NEWS


Teachers resent the way pupil data is used


by Pete Henshaw


Secondary school teachers believe data is being used to judge their performance rather than for the advancement of pupil achievement. The claim comes from research


involving more than 800 teachers across England and looking at their use of, and attitudes towards, pupil performance and progress data. The CfBT Education Trust,


which published the research this week, says that the findings raise questions over the reasons for col- lecting pupil performance data in schools. Data Dictatorship and Data


Democracy says that teachers get more use out of their own personal data compared to external data, and suggests a conflict between how data is used and how teachers think it should be used. The report states: “Classroom


teachers feel that ranking schools according to performance is why the government collects pupil per- formance data, and there is con- siderable resentment about this because it is thought the govern- ment does not trust teachers to act professionally. “There is a clear difference


between what staff think are the reasons for collecting pupil per- formance data and what they think the reasons should be for collect- ing it – staff think it should be


collected for internal improvement purposes.” The findings also say there is a


lack of training on how to use data, with a “significant portion of staff, including senior and middle manag- ers but mostly classroom teachers”, reporting not having received any data-related training during the last five years. Elsewhere, the findings show


that staff mainly use data in “a practical way” including sharing targets with pupils and parents, for differentiation, to identify groups for interventions, to select mixed ability groups in lessons, or to help with ”strategic” seating plans. The report adds: “Schools with


high raw attainment but low con- textual value-added, and coasting


schools, use data least in a practical way, and older teachers do not use pupil data as much to inform how/ what they teach. The most popular uses are pupil-focused, rather than teacher-focused or accountability- focused. “Most staff make regular or fre-


quent use of (their) own pupil data – class tests and continuous assess- ment – and most find this more useful,” it adds. It is also claimed that “a large


proportion” of teachers would pre- fer to have data analysed and inter- preted by teams of senior teach- ers or within departments. It says that schools may need to become more “democratic” with their data to keep staff “on board”. Currently, responsibility for the management,


analysis and interpretation of data lies “overwhelmingly” within the senior management group. Tony McAleavy, education


director at the CfBT Education Trust, said: “It is clear that use of pupil performance data is wel- comed in schools, with 95 per cent using this data in a very practical way to inform teaching and man- agement. “There is however a conflict


between how teachers feel they can best use data and how it is used by politicians and policy-makers. If this can be resolved, use of data in schools will become much more efficient, having a greater direct impact on pupils’ learning.” The full report can be found at www.cfbt.com/evidenceforeducation


New school scoops prestigious design awards


With its bright orange learning resource centre (pictured) and grassed roof, Rednock School definitely stands out from the crowd. Now its eye-catching and eco-


conscious design has scooped two prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) awards. The 1,400-pupil school in


Dursley, Gloucestershire, tri- umphed in both the sustainabil- ity and people’s choice categories of RIBA’s South West Town and Country Design Awards. Rednock, which cost £30 million


to build and opened in September last year, also boasts an underfloor heating system, solar panels, a biomass boiler, a wind turbine to provide extra power for the sci- ence department, and international standard all-weather football pitch. The learning resource centre is


wireless, with sofas dotted along the corridors for students to work on laptops independently or in groups with their teachers. Classrooms are fitted with partition walls which fly back to form rooms big enough for whole year-group events. “We are absolutely delighted


by these awards,” said headteacher David Alexander. “Now we are in this wonderful iconic building, it


feels as though all our Christmases have come at once. “When we opened the doors


for the first time and the students came in, all I could hear were intakes of breath. They literally gasped in amazement. The stu- dents had previously been sitting in classrooms with buckets to col- lect the rain and now they were in this amazing building. They absolutely love it, and a year on, the building is just as pristine as it was on day one.” The cutting-edge design of the


school, created by Hampshire- based architects Cube Design, has also brought a sense of excitement to the town of Dursley. The com- munity was so eager to see it for themselves that Mr Alexander, the teaching staff and school gov- ernors held a series of Saturday open mornings, when they proudly showed more than 1,000 visitors around. “Schools aren’t stuffy places


and we were keen to get the com- munity involved as much as pos- sible,” said Mr Alexander. The project to build the new


school was part of the Building Schools for the Future programme for secondary schools, which has now been axed by the government.


Union calls for Facebook accountability


Scotland’s biggest teaching union wants Facebook and other social networking sites to be made legally accountable for abusive and threatening remarks posted online by pupils. The Education Institute of


Scotland (EIS) says it gets up to 60 complaints a year from staff who have been subjected to inter- net bullying and intimidation by school children. Drew Morrice, EIS assistant


secretary, called for new laws that put websites on a par with news- papers and broadcasters in terms of libel and defamation. Most sites such as Facebook


“have published derogatory mate- rial and in some cases it does a lot of emotional damage”, Mr Morrice told a Sunday newspaper. “We need a change in the law to make liability rest with the site holders.” The EIS is undertaking research into cyber-bullying and


harassment of teachers and lectur- ers for the first time. Under current law, neither social


networking sites nor their owners can be prosecuted for insults and threats made by users. However, legislation will soon


come into force under the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 that will give police more powers to charge perpetrators who have harassed people via texts, emails or websites. The EIS said it would back


any teacher who wanted to bring a criminal complaint under these new laws. A Facebook spokeswoman said


there was “no place for cyber-bully- ing on Facebook” and it prioritised reports of potential abuse, review- ing most of them within 24 hours. A Scottish government spokes-


person said cyber-bullying was a “deeply frightening crime” and the new legislation would ensure far


greater effectiveness and protection from abuse. The EIS cited the example of one


teacher, Jennifer (not her real name), who told how she discovered three of her female pupils had posted “vile” comments online about want- ing to stab, punch and burn her. Two of the teenagers have been charged with breach of the peace. “When police got involved, one


of the girls’ fathers said he agreed with all his daughter had written about me,” the teacher was quoted as saying. “This is what you’re up against. The stress is ridiculous. I ended up in A&E after I collapsed at school. They told me I’d had a severe anxiety attack. I can’t sleep because I’m worried about the court case. “Teenagers seem to think they


can write whatever they like about people and there’s no consequence. I can see this could explode and get worse for teachers if something isn’t done now.”


Northern Irish schools improve


Northern Ireland’s secondary schools are getting better but there remain significant areas for improvement, a report has said. The North’s chief inspector


Stanley Goudie said that while learning and teaching in post-pri- mary schools is improving, there remains a concern over literacy and numeracy levels. His chief inspector’s report


2008-2010 finds that 70 per cent of GCSE students achieve five “good” grades, but this figure drops to just 57 per cent when English and maths are included. While the standards in pub-


lic examinations at GCSE and A levels continue to improve, the report finds, there remain major areas where results are “still not good enough”. In the majority of the Northern


Ireland post-primary schools inspected in the last two years, the quality of leadership has been found to be good to outstanding. In addition, the quality of mid- dle management continues to be good to outstanding in two out of every three schools. In just more than one third,


however, leadership is inadequate or unsatisfactory. Also, in nearly two-fifths of schools, middle management is not carrying out its responsibilities effectively. Teachers’ planning is now good


or better in two-thirds of secondary schools. In particular there is now a clear focus on reviewing schemes of work at key stage 3 to reflect the changes to the curriculum. The growing requirements of


a more skills-based curriculum is leading to an improvement in the quality of learning and teaching, which is reflected in the broader range of learning experiences and the more active engagement of learners. “The last two years have seen


significant change in the educa- tion system here, with a number of new policies beginning to have positive impact,” Mr Goudie said. “There is now a robust framework in place to support schools when inspection shows provision to be below the required standard.”


Dyspraxic students denied access to sport


School children suffering from dyspraxia are being denied access to sport because of a poor awareness of the condition, according to research. The Dyspraxia Foundation’s


study says that children with devel- opmental co-ordination disorders such as dyspraxia are three times more likely to be overweight than most people their age because they are less likely to participate in phys- ical activity. This can lead to social isolation


and loneliness, the research claims, and the Foundation is trying to raise awareness of the issue, in particular the support that sufferers need. Developmental dyspraxia is


an immaturity in the way that the brain processes information, which results in messages not being prop- erly transmitted. It affects the plan- ning of what to do and how to do it and is associated with problems of perception, language and thought.


4 The research comes after the


charity held a conference in the summer looking at leisure activi- ties and barriers that might prevent teenagers with the disorder from making the most of clubs, sport and social groups. On average, two children in


every classroom suffer from dys- praxia, and the study says young sufferers are at risk of experiencing social and emotional difficulties. Chair of the Dyspraxia


Foundation, Sally Payne, said: “Our research has shown that families are facing many problems accessing sport, leisure and social activities. As a consequence young people become even more isolated increasing the risk of long-term problems with physical health and emotional wellbeing.” Last week was Dyspraxia


Awareness Week. For more infor- mation about the charity, visit www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk


SecEd • October 21 2010


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