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  • Jonathan Hill – 2011 Speech to the National Conference for Senior Leaders of Catholic Secondary Education

    Jonathan Hill – 2011 Speech to the National Conference for Senior Leaders of Catholic Secondary Education

    The speech made by Jonathan Hill, the then Education Minister, at the Hotel Russell on Russell Square in London on 27 January 2011.

    Thank you so much.

    I am delighted to be here. It makes a very nice change not to be in the House of Lords, where we’ve been holed up for the last fortnight, sleeping bags at the ready, while voting – or not voting – on the electoral reform bill.

    Your timing is immaculate, as this morning we published the new Education Bill. I will say a bit more about that, and about academies in particular, in a moment.

    But first of all, I just want to say a very big thank you for all that you do.

    No one becomes a head or a teacher for fame, money or anything other than a deep conviction that education enriches children’s lives and helps them reach their full potential. I know how hard you all work – day in, day out – to increase opportunity and raise aspiration.

    My mother was a teacher, so I was brought up to understand the importance of learning; how education transforms lives; and how books have the power to set people free. And I’m glad to say that at nearly 84, she is still going on doing a day a week to her local primary school to help children with their reading.

    I also don’t need convincing about the fantastic job that Catholic schools in particular do.

    The CES ‘Value Added’ report, published earlier this month, spells it out.

    Your GCSE and Key Stage 2 results are consistently above the national average. Seventy-three per cent of your secondaries and 74 per cent of your primaries are rated outstanding or good by Ofsted, compared with 60 and 66 per cent nationally. And your leadership quality, teacher training and CVA scores far outstrip your peers.

    So it was right that his holiness Pope Benedict celebrated your achievements on his visit last year, as part of the Year of Catholic Education – and it was a great treat to be at the Big Assembly at St Mary’s in Twickenham as the sun fought with the clouds, to hear his thoughtful speech about faith, society and schools.

    I know your theme today is ‘stewards of the common good’. And I am sure that we have a shared purpose in seeking to promote the common good, working to overcome the situation whereby too many children have their life chances determined by where they are born.

    We know the figures, but they bear repetition:

    Children not on FSM are twice as likely to get five good GCSEs as those who are on FSM.
    Last year 40 out of 80,000 children on FSM went onto Oxford or Cambridge.
    Children who attend private schools are three times more likely to achieve three A-grade A Levels than those who attend state-funded schools.
    Gaps in attainment start young and get worse as children grow older. These figures are a reproach to us all.

    And just as the Christian churches took the lead in setting up the first schools to teach the poor long before the State stepped in, I hope that we can work with you on the next stage of education reform in England.

    The need for change
    Let me say a few words about our overall approach.

    In a way, I hope the title of our white paper – The Importance of Teaching – says it all.

    I know that there has been a lot of emphasis on the structural reforms we have introduced – the academies and Free Schools. But structures without people are nothing. We all know that the key to good schools are great heads and great teaching. So the purpose of the structural change is to give heads and teachers greater freedom and more control over their own destiny, so that they can get on with doing what they do best – teaching and running their schools.

    Our white paper makes clear there is much to admire and build on in the current system: hundreds of outstanding schools, tens of thousands of great teachers, the best generation of heads and leaders ever.

    But too many children are still being let down. There are still too many weak schools in deprived areas. Teaching is only rated as satisfactory in half of our schools. And other countries have not been standing still.

    Over the last decade in the PISA world rankings for 15-year-olds, we have fallen from fourth to sixteenth in science, seventh to 25th in literacy, and eighth to 28th in maths.

    So there is a big job to do.

    That is why we have announced plans to strengthen teacher recruitment and training – expanding Teach First, increasing cash incentives for shortage subjects, making initial training more classroom-based, and creating a new national network of teaching schools and university teaching schools.

    And we need to do more to support teachers in the classroom.

    So in our Education Bill published today, we plan to introduce tougher discipline powers – so teachers can search for any items banned by the school rules, making it easier for heads to expel violent pupils; protecting teachers from malicious allegations; and removing 24 hours notice on detentions so schools, if they want to, can impose immediate punishments.

    We also have plans for a slimmed-down but strong National Curriculum, more robust assessment and inspection, a fairer funding system, the new Pupil Premium, and to move away from central targets and red tape.

    More autonomy for heads
    But I know there has been a lot of focus on academies – and that’s what I want to turn to now.

    I am enthusiastic about academies for two main reasons.

    First, because of their track record to date. Not all are perfect and not all have done equally well. But taking their results as a whole, their GCSE scores are improving at almost double the national average. And in terms of ethos, they have shown how to turn around the deep-seated culture of defeatism and low expectations in so many of our poorest areas.

    Second, because evidence from around the world shows that there is a very strong correlation between top-performing education systems and autonomy at school-level – where heads and principals are free to determine how pupils are taught and how budgets are spent.

    So while we want to carry on with the last government’s approach to use academies to raise standards in underperforming schools, we are also opening up the programme to all primary, secondary and special schools who want to convert.

    What has been particularly exciting in recent months has been the number of approaches that we have been having from schools wanting to become academies in chains or clusters. I recognise that at the time of the Academies Act last summer the key message coming across was about autonomy. What has become clear to me when talking to schools is that perhaps even more powerful than autonomy is the combination of autonomy and partnership. That seems to me to combine the advantages of professional freedom, with the real move that there has been in recent years towards schools working together and learning from each other.

    We don’t want academies to be seen as islands entire unto themselves – nor do the academy principles that I talk to. That is one of the reasons why we said in the Academies Act that we expected outstanding schools which wanted to convert to partner another local school which would benefit from their support.

    As you may know, in November we announced a further opening up of the programme by saying that any school could apply for academy status, regardless of its Ofsted rating, if it applied as part of a group with a school that was rated as outstanding or good with outstanding features. There has been a very encouraging response to that, as schools have come up with their own ideas for working together – groups of secondaries, or primaries, or primaries clustered around a secondary, perhaps with a special school. This development seems to me to go with the grain of the culture of schools, and the fact that it is bubbling from the bottom up makes me think that it is all the more powerful.

    So far as faith schools are concerned, we’ve also been clear that conversion to academy status would be on an ‘as is’ basis.

    From the outset, I have been keen that faith schools should be free to become academies but equally clear I hope, that we have no wish to undermine the special status, values, freedoms, assets or anything else that is a part of a being a Catholic school or part of a family of Catholic schools.

    So I understand why the CES was initially cautious about academies. I think that ‘beware governments bearing gifts’ is a good principle. Catholic schools have been here a lot longer than all of us and will be around a lot longer than this Government – I think I am allowed to say that without being accused of disloyalty. So you are right to think about the long term and to look before you leap.

    To date, 204 new academies have opened since September – that’s at least one every working day – doubling the number open when the Coalition came to power and meaning more than one-in-ten secondaries overall are now academies.

    And we expect many more to follow. Earlier this morning I was at a conference for special schools who want to become academies, where there was a great deal of enthusiasm.

    And I know that many of you are also interested in the freedoms that academy status provides – over 150 Catholic schools have formally expressed an interest in converting.

    The Department and the CES have been working closely together, and I believe we have made good progress in providing the reassurance the CES has sought.

    We’ve helped to fund the CES to develop a tailored funding agreement to make clear that Catholicism will be at the heart of a faith academy’s object and conduct. It puts in black and white that diocesan boards will be able to appoint and maintain the majority of the governors – and that no principal can be appointed without fully consulting them.

    So I hope the safeguards the CES understandably asked for are in place and that this will allow Catholic schools which want to become academies to become part of the patchwork quilt of provision that I would like to see and encourage.

    Another part of this patchwork quilt, of course, are the new Free Schools. Set up under the Academies legislation, the first ones are due to open this September – new schools set up in under a year. There has been a fantastic response from inspirational teachers, charities and faith groups keen to open new schools, often in areas of the greatest need, to extend opportunity and raise aspiration.

    Responsibility, accountability and partnership
    But although I am a great enthusiast for academies, they are only part of the story. The Government is keen to set higher expectations and aspirations for the entire school system.

    We know from international league tables and the pioneering research of Tony Blair’s former education advisor, Sir Michael Barber, that the more data you have on schools the easier it is to spot strengths and weaknesses.

    That is one of the reasons that we have introduced the English Baccalaureate. We will of course listen to any strong cases about what should and shouldn’t be included but I think the basic principle is right – that while students should have the broadest possible curriculum, including a statutory requirement to offer RE, their parents should be able to know how they perform in the core academic subjects at 16.

    We are also setting new floor standards for secondary schools. This will include both an attainment measure and a progression measure:

    For secondary schools, a school will be below the floor if fewer than 35 per cent of pupils achieve 5 A*-C grade GCSEs including English and mathematics, and fewer pupils make good progress between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 than the national average.
    For primary schools, a school will be below the floor if fewer than 60 per cent of pupils achieve level four in both English and mathematics, and fewer pupils than average make the expected levels of progress between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
    We expect there to be firm, decisive action when results are persistently below this level, where management is weak, where there is a little capacity to improve, or when there is serious Ofsted concern.

    And we have recreated the post of schools commissioner to help us drive the process of school improvement forward. The highly respected chief executive of Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation, Dr Elizabeth Sidwell, will take up the post in the spring.

    These are just some of the areas where we have been pushing ahead. The Secretary of State, Michael Gove, has set a cracking pace and I know he is impatient for improvement. He is impatient for improvement because he sees the waste of talent, the loss of opportunity, the lottery of birth and the strides forward that other countries are making.

    There is an economic imperative for those of a more Gradgrindian bent. But much more than that, there is a moral imperative. All of us here in different ways have had our lives changed for the better by education. Catholic schools have a long and proud tradition of transforming lives. I am very keen to work with you, to build even closer ties, and to see how we can develop that theme of autonomy and partnership together.

  • Tim Loughton – 2011 Speech to the BETT Education Leaders’ Conference

    Tim Loughton – 2011 Speech to the BETT Education Leaders’ Conference

    The speech made by Tim Loughton, the then Education Minister, at the BETT Exhibition, Olympia in London on 13 January 2011.

    Thanks Dominic, and a very happy new year to you all. It’s a real pleasure to start 2011 with everyone here at the BETT Education Leaders’ Conference and thank you for inviting me.

    Can I just begin by paying my thanks to EMAP Connect and the British Educational Suppliers Association for once again organising the exhibition so brilliantly.

    It is a huge credit to BETT, its sponsors and its participants, that there’s such an extraordinary wealth of innovation on display. Reflecting the fact that a staggering amount has changed in both the world of technology and in the classroom over the 27 years that this exhibition has been going on.

    Who would have thought back in the 80s, for instance, that teachers would be using interactive whiteboards rather than getting their fingers covered in chalk dust.

    And who would have thought that instead of an entire class crowding around a single ZX Spectrum, or in my days at school crowding round the abacus, the ratio of computers to pupils would stand at around one to three.

    The pace of change has, frankly, been phenomenal. And there is no doubt that everyone involved in all those BETT exhibitions down the years have played a huge role in helping young people and teachers to benefit directly from that change.

    So, my thanks once again to everyone who has played their part, and to all those who have come along today. It is a privilege to be able to open the conference officially.

    Now, technology is, of course, very rarely out of the news in one form or another. Partly because it is, by its very nature ‘new’ and offers up exciting possibilities – making it good newspaper fodder (or perhaps Kindle fodder as we should now call it) and partly because it so often splits opinion – leaving some of us heralding the endless possibilities it brings, and others worrying about the risks that accompany them.

    Generally speaking, the optimists tend to outnumber the pessimists. But inevitably, with any new frontier comes new risks, and there’s always going to be some concern greeting the arrival of innovation.

    The difficulty for school leaders, parents and politicians of course, is how to balance the concern with the opportunity – and that’s why it’s so important that we listen to the best possible experts.

    Unfortunately, I know one of the most eminent of those, Professor Tanya Byron, can’t be with us today. But I am very grateful for the work she has been doing with the Department.

    A few weeks ago, she came in to the Department and gave a very informative, very inspiring presentation to the Secretary of State about the use of technology by children and young people.

    One of the many interesting points she made then – which any of you who were at the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust conference in November might have heard her talk about – was the history of ‘moral panics’ we’ve had in the past with regard to new technology.

    She talked, for example, about the consternation in the church that greeted the arrival of printing presses. The panic that greeted the arrival of the film industry in the 1920s – although it started before this in my constituency…

    And she also mentioned the apparently frenzied debate surrounding the arrival of the sofa – which people were afraid would lead to young people lazing around all day.

    However, as Tanya has argued so well, the arrival of new technology almost invariably offers far more opportunity than it does risk – and never has this been more true than it is today in the world of education.

    Now, more than ever before, technology is of profound importance to young people’s development. We know it supports good teaching, we know it helps students get better results, we know it helps to reduce truancy…

    We even know it can support higher order critical skills: such as reasoning, analysis, scientific enquiry – and by engaging students in authentic, complex tasks.

    So, even though when most of us were growing up, it didn’t really matter whether you were particularly computer or gadget literate – in 2011, the world is very different.

    And whether we see only the endless possibilities, or see only the risks, there’s no denying that technology is – as Microsoft’s Chief Executive Steve Bullmer once said – something that ‘makes real people more effective, every day, in some basic and fundamental thing that they want to do’.

    Here in the UK of course, we can take some pride in the fact that we’ve adapted as quickly as we have to that transformation.

    As many of you will know, we have the highest levels of technology in our classrooms of anywhere in the European Union. The majority of our children have their own online learning space, and practically every school in this country is hooked up to – and in many cases making great use of – broadband.

    This is a huge credit to great headteachers and teachers, fantastic ICT suppliers like those exhibiting here and, of course, to young people themselves.

    And it has left us uniquely well positioned – I think – to equip pupils with the technical expertise they’ll need to achieve to the very best of their abilities in a very tough, very competitive world.

    Nonetheless, this conference is about the future of education, rather than the past. And we’re now facing very different challenges, and answering very different questions, to the ones we were facing 10, or even just five years ago.

    It’s no longer simply about shoehorning technology into the classroom. It’s about how we help schools to access and use it effectively. And it’s about how we help young people to benefit from innovation safely.

    Today, I want to look at both of these points. But – if I can – I’m going to start with the second, partly because I’ve spent much of my time in Government, and before that in opposition, campaigning on issues like child internet safety and child protection.

    And partly because there’s been a huge amount of attention focused on the issue over the last few weeks.

    Just this Monday, for example, we saw the head of Woldingham School in Surrey, Jayne Triffitt, outline her concerns over the abuse of the social networking site Little Gossip, after some students used it to spread malicious rumours about their peers and teachers.

    On the same day, we saw the National Association of Head Teachers publish guidance for schools on how to deal with internet campaigns that target teachers or pupils – an issue that has also been championed by the NASUWT, amongst others, in recent years.

    All of this action reflects the fact that online abuse – and cyber bullying in particular – has fast become the bindweed of the internet.

    No matter where you cut it off, it always seems to creep its way back onto computer screens and wrap itself around children’s lives – and as a result, it’s become a hugely, hugely damaging phenomena.

    We’ve seen young people targeted in virtual gaming environments – we’ve seen them targeted on sites like Facebook and Twitter. We’ve seen them targeted through mobile phones and email.

    It is, in short, a very 21st century problem – and also a particularly nasty, particularly virulent one.

    It is the nameless, faceless, witless kind of bullying that is such a unique feature of cyberspace. The kind of bullying where a child comes home from school and finds a rumour splashed all over a website – or opens up an email to discover a doctored picture of themselves distributed to everyone in their address book.

    In this respect, the computer, phone, tablet and games console have the potential to become like a Trojan horse, smuggling provocation, innuendo and rumour into the home in a way that no other generation has ever had to contend with.

    For any of us who are parents, that kind of threat is of course hugely concerning. It’s bad enough in the playground or in the classroom, but when it infiltrates your home, it can make it impossibly difficult to know how to protect your children.

    We think the time has come to restore the balance of power back in favour of parents – and to ensure that the opportunities that technology brings are managed both effectively and sensibly.

    Can that be done through legislation? By increasing regulation? Or by policing every website from the centre of Government? We don’t think so – simply because the internet is impossibly fast moving and no one individual, group or organisation can realistically tackle it on its own.

    Instead, we know it has to be a joint effort, with government, industry, business, retailers, schools and parents all taking responsibility to stamp out abuse in the system wherever we see it.

    As an example of how this can work, I was at an event at Google a few months ago where the ‘Fix my street’ website was mentioned.

    For anyone who hasn’t heard about it, it’s basically a site where people can go to report anything that might need attention in their communities – like pot holes in the road or broken street lights.

    Over the years, it’s been pretty successful – and it’s now got to the point where we’ve even seen an Australian spin-off being launched – called, in the best of Aussie traditions: ‘It’s Buggered Mate’.

    Now, the reason why I think these sites have worked is because they rely on the idea of collective responsibility. The idea that we should all take a stake in the issue, rather than rely on others to take it for us.

    In the case of cyberbullying, that means encouraging the fantastic work that’s being done by cyber-mentors through the Beatbullying charity; it means parents reporting abuse; it means teachers alerting education technology providers to any potential risks; it means those in industry reacting quickly and decisively to protect children; and – finally – it means Government creating the conditions where all of these things can happen effectively.

    That’s why my colleagues on the UK Council for Internet Safety, which I now co-chair, want to move increasingly towards tough self-regulation. With internet service providers having more responsibility for managing potentially harmful sites – and parents and children having greater power to report abuse.

    At the same time, we are also discussing how we give those same parents the most up-to-date advice and guidance on new technologies, so that they are empowered enough to spot and prevent abuse at the first opportunity. Too often parents are not properly factored into the equation.

    As many of you will know, we are currently in discussion with representatives in the sector about how all of this is going to happen. And there’s now a very clear, very determined commitment within the industry towards developing a robust and effective self-regulatory framework, that will combat cyberbullying and keep children safe.

    A promising move I think, and we’re pleased that this is being backed up by organisations like Facebook and Microsoft, who are playing a vital role through their own membership of the Council.

    Indeed, I am delighted to be able to announce today that BSI has just awarded its first ever kitemark for parental control software to Net Intelligence, which we will be handing over shortly.

    A fabulous achievement on their part, and a hugely important one for two reasons in particular.

    Firstly, because it lets us take advantage of the opportunities that technology brings and minimise the risks.

    Secondly, because it allows us to place technology at the centre of educational reform in the future – a crucial point I think, because while we are doing fantastically well in terms of bringing technology into the classroom, we sadly aren’t doing anything like as well when it comes to educating our children and young people to reach their full potential.

    We know, for instance, that we’ve been slipping further and further behind our global competitors over the last few years, with the OECD international performance tables showing that since the year 2000, we’ve fallen from 4th to 16th in science, from 7th to 25th in literacy, and from 8th to 28th in maths.

    And we also know that there is now an historically high divide in attainment between those from the poorest backgrounds, and those from the wealthiest.

    This drift cannot be allowed to continue. It’s unfair on children who only get one chance of a good education, it’s unfair on their families, and it’s unfair on our society and the businesses who form the backbone of our economy.
    Fortunately however, technology does provide a unique opportunity to help us regain that competitive edge by supporting us to deliver the improvements we need to make.

    And in our recent schools White Paper, The Importance of Teaching, we set out a comprehensive programme of reform for schools to allow us to build that truly world-class education system.

    That includes paying greater attention to improving teacher quality, granting greater autonomy to the front line, modernising curricula, making schools more accountable to their communities, harnessing detailed performance data, and encouraging professional collaboration so that we can become one of the world’s top performers – and close the gap between rich and poor.

    That is the challenge facing us – and technology – we think – will play a critical supporting role in meeting it.

    Indeed, you only have to have a quick wander around the exhibition area here to see some of the brilliant ways that technology-based learning can enrich the curriculum.

    For example, I’ve been incredibly impressed with how video games like the Sims Series and Civilisation can be used for education purposes. My daughters certainly spent hours on it when they were younger.

    And I know many of you will also have seen the fantastic games that have been developed by mathematician Marcus Du Sautoy, which have shown how children’s imaginations can be harnessed to allow a deep understanding of even the most complex ideas.

    However, in order to derive the maximum benefit from this kind of innovation, education leaders have to have the final say over what technology they use, and when they use it.

    We don’t think that teachers or school business managers should come to BETT with a shopping list from central government. The world of technology is simply too fluid for Whitehall to be able to decree what should, or shouldn’t be in the classroom.

    Instead, schools should come ready to make procurement decisions that are based on a detailed knowledge of their own pupils – and be ready to draw up their own wish list of technologies that will inspire young people.

    That might mean introducing voting technology into the classroom, which has happened so successfully in many schools already – ‘democratizing’ the learning experience and making it more interactive.

    It might mean installing a recording studio, it might mean setting up video links with schools around the world, it might mean using 3D TV.

    Whatever it is, and however it works, we know that if we want to be truly, truly ambitious about maintaining a technological edge in this country, we have to give teachers and school leaders that flexibility and power to make their own choices – and we also have to free up as much investment as we can for them to spend on technology.

    None of this, however, means that schools are being asked to work in isolation.

    Over the coming months and years, government will continue to play a crucial supporting role – helping education leaders by taking on procurement and support for special educational needs; by supporting schools to achieve value for money in things like bulk software licensing; by identifying and sharing best practice as it evolves in the classroom, and by supporting suppliers to ensure value for money.

    The straightforward reality though, is that schools, teachers and industry know the best way to extract value from technology in education.

    And it seems to me that the BETT exhibition is a perfect example of how those freedoms can be used most effectively to help teachers raise standards in our schools – and to take full advantage of the opportunities that technology creates.

    To end, let me just thank Dominic again for hosting this fantastic conference – and thank his team for all their incredibly hard work in setting up the exhibition.

    The future of education in this country depends on how well we equip young people to go on and succeed in their lives. And all of us know that if we are serious about achieving that ambition, it has to include giving them access to the very best that technology has to offer.

    The time has come to take advantage of that opportunity by encouraging school leaders to come along to exhibitions like this, and decide for themselves what pupils need.

    The time has come to ensure that children and young people are able to take advantage of the wonders that technology brings – without the dangers.

    The time has come to place technology at the absolute centre of our aspirations for a world class education sector.

    So, thank you all once again. It has been a huge pleasure to be here today and I hope you enjoy both the rest of the conference, and the exhibition itself – which is such a wonderful advert for some of the truly outstanding British educational technology that is being used in classrooms right across the world.

    Thank you.

  • PRESS RELEASE : New powers for schools to beat the takeaways [December 2011]

    PRESS RELEASE : New powers for schools to beat the takeaways [December 2011]

    The press release issued by the Department for Education on 29 December 2011.

    Under new powers, schools will be able to offer price promotions on meals to particular pupils, encouraging more children to try a healthy school lunch.

    Takeaways frequently target school pupils by tempting them with cheap lunchtime deals. Previously schools were unable to do so and had to charge the same price for the same item for every pupil, unless they applied for special permission from the Government.

    The new, voluntary rules will mean schools can target pupils not eating school lunches or where uptake traditionally drops off, such at the start of secondary school. For example, schools may choose to offer:

    • £1 meal deals for pupils starting a new school to get them into the canteen
    • special prices for siblings regularly eating school lunches – helping families afford healthy food
    • cut price meals for a different year group each day to encourage them choose healthy school meals regularly.

    Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

    School meals beat takeaways hands down on the quality of food they serve, but up until now they have struggled to compete on price. Getting children into the school canteen is vital – the benefits of healthy school meals are clear. These new powers are an important step in tackling childhood obesity, and will mean schools can help hard-pressed families.

    No longer will schools be tied by complicated red tape, instead they will be able to use their initiative to increase take up of school meals. Already we’ve seen some great examples of pioneering schools keen to offer special deals – now others across the country will be able to follow suit.

    Judy Hargadon, Chief Executive of the Children’s Food Trust and the School Food Trust said:

    When children eat better, they do better – which is why we want to see more children able to have a healthy school meal every day, and why it’s in the interests of schools to do everything they can to boost take up. Keeping meals affordable is a crucial part of this, and many parents have told us that they’d be more likely to try school meals for their child if they were on offer at a discount.

    Price promotions do increase take up in the long-term so while a school wanting to run a really big promotion will have to invest to cover the cost, it will pay back a big return. Even on a much smaller scale, we know that many schools are keen to help families who don’t qualify for free school meals but might be struggling to find money for lunches every day. We’re particularly keen to test out how these powers can help larger families with the costs of school meals and will also be producing a guide to using the new legislation for all schools next year.

    The latest annual school food survey showed that, while the uptake of school lunches has increased across the board, there is a drop off of 6.5 percentage points between primary and secondary school.

    Research earlier this year by the School Food Trust showed that almost 6 out of 10 parents were keen to switch to school meals if they were offered price promotions.

    The changes are part of the Education Act 2011, and will come into force next year. The Act safeguards pupils not included in a special offer by preventing the school from charging more than the cost of providing the meal. Use of flexible charging is entirely optional and will involve a local decision to subsidise meals during the offer period.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Lord Hill responds to ‘The Guardian’ on academies [December 2011]

    PRESS RELEASE : Lord Hill responds to ‘The Guardian’ on academies [December 2011]

    The press release issued by the Department for Education on 23 December 2011.

    Dear Sir

    David Lammy’s letter (‘Stop this bullying over academy status’, 17 December) and Warwick Mansell’s article (‘It’s the end of state education’, 20 December) were both wrong, so far as both motives and methods are concerned.

    Our motivation is simply to raise standards for children. Eight primary schools in Haringey are below the floor standard – the highest number in London, with 5 having been below for 4 or more of the last 5 years. Ofsted have said that 5 Haringey primaries need significant improvement.

    Our support for academies is not based on an ideological whim, but evidence which started to accumulate under the Labour government. It has been backed up by independent reports from the London School of Economics and the NAO. Schools in some of the most deprived areas of the country that were once underperforming have been transformed thanks to the Academy programme, supported by passionate sponsors and fantastic teachers.

    Back in June, the Secretary of State said that the Government would be targeting underperforming primary schools. He rightly did not ‘name and shame’ local authorities or schools. Since then officials have had monthly meetings with Haringey – a total of 6 meetings. They have also met local headteachers. At all stages we have been clear that our goal is school improvement and have sought to work with the local authority – as we have done successfully in many other parts of the country.

    So perhaps it is not our stance on academies which is ideological. All we want is a lasting solution to under-performance so that children in Haringey can have the kind of opportunities that exist in neighbouring local authorities.

    Yours faithfully,

    Lord Hill

    Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools

  • PRESS RELEASE : Sarah Teather on reforming Early Years [December 2011]

    PRESS RELEASE : Sarah Teather on reforming Early Years [December 2011]

    The press release issued by the Department for Education on 20 December 2011.

    Children’s Minister Sarah Teather today confirmed plans for a reformed Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) that reduces bureaucracy for professionals, provides earlier intervention for children facing difficulties and better prepares young children for learning in school.

    The Government today responded to the consultation on the EYFS, and confirmed changes to be introduced from September 2012.

    Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

    People working in the early years, teachers, parents, and other professionals are supportive of our proposals which slim down the early years foundation stage, focus on children’s healthy development and make sure they are ready to learn when they enter Year 1.

    Building on consultation feedback, our changes, including the progress check at age two, will support families to give children the best possible start in life. We want to help young children achieve to the best of their abilities so they are not falling behind before they even reach school.

    As well as learning to speak and communicate, young children also need to learn through play how to read and write and use numbers. This is a vital foundation for future success at primary school and beyond.

    People working in the early years will get additional guidance and information so they feel confident to deliver the new EYFS. And a summary of the EYFS will be available for parents so they know what their child will be learning and what they should expect from their child’s early years setting.

    Dame Clare Tickell published an independent review of the EYFS in March this year. She recommended a slimmed down Early Years Foundation Stage for 0-5-year-olds, reducing the number of early learning goals from 69 to 17 and focusing on three prime areas of learning: communication and language, physical development and personal, social and emotional development. The Government is implementing Dame Clare’s recommendations for the EYFS.

  • PRESS RELEASE : National curriculum review: initial findings [December 2011]

    PRESS RELEASE : National curriculum review: initial findings [December 2011]

    The press release issued by the Department for Education on 19 December 2011.

    Over the past year the review of the national curriculum in England has been looking at curricula in the highest performing, and fastest improving, jurisdictions internationally. Today I am publishing a set of initial findings and recommendations.

    The review team’s work has uncovered a consistent theme: these high-performing jurisdictions set materially higher expectations in terms of what they believe children can and should master at different ages. This comes as no surprise. Over the past 10 years our education system as measured by performance in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment league tables (PISA) has deteriorated significantly. If our schools, and young people, are to become internationally competitive again we must learn from the best in the world.

    The recommendations made by the review’s expert panel set out the scale of the challenge we face, and raise fundamental questions about educational practice in this country. For example:

    • the expert panel recommend that we learn from the approach to assessment and pupil progression used in many high-performing jurisdictions, including the most successful south-east Asian education systems, which ensure that every pupil has mastered the subject content before the class moves on to tackle the next part of the curriculum. They express concern that our existing assessment model assumes that a certain proportion of young people will never be able to master crucial curriculum content, leading to an unjustified lowering of expectations
    • the international evidence shows that all successful jurisdictions expect pupils to study a broad curriculum to 16, built around a core of academic subjects. The expert panel argue that England narrows its curriculum for the majority of pupils too early
    • the evidence identifies the higher expectations of pupils in mathematics, English and science in high performing jurisdictions. For example:
      • in Singapore, pupils are expected to know all their times tables and related division facts by the end of Year 4; here our national expectation is at Year 6
      • pupils in Singapore are also expected to learn about plant and animal cells in Year 6, including how cell division forms the basis of growth, while we leave this until secondary.
      • the Canadian province of Alberta and the US state of Massachusetts both have a separate section on grammar in their curricula with clear standards which must be met.
      • Poland, a fast improving education system, has high expectations in their recommended reading, including Homer, Chekhov and Shakespeare alongside great works of Polish literature
    • the panel also recommend that we should look again at the “key stage” structure of the curriculum which they argue can lead to a lack of pace and ambition at key points in pupils education.

    It would, of course, be wrong to conclude that England should simply import systems used in other countries wholesale. But it is absolutely clear that these findings challenge fundamental tenets of our current system.

    The expert panel also raise crucial questions about the complex interaction between curriculum and qualifications in secondary schools. Evidence shows that what is taught is determined as much if not more by examinations as by the national curriculum. This means we need to consider GCSE reform alongside the development of the new curriculum.

    As the recent revelations in the Daily Telegraph have confirmed, far-reaching reform to our examinations system is vital – and must be considered in parallel with changes to the secondary curriculum. While immediate action is needed to deal with the improper practices that have been revealed, we need also to take the opportunity to ensure that deep-seated problems with how GCSEs have been developed and delivered can be addressed. We must ensure that qualifications support excellent teaching that develops in pupils a broad and deep understanding of the subject.

    In light of the far-reaching and complex nature of the expert panel recommendations, and to allow for more radical reform of both curriculum and qualifications, I have decided to change the planned timetable for the introduction of the new national curriculum. Instead of new curricula for English, mathematics, science and PE being introduced from 2013, and the remainder in 2014, the new curriculum for all subjects will be introduced in 2014.

    The longer timescale will allow for further debate with everyone interested in creating a genuinely world-class education system; teachers, governors, academics, business leaders and parents, as well as giving schools more time to prepare for a radically different and more rigorous approach.

    A detailed timetable for the conduct of the remainder of the review, as well as a refreshed remit, will be published in the New Year and copies will be placed in the Library of the House.

    Alongside this statement I am publishing a suite of documents which, taken together, provide a summary of the findings to date of the review. This suite includes:

    • the report of the review’s expert panel setting out their recommendations in relation to the framework for the new national curriculum.
    • a summary of the evidence gathered about curricula for English, mathematics and science in high performing jurisdictions.
    • a research report that looks at subject breadth in the curricula used in other education jurisdictions.
    • a summary report of the responses to the review’s call for evidence.
  • PRESS RELEASE : End for GCSE modules and spelling, punctuation and grammar marks restored to exams [December 2011]

    PRESS RELEASE : End for GCSE modules and spelling, punctuation and grammar marks restored to exams [December 2011]

    The press release issued by the Department for Education on 14 December 2011.

    Schools Minister Nick Gibb today welcomed the next steps in restoring confidence to GCSEs as rigorous and valued qualifications.

    The independent exams watchdog Ofqual has today confirmed short-term reforms to current GCSEs from September 2012.

    It follows plans outlined in last year’s White Paper to return exams to the end of each course and stop the culture of re-sits. The changes also mean that students will once again be marked on the accuracy of their spelling, punctuation and use of grammar in GCSEs in key subjects.

    The reforms effectively end modular GCSEs. They were introduced widely from 2009 but Coalition Ministers believe they have encouraged teaching to the test and prevented young people achieving a full understanding of the whole subject.

    The Government is planning to make longer-term changes to GCSE syllabuses and exam requirements to reflect the new National Curriculum – focusing on the essential knowledge in key subjects and in-depth study.

    Under the proposals:

    • Students starting two-year GCSE courses starting in September 2012 will have to sit their exams at the end of the course in summer 2014.
    • Pupils will no longer be able to re-sit individual unit exams in order to boost their marks – although they may retake the whole GCSE exam. Students will, however, be given an early opportunity to resit maths, English and English Language GCSEs every November because these are key subjects needed to progress to further study or employment.
    • Students will be marked on the accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar and their use of specialist terms. In the first instance, these will be those subjects that involve extended writing – English Literature, geography, history and religious studies. Five per cent of total marks in these subjects will be for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Marks assessing written communication skills already exist in English and English Language. The changes will affect externally assessed units from September 2012.

    Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

    We are taking urgent action to restore confidence in GCSEs – the next step in our overhaul of the wider exam system.

    We want to break the constant treadmill of exams and retakes throughout students’ GCSE courses – school shouldn’t be a dreary trudge from one test to the next. Sitting and passing modules has become the be-all and end-all, instead of achieving a real, lasting understanding and love of a subject. Students shouldn’t be continually cramming to pass the next exam or re-sitting the same test again and again simply to boost their mark – then forgetting it all by moving onto the next module immediately.

    It was a mistake to abolish separate marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar in GCSEs over the last decade. Employers expect people with high grades to be able to communicate and write effectively, with precision and accuracy. It is right to restore specific assessment of these vital skills.

  • PRESS RELEASE : New studio schools to bridge gap between schools and the world of work [December 2011]

    PRESS RELEASE : New studio schools to bridge gap between schools and the world of work [December 2011]

    The press release issued by the Department for Education on 14 December 2011.

    Announcement about 12 new studio schools approved to open in 2012. 12 approved to open in 2012 – with input from employers like Glaxo, Sony, the BBC and Fulham FC.

    They join six Studio Schools that are already open. More are expected to follow in the coming years.

    Studio Schools offer academic and vocational qualifications, but teach them in a practical and project-based way. Study is combined with paid work placements with local and national employers that are involved in the school.

    Learning in this way encourages students to develop skills like punctuality, good communication, reliability and team working, whilst gaining a strong grounding in English, maths and science.

    These new schools, which are set up with the backing of local businesses and employers, are part of the Government’s drive to ensure the education system responds to demands from employers for the skills they need to grow and prosper. Employers say that ensuring our young people have these important skills should be a top education priority for the Government.

    They join a wave of other new schools – including University Technical Colleges and Free Schools – which respond directly to the demands of local people and will help to raise standards.

    The 12 Studio Schools approved include:

    The Fulham Enterprise Studio School in Hammersmith and Fulham. This project is engaged with high-profile employers, including the BBC, Fulham FC and Age UK (Hammersmith and Fulham).

    The Studio in Liverpool, which will specialise in games development and digital futures, providing pathways to employment in these significant sectors within the Merseyside region. Key employers involved include Sony and a number of small and medium sized enterprises, all of which will be assisting with developing and delivering the curriculum and in offering placements. The school also has the backing of several universities.

    The Discovery Studio School in Stoke-on-Trent, which has links with employers in the local ceramics industry including Emma Bridgewater.

    The Da Vinci Studio School of Science and Engineering in Stevenage, which will offer students the opportunity to access a curriculum based on in-demand science, technology, engineering and maths backed by employers including Glaxo.
    Schools Minister Lord Hill said:

    Studio Schools bring education and the world of work together and offer the more practical approach to learning which some children need.

    Along with teaching a rigorous academic curriculum – in a practical way – they use new approaches to make sure young people understand business basics, like punctuality and the ability to communicate with a wide range of people.

    Alongside UTCs and Free Schools, Studio Schools will give parents and children more choice. They will also involve local employers.

    Studio Schools offer a varied curriculum but have a strong academic core:

    All will offer GCSEs in English, maths and science and other GCSEs and vocational qualifications which are recognised by employers and universities.

    The majority of the new Studio Schools will offer students the opportunity to achieve the English Baccalaureate.

    Studio Schools also offer other qualifications, such as A levels, Higher Diplomas or BTECs.

    Pupils can choose to go to Studio Schools at age 14.

    Studio Schools differ from other schools in the way they deliver these qualifications, to ensure that young people are developing the skills that local employers are looking for:

    All subjects are taught through projects, often designed with employers. For example, a local hospital might commission pupils to create a campaign that addresses a local health issue. In developing this project, pupils will make links to curriculum subjects, from maths, to science, and marketing, for example. This supports pupils’ engagement by relating all their learning to the world of work.

    They typically operate longer days and outside standard school terms -giving pupils a good understanding of a working day, and the importance of good attendance and punctuality in business.

    Along with their studies pupils carry out work placements for four hours a week, with employers who work with the school. After age 16 this increases to two days a week and pupils are paid for this work.

    Each pupil has a ‘personal coach’, which seeks to replicate the role of a supportive line manager in the workplace. Coaches also help students get the most out of the curriculum and their work placements.

    For many pupils and their parents, the opportunity to combine studying for qualifications with developing skills that will give them the edge in the competitive jobs market will be very attractive. For others students, the opportunity to gain qualifications through this new approach will mean they are more engaged and perform better than in a more conventional school.

    This wave of 12 Studio Schools has input from hundreds of local and national employers. Some schools will be located alongside existing maintained schools or academies, and others will be separate academies.

    Employers increasingly tell us that they are struggling to find the skills they are looking for in school leavers. So much so, that in the most recent CBI Employer Survey (May 2010), more than two thirds of employers (70 per cent) wanted to see the new Government make the employability skills of young people its top education priority.

    David Frost CBE, Chair of the Studio Schools Trust and former Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, commented:

    “I am delighted that the Government has approved another 12 Studio Schools, and that interest is continuing to grow as we increase our network of Studio Schools across the UK.

    “Studio Schools will play a vital role in equipping young people with the skills and experience that they need to succeed in a competitive jobs market, through combining mainstream qualifications with real experience of the world of work. Many employers are keen to help develop and shape their workforce for the future, and Studio Schools will allow them to be involved at every step of the way, from helping to design the school curriculum to providing paid work placements for students. Students are able to develop the skills and knowledge that employers are looking for.

    ‘’I look forward to working with the 12 new Studio Schools as they prepare to open in September next year.’’

  • PRESS RELEASE : Great teachers could become ‘Master Teachers’ [December 2011]

    PRESS RELEASE : Great teachers could become ‘Master Teachers’ [December 2011]

    The press release issued by the Department for Education on 12 December 2011.

    The review team, led by Sally Coates, Principal of Burlington Danes Academy in London, were asked to simplify the current teachers’ standards, which define the qualities and skills expected of teachers at various career stages. Their first report, published in July, raised the bar in terms of defining the minimum requirements for all teachers.

    The review team has now considered the standards expected for more experienced and higher performing teachers. They are recommending scrapping the existing system, which has three separate categories, and introducing a single ‘Master Teacher Standard.’ This will recognise truly excellent teachers and provide a focal point for all good teachers to plan their professional and career development.

    The Government has welcomed the review team’s recommendations and is now considering how they might be implemented.

    The ‘Master Teacher Standard’ describes a clear set of characteristics for high-performing teachers. They include:

    • Deep and extensive knowledge of their specialism, going beyond the set programmes they teach.
    • Command of the classroom, skilfully leading, encouraging and extending pupils. They will have the respect of both pupils and parents.
    • Excellent planning and organisation to ensure pupils are well-prepared for all forms of assessment.
    • Their classes demonstrate a stimulating culture of scholarship alongside a sense of mutual respect and good manners.
    • They are highly regarded by colleagues, who want to learn from them. They play a role in the development of school policies and they engage with professional networks beyond the school.

    Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

    The proposal to establish a new ‘Master Teacher Standard’, that identifies and recognises our many outstanding teachers, will send a powerful message about what constitutes the very best in teaching.

    The proposal has the potential to bring much greater simplicity and clarity to what is at present a complex and highly bureaucratic system of standards. It is a further step towards our ambition to elevate the status of the teaching profession and ensure the very best are recognised as key figures in the intellectual life of the country.

    Sally Coates, Chair of the review group said:

    The ‘Master Teacher Standard’ we are proposing takes the standards to a very high level for the most able teachers. It is designed to set out a powerful statement of what it means to be a really excellent teacher, and I am confident that those who can meet the standard will be proud to be known as ‘Master Teachers.’

    These are teachers who will have the deepest impact on improving the lives of their pupils. It is absolutely right that such an achievement should be properly recognised by the new Standard, and I hope that we have out set a vision to which all teachers can aspire. I very much look forward to seeing our proposals being taken forward and put into practice.

    Joan Deslandes, Headteacher of Kingsford Community School, Newham, said today:

    For hundreds of years, Britain has led the way in education. The ‘Master Teacher Standard’ represents a clear and effective model which will ensure that our country continues its great tradition of pioneering, inspirational teaching.

    A benchmark for educational excellence, the ‘Master Teacher Standard’ will motivate a new generation of teachers to develop innovative strategies which improve learning, so that every young person, from every walk of life, realises their full potential.

    Diane Rochford, Headteacher of John F Kennedy Special School, Newham, said.

    It will encourage and strengthen performance in the classroom, in all educational settings, whilst recognising those teachers who continually seek to find ways to inspire and engage learners – regardless of their starting point in life.

    Greg Wallace, Executive Principal, Best Start Federation (which runs primary schools in London Fields, Mandeville, Whitmore, and Woodberry Down), said:

    I think the new ‘Master Teacher Standard’ is a major step forward in defining the characteristics of expert teachers. The standard is something all good teachers will aspire to meet. The very good use of language within the standard gives us a strong sense of what the classrooms of ‘Master Teachers’ will be like. Words like ‘command’ and ‘inspire’ help create a concrete image of what we need from teachers at the top of the profession.

    The Secretary of State has today written to Sally Coates welcoming her report and the principle and wording of the ‘Master Teacher Standard.’

    His letter explains that he needs to consider carefully how the ‘Master Teacher Standard’ might be introduced before any arrangements can be made for its implementation. This will include asking the School Teachers Review Body to consider the implications for teachers’ pay of the report’s recommendation to discontinue the Post-Threshold, Excellent Teacher and Advanced Skills Teacher standards.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Disadvantaged school children to benefit from £1.25 billion funding from April 2012 [December 2011]

    PRESS RELEASE : Disadvantaged school children to benefit from £1.25 billion funding from April 2012 [December 2011]

    The press release issued by the Department for Education on 12 December 2011.

    Over half a million additional children will also qualify for the premium as the Government has extended its reach to cover any child that has been registered for Free School Meals (FSM) in the past six years. For 2012-13, the premium will be worth £1.25 billion in total.

    Children who have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in their school career have consistently lower educational attainment than those who have never been eligible. In 2009-10 GCSE statistics showed that around a third of pupils who have been on Free School Meals in the previous six years achieved five or more A*- C grades, compared to more than two thirds of their fellow pupils. Pupils at secondary school are also less likely to be registered for Free School Meals even when they are eligible and so are more likely to be picked up by this approach.

    The Pupil Premium provides additional funding on top of the main funding a school receives. It is targeted at pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure they benefit from the same opportunities as pupils from less deprived families. Currently, the premium is worth £488 and goes to children who are currently on Free School Meals. Children in care who have been looked after by local authorities for more than six months also continue to qualify for the Pupil Premium.

    Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

    For too long social background has been a deciding factor in a child’s achievement and future prospects. In a fair society, it’s the Government’s responsibility to close the gulf in achievement, where the poorest children are less likely to leave school with five good GCSEs than their less deprived classmates.

    That’s why I’m delighted we are today announcing the increase in the per pupil level of the Pupil Premium for 2012-13, as well as extending the eligibility to reach more children. It will help school tackle the inequalities that have been a part of our state system for far too long. Thousands of children will finally be getting the extra support they need to succeed.

    The Coalition Government’s commitment to providing extra funding through the Pupil Premium is set to continue, with total funding due to rise to £2.5 billion a year by 2014-15.

    The latest figures available show that:

    • only 55.9 per cent of 11-year-olds known to be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) achieved the expected level in both English and mathematics compared with 77.2 per cent for non-FSM pupils
    • just 31.2 per cent of pupils eligible for FSM achieved five A*-C GCSEs or equivalent, including English and mathematics, compared with 58.8 per cent for pupils not eligible for FSM.

    The Department for Education is also reminding schools and parents across England to make sure those children eligible for Free School Meals are registered as soon as possible so that schools receive the full funding they are entitled to.

    The school census is on 19 January 2012. Schools will be able to help parents to apply and their local authority will be able to say the last date applications can be submitted in time for them to confirm eligibility before the census.

    Data shows that between three to five per cent of school children could be missing out on the extra cash – between around 200,000 to 350,000 children in England. It also suggests that families in the East Midlands, South East and East of England may be less likely to register their children for FSM, even when they are entitled to them.

    Sarah Teather added:

    It is essential that children who are eligible for Free School Meals are registered. This will ensure that their school doesn’t miss out on this funding and the opportunities it brings to our poorest children. I therefore urge parents of eligible children to register as soon as possible.

    Up to £50m of the £1.25bn will be used to support a Summer School programme to help the most disadvantaged pupils make the transition from primary to secondary school.

    It is for schools to decide how the Pupil Premium, allocated to schools per FSM pupil, is spent since they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the individual pupils within their responsibility.

    To monitor progress on attainment, new measures will be included in the performance tables that will capture the achievement of pupils covered by the Pupil Premium. From September 2012, we will also require schools to publish online information about how they have used the premium. This will ensure that parents and others are made fully aware of the progress and attainment of pupils covered by the premium.

    Service children premium

    From April 2012, the Government will provide a £250 per pupil premium to schools with service children – up from £200 this year. Currently 45,000 service children are eligible, which would mean they would benefit from around £11 million.

    Our servicemen and women risk their lives for this country and it is a key part of the Armed Forces Covenant that we support their families. Whilst the attainment by service children on average is above that of their peers, they face unique challenges and stresses. The extra funding will help schools can focus on providing this additional, mainly pastoral, support.