Tag: Department for Education

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 2 February 2011.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb visited White Cliffs Primary College for the Arts, Barton Junior School, Shatterlocks Infant and Nursery, and Astor College for the Arts, in Dover on 31 January. The four schools make up the Dover Federation for the Arts. The minister had recently written to White Cliffs and Barton to congratulate them on being in the top 100 of primary schools for sustained improvement over four years in Key Stage 2 tests. He wanted to find out more about how they achieved their success and asked if he could visit.

The minister spent time with a Year 6 English class at White Cliffs, where pupils discussed their imaginary wartime experience of seeing a banana for the first time. He was very impressed by the pupils’ use of vocabulary, similes and metaphors, which showed their wide level of reading. The minister also chatted with the pupils about the careers they hoped to have in the future, which included being a policeman, joining the army, a scientist, a zookeeper and becoming a nurse.

Mr Gibb described the improvement that White Cliffs had made as ‘stratospheric’ and said he was particularly impressed by the Year 6 class and some of the work that was read to him. He said:

It was astonishing, the vocabulary and the expressive way it was read – I was very impressed. It is clear the children in that class have read a lot of books.

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

Michael Gove has today announced that 8 proposals to set up free schools have now progressed from business case and plan stage to the pre-opening stage – the final stage before opening.

The Secretary of State for Education made the announcement when addressing the first ever national free schools conference, where he was joined by US education experts and teachers.

The conference brings together ministers and more than 400 parents, teachers, charities and other groups from across the country that are planning to set up free schools.

The 8 proposals include Stour Valley Community School in Suffolk, which was approved earlier this month.

The other seven are based in London, West Sussex, Norwich and Leicester. They are:

ARK Conway, Hammersmith and Fulham
Discovery New School, West Sussex
Etz Chaim, Barnet
The Free School, Norwich
I-Foundation, Leicester City
St Luke’s Church of England Primary School, Camden
Woodpecker Hall, Enfield

Free schools will be set up by a wide range of proposers including charities, educational groups, teachers and groups of parents. They are set up in response to parental demand, and will improve choice and drive up standards for all young people regardless of their background. Free schools will enjoy the same freedoms and flexibilities as academies.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 28 January 2011.

Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, will tomorrow address hundreds of teachers, charities and parents at the first ever free schools conference. He will be joined by US education experts and teachers who have set up charter schools. Charter schools are the US equivalent of Free Schools. They have been championed by both President Barack Obama and Republicans such as Jeb Bush, as a way of improving education for the poorest in society.

The conference comes as new figures show increasing demand from teachers, parents and charities to set up schools.

The Coalition Government announced:

• there have now been 249 proposals from groups keen to set up a Free School
• 35 groups have now progressed to the next stage of the process and are developing a full business case and plan.

The Free Schools conference will bring together ministers with around 400 teachers, charities, parents and other groups from across the country planning to set up Free Schools. It will be an opportunity for the groups to learn from successful charter schools in the US and there will be workshops on setting up Free Schools run during the day.

Attending alongside Michael Gove will be Mike Feinberg from the Knowledge is Power Programme (KIPP), one of the most successful chains of charter schools in America. Mike is a teacher who decided to set up a charter school in inner city Houston. It was so successful that there are now 99 KIPP charter schools across the US, all providing a high-quality education in the most deprived areas.

Joel Klein, former Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, will also be speaking at the conference. Joel is a former adviser to President Bill Clinton. He championed charter schools in his time in office and successfully improved the education of thousands of underprivileged children.

Michael Gove said:

A good school can transform a child’s life and help them achieve things they may never have imagined. In this country, too often it is the poorest children who miss out while richer families can buy their way to good education via private schools or expensive houses. Free Schools will give all parents the option of a good local school with great teaching, strong discipline and small class sizes.

Mike Feinberg, co-founder of KIPP, said:

We wanted to give students in under-served communities an opportunity for success in life. That goal led us to founding the Knowledge is Power Programme (KIPP) in 1994. There are now 99 schools across America that give children from low-income families a better education, proving that demographics do not define destiny. I’m excited that Free Schools will be opening up in England and offering the same possibilities.

Joel Klein, former Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, said:

Charter schools have given thousands of underprivileged children across America a better start in life – providing them with an education that previously was simply not available to them. I’m excited by the opportunities that Free Schools will give children of all backgrounds in England and I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences on how to achieve this at the conference.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 28 January 2011.

Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, will tomorrow (29 January 2011) address hundreds of teachers, charities and parents at the first ever free schools conference. He will be joined by US education experts and teachers who have set up charter schools. Charter schools are the US equivalent of free schools. They have been championed by both President Barack Obama and Republicans such as Jeb Bush as a way of improving education for the poorest in society.

The conference comes as new figures show increasing demand from teachers, parents and charities wanting to set up schools.

The coalition government announced that:

• there have now been 249 proposals from groups keen to set up a free school
• 35 groups have now progressed to the next stage of the process and are developing a full business case and plan.

The Free Schools conference will bring together ministers with around 400 teachers, charities, parents and other groups from across the country who are planning to set up Free Schools. It will be an opportunity for the groups to learn from successful charter schools in the US and there will be workshops on setting up Free Schools run during the day.

Attending alongside Michael Gove will be Mike Feinberg from the Knowledge is Power Programme (KIPP), one of the most successful chains of charter schools in America. Mike is a teacher who decided to set up a charter school in inner city Houston. It was so successful that there are now 99 KIPP charter schools across the US, all providing a high quality education in the most deprived areas.

Joel Klein, former Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, will also be speaking at the conference. Joel is a former adviser to President Bill Clinton. He championed the charter schools in his time in office and successfully improved the education of thousands of underprivileged children.

Michael Gove said:

A good school can transform a child’s life and help them achieve things they may never have imagined. In this country, too often it is the poorest children who miss out while richer families can buy their way to good education via private schools or expensive houses. Free Schools will give all parents the option of a good local school with great teaching, strong discipline and small class sizes.

Mike Feinberg, co-founder of KIPP, said:

We wanted to give students in under-served communities an opportunity for success in life. That goal led us to founding the Knowledge is Power Programme (KIPP) in 1994. There are now 99 schools across America that give children from low-income families a better education, proving that demographics do not define destiny. I’m excited that Free Schools will be opening up in England and offering the same possibilities.

Joel Klein, former Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, said:

Charter schools have given thousands of underprivileged children across America a better start in life – providing them with an education that previously was simply not available to them. I’m excited by the opportunities that Free Schools will give children of all backgrounds in England and I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences on how to achieve this at the conference.

Karinne Kennedy, mother of Calvin at the SEED Charter School in Washington DC, said:

In 2004, I was faced with finding a suitable and safe school environment for my son Calvin, who was graduating from elementary to middle school. I live in Ward 8 in Washington, D.C., which is the poorest ward in the district.

I had heard about the new charter schools that were popping up all around the city. The mother of my son’s best friend told me about the SEED School. She explained that it was a college preparatory boarding school for D.C. students and that it was free of charge.

My son has been at SEED for six years now, and my daughter also attends. Since then, my son Calvin has made honour roll several times, he participated with the Greek scholars and earned a trip to Greece. His list of achievements goes on and on and I have to attribute that to my partnership with SEED.

Mark Lehain, a teacher and the lead proposer for Bedford & Kempston Free School, said:

We believe every child, regardless of their background, should be able to get a really good set of exam results by the time they are 16. We feel the only way you can do that is to give parents more choice in the kind of schools their kids have and, we think for a lot of kids, ours is the type of school their parents will want for them.

Patricia Sowter, headteacher of Cuckoo Hall Academy and the lead proposer for Woodpecker Hall Free School, said:

Michael Gove spoke about narrowing the attainment gaps. That’s absolutely our overarching ethos of opening this new school – to narrow the gaps for those children that are poorer and we know fall behind from a very early age, making a difference to those children in communities where it’s most needed.

Andrew Snowdon, lead proposer for Discovery New School, said:

We believe that choice is important and that parents have a right to select a school that suits them and their child. Parents and teachers know that small classes and talented teachers with greater freedom in the classroom will make a difference.

Penny Roberts, former teacher and leading the proposal for St Luke’s Primary School, said:

I’ve been through the process of applying for primary school places for my own children and I know the anguish that parents go through when there just are not enough primary school places, so for us it’s just a wonderful way to meet a community need.

Free Schools will be set up by a wide range of proposers including charities, educational groups, teachers and groups of parents. They are set up in response to parental demand. They will improve choice and drive up standards for all young people, regardless of their background. Like charter schools, these new schools will enjoy the same freedoms and flexibilities as academies.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 27 January 2011.

The Education Bill, published today, will help teachers raise standards in schools. It includes measures to root out bad behaviour, tackle underperformance and improve the way in which schools are held to account.

Measures in the Bill include:

• extending the Secretary of State’s powers to intervene where schools are underperforming
• introducing smarter school inspections. Ofsted will now focus only on four core elements of schools – pupil achievement, teaching, leadership and behaviour and safety
• measuring our education system against the best in the world. Ofqual will compare our exam standards against the highest performing countries.

In addition, the Bill will strengthen teachers’ powers to deal with bad behaviour. It gives teachers the power to search for any items schools ban that disrupt learning, like mobile phones and video cameras. It also gives schools the final say in expelling violent pupils and protects teachers from pupils making false allegations.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said today:

We’re lucky that there are many teachers doing a fantastic job but there are still too many schools that simply aren’t good enough. We must learn from other countries which do things better.

We’re giving more powers for teachers to do their job properly – the ability to impose better discipline – and freeing them from bureaucracy. The best schools will be freed from inspections so Ofsted will now concentrate on what matters – teaching and behaviour.

But we also need tough new power to take action when things go wrong. In the worst schools there will be new intervention powers. Ofsted will focus on the worst-performing schools where they are needed most. It is unacceptable that children should suffer in schools that are not doing a good job.

Raising standards

Subject to the passage of the Bill, the Secretary of State will now be able to direct a local authority to close schools that are judged to be in special measures, require significant improvement, or have failed to comply with a warning notice. He will also be able to direct local authorities to give a warning notice to an underperforming school.

These new powers will mean the Government can intervene whenever a school is not providing the kind of education children deserve.

Ofsted

The best school systems in the world are characterised by strong accountability so, in addition to recent changes to performance tables, the Government is also reforming the school inspection system.

Under the current Ofsted framework, inspectors make at least 27 separate judgements. We are focusing inspection on four key areas:

• pupil achievement
• teaching
• leadership and management
• behaviour and safety

We want inspectors to spend more of their time concentrating on teaching to drive improvement in educational standards. The Bill will also exempt ‘outstanding’ schools from routine inspection so they can be free to continue doing what they do so well. Ofsted will be able to focus its resources on the underperforming schools.

Ofqual

International league tables show we are not performing at the same level as many countries across the world. The Government believes we must learn from the best education systems. That’s why the Bill puts a duty on Ofqual, the independent watchdog for qualifications, to compare our exam standards against the highest performing systems. It will ensure England does not continue to fall behind other countries. Behaviour

The Bill also gives teachers the power to tackle bad behaviour and maintain good discipline. The Bill will:

• give teachers powers to search for items that disrupt learning. Current rules mean children can’t be searched for items like hardcore pornography and video cameras. These items cause serious disruption to learning. Video cameras are used to record incidents of bad behaviour and post them online. The Bill will ensure teachers can search for any item banned by the school rules.
• give schools the final say in expelling violent pupils. Exclusion should be a last resort but to ensure order in schools, heads need to be able to exclude violent pupils. At the moment a head can exclude a pupil for carrying a knife or acting violently, but their decision can be overruled and they can be forced to reinstate the pupil. The Bill will end this – heads’ decisions will be able to be reviewed but not overturned.
• protect teachers from pupils telling lies. When violent pupils are punished they may react by making unfair allegations against teachers. These allegations can ruin careers and take good teachers out of the classroom for months on end. The Bill will protect teachers from pupils who tell lies. Teachers will remain anonymous until they are charged.
• make it easier to impose detentions. Currently teachers have to give 24 hours notice to a child and parents for any after-school detention they want to issue. This stops immediate punishments and means children escape unpunished as teachers spend time outside of the classroom contacting parents. The Bill will remove the 24-hours notice requirement.

Bureaucracy

The Government is also stripping away the overbearing and unnecessary red tape that takes up teacher time that would be better spent in the classroom or preparing lessons. The Bill includes measures to

• abolish expensive and unaccountable bureaucratic bodies. Currently there are too many quangos that take up schools’ time without leading to any real benefits to standards. The Bill will dissolve the General Teaching Council for England and the Qualification and Curriculum Development Agency. It will also abolish the School Support Staff Negotiating Body and the Training and Development Agency for Schools.
• remove bureaucratic requirements on teachers and schools. Teachers tell us they have to spend hours outside of the classroom going to meetings and filling in forms because of bureaucratic requirements. It takes them away from the core purpose of improving learning. For example, schools have to produce a specific ‘school profile’ about themselves. The Bill will give schools the freedom to describe themselves how they want and not follow bureaucratic diktat. The Bill will also remove the duty on schools and colleges to cooperate with children’s trusts and for schools to have regard to the area’s Children and Young People’s Plan. Local authorities will no longer have to provide school improvement partners, which are often just expensive bureaucracy, to every school.
• remove bureaucratic requirements on colleges, including the duties to:
  • secure consent from the Skills Funding Agency before borrowing money
  • promote the social and economic wellbeing of the local area
  • have regard to guidance on consultation with students and employers.

Local authority powers to direct a college to invoke disciplinary procedures and appoint members to governing bodies will be removed.

The Education Bill had its first reading on Wednesday 26 January, and is published today.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 27 January 2011.

The Education Bill, published today, will help teachers raise standards in schools. It includes measures to root out bad behaviour, tackle underperformance and improve the way in which schools are held to account.

Measures in the Bill include:

• extending the Secretary of State’s powers to intervene where schools are underperforming
• introducing smarter school inspections; Ofsted will now focus only on 4 core elements of schools – pupil achievement, teaching, leadership, and behaviour and safety
• measuring our education system against the best in the world – Ofqual will compare our exam standards against the highest performing countries

Education Secretary Michael Gove said today:

We’re lucky that there are many teachers doing a fantastic job. But there are still too many schools that simply aren’t good enough. We must learn from other countries which do things better.

We’re giving more powers for teachers to do their job properly – the ability to impose better discipline – and freeing them from bureaucracy. The best schools will be freed from inspections so Ofsted will now concentrate on what matters – teaching and behaviour.

But we also need tough new powers to take action when things go wrong. In the worst schools there will be new intervention powers. Ofsted will focus on the worst-performing schools where they are needed most. It is unacceptable that children should suffer in schools that are not doing a good job.

Raising standards

Subject to the passage of the Bill, the Secretary of State will now be able to direct a local authority to close schools that are judged to be in special measures, require significant improvement, or have failed to comply with a warning notice. He will also be able to direct local authorities to give a warning notice to an underperforming school.

These new powers will mean the government can intervene whenever a school is not providing the kind of education children deserve.

Ofsted

The best school systems in the world are characterised by strong accountability, so in addition to recent changes to performance tables, the government is also reforming the school inspection system.

Under the current Ofsted framework inspectors make at least 27 separate judgements. We are focusing inspection on 4 key areas:

• pupil achievement
• teaching
• leadership and management
• behaviour and safety

We want inspectors to spend more of their time concentrating on teaching to drive improvement in educational standards. The Bill will also exempt ‘outstanding’ schools from routine inspection so they can be free to continue doing what they do so well. Ofsted will be able to focus their resources on the underperforming schools.

Responding to these changes, Kate Dethridge, Head of Churchend Primary School, said:

It is good news that there will be a reduction in the criteria against which we are inspected. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to be judged on the core purpose of raising standards. Schools should be trusted to achieve the right outcomes for their pupils, without having to be judged on the process to achieve those outcomes.

It is also welcome that outstanding schools will be exempt from inspections. Constantly self-reviewing and improving the school, and maintaining standards, is a head’s core purpose. Going through the process of an Ofsted inspection is time-consuming and does not add any value in an outstanding school.

Greg Martin, Executive Head of Durand Academy, said:

In recent years monitoring mechanisms have become increasingly complex and we welcome the move today to streamline Ofsted inspections to focus on the things that matter most to parents – quality teaching, effective leadership, good behaviour and safety for every child.

These are also the components of all great schools and Ofsted inspectors will now be able to work closely with improving schools to get these fundamentals right.

Ofqual

International league tables show we are not performing at the same level as many countries across the world. The government believes we must learn from the best education systems. That’s why the Bill puts a duty on Ofqual, the independent watchdog for qualifications, to compare our exam standards against the highest performing systems. It will ensure that England does not continue to fall behind other countries.

Behaviour

The Bill also gives teachers the power to tackle bad behaviour and maintain good discipline. The Bill will:

• give teachers powers to search for items that disrupt learning. Current rules mean children can’t be searched for items like hardcore pornography and video cameras. These items cause serious disruption to learning. Video cameras are used to record incidents of bad behaviour and post them online. The Bill will ensure teachers can search for any item banned by the school rules
• give school the final say in expelling violent pupils. Exclusion should be a last resort, but to ensure order in schools heads need to be able to exclude violent pupils. At the moment a head can exclude a pupil for carrying a knife or acting violently but their decision can be overruled and they can be forced to reinstate the pupil. The Bill will end this – heads’ decisions will be able to be reviewed but not overturned
• protect teachers from pupils telling lies. When violent pupils are punished they may react by making unfair allegations against teachers. These allegations can ruin careers and take good teachers out of the classroom for months on end. The Bill will protect teachers from pupils who tell lies. Teachers will remain anonymous until they are charged
• make it easier to impose detentions. Currently teachers have to give 24 hours notice to a child and parents for any after-school detention they want to issue. This stops immediate punishments and means children escape unpunished as teachers have to spend time outside of the classroom contacting parents. The Bill will remove the 24-hours notice requirement

Responding to the Bill, James McAtear, Head of Hartismere Secondary School, said:

These reforms will help to redress the balance in favour of good discipline in schools. They send out a strong message that our society is not willing to tolerate poor behaviour and that we will provide a safe and supportive environment in which every child can learn.

Bureaucracy

The government is also stripping away the overbearing and unnecessary red tape that takes up teacher time that would be better spent in the classroom or preparing lessons. The Bill includes measures to

• abolish expensive and unaccountable bureaucratic bodies.** **Currently there are too many quangos that take up schools’ time without leading to any real benefits to standards. The Bill will dissolve the General Teaching Council for England and the Qualification and Curriculum Development Agency. It will also abolish the School Support Staff Negotiating Body and the Training and Development Agency for Schools
• remove bureaucratic requirements on teachers and schools. Teachers tell us they have to spend hours outside of the classroom going to meetings and filling in forms because of bureaucratic requirements. It takes them away from the core purpose of improving learning. For example, schools have to produce a specific ‘school profile’ about themselves. The Bill will give schools the freedom to describe themselves how they want and not follow bureaucratic diktats. The Bill will also remove the duty on schools and colleges to cooperate with children’s trusts and for schools to have regard to the area’s Children and Young People’s Plan. Local authorities will no longer have to provide School Improvement Partners, which are often just expensive bureaucracy, to every school
• remove bureaucratic requirements on colleges, including the duties to:
  • secure consent from the Skills Funding Agency before borrowing money
  • promote the social and economic wellbeing of the local area
  • have regard to guidance on consultation with students and employers

Local authority powers to direct a college to invoke disciplinary procedures and appoint members to governing bodies will be removed.

Responding to the measures on bureaucracy, Sue Barratt, Head of Bournville Junior School, said:

Headteachers currently spend 15 or more hours a week on unnecessary paperwork. This time could be better spent doing more important things as a headteacher – doing what we’re there for, raising standards of teaching and learning in the school, and supporting our staff and pupils in the classroom and around the school. We really appreciate that the government is listening to the profession and realises that unnecessary bureaucracy is hindering schools from carrying out their core purpose of raising standards in education for all children.

Larry Montagu, Head of St. Peter’s Catholic School in Gloucester, said:

Any legislation that reduces bureaucracy and allows teachers to concentrate on their core purpose of helping children learn has got to be applauded.

Dr Reena Keeble, Head of Canon Lane First School, said:

I am pleased this Bill will cut bureaucracy – taking away paperwork gives us greater freedom to address children’s needs, which is what we are here for. Spending time doing admin or getting stats together for inspections and data collections takes you away from focusing on your core purpose of ensuring children are able to get an outstanding education.

Penny Barratt, Head of the Bridge School (a special school), said:

Schools will really welcome the removal and clarification of some statutory and non-statutory requirements. This will support the reduction of bureaucracy, which schools have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

The Education Bill had its first reading on Wednesday 26 January 2011 and is published today.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 24 January 2011.

On Monday 24 January 2011, 6 local authorities in England (Luton, Nottingham, Waltham Forest, Kent, Newham and Sandwell) begin their judicial review action in relation to the ending of Building Schools for the Future.

A Department for Education spokesperson said:

The Secretary of State terminated the Building Schools for the Future programme because it was unnecessarily complex, poor value for money and unaffordable in the economic climate. In none of the cases are these local authorities challenging the wider decision to end BSF.

We are robustly defending the claims made by the local authorities and believe we have a strong case. The coalition government has been clear that the end of BSF is not the end of school rebuilding. That’s why we have launched a comprehensive review of all capital spending so that school building can be done more efficiently and quickly.

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

The Secretary of State for Education today announced a major review of the national curriculum in England.

The review will be led by the Department for Education, supported by an advisory committee and expert panel made up of top teachers, academics and business representatives.

The review will:

• replace the current substandard curriculum with one based on the best school systems in the world, providing a world-class resource for teachers and children
• consider what subjects should be compulsory at what age
• consider what children should be taught in the main subjects at what age

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

We have sunk in international league tables and the national curriculum is substandard. Meanwhile the pace of economic and technological change is accelerating and our children are being left behind. The previous curriculum failed to prepare us for the future. We must change course. Our review will examine the best school systems in the world and give us a world-class curriculum that will help teachers, parents and children know what children should learn at what age.

Chair of the expert panel, Tim Oates, said:

The national curriculum that we have at the moment has led teachers to move with undue pace through material and encouraged a ‘tick list’ approach to teaching. We will work with the advisory committee, as well as appraising carefully both international and national research, as part of this review. We will make changes only where justified, in order to avoid unnecessary disruption to the education system.

Members of the advisory committee and expert group welcomed today’s review.

Shahed Ahmed, Head of Elmhurst Primary School, Forest Gate, and advisory committee member, said:

I believe this review will be very helpful to re-establish that the best way to teach the primary national curriculum is through a rigorous subject-based approach. It would also be very helpful if the national curriculum is slimmed down so that schools have more time and flexibility to fit in what else they think it important to have in their own school curriculum. I also think it important to emphasise that a good grounding in the basics is the foundation to being creative.

Dame Yasmin Bevan, Executive Principal and Head of Denbigh High School and Challney High School for Boys, and advisory committee member, said:

We need a national curriculum review to establish clarity about what teachers must teach, what children must learn and what parents can expect of their children’s learning. We want to avoid overload, allowing time to ensure concepts, knowledge skills and understanding are fully developed. We also want to establish clarity about the standards we expect our young people to achieve so that they can compete confidently with the best of their peers globally.

Mike Harris, education skills lead at the Institute of Directors, and advisory committee member, said:

Education is on the frontline of the battle for the UK’s future competitiveness. We need to be confident that what we teach, the way in which we teach it, and how we assess and examine the knowledge we impart, matches the best in the world. The national curriculum review will play an important part in that effort.

Professor Nigel Thrift, Vice Chancellor, Warwick University, and advisory committee member, said:

The national curriculum review is important for universities. We need a national curriculum that delivers the knowledge children need to attend university and we need it now. Too often we find that, despite teachers’ hard work and dedication, children do not have what we would consider as the basics in the disciplines that they wish to study at university, and the hope is that – in conjunction with other changes in the educational landscape – this state of affairs can be changed for the better.

Professor Dylan Wiliam, former Deputy Director at the Institute of Education, Professor of Educational Assessment, and expert panel member, said:

There is growing acceptance all over the world that the quality of the teacher is the most important determinant of how much students learn. In this context, it makes sense to check that the national curriculum provides the right balance between providing a firm structure for shared national expectations for what students should learn and allowing enough scope for teachers to have the freedom to use their creativity to maximise student learning.

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

Sixth-form colleges in England will receive much needed investment as Schools Minister Lord Hill today announces a £90 million package of funding. The money will enable sixth-form colleges to make essential improvements to buildings and will help those schools and academies with sixth forms to meet the demand for additional 16-19 student places.

The funding package for 2011-12 includes:

• £57.4 million to address priority building condition needs of the sixth-form college estate
• £30 million for basic need funding for 16-19 student places to help sixth-form colleges, schools and academies meet the demands of demographic changes
• making all sixth-form colleges eligible for Devolved Formula Capital for the first time – funding for maintenance will be given directly to the institution. This means the average sixth-form college will receive an additional £40,000.

Announcing the funding package, Schools Minister Lord Hill said:

I know that there are sixth-form colleges with building needs which have missed out on previous capital programmes. I have therefore allocated more than £57 million to address priority building condition needs within the sixth-form college sector.

Even where funding is tight, it is essential that buildings and equipment are properly maintained to ensure that health and safety standards are met, and to prevent a backlog of decay building up which is very expensive to address. I am therefore also pleased to announce that in 2011-12 all sixth-form colleges will become eligible for Devolved Formula Capital. The average allocation to a sixth-form college will be in the region of £40,000. This funding is primarily for planned maintenance and is in addition to the £57 million for building condition needs.

This Government is committed to ensuring that all young people have the opportunity to continue in education and training after the age of 16. I therefore want to ensure that funding is available to meet the need for additional places where there are demographic pressures in schools, academies and sixth-form colleges. £30 million will be made available in the coming financial year for basic need funding for 16-19 student places in these institutions.

David Igoe, Chief Executive of the Sixth-form Colleges Forum, said:

Sixth-form colleges will warmly welcome this announcement of capital allocations for 2011-12. These allocations will enable them to undertake essential maintenance and refurbishment with some new building also possible. This will greatly enhance sixth-form colleges’ ability to sustain high-quality education in these challenging times. Sixth-form colleges have missed out on capital over the last two years and it is very encouraging to see the Government redressing this unfairness.

The Government has been clear about the central role that sixth-form colleges play in the education system. That is why we are reducing red tape and giving them more freedom. As previously announced, the Department is ending the routine Ofsted inspections of sixth-form colleges rated outstanding and is simplifying the 16-19 funding allocations process to schools and colleges.

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