A report examined the educational outcomes achieved, or aspired to, by local education authorities; and how a range of local authorities perceived their contribution to such outcomes. It also looked at what local authorities could do to support children and young people in achieving the best possible educational outcomes.
Source: Kay Kinder, Anne Wilkin and Dominic Schad, The Local Authority Contribution to Improved Educational Outcomes: Phase one, National Foundation for Educational Research (01753 747281)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Dec
A schools inspectorate report on reading standards in primary schools in England highlighted the variation in performance between schools in similar socio-economic circumstances. It called for urgent action from local and central government.
Source: Reading for Purpose and Pleasure: An evaluation of the teaching of reading in primary schools, HMI 2393, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report (pdf) | OFSTED press release
Date: 2004-Dec
An article outlined the contemporary research evidence concerning school improvement in challenging contexts. It said that more differentiated approaches to school improvement were needed, that offered more flexibility and choice.
Source: Christopher Chapman and Alma Harris, 'Improving schools in difficult and challenging contexts: strategies for improvement', Educational Research, Volume 46 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2004-Dec
An annual survey of schools' views of their local education authority showed that local authorities were generally seen in a positive light, although there were wide variations between areas.
Source: Schools' Views of their LEA 2004, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report | Audit Commission press release
Date: 2004-Dec
Statistics were published for primary school performance in England in 2004. 78 per cent of children aged 11 achieved level 4 or better in English (up 3 points over 2003), and 74 per cent in maths (up 1 point over 2003).
Source: National Curriculum Assessments and Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 Value Added Measures for 11 year olds in England 2003/2004, Statistical First Release 46/2004, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR (pdf) | DfES press release
Date: 2004-Dec
The schools inspectorate published its strategic plan for 2005-2008. It envisaged major developments in inspection and regulation, including new inspection systems for schools and colleges, and children s services; and a new early years inspection cycle.
Source: Strategic Plan 2005 to 2008, Office for Standards in Education (web publication only)
Links: Report (pdf) | OFSTED press release
Date: 2004-Dec
The schools inspectorate began consultation on proposed changes to the frameworks for inspecting education provision in schools, and post-16 non-higher education and training carried out by colleges and other training providers. There would be a three-year inspection cycle, with lighter inspections, less notice and more self-evaluation.
Source: Framework for Inspecting Schools, HMI 2357, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | OFSTED press release
Date: 2004-Nov
A report warned that self-evaluation by teachers risked becoming an externally imposed, top-down exercise - self-inspection, rather than evaluation.
Source: John MacBeath, A New Relationship?: Inspection and self-evaluation, National Union of Teachers (020 7388 6191)
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
A report contradicted the widespread view that student achievement was always higher in smaller schools, and student behaviour always worse in larger schools.
Source: Zoe Garrett, Mark Newman and Diana Elbourne, Secondary School Size: A systematic review, Institute of Education/University of London (020 7612 6050)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | IOE press release
Date: 2004-Oct
A paper sought to estimate the effectiveness of specialist schools. Overall, the superior effects of specialist schools were modest in size, not uniform across specialisms, and dependent on the assumption of no selection bias in specialist school recruitment that was not controlled for by the observed pupil data.
Source: Ros Levacic and Andrew Jenkins, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Specialist Schools, Discussion Paper 38, Centre for the Economics of Education/London School of Economics (020 7955 7285)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2004-Oct
A report by a committee of MPs said that the new inspection regime proposed by the schools inspectorate (Ofsted) responded to many of the deficiencies of the existing system that it had identified in recent years. The expansion of Ofsted into children's services should be carefully implemented and monitored, to ensure that it did not become too large to be managed effectively as a single organization.
Source: The Work of Ofsted, Sixth Report (Session 2003-04), HC 426, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2004-Sep
The government's Delivery Unit for public services was said to have produced a progress report on how individual departments were doing against their performance targets and indicators. The Unit was said to be convinced that the target of ensuring no one waited more than six months for an operation would be met: but it was more anxious about a four-year failure to make progress on test results for children at age 11.
Source: The Guardian, 20 August 2004
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2004-Aug
The schools inspectorate said that its own inspections had contributed to the improvement of education. A teaching union said that many teachers and school leaders continued to find inspections intimidating, time consuming, stressful, and distracting from their proper work of education.
Source: Peter Matthews and Pam Sammons, Improvement through Inspection: An evaluation of the impact of Ofsted s work, HMI 2244, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833) | Press release 30 July 2004, Secondary Heads Association (0116 299 1122)
Links: Report (pdf) | OFSTED press release | SHA press release
Date: 2004-Jul
A survey found that the public believed the standard of education improved overall between 2002 and 2003, in all types of school.
Source: COI Communications, Public Perception of Education: Summary Report, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (Word file)
Date: 2004-Jul
A new framework was published for the inspection of schools in England. The schools inspectorate said that three-quarters of respondents to an earlier consultation document had supported the proposals for shorter, more frequent school inspections at less notice.
Source: A New Relationship with Schools, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260) and Office for Standards in Education
Links: Report (pdf) | Ofsted press release | DfES press release | NUT press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jun
A report by a committee of MPs said that the government should identify external factors - such as social and economic deprivation - which had a substantial effect on academic achievement, and take them into account when assessing and reporting school performance.
Source: Making a Difference: Performance of maintained secondary schools in England, Nineteenth Report (Session 2003-04), HC 104, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Community Care report
Date: 2004-May
A report (commissioned by the headteachers' union) said that as many as 85 per cent of primary schools in England could be incorrectly ranked in league tables of 'value added'.
Source: Peter Tymms and Colin Dean, Value-Added in the Primary School League Tables, Curriculum, Evaluation and Management Centre/University of Durham (0191 334 4185)
Links: Report (pdf) | NAHT press release
Date: 2004-May
The schools inspectorate published its annual report for 2003-04. It said changes in the inspection of schools and children s services due to be implemented during 2004 and 2005 would further improve services while reducing inspection costs.
Source: Departmental Report 2003 04, Cm 6203, Office for Standards in Education, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Apr
Updated information was published on primary school value-added measures for 2003.
Source: National Curriculum Assessments and Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 Value Added Measures for 11 year olds in England 2003 (Revised), Statistical First Release 33/2003, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR (pdf)
Date: 2004-Mar
The schools inspectorate said that secondary schools were benefiting from better quality teaching as a result of the government s national strategy for children aged 11-14. But the report also highlighted the need to turn around 'persistent weaknesses' in assessment, and to step up efforts to develop the use of literacy and numeracy across all subjects. It said the strategy had helped the transition from primary to secondary school: but continuity remained inadequate in too many cases.
Source: The Key Stage 3 Strategy: Evaluation of the third year, HMI 2090, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report (pdf) | OFSTED press release | DfES press release | SHA press release
Date: 2004-Mar
Researchers sought to identify the difficulties for local education authorities and schools in moving to delegated funding; identify examples of best practice, both in administration and delivery of delegating budgets; look at the support and monitoring school staff and governors received to assist the provision of meals; and investigate the impact of the shift to delegated school meals funding on nutritional standards and the quality of food provision in school. Over 80 per cent of LEAs had delegated funding universally to all secondary and primary schools. In LEAs where the funding formula was based on free school meal entitlement rather than take-up, the sums schools spent on meals did not necessarily match the sums delegated. In schools that made savings on the budget, unspent sums were often absorbed into the general school budget. Conversely, some schools were known to be spending more on free school meals than the sum delegated.
Source: Pamela Storey and Mano Candappa, School Meals Funding Delegation, Research Report 512, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf)
Date: 2004-Feb
The schools inspectorate published its annual report for 2002-03. It said that schools were sustaining hard-won gains in raising educational standards and quality, but that more momentum was needed to achieve further improvements. It also warned that the focus on maths and English in primary schools was creating a 'two-tier curriculum', with other subjects increasingly falling behind.
Source: Standards and Quality 2002/03: The annual report of Her Majesty s Chief Inspector of Schools, Office for Standards in Education, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | OFSTED press release | DfES press release | NASUWT press release | LGA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Feb
A report was published on the effectiveness of the education service in Northern Ireland. The overall picture was one of a collection of schooling systems producing good levels of attainment generally, but with a significant proportion of under-achievement, particularly where social deprivation was a factor. Teaching quality was generally good, but school resources were under pressure. The schools estate needed investment to address a range of sub-standard facilities and for rationalisation.
Source: Effectiveness Evaluation: Education Service, Department of Education/Northern Ireland Executive (028 9127 9391)
Links: Report (pdf links) | NIE press release
Date: 2004-Feb
The schools inspectorate began consultation on its inspection strategy. It outlined plans to introduce 'shorter, sharper, inspections' focused on helping schools improve while reducing the burden of inspection, and ensuring that parents benefited from more timely and relevant school reports. Schools would be inspected at least every three years, but the inspections themselves could be much shorter, and the notification period ahead of inspection would be cut to the shortest possible period. Teachers expressed scepticism, saying: 'For the vast majority of schools, Ofsted's visits will divert from the real agenda of offering high quality education'.
Source: The Future of Inspection: Consultation paper, HMI 2057, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833) | Press release 10 February 2004, Association of Teachers and Lecturers (020 7930 6441)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | OFSTED press release | ATL press release | NASUWT press release
Date: 2004-Feb
The schools inspectorate proposed a revised framework for the inspection of local education authorities - a 'sharper, shorter' inspection regime that placed greater emphasis on self-evaluation.
Source: The Framework for the Inspection of Local Education Authorities, HMI 1770, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report (pdf) | OFSTED press release
Date: 2004-Jan
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on measures to improve pupil achievement in secondary schools in England. It said that school performance tables were an important element of the accountability framework, providing a single source of information about all schools in an area; and that appropriate national targets continued to have a vital role.
Source: Secondary Education: Pupil achievement, First Special Report (Session 2003-04), HC 147, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2004-Jan