Posts Tagged ‘Admissions’
Why Justin Welby is right about faith admissions
The Archbishop of Canterbury made an important statement yesterday. Church schools, he said, may be moving away from faith based entry tests and opening their doors to a wider group of pupils than is currently the case. His comments were swiftly toned down. But it was too late – intentionally or not, the Archbishop had […]
School performance – why intake still matters
Is there a problem with school accountability in this country? Yes. Is there an easy solution? Probably not. The latest consultation on this issue has just closed, to remarkably little fanfare. Perhaps everyone was so preoccupied with the National Curriculum Review, or taken aback by the climb down on the EBCs, that less attention was […]
Sneaky changes to the Admissions Code herald a return to the bad old days
First published in the Guardian Some months ago the Government began a consultation on the new School Admissions Code. It came after months of nods and winks about the need to streamline the overly bureaucratic regulatory framework of the Labour years. Since its introduction in the late 1990s, the Admissions Code has undergone several incarnations. […]
How Labour could respond to the Coalition’s education reforms
Some months ago I was asked to deliver a lecture to Labour Party members, and others, in David Cameron’s constituency of West Oxfordshire about how Labour should respond to the Coalition’s education reforms. The lecture was part of a series and in memory of local activist, campaigner and educationalist Brian Hodgson. It was chaired by […]
Abolition of the Admissions Forum will make life harder for parents
Parents may find the school admissions system becomes more unfair and difficult to navigate as a result of key proposals in the Coalition’s Education Bill – not just my view, but the view of the people who chair local authority admissions forums. The abolition of the forums, which currently bring together school governors, parents, churches […]
Time for the Lib Dems to step up to the plate on schools plan
Link to original article in Guardian Education It is almost exactly five years since the last Labour government introduced its controversial Education and Inspections Bill. It followed a highly contested White Paper which promised to create a system of independent non fee paying schools. Companies, faith groups, charities and parents were going to set up […]
Reforming admissions – now that would be radical
Link to original article in Education Guardian Change, versus more of the same, is possibly the hardest worked political slogan of recent years. So talk of more radical school reform grinds on, following last week’s PISA report, when what is on offer is a just dull continuation of the past. Is there anything in the […]
Lessons from PISA
The new PISA data is out, based on tests taken by half a million 15 year olds in 70 countries. Its key findings are here. What does it tell us? NOT that the performance of English pupils got worse but that we were outperformed by more nations than last time this data was collected in […]
Some questions for the West London Free school
Fancy being the public face of the ‘most talked about educational project in the country’? Then here is the job for you, as the head teacher of the West London Free School. There are a number of interesting things about this school, one of the original 16 free schools approved by Michael Gove, which you […]
