www.sec-ed.com


Less than £1 per pupil being spent on RE


by Emma Lee-Potter


Most UK state schools spend less than £1 per pupil on religious edu- cation, a new study has found. As well as being under-funded,


RE lacks time and resources and lessons often have to incorporate a myriad of other subjects and issues. “Even where RE is taught mag-


nificently, it is so against the odds,” said James Conroy, professor of religious and philosophical edu-


cation at Glasgow University, the author of the report. “RE in Britain is under-


resourced, torn between competing aims and has become overburdened by having to include other subjects – from sex to citizenship. “While governments insists on


RE’s importance in theory, they marginalise it in practice, as (edu- cation secretary) Michael Gove has recently done by refusing to treat is as a core subject and excluding it from the English Baccalaureate in England.”


Northern Ireland shake-up could mean 30 closures


Up to 30 secondary schools are to shut down over the next few years as part of the largest ever shake-up of education in Northern Ireland. So far, five have been told


they face imminent closure while dozens more will be lost through mergers. A detailed report by the


Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education (NICCE) con- tains recommendations for 100 post-primary schools. The review intends to streamline provision by creating a new network of “all- ability” secondary schools. Portadown will lose its last


standing Catholic secondary school, while others in Belfast, Derry, Castlederg and Brollagh will also be shut. The Catholic sector’s stock


will be reduced by at least a fur- ther 23 schools through a series of mergers across the North. This includes an ambitious plan to see nine schools become just three in Co Fermanagh, while in south and west Belfast there will be a reduc- tion from 11 to eight. Among the review’s other rec-


ommendations is a plan to allow the phased development of St Louise’s Comprehensive College in Belfast – once the largest all-


girls school in Europe – to co- educational status. A plan to bring Catholic


post-primary education back to south Antrim after an absence of almost two decades has also been approved. There will be a new college


to serve the Crumlin, Glenavy and Lisburn areas. St Aidan’s High School in Glenavy shut its doors in 1993 but almost imme- diately there followed an influx of Catholic families into the area. Gerry Lundy, director of the


post-primary review, says the aim is to make sure all pupils receive the best and most appropriate edu- cation available. He explained: “It is our inten-


tion to ensure that each and every pupil receives quality education in modern well resourced schools. This cannot be delivered for all our pupils if we do not strategi- cally plan for the future. “This overall objective is set


against current difficulties facing the post-primary sector including declining demographics, a sig- nificant reduction in the finance available to schools over the next three years and changes in the curriculum as well as the develop- ment of area planning.”


Ofqual tells exam boards to ‘tighten up’


Ofqual has ordered exam boards to “tighten up” GCSEs in four key subjects. The exams watchdog said it is


making changes to GCSEs in geog- raphy, history, English literature and maths to ensure that students are studying the whole subject and not just information needed to pass an exam. Ofqual wants maths qualifica-


tions to be improved for first teach- ing this November while geography GCSEs will be revised in time for September. However, changes to the


English literature and history quali- fications will not come into effect until September 2013. Glenys Stacey, chief executive


of Ofqual, said: “We are tighten- ing GCSEs in these key subjects to


SecEd • March 1 2012


make sure students cover the whole curriculum. The exam boards have welcomed this steer from the regu- lator and are to look again at these qualifications and how the rules are interpreted to make sure that young people taking them have to study an appropriate range and depth of the subject.” The move comes on top of exist-


ing plans to introduce terminal, end- of-course exams from 2014 as well as separate marks for accurate spell- ing, punctuation and grammar from September this year. A Department for Education


spokesman said: “We are pleased Ofqual is taking action to ensure that GCSEs in these subjects are more challenging, requiring stu- dents to demonstrate that they have covered the whole curriculum.”


Prof Conroy disclosed his find-


ings at the Faith in Schools debate in London last week, arguing that the failure to provide high quality religious education is a combination of “bad policy” and “bad ethics”. He added: “What they reveal is


that good RE is about something absolutely fundamental – a space for serious, critical exploration of the meanings and values by which we live. To live good lives, individ- ually and together, we need to make sense of the world and ourselves, and RE offers the only place in the


curriculum where this can be done systematically.” Prof Conroy’s three-year study


of RE was based on observations and interviews in 23 schools across the UK. The schools, some reli- gious, others non-religious, were in both urban and rural areas. He found that schools offering


good RE teaching had a number of characteristics in common. They tended, for instance, to have strong community links and even though they were not necessarily religious- ly dominated they were aware of


their community’s religious make- up. Another finding was that rather than merely describing the basic “phenomena” of a religion or secu- lar tradition, effective RE teachers were willing to explore the mean- ings behind different rituals and social and personal practices. But Prof Conroy added: “The


problem goes much deeper than individual teachers or schools. It is symptomatic of a crippling ambiva- lence about RE which runs through British society and infects educa- tional policy.”


NEWS In brief Wellbeing website


The Children’s Society is asking children to tell them how happy they are in general and what makes the biggest difference to their wellbeing. A new wellbeing section of the charity’s website has a number of tools and games designed to help young people express their feelings and happiness, including the happy-ometer, a survey based on the Good Childhood Index that allows young people to compare their score with the national average and an educational quiz about wellbeing. Visit: www. thekidszone.org.uk/well-being- zone


Training funding


Teachers in more than 50 schools are being offered training to improve their classroom practice. The Schools Network has been given £1 million towards its Teacher Effectiveness Enhancement Programme (TEEP). The training focuses on teacher behaviours and the effective learner. The aim of the programme is to improve teachers’ understanding of what effective teaching and learning behaviours are. Visit: www. ssatrust.org.uk/TEEP


Visionary wanted


A prize of $500,000 is up for grabs for a global “education visionary”. The Qatar-based World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) is looking for an individual or a group to become their next Laureate of the WISE Prize for Education. The prize is awarded to someone who has had a significant and lasting impact upon education at any level and has demonstrated an inspiring and visionary approach. Last year’s winner was Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, who is the founder of BRAC, a development organisation dedicated to helping those in poverty. The closing date for nominations is March 31. Visit: www.wiseprizeforeducation.org


Outside resources


Exclusions for violence on the rise in Welsh schools


The number of children in Wales who have been excluded from school due to assault or violence towards staff has risen by 35 per cent over the past three years. Figures obtained by the Welsh


Conservatives reveal there were 321 more pupils excluded from school due to assault or violence towards staff in 2010/11 than in 2007/08. The figures uncovered by Welsh


Assembly member Darren Millar, show that there were 1,234 perma- nent and fixed-term exclusions for serious incidents reported in Wales last year, compared to the 913 in 2007/08. Unions said the statistics were


“disturbing” with classroom vio- lence capable of having a “pro- found impact” on teachers. “We often hear the professional-


ism of teachers undermined, but those who do so rarely appreciate the hidden challenges practitioners face on the frontline,” said Owen Hathway, Wales policy officer at the National Union of Teachers. “The fact that there has been such an increase over the past three years


is especially concerning and should be a wake-up call to the sector.” Rex Phillips, NASUWT Wales


organiser, warned that the statistics might be the tip of the iceberg, as an assault on a member of staff is recorded by the Welsh government only if it leads to an exclusion from school. “The statistics are clearly wor-


rying in themselves but they only refer to situations in which action is taken by school governors,” he said. “What they don’t reveal is the incidence of assault and violence towards staff in schools.” But Dr Philip Dixon, direc-


tor of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers Cymru, pointed out that the statistics do not differenti- ate between first-time and repeat offenders. He said: “These statistics are very disturbing – they show a completely unacceptable face of school life. “But we also need to treat these


statistics carefully. They relate to the number of incidents and not the number of pupils. The vast major- ity of children are well-behaved and there is no evidence that the


tiny number of violent children is increasing.” A spokesman for the Welsh gov-


ernment said it does not tolerate violence and aggression in schools and colleges. “We have already introduced


powers and duties for school dis- cipline, parental responsibility and exclusion which include revised guidance on the use of force to control or restrain pupils,” he said. “We have published and dis-


tributed to each secondary school in Wales a handbook highlighting best practice approaches to manage pupils’ behaviour in the classroom, with a similar handbook for pri- mary schools being released in the spring. “We have provided direct fund-


ing to train teachers and support staff in well established behaviour management techniques. We are also strengthening the induction of NQTs with the introduction of behaviour management modules. These are currently being devel- oped with a view to introducing them from next academic year, 2012/13.”


The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom has launched a series of learning outside the classroom (LOtC) resources offering hands-on, practical ideas. The 12 packs cover all the phases up to key stage 5 and have been designed to give teachers ideas that will build confidence and encourage them to develop more of their own lessons outside the classroom. The packs include quick 10-minute lessons and more complex activities and focus either on English, science or maths. You can order the packs online. Visit: www.lotc.org.uk


Volunteer abroad


A UK teacher is sought to spend nine months in India as a volunteer teacher working with the Adivasi tribal people. Working for ActionAid, the teacher will travel to Chembakolli in southern India. The village of Chembakolli was established in 1988 by the Adivasi, after a long struggle to regain their rights to land. The position is open to anyone with UK teaching experience or experience teaching English abroad. It is voluntary although travel expenses and accommodation will be covered, in addition to a local living allowance. The deadline is March 14 with the placement starting in May or June this year. Visit: www.actionaid.org.uk/schools


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