Education Flashcards
Community schools
Entirely owned and funded by the LA. The LA owns the land and buildings, employs the staff, and controls school admissions and other services, such as special educational needs (SEN) support.
Academies
Academies receive funding directly from the government and are run by an academy trust. They have more control over how they do things than community schools. Academies do not charge fees.
Academies are inspected by Ofsted. They have to follow the same rules on admissions, special educational needs and exclusions as other state schools and students sit the same exams.
Academies have more control over how they do things, for example they do not have to follow the national curriculum and can set their own term times.
Some schools choose to become academies. If a school funded by the local authority is judged as ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted then it must become an academy.
Some academies are supported by sponsors such as businesses, universities, other schools, faith groups or voluntary groups. Sponsors work with the academy trust to improve the performance of their schools.
Academies used to be for failing schools and had to be supported by a sponsor who would bring added support for the school. Now, outstanding schools can become academies and are fast-tracked – less good schools still need a sponsor.
Free schools
newly established schools setup by parents, teachers, voluntary groups etc. they operate like academies.
Free schools are funded by the government but are not run by the local authority. They have more control over how they do things.
They’re ‘all-ability’ schools, so can not use academic selection processes like a grammar school.
Free schools can:
set their own pay and conditions for staff
change the length of school terms and the school day
They do not have to follow the national curriculum.
Grammar schools
State funded. Can be run by the local authority, a foundation body or an academy trust - they select their pupils based on academic ability and there is a test to get in
Post-16 FE colleges
University Technical College: run and funded by government, post-16 with a STEM focus
DfE: responsibilities
determines national policy
issues regulations
controls local authorities and may intervene if they fail to do education duties
may direct local authority to close unsatisfactory schools
negotiates with Chancellor and Treasury for education funding
determines pay and conditions of employment for teachers
determines tuition fees/loans
Devolved administrations: role and responsibilities
Local authority children’s services: role and responsibilities
Must have:
director of children’s services
department of children’s services
lead/executive member for children’s services
independent appeals panel for school admissions
Educational role:
secure provision of sufficient places
provide administrative services and additional money for education
provide certain central services, e.g. child psychology
determine admissions policy and school holidays for community and voluntary schools
oversee operation of community and voluntary schools and delivery of national curriculum
provide free school transport/school meals
determine which children have special educational needs
ensure parents provide ‘efficient full-time education’
ensure schools meet statutory requirements
School governors: role and responsibilities
financial running of the school (dedicated schools’ grant and pupil premium)
appoint staff
oversee curriculum and agree policies
set targets for schools
jointly with headteacher responsible for discipline
Usu. two levels of governance for free schools and academies:
Trust level: strategic decisions
school level: manage on behalf of Trust. Composition similar to community schools.
Role of OFSTED
Ofsted inspects and registers early-years’ providers, inspects schools, FE colleges and training providers, and local authority children’s services.
OFSTED powers
Schools are normally judged every four years. However, this can depend on the type of institution and the previous grading the school has received.
The inspection will normally last around two full days.
According to Ofsted, inspectors will spend most of their time observing lessons and gathering evidence to inform their judgements.
Grade one (outstanding), Grade two (good), Grade three (requires improvement), Grade four (inadequate)
Ofsted has no power to fire a headteacher and it does not instruct governing bodies to do so either. It does have the power to shut a school down, but this would only happen after a lengthy process.
Schools placed in a “special measures” category will have two years to turn things around, while serious cases have 18 months.
A school or service can be removed from a category of concern by inspectors if they are satisfied after a visit to check on its progress.
Controversy:
There have been calls for Ofsted inspections to be paused after protests following the death of a headteacher in Berkshire. Ruth Perry, headteacher at Caversham Primary School in Reading, took her own life in January while waiting for the publication of a negative inspection report.
Welsh OFSTED
Estyn
Maintained schools
Maintained schools are schools which are funded and controlled by the local education authority (LA). They must follow the national curriculum and provide teachers with pay and conditions in line with the national requirement.
There are four types of maintained schools: community schools, foundation and trust schools, voluntary aided (VA) schools and voluntary controlled (VC) schools.
One of the main differences between these four types of schools is that VC, VA and foundation schools have slightly differing admissions procedures. They might consider church attendance as well as distance from the school, for example.
Foundation and trust schools
run by the governing body and funded by the LA. The governing body employs the staff and sets admissions criteria. It usually owns the land and buildings, but in trust schools, they might be owned by a charity.
Faith schools
Faith schools have to follow the national curriculum, but they can choose what they teach in religious studies.
Faith schools may have different admissions criteria and staffing policies to state schools, although anyone can apply for a place.
Can be voluntary aided [A foundation or trust (usually religious) provides a small proportion of costs for the school and forms a majority on the school’s governing body. This governing body employs the staff, sets admission criteria and generally runs the school.]
Or voluntary controlled: [run and funded by the LA, unlike VA schools. The LA employs staff and controls admissions, while a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation) owns the land and buildings and forms a quarter of the governing body.]
