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Ben Allen
Editor
Pete Henshaw – 020 7501 6771
accountability
pete.henshaw@markallengroup.
com
Deputy editor
David Taylor – 020 7501 6772 that the current inspection regime and then disappear, is destructive
Pupils use music
david.taylor@markallengroup.com
by David Taylor
was not fit for purpose. and not supportive of the education
Chief reporter He told SecEd: “The power system.”
Chris Parr – 020 7501 6750
Ofsted has come under harsh inspectors have to make or break Elsewhere in the report, the
to support learning
Illustrator
criticism from heads and teaching heads, teachers and school com- committee criticised the concept of
Christos Mais
unions this week following the munities is far too great. The system giving schools a single grade on the
publication of a report into school behaves as if inspection is an exact new School Report Card. The question of whether children The researchers questioned
Editorial advisory panel
accountability. science when schools are anything It concluded: “If it is thought should listen to music while stud- three age groups – 12 to 13, 15
Paul Ainsworth, Deputy
The Children, Schools and but that. that parents and others can under- ying has been causing arguments to 16, and 20 to 21 – and found
headteacher, Belvoir High School,
Families Select Committee, a “Inspections invariably domi- stand complexity in school per- in households up and down the that younger students were more
Leicestershire. Mark Blois, Browne
cross-party group of MPs, said nate our work when they are immi- formance reporting, then there is country since the invention of the likely to listen to music with a
Jacobson. Hilary Moriarty,
that England’s inspectorate risks nent, and in doing so they dis- no need for a summative School gramophone. fast tempo, while the older age
National director, Boarding
becoming “unwieldy” and “unco- tort what students receive. After Report Card which provides an However, new research sug- groups preferred something more
Schools’ Association. Neill
ordinated” because of an increase each inspection, every school I’ve overall grade.” gests that listening to loud pop and relaxing.
Morton, Headteacher, Portora in its responsibilities. worked in has ‘gone backwards’ Simon Viccars, headteacher at rap music while trying to prepare Dr Anastasia Kotsopoulou
Royal School, Enniskillen. Helen In addition, the MPs said the as staff recover. They make for an Leon School and Sports College for an important exam is less com- and Professor Sue Hallam, who
Nurton, Assistant headteacher, inspectorate was putting too much unhealthy way of living, and the in Milton Keynes, said that if the mon than is generally thought. carried out the research, said:
Guildford County School, Surrey. Jo emphasis on “quantitative meas- emphasis on data sets is unhelpful.” new cards did award schools an According to researchers “Overall, our findings suggest
Smith, Deputy headteacher, Long ures” such as test results, and should Mike Griffiths, head at overall score, then heads would at the Institute of Education at that parents and educators should
Field School, Melton Mowbray. focus more on assessing the quality Northampton School for Boys, simply work out how to “play the the University of London, most not be too concerned when stu-
Tina Stockman, Teacher, Harlaw
of teaching and learning when car- agreed, claiming that Ofsted’s system” in order to achieve a bet- youngsters seem to know when dents play music while studying.
Academy, Aberdeen. Ray Tarleton,
rying out inspections. “obsession with data” was damag- ter rating. music is interfering with their “Students are aware of its
Headteacher, South Dartmoor
The report says: “The account- ing to the inspection process. He told us: “One of the concerns study, and reach for the off button effects on performance, use it to
Community College, Devon. Dr
ability system will require sig- “We must focus on what is for those in the Report Card pilot when they need to concentrate. support their learning, seem to
Bernard Trafford, Headteacher,
nificant development and reform important, not on what is easy to is that within three years we will The survey of 600 young people know instinctively which tasks
The Royal Grammar School,
before it is to move beyond the measure,” he said. have worked the system as in New in the USA, Greece, Japan and the will be most affected, and gener-
Newcastle upon Tyne. Simon
current, academic attainment- Christine Blower, general sec- York, and all schools will be in UK found that the decision to turn ally turn the music off when it is
Viccars, Headteacher, Leon School
based system and become broad retary of the National Union of the top two grades, thus defeating on the stereo depended largely on interfering, particularly as they
and Sports College, Milton Keynes.
enough to take significant account Teachers, added: “The pressure, the object. It’s a case of preparing the job at hand, with writing tasks get older. For younger students,
Alex Wood, Headteacher, Wester
of the welfare of and outcomes for stress and erosion of trust that schools for the test.” frequently accompanied by back- parents and educators might take
Hailes Education Centre, Edinburgh
pupils.” school communities experience For more information, and to ground music, but foreign language time to explain how music can
Robert Benzie, headteacher at when inspectors come in, look at read the report in full, visit www. study better suited to silence. affect concentration.”
Ansford School in Somerset, said the raw results for a short time, parliament.uk/csf
Sales director
Matt Govett – 020 7501 6735
Business development
Chartered Teacher Programme gets independent backing
manager
Abdul Hayee – 020 7501 6767
Classified sales A senior educationalist has ments, to be fully funded and the Welsh Assembly government and raising the quality of teaching for teachers at the beginning of their
Rachel McElhinney – 020 7501 6728 called for the Chartered Teacher made available to 500 teachers consider rolling the programme out in our schools.” careers and for those going on to
Programme to be rolled out across a year. nationally. Hayden Llewellyn, deputy chief train for headship.
Subscription manager Wales. The programme, which is devel- Professor David Egan, from executive of the GTCW, added: “This “However, there is nothing in
Chris Hoskins
Mal Davies, chairman of the oped by the GTCW, has also been the Centre for Applied Education review of the pilot clearly demon- place nationally for the vast major-
Circulation director
General Teaching Council for backed by an independent evalua- Research, which carried out the strates the potential benefits the pro- ity of teachers in the midst of their
Sally Boettcher
Wales (GTCW), has written to tion of a two-year pilot. evaluation, said: “We believe that if gramme could bring to the teaching careers. We hope that the minister
the Welsh Assembly government The evaluation said that the pro- our recommendations are adopted, profession in Wales, as well as the will make a decision soon to fund
calling for the programme, which gramme has “considerable potential the Chartered Teacher scheme has education system more widely. the Chartered Teacher Programme
Circulation department:
gives experienced teachers offi- to develop the quality of teaching great potential for both developing “There are clear national profes- to bridge this gap in the near
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As SecEd went to press this week, what they should expect from their
ministers launched a consultation school, and will have the powers
Published by
on the new “pupil-parent to ensure those expectations are
guarantees”. met.”
The guarantees, contained Ministers have also launched a
within the Children, Schools and consultation on proposals to enhance
Families (CSF) Bill, include one- the role of School Improvement
St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road
to-one catch-up tuition in maths Partners (SIPs), also contained in
Herne Hill, London SE24 0PB
and English for struggling year the CSF Bill.
www.markallengroup.com
7 students, personal tutors for all Under the plans, SIPs would
secondary pupils, and compulsory play a role in brokering extra
PSHE lessons. support for schools, helping
Teachers now have the opportu- headteachers decide how best to
nity to offer feedback on the guar- spend the School Development
MA Education Ltd is an independent
antees. Grant, and signing off improve-
publishing company also responsible
Ed Balls, secretary of state for ment plans.
for education titles Early Years
children, schools and families, To take part in the pupil parent Grime time: Students studying the new 14 to 19 Diploma have been putting their
Educator and 5to7 Educator.
said: “It is no longer enough to guarantee consultation, visit www. skills to good use by helping to produce a music video for UK grime artist Kano. The
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have a system meeting the needs dcsf.gov.uk/consultations youngsters will also feature in a television advert for the qualifications, showing how
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise without prior written permission of MA Education
of most children most of the time. For the SIPs consultation, they put their knowledge into practice as part of the shoot. The advert got its first
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These guarantees mean that all visit www.nationalcollege.org.uk/ airing on Monday (January 11), and will run for four weeks.
ISSN 1479-7704
children and their parents know sipsconsultation-questionnaire
 SecEd • January 14 2010
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