Tag: Press Release

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 9 December 2011.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb today said that the Government was “unashamedly ambitious” in its bid to drive up the standard of children’s reading.

Mr Gibb said that although it was good that more than 80 per cent of children routinely met expected reading levels at age seven and age 11, it was time to focus on driving up the performances of the one in five children who fail to reach the expected level and on getting more children to exceed expectations.

He said synthetic phonics, taught systematically, was the method proven to improve reading standards for all children, including the weakest readers, and ensure they reached their potential.

Mr Gibb acknowledged classroom teachers’ efforts to improve children’s reading skills but pointed to figures showing that:

• More than 80,000 seven-year-olds can read no better than a five-year-old.
• One in 10 11-year-old boys can read no better than a seven-year-old.
• The percentage of seven-year-olds and 11-year-olds who meet the expected level has flat-lined over the last five years.
• Business leaders repeatedly highlight the poor standard of literacy among so many of our school leavers.

Internationally, he said that:

• England is rated 25th in the world for reading, according to the 2009 PISA reading study, down from seventh nine years ago.
• Our 15-year-olds are judged by PISA to be 18 months behind those in Shanghai and at least six months behind those in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
• England was third in the PIRLS international reading tables in 2001. In the most recent 2006 survey, England was 16th.

Nick Gibb was speaking as figures were released showing that 32 per cent of six-year-olds who took the screening check reached what he called the “appropriately challenging” expected level, which was set by about 50 teachers whose schools were involved in the pilot.

He said the figures suggested many more pupils could benefit from phonics, giving them a solid grounding in the basics at an early stage. Teachers can then build on these skills so that more children develop into flourishing, confident readers by the end of Key Stage 1.

The pilot check was taken this summer by Year 1 pupils in about 300 schools, 27 per cent of whom said they teach phonics systematically, as opposed to teaching children mixed methods such as picture clues and sight memory to read words. This ratio is believed to be broadly in line with the picture across England’s primary schools.

The short check involves pupils reading 40 words to their teacher. The type of words in the check are covered by all good quality phonics schemes by the end of Year 1. Mr Gibb said it was vital that pupils are able to read these words by the end of Year 1 to give them the best chance of future success. The most common score achieved by pupils in the pilot was 40 out of 40.

Following a positive independent evaluation in September, the phonics check will be rolled out nationally next summer. The check will help provide teachers with vital information to identify pupils needing extra help with reading. Schools’ individual results will not be published.

Nick Gibb said:

We need to face up to the uncomfortable truth that, despite the hard work of teachers, not enough of our children are able to read to a high enough standard. We have to take account of our place internationally and listen to business leaders concerned about many school leavers’ literacy.

The Government can no longer simply congratulate itself on the proportion of pupils reaching the expected level.

The phonics check’s expected level, set by teachers, is appropriately challenging. We must adjust our sights if we are to tackle the country’s reading problem. The levels we expect children to reach at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 must not be the limits of our ambition – they should be considered the minimum we expect. And we must get those below the level up to a standard that will help them progress further.

A solid grounding in phonics will help many children who are weak readers to improve. It will also see more pupils achieve a high Level 2 or a Level 3 score at the end of Key Stage1. It is this level of achievement which puts children on the path to success.

I am unashamedly ambitious in wanting to see all children reading to the very highest standard.

Evidence from around the world points to synthetic phonics, taught systematically, as the method that will bring all children up to the high level we want. Teachers in the pilot say the new check will allow them to identify children’s reading problems they hadn’t previously been aware of. Those pupils will then be given the extra help they need to become confident, fluent readers.

Many teachers have started to embrace phonics and some schools performed very strongly in the pilot.

But the results also show that some other schools could be more systematic in their teaching of phonics and we are supporting them to do this. The teaching of phonics is being prioritised in primary teacher training. We are giving schools up to £3,000 in match funding so they can buy training products and books. And we are making phonics and reading a key part of the new Ofsted inspection process.

A good start in reading

Statistics show that pupils who achieve a good start in the first few years of reading are very likely to progress quickly throughout school.

2010 data showed that of those children who had previously achieved a strong Level 2 (2a) in Key Stage 1 reading:

• 98 per cent went on to achieve the expected Level 4 or above in KS2
• 66 per cent achieved Level 5 in Key Stage 2

2010 data showed that: of the children who only just achieved Level 2 (2c) in reading at Key Stage 1 reading

• 73 per cent went on to achieve the expected Level 4 or above
• 20 per cent achieved Level 5.

Pupils who reach Level 2 in reading are expected to be able to read simple texts with some understanding, give an opinion about characters, events or ideas, and put sounds together to understand new words.

The Government believes all children should at least be secure in these skills by age seven, and that many should achieve a Level 2a. In Year 2, many pupils should also be covering some of the Level 3 reading skills. This means they should be reading books over and above their phonics scheme. They will be able to show an understanding of the writer’s purpose, and will be starting to discuss their ideas about the book.

The current expected standards of attainment have been in place as part of the National Curriculum since 1999. The National Curriculum Review will ensure that the content, breadth and level of challenge of England’s new National Curriculum is comparable with the curricula of the world’s highest performing education systems. This will undoubtedly mean raised expectations. This will help England to move back up the international league tables, and ensure children leave school with the knowledge which will stand them in good stead throughout their career and adult life.

The Pilot Check

The Year 1 phonics screening check was piloted in about 300 schools in June 2011 – 229 of these came from a nationally representative sample. In total, 8,963 children participated in the pilot from schools in the representative sample.

Pilot schools were recruited in February/March 2011. They were given details of the content and structure of the screening check at the training meetings in late May/early June, just ahead of their pupils taking the check.

The overall structure of the check was designed at a series of meetings in September and October 2010, with a group of phonics experts (academics and product developers) and teachers. Ofqual was also represented at these meetings.

In 2012, the check will take place in all primary schools with six-year-old children during the week commencing Monday 18 June.

How does the check work?

• A pupil sits one-on-one with a teacher they know, and is asked to read 40 words aloud.
• They have seen 20 of these words before. The other 20 words are new to them, and will be “non-words”.
• The check normally takes a few minutes to complete. There is no time limit. If a child is struggling, the teacher can stop the check early. The check is designed not to be stressful for children.

Non-words are important to include because words such as “vap” or “jound” are new to all children. They cannot be read by memory or vocabulary – children have to use their decoding skills so it is a fair and accurate way to assess ability to decode.

An example of a check, including words used, can be found on our website.

How Phonics Works

Phonics teaches children how to:

• recognise the sounds that each individual letter makes;
• identify the sounds that different combinations of letters make – such as “sh” or “oo”; and
• blend these sounds together to make a word.

Children can then use this knowledge to “de-code” new words that they see. This is the first important step in learning to read.

Research shows that when phonics is taught in a structured way – starting with the easiest sounds, progressing through to the most complex – that it is the most effective way of teaching young children to read. It is particularly helpful for children aged five to seven.

Almost all children who have good teaching of phonics will learn the skills they need to tackle new words. They go on to read any kind of text. Most importantly, they will read for enjoyment.

They also tend to read more accurately than those taught using other methods, such as “look and say”. This includes children who find learning to read difficult, for example those who have dyslexia.

High-quality evidence

The Department for Education today published an evidence note detailing some of the research supporting the use of phonics as the most effective method to teach children how to read.

It includes the findings of a number of studies, including:

A seven-year study in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, of the teaching of synthetic phonics to 300 children found they made more progress in reading and spelling than other children their age.

A 2005 Australian report, Teaching Reading, which said:

The incontrovertible finding from the extensive body of local and international evidence-based literacy research is that for children during the early years of schooling (and subsequently if needed) to be able to link their knowledge of spoken language to their knowledge of written language, they must first master the alphabetic code – the system of grapheme-phoneme correspondences that link written words to their pronunciations. Because these are both foundational and essential skills for the development of competence in reading, writing and spelling, they must be taught explicitly, systematically, early and well.

The US National Reading Panel report of 2006, which said:

Systematic synthetic phonics instruction had a positive and significant effect on disabled readers’ reading skills. These children improved substantially in their ability to read words and showed significant, albeit small, gains in their ability to process text as a result of systematic synthetic phonics instruction. This type of phonics instruction benefits both students with learning disabilities and low-achieving students who are not disabled. Moreover, systematic synthetic phonics instruction was significantly more effective in improving low socio-economic status (SES) children’s alphabetic knowledge and word reading skills than instructional approaches that were less focused on these initial reading skills… Across all grade levels, systematic phonics instruction improved the ability of good readers to spell.

The final report of the Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading, by Jim Rose in 2006, emphasised that beginner readers should be taught using a systematic approach to phonics. He cautioned that evidence submitted to the review which suggested using a mix of approaches could hinder children’s progress: “A model of reading which encourages switching between various strategies, particularly when phonic work is regarded as only one such strategy, all of equal worth, risks paying insufficient attention to the critical skills of word recognition which must first be secured by beginner readers, [for example] if beginner readers are encouraged to infer from pictures the word they have to decode …It may also lead to diluting the focused phonics teaching that is necessary for securing accurate word reading.”

Ofsted’s 2010 report, Reading by Six: How the Best Schools Do It, looked at inspection evidence from a sample of 12 primary schools. It explains that “concentrated and systematic use of phonics is key to their success; this is based on high-quality and expert teaching that gives pupils the opportunity to apply what they have learnt through reading, writing and comprehension of what they are reading”.

Evaluation

An independent evaluation of the pilot check was conducted by the Centre for Education and Inclusion Research (CEIR) at Sheffield Hallam University for the Department for Education.

It found that:

• 43 per cent of pilot schools were able to identify pupils with phonics problems of which they were not already aware.
• All aspects of the check were seen as appropriate by at least 74 per cent of teachers.
• Three quarters of pilot schools said the check assessed phonic decoding ability accurately. Most schools interviewed in the pilot also plan to use the results to inform their teaching and planning.
• Most teachers and pupils understood the purpose of the check correctly.
• More than 90 per cent of teachers said the content of the check was suitable on most levels.
• 83 per cent of teachers said the number of words was suitable; 80 per cent said the type of vocabulary was suitable; and 74 per cent thought the non-words used were suitable.
• The check took on average three hours for schools to prepare for the check, and 12-and-a-half hours to administer it.
• 65 per cent of schools found the resources used to administer the check “straightforward” or “very straightforward” to manage.
• 89 per cent of pilot schools said the guidance provided to them by the Department for Education was ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’.
• Pilot schools wanted detailed results of the check. Almost all 97 per cent wanted pupil-level results and 88 per cent wanted commentary on national-level results. Some 90 per cent of schools wanted benchmarking data to help them set appropriate expectations for their pupils.
• The experience of the check was positive for most pupils. Some 62 per cent of pilot schools felt the experience had been positive for all pupils, while 31 per cent said it was neither positive nor negative.
• The check took on average between four and nine minutes to complete per pupil.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 8 December 2011.

Responding to the Daily Telegraph’s investigation Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

Our exams system needs fundamental reform. Today’s revelations confirm that the current system is discredited. I congratulate the Daily Telegraph on their investigative reporting which is in the finest traditions of public interest journalism.

Last week, Glenys Stacey the new Chief Executive of the exams regulator Ofqual agreed plans with my department to investigate exam boards’ behaviour. Today’s reports confirm the vital importance of that work being speedy, authoritative and extensive.

I have asked Glenys Stacey to investigate the specific concerns identified by the Telegraph, to examine every aspect of the exam boards’ conduct which gives rise to concern and to report back to me within two weeks with her conclusions and recommendations for further action.

As I have always maintained, it is crucial our exams hold their own with the best in the world. We will take whatever action is necessary to restore faith in our exam system. Nothing is off the table.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 6 December 2011.

• National College to revise qualification to make sure heads get the right skills
• Qualification to become non mandatory in bid to make it a mark of quality

From next year, prospective headteachers will be able to take a new enhanced qualification to prepare them for the rigours of the job.

The current qualification – the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) – is to be overhauled to allow prospective head teachers from all types of schools the chance to develop the best skills for the job.

All first-time headteachers in the maintained sector are currently required to hold the NPQH. As signalled in the Schools White Paper ‘The Importance of Teaching’, the National College was asked to review the qualification to ensure it matches the best in the world, learns from other leading qualifications such as MBAs, meets the highest standards for leadership development and is based on what is required to be an effective head teacher.

In the light of the review, Ministers have today announced that:

• NPQH will become optional with effect from early 2012 – subject to the Parliamentary process – and developed for all prospective heads in both the maintained and the non-maintained sector such as academies and independent schools.
• The bar for entry and assessment for the qualification will be raised.
• The content made more demanding through the introduction of a core curriculum focusing on the key skills of headship including leadership of teaching and learning, and with a greater emphasis on behaviour.
• The revised qualification will be launched in spring 2012 with the first participants starting in September 2012.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

The highest-performing education systems are those where government knows when to step back and let heads get on with running their schools.

Our reforms are centred on giving great head teachers the skills they need and the professional autonomy to make a difference to thousands of young lives.

We want to create a qualification for those about to become head teachers that will help them develop the key skills needed to take on this challenging and rewarding role. It will start them on the journey to becoming outstanding lead professionals. We also want to ensure the NPQH remains a highly regarded and sought-after qualification.

Steve Munby, Chief Executive at the National College, said:

Raising the bar will help to drive up the standard of school leadership in this country even further.

The current NPQH is already highly regarded and sought-after but, in a rapidly changing education sector that is becoming increasingly diverse and autonomous, no qualification can stand still.

We believe the new non mandatory NPQH will be ranked alongside the best leadership development in the world and become the mark of quality that governing bodies and academy boards choose to rely on when appointing head teachers and principals, as only the most talented candidates will get through.

The NPQH was introduced in 1997 to prepare those keen to become head teachers. In 2008, the qualification was revised to target those within 12 to 18 months of becoming a head teacher and then became mandatory in 2009 for all first-time head teachers working in the maintained sector.

To date, around 35,000 have graduated with the qualification and just over half – around 58 per cent – of current heads in maintained schools hold the NPQH.

The National College, working with key stakeholders including existing head teachers, will revise the content of the new NPQH:

• All participants will have to pass five modules of which three are compulsory and focus on leading pupil behaviour, developing leadership skills and managing teacher performance.
• Trainee head teachers will be required to undertake a school-based and a placement related assignment and spend more time on the placement, increasing from a minimum of five days to nine days.
• It will place more emphasis on the role of an applicant’s line manager in providing a reference and ‘sponsoring’ the applicant through the programme as we know from research that the best way to spot a future head teacher is to watch them working, and handling a range of leadership issues.
• The new NPQH will now link more closely to Masters and other postgraduate qualifications and so allow trainee heads to move more seamlessly onto a higher degree if they wish.

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

Schools Minister Nick Gibb today said the use of calculators in primary schools would be looked at as part of the national curriculum review.

He warned that too many children had come to rely on calculators – and that their mental and written arithmetic had suffered as a result. He said calculators should only be introduced once pupils had a thorough grounding in basic maths, including knowing times tables by heart.

Mr Gibb pointed to evidence from around the world. In the best-performing education systems calculators are used only in the equivalent of upper primary schools.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

We need to look at the use of calculators in primary schools.

Children can become too dependent on calculators if they use them at too young an age. They shouldn’t be reaching for a gadget every time they need to do a simple sum.

They need to master addition, subtraction, times tables and division, using quick, reliable written methods. This rigour provides the groundwork for the more difficult maths they will come across later in their education.

You can’t expect children to cope with complicated quadratic equations if they don’t know their times tables by heart.

Without a solid grounding in arithmetic and early maths in primary school, children go on to struggle with basic maths skills throughout their school careers. It also means they leave school without the knowledge they need to complete everyday tasks in their adult lives.

The use of calculators in primary schools must be appropriate.

Background

From Nick Gibb’s speech in a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday 30 November 2011:

Mr Speaker, we are currently reviewing the National Curriculum to give teachers greater professional freedom over how they organise and teach their subject. The review will be informed by best international practice, and will draw on other evidence about the knowledge children need to deepen their understanding at each stage of their education.

Alongside this review we are looking at how arithmetic is taught in school by engaging in an informal dialogue with maths professionals. Some key areas of consensus are emerging, namely that there needs to be a renewed focus on quick recall of number facts such as multiplication tables and the importance of consistent, efficient methods of calculation being taught throughout the school.

Statistics

Provisional Key Stage 2 statistics show that one in five 11-year-olds failed to reach the expected level in maths this year.

The importance of maths

There is a growing demand for people with high-level maths skills to become the scientists and engineers of the future, and an increasing need for people with intermediate maths skills in a whole range of disciplines. It is the Government’s intention that within 10 years the vast majority of young people will study maths from 16 to 19.

Ofsted

The recent Ofsted report ‘Good practice in primary mathematics: evidence from 20 successful schools’; clearly shows the importance of pupils knowing multiplication tables properly in order to develop fluency in calculation.
Most of the top schools examined only introduced calculators at the very upper end of primary, and then only for checking the answers for calculations carried out by hand. Often this is at a time when pupils are practising the written methods for long multiplication and division, fractions and percentages.

International evidence

The international evidence is also clear. High-performing jurisdictions around the world limit the use of calculators in the primary maths classroom.

The UK is falling behind internationally in maths.

Over the last 10 years:

• the UK has fallen from 8th to 28th in maths in the PISA tables.
• PISA also shows that pupils in Shanghai are around two-and-a-half years ahead of their peers in the UK in maths.
• pupils from Singapore and Hong Kong are regularly introduced to some mathematical concepts much earlier than their counterparts in the UK.
• the TIMMS study of maths in 2007 shows that pupils in Massachusetts, Singapore and Hong Kong go on to out-perform pupils in England in international league tables at age 10 and age 14.
• use of calculators continues to be common in Year 5 in England’s maths classrooms. The 2007 TIMMS study found that only two per cent of Year 5 pupils in England were not allowed to use calculators compared to the international average of 54 per cent.
• guiding principles for the Massachusetts, Singapore and Hong Kong curricula state that calculators should not be used as a replacement for basic understanding and skills. Moreover, the fourth and sixth grade state assessments in Massachusetts (the equivalent in England of Years 5 and 7 respectively) do not permit the use of a calculator. Elementary students learn how to perform basic arithmetic operations without using a calculator.

Technology

The Government supports the use of technology to enhance teaching across all subjects:

• in their recent report, the Joint Mathematical Council for the United Kingdom made clear that the school maths curriculum should include the use of digital technologies for modelling and problem solving. They highlight that existing software such as dynamic graphing and geometry tools, spreadsheets and simulation packages provide a wide range of opportunities for learning mathematics, and they conclude that digital technology is important to “develop the next generation of innovators, creators, scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians on which our future well-being and economy depends.”
• work is being done by, among others, the Li Ka Shing foundation and the Stanford Research Institute on a pilot programme to use interactive software to support the teaching of maths.
• computer games developed by Marcus Du Sautoy are enabling children to engage with complex mathematical problems that would hitherto have been thought too advanced for them to tackle at that age.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 22 November 2011.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb today welcomed the broad findings of Raising Ambition and Tackling Failure – The Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills 2010/11.

However, he warned that it highlighted significant areas of concern in the school system and said the Government’s reform programme, white paper and Education Act 2011 would address them.

Commenting on the main education findings:

On academies

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

Ofsted is clear that the best academies are transforming education standards with strong leadership, teaching and ethos. There is growing evidence that academies are successfully weakening the link between poor education and deprivation. That is why we continue to target the academy programme at underperforming and failing schools, with the Pupil Premium providing extra money for schools with children from the poorest homes.

Our long-term ambition is for academies to be the norm in the school system. Teachers and heads should control schools and have more power over how they are run day-to-day. academies succeed because they have the freedom and power to set their own direction.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other international evidence is clear that school autonomy is the key driver of higher education standards. Academies’ GCSE results are rising consistently far faster than the rest of the school system, often from a low starting point and in challenging circumstances.

On coasting / underperforming / declining schools

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

There are still far too many underperforming schools making painfully slow improvements. It is worrying that Ofsted finds that 800 schools are stuck steadfastly at a satisfactory rating in inspection after inspection. It’s a real concern that some schools with very able intakes are merely coasting instead of making sure students achieve their full potential. And outstanding or good schools cannot afford to take their foot off the pedal simply because they have had a strong inspection result.

Our reforms are designed to raise standards across the board – by freeing up teachers to get on with the day-to-day job in the classroom but making sure there is stronger, clearer accountability to the public.

No school can ever afford to rest on its laurels or be complacent. Pupils’ time at school is short so they suffer if heads don’t strive to drive up standards year after year. We will not let mediocre performance continue unchecked and we are clear that there will be no hiding place for schools that are not making the progress they should. The Prime Minister has been clear in recent weeks that we will shine a light on schools which are content to muddle through.

We’re bringing in a tough new inspection regime from January targeted at the weakest performing schools; those that are making slow or no progress; and those at risk of falling back, while taking a lighter touch for high performing schools. We’ve overhauling league tables and bringing in fairer, tougher new standards – so schools are not just measured on raw results but also on the progress pupils of different ability levels make. The Education Act gives ministers clear new powers to step in where schools are merely treading water.

On behaviour

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

Behaviour is still not good enough nationally, particularly in secondary schools and in the most deprived areas. We’re bringing in new powers to restore the authority of teachers; transforming the quality of alternative provision for the worst behaved pupils; and strengthening up sanctions to deal with persistent absentees. We know that poor discipline is forcing good staff out of the profession – an issue our reforms will get a grip on the issue.

Ofsted is right to draw a critical link between weak teaching and poor behaviour. It’s common sense that where teaching doesn’t engage pupils – they can lose attention and disrupt the class. That is why we are raising teaching standards and making sure the new inspection regime focuses explicitly on schools where children switch off because classes are not good enough.

On teaching quality

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:

Effective teaching is central to determining whether or not a pupil succeeds at school. The new streamlined inspection regime will focus far more time on classroom observation and assessing teaching quality, instead of inspectors having to look at too wide range of issues.

We have set out clear plans to raise teaching quality across the board. We’re recruiting the brightest and best into the profession with bursaries up to £20,000 to attract top-class science, maths and languages graduates. We’ve strengthened entry requirements – only funding training places for graduates with a 2:2 or better and are stopping unlimited re-sits of basic numeracy and literacy tests. We’ve set up the first 100 Teaching Schools to drive up quality of initial teacher training and their ongoing career development. We’ve overhauled teacher standards so now there is a sharper focus on the key elements of teaching, including subject knowledge. We’ve set up a £2 million scholarship programme for existing teachers, backed up by stronger continuous professional development.

 Background

On 13 September 2011 Education Secretary Michael Gove said in his speech to the National College:

It is a worry to me that so many schools that are still judged as ‘outstanding’ overall when they have not achieved an outstanding in ‘teaching and learning.’ I intend to ask the new Chief Inspector to look at this issue and report back to me with recommendations.

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

• Ministers dispel health and safety school trip myths

Teachers must no longer be discouraged from taking children on school trips because of misplaced health and safety concerns, Education Secretary Michael Gove and Employment Minister Chris Grayling have said.

A myth-busting statement, prepared by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), has been published for schools and local authorities – explaining what teachers should consider when organising trips. The statement dispels myths about legal action and encourages all schools to ditch unnecessary paperwork, ensuring that precautions are proportionate to the risks involved.

Newly revised health and safety guidance for schools has also been published by the Department for Education, summarising how the existing health and safety law affects schools, local authorities, governing bodies, and staff – particularly in relation to school trips. This advice has been slashed from 150 pages of unduly complex information to just eight pages.

At the moment, many schools wrongly believe that:

• written risk assessments – some totalling up to 100 pages – must be completed for every activity that takes place outside of school, such as visits to museums
• teachers must ask parents to complete written consent forms for every school trip or visit.

The new guidance clarifies these myths and urges a common sense approach, making it easier for schools to give pupils more opportunities to learn outside of the classroom.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

Children should be able to go on exciting school trips that broaden their horizons. That is why we are cutting unnecessary red tape in schools and putting teachers back in charge.

This new, slimmer advice means a more common sense approach to health and safety. It will make it easier for schools to make lessons more inspiring and fun.

Employment Minister Chris Grayling said:

Memories of our school trips stay with us. Learning outside the classroom brings the curriculum to life and is essential to our children’s development. We cannot let confusion over health and safety requirements deprive them of the opportunities we had.

I want to dispel the myths and remind schools, teachers and local authorities that a disproportionate fear of prosecution should not get in the way of common sense.

The revised guidance:

• summarises the legal duties of head teachers, governing bodies and local authorities on health and safety, and covers activities that take place on and off school premises
• makes clear that a written risk assessment does not need to be carried out every time a school takes pupils on a regular, routine local visit, for example to a swimming pool or museum.
• tackles myths and teachers’ fears about being prosecuted by making the law clearer
• clarifies that parental consent is not necessary for pupils to take part in the majority of off-site activities organised by a school, as most of these activities take place during school hours and are a normal part of a child’s education.

The fear of prosecution is often cited as an obstacle to arranging school trips, but action is rare. In the past five years, only two cases have been brought by the HSE for breaches of health and safety law in relation to school visits and this was where there was evidence of recklessness or a clear failure to follow sensible precautions.

To help schools further, the Department for Education has also developed a ‘one-off’ parental consent form, which covers activities outside the normal school day. These include residential visits in school holidays and at weekends, adventure activities, off-site sporting fixtures outside the school day, and all off-site activities for nursery schools which take place at any time. The consent form will cover all activities and will only need to be signed once, when a child enrols at the school.

Schools will then only need to inform parents in advance of each activity and give them the opportunity to withdraw their child from the activity if they wish, rather than conducting bureaucratic form-filling exercises for every school trip.

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

• Court houses and Department for Education offices could house new schools
• Total number of new school applications approved reaches 87

The first ever special and alternative provision free schools have been approved to open from September 2012. Approved plans include a new school for vulnerable young people to be run by Everton Football Club.

The 8 new Free Schools – including 3 special schools and 5 alternative provision schools – join 79 others that are due to open from next year onwards.

Like Academies, Free Schools have greater freedoms than local authority run schools, giving teachers the power to make decisions that are right for local children. Free Schools will help raise standards for all children, particularly those living in disadvantaged communities.

Six government or publicly owned sites have also been identified as being suitable to house Free Schools – including 2 Department for Education offices and 4 court houses. They are:

• Balham Youth Court, London
• Haringey Magistrates Court, London
• Mid-Sussex Magistrates Court, Haywards Heath
• Sutton Coldfield Magistrates Court, Sutton Coldfield
• Department for Education, Mowden Hall, Darlington
• Department for Education, Castle View House, Runcorn.

Groups can apply to open schools in these – and other – government buildings that are surplus or under-used, where appropriate. The government also wants more surplus or under-used public buildings to make space available to Free Schools.

The first special Free Schools are being set up by passionate and talented groups, who want to improve state education provision and choice for families with children with special education needs (SEN) and disabilities. Too often, parents struggle to find a special school that meets the needs of their child.

New alternative provision Free Schools will allow more children, who would not receive the right education in a mainstream school, to get a good education. Pupils that attend alternative provision schools are some the most vulnerable young people in society. They include pupils who have been excluded, are ill, have been severely bullied or are teenage parents. Current provision is very mixed, and the vast majority of pupils leave alternative provision without the qualifications they need for employment or further study.

Three special schools and five alternative provision schools have been approved today. They are:

• Rosewood school, Southampton (Age 2 – 19 special school)
• City of Peterborough Academy special school, Peterborough ( Age 4 – 18 special school)
• The Lighthouse School, Leeds (Age 11 – 19 special school)
• Derby Pride Academy, Derby (Age 11 – 16 alternative provision school)
• Harmonize Academy, Liverpool (Age 13 -19 alternative provision school)
• Stone Soup Learns, Nottingham (Age 11 – 19 alternative provision school)
• Everton in the Community Free School Trust, Liverpool (Age 14 – 19 alternative provision school)
• East Birmingham Network, Birmingham (Age 13 – 16 alternative provision school)

Education Secretary Michael Gove said:

No child – regardless of their circumstances – should be denied an excellent education that is close to home. An education where teachers are free to decide what is best and where standards are high.

Through Free Schools, we are breaking down barriers to make this a reality for some of the poorest and most vulnerable children in the country. The good schools lottery must end.

Recent statistics show that just 1.4 % of children in alternative provision in 2009/10 achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grade A*-C, or equivalent, including English and mathematics. This compares with 53.4 % in all schools in England.

Along with Free Schools, the Government’s behaviour adviser, Charlie Taylor, is also looking at other ways of improving alternative provision in England.

In addition, groups wishing to open Free Schools, University Technical Colleges (UTCs) and Studio Schools from September 2013 will be able to access the application form and guidance from the Department’s website from today. The New Schools Network is also on hand to provide support to Free Schools groups throughout the application process.

Successful Free School applications for those wishing to open from September 2013 will be announced in July 2012. Successful UTCs will be announced in May 2012.

David Moyes, Manager of Everton FC, said:

This would represent a fantastic opportunity for Everton Football Club and its charitable arm, Everton in the Community, to further extend its reach into a wide variety of communities across the Merseyside region. It would, unquestionably, provide a real chance for some less-privileged, less-fortunate children to embrace – and to benefit from – a high-quality education.

Barry Day, Chief Executive of the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust, said:

We are delighted that this Special Free School application is proceeding to the pre-opening stage. The group greatly looks forward to offering a new special school, co-located with a mainstream school to support the Government’s agenda for further integrated special provision within other settings.