A report said that involving parents actively in the education of their children not only helped to tackle the social exclusion of under-achievement, truancy and anti-social behaviour, but also offered parents much for themselves.
Source: Margaret Lochrie, Family Learning: Building all our futures, National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (0116 204 4200)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Dec
The schools inspectorate said that local authority support for children not in school was inadequate, and was compounding rather than alleviating the disadvantages these children faced. Schools and local education authorities had lost track of around 10,000 pupils.
Source: Out of School: A survey of the educational support and provision for pupils not in school, HMI 2294, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report (Word file) | OFSTED press release | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2004-Dec
A report examined the early implementation of 35 children's trust pathfinders (bringing together local child health, education and social services). It found that pathfinders varied substantially: but many had emphasized the importance of young people's input from the outset.
Source: Children's Trusts: Developing integrated services for children in England - Phase 1 Interim Report, National Evaluation of Children s Trusts/University of East Anglia (01603 593626)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (Word file) | Children Now report
Date: 2004-Dec
A study found that specialist school status had a strong reinforcing and positive effect upon school ethos. The government welcomed the findings and announced plans to create local networks of specialist schools.
Source: Institute of Education/University of Warwick, A Study of the Specialist Schools Programme, Research Report 587, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260) | Press release 25 November 2004, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf) | DfES press release
Date: 2004-Nov
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on secondary school admissions. It said that the codes of practice which guided school and local education authority admission arrangements would be strengthened. Schools wanting to become specialists in design or information technology would have no powers of selection in the future: but those already with specialist technology status would keep their ability to select, as would schools specializing in the other subjects.
Source: The Government s Response to the Education and Skills Committee s Report on Secondary Education: School Admissions, Cm 6349, Department for Education and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 4 November 2004, columns 14-15WS, TSO
Links: Response (pdf) | MPs report | Hansard | DfES press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
The 2004 edition was published of a statistical volume providing an overview of education and training in the United Kingdom. Chapters related to expenditure; schools; post-compulsory education and training; qualifications and destinations; population; and international comparisons.
Source: Education and Training Statistics for the United Kingdom 2004, Department for Education and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Nov
The government began consultation on proposals in its education strategy related to foundation schools, the expansion of successful and popular schools, and additional sixth forms. The strategy set out a vision for the secondary school sector of 'independent specialist schools', underpinned by proposals for encouraging secondary schools to become more autonomous by becoming foundation schools, and for enhancing the freedoms and flexibilities available to foundation schools.
Source: Consultation on Foundation Schools and Expansion of Successful and Popular Schools, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2004-Oct
An inspectorate report said that the integrated community schools initiative in Scotland had enhanced joint working between schools and other agencies to provide support for young people, particularly the most vulnerable. But it had not been fully successful in its aim of establishing a new over-arching vision and framework for the delivery of education and other children's services, using schools as the hub.
Source: The Sum of its Parts?: The development of integrated community schools in Scotland, HM Inspectorate of Education in Scotland (0131 244 0650)
Links: Report
Date: 2004-Sep
A report explored levels of awareness of the Disability Discrimination Act on the part of qualifications bodies, and their perceptions of how the provisions would affect their existing practices.
Source: Jennifer Hurstfield, Jane Aston, Hannah Mitchell and Helen Ritchie, Qualifications Bodies and the Disability Discrimination Act, Report 417, Institute for Employment Studies, available from BBCS (01482 224626)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Sep
An annual compendium of education statistics for England was published for 2003-04. Information on type of special educational need was provided for the first time, together with the number of pupils by ethnic group in special schools.
Source: Statistics of Education Schools in England: 2004 edition, Department for Education and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Sep
A report examined emerging practice in extended schools, and its implications for public services and communities. It said that extended schools would need to rethink their relationships with parents and partners in order to build the legitimacy they needed.
Source: John Craig with Julia Huber and Hannah Lownsbrough, Schools Out: Can teachers, social workers and health staff learn to live together?, Hay Group Education (020 7856 7000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
The government published community cohesion standards for schools - practical measures to help schools develop common values of citizenship, and contribute to building good community relations.
Source: Community Cohesion Education Standards for Schools, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Standards (pdf) | Home Office press release
Date: 2004-Sep
The number of full-time equivalent regular teachers in the maintained sector in England rose by 4,100 (1.0 per cent), to 427,700, in the year to January 2004: but in the nursery and primary phase regular teachers went down by 800. The overall pupil:teacher ratio for the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector was 17.7:1 in January 2004 compared to 17.9:1 in 2003.
Source: School Workforce in England (including pupil teacher ratios and pupil adult ratios), January 2004 (revised), Statistical First Release 34/2004, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR (pdf)
Date: 2004-Sep
The government said that it wanted all 20,000 primary schools in England and Wales to adopt 10-hour days, as 'extended' schools. A survey found that almost half of all primary schools thought they were likely to be providing an extended school within the next two years.
Source: Press release 8 September 2004, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288) | Press release 8 September 2004, 4Children (formerly Kids Clubs Network) (020 7512 2100)
Links: DfES press release | 4C press release | NUT press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
Research found that pupil consultation could improve teaching and learning, especially for those previously disengaged from the educational process. Teachers found the process improved their relationship with pupils, but could sometimes raise expectations that they could not fulfil.
Source: Jean Ruddock, Consulting Students about Teaching and Learning: Process, impacts and outcomes, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs expressed support for the government's aims for greater fairness, co-ordination and parental preference in the allocation of secondary school places. But it said the attempt to realise these aims through a system based on guidance rather than regulation meant there was no assurance that these objectives would be widely met. Over-subscribed schools should be forced to give priority to looked-after children in allocating school places. A minister reportedly said that the government was considering ending the ability of specialist schools to select a proportion of their intake by 'aptitude'.
Source: Secondary Education: School Admissions, Fourth Report (Session 2003-04), HC 58-I, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522) | The Independent, 28 July 2004
Links: Report | Independent report | SHA press release | Community Care report | Children Now report | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jul
Muslim organisations published a position paper on education issues. It criticised slow progress on the creation of Muslim faith schools, and argued that separate schooling did not lead to social division. It also called for more single-sex schools, and for tax incentives for parents wishing to educate their children at home.
Source: Muslims on Education: A position paper, Association of Muslim Scientists (020 8948 9510) and others
Links: Paper (pdf) | Summary | Guardian report | Children Now report
Date: 2004-Jun
A survey of over 600 primary headteachers found a high percentage citing school budgets as a concern, along with expenditure on administrative support, and lack of time and resources for teachers' professional development. Headteachers wanted more teaching time for creative subjects; more cross-curricular work; and greater flexibility in the curriculum.
Source: Claire Easton, Sarah Knight and Lesley Kendall, Annual Survey of Trends in Education: Digest 16, National Foundation for Educational Research (01753 747281)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jun
A think-tank pamphlet argued that local schools had a key role to play in delivering the government's national agenda for children and young people arising from its Green Paper on child protection.
Source: Chris Waterman, Every School Matters, The Education Network (020 7554 2810)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-May
The number of full-time equivalent regular teachers in the maintained sector in England rose by 4,200 (1.0 per cent), to 427,800, in the year to January 2004: but in the nursery and primary phase regular teachers went down by 800. The overall pupil:teacher ratio for the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector was 17.7:1 in January 2004 compared to 17.9:1 in 2003.
Source: School Workforce in England (including pupil teacher ratios and pupil adult ratios), January 2004 (provisional), Statistical First Release 09/2004, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR (pdf) | DfES press release
Date: 2004-Apr
The average size of Key Stage 1 classes (including reception) taught by one teacher rose slightly from 25.5 in January 2003 to 25.7 in January 2004. There was a small decrease in the average size of classes taught by one teacher in secondary schools, from 21.9 in January 2003 to 21.8 in January 2004.
Source: Pupil Characteristics and Class Sizes in Maintained Schools in England, January 2004 (Provisional), Statistical First Release 08/2004, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR (pdf) | DfES press release
Date: 2004-Apr
A report said there was good reason to believe that extended schools had important positive effects, and represented a good return on a relatively low level of additional funding. In order to determine their long-term effects, however, a longitudinal and wider-ranging evaluation strategy was needed. (Extended schools offer services to pupils, their families and local communities over and above their core business of teaching the curriculum during the normal school day.)
Source: Colleen Cummings, Alan Dyson and Liz Todd, Evaluation of Extended Schools Pathfinder Projects, Research Report 530, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf)
Date: 2004-Apr
The government announced that more than half of all secondary schools in England had gained specialist status, following the success of bids by a further 238 schools. As a result 1,686 schools held specialist status some 54 per cent of all secondary schools.
Source: Press release 29 January 2004, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: DfES press release
Date: 2004-Jan
A report said that extended schools might be unable to continue providing extra services if long-term guaranteed funding was not provided. Although many schools began providing community facilities with funds from area-based initiatives, this money was starting to run out. This was a particular problem in more affluent rural areas with pockets of deprivation that failed to attract money from regeneration and social exclusion initiatives and had no local businesses to sponsor projects.
Source: Claire Millett, Regenerating Communities: The role of extended schools, Centre for Local Economic Strategies (0161 236 7036)
Links: Community Care article
Date: 2004-Jan
