The state of education
I always find the start of ‘spring’ term the toughest. It’s dark, cold and coughs, colds and sore throats seem to permeate schools. So, it was lovely to start my digital staffroom conversation this term with a blog by The Secret Headteacher that really got to the heart of how I and probably many school leaders are feeling. It also served to remind me of the huge good that we do, no matter the struggles we face.
Of course, the blog also touches on the challenges we are addressing now and have been over the past few years. But the overall effect was to help me reflect on the past year and what it is I want to achieve this year. Bringing my ‘why’ to the forefront of my mind and reconnecting with my moral purpose was just what I needed.
Picket apart
It’s been a controversial week, with the results of union votes starting to come through. NASUWT came in first, and in a result echoed later by the NAHT, despite the overwhelming number of cast ballots favouring strike action, too few were received to meet the legal threshold for action.
Many took to social media to air their disappointment and feelings ran high, but I came across many genuine reasons for abstaining. I was more concerned, however, to learn that postal strikes had resulted in many ballots being lost or arriving too late, and I was surprised to discover that those on maternity leave who had paused their memberships were unable to have their say.
Meanwhile, the government’s plans for more anti-strike laws could make the next ballot even harder. Nevertheless, this week’s NEU ballot result indicates that a winter of discontent may yet be on the cards. Whether we voted to strike or not, we will need to steel ourselves against media and general public opinion until a resolution is reached.
Tête-à-Tate
Brewing away in the background, there is ongoing concern about the rise in interest in Andrew Tate and how to deal with it. Paradoxically perhaps, his influence first became a national story last August when Hope Not Hate’s information campaign resulted in his being banned from Tik Tok.
Since then, many schools have noted a rise in misogynistic behaviours from some of their students, and some teachers have been rushing to create resources on Tate to try and combat this trend. But finding a balance between warning pupils and drawing more attention to it is difficult.
As some have rightly said, the rise in misogyny is not just down to one person. Well-taught PSHE and RSE remains the best way to address the issue, and a focus on this individual risks hampering efforts to get to the heart of it – allowing other Tates to make hay.
Requires Improvement
Lastly, Ofsted’s latest podcast to summarise their annual report included some words of appreciation from chief inspector, Amanda Spielman. Noting the difficulties the sector has faced this year, Spielman speaks of a “triple whammy” – managing backlogs in their own work, delays in securing support from other services and having to do that with ongoing workforce issues. “It’s been so hard,” she says, “and I think I want to start by acknowledging that and saying that what’s been achieved, I think, is in many contexts nothing short of astonishing.”
But this week has also seen Teacher Toolkit’s Ross Morrison McGill publish his analysis of UCL and Education Policy Institute research into Ofsted’s “stuck schools” (those that remain ‘Requires Improvement’ over more than one inspection). These schools overwhelmingly tend to be are those with more challenging circumstances overall (higher rates of FSM, higher proportions of people living in more deprived neighbourhoods according to IDACI data, and higher rates of children with moderate learning difficulties and SEND).
Acknowledging the challenges schools face is kind, but the next step should surely be to look at how to make judgment fair in a system that clearly isn’t.
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