21ST CENTURY LEARNING ALLIANCE New year changes?


If schools are considering the academy route, Professor Sir


Tim Brighouse says there are two health warnings to consider


settlement is so fierce that there will be some local authorities which will fail in their duty to set a rate which will balance the books. and those that do, will achieve it by closing libraries, youth clubs, community facilities as well as making draconian cuts to their care budgets affecting the elderly in particular. and of course there will be redundancies not just among those approaching retirement but in mid and early career. nor despite the stated priorities of the coalition will the health service be immune from similar painful cuts. The impact of all this on secondary schools will be


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considerable. Small wonder that an increasing number of schools are wondering if taking the academy route is the answer, as they doubt that their local authority has either the expertise or the capacity to provide a reliable set of central support services. Better by far, so the argument goes, to take their share of the central costs,


einG an incurable optimist i love new years. This year, however, so


overwhelming are the storm clouds it is hard to see any silver lining. The cuts in public expenditure seem to target young, old, unemployed and


unwell people alike, especially if you are poor. Personally i think the local government financial


as set out on the department for education (dfe) website “ready reckoner”, and go it alone. Moreover, although school budgets are


meant to be protected, as the figures for next year reveal, the reality is very different and decidedly uncomfortable. Many secondary schools, especially those with 6th forms and two specialisms, are facing real cuts of five per cent and some 10 per cent in their next year’s budgets. if schools are


considering the academy route, it seems to me there are two “health warnings” to consider. First, bear in mind that the share of


central costs displayed on the dFe site is exaggerated. This tendency began when the last government decided to favour the new academies while softening the resistance of local authorities to the process. So it took less away from the local authority than the proper figure while giving an even greater amount to the academy itself – with central government funding the difference. as you might guess, that cannot last. indeed there is a promise to update the figures in the new year and a calm warning that schools will neither gain nor lose financially by taking the academy route. Second, for all the talk of freeing yourself from


local authority “control” and becoming a state independent school, what exactly is this control and how “independent” are you going to be? Some local authorities have pretended to habits of their former control but when their bluff is called, they soon recognise the reality is different. Governors have more control and the secretary of state now has more than 2,000 powers where 25 years


Are exams the answer? Psycho babble


The educaTion White Paper suggests that modularisation of GcSes is to be scrapped, leading to a single exam at the end of the course, rather than bite-sized exams throughout the two-year period of study. it has also been suggested that coursework will no longer feature as a proportion of final grades. The rationale is that ministers believe that


splitting GcSes into four sections has contributed to dumbing down, because pupils are able to improve their grades by resitting exams. They claim that multiple assessments mean that children spend excessive time revising, rather than simply learning. i’m slightly puzzled by this


development. First of all, many subjects lend themselves to coursework – art, history, geography and english, spring to mind. Let’s take english, for example. how can creative juices successfully flow in exam conditions? Good writing takes time, thought and creativity. i’m sorry, but a couple of hours


in an exam hall, under duress, is unlikely to provide students with the opportunity they need to shine. once again, there is nothing wrong with giving students the chance to fine-tune an argument, hone their writing or persuasion skills, or do a little research to back up an argument. Some of the greatest minds across history


have spent many, many hours in contemplation and study before being able to successfully put forward their ideas, and yet we expect our students to do so after just a few hours’ work. in my view, coursework offers an opportunity for


students to show different, practical skills. it gives them a chance to be guided through the process of perfecting a piece of work, which is not time wasted, but integral to learning. it allows them to draw upon a variety of media


to integrate information and present it in appropriate ways – which is much more reflective of the skills needed in “real life”. What’s more, as increasingly better drafts are produced, they are taught how to produce a truly


fine piece of work, whether it is a series of maps for geography, a sculpture for art, or a piece of creative writing for english. Many students cram before exams, and quickly


forget what has been learned. By offering them material in bite-sized chunks, they not only have a better chance of fully learning it but, if they don’t, further opportunities to relearn it, thus cementing that knowledge. if there is one thing that countless studies have


concluded it is that repetition is by far the best means of learning. Sure, the final results may be inflated because of the myriad opportunities allowed to resit, but there can be no doubt that giving students more time to learn, encouraging them to fill in the gaps in their knowledge, and coaching them through errors will fulfil the ultimate goal of increasing their propensity to learn and, of course, their knowledge base. a balance of coursework and exams allows all types of


learners an opportunity to present their knowledge in the format that suits them best.a modular system – where students gain confidence through a series of exams and feel less pressured because there is another chance – will also reduce the risk of


underperformance. Finally, i would hesitate to suggest that in the rare cases where there is poor teaching, a child’s academic career could be deeply affected if he has


only one opportunity – with perhaps one teacher – to get the grades he needs. Modules and resits do not just provide students


with a second chance; they also highlight areas where learning has not reached an appropriate level, and allow for changes to be made before it is too late. change is good, but change for the sake of


change should be more carefully considered if we are to provide our students with every opportunity to learn – and the confidence to shine.


• Karen Sullivan is a bestselling author, psychologist and childcare expert. Email KESullivan@aol.com. She returns in a fortnight.


education in the first place suggests certain principled preconditions as follows:


• don’t advantage the pupils at your own school at the expense of others elsewhere.


• only consider academy status if all other secondary schools in the area


take the same path and agree to a fair admissions policy. • Set up a


collective trust of half a dozen or so secondary schools – the better to attract business, health service and university support and to share certain central costs (if you are in a large city and/ or involved in more geographically spread “chains” of schools this may be more complicated).


ago he had three. This stark fact also highlights the


• use the partnership to improve cPd, shared icT systems and curriculum opportunities. • Stick to national pay and conditions.


so-called


“independence” for what it really is. in fact academies are creatures of the secretary of state who can tell his nationalised schools exactly what he wants them to do and of course give them notice to close, should rolls fall or results fail to improve.and he controls the funding agreements. it may still be the case – so pressing are the local


circumstances both of budgetary cuts and local authority disarray – that a school decides those health warnings are risks worth taking. if so, the moral commitment which attracted us all into state


• consult local primary schools, community voices as well as staff, parents and pupils before taking the final step.


• Preserve a local democratic route of voluntary accountability in your governance proposals. i started with storm clouds and was searching for


silver linings. Well i did hear that the bankers, who instigated our troubles have solved their bonus problem by incorporating bonuses into higher salaries. now if they paid higher taxes…?


SecEd


• Professor Sir Tim Brighouse is visiting professor at the Institute of Education, London, and a board member of the 21st Century Learning Alliance. Visit www.21stcenturylearningalliance.org


FOR BETTER CHILD HEALTH SCHOOL NURSES MORE


A properly resourced school nursing service is required to help schools meet the government’s health and wellbeing objectives.


Research published in the British Journal of School Nursing (BJSN) shows that more school nurses are needed to meet these objectives and ensure school children receive the health care and support they deserve. Therefore


the BJSN has launched a campaign to increase the number of school nurses.


For more information on the campaign visit


http://moreschoolnurses.co.uk Support the campaign or send us your views at:


bjsn@markallengroup.com SecEd • January 6 2011


SCHOOL NURSES FOR BETTER CHILD HEALTH


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