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“Little extras”: A failure of presentation, not policy

Philip Hammond could have scored a win today by announcing new capital funding for schools – but he packaged it up all wrong, laments Jonathan Simons There was the abolition of the 10p tax rate in 2007. There was the 75p pension increase in 1999. And there was the omnishambles budget in 2012, with pasty […]

Is the policy of academy re-brokerage improving outcomes?

School re-brokerage is becoming an increasingly important feature of our school system, but what impact does this have on pupil outcomes? Jon Andrews takes a look at the data While it may have seemed that the debate about school structures had moved on, with Angela Rayner’s speech to the Labour Party conference, and the uncharacteristically […]

Is it legal for councils to fine schools for excluding pupils?

The desire to achieve a reduction in exclusions is plainly to be welcomed, but councils can’t just impose a fining system – schools would have to sign up to it, explains Russell Holland Gloucestershire County Council has recently made headlines for proposing to “fine” schools £5,000 for permanently excluding a child. The reality is that […]

How common is burnout in the teaching profession?

The title of Graham Greene’s 1960 novel A Burnt-Out Case refers to an unusual medical condition: lepers who have lost all physical sensitivity to pain, so continually mutilate themselves. But the point of the novel is that the protagonist suffers the psychological equivalent of that disease. He has been ground down by his life and […]

How can we encourage effective collaboration in the classroom?

Helping students work well together is just as important as the end result, explain Ruth Johnson and Ayesha Ahmed In a world facing complex challenges, from climate change to Brexit, teamwork and problem-solving are ever more important skills for young people to develop. But with zero-sum social-media rows too often the norm in public debate, […]

A nerd’s guide to today’s key stage 4 data

NFER’s chief social scientist picks apart today’s Progress 8 results… Today’s release of provisional GCSE data makes very interesting reading. On the whole, the government may be pleased as most of the headline accountability measures show small improvements at the national level compared to last year. We’ve dug into the results a little, to see […]

Did free schools really get the best progress scores?

Free schools came top as the best-performing “type” of school in this year’s Progress 8 tables, but were their scores really good enough to assert that with confidence? Becky Allen explains… Today appeared to be a good day for free schools, with mainstream free schools achieving a Progress 8 score of +0.24 across the sector. […]

Schools need more guidance on how to close the disadvantage gap

Many schools are looking to close the disadvantage gap in their communities, but they need more evidence about what actually works, say researchers Megan Sim and Julie Belanger Children are affected by socio-economic disadvantage from an early age. We see differences between disadvantaged children and their peers not only in early educational outcomes such as reading […]

What is the role of local governing bodies in MATs?

There can be confusion about the roles of the various governing bodies in academy trusts. Sam Henson is on a mission to clear it up. Governance determines who has the power, who makes the decisions, how other players make their voice heard and how account is rendered. In a multi-academy trust, the board of trustees […]