Academies

Research by the London School of Economics has found that the conversion of primary schools into academies has not improved pupils' results. The results of primary schools converted to academies, were studied by the authors who saw no improvement compared with similar schools that converted later. This comes in the wake of the Government's U-turn on their Bill to force all state schools in England to become academies. 

#iwill

#iwill is a campaign taking place this week, to highlight the benefits of youth social action across the UK. 

Young people will be taking part in activities such as campaigning, fundraising and volunteering, all of which create a double-benefit – to communities and young people themselves. So far more than 500 business, education and voluntary sector partners have committed to embedding social action into the lives of young people. Find out more about the campaign...

Work in progress...

DfE are currently consulting on proposals to amend the literacy and numeracy qualification requirements for qualified Early Years Educators.

The National Audit Office has begun a study on DfE’s plans to improve teacher retention and workforce quality. It will examine progress made so far, in regards to improving the quality of the teaching workforce and teacher retention and encouraging trained ex-teachers to re-enter the workforce. Earlier this year, the DfE set out plans to achieve educational excellence across the country, following on from the NAO report Training new teachers.

Estyn are seeking the views of teachers, senior leaders, policy makers and everyone with an interest in education, on proposed changes to the ways schools and other providers will be inspected from September 2017 onwards. 

To help boost standards in schools across Wales, plans have been announced to set up a new National Network of Excellence for Mathematics.

Education Update

The Government has now decided to scrap the Education Bill introduced earlier this year; many were relieved that state schools will not be forced to become academies by 2022. Parts of the bill expected to survive include the proposed revamp of initial teacher training and an overhaul of the National College for Teaching and Leadership.

The DfE has also been busy with two other bills: the children and social work bill and the higher education and research bill; there is also the technical and further education bill which will have its second reading debate next Monday.  Also expected from Justine Greening, new education secretary, are proposals on extending grammar schools in the 'Schools that Work for Everyone' consultation to be published early next year.

In the meantime, authorities are concerned about the planned cuts of £600m from the education services grant awarded to councils and academies. 

The Pioneers

This blogpost has been compiled for those of you who are searching for information on educational theorists at the moment - I hope it points you in the right direction!

To start off with, you may want to search Britannica Online (E-Resources), which gives brief introductions to many key theorists. I would also suggest looking at David Renfree's 'Theorists in 140' post, covering all the popular theorists very well, along with links to further useful sources of information. 

There are a number of related books (listed below), some of which are also available online (Dawson Books via E-Resources):

       · 'Fifty Major Thinkers on Education' - 370.922 BRE
· 'Fifty Modern Thinkers on Education' - 370.922 PAL and online
· 'Fifty Key Thinkers in Psychology' - 150.922 SHE and online 
· 'Theories of Childhood' - 305.231 MOO
· 'Pioneers in early childhood education' - 372.210922 GIA and online
· ‘Vygotsky in action in the early years’ - 372.21019 DOL and online
· ‘An introduction to Vygotsky’ - 150.92 DAN
· ‘Introducing Vygotsky’ -  372.21 SMI
· ‘Introducing Bruner’ -  372.2101 SMI and online
· ‘Bringing the Montessori approach to your early years practice’ - 372.210941 ISA & online

· ‘Montessori and early childhood’ - 371.392 FEE and online

Linda Pound has published a number of books looking at theories behind children's learning.

Early Years 2016

Bookings for the annual Early Years 2016 conference are now being taken. The event is jointly organised by EYE (Early Years Educator) and Practical Pre-School magazines and is to be held in Birmingham. To take advantage of the early bird discount, book by 30th April.

Educate to Rehabilitate

Charlie Taylor, a former headteacher and child behavioural expert has set out plans to transform youth custody; his interim report suggests that the youth justice system would be more effective and better able to rehabilitate young people if it were focussed around education. Local, secure and smaller schools would draw on educational and behavioural expertise to rehabilitate children and give them the skills they need to thrive on release. 

Amongst its findings, the report states that around 40% of young people in under-18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) have not been to school since they were aged 14; they are also only receiving 17 hours of education every week against an expectation of 30 hours.

Reports: Teacher's workload

The three review groups set up to propose ways of reducing teachers’ workload have submitted their final reports to the Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan. The first report calls on all parties in the education system to reduce the unnecessary burdens of data management by ensuring that every data collection has a clear purpose and that the process is as efficient as possible; the second looks at the role that marking plays in teaching and the three principles of effective marking; the final report, looks at the role that planning plays in effective teaching, the difference between lesson planning for accountability purposes and lesson planning to help pupil progress.

The recent NUT conference supported warnings on workload, which delegates said had been exacerbated by teacher shortages and rising pupil numbers. Delegates said teachers were now working 65 to 70 hours per week in term time, claiming it to be one of the most common reasons for teachers leaving the profession.

Preschool and Academic Success

A study by Oxford University, suggests that children of all backgrounds who receive a preschool education are almost twice as likely to go on to sit AS-levels compared to those without the same educational start.

It's the latest report to be published as part of the EPPSE (effective preschool, primary and secondary education) project. Launched in 1997, the project followed 3,000 children from ages 3 to 18 to identify the factors that can predict a child’s academic success, particularly the effects of a preschool education and a child’s early years home environment.

Spending Review 2015

The government presented its Autumn Spending Review on Wednesday - here is a summary of the key points. The outcome for 30-hour childcare is discussed and another report gives an overview of the impact of the review on education funding. On the surface, the NHS have done well, with an extra £8bn a year pledged. However, a focus on patient safety and rising demand mean that hospital trusts are likely to remain in considerable deficit by the end of this financial year. Publicly funded bursaries for student nurses are to be phased out and replaced with student loans. The government's U-turn on tax credits seems to be good news for tax credit claimants - or is it? The small print within the review has been studied closely in this Guardian report. 

HM Treasury have published supporting documents for the review; detailed background on the context and aims of the review is given and the process is explained here.   

Education & Gender

There is a very important issue of gender balance among ECEC staff. Almost all of them are women. This has been a matter of concern for a long time [ … ] There is a pressing need to make a career in the ECEC sector more attractive to men in all EU countries. (EC 2011, 7)

If you are studying the topic of gender in education, you might be interested in the latest publication of the 'European Early Childhood Education Research Journal'; this special issue explores the debate on men in early child education today from a gender perspective. The contents can be viewed here and the fulltext articles can be found via USearch.

While you were away....

Over the summer, there have been a number of changes in the early years and childcare arena - here goes!

Back in June, The government introduced the Childcare Bill to bring in 30 hours of free childcare for employed families of 3 and 4 year olds. Plans are being drawn up to introduce the changes for some families a year earlier than planned, with pilots in some areas offering 30 hours worth of free places from September 2016. The DfE has announced a call for early implementers to pilot the scheme; organisations who would like to register their interest can do so by emailing the DfE here by Monday 28th September.

The new Common Inspection Framework came into effect on the 1st of September. Ofsted has published the first edition of the Early Years Inspection Update newsletter which provides key messages, relevant publications and updates to inspection documentation.

A new report from the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) study has been published which highlights the key factors distinguishing the quality of care provided by childminders.

Ofsted has published its annual report for the early years. Accompanying the report is a detailed survey exploring teaching and play in the early years which includes links to videos of good practice and detailed exemplification. Also by Ofsted are published statistics on childcare inspections and outcomes covering childcare in England. 

Journal of Education for Teaching

To mark the 40th Anniversary of the Journal of Education for Teaching, a special issue has been put together containing a sample of some of the journal's top articles. This collection focuses on the topics of Teacher Development, Training,
 Education and Learning - enjoy!

Education Inspection: the future

Ofsted recently held a launch event for a common inspection framework which has been remodelled for further education and skills, schools and early years. The slides presented at the event are all available here.

From September, Ofsted will inspect good schools and further education and skills providers once every three years under a new short inspection model. Starting from a premise that the school or provider is still good, inspectors look to ensure that those standards are being maintained as well as checking that leaders have identified key areas of concern and that they have the capacity to address them. 

Too much homework?

The debate on whether homework should be scrapped has been an long-standing one. Now, excessive homework is being blamed on the rise of mental health illness in children and young people. A “high-stakes achievement culture” is also being cited amongst the reasons given for a rise in anxiety and depression. This follows on from a recent announcement by Cheltenham Ladies’ College, that it will be carrying out a review on whether to abolish homework. However, when one school in New York decided to scrap homework, parents were not pleased....

And whilst the West has been inspired by the success of Asian education systems, a report by Professor Yong Zhao indicates that Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Shanghai are turning their attention to cultivating “twenty-first century skills” in their children, such as creativity, communication, collaboration and higher order thinking skills; they are also more concerned about student social-emotional and physical health.

Off on a teaching placement?

If you are off on a teaching placement soon, then this article is for you. 

Teachers share their knowledge on how to make a good impression 

while on a teaching placement, with their top 10 tips to help it to go smoothly.

Motivation in Learning

I came across a recent article in the Guardian, in which the author discusses praise as a motivating factor for children; if this is a topic that interests you, try 'Praise, Motivation and the Child' (370.154 ROB) and this journal article entitled 'The Effects of Praise on Children’s Intrinsic Motivation'.

Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation is often referred to when talking about learner motivation and definitions of these concepts can be found in Ryan and Deci's article. They developed the theory of self-determination - a way of supporting our own natural motivational instincts.

A useful overview of these theories is given on the Education Scotland website and the NFER have conducted an international research survey to discover literature on learner motivation in other countries. 

Alan McLean is an educational psychologist who has helped Scottish schools to gain a greater understanding of the role of motivation in learning. His publication, 'The Motivated School', has promoted greater awareness of how classroom climates impact upon learning and achievement. Copies of his book are available at SR Library (370.154 MCL).

Britain's Biggest Primary School

'Britain's Biggest Primary School' is an observed documentary series, following pupils, parents, teachers and support staff at Gascoigne Primary School in Barking, London. Over the course of a year, we are given a glimpse of life inside the school as staff go about their task of teaching, feeding and managing the welfare of over 1,000 primary school pupils.

If you missed last night's episode, it is available along with previous episodes, at the Channel 5 website. 

C ... is for Childlink

If you're not yet familiar with Childlink, here's an introduction - it is an online resource designed to give current articles, reports, research and statistics on education, employment, health, lifestyle, welfare and youth issues. Childlink can be found in the 'E-Resources' list on the Library page of the Portal. A number of Study Guides show how Childlink can be used as a useful study and teaching tool across various courses.

Register for free and receive their weekly update by email.