Education Flashcards
What did the 1994 education act establish?
a tripartite secondary schools system:
• Grammar Schools for the academically able
• Technical Schools for the technically able
• Secondary Modern Schools for everyone else
What happened in the 60s and 70s?
Throughout the 1960s and 70s Labour and Conservative governments chipped away at the tier system in favour of the Comprehensive System, where pupils of all abilities were taught together.
The conversion of grammars into comprehensive schools continued under Conservative governments and today just 164 selective grammar schools survive.
What has happened in regards to grammer schools?
David Cameron’s government ruled that no new grammars could be established but current ones could expand (e.g. Sevenoaks grammar school in Kent)
Theresa May lifted the ban on new grammars and Philip Hammond’s March 2017 Budget set aside £320m to expand the free school programme and create 140 news schools, some of which may be selective. But this pledge was abandoned following the June 2017 election.
What do local education authorities do?
Since 1901 Local Education Authorities (LEAs) have been responsible for running schools and providing some democratic oversight through elected councillors. Originally LEAs were the county councils. They still are in two-tier authorities. Unitary authorities, like Sheffield, are also LEAs.
But in recent years the power of LEAs over schools has diminished:
• 1988 Conservative Education Reform Act established Grant Maintained Schools that could opt out of local authority control
• The Act also established the National Curriculum
• In 2000 the Labour government introduced City Academies, established in partnership with private companies using PPP/PFI schemes and specialising in particular subjects like languages, sport or sciences, usually targeted at struggling schools in deprived areas
• They managed their own admissions and could select 10% of pupils by aptitude
2010 academies act
From 2010 the Coalition government under Education Secretary Michael Gove further expanded the academy scheme with the 2010 Academies Act.
• Academies are independent of the LEA and employ their own staff and can set their own term and school times
• They do not have to follow the National Curriculum
• They cannot charge fees
• They are automatically classed as charities and therefore enjoy tax breaks
• They are often run in conjunction with private companies and charities
• Gove forced failing schools to become Academies
• He also fast tracked outstanding schools to become Academies
• Almost 7,000 schools are Academies
• 72% of secondary schools and 27% of primary schools are Academies
2010 free schools:
- These are schools set up by parents, teachers, charities or businesses in areas where there is a shortage of provision
- They are independent of the LEA
- They are not selective and cannot charge fees
- They are not allowed to make a profit - but some employ Educational Management Organisations to run the schools, and they can make a profit
- NB Both Academy and Free schools are state schools, funded by the taxpayer and are not allowed to charge fees to parents
Academies today:
- Almost 7,000 schools are Academies
- 72% of secondary schools and 27% of primary schools are Academies
- Two main types:
- Sponsored academies—these have sponsors such as businesses, universities, other schools, faith groups or voluntary groups. Mostly previously underperfoming schools turned into academies to improve performance.
- Converter academies—these don’t have sponsors, and were previously assessed as performing well.
- In some areas a number of schools have combined to form multi academy trusts (MATs) to run schools
- Current Secretary of State for Education is Damian Hinds.
Funding
spending on education will be £102bn (2018/19) – about 12.5% of total government spending
• Current government pledged to protect the schools budget
• Money goes either from central government to local authorities (the Dedicated Schools Grant) for LEA controlled community schools
• Or directly to Academy and Free schools
• December 2016 the government introduced a new National Funding Formula for Schools to address large disparities in funding per pupil
• The new formula takes into account ‘mobility’ to help schools with a high pupil turnover and sparsity, which will help rural schools
• Hugely controversial – 10,740 schools gained, 9,128 lost out
• Even the winners will be hit by rises to the national living wage, pension and NI costs
• Schools are warning of job cuts to teachers and shortening the school day
• Winners = Derby, York, Torbay, Somerset, Barnsley
• Losers = Hackney, Camden, Lambeth, Lewisham, Haringey
Ofsted
• The Office of Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) is charged with regulating standards in state schools
• Ofsted publishes league tables of school performance
• It also carries out regular inspections, rating schools as:
o Outstanding
o Good
o Requires Improvement
o Inadequate
• Ofsted can give a notice to improve
• Or put the school into ‘special measures’ if it is failing to provide an adequate education.
• The school will be closely monitored and re-inspected within two years.
• Senior staff may be removed.
• It could be closed down and reopened as an academy
• Inspection reports on all schools can be accessed at the Ofsted website http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/
• Another quango – The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) – was set up to maintain standards in examinations – http://ofqual.gov.uk/
