A report examined the location, improvement trends, and demographics of schools in England assessed as 'satisfactory' (rather than outstanding). Disadvantaged pupils were over-represented in these schools, and inconsistent quality of teaching practice was the strongest characteristic of 'satisfactory' schools. Schools that failed to improve within six years of being classed 'satisfactory' should be relabelled 'inconsistent' and pushed harder to improve.
Source: Becky Francis, (Un)satisfactory? Enhancing life chances by improving ?satisfactory? schools, Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce
Links: Report | Summary | Labour Party press release | BBC report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the evidence for the performance of the models on which the coalition government based its policy of promoting new 'free schools' (state-funded but privately run) in England.
Source: Richard Hatcher, 'The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government?s ?free schools? in England', Educational Review, Volume 63 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
A paper examined the effects of changes in the institutional design of the educational system on school attainment over the period 1930-2000 for 24 European countries.
Source: Michela Braga, Daniele Checchi, and Elena Meschi, Institutional Reforms and Educational Attainment in Europe: A long run perspective, Discussion Paper 6190, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Dec
A report provided an overview of the evidence base on class size and education in England. It considered how class sizes had changed over time; the impact of the increase in birth rate on pupil numbers, and how this could affect the teacher requirement and class sizes; and the impact of class size on educational outcomes.
Source: Class Size and Education in England: Evidence report, Research Report RR169, Department for Education
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Dec
A paper challenged the view held by the coalition government that the introduction of the English baccalaureate would lead to an improvement in educational outcomes in secondary education. This new qualification was biased against disadvantaged pupils from low-income families, pupils with special needs, and pupils who had little inclination to study a foreign language. It was also 'deeply flawed' when used as a school performance indicator and should not be included in the school performance tables.
Source: Jim Taylor, The English Baccalaureate: How Not to Measure School Performance, Working Paper 2011/010, Department of Economics, Lancaster University Management School
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Dec
Key stage 2 test results (age 11) were published for English primary schools in 2011. 1,310 schools were below the minimum standard, and about 150 had been below it for 5 years in a row. One-third of children were still not doing well enough in reading, writing, and arithmetic. For the first time the data showed school performance for different ability groups and those from different socio-economic backgrounds.
Source: Press release 15 December 2011, Department for Education
Links: DE press release | Tables | Labour Party press release | NAHT press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Dec
The inspectorate for education and children's services published its annual report for 2010-11. Almost 800 schools in England were 'mediocre' and needed to improve as a matter of urgency.
Source: The Annual Report of Her Majesty s Chief Inspector of Education, Children s Services and Skills 2010/11, HC 1633, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills, TSO
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | DE press release | ADCS press release | ASCL press release | Labour Party press release | NAHT press release | NUT press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Nov
An audit report said that the financial management capability of schools in England had improved. However, many headteachers had no personal experience of leading a school during a period of financial constraint: it was essential that the financial management framework for schools was capable of alerting central government to any systemic issues that might require action or intervention.
Source: Oversight of Financial Management in Local Authority Maintained Schools, HC 1517 (Session 2010-2012), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | NAO press release | NUT press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Oct
The inspectorate for education and children's services said that a survey of school federations had identified improvements in the three key areas of teaching and learning, behaviour, and pupils? achievement.
Source: Leadership of More Than One School: An evaluation of the impact of federated schools, HMI 100234, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | ASCL press release | NASUWT press release | SSAT press release
Date: 2011-Sep
The inspectorate for education and children's services said that there was no reason why good practice in safeguarding and promoting children's welfare should not be a feature of every school in England. A significant minority of schools needed to make improvements in their safeguarding arrangements.
Source: Safeguarding in Schools: Best Practice, HMI 100240, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | NAHT press release | Telegraph report | Times Education Supplement report
Date: 2011-Sep
A study found that school federations improved performance. 'Performance federations' – consisting of two or more schools, some of which were low-performing and others high-performing – had the strongest impact on outcomes for pupils: but there was a time lag of 2-4 years.
Source: Christopher Chapman, Daniel Muijs, and James MacAllister, A Study of the Impact of School Federation on Student Outcomes, National College for School Leadership
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Sep
A report said that if the performance of the 64,000 least effective teachers in England were brought up to the national average, schools could significantly improve their low position in international league tables. For pupils from low-income backgrounds in particular, the difference between having a highly effective teacher and a poorly performing teacher was equivalent to a whole year's learning.
Source: Improving the Impact of Teachers on Pupil Achievement in the UK – Interim Findings, Sutton Trust
Links: Report | Sutton Trust press release | Teach First press release | TSN press release | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Sep
The inspectorate for education and children's services published guidance for school inspections in England from January 2012 (subject to parliamentary approval for the Education Bill). There would be a more 'proportionate' approach to inspection. Schools judged 'outstanding' would not be routinely inspected unless concerns arose about their performance. Those judged 'good' would receive 5-yearly inspections. Those rated 'satisfactory' would be inspected every 3 years, with more routine monitoring visits of satisfactory schools that did not appear to be improving.
Source: The Draft Framework for School Inspection, HMI 110128, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
Links: Framework | OFSTED press release | ASCL press release | NAHT press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | TSN press release | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Sep
A series of articles examined the role played by tables of school performance in promoting parental choice and school accountability in England.
Source: Lorraine Dearden and Anna Vignoles, 'Schools, markets and league tables', Fiscal Studies, Volume 32 Issue 2, Institute for Fiscal Studies | Alastair Muriel and Jeffrey Smith, 'On educational performance measures', Fiscal Studies, Volume 32 Issue 2, Institute for Fiscal Studies | George Leckie and Harvey Goldstein, 'Understanding uncertainty in school league tables', Fiscal Studies, Volume 32 Issue 2, Institute for Fiscal Studies | Rebecca Allen and Simon Burgess, 'Can school league tables help parents choose schools?', Fiscal Studies, Volume 32 Issue 2, Institute for Fiscal Studies | Lorraine Dearden, Alfonso Miranda, and Sophia Rabe-Hesketh, 'Measuring school value added with administrative data: the problem of missing variables', Fiscal Studies, Volume 32 Issue 2, Institute for Fiscal Studies | Herbert Marsh, Benjamin Nagengast, John Fletcher, and Ioulia Televantou, 'Assessing educational effectiveness: policy implications from diverse areas of research', Fiscal Studies, Volume 32 Issue 2, Institute for Fiscal Studies | Lorraine Dearden, John Micklewright, and Anna Vignoles, 'The effectiveness of English secondary schools for pupils of different ability levels', Fiscal Studies, Volume 32 Issue 2, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Links: Abstract (1) | Abstract (2) | Abstract (3) | Abstract (4) | Abstract (5) | Abstract (6) | Abstract (7) | IFS press release
Date: 2011-Aug
A paper examined the role of quantitative school performance measures in England and the United States of America. The existing institutional arrangements in both countries too often held schools accountable for outcomes over which they had little control.
Source: Alastair Muriel and Jeffrey Smith, On Educational Performance Measures, Discussion Paper 5897, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Aug
A paper examined the effect of increasing school expenditure for schools in urban areas. Funding disparities gave rise to sizeable differences in pupil attainment in national tests at the end of primary school – suggesting that school resources had an important role to play in improving educational attainment.
Source: Stephen Gibbons, Sandra McNally, and Martina Viarengo, Does Additional Spending Help Urban Schools? An evaluation using boundary discontinuities, Discussion Paper 90, Spatial Economics Research Centre (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Aug
A think-tank paper examined the principles behind international benchmarking of schools, how it was being carried out in different countries, what factors policymakers in England needed to take into account when introducing benchmarks, and some potential pitfalls that they needed to be aware of.
Source: Jonathan Clifton, Benchmarking the English School System: Against the best in the world, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jul
The government announced a consultation on proposals to change the basis for compiling 'league tables' of school performance in respect of pupils aged 14-16. From 2014 only GCSEs and 'valued' vocational qualifications that met strict new criteria would be recognized in the tables.
Source: Qualifications for 14-16 Year Olds and Performance Tables, Department for Education
Links: Consultation document | DE press release | NUT press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Jul
A paper said that 'league table' information on school effectiveness in England assumed that the information needed was the average achievement level or gain in a particular school. Yet schools could be differentially effective for children with differing levels of prior attainment. Even the most conservative estimate suggested that around one-quarter of schools in England were differentially effective for students of differing prior ability levels.
Source: Lorraine Dearden, John Micklewright, and Anna Vignoles, The Effectiveness of English Secondary Schools for Pupils of Different Ability Levels, Discussion Paper 5839, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jul
A report summarized the key findings from an analysis of the 165,000 disadvantaged pupils (those eligible for free school meals) in those English primary and secondary schools that did not meet government floor standards in national exams. Exam results for the poorest pupils in primary schools not meeting floor standards had got worse over the previous 3 years. White British pupils seemed to pose the biggest challenge.
Source: The Education Endowment Foundation: Its Target Students and Schools, Education Endowment Foundation
Links: Report | EEF press release | BBC report
Date: 2011-Jul
The coalition government announced that the poorest-performing 200 primary schools in England would be turned into academies in 2012-13. Local authorities with particularly large numbers of struggling primary schools would be identified for 'urgent collaboration' with central government, in order to tackle a further 500 primaries. The existing average level of performance would became the new 'floor' for secondary schools: all schools should have at least 50 per cent of pupils getting 5 good (A*-C grade) GCSEs including English and maths by 2015.
Source: Speech by Michael Gove MP (Secretary of State for Education), 16 June 2011
Links: Speech | DE press release | Conservative Party press release | ASCL press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Jun
The Welsh Assembly Government announced that a new statutory literacy and numeracy framework would be introduced for all learners aged 5 to 14. The framework would provide schools with 'annual expected outcomes', helping to inform teachers of all subjects on how they needed to apply literacy and numeracy across the curriculum in order to raise levels of attainment.
Source: Press release 28 June 2011, Welsh Assembly Government
Links: WAG press release | WalesOnline report
Date: 2011-Jun
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the role and performance of the inspectorate for schools and children's services. It rejected a proposal to split the organization into two separate parts.
Source: The Role and Performance of Ofsted: Responses from the Government and Ofsted to the Second Report of the Committee, Session 2010-12, Seventh Special Report (Session 2010-12), HC 1317, House of Commons Education Select Committee, TSO
Links: Response | NDNA press release | Community Care report
Notes: MPs report
Date: 2011-Jun
A paper used linked survey and administrative data to assess the potential biases that missing control variables caused in the calculation of contextualised value added (CVA) measures of school performance. Ignoring the effect of mothers' education led the government to erroneously over-penalize low-achieving schools that had a greater proportion of mothers with low qualifications, and to over-reward high-achieving schools that had a greater proportion of mothers with higher qualifications.
Source: Lorraine Dearden, Alfonso Miranda, and Sophia Rabe-Hesketh, Measuring School Value Added with Administrative Data: The problem of missing variables, Working Paper 11-05, Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education (University of London)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jun
A think-tank report examined research evidence on improving learning and attainment. It said that reducing class sizes, setting homework during primary school, and introducing school uniforms were among the least effective ways of improving school results.
Source: Steve Higgins, Dimitra Kokotsaki, and Robert Coe, Toolkit of Strategies to Improve Learning: Summary for schools spending the pupil premium, Sutton Trust
Links: Report | Sutton Trust press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that splitting Ofsted (the inspectorate for education and children's services) into two new organizations – one for education and another for children's care – would help to focus and improve inspection arrangements.
Source: The Role and Performance of Ofsted, Second Report (Session 2010-11), HC 570, House of Commons Education Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Ofsted press release | ASCL press release | Barnardos press release | Fostering Network press release | NAHT press release | NDNA press release | NUT press release | BBC report | Community Care report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Apr
A study for the children's watchdog for England examined what children and young people thought of their time at school, and what they thought the government and others with influence and power should focus on in education policy. About 3 in 5 of those surveyed said that they enjoyed school, and one-half found their lessons interesting. About one-half worried about school work and exams, and about one-third felt that their school put too much pressure on them to do well. Children and young people were generally more positive about their teachers' ability to help and support pupils than about their ability to deal with disruptive behaviour.
Source: Tamsin Chamberlain, Sarah Golden, and Caroline Bergeron, Children and Young People's Views of Education Policy, Office of the Children's Commissioner
Links: Report | OCC press release | NUT press release | BBC report
Date: 2011-Mar
A report said that despite significant increases in spending on childcare and education during the previous decade, educational performance in England had remained static, uneven, and strongly related to parents' income and background. Given the fiscal situation, improvements had to come from higher efficiency rather than further spending. More focused pre-school spending on disadvantaged children could improve skill formation. Better-targeted funding for disadvantaged children combined with strengthened incentives for schools to attract and support these students would help to raise educational outcomes. The government needed to closely follow the effects of increasing user choice in education on fair access for disadvantaged children.
Source: OECD Economic Surveys: United Kingdom 2011, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Mar
An audit report said that there were four areas where schools in England had scope to improve efficiency: the deployment of classroom staff, including class sizes and allocation of teachers and teaching assistants; the breadth and focus of schools' curriculum offer; approaches to covering for staff absence, including supply teachers; and the size, cost, and composition of the wider (non-teaching) school workforce.
Source: An Overview of School Workforce Spending: Better value for money in schools, Audit Commission
Links: Report | Briefing papers | Audit Commission press release | ATL press release | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Mar
A study examined how inspection findings were expected to improve schools in European education systems with different inspection regimes.
Source: Geoffrey Penzer, School Inspections: What Happens Next?, CfBT Education Trust
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Mar
The Welsh Assembly Government outlined a plan for improving the performance of the education system in Wales. There would be 'more direct input' from the government, which would set out a clear programme for improvement – including the aim of being in the top 20 countries (measured by PISA scores) by 2015.
Source: Speech by Leighton Andrews AM (Minister for Education), 2 February 2011
Links: Speech | WAG press release | NASUWT press release | Voice press release | WalesOnline report
Date: 2011-Feb
An article presented the latest estimates of publicly funded education productivity. From 1996 to 2009 productivity declined overall by 0.1 per cent: but this masked three separate periods of contrasting changes.
Source: Allan Baird, Joseph Haynes, Fiona Massey, and Richard Wild, 'Education: public service output, input and productivity', Economic & Labour Market Review, February 2011, Office for National Statistics
Links: Article
Date: 2011-Feb
The education inspectorate in Wales said that standards of education and training in Wales had been maintained over the previous six years and, in some instances, had improved: but progress had been particularly slow in schools.
Source: Annual Report 2009-2010, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales
Links: Report | HMCIETW press release | NASUWT press release | Plaid Cymru press release | BBC report
Date: 2011-Jan