Views & Opinion


The Autumn Statement: there’s more to good education than funding


Comment by Michelle Wildman, Policy & Communications Director at PTA UK


The Chancellor’s 25th November 2015 Autumn Statement included a much-anticipated and key announcement on a national school funding formula:


“We will phase out the arbitrary and unfair school funding system that has systematically underfunded schools in whole swathes of the country. Under the current arrangements, a child from a disadvantaged background in one school can receive half as much funding as a child in identical circumstances in another school. In its place, we will introduce a new national funding formula. I


commend the many MPs from all parties who have campaigned for many years to see this day come.”


The government’s intention to develop a ‘fairer’ funding formula was broadly welcomed across the English education sector. Achieving both the fairness and consensus among all players will be a challenging task. Clearly, however, maximising a student’s educational opportunities isn’t just about money. As referenced in a report by Dr Larry Lezotte ‘Correlates of Effective Schools’, there are other ways schools can have a positive impact on children’s attainment, including providing a safe environment, having a climate of high expectations, providing opportunities for effective learning and establishing a solid foundation between home and school.


Secure finances will undoubtedly help these factors to be achieved. However, I believe that there are still other opportunities unrecognised by the Chancellor for schools and teachers to positively impact pupil attainment and wellbeing, in particular the relationship between home and school.


Charities such as PTA UK are working to build awareness of what can be gained if schools and parents work in partnership. Whether it’s in supporting learning or improving school life, the evidence that parents matter in education is overwhelming.


Indeed PTA UK’s summer parent insights survey found that 85% of those parents surveyed want a say in education with 79% wanting to take action to support their child’s school. 96% told us that being consulted makes them feel included in their child’s education. These are strong indications that head teachers and governors should look to consult and involve individual and groups of parents so that the school and the children it serves can reach their potential. Building relationships in this way may also reduce the time and resource needed by school leaders to manage parents being unclear on or even opposing what schools wish to do.


Parent bodies such as Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) are an important resource for schools – a powerful means of building the school community that raises funds for important ‘extras’ that can be enjoyed by all children as well as providing a forum for engaging a wide variety of parents on developments at school.


At the heart of many of our schools is an unsung army of parent volunteers applying their skills to everything from the governing body, running welcome events, helping with reading and learning, grafting to improve the school grounds or manning school trips. The rewards for these parents, our children and schools are potentially large. And something money can’t buy.


January 2016


The importance of neuroscience in education


Comment by Dr Lynda Shaw, neuroscientist & cognitive psychologist


Whilst neuroscience may be the new industry buzz word, the education industry is falling short of truly understanding motivation, personalities and emotions which play a crucial role improving individual and general performance in education. Let me give you some examples.


Motivation


Motivation is vital in education. When behavioural neuroscientist John Salamone offered rats the choice of one pile of food or another pile of food twice the size but behind a small fence, the rats with lowered levels of dopamine almost always took the easy way out, choosing the small pile instead of jumping the fence for greater reward. Finding what motivates our teams and our students can make our business and their work more efficient. In education if you create a happy dopamine environment full of rewarding experiences, then we become more motivated to push ourselves and are more likely to achieve better results.


Positive stimuli


Motivation is far more effective when using positive instead of negative, stimuli. We notice negative stimuli incredibly quickly in order to survive. If we encourage people with feel-good stimuli such as “look forward to passing that exam to go onto the next stage”, people are far more likely to approach lessons and revision with optimism. If we can put people in the mind-set that an exam is a great opportunity to show off what they know, they are more likely to embrace the experience and feel a lot less nervous thus perform better.


Importance of the group


People can be more influenced by the choices and decisions of their peers than their own internal standards. Many environmental factors influence the things we choose and the way we think including group membership which not only supports us but also moulds our beliefs and at both a conscious and unconscious level. Understanding the power of the group and the importance of belonging is key to educators and their students.


Know your audience


Whilst there is no direct evidence to suggest that one gender experiences compassion more than the other, females naturally show more emotional connection than males. Generalisation is foolish but understanding the brain and teaching slightly differently for the so called male way of learning and the so called female way of learning may affect the outcome in education.


My top tips to improving performance in education. • Using lateral thinking and pushing the boundaries every now and again can push learning into the realms of stratospheric growth. It also enables us to reach students who are having difficulties. Don’t always choose the obvious road in learning.


• Staff and students need to be given opportunities to develop and grow, but in small chunks, both physically and mentally. Synapses in the brain grow and strengthen with new information, but we can overload the system if we deliver too much all at once. Research shows that we retain information better when we learn in chunks.


• When an education environment is harnessing their student’s individual personalities, goals, needs and abilities, and communicate with them properly, they will feel valued and valid which helps us build a successful and intuitive working environment.


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