Alix Robertson | Schools Week

New research: Unhappy teachers will take 10% pay cut to escape profession

Teachers are willing to take a 10-per-cent pay cut to escape the profession and allow themselves more free time, new research from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) has found. The monthly pay of teachers who leave for a new job was found to be, on average, one tenth less than it was when […]

Barnardo’s: 40% of teachers can’t identify a young carer in class

Four in 10 teachers are not able to identify a young carer in their class, children’s charity Barnardo’s has found. Teachers and other professionals working with children have a legal duty to identify young carers and refer them to the local authority to be assessed for support. But 40 per cent of the 808 teachers […]

PIRLS 2016: Well-stocked libraries don’t improve reading scores

A well-stocked school library has little impact on English pupils’ reading skills, according to an international literacy study. Year 5 pupils at schools with no school library achieved almost the same reading scores as those in schools with libraries containing over 5,000 books, according to the latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). PIRLS […]

PIRLS 2016: England rises up the ranks in international reading measure

England has come eighth out of 50 countries in an international reading test – and the government says its reforms are behind the success. The 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) tested over 300,000 10-year-olds across the world. England’s move from joint tenth to joint eighth place has been welcomed by the government […]

EEF: Teacher research engagement strategies are ineffective

Teachers need “structured and intensive support” to engage with new research if outcomes are to improve, according to new findings from the Education Endowment Foundation. Three randomised controlled trials, funded and published by the EEF, found that passive methods currently used to educate teachers about research are not leading to changes in classroom practice or […]

Schools are streaming the youngest children by phonics ability

Schools are using phonics to divide primary classes into ability streams – and pupils born in summer are paying the price. Phonics teaching involves six phases in which children learn how to read and spell using progressively harder phonemes and graphemes – sounds and the letters that represent them. But the National Education Union has […]

Rampant ability grouping in primary is ‘necessary evil’

Testing pressures are forcing primary school teachers to group their pupils by ability, even when they don’t believe it will raise attainment. Eighty-one per cent of reception teachers divide their classes into ability groups to teach phonics, new research from the National Education Union and UCL’s Institute of Education has found. However, just 52 per […]

Ofqual reports 26% rise in exam papers modified for access

Ofqual has recorded a dramatic 26-per-cent increase in the proportion of GCSE, AS and A-level exam papers that were adapted to make them accessible for candidates with a disability, illness or special educational needs in 2016/17. This leap is due largely to a rise in the use of “non-interactive” electronic question papers, it claims. According to […]

Early Excellence not in running for new baseline tests

Early Excellence, the early-years company that developed a popular baseline assessment used by 12,500 schools, will not compete to deliver the government’s new baseline tests, after it branded the plans as ideological and inept. Last week the government launched a tender for a £10 million contract to develop and deliver a new baseline assessment for […]