has paid off. They will secure the A level results they dreamt of and a university place or apprenticeship will be theirs.

This week of all weeks, they deserve to savour that success. Our society has not always valued academic achievement as it should. In the past, access to excellence was rationed with a majority of young people banished from the education system in their teens. University was assumed to be a minority pursuit. Influential voices still argue that having half our children go on to higher education is a mistake; that university expansion has gone too far; that more students must settle for less. But these critics never say whose children should be denied the chance to shine. And they certainly never assume it should be their own.

It is one of the great joys of my job that so many young people refuse to be held back by the enemies of promise. In more and more schools excellence is becoming a universal expectation, academic study a driving purpose. Whether it is Burlington Danes Academy, West London, Perry Beeches Academy, Birmingham, the marvellous Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys or the inspirational Paddington Academy, comprehensive schools with disadvantaged intakes are producing amazing academic results. Students from communities that were written off a generation ago are now making it to Russell Group universities in their hundreds.

Some of these schools are criticised for their remorseless emphasis on academic excellence – and especially their success in traditional subjects such as English, maths, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography and modern and ancient languages. The line of attack is as familiar to me as the annual debate about whether standards are rising. These schools are Gradgrindian; they are exam factories.

What the critics ignore, of course, is that academic rigour is liberating, not limiting. Students with good passes, especially in traditional subjects, have more opportunities in life.

Mercifully, a new generation of heads and teachers have fought back and given a new generation of state school students the chance to compete for glittering prizes. Thanks to great heads such as Sir Dan Moynihan, Dame Sue John, David Hampson, Rachel de Souza, Mike Griffiths, Alice Hudson and many others, whose schools outperform the rest, the argument for uncompromising emphasis on academic excellence has been won.

Which is why tomorrow, and next week when the GCSE results come out, attention should be directed to the secrets of these heads’ success, and their students’ amazing achievements.

Our young people are as capable of academic excellence as anyone. They need to be. Because the world is getting more competitive and they are up against billions of others in the race for jobs and university places. That is why we must make sure that our exam system, the training ground on which they prepare for the adult world, can match the world’s best.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 14 August 2012.

Our classrooms are now staffed by high-achieving maths graduates according to the latest figures released from the Teaching Agency (TA). Data reveals that almost 1 in 5 maths graduates are becoming teachers. In addition, for the first time, over half of new maths trainee teachers have upper second-class degrees, or better.

The data, from the Higher Education Statistical Unit, shows that 18.5% of maths graduates surveyed 3-and-a-half years after graduating chose to go into teaching. TA’s own data also shows that the proportion of maths graduates entering training with a 2:1 degree or better has risen from 44% to 51% in just 3 years.

Together, these figures confirm that teaching is an increasingly popular choice for the most able graduates, reflecting the good employment prospects which teaching currently enjoys. Teachers are also twice as likely to attain management positions early in their careers when compared to many of their fellow graduates.

Lin Hinnigan, chief executive of the Teaching Agency, commented:

The fact that we are attracting more, high-quality maths specialists into the classroom is excellent news and will help to raise attainment in maths in our schools. There are a few places remaining to start teacher training in maths this September, with tax-free bursaries of up to £20,000 available. People interested in teaching should apply to train now and take advantage of great employment prospects, career progression opportunities and a competitive starting salary.

Michelle Gora, a maths graduate who worked as a financial analyst for two years in the City before switching into teaching a year-and-a-half ago, said:

As a maths graduate, a career in the city seemed the logical choice but I soon realised it wasn’t for me. I want a career with long term prospects that I will still enjoy in years to come. Since making the switch, I haven’t looked back. I’m starting at a new school in September, with a healthy salary, and have a personal goal of making it to head of department as soon as possible!

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 9 August 2012.

Dear Sir

Your article on Monday regarding the sale of school sports fields omitted key facts.

Out of the 21 playing fields which you report have been sold since May 2010, 14 belonged to schools that had closed and 4 were sites that became surplus from school mergers. Of the other 3, one was surplus land to existing playing fields that was turned into sports facilities (with proceeds invested in the school sports changing facilities); one was leased to a company to turn an under-used playing field with poor drainage into all-weather playing surfaces, a full-sized football and hockey pitch and a 6-court indoor tennis facility; and a further sports field was due to be leased to an athletics club to improve sporting provision for the club and the school.

We are absolutely clear that we will only agree to the sale of school playing fields if the sports and curriculum needs of schools and their neighbouring schools can continue to be met. Sale proceeds must be used to improve sports or education facilities and any new sports facilities must be sustainable for at least 10 years. All sites disposed of under this government have either been because the school has closed, the sites became surplus from schools merging or the proceeds were needed to modernise sports provision. It was disingenuous to suggest otherwise.

This contrasts with the previous government which sold off 212 playing fields between 1999 and 2009.

We want competitive sport to be at the centre of a truly rounded education that all schools offer. This is why we are implementing plans for a new PE curriculum to provide stronger structures.

Yours faithfully

Tim Loughton MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families