Schools White Paper Summary - Dec 2010
Some key points from the recent Schools White Paper
Schools White Paper – November 2010
Key points and approach
• The government is looking for accountability and responsibility for one’s own actions. At school level, it is encouraging Head Teachers (HT) and Senior Leadership Teams (SLT) to be proactive and resolve issues within their school and across their school networks
• Freedom, flexibility and autonomy in operational and curriculum based activity supported by Academy and Free School movement
• A focus on classroom observations, specifically on the process of teaching and learning
• Set-up of Teacher Training Schools that will become important hubs for practical teacher learning
• Teach First, Future Leaders and Teaching Leaders will all continue to be funded and supported by the current government
• More powers for Head Teachers and protection of teachers in terms of pupil behaviour (powers of search etc) and in terms of poor performing teachers
• Revamp of national standards and qualifications frameworks
• Academies to become the ‘norm’ and free schools to be actively encouraged and supported (in securing land and start up costs)
Accountability and responsibility
• Devolving power to the frontline with high levels of accountability to create a system which is self-improving, brings innovation and galvanises others to improve.
• Mirroring education systems from around the world (such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Finland and others) to ensure world-class education is provided in the UK. Free Schools and Academy frameworks come off the back of this research.
• Schools not able to make a direct conversion to Academy status can access the freedoms of this framework by joining a federation or chain of schools.
• Pupil Premium at the heart of the reforms with £2.5 billion of extra money by 2014/15 for poorer children. Of the current 600 000 children who enter state education each year, 80 000 are eligible for FSMs.
• A desire that all schools are able to ‘shape [their] own character, frame their own ethos and develop specialisms free of central or local bureaucracy.
• Ensure all poor performing or consistently poor performing schools have the opportunity to convert to Academy status.
• There are currently 347 Academies (up from 203 in July 2010)
• Local authorities to disband the school improvement services but continue to offer localised support to schools with greater freedom around how this is shaped. Schools should be ‘supported to become more effectively self-improving.’
• Schools (HTs, Governors and teachers) have responsibility for school improvement
• Publish ‘families of schools’ data for every part of the country to make it easier for schools to learn from each other
• Encourage local authorities, schools and others to apply for the new Education Endowment Fund for innovative projects which raise attainment for deprived children in underperforming schools. £110m has been ear-marked for this in the next spending period and beyond.
• Establish a new collaboration incentive to financially reward schools that effectively support weaker schools and improve their performance.
• Incentivise schools to attract poorer students and raise their attainment
• Expectations that schools will use their autonomy to build collaboration driven by school leaders.
• All schools including primary, with Ofsted ratings of ‘good’ with ‘outstanding features’ were invited to apply for Academy status in November with expectations that the first of these will open in April 2011.
• Special schools will follow in Jan 2011 and the forthcoming Green Paper on SEN and Disability will help inform this too.
• National Audit Office reported that staff, parents and governors ascribed Academy business-like practices and renewed focus on educational improvement to the sponsor’s influence. As such, these chains of sponsors will be put upon to continue to support school improvement through common approaches to professional development, sharing of effective practice and provision of ‘back-office’ support.
• From Autumn 2011, schools will be able to request – at a cost – an Ofsted inspection if they feel their current grade is outdated and not representative of their current situation/performance.
• School governors haven’t received the recognition they deserve over the years and the govt plans to work with the National Governors Association (NGA) to clarify accountabilities and allow governors to focus more on strategic direction and have a greater say in spending decisions. National College will offer high quality training for chairs of governors.
• A new collaboration incentive – £35m – to encourage good schools to work with weaker schools for fast and tangible improvement.
Teaching and Learning
• English Baccalaureate – create the framework which allows schools to offer a broad set of academic subjects up to the age of 16. Baccalaureate will be issued for students completing English, Maths, a science, a language and either history or geography at grade A*-C GCSE level.
• Bridging the gap between social classes and having real impact on achievement amongst the poorer classes (as defined by Free School Meals – FSM – uptake)
• Overhaul of the National Curriculum and a clearer divide between vocational courses and ‘traditional’ curriculum; one which doesn’t rely on school tables but clearly defines the difference between the two frameworks.
• Re-focus Ofsted inspections on 4 key areas: teaching standards, leadership, pupil behaviour and achievement.
• National Curriculum contains too much non-essential knowledge and too much prescription on how to teach it. New focus on rigorous model of knowledge with a mastery in core subjects.
• Allow schools to decide how to teach the curriculum
• Streamline the National Curriculum – at primary and secondary level – and encourage creativity and innovation in teaching at individual school level
• Raise the age to 17 by 2013 and 18 by 2015 to which all pupils will be expected to participate in education or training.
• Removal of ‘gaming behaviour’ within schools to reduce the over-rehearsal of exams which currently takes place
• Ofsted to spend more time in the classroom
• Dramatic increase in vocational qualifications (up from 15 000 in 2004 to 575 000 in 2010) means pupils are pursuing non-essential qualifications that don’t stretch them sufficiently
• Professor Alison Wolf’s review of vocational education – due Spring 2011.
• Dame Clare Tickell conducting Early Years Foundation Stage review – due Spring 2011.
• All schools, including Academies and Free Schools, will be required to teach a broad and balanced curriculum but Academies and Free Schools will be allowed to depart from certain aspects of the Nat Curric.
• Children will be required to master core reading and arithmetical skills by the time they leave primary school
• Any school (including Academies and Free Schools) will be required to meet ‘floor’ standards – support and intervention from govt and in the case of an Academy, replacement of the sponsor.
Teacher Training
• Build world-class teachers through better training, more attractive financial packages and better run schools. Match other countries where teaching is viewed as a valued profession and not one which involves shenanigans in the classroom which obstruct learning and prevent teachers from performing at their best.
• The best education systems in the world draw their teachers from among the top graduates and train them rigorously and effectively with a focus on classroom practice.
• Initial Teacher Training (ITT) will be cut off from those who don’t graduate with at least a 2:2 degree.
• A review of the literacy and numeracy testing framework for teachers will also be reviewed (at present 1 in 7 teachers re-sits those tests more than 3 times before passing!!!).
• Teach First will be expanded to include Teach Primary and Teach Next.
• Teach Next – new framework to attract high flyers into teaching from employment-based route and a complementary framework to re-train ex-services.
• National network of teacher training schools to be developed and numbers of National and Local Leaders of Education (NLEs and LLEs) will be increased from 1154 to 3000 over nxt 4 years. The National College will be responsible for quality assuring Training Schools.
• Teacher Training Schools will be expected to draw together experts. ASTs, Excellent Teachers and Leading Teachers will be combined into a single designation as well as the creation of a new designation, Specialist Leaders of Edudcation (for deputies, bursars or heads of department).
• Only 25% of teachers say they are regularly observed in classroom practice and therefore the 3 hour limit on observations will be withdrawn.
• One in four HTs is due to retire in the next three years – schools need succession plans and to develop the staff they have.
• Give schools more freedom to reward good performance and provide an easier framework for them to tackle poor performance – pay flexibilities will be extended and performance management and capability procedures simplified. Encouragement to support underperforming teachers but also deal with persistent and entrenched underperformance. The duplication between performance management and capability will be removed.
• TDA functions will transfer to the DfE
• Introducing a new scholarship scheme for teachers to support their ongoing professional development.
• Existing National Standards for teachers (particularly QTS) will be overhauled and led by excellent head teachers and teachers.
• National College will also review the NPQH (National Professional Qual for Heads) to reflect MBA or MPA style degrees.
More powers for Heads
• Restoring the power of Heads and teachers, strengthening their powers to search, same day detentions and the use of reasonable force if required.
• Strengthen Heads’ authority to keep discipline beyond the school gates and take a strong stand against bullying, particularly racist, homophobic or prejudice-based bullying.
• The simplification of performance management and capability will help HTs deal with underperforming staff more swiftly and fairly.
• DfE will have powers to bar teachers from the profession where necessary and lists will be available to employers and the public
• Removing statutory duties that the Govt thinks unnecessary or simply tick box exercises:
FMSiS abolished, Children and Young people’s Plan removed, prescriptive guidelines for governors removed and SEF (self-evaluation form) abolished. Also abolished is the requirement for teachers to produce lesson plans to a specific template. Ofsted will no longer be required to audit lesson plans of any kind.
Free schools
• Over 180 people/organisations have submitted proposals for Free Schools with 25 projects in the formal business case stage and some due open in Sept 2011.
• Govt wants to support people/organisations wanting to open Free Schools through the Free Schools Network and a commitment in capital investment to support and finance the buildings they require.
• New Studio Schools will help drive innovation through vocational education as Free Schools. These are 14 – 19 institutions with an entrepreneurial and vocational focus. See paragraph 5.27 for more detail
Local authorities
• LA’s will become champions of children and parents, ensuring democratic school systems and a role to bring together all services for children in their area to support high-quality teaching.
• Their key roles will include:
-supporting parents and encouraging development of Academies and Free Schools (particularly
in areas of demographic growth, birth rate rises etc)
-Ensuring fair access for all
-Supporting vulnerable pupils
-Supporting maintained schools performing below the ‘floor’ standards to improve quickly or
convert to Academy status
-Develop their own school improvement strategies and market these to all schools – not just -those geographically close
• LAs will be expected to identify and work with sponsors of Academies and use their wider knowledge of the local area to seek sponsors and partners who will fit the character of the community
• All State schools (Academies and Free Schools included) are bound by the Admissions Code but the Code will be simplified.
• LAs will be expected to take action where they see concerns around performance in schools and work on improvement strategies with the school and over time will play a role in commissioning new provision and overseeing transition to Academy status. As time goes on, the commissioning and strategic element will increase.
• The YPLA will eventually be replaced by the new Education Funding Agency as an executive agency of DfE. They will fund Academies, Free Schools and all provision of 16 – 19 education (schools and colleges) as well as distribution of funds to LAs.
Edward De Bono’s Message
The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas.
More de Bono quotes