A report said that the closure of small schools in Wales was 'overwhelmingly beneficial'. the quality and standard of education had improved when small schools merged into larger ones.
Source: David Reynolds, Small School Closures in Wales: New Evidence, Institute of Welsh Affairs (029 2057 5511)
Links: IWA press release | WLGA press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report said that large, complex secondary schools should be broken up into separate learning units, in order to improve behaviour and allow earlier interventions.
Source: Lessons from the Front: 1,000 new teachers speak up, Teach First (0844 880 1800)
Links: Report | Teach First press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report | Observer report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report examined published research on changes in patterns of parenting and caring in the pre-adolescent years, and their impact on children's primary education. Children were increasingly likely to experience parental separation, lone parenting, step families, visiting families, half-siblings, and being an only child. More children would experience shared care involving parenting in different locations across time and space. The diversity in family structures brought with it complex administrative demands for home-school communication, and a complex array of family relationships for teachers to understand and engage with. Poverty remained a significant factor in the lives of many children, with an inevitable impact on children's health and well-being, and on their capacity to engage fully in school activities, both financially and emotionally.
Source: Yolande Muschamp, Felicity Wikeley, Tess Ridge and Maria Balarin, Parenting, Caring and Educating, Research Survey 7/1, The Primary Review/Faculty of Education/University of Cambridge
Links: Report | Summary | Review press release | Bath University press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report examined research on what primary pupils and former pupils thought of their primary schooling, focusing in particular on their perceptions of the purposes of primary education and on learning, teaching, the curriculum, and assessment. The ideal of equipping learners for life in its broadest sense appeared to be at odds with the existing emphasis at the primary stage on target setting and academic achievement in a narrow range of subjects. Further consideration needed to be given to what the prime purposes of primary schooling were, and how these purposes were conveyed to pupils, families, and the communities they served.
Source: Carol Robinson and Michael Fielding, Children and Their Primary Schools: Pupils' Voices, Research Survey 5/3, The Primary Review/Faculty of Education/University of Cambridge
Links: Report | Summary | Review press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Nov
The adjudicator for schools admissions said that sought-after schools were 'creaming off' children from neighbouring areas, leaving other schools with too high a proportion of children from deprived homes. He said that local authorities should use methods such as admissions lotteries to counter the problem.
Source: Annual Report: September 2006 to August 2007, Office of the Schools Adjudicator (0870 001 2468)
Links: Report | Telegraph report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report examined the impact on children's school activities of their out-of-school lives and learning, and how schools responded to these. Parents had to consider how far to protect their children against 'scholarization', and how far to help them engage with it. Free time for young children was an important issue. So too was the need for the education service to accept that many children contributed to the family division of labour, and that school work was not the only educationally productive activity in which they engaged.
Source: Berry Mayall, Children's Lives Outside School and Their Educational Impact, Research Survey 8/1, The Primary Review/Faculty of Education/University of Cambridge
Links: Report | Summary | Review press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Nov
A think-tank report said that parents often did not have meaningful options about where to send their children to be educated. In more than one-fifth of local authorities in England, more than 20 per cent of parents failed to get a place at their first-choice school, and 8.3 per cent of admission decisions for secondary school places were appealed. There was evidence of increasing disenchantment with the academies programme among sponsors, and that local authorities were continuing to ignore the demands of parents in their determination to keep control of school provision.
Source: Eleanor Sturdy and Sam Freedman, Choice? What Choice?: Supply and demand in English education, Policy Exchange (020 7340 2650)
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report examined the shifting relationships between education and the various agencies with which primary schoolchildren might come into contact – especially those concerned with health, social care, and the law. The selective targeting of 'insufficient' children and families as recipients of services perpetuated a climate of stigma and censure that failed to mesh with the diversity of contemporary family practices, and might impede uptake and effectiveness.
Source: Ian Barron, Rachel Holmes, Maggie MacLure and Katherine Runswick-Cole, Primary Schools and Other Agencies, Research Survey 8/2, The Primary Review/Faculty of Education/University of Cambridge
Links: Report | Summary | Review press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Nov
Researchers examined government attempts to develop collaborative working between schools, through federations of schools. They concluded that the federations programme provided an overarching structure that had promoted shared understanding of the possibilities for restructuring and revising important cultural aspects of the education system.
Source: Geoff Lindsay et al., Schools Federations Pilot Study 2003-2007, Research Report RR015, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2007-Nov
A journal issue examined the issues and controversies surrounding faith schools.
Source: FORUM: for promoting 3-19 comprehensive education, Volume 49 Number 3
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2007-Oct
A report by a committee of MPs said that existing academy schools had made progress, for example in raising pupils' attainment at GCSE: but it was too early to tell whether rising attainment was sustainable. Literacy and numeracy levels of academy pupils had been rising but were still low, at less than half the level of attainment in all secondary schools. A small number of academies had had high levels of exclusions, possibly as part of a short-term strategy to improve pupil behaviour. Of the first 26 academy buildings, 17 incurred cost overruns averaging £3.2 million, or well over 10 per cent. Risks to academies' financial sustainability include the withdrawal of start-up funding, and uncertainty about the costs of running their new buildings. Academies were a relatively costly means of tackling low attainment.
Source: The Academies Programme, Fifty-second Report (Session 2006-07), HC 402, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NASUWT press release | ATL press release | SSAT press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report | Telegraph report | Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2007-Oct
A report examined how extended schools provide family support. Informal contact with parents plus systematic outreach services in non-school settings were the keys to drawing parents into family support services.
Source: Joanna Apps, Val Ashby and Matt Baumann, Family Support in Extended Schools: Planning, commissioning and delivery, Family and Parenting Institute (020 7424 3460)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Sep
The government and religious groups published a joint declaration on faith schools in England. It sought to dispel some of the 'common myths and misunderstanding' around schools with a religious character, and to promote greater respect of the differences between different faiths and different types of schools. The government promised to remove 'unnecessary barriers' for religious groups that wanted to provide state education.
Source: Faith in the System: The role of schools with a religious character in English education and society, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Statement | Speech | DCSF press release | Catholic Church press release | MCB press release | NSS press release | BHA press release | ASCL press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Sep
A report said that many local authorities were monopolizing provision of education services in state schools – despite attempts to open up the market to a broader range of suppliers, and despite the fact that the private sector had proved itself to be a powerful stimulus for raising standards in schools.
Source: David Walker, Could Do Better: Encouraging alternative provision in educational support services, Confederation of British Industry (020 7395 8247)
Date: 2007-Sep
A report by a committee of MPs said that a £45 billion scheme to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in England using the private finance initiative might not be a good use of public money.
Source: Sustainable Schools: Are we building schools for the future?, Seventh Report (Session 2006-07), HC 140, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | ATL press release | CBI press release | TSN press release | BBC report | FT report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Aug
A report examined parental engagement in securing higher educational standards. Where schools made concerted efforts to engage 'hard to reach' parents, the evidence showed that the effect on pupil learning and behaviour was positive. But the barriers to doing so included practical issues such as lack of time, language barriers, childcare issues, literacy issues, and an inability to understand and negotiate the school system.
Source: Alma Harris and Janet Goodall, Engaging Parents in Raising Achievement: Do parents know they matter?, Research Report RW004, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Jul
The Northern Ireland Executive announced that implementation of the review of public administration in respect of education would be delayed by up to a year, until April 2009.
Source: Press release 20 July 2007, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: NIE press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jul
A trade union report said that the government should appoint an independent panel of experts to review its overall approach towards secondary schools, and especially the impact that academies were having upon standards.
Source: Martin Rogers and Frances Migniuolo, A New Direction: A review of the school academies programme, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: Report | TUC press release | NUT press release | ATL press release | UNISON press release | BBC report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jul
The government published guidance which said that all schools in England, from 1 September 2007, would have a duty to promote community cohesion.
Source: Guidance on the Duty to Promote Community Cohesion, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Guidance | DCSF press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Jul
The inspectorate for education and children's services examined how schools involved parents and carers in the education of children and young people, and how effective this involvement was. Parents and carers appreciated the information that schools gave them about their children?s subject choices, and exam and coursework requirements: but they rarely had sufficient guidance on how to help their children learn more effectively.
Source: Parents, Carers and Schools, HMI 070018, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (07002 637833)
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Jul
The government published a strategy and action plan setting out the role which third sector organizations could play across the business of the Department for Education and Skills.
Source: Third Sector Strategy and Action Plan, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Strategy
Date: 2007-Jun
A study found that extended schools led to better exam results, particularly for disadvantaged children. At key stage 4 (age 16), the percentage of pupils in extended schools achieving five or more good (A*-C) passes at GCSE increased by just over 5 per cent between 2005 and 2006, compared to a 2.5 per cent increase in the national average over the same period. (GCSE = General Certificate of Secondary Education; extended schools provide a range of community services, outside core school hours.)
Source: Colleen Cummings et al., Evaluation of the Full Service Extended Schools Initiative: Final Report, Research Report 852, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Brief | DfES press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jun
The education inspectorate in Wales highlighted the lack of consistent procedures across Wales to trace children who went missing from education. Vulnerable children were at greatest risk of going missing.
Source: Local Education Authority Practice in Monitoring the Location of Pupils Being Educated Outside the School Setting and Those Missing from Education, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales (029 2044 6446)
Links: Report | HMCIETW press release
Date: 2007-May
An article drew on data from interviews with education professionals to outline two models of how community-oriented schooling should operate. It suggested that the models rested on different assumptions about fundamental social and educational issues, and argued for a more open debate around these issues.
Source: Colleen Cummings, Liz Todd and Alan Dyson, 'Towards extended schools? How education and other professionals understand community-oriented schooling', Children & Society, Volume 21 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-May
A paper examined the concepts of parental choice and school diversity in secondary education.
Source: John Coldron, Parents and the Diversity of Secondary Education: A discussion paper, Research and Information on State Education Trust (libby.goldby@risetrust.org.uk)
Links: Paper | RISE press release
Date: 2007-Apr
An article said that Muslim schools could be a positive addition to the educational system, and an effective way of integrating religious minorities into British citizenship.
Source: Nasar Meer, 'Muslim schools in Britain: challenging mobilisations or logical development?', Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Volume 27 Number 1
Links: Article | Bristol University press release
Date: 2007-Mar
Researchers examined parent campaigns in relation to setting up new schools, to find out the extent to which parents' views were taken on board. Parents' involvement in the planning and setting up of new schools was found to be limited, particularly in relation to academies. Campaigns for a new school appeared to be more successful than those against.
Source: Hazel Pennell and Anne West, Parents in the Driving Seat? Parents' role in setting up new secondary schools, Research and Information on State Education Trust (libby.goldby@risetrust.org.uk)
Links: Report | RISE press release | LSE press release | BHA press release
Date: 2007-Mar
The final report was published of an evaluation of the 35 children's trust pathfinders (2004-2006). It said that the pathfinders had acted as a catalyst for more integrated approaches to the diagnosis and provision of services for children; and had drawn together a variety of statutory and local services with the aim of enabling them to make a difference to the well-being of children and young people. (Children's trusts, or equivalent arrangements, are intended to promote co-operation between education, health, social services, and other partners.)
Source: National Evaluation of Children's Trust Pathfinders, Children's Trust Pathfinders: Innovative partnerships for improving the well-being of children and young people, Research Report 839, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2007-Mar
Researchers found that when secondary schools collaborated successfully, the exam results of disadvantaged students improved more than the national trend.
Source: Philip Woods et al., Diversity and Collaboration? Diversity pathfinders evaluation: final report, Research Report 826, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Brief | IOE press release
Date: 2007-Feb
The government pledged to implement in full the Bain Review of Education, beginning immediately. The Northern Ireland Executive issued a policy paper for consultation, incorporating recommendations for minimum school enrolments set out in the review.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 23 January 2007, columns 57-59WS, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Schools for the Future: A Policy for Sustainable Schools, Department of Education/Northern Ireland Office (028 9127 9391)
Links: Hansard | NIO press release | Consultation document | CINI press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jan
