Tag Archives: local authority

Progress 8 – another attack on working-class schools

Posted on January 21, 2017 by

Progress 8 was supposed to be fair. It has become just another way of hammering schools with the most disadvantaged students. Its designers clearly took care to avoid some of the problems with counting 5 A*-Cs, which often led to a concentration … Continue reading →

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The Scottish phonics miracle: myths and evidence

Posted on June 4, 2016 by

A major trigger for politicians insisting that synthetic phonics is the only good way to teach reading came from an experiment in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. The work of Sue Ellis at Strathclyde University reveals serious exaggeration by politicians and the press. Gains in … Continue reading →

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Primary schools responding to diversity

Posted on May 26, 2016 by

New research by inclusion and SEN experts Mel Ainscow and Alan Dyson, in partnership with Lisa Hopwood and Stephanie Thomson, shows how a fragmented school system is affecting vulnerable children. It raises issues about the way diversity is understood primarily in … Continue reading →

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Academies: autonomy or asset stripping?

Posted on April 27, 2016 by

One of the main reasons Nicky Morgan gives for closing local authorities and turning all schools into academies is ‘autonomy’. To quote her recent statement to Parliament: “Test scores are higher when schools manage their budgets and recruit and select … Continue reading →

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Comment: A budget of dispossession

Posted on March 23, 2016 by

It’s time we stopped talking about ‘Austerity’. What we are really living through is a ruthless process of dispossession. Behind the pretence of ‘balancing the books’ (endlessly deferred), Osborne’s real project is to boost the wealth of the hyper-rich. Public services have been … Continue reading →

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Chief Inspector condemns academy chain disaster

Posted on March 10, 2016 by

Today’s letter from Chief Inspector Michael Wilshaw to Nicky Morgan is a damning condemnation of the Government’s plan to turn all schools into academies. “Given the government’s clear intention to move to a fully academised system and, in the Prime … Continue reading →

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Bullying by numbers – its roots in neoliberalism

Posted on February 4, 2016 by

by Terry Wrigley, Visiting Professor, Northumbria University There is relentless pressure to raise standards – or rather scores – and it’s driving thousands of teachers to quit. The insatiable demands amount to bullying – bullying by numbers, reinforced by a … Continue reading →

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