NEWS


UK educational outcomes ‘exceptionally unequal’


by Pete Henshaw


Schools which extensively stream pupils or select by ability have more “unequal” educational outcomes, academics have claimed. A report from the Institute of


Education in London says that the UK is “notable” for the extent to which social class influences schools’ academic performance. Education, Opportunity and


Social Cohesion has been pub- lished by Professor Andy Green and colleagues from the Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES).


The report finds that across


the 34 countries included within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), on average 57 per cent of the “performance difference” between schools is put down to the social class of the students. In the UK, this figure is 70 per cent. The researchers looked at lit-


eracy figures for 15-year-olds published by the Programme for International Student Assessment in 2009 and found that the gap between the top and bottom 10 per cent in the UK was the 11th highest of the OECD countries. The researchers say that educa- tion is a “crucial arbiter” of life


chances. They add: “Where it is perceived to distribute opportunities equitably, it can provide legitimacy for the social and political order and thus promote social cohesion.” Prof Green said: “Our research


suggests that it is not so much the average level of education in a country which matters most for social cohesion, but rather how the skills acquired are spread around. “The more unequal the skills


distribution among adults, the higher the rates of violent crime and civic unrest, and the lower the levels of social trust and civil liberties.” A briefing paper on the report states: “In the UK, educational out-


Ofqual warns awarding bodies over summer exam mistakes


Ofqual has warned awarding bodies that it “will not hesitate” to take regulatory action over this summer’s exam mistakes if it believes it necessary. As the 2011 examination sea-


son came to an end last week, the watchdog released more details of its inquiry into the problems and has promised a final report by the end of the year. Mistakes were reported in at


least 10 examination papers dur- ing the past few weeks, ranging from smaller printing errors to major mistakes which made ques- tions impossible to answer. Papers from all three major exam boards, Edexecel, OCR and AQA, were among those affected.


The inquiry will be carried out


by Ofqual in partnership with regu- lators in Northern Ireland and Wales and it will look to find the reasons for the errors, scrutinise how well awarding bodies have communicat- ed with candidates and schools, and identify any improvements that are needed. The individual awarding bodies are also undertaking their own inquiries. Ofqual has said the inquiry will


consider the information and views it has already received from stu- dents and schools. Sandra Burslem, deputy chair


of Ofqual, said: “We have made it clear that the errors on exam papers this summer are unacceptable. Now that the taking of exams is over we


turn our attention to an inquiry. This will hold the awarding organisa- tions to account for their mistakes by finding out the root causes of the errors and what needs to be done to put things right. “The regulators will not hesitate


to take regulatory action as neces- sary at any stage to protect the interests of students.” Ofqual has said it will also be


continuing its work to “monitor the actions being taken by the awarding organisations to make sure that can- didates who have faced exam paper errors this summer are, as far as possible, not unfairly disadvantaged or advantaged”. Dr Jim Sinclair, director of the Joint Council for Qualifications,


which represents the main award- ing bodies, said: “This inquiry builds on the rigorous investiga- tions awarding bodies are carrying out within their own organisations. “The examination system is


huge and the questions and papers that contained errors, although unacceptable, represent a tiny pro- portion of the total number. Each year awarding bodies set more than 60,000 questions. “Awarding bodies deeply


regret the errors that occurred and apologise to students who took the papers. Awarding bodies have put procedures in place to ensure no student is disadvantaged as a result of these errors and that they get the right result.”


Lord Adonis voices free school concerns


The man behind the original academies programme has voiced his opposition to free schools being allowed to turn a profit. Lord Andrew Adonis was the


guest speaker at the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust annu- al lecture last week when he dis- missed the growing number of calls for the government to allow free school providers to make profits. The free schools initiative


allows charities, parent or teacher groups, and other organisations to set up all-ability academy schools which will be state-funded but inde- pendent of local authority control. Currently, the schools must be


run under a charitable framework. However, a number of commenta- tors have called for companies to be allowed to run the schools on a


for-profit basis, including journalist Toby Young, who is setting up his own free school in west London. Most recently, the Adam Smith


Institute, a right-wing think-tank, released a report saying that com- panies should be able to run free schools for profit, arguing that there was no evidence that this compro- mised standards. Education minister Michael


Gove has also previously stated that he does see a role for the private sec- tor when it comes to free schools. However, Lord Adonis, a former


policy advisor to Tony Blair who drove the academies programme under Labour, dismissed the idea. He said: “It is true that in the


much-cited case of Sweden, com- mercial operators have been a major force behind free schools. But I


Not-for-profit: Lord Adonis


would make two comments. First, the experience has been problem- atic. Sweden has faced a number of scandals around profit-taking from commercially-run state fund- ed schools. The Swedish educa-


tion minister recently announced an inquiry into how free schools which fail to meet accepted standards can be prevented from taking out profits. “Second, the position in


England is fundamentally differ- ent. When Sweden embarked on free schools, it had a weak private charitable school sector. England, by contrast, has one of the larg- est, and possibly the very strong- est private charitable school sector in the world. The private sector which can make a big difference to English state education isn’t the private commercial sector but the private charitable sector.” There have been more than


600 applications to open free schools with up to 20 set to open in September. For the full address, visit www.ssatrust.org.uk


comes are exceptionally unequal. Individual achievement in school is substantially affected by home background, and even more so by the composition of the school attended.” The report also concludes that


students who spend longer in mixed ability classes are “more likely to share basic values in areas such as tolerance and patriotism, regardless of their social or ethnic group”. It says that selective education


systems have higher levels of social segregation across classrooms and greater disparities in civic knowl- edge and skills. For more information, visit


www.llakes.org


Gove cuts school trip health and safety guidance


Education chief Michael Gove said he wants to “dispel the myths” surrounding school trips as he slashed health and safety guidance for schools from 150 pages to eight. The move coincided with a


guidance statement from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which sought to tackle teachers’ fear of prosecution. The HSE statement said:


“Schools and their staff are expect- ed to deal with risk responsibly and sensibly. If things do go wrong during a trip, provided sensible and proportionate steps have been taken, it is highly unlikely that there would be any breach of health and safety law involved, or that it would be in the public interest for HSE to bring a prosecution.” The new Department for


Education (DfE) guidance also seeks to clarify the law for school governors, headteachers, local authorities and staff. The eight-page document


makes clear that a written risk assessment does not need to be carried out every time a school takes pupils on routine local visits, such as to museums. It also clari- fies that parental consent is not necessary for pupils to take part in the majority of off-site activities during the school day. Mr Gove said: “Children


should be able to go on excit- ing school trips that broaden their horizons. This new, slim- mer advice means a more com-


mon sense approach to health and safety. It will make it easier for schools to make lessons more inspiring and fun.” During his announcement, Mr


Gove stressed that in the past five years, only two cases have been brought by the HSE for breaches of health and safety law in relation to school visits and this was where there was “evidence of reckless- ness or a clear failure to follow sensible precautions”. However, Chris Keates, gen-


eral secretary of the NASUWT, said: “The previous guidance was widely accepted by teachers and there is no evidence that the gener- ality of schools found the guidance to be off-putting. “The existence of robust and


detailed guidance provides schools and teachers with an important safeguard if things go wrong. The coalition government’s decision to dilute the guidance could make teachers more vulnerable.” The DfE has also published


a one-off parental consent form which covers activities outside the school day such as residential vis- its, adventure activities and off-site sporting fixtures. A statement said: “The consent


form will cover all activities and will only need to be signed once, when a child enrols at the school. Schools will then only need to inform parents in advance of each activity and give them the oppor- tunity to withdraw their child from the activity if they wish.”


Local authorities recognised for tackling homophobic bullying


The top 10 best local authorities for preventing and tackling homophobic bullying in their schools have been unveiled. The first ever index of local


authorities in England and Scotland, published by gay equality charity Stonewall, names Cambridgeshire County Council in first place, fol- lowed by Brighton and Hove and then Waltham Forest in London. The award was presented to


4


Cambridgeshire by schools minister Nick Gibb at Stonewall’s annual edu- cation conference on Friday (July 1). Mr Gibb said: “They’ve shown


how bullying, and in particular homophobic bullying, can be tack- led effectively. Successful schools have clear policies – developed with pupils and parents – that result in pupils understanding what’s expected of them. “Tackling poor behaviour and


bullying are top priorities for the coalition government. We are sup- porting schools to take a zero-tol- erance approach to all forms of bullying. We need to send the mes- sage that homophobic bullying, of any kind and of any child, is com- pletely unacceptable. Homophobic language should become as unac- ceptable as racial slurs.” The index measures both good practice and policy and looks at three


areas – the role of the local author- ity, working with local schools, and working with the community. Cllr Nick Clarke, leader of


Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “The local authority regards preventing and tackling homopho- bic bullying and making its schools a safe place for all pupils irrespec- tive of their sexuality to be an essential component of our work with schools and young people.”


Ben Summerskill, Stonewall


chief executive, added: “Cambridgeshire’s work to tack- le homophobia and homopho- bic bullying demonstrates a firm commitment to promoting a truly safe learning environment for all young people. We look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure that equality in schools in Cambridgeshire remains a high priority.”


The top 10:


1 Cambridgeshire County Council 2 Brighton and Hove City Council 3 London Borough of Waltham Forest


4 Sheffield City Council 5 Birmingham City Council 6 Hertfordshire County Council 7 Hull City Council 8 Bristol City Council 9 London Borough of Brent 10 Oxfordshire County Council


SecEd • July 7 2011


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