Tag: Department for Education

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 18 July 2012.

The new schools are due to open in 2013 and 2014. By September 2013 we expect 30 studio schools to be open.

Studio schools are set up with the backing of employers, and are a key part of the government’s drive to ensure the education system gives school leavers the skills that business needs to grow and prosper.

They offer academic and vocational qualifications but teach them in a practical way. Study is combined with work placements with local and national employers involved in the school.

Along with university technical colleges, studio schools will increase choice for parents and pupils in communities across the country, help raise standards in vocational education and ensure young people have the skills that employers demand.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

Studio schools benefit both business and young people – they are a brilliant way for employers to become involved in helping give young people what they need to get good jobs. They are aimed at children who learn in more practical ways and offer good qualifications alongside the kind of skills employers want.

Studio schools teach a rigorous academic and vocational curriculum in a practical way. They equip young people with the qualifications and skills to help companies prosper, and offer paid work experience.

It is fantastic that so many successful employers are getting behind the studio school movement.

The projects approved today include:

The Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio in Blackburn, where Darwen will specialise in business administration, retail, ICT and leisure. It is led by the Aldridge Foundation, sponsors of existing academies, who will work with employers including Capita, Crown Paints, Twin Valley Homes and European Electronique to deliver a curriculum focused on entrepreneurship and tailored to local skills needs.

The Southampton Studio School, proposed by Southampton City College, will specialise in marine and cruise industries, a major local employer. The school will offer students the opportunity to follow a range of pathways including apprenticeships and HE targeted at local skills gaps via a project based curriculum and work placements developed with the involvement of employers and other local partners, including Business Solent, Meacher’s Global Logistics, Royal Yachting Association and Southampton University Hospital NHS Trust.

The Kajan Hospitality and Catering Studio, which has been proposed by Kajan Women’s Enterprise, a social enterprise that works with adults, children and young people in the Birmingham area. The school will specialise in cuisine and culinary skills with a focus on Caribbean catering. Partner employers include Aston Villa Football Club, Hilton Hotels and National Express.

David Frost CBE, chair of the Studio Schools trust and former Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

I am delighted that the government has approved another 15 studio schools, and that interest is continuing to grow as we expand our network of studio schools across England.

Studio schools are playing 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.

Employers are keen to help prepare young people for the workplace, and studio schools allow them to get involved in all aspects of school life – from designing the curriculum and delivering masterclasses, to providing paid work placements and mentoring students.

With enterprise and entrepreneurialism at the core, many studio schools will run their own social enterprises, and students will run their own businesses, therefore helping to strengthen the economy and community in their local area.

I look forward to working with the 15 new studio schools as they prepare to open.

The 12 new studio schools yet to open but already approved include:

• The Fulham Enterprise Studio in Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. This project involves the BBC, Virgin Media, Fulham FC and Age UK.
• The Stoke Studio College in Stoke-on-Trent, which has links with employers in the construction industry including Kier.
• The Da Vinci Studio School of Science and Engineering in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, which will offer students the opportunity to access a curriculum based on science, technology, engineering and maths, backed by multi-national employers.

Studio schools offer a varied curriculum for children from age 14, 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 (EBacc).
• Studio schools also offer other qualifications, such as A levels, Higher Diplomas or BTECs.

They 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
• 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 other 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.

Employers report that they are struggling to find the skills they are looking for in school leavers. In the most recent CBI employer survey (May 2010), more than two thirds of employers (70%) wanted to see the new government make the employability skills of young people its top education priority.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 17 July 2012.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 16 July 2012.

Latest data from the Teaching Agency (TA) shows more men are becoming primary school teachers. The number of male trainee primary teachers has increased by more than 50% in the last 4 years and has grown at 5 times the rate of women.

More top male graduates are being encouraged to follow suit and take advantage of the great opportunities a primary teaching career provides. The same pay scales apply to all teachers, regardless of whether they teach primary or secondary, and career progression opportunities are excellent. Teachers are twice as likely to be in management positions, than graduates in comparable professions after 3.5 years. The average starting salary for teachers now stands at £23,010 and the current average after 4 years is 30 per cent higher. Training bursaries of £5000 are available for those with a 2:1 degree applying to primary teaching, and £9000 for those with a First.

The TA is launching 2 new services to assist men to train to teach primary:

Firstly, a new Primary Experience programme will be available to male graduates who register their interest in primary teacher training with the TA and meet eligibility requirements. It gives men 10 days’ work experience in a school. 1,000 places will be available in schools across the country.

The TA is also able to put male graduates in touch with a range of inspirational male primary teachers, to get an insight into teachers’ motivations, career choices, challenges and the rewards of day-to-day life in a classroom.

Lin Hinnigan, Interim Chief Executive of the Teaching Agency said:

Primary teaching is increasingly a career for the most able graduates. It offers the opportunity to earn a good salary and progress quickly.

Our aim in joining forces with talented male teachers from primary schools across England is to show the reality of life in a classroom and why there’s never been a better time to join the profession.

Darren McCann, who was promoted to deputy head of St Ambrose Barlow primary school after teaching for seven years, said:

I’d always done well at school and initially thought I’d want to be a doctor or a lawyer. This all changed after I visited a school for work experience. A career in teaching shot to the top of my list. It was my ambition that directed me to primary teaching specifically – there are great opportunities for progression – and I’ve reaped the benefits of that decision.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 16 July 2012.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 12 July 2012.

As well as the report, some of the issues being discussed today include the trials facing young people wanting to go into further education and the inherent challenges in further education in promoting social mobility and securing economic growth.

The ‘Skills for employment’ report found that when matching unemployed adults to specific courses, progression to employment was not a high enough priority. Too many programmes focused on achievement of qualifications and courses did not extend to training that lead to job specific skills. When looking at the overall proportion of a total of 10,270 jobseekers spanning 31 different further education providers Ofsted found only 19 per cent were successful in getting a job. Many providers were not offering jobseekers challenging enough courses that were likely to increase their chances of sustained employment.

Matthew Coffey, the National Director of Learning and Skills said:

Currently over 8% of the population are unemployed and latest figures show over 1.41 million of those have been unemployed for more than six months. Ofsted’s Skills for employment report aims to assess the efficiency of the further education and skills sector in matching unemployed adults to courses to develop their skills and enable them to find suitable employment. We found too many courses simply lead on to more courses and do not address the urgency of getting unemployed adults into work.

These issues along with others are being discussed at the first annual Learning and Skills Lecture. Further Education is becoming more and more important in promoting economic prosperity and enabling social mobility by supporting young people and unemployed adults to make the transition into work, improving literacy and numeracy and by providing top quality Apprenticeships.

In August 2011, the government launched a set of new initiatives inviting further education providers to prioritise labour market focused training. The initiatives aimed to support more unemployed people to develop the skills they needed to progress into employment. The report found that some providers were initially slow to respond to the government’s initiatives and were unsure about how they would be held to account over the ways they used their allocated funding. The report also found that although labour market focused training increased employability in the long term, it did not address the urgency for jobseekers to move off benefits into work.

Positively, the most successful providers visited by Ofsted had good links with Jobcentre Plus (JCP) and local employers to increase referrals when matching unemployed adults to specific courses. Successful providers also had expert staff trained in working with unemployed people. These staff demonstrated good skills in referring people to specific courses and made excellent initial assessments and development plans geared towards the barriers unemployed people had preventing them from finding employment.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 12 July 2012.

The government’s Schools Commissioner, Dr Liz Sidwell, will visit a high-performing primary academy in Lancashire on Thursday 12 July – where she will say that weaker schools across the county should aspire to its success.

At a visit to the ‘Outstanding’ Hambleton Primary Academy in Poulton-Le-Fylde, Dr Sidwell will also warn that poor standards of primary education in Lancashire will no longer be tolerated.

She will explain how, by teaming up with education organisations and great schools with track record of success, the government will ensure that poorer-performing schools in Lancashire will improve quickly by becoming academies.

This follows Education Secretary Michael Gove’s pledge last month to increase the pace at which primary underperformance is tackled.

As it stands, test results for 11-year-olds and Ofsted judgements of 36 primaries in the Lancashire remain stubbornly low – resulting in thousands of pupils receiving an unacceptable standard of education, year on year.

Of these 36 primary schools, 32 are below the Government’s ‘floor standard’ for results in key stage 2 tests. This means Lancashire has:

• the highest number of underperforming primary schools in the North West
• around a third of pupils leaving primary school below the standard expected in the 3Rs – reading, writing and maths.

Lancashire’s 32 underperforming schools are in the following constituencies:

Hyndburn – 5

West Lancashire – 4

Burnley – 4

Chorley – 2

Lancaster and Fleetwood – 2

Pendle – 5

Preston – 4

Morecambe and Lunesdale – 3

Rossendale and Darwen – 3

South Ribble – 2

Fylde – 1

Wyre and Preston North – 1

Across the country, underperforming schools have been transformed by becoming academies.

Research published by the department shows that between 2010 and 2011, results for pupils in sponsored academies improved at a faster rate than in other state-funded schools and at a faster rate than in a group of similar schools. The same is the case when looking over a period of five years.

Academies are not controlled by town hall councillors and officials. Instead, they are run by other strong local schools and education groups – like the United Learning Trust. This means that our best school leaders take over the management of our weakest schools, removing them from local authority control under which they have failed to thrive for years.

Schools Commissioner Dr Liz Sidwell said:

All local people want the very best for local schools. But sometimes change is necessary to really bring about the type of improvement needed to give every child the best chance in life. When schools have been struggling for years, we simply cannot stand by and allow things to continue as they are.

That is why we want to turn around number of primary schools in Lancashire. By becoming academies, these primary schools will thrive under the leadership of some of our best school leaders – rather than staying under the control of the local authority, which clearly isn’t working.

As a headteacher who took over failing schools and helped them become academies, I strongly believe this is the best way to raise education standards for children right across Lancashire.

Research published by the department shows that between 2010 and 2011, results for pupils in sponsored academies improved at a faster rate than in other state-funded schools and at a faster rate than in a group of similar schools.

In sponsored academies that had been open for at least five years, results between 2006 and 2011 increased at a faster rate than in other state-funded schools and at a faster rate than in a group of similar schools.

Dr Sidwell is also working with a number of other local authorities to turn around weak schools by helping them to become sponsored academies. Across the country, there are more than one thousand primaries where more than forty per cent of children fail to reach acceptable standards in literacy and numeracy. Around 200 primary schools will have re-opened as sponsored academies by the end of the year.

The best schools and academies are also encouraged to come forward as academy sponsors.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 10 July 2012.

Children from poorer backgrounds who are behind in reading and writing at the end of primary school will have the chance to get extra catch-up lessons.

This comes as part of the government’s drive to narrow the attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers.

Results from last year’s key stage 2 tests show that around 100,000 pupils in England failed to reach the expected standard in English. This means that:

• around one in six pupils (16%) fail to master the basics of reading at the end of primary school
• around one in four pupils (25%) fail to master the basics of writing at the end of primary school

As part of a £10 million programme, projects will be set up across England to help disadvantaged pupils who fail to reach the expected level of English by the end of primary school (level 4 at key stage 2).

Some projects will be fast-tracked through the bidding process to start from this September, while other projects will start in 2013.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:

Reading with confidence is the basis of a good education and to unlocking everything the school curriculum has to offer. Every child should start secondary school with a head start – not a false start.

I’m determined that the Government does everything it can, through the Pupil Premium, to bring children up to speed in literacy as they make the transition from primary to secondary school. This money will be a huge boost to schools in giving extra support the children who need it.

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

Improving reading standards in schools is central to the Coalition Government’s education reforms.

Being able to read fluently by the end of primary school is essential. Without these skills children fall further behind in their education. This programme, funded by the Pupil Premium, will help struggling pupils catch up.

It will also help close the gulf in achievement, where the poorest children are less likely to leave school with five good GCSEs than their less disadvantaged classmates.

The programme will be run by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and forms part of the Coalition Government’s drive to improve standards for all. It will help disadvantaged children make the difficult transition from primary to secondary school effectively, as it is one of the key stumbling blocks to improving social mobility in this country.

The EEF will run a competitive bidding process to fund innovative projects that build on either robust evidence or a strong and practical theory. It is expected that schools themselves, along with charities, local authorities and universities, will bid for the programme.

Projects could start at the end of year 6, in the summer between year 6 and year 7, and in year 7 itself. The Foundation will also consider some projects which include mathematics.

Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the EEF, said:

We very much welcome the Minister’s announcement that the Government is providing £10 million for the EEF to fund and rigorously evaluate projects to find out what works in helping disadvantaged children make the difficult transition from primary to secondary school.

The challenge of navigating this transition successfully is one of the key barriers to improving social mobility in this country.

Each successful project will be evaluated by independent research teams drawn from the EEF panel of evaluators. This will help make sure that through robust evaluations the best projects can be made available to all schools to use.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 5 July 2012.

Up to 300,000 babies born this year are set to benefit from 15 hours of free early education each week when they are two years old, as the government announces plans to roll out free early education to more children across England.

Today Sarah Teather, Minister for Children and Families, launched a consultation calling for views on which two year olds should benefit. This is the second phase of the roll-out of free early education to around 40% of 2-year-old children to help prepare them for school and give them the best possible start in life.

In the consultation launched today the government said that 2 year olds from families who meet the criteria for free school meals will continue to be eligible. In addition, the Department for Education proposes that 2-year-old children should get free early education if they:

• are in low income families earning no more than £16,190 each year
• have special educational needs or a disability
• have been in care and been adopted

Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, said:

A decent early education can make a huge difference to the start of a child’s progress, unlocking their potential to help them follow their ambitions.

All children should have a fair chance to get on in life, which is why we’re extending free childcare to 40% of two-year-olds. Today’s consultation is about making sure we get that right.

Sarah Teather, Minister for Children and Families, said:

There is compelling evidence that early education, through play and stories, helps young children prepare for school in their crucial early years. We have an ambitious programme to roll out free early education and it is vital that this support, backed by funding rising to £760 million by 2014 to 2015, is targeted towards those who need it.

Babies born this year will receive the benefit of high-quality early education in 2 years’ time. It’s vital that we get this right for their sake. This government is doing all it can to ensure that children in the poorest families are able to achieve what they want to do.

The consultation is launched on the day the minister gave a speech at the Association of Directors of Children’s Services conference in Manchester where she said:

Our recent launch of the childcare commission and the millions we’re investing in early years are a mark of the government’s determination to give every child the best start in life, even against a tough economic backdrop.

This is the right thing to do. It helps create a fairer society and boosts social mobility. The benefits are tangible, real and valued by parents.

From September 2013, under the first phase of the entitlement, the least advantaged 20% of 2-year-olds will receive free early education. The government is trialling the delivery of this first phase in 10 areas in England later this year. The new entitlement for 2-year-olds builds on the universal free entitlement for 3- and 4-year-old children across England.

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

The government has today announced that it has asked the co-founders of LEON restaurant chain, Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent, to examine school food across the country. They will create an action plan to accelerate improvement in school food and determine the role of food more broadly in school life.

Over the last decade there has been a big change of attitude towards school food and significant improvement in many schools. This is the result of work done by a large array of people, including the School Food Trust, associated charities such as School Food Matters, and Jamie Oliver’s Foundation – not to mention the individual cooks, teachers, parents, pupils, outside caterers and local authorities who have embraced the cause.

However in both maintained schools and academies there is a lot of work still to do. School Food Trust research shows that:

• take-up of school lunches is just 38% in secondary schools and 44% in primary schools;
• only 22.5% of schools provide at least one portion of fruit and veg per pupil every day;
• half of secondary schools offer pizzas and starchy food cooked in oil on most days;
• a third of young people are not choosing a healthy balanced meal at school.

The plan from Henry and John will examine which schools are doing things well and why. It will set out how all schools can reach a standard to be proud of. They will speak to experts, review research and visit schools as well as conduct primary research in order to build up a systematic picture of school food across England. An important part of their work will involve looking at what factors influence school food choices.

To ensure that our children are eating well in schools the plan will address two key questions:

• What more needs to be done to make tasty, nutritious food available to all school children?
• How do we excite children about the food so that they want to eat it?

Henry and John have experience in creating nutritious food that tastes good, in large volume, to a budget. And before LEON, they both led large scale change in commercial organisations. Henry and John will be looking at all ways that change can be brought about: leadership, communication, rewards, inspiration, training, structures and supply chain, regulation, responsibilities within schools, reporting, and the role of parents and people from the world of food.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

There has been an improvement in school food in recent years with many schools transforming school dinners, introducing food growing into the curriculum and teaching cookery. However, there is still more to do particularly in taking localised successes and ensuring they are replicated nationally.

Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent bring a wealth of practical experience in delivering good food on a budget. I am delighted they have agreed to develop a robust plan to improve school food and ensure children are given an education that cultivates in them an understanding of food and nutrition.

John Vincent said:

We have a mission at LEON to make it easy for everybody to eat good food. We do it commercially with LEON, and so we are energised by the chance to do so with school food. We join a powerful and growing team of people who have done so much. What we all now need is an action plan that gets to grips with exactly how the ideas and dreams can be implemented for all kids, and stick.

Henry Dimbleby said:

There is so much good work being done to improve school food by people in schools around the country. Our job is to find out which schools are doing well and why. This is a great opportunity to work with those people to set out in a systematic way what needs to be done to nurture and accelerate those improvements.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 2 July 2012.

Highlighting that there are some cases where trainees receive little more than a single lecture, Charlie Taylor calls for more practical training for trainees. This includes knowing how to vary the tone and volume of their voice to teach effectively and manage behaviour, as well as how to use posture in order to be an authoritative presence in the classroom.

The headteacher of The Willows, a special school for children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties in West London, has also today published the document ‘Improving teacher training for behaviour’. It sets out the knowledge, skills and understanding that trainees will need in order to be able to manage children’s behaviour.

Charlie Taylor said:

The greatest fear trainee teachers have is that they won’t be able to manage behaviour. It also remains one of the main reasons why teachers leave the profession.

There are essential skills – including some which are underestimated, such as body language and posture – that all teachers need in order to manage behaviour effectively.

There are some great training providers but too often trainees aren’t taught the skills they need to ensure discipline in the classroom. We must spread best practice because without strong discipline and good behaviour children can’t learn.

Charlie Taylor, who from September 2012 will become the chief executive of the Teaching Agency, has carried out a review of what trainees are currently taught. It found differences in the quality of training on behaviour management. The best ITT providers take considerable time and thought to produce programmes that mean trainees leave with a range of practical skills, knowledge and understanding. It allows them to feel confident to manage behaviour when they begin to teach.

However, there are some cases where trainees receive little more than a single lecture and limited support from a tutor if things start to go wrong. Some providers are not always aware of what is good training on behaviour and this means they continue to train inadequately.

A survey, published last week, revealed how more than two-fifths (41 per cent) of teachers rated their initial teacher training (ITT) in managing behaviour as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. This includes teachers who may have been in the profession for a number of years.

Improving teacher training for behaviour’ has been developed to complement the new Teachers’ Standards that all teachers have to demonstrate from September 2012. It also reflects the new Ofsted inspection framework for ITT providers, which will come into effect at the same time. It has been produced taking on board the practice from some of the outstanding teacher training providers, Ofsted and some of the best schools who train teachers.

It will help ensure consistency across providers and includes how trainees should know how to:

• vary the tone and volume of their voice to teach effectively and manage behaviour;
• stand, move, make use of the space and use eye contact in order to be an authoritative presence in the classroom;
• use praise effectively to improve behaviour, and understand how to apply rewards and sanctions to improve behaviour;
• manage behaviour in a range of different situations such as whole class teaching, group work, the corridors and the playground;
• plan and teach lessons that take account of individual children’s special needs, so that they are less likely to misbehave;
• take appropriate and effective action when they are confronted by more extreme behaviour.

Jo Palmer-Tweed, course director at teacher training provider Thames Primary Consortium, said:

The importance of coherent high-quality training for behaviour management in teacher training cannot be underestimated.

With a wide range of routes into teaching available and training programmes that are growing in diversity these guidelines will be essential to ensure the provision of high quality training.

Crucially they do not tell providers how to structure their training programmes, but they do set high expectations in terms of what a trainee teacher should expect to receive. This will have a positive impact on the quality of teacher training and subsequently on children’s behaviour for learning.