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Unions call for end to Welsh banding system


by Greg Lewis


There is growing anger among teaching unions over the Welsh government’s new system of “banding” schools. One union leader said the proc-


ess was going to be used to “deni- grate and demoralise teachers”. Secondary schools were placed


in bands in December of last year and Wales’s primary schools will be put into similar categories this year. But unions are calling for the


whole process to be scrapped and claim the bands are creating a sys- tem of league tables “under another name”.


Wales abolished league tables


11 years ago but Wales’s education minister Leighton Andrews says the banding system is necessary to identify and target schools which need help to improve. He has said repeatedly that


banding is “not about labelling schools, naming and shaming or creating a divisive league table”. Schools are banded based upon


GCSE results and attendance lev- els, and the number eligible for free school meals is taken into account to allow for the challenges of run- ning a school in a deprived area. However, data is already being


used to create a table of Wales’s “best” and “worst” schools.


Child poverty map reveals ‘stark picture’


One in five children in England are living in poverty research has shown. A “child poverty map” has been


issued by the Campaign to End Child Poverty showing that 2.5 mil- lion children are thought to be liv- ing in poverty. The campaign defines a house- hold as living in poverty if its


Local authorities with the highest levels of child poverty in England (per cent of children in poverty in 2010)


Tower Hamlets – 57 per cent Islington Hackney Newham


Manchester Westminster Camden Haringey


Nottingham


– 46 per cent – 44 per cent – 43 per cent – 42 per cent – 41 per cent – 41 per cent – 40 per cent


Barking & Dagenham – 39 per cent – 37 per cent


income is less than 60 per cent the national average. Alongside the map, campaign-


ers have released a report that pre- dicts the number of children in poverty will rise to 3.3 million in 2020/21 – if the government’s cur- rent policies continue. London features heavily among


the areas worst affected, with eight out of the 10 worst local authorities being in the capital. More than 50 per cent of the


children in Tower Hamlets and more than four in 10 in Islington (the two worst areas) live in poverty. The report used tax credit data


to examine low-income homes and also looked at unemployment changes to estimate the number of children that could sink into pov- erty in the coming months because of parents losing their jobs. Between 1998 and 2010 the


number of children living in poverty fell by 900,000 from 3.4 million to 2.5 million. However that number is projected to rise to 2.9 million in 2015/16 and a further 400,000 increase in 2020/21 to 3.3 million.


Alison Garnham, executive


director of the Campaign to End Child Poverty, said: “The child pov- erty map paints a stark picture of a socially segregated Britain where the life chances of millions of chil- dren are damaged by poverty and inequality. “Child poverty costs us billions


picking up the pieces of damaged lives and unrealised potential, so it’s a false economy if we don’t pri- oritise looking after children today.


Pupils design colourful tribute


St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road Herne Hill, London SE24 0PB www.markallengroup.com


A brightly coloured tie featuring international skylines has been designed by pupils as a tribute to their late history teacher. Students from James


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Gillespie’s High School in Edinburgh have designed the tie in memory of Iain Caddell, who passed away last year after suffer- ing a stroke. The tie, pictured right, will


now go on sale to raise funds for the charity, Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland. Mr Caddell was known for his


eccentric taste in neckwear and as such the students thought this would be the best way to remem- ber him. The idea was the brainchild


of S6 student Bethany Sykes and the winning design was created


by S1 student Mikaela Carmichael. The design includes international skylines and the bright colours are intended to represent the school’s cultural diversity. Headteacher Donald


MacDonald said: “Mr Caddell was a very popular teacher and a highly respected member of staff, so I think that this is a fitting way to celebrate his life. He was also renowned for his colourful ties, so I think that the final design chosen is particularly apt. “I would like to thank all pupils


and staff for their support of this project, especially Bethany Sykes who came up with the idea and Mikaela Carmichael for her fantas- tic design.” For more information or to order the tie, visit www.jghs.edin.sch.uk


“Targeting cuts on families


will prove both an economic and a social disaster, with businesses losing billions of pounds of demand and families struggling to keep their kids clothed, fed and warm.” Elsewhere, the report says par-


ents living in poverty often make sacrifices themselves, such as skip- ping meals, to be able to give their children a new coat or trainers because they do not want them to feel excluded.


Daniela Wachesening, education


policy adviser at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: “The child poverty map is a stark reminder of the disparities in wealth and income in our country.” She added: “This gap between


rich and poor is being exacerbated by the government’s spending cuts, and tax and benefit reforms which have a disproportionate impact on the poorest and most vulnerable families.”


Teachers urged to have their say on technology


A six-week public discussion on the technologies available in today’s classroom is to take place, and teachers are urged to have their say. The Association for Learning


Technology (ALT) and ICT asso- ciation Naace have launched a new website to enable online discus- sions between parents, teachers and researchers on the role of technolo- gies in schools. The public debate is open until


the end of February and a report will be published in March based on its findings. The two organisa- tions have received support from the Department for Education and it is hoped the discussion will help professionals better understand the role of new technologies in teaching and learning in schools.


2 The discussions will include


“stimulus questions” looking at coping with the pace of techno- logical change, the need for new teacher skills and models of teach- ing, and education supported by technology. Contributors can also have their


say on Twitter, using the hashtag #schoolstech. Seb Schmoller, ALT chief exec-


utive, said: “The way that knowl- edge is now created, distributed and acquired has been transformed by the internet and the web. This raises profound questions about the role of technology in learning, about the skills of the schools workforce, and about how learning is organised.” To take part in the online debate, visit www.schoolstech.org.uk


SecEd • January 19 2012 Last week, BBC Wales used


the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the exact scores sec- ondary schools received under banding. These showed that Ysgol Tryfan in Bangor, Gwynedd, had the best score and Llanrumney High in Cardiff had the lowest. Chris Keates, general sec-


retary of the NASUWT, said: “We warned the minister that the banding policy would lead to schools being publicly ‘named and shamed’ without full considera- tion of their circumstances and the context in which they are working. Regrettably our predictions have come true.” She said that “far from help-


ing to raise standards, the banding system is simply a tool which will be used to denigrate and demoralise teachers”. She added: “Banding is nothing


more than a crude, blunt instrument approach to complex issues.” Rex Phillips, NASUWT Wales


organiser, added: “Teachers and school leaders are already fac- ing enormous challenges. Day-in, day-out they strive to raise stand- ards in the context of significant under-investment and constant criticism. The publication of band- ing scores will just add to their problems and will do nothing to support them in doing the best for children.”


Anna Brychan, director of


the National Association of Head Teachers Cymru, added: “(Bands) don’t describe the whole of what a school does but the perception out there will be that this tells the whole story.” National Union of Teachers


Cymru secretary David Evans said parents know how schools are per- forming from local authority data and inspection reports, and he joined calls for the Welsh govern- ment to scrap banding. However, the Welsh govern-


ment said banding “will give us and parents a clear picture of how secondary schools in Wales are per- forming”.


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