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laws onleaving schoolJade Kentclassroomwithout wallsSugata MitraLaura henryinterviewPage 8 Page 16Pages 20 and 21ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UKFRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2014 | EDITION 12Percentage who strongly agree or agree to the question: I would recommend DfE as a great place to work6050403020100DfE staff who agree that it’s “a great place to work”2010 2011 2012 2013 2014Civil Service People Survey, Department for Education (Year)PAMorale leaps as Morgan moves inPHILIP NYE@PHILIPNYEMorale is bouncing back atthe Department for Educationfollowing the end of a “particularlyunpleasant era” when Michael Govewas at the helm.In the last 12-months, duringwhich time the controversialgovernment minister was replacedby a less divisive figure, DfE staffsatisfaction as measured by the civilservice staff survey has increaseddramatically.Compared to previous years, thenumber of civil servants who saidthey would recommend the DfE as a“great place to work” has leapt by 13percentage points .The increase ends a five-yearconsistent fall in the proportionof staff answering that the centraldepartment and its associated civilservice bodies were a great place towork.The share of staff nowrecommending the DfE as aworkplace sits close to the civilservice average of 49 per cent. Overthe past five years, figures acrossthe wider civil service increased,but consistently declined at the DfE.Pride in working for the DfE –46 per cent last year, well belowthe civil service average – alsoincreased by 12 percentage pointsthis year, up to 58 per cent.Positive responses to leadershipand change management alsoincreased significantly, up to 42 percent from just 32 per cent last year.The results come in the wake ofthe July departure of a secretaryof state who promised to cut thenumber of staff in his departmentby approximately a quarter.Commenting on the findings, aspokesperson for PCS, the unionrepresenting non-managerial civilservants, said: “It is welcome tosee some light returning to the DfEbut it’s important to recognise thiswas from a very low base and thereneeds to be far more engagementwith staff and us.“It is not entirely surprisingthat this comes following thedeparture of Michael Gove. Histime as education secretary was aparticularly unpleasant era in thehistory of this department, whichhe and his advisers used as anideological test-bed for the moreoutlandish and dangerous ideasof how the civil service should berun.”Michael Gove’s removal fromoffice in David Cameron’s Julyreshuffle was largely unexpected,and came after four years of hugereform. His replacement, NickyMorgan, has been seen as a safe pairof hands, appointed to win backsupport for the Conservatives aheadof next year’s general election.Commenting after the releaseof the survey results, a DfEspokesperson said: “Our staffsurvey shows that Department forEducation staff are more motivatedand engaged than before — resultshave improved in every categoryover the past 12 months.“Staff are particularly happywith their team and their work,while there are many otherpositives including our results oninclusion and fair treatment.“However, we are not complacentand will work to address other areashighlighted in the survey.”The annual civil service staffsurvey was carried out in October,and had a 95 per cent response ratefor the DfE group.ENCLOSED:CONFERENCE SUPPLEMENTFROM MEDIA PARTNERACADEMIES WEEKSSAT National Conference 2014:The Learner4-5 December, Manchester Central#SSATNC14www.ssatuk.co.uk/nationalconference2014

2 @ACADEMIESWEEK ACADEMIES WEEKFRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014EDITION 12ACADEMIES WEEK TEAMEditor:Head designer:Designer:Deputy editor:Sub editor:Senior reporter:Senior reporter:Reporter:Photographer:Cartoonist:Financials:Sales manager:Sales executive:Administration:Contributors:Managing director: Shane MannAnd tweet us your thoughts @academiesweekor with the hashtag #academiesweeksubscribeFor an annual subscription to Academies Weekfor just £50 visit www.academiesweek.co.ukand click on ‘subscribe’ at the top of the page.www.academiesweek.co.ukor call 020 8123 4778 to subscribeADVERTISE WITH USNick LinfordNicky PhillipsRob GaltLaura McInerneyJill CravenSophie ScottPhilip NyeBilly CamdenEllis O’BrienStan DuppHelen NeillyVictoria BoyleHannah SmithNegar SharifiFrances Ogefere DellJacqui Ashton SmithJade KentJoanne MorganRebecca StaceyAndrew OldJack MarwoodIf you are interested in placing a product orjob advert in a future edition please click onthe ‘advertise’ link at the top of the page onacademiesweek.co.uk or contact:E: advertising@academiesweek.co.ukT: 020 81234 778DisclaimerAcademies Week is owned and published by Lsect Ltd. Theviews expressed within the publication are those of the authorsnamed, and are not necessarily those of Academies Week, LsectLtd or any of its employees. While we try to ensure that theinformation we provide is correct, mistakes do occur and wecannot guarantee the accuracy of our material.The design of the printed newspaper and of the website iscopyright of Lsect Ltd and material from the newspapershould not be reproduced without prior permission. If youwish to reproduce an article from either the printed paper orthe website, both the article’s author and Academies Weekmust be referenced (to not do so, would be an infringement oncopyright).Lsect Ltd is not responsible for the content of any externalinternet sites linked to.Please address any complaints to the editor. We are fullycommitted to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code ofPractice. If you have a complaint which cannot be resolved bythe editor, write to the Press Complaints Commission, HaltonHouse, 22—23 Holborn, London EC1N 2JDLearning & Skills Events,Consultancy and Training Ltd161-165 Greenwich High RoadLondon SE10 8JAT: 020 8123 4778E: news@academiesweek.co.ukNEWSDfE rules on ‘Disqualification byassociation’ unclear says NAHTPHILIP NYE@PHILIPNYEThe Department for Education needs to issueclearer guidance on who must be barredfrom working with young children, says theNational Association of Head Teachers.“Disqualification by association” rulesmean that someone who lives in the samehousehold as a person already bannedfrom working with young children couldthemselves be disqualified.While the law has been in place since 2009,the association said that until recently itwas not commonly known that it applied toschools. The Department for Education (DfE)published guidance in October, but in at leasttwo cases, local authorities have interpretedthe rules differently.The rules prevent anyone who meetscertain criteria from “providing early yearschildcare or later years childcare to childrenwho have not attained the age of 8; or beingdirectly concerned in the management of thatchildcare”.Among those barred are anyone whohas been cautioned or convicted of certainviolent and sexual offences against eitheradults or children. But under additional“disqualification by association” rules,sharing a house with a barred person couldalso lead to disqualification.Anyone who falls foul of these rules canapply to Ofsted for a waiver, but in thePlans to train an extra 17,500 maths andphysics teachers at a cost of £67 million havebeen met with scepticism by teacher trainingexperts.On Monday, the prime minister set out aplan to recruit an additional 500 maths andphysics teachers each year over the courseof the next parliament, on top of the roughly2,700 trainees annually recruited at present.A new bursary for school leavers, coveringsome of the cost of an undergraduate degree,will be offered in exchange for a commitmentto teach after graduating.The bursary will be additional to existingmaths and physics teacher incentives,including bursaries of £25,000.Under No 10’s plan, 15,000 teachers of othersubjects will also retrain as maths or physicsteachers, as part of a “major push” to boostmaths, science and technology skills.However, Professor Alan Smithers, directorof the Centre for Education and EmploymentResearch at the University of Buckinghamsays: “It’s really easy to say ‘well, physicsis science, so therefore there’ll be peopleteaching biology, or who have done medicineor engineering [degrees] that we can retrainas physics teachers’. But biology is really asdifferent from physics as, say, history is.”Professor Smithers suggests that themeantime must be suspended.The new guidance, while intended to helpschools, has led to confusion over who iscovered.Andrew Hall, a specialist safeguardingconsultant, highlighted the case of Essex andNorfolk county councils, which have issuedguidance interpreting the rules in differentways.Essex guidance says: “The regulationsrefer to employing a person ‘in connectionwith’ these provisions and we thereforeconclude that … all staff [in junior or primaryschools] are covered as it is unlikely in suchsettings that staff are always exclusivelyworking with those over the age of 8.”However, guidance produced by Norfolkstates that among those covered are: “Staffwho work in later years provision forchildren who have not attained the age of 8and provide childcare outside of school hoursincluding breakfast clubs and after-schoolcare . . . This does not include teachers andsupport staff who teach children aged 6 – 8.”Mr Hall said: “Whilst recognising thatthis is an important issue, the DfE hasnot communicated it well to schools. Theserious matter of disqualifying otherwiseinnocent people must not be left open to localinterpretation.”The department needed to clarify theposition for schools “as a matter of urgency.”Kathy James (pictured), director ofeducation at the NAHT, said: “It’s probablygovernment should accept that it is alwaysdifficult to recruit physics teachers, and planon that basis.“It ought to be reckoning on the fact that it’salways going to be difficult to get specialists inphysics. It really needs to look at the schoolssystem, and see how the excellent teachersthat we do have in physics can be sharedaround in some sort of way, perhaps throughexcellence hubs, or in the way that schools aredoing through academy chains and so on.”The new policy follows a broadening of themaths GCSE syllabus, and a requirement foryoung people not reaching at least a grade C inmaths GCSE to continue studying the subject.Both policies have contributed to demand formaths teachers.Meanwhile, preliminary initial teachertraining statistics published last monthshowed that the government only hit 67 percent of its recruitment target of 985 traineephysics teachers this September. For mathsthe figure was higher, at 88 per cent or 2,186trainees recruited out of a target of 2,495.Professor John Howson, a visiting researchfellow at the University of Oxford, said thathe did not think it was plausible that thegovernment would be able to recruit thenew maths and physics teachers “without acompletely new approach”.In a time of greater job opportunities andimmigration as a highly-charged politicalissue, Professor Howson said: “It’s very hardfair to say that this has not been somethingthat has been known as being relevant toschools . . . there needs to be a lot moredetailed and clear guidance as to what shouldbe happening.”A DfE spokesperson: “These are not newrequirements and the law has not changed.The disqualification criteria apply to allstaff in schools who work in early years andchildcare provision, such as breakfast clubsand after-school care, for children up to theage of 8.“Schools and governing bodies should usetheir judgment when deciding which schoolstaff are covered, and we have recentlyprovided further information to help themunderstand the requirements. We have alsoagreed to work with the NAHT to ensure theguidance is as clear as possible.”Cameron needs to rethink maths and science planPHILIP NYE@PHILIPNYEto see how we’re going to get these 2,500 extrapeople. Is the Home Office going to say, yes,we’re perfectly happy to give a physics teacherfrom Barbados a visa to teach in England?”Currently, bursaries of £25,000 are availableto new trainees with first class degrees inphysics, maths, chemistry, computing orlanguages, and at lower levels for those whoachieved lower degree classifications.Announcing the plans, David Cameron(pictured) said: “This is all part of our longtermeconomic plan for Britain – makingsure our children have the skills they needto thrive and get on. And by sticking to it, wewill lift our children’s horizons and pull ourcountry up in the world.”The figures just don’t add up, page 9

ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK EDITION 12 FRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014NEWSAuthorities on targetlist left in the darksophie scott@soph_E_scottInvestigatesAuthorities on a “target list” foracademisation have been unaware that theDepartment for Education “concentrated itsefforts” in their areas.The DfE released the list of 17 localauthorities in which it wants to drive upacademy numbers to Academies Week as partof a Freedom of Information request.They include Kent, Darlington,Nottinghamshire and Essex. On average, 21.6per cent of schools in these authorities areacademies, sponsored and converted.However, there is a large difference acrossthe authorities. Derbyshire has the lowestproportion of academies, 4.6 per cent, as ofSeptember. In Darlington 74.4 per cent ofschools are already academies, the highestproportion in the country.The DfE has offices in three of the listedareas: Nottingham, Sheffield and Darlington.Lancashire and North Yorkshire have alower proportion of academies, but are noton the list.In the FOI response, the DfE said: “Thedepartment carries out work across thecountry on academy conversion andmatching underperforming schools with highquality sponsors. In late 2013 we identified13 areas where we would particularlyconcentrate our efforts to drive up academynumbers, strengthen local sponsor marketsand address underperformance.”The initial list named Tees Valley asone of the 13 targeted areas; however, thisincludes five local authorities includingMiddlesbrough and Hartlepool.The DfE told Academies Week it selectedthe authorities based on the performanceof maintained schools, availability of localsponsors and the numbers of schools thatmight “potentially convert” to becomeacademies.John Slater, service director for educationstandards and inclusion at NottinghamshireCounty Council, said: “We are not awareof a list . . . and will be talking with ourcolleagues in the department to find outmore information and what it means forNottinghamshire.”Stockton Council’s cabinet member forchildren and young people, Ann McCoy, said:“We are not aware of this list. However, wedo meet regularly with the DfE to discussperformance and academy conversions andare comfortable with these arrangements.”An education adviser at another authoritysaid: “I am not sure why we are on this list.We do not recognise the DfE’s view on this;1. Barking and Dagenham2. Cumbria3. Derbyshire4. Essex5. Hampshire6. Hertfordshire7. Isle of Wight8. Kent9. Middlesbrough10. Redcar and Cleveland11. Darlington12. Hartlepool13. Stockton-on-Tees14. Nottinghamshire15. Sandwell16. Sheffield17. Staffordshire2317their information is flawed.”A DfE spokesperson said: “We workedclosely with local authorities and otherpartners in each area. Our main objectivewas to trial new, more regionally focusedways of working ahead of the appointmentof regional school’s commissioners inSeptember.1171315 6London magnifiedHead made £40,000 ‘irregular’ payments, says EFA12105916148413Targeted localauthorities“We are also providing £10 million todrive up educational standards in the northof England to help outstanding academiessponsor local schools where provision isweakest. More than two-thirds of academies– 3,062 of 4,400 in England – are schools thathave actively chosen to convert.”SOPHIE SCOTT@SOPH_E_SCOTTA headteacher took more than £700 worthof alcohol from his school and made almost£40,000 of “irregular” payments before heresigned, a government report has found.The Education Funding Agency (EFA)undertook an investigation at SawtryCommunity College, an 11-18 school nearHuntingdon, Cambridgeshire, after aninternal whistleblower made seriousallegations about the principal JamesStewart.The EFA report shows £39,026 of“potentially irregular expenditure”,including almost £25,000 spent on alcohol,hospitality and shopping using privateschool funds.Some of the irregularities span back to2008, although the bulk of the investigationlooked at the 2013/14 financial year.The report said: “This amount [£24,544]included expenditure on alcohol, hospitality,shopping, gift cards, home appliances/furnishings and generally items of a naturewhich did not obviously appear directlyrelated to the running of the academy.”Many purchases were made at weekendsand at shops near Mr Stewart’s home, notthe school, and did not have receipts.Of this money, £3,593.62 was directlylinked to alcohol purchases and £4,946.55 onhospitality. He also had a monthly wine clubsubscription and charged the school for hiscar insurance and repairs to vehicles “otherthan the one driven by [him]”.Mr Stewart, who had worked at theschool for nearly 30 years, claimed £2,934.84for mobile phone bills and Virgin mediapackages for himself and his family.On the day of his resignation, a laptop wastaken from the school and the school notedalcohol worth £747 had been taken over twoyears. The report said he has since writtena cheque for the cost of the alcohol and thelaptop has been returned.The school was placed in special measuresat the end of June. Mr Stewart stepped downon the same day that the Ofsted report waspublished.The chair of governors, Peter Leaton,resigned two weeks later.The EFA has set out a number ofrecommendations for the school, but saidit may continue to be involved with Sawtryand that funds might be recovered “whichwere not spent for the purposes intended”.The school’s new and “revamped”governing body has voted in favour ofjoining Cambridge Meridian AcademiesTrust (CMAT), has a finance andaudit committee and will undertake an“It’s important to remember that Sawtryindependent review of financial transactions. is a very successful school and our studentsActing principal Sarah Wilson said: “As continue to do well at both GCSE and A-level.suspected, the EFA has found a number of We are focused on remedying past problemsirregularities in the college’s finances under and realising improvements as set out in ourthe former principal.seven-point improvement plan.”“We are confident that our current finances On Wednesday, Cambridgeshireand financial governance are in order and Police arrested a 69-year-old man fromour new leadership team and governing body Bedford and a 61-year-old man fromare doing everything necessary to implement Peterborough on suspicion of misconduct inthe recommendations of the report.a public office.WHAT THE EFA INVESTIGATION FOUND• £39,026 “potentially irregular expenditure incurred by the [former] principal• £2,934.82 - a year’s worth of direct debits for mobile and media charges for the formerprincipal and his family• £4,615.01 – charge card for meals, food and mobiles• £6,370 – mileage claims for 12,740 miles – no travel records kept• £24,544 – expenses reclaimed for alcohol, hospitality, shopping, gift cards, etc. Of the£24,544, £3,393.62 on alcohol; £4,946.55 on hospitality/entertaining• Had a holiday every February in term time – leave was not recorded• Principal authorised bonus payments (£250) for some staff – trustees unaware• Principal authorised £1,100 “honorarium payment” for chair of governors over twoyears – not justified• A laptop was taken from his office when he resigned – he has since reimbursed theschool and returned it

4 @ACADEMIESWEEK ACADEMIES WEEKFRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014NEWSMinisters back college of teachingSOPHIE SCOTT@SOPH_E_SCOTTA proposed college of teaching hasbeen backed by the government in anannouncement by ministers Nicky Morganand David Laws this week.Last month Academies Week reported thatit would take up to three years for the collegeto get up to capacity after its initial launch.A new website, claimyourcollege.org,has now been created to give teachers thechance to discuss how the idea should beimplemented.In this week’s Guardian Education, MsMorgan and Mr Laws wrote: “This new bodywill allow teachers, like other professionals,to set their own high standards for theirmembers; to take a lead in improving theprofession’s skills and abilities, and tochampion higher standards for children.“It is crucial that this body should becreated and led by teachers, but governmentcan help things along, and we will do allwe can to ensure a new college of teachingcan open its doors within the next couple ofyears.”In May 2012, the education selectcommittee recognised that an independentprofessional body for teachers was animportant step for the profession.Since September of that year, the Prince’sTeaching Institute (PTI) has been developingthe college, including a “blueprint” putforward in February this year.In that document membershipsubscription fees were mooted at between£70 and £130 a year, and annual certificationcharges at between £170 and £190.funded from a range of sources, includingfoundation trusts and businesses.More than 1,200 teachers and headteachershave responded to an online survey aboutthe proposal, which is supported by theteaching unions, including the NASUWT andATL.Ms Morgan and Mr Laws also announceda fund to “provide more high-quality,evidence-based professional development”,to be led by the 600 already-establishedteaching schools created in 2011 with the aimof a “self-improving” school system.Teaching schools have six “strands” totheir remit, known as the Big Six. Theyare initial teacher training and continuousprofessional development; school-to-schoolsupport; specialist leaders of education;succession planning and talent management;Speaking about the announcement,David Weston, chief executive of theTeacher Development Trust, said: “Thisannouncement recognises the importanceof teacher development for improving thelives of our young people and retaining andgrowing our best professionals. We believethat the government could go even further tofund the development of a proper career pathfor teachers, which builds in professionaldevelopment throughout teachers’ careersand recognises and accredits quality andimpact.“We particularly support the government’sfocus on high-quality CPD as there iscurrently significant variation in therelevance and effectiveness of CPD inour schools, and we welcome the focus onensuring that the profession takes moreResearch is continuing into theeffectiveness of teaching schools. An interimreport, published by the Department forEducation in April, looked at 18 teachingschool alliances in the summer of 2013.The report noted issues of accountability,governance and financial disparitiesacross the schools, stating: “One alliancehad a clear grip on finances and anotherwas struggling to set up a separate tradingaccount and construct a budget profilethat could be monitored on a monthlybasis.”The report also noted some excellent workcontributing to positive outcomes and that in“almost all” of the 18 case studies there wasgood progress towards delivery of the Big Sixgoals.A final report will be published when theIt is expected the college will also beand research and development.control over its future development.”two-year study ends next year.Alliance wants to redistribute pupil premiumsBILLY CAMDEN@BILLYCAMDENPupil premiums should be redistributed topupils who are both disadvantaged and havelow attainment, suggests a group of educationorganisations.The Fair Education Alliance (FEA) wantsthe premium halved and spread moregenerously to students struggling with lowattainment. It claims that this would givedouble-weighting to low income pupils in mostneed of intervention without increasing thepremium spend.However, social mobility charity The SuttonTrust says that the money ought to be spreadequally for all disadvantaged pupils.The alliance’s recommendation is partof its inaugural report. The group of 27organisations, which includes Business in theCommunity, Future Leaders and Teach First,aims to close education attainment gaps.Kiran Gill, the report’s lead author, said:“This would ensure that schools are givenfurther support to catch up pupils, and thatour efforts are focused on the most in need– children who are both in poverty and lowattaining.”Analysis from the alliance suggests that 7per cent (83) of the more than 1,000 secondaryschools serving low income communitiesachieved an average of eight GCSEs at gradeB or above across the school. Of the 83, only15 were outside London.Ms Gill added the policy would“particularly” support schools in rural andcoastal areas where pupils were currentlymore likely to underperform, although fewermight come from low income families.“The policy would also see pupil premiumfunds allocated based on attainment at entryto primary or secondary schools – makingsure it reflected the challenges of the schools’intakes whilst also incentivising schools tomake more progress with their most in needlow income pupils.”Pupil premiums boost funding to schoolsfor each pupil receiving free school mealswith the aim of raising attainment. Initiallyfunded in 2011 at £625 million per year, it willincrease to £2.5 billion in 2015-2016.Conor Ryan, director of research at TheSutton Trust, argues against the alliance’sproposal. He said: “We think that thepupil premium should continue to focuson all disadvantaged pupils and not justlow attainers,as able studentsfrom low incomebackgrounds needextra support to fulfiltheir potential.”The alliance’sreport also calledfor an early years’premium for schoolswith degree-qualifiedearly years’ staff,and a “Destination 8”measure to track pupilprogress after 16.Education secretaryNicky Morgan welcomedthe report and saidthat the gap betweendisadvantaged pupilsand their peers needed toclose.The report also said thatan “unfair” class ceiling –in and out of the classroom– showed that success wasstill upheld in wealthiercommunities.You can read the full report attinyurl.com/oraraqa

ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK EDITION 12 FRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014 5NEWSMorgan sets aside £4.8m for ‘character-building’BILLY CAMDEN@BILLYCAMDENNicky Morgan has revealed details of herplan to promote character in schools, aproposal that she outlined as a “priority” atthe Conservative party conference earlierthis year.On Monday, the education secretaryannounced the Character Innovation Fund,a £4.8 million commitment to fund eightprojects - some run by former armed servicespersonnel - and nearly £500,000 in awardsmoney for schools that effectively promotecharacter.The organisations include CommandoJoe’s and Challenger Troop (see graphbelow), as well as the Prince’s Trust andOutreach.Academies Week reported in Septemberthat Ms Morgan told an NASUWT fringeevent at the Conservative conference thatshe wanted to build “character, resilienceand grit” in pupils.She said: “I have added a fifth priorityto the department . . . Academic standardsare of course critical, but we also, in termsof our shared ambition for preparing ouryoung people for life in Britain, want to haveyoung people who develop as well-roundedindividuals.”Ms Morgan said she was talking “in termsof preparing children for employment” andhighlighted the importance of activities suchas sport, creativity, and debating.£700kTraining 2000Outreach£270k£270kThePrince’sTrustThe extra funding will pay for militaryethos projects aimed at developing children’sself-confidence, respect and leadership. Theprojects will include outdoor and physicalactivities and team-building.A review of evidence from the Departmentfor Education, published alongside MsMorgan’s announcement, gave examplesof how these projects positively impactedyoung people.It said that last year more than 52,000pupils participated in these schemes across460 schools and other education institutions.However, one provider surveyed showedthat although 93 per cent of teachers saidthere had been some improvement in pupilattainment, most of those interviewed tendednot to see a connection between militaryethos projects and improvement.Schools that build character will also berecognised through “character awards”.Schools can enter from January and will bejudged by a panel of education experts.Awards will include £15,000 for up to 27schools in all nine regions of the country.These will be announced in February. Onewinner will also receive £20,000 at an awardsceremony in March.Following the announcement, Ms Morgansaid: “Delivering the best schools and skillsis a key part of our long-term economic planthat is turning Britain around.“For pupils who may have faced challengesor difficulties in their personal life, theseinitiatives run by former armed servicesWHERE THE MONEY WILL GO£1mCommandoJoe’spersonnel can offer a sense of greateraspiration and can help to build the skillsand confidence they need to go on to goodjobs and successful futures.“Coupled with the new characterawards, schools will now have the tools andsupport they need to ensure they developwell-rounded pupils ready to go on to anapprenticeship, university or the world ofwork.”Hunt: Schools should be freeto choose how they do itCVQO£757k£400kSkillForce£412k£1mChallengerTroopKSA Educationand TrainingIn the same week that the coalition pushedmilitary ethos projects, shadow educationsecretary Tristram Hunt said that he wouldexpect Ofsted to “value” character educationin schools.Speaking on Monday at The CharacterConference, organised by Demos and TheJubilee Centre, Mr Hunt stopped short ofsaying that he would create a measurementfor character.Instead, he felt the inspectorate shouldvalue character but allow schools thefreedom to choose how it was implemented.Ofsted declined to comment on the idea.Speaking about Ms Morgan’s £5 millionallocation, the shadow education secretarysaid: “I think we know that cadets andhaving military involvement in schoolsand good role models can often be a goodsource of character development, so it’s aninteresting project.”He also called for a return of British spiritin the classroom and referred tothe characteristically “pithy views” ofWinston Churchill, a man who, he said,was “bang on” when he said: “failure is notfatal and it is the courage to continue thatcounts”.He also said that if Labour took controlat the next election, he would have teachertraining include character “boosting”lessons.

6 @ACADEMIESWEEK ACADEMIES WEEKFRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014NEWSWilshaw fears for stand-alone academiesSOPHIE SCOTT@SOPH_E_SCOTTOfsted’s chief inspector has criticised afocus on the structure of schools, despitewarning that stand-alone academies are atrisk of underperforming.Sir Michael Wilshaw outlined hisconcerns in Wednesday’s annual Ofstedreport stating that he was “disturbed” by adrop in the performance of many converteracademies.Sixty per cent of the 3,372 secondaryschools in England are now academies. Thereport adds: “more than 2,000 academies[primary and secondary] are not part ofa multi-academy trust (MAT) . . . somehave become isolated. Isolation can lead tounderperformance.”The report said that of the 89 converteracademies whose performance declined,66 were not in a MAT. Of the 21 formerlyoutstanding schools that dropped to“requires improvement” or “inadequate”, 15were not in a MAT.Sir Michael said: “These figures aredisturbing. We have to ask whetherthe necessary challenge, support andintervention for these academies have beenput into place quickly enough.”He said it was too early to assesswhether the eight new regional schoolscommissioners, who will oversee academies,have the capacity to do so effectively.He was also concerned about the roleof local authorities. The regional reportfor West Midlands specifically mentionedhow this issue came to the fore duringinspections prompted by the Trojan Horseallegations.“These inspections have called intoquestion the nature and extent of theaccountabilities associated with the highlevels of autonomy currently enjoyed byacademies. They also raise concerns aboutthe effectiveness of the local authorityto hold schools and governing bodies toaccount.”At the same time, however, he urgedpeople to move away from a focus on schoolstructures.“The time has now come to move awayfrom the debate that has raged for the pastfive years about school structures andtowards a sharper focus on what worksin all schools, regardless of their model orstatus.“The essential ingredients for success areno secret and have been well documentedfrom time immemorial: strong leadership, apositive and orderly culture, good teachingand robust assessment systems.”In support of his view, Professor AliceSullivan of the UCL Institute of Educationsaid: “There is no robust evidence that anyparticular school structure or type ‐— suchas academies, free schools, faith schools — isbeneficial for improving the performance ofpoor pupils.”Gabriel Heller Sahlgren, researchdirector at the Centre for Market Reformof Education, said: “There is evidence tosuggest becoming an academy can meanbetter results for pupils, but only amongschools that were LEA-maintained prior toconversion.“In addition, the research findings onlyapply to schools, mainly in disadvantagedareas, which became academies under theprevious Labour government’s scheme.”Headline figures from the report showedthat primary schools are improving, witha three percentage point increase in thenumber of good or outstanding schoolsto 82 per cent. This compares with 71 percent of secondary schools, a figure that hasremained the same and was described bySir Michael as having “stalled over the lastyear”.Ofsted has now inspected a third of all freeschools, making it “too early” to judge theiroverall performance.EDITOR’S COMMENT@nicklinford | nick.linford@academiesweek.co.ukSir Michael Wilshaw is keen topoint out secondary schoolsimprovements have “stalled” (seestory above).The chief inspector is correct, evenif only on the basis that Ofsted’sannual report shows the proportionof secondary schools graded goodor outstanding has remainedunchanged at 71 per cent.But what caught our eye were thecontradictory solutions.Sir Michael says now is the time tostop debating the pros and cons ofdifferent school structures.Yet, his own annual reportcriticised the structure of stand-aloneacademies, who become “isolated”,leading to underperformance.Ofsted is therefore, in fact,promoting a particular schoolstructure for academies: the multiacademytrust (or MAT, as it isknown).This message is likely to bewelcomed by the government, whowill use their new regional schoolscommissioners to move underperformingstand-alone academiesinto MATs.Therefore, changes to schoolstructures will continue to play animportant part in the government’sapproach to intervention.Suggesting otherwise is, at best,wishful thinking.

ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK EDITION 12 FRIDAY, DEC 12, 20147READER’SREPLYemail tweet WEBSITEWE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU@ACADEMIESWEEKNEWS@ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UKWWW.ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UKFour A-levels and a GCSE given the chop byOfqualNancy Wall, LondonYou are quite correct about Edexcel Economicsand Business having been axed. However, there is a newEdexcel course, A level Economics B. This meets Mr. Gove’srequirement that there be no joint subject courses, in that itcovers the criteria for Economics in full. But the criteria aremeant to cover just 60% of the course. This opens the wayto include a significant element of Business Studies in theEconomics B course. It is not a joint subject course in the waythe Economics and Business was, but many of the uniquefeatures of the old course have been included in Economics B.If you have taught this course before, you will find muchthat is familiar. To meet the criteria some economic conceptshave been added, while some business concepts have hadto be cut in order to keep the content at an appropriate level.But many teachers will find that the new course is at leastacceptable as a successor course. Go the Edexcel website andtake a look.Education Select Committee Review:Morgan on GCSE and A Level ReformName and address suppliedAn education secretary parachuted in at the fagendof a Parliament…..no preparation for the role…..damagelimitation??EFA prepares for Clegg’s post-16 registerDr Joan Keating, LondonMy eldest is in Yr 12 and I have another childcurrently in Yr 11 (and one in Yr 9). The two eldesthave attended a local community school that has no sixthform. The amount of choice is quite overwhelming especiallyif, like us, you live in London and so are able to travel to a largenumber of schools/colleges. Whittling the options down – oreven finding out what the choices are (my eldest son ended upat a school he found out about on Facebook) – necessitates ahuge amount of legwork in a year when youngsters are alreadypreoccupied with exams. Anything that makes that simpler hasto be a good thing.Chris Manners @Tubby_IsaacsI suppose they had to get one reform actually donebefore the election.What is Tristram Hunt’s private schooltax plan?Madeline Court, Derby“It is harder to fear people you know”I absolutely agree with this. I used to run a Guide unitin a village where a boarding school is located. I had teenagegirls from both the local state school and the boarding schoolattending my Guides. The best evening we had was the nightwhen we talked about stereotypes: girls from the state schooltalked scathingly about the “posh arrogant kids”, while theboarders talked about the “drug-taking and fighting” at thelocal comp. The moment of realisation that occurred whenthey all went, “But I’m not like that, and my friends aren’t likethat, and you’re not like that…”A bigger barrier to private/state collaboration may be theattitudes of staff, rather than pupils.Poor pay leaves support staff sweeping theroadsName and address suppliedOnce again the ICT support staff are left out of thelist of school support staff.The pay of IT Managers and Technicians in schools ispathetic.Corwynt @GwenelopeNot surprising, pay for support staff is woefulOfqual accredits six new practical mathsqualificationsTim Powell, SomersetThe alphabet soup machine churns on. This isa great idea, but it needs to be given a single name andto be part of a single widely understood and respected,qualification. In the education world we know what it is andhow useful it is, but to the outside world it is yet another “heretoday gone tomorrow” qualification that is not as good asA-level.House prices and population”? If you are going to blow adog whistle please make sure the rest of us cannot hear it – it’sjust annoying.Name and address suppliedWhy is there not more consideration of maths atlevel 2? These qualifications are great but thereneeds to be work done on the courses available pre-16 too.Chris Jones @ChrisJones_CEOGood to see these launched - good for learners andgood for employers @cityandguilds will supportteachers tooShould Ofsted police extremism?Garry Otton, GlasgowTackling radicalism and promoting more religion inschools? No. Get religion OUT of schools altogether and justpromote critical thinking.Contact the teamTo provide feedback and suggest stories please email news@academiesweek.co.uk and tweet using @academiesweekSchool Funding Changes: Made Simplereply of the weekRos Lucas, LondonGood news for Careers in general but unlessthe funding is spread across the spectrum of14 – 18 in schools and colleges, advice and guidancewill continue to be fragmented, some unbiased andmany of our learners will not have access to one-to-oneguidance because of the huge numbers involved andthe high work load of those responsible for deliveringthe service in schools and colleges.It must also be remembered that it will be absolutelyessential for the huge NEET group to be given goodquality Careers Advice and Guidance, together witheffective and well managed and monitored supportto develop their Maths and English qualifications inorder to be able to apply for the growing number ofjobs that are becoming available for starting out in theemployment market.DfE’s performance descriptors – panelof consultants revealedNHA Party-Merseyside @NHAMerseysideSounds like most of the changes from the‘Management’ of the #NHS since 2010! Created bya Tory Ideology not for UK Public!Stephen McNally @SolutionprovidaThere has to be the ability to make a legalchallenge to this joke. Not 1 teacher then not anounce of credibility. Tory Con!Nicholas Marshall @Nick5307I challenge each one of them to take 1 of myclasses and let the kids judge them. Is this howyou respect us @NickyMorgan01reply of the weekreceives ‘the’ mug!CorrectionThe ‘Ofsted chief defends ‘impartial’ inspections’ report(page 3, December 5) was written by Sophie Scott,not Billy Camden.To inform the editor of any errors or issues of concernregarding this publication emailnick.linford@academiesweek.co.uk with Error/Concern in thesubject line.Please include the page number and story headline, and explainwhat the problem is.

8 @ACADEMIESWEEK ACADEMIES WEEKFRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014EXPERTSJACQUIASHTON SMITHExecutive director of education,National Autistic SocietyJADE KENTSolicitor in the education team atMichelmores LLPDo we need autismspecificschools?All children and young people deservean inclusive and fulfilling education. Butmainstream schools are not always theanswer for those with autism who musthave access to a range of provisionAutism is a spectrum conditionso, while all children and youngpeople with the lifelong disabilityshare certain difficulties aroundsocial communication and interaction, itaffects them in different ways.Their wide spectrum of needs requiresa range of educational provision, frommainstream to specialist schools. Every childwith autism is different, so a one-size-fits-allapproach simply doesn’t work.Schools have a crucial role to playin preparing children with autism foradulthood, by giving them the confidence andskills they need to live as independently aspossible in their local community and to goon to further education, work or supportedliving.A one-sizefits-allapproachsimply doesn’tworkWhere possible, we hope that they can beeducated at mainstream schools where theycan learn and develop alongside their peers.But some children with autism experiencesuch high anxiety that they are unable toleave their family home, let alone attendschool. Others with social anxieties andsensory difficulties find it hard to learn inthe busy and unpredictable environmentof mainstream schools, even if they havethe necessary academic ability. In thesecases, when their needs are not being metor they are unable to express their feelings,children with autism can display challengingbehaviour that can be disruptive and lead toexclusions.All children and young people deserve aninclusive and fulfilling education but recentNational Autistic Society (NAS) statisticsshow that 17 per cent of children with autismhave been suspended from school and 4 percent have been expelled from one or moreschools.However, our experience shows thatexpulsions and suspensions are generallyavoidable, if children are given the rightsupport. Therefore, if the needs of childrenwith autism cannot be met full-time inmainstream school, they must be able toaccess specialist support such as autismspecificschools.As recognition of autism has increased inrecent years, and more children and youngpeople have been diagnosed as a result, localauthorities have experienced greater demandfor different forms of provision and have beenlooking to address gaps in their services. Thisdemand has outstripped the ability of theNAS and other providers to supply it, and wesee the government’s free school strategy asan opportunity to work with local authoritiesand parents to develop additional autismspecificprovision, in response to local need.The NAS has more than 50 years ofexperience educating people with autism andcurrently supports more than 500 childrenand young people between the ages of 4 and19 at seven autism-specific schools, includingone free school. We are also developing twomore schools, one in Cheshire East (openingin January) and another in Lambeth, southLondon (opening next autumn).Children at autism-specific schools suchas ours benefit from smaller classes taughtby teachers who understand autism andare better able to meet their needs. Autismspecificschools are also able to offer amodified national curriculum that providesgreater freedom to balance academic learningwith developing social and life skills designedto prepare pupils to be as independent aspossible in adulthood.The appropriate inclusion or integrationof pupils into general society is an importantstepping stone towards people withautism being fully included in their localcommunity. We therefore put significantemphasis on community-based learning andshared activities with partner schools so thatour students can feel part of their communityand develop life skills.Unfortunately, far too many childrenwith autism aren’t getting the educationthey deserve because of misunderstandingssurrounding the condition and inadequateeducation provision. Local authorities mustensure that a range of provision is availablethat meets the needs of local children.Autism-specific schools can make a hugedifference to some students, but they areonly part of the solution and need to operatealongside a range of other options that fitlocal need.autism.org.ukCan you leave schoolwhen you turn 16?Businesses benefit in all sorts of wayswhen they take on a young apprentice.It’s now financially easier too — and theycan start the day they turn 16Some kids are just not academicallyminded, it doesn’t interest them andthey would rather be getting theirhands into something practical.The kid may be really into gigs and musicfestivals (live events apprentice), want totravel the world (cabin crew), manage alibellous attack against a supermarket (PR),fight fires (firefighter) or help cute kittens(veterinary nurse apprentice).The good news in the Autumn Statementlast week was that the government hasmade it cheaper to employ young people, amove that will hopefully boost the volume ofproviders.From April 2016, employers will not have topay National Insurance contributions (NICs)for all but the highest earning apprenticesaged under 25. This is in addition to theprevious announcement that employerswon’t have to pay NICs for under-21s fromApril next year.Jimmy canstart hisapprenticeshipat 16 and nolonger has toattend schoolSo why would anyone want to employJimmy when he is so young? There are alot of reasons: apprentices help businessesto grow by bringing in fresh ideas froma “young” perspective; they develop amotivated, skilled and qualified workforce bygrowing talent from within and by gainingsupport from local training organisations;they improve productivity by expanding theskills available in the business and possiblyby allowing an experienced member of staffto share their knowledge with a new face;and they reduce costs as apprentices usuallywork 30 hours a week but their hourly rate islower to reflect their training role (£2.73 anhour in most cases).So now (hopefully) that employers are onboard, can young Jimmy leave school theminute he turns 16 to work in that garage hehas been working at in the weekend?The law says that Jimmy is of compulsoryschool age until the last Friday of June in theacademic year he turns 16. So how can he gethis hands on those cars before that crucialFriday date?The answer: through an approvedapprenticeship. Assuming the employerticks all the apprenticeship scheme boxesJimmy can start his apprenticeship at 16 andno longer has to attend school full time. Anapprenticeship is classified as “efficient fulltimeeducation” and therefore falls withinthe law. That should please him. He needsto legally stick at this (or some other form ofeducation/training) until his 18th birthdayas he was born after September 1, 1997. Thisshouldn’t be tricky if he is doing somethinghe loves.A boring (but crucial) admin point forthe school is that when Jimmy is attendinghis apprenticeship it needs to mark himon the register as attending an approvededucational activity or remove him entirelyfrom the register. Keeping the local authorityin the loop is a good idea, too.Schools have been heavily criticised in thepast for their lack of or non-existent careersadvice; the more informed they are, the betterinformation they can pass to their pupils.Also, a pupil with low motivation who doesnot want to be in school could be encouragedby the thought of an apprenticeship,especially in an exciting area that has alearning scheme developed along the lines ofhow he or she likes to think. The school alsocould consider employing an apprentice toassist with developing learning experiencesfor pupils.Some parents believe that vocationaleducation or anything other than universityis inferior. Apprenticeships are no longerlimited to manual labour-intensive vocationssuch as bricklaying or plumbing. All typesof organisations have apprentices. TheTelegraph is currently advertising and evenMPs have been recruiting their own juniors.The stereotypes need to be broken. This canstart by schools knowing more and educatingtheir pupils and vicariously their parents.Slowly, over time, this will contribute to achange of attitude.

ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK EDITION 12 FRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014EXPERT9It’s simple: the numbersjust don’t add upThe principles underlying the changesto GCSE maths are sound. But thepracticalities are less so. For a start,where will all the extra teachers comefrom?When Michael Gove announcedlast November that mathsGCSE was going to gettougher, I doubt many of usrealised just how tough. From September, itwill almost double in size.The new qualification will provide greaterchallenge for the most able students. Thisis a welcome change; it will better preparestudents for the demands of maths A-level.At present a student can get an A* in mathsGCSE if they are bright and hard-working,even if they have gaps in their underlyingJOANNEMORGANMaths teacher and blogger,She tweets as @mathsjemmathematical understanding. From 2017,the top grade will be much harder toachieve and will require deep conceptualunderstanding of a broad range ofmathematical topics, as well as strongreasoning and problem-solving skills.The changes to the foundation tier focuson ensuring that every student mastersfundamental maths. The syllabus nowincludes a large number of topics previouslyreserved for higher tier students, includingquadratic equations and trigonometry.Given that students often start year 7sometimes not knowing their times-tablesand even unable to tell the time, this will bechallenging. At secondary school we havefive years to build up their confidence andto develop their mathematical fluency andunderstanding of a broad curriculum. It’s adaunting task, but entirely worthwhile.The reforms value mathematics asfundamental to facilitating learning in othersubjects and the principles underlying thechanges to GCSE are sound. Unfortunatelythe practicalities are less so.Mr Gove’s announcement anticipated thatschools would want to increase time spentteaching maths. Given the amount of newtopics there is clearly a need for a significantincrease in contact time, and not just atGCSE. To master the underlying conceptualknowledge, more maths teaching time is alsoneeded at key stage 3.Entire cohortswill sit theirexams in2017 woefullyunpreparedProactive schools are ahead of the game –they have already implemented new schemesof work, accompanied by an increasednumber of maths lessons at both key stages 3and 4. In many cases, time at key stage 4 hasbeen found by reducing the number of GCSEstaken by the 2017 cohort. Where key stage 3maths teaching time has been increased, thismay have been achieved by reducing lessonsin subjects such as dance or drama.Schools that choose not to increase mathsteaching time are likely come unstuck twoyears from now. They may end up rushingthrough the syllabus or simply be unableto complete it. Entire cohorts will sittheir exams in 2017 woefully unprepared.Why aren’t these schools following thegovernment’s advice to increaseteaching time in maths? In most cases it’sbecause they will be unable to staff theadditional lessons.And here we have the real problem. Toadd an extra hour a week of maths lessons,schools will need to recruit an additionalmaths teacher. This is where the plan startsto fall apart. Currently around one in fiveschools has a vacancy in maths – and therecruitment crisis is worsening. With therequirements of the new GCSE, plus theintroduction of the new core maths post-16qualifications, the number of vacancies is setto rise dramatically this year. Wherewill the teachers come from to fill them?Demand is increasing at the same time thatsupply is falling.Has the government put the cart before thehorse? Before devising a new qualificationthat requires additional teachers, they shouldhave ensured a sufficient supply of mathsteachers. This isn’t just a recruitment crisis.It’s a failure of education for a generationof young people. It’s a catastrophe for thecountry. The government is concernedabout the UK’s global competitiveness andthey’ve determined that maths educationis the key. But without teachers, we can’timplement their policies. It doesn’t take amathematician to see that the numbers justdon’t add up.SAVE THE DATESTHE ACHIEVEMENT SHOW2015For practitioners at all stages of theircareer26 JuneTwickenham Stadium, LondonThe largest practitioner-led event returns, witheleven learning zones showcasing the best andnext practice nationally. Hear from over 100practitioners and inspirational leaders with bothpractical and innovative ideas you can takeback to your classroom.THE ASPIRATIONS SHOWFOR STUDENTSA careers show with a difference forstudents in year 122 JulyThe Emirates Stadium, LondonAn inspiring new day for students to experiencea world of modern, popular and unfamiliarcareers, the Aspirations Show is where yourstudents can plan their next steps under theguidance of people who have been thereand done it! Students will design their ownday, weaving their preferred pathway throughinspiring keynotes and engaging workshops thatwill share stories of success, hard work, andovercoming failure in the real world.SSAT NATIONALCONFERENCE 2015For school and system leaders3-4 DecemberManchester Central, ManchesterWith world-class speakers from the worldof business, as well as education, we will beexploring how schools can achieve excellentachievement and progress whilst also engagingstudents, raising aspirations, and offering apersonalised route to success. School-ledworkshops will demonstrate how schools aremeeting these challenges head-on.www.ssatuk.co.uk

10 @ACADEMIESWEEK ACADEMIES WEEKFRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014REVIEWSRESEARCH REVIEWThis week’s guest reviewer is Rebecca Stacey, primary school headteacher and author of DigitalClassrooms.co.ukResearch: Video games vs. reading and school/cognitive performances: a study on 27000 middleschool teenagersAuthors: Alain Lieurya, Sonia Lorantb, Bruno Trosseillec,Françoise Champaultc & Ronan Vourc’hcPublished online:: June 11 2014.Publisher: Taylor and FrancisVideo games are everywhere: your phone, TV andeven in school. They are constantly in the news andas normal to our pupils as TV is to you. As a lifelongvideogame enthusiast and a primary headteacher,research that examines the impact of games on learningis welcome. This research is part of a survey examiningthe leisure activities of 27,000 French teenagers andcomparing them to the results of various “school/cognitive” type tests.This research is a straightforward, if broad, survey.It asks how often the students completed leisure activities,and goes so far as to examine the genre of books andvideo games they consume, then cross references theiractivities with test results. The authors are interested intwo main theories: “cost on time” (displacement), wherethe time lost doing homework impacts negatively onacademic results. Plus, “transfer of cognitive skills”, w.g.whether the leisure activity can actually support thelearning of skills that aid better academic results.The study reviews current literature and paints aconfused, fragmented but familiar picture. There is someresearch in this area, but little is useful to educationists.They point to research suggesting that “action” videogamers do better in selective attention and visualdiscrimination tests, and that video gamers are better indual task but not single-task situations. The context isso specific, however, that it is difficult to consider schoolapplications.The “cost on time” theory proves interesting. Anincrease in leisure activities, the survey suggests,presents no negative correlation with academic ability.Interestingly, “resting/relaxation/day-dream” as a choicefor leisure activity showed a slightly positive correlationto the school tests – an argument for decreasing theoverload of activities?As for video games as a leisure activity, the surveyshowed little correlation, either positive or negative,with academic ability. One small correlation wasnegative; players of sports-related games have a negativecorrelation with their test scores. For strategic gamesplayers there is a small positive correlation for maths andreasoning activities. However, the effect of game trainingneeds to be questioned. The authors point to studiesthat liken the neurological training connected to violinplaying and how this impacts no other section of thebrain. These correlations may therefore not be related tothe video games but something else.Reading as a leisure activity (all genres) has a smallpositive correlation with tasks such as encyclopaedicmemory tests and comprehension. These correlations arehigher for girls who read crime/thriller/fantasy books.There are, however, several dangers to drawingconclusions from such a study. It makes no allowances forthe length of time spent on an activity — and whilst it triesto give the books and games a genre, the distinctions lacknuance.So, is this research any use?It leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Is it about thefrequency of the activity, or the length of time doing it?Can schools tap into these leisure activities to improvechildren’s test results? Should all children read a crimenovel?Of more interest is the window on to the leisureactivities of teenagers. Of the 27,000 who took part, 88per cent said they used the internet to communicate withfriends every day compared with 44 per cent for playingvideo games. That’s a staggering amount – and the surveywas done in 2011, so it is likely to be even higher now. Thesurvey also supports stereotypes – more boys than girlsplay games, and boys are much more likely to use fightingand platform games. Can schools tap into this knowledgein a practical way?Still, it is an interesting survey and one thatshould be repeated, like the census, so we can trackwhat future generations are actually doing. Andmaybe that information really will be something schoolscan use!A week in WestminsterYour regular guide to what’s going on in central governmentthursday:A busy, busy day today on theDepartment for Education website. Aday after Academies Week goes to press,coincidence?!Pre-empting Wednesday’s publicationof Ofsted’s annual report, theinspectorate released its official statisticsfor September 2013 – August 2014.Slightly less burdensome than theannual report – which runs to more than40 pages – it broke down the figures SirMichael Wilshaw discussed this week.Key points included the stagnation ofsecondary schools, while primary schoolscontinued on an upward trajectory. Readpage 6 for a more in-depth look at thereport.The DfE also released the amountgiven to schools for maintenance andcapital funding this academic year.Local authority and voluntary aidedschools received £838 million; academiesreceived less than half that with £496million. Academies only make up about20 per cent of schools, though. So couldthis be a hint of favouritism?FRIDAY:Like the recent Pharrell Williams track,Friday brought the survey news that DfEstaffers are happy, happy, happy. Clapsunday:along! (and see our front page for more)What value your education? £1.3 billion,apparently. Thanks to some DfE research,we now know that’s the estimated extraeconomic benefit generated as a result of21,600 more pupils getting five or moreA*-C GCSEs, including English and mathsin 2014 compared with 2010.Interesting though, we got abreakdown of the figures, which told usthat £430 million of the benefit could beattributed to improvements in the resultsof disadvantaged pupils.And – by looking at those areas thatboosted their exam performance the most– we learnt that Sandwell, Halton andHaringey will be adding £20 million, £15million and £20 million more to nationaloutput in the years to come. Well done tothem.MONDAY:On Monday we received the DfE’sregular three-monthly release onapproved spending in areas subject to agovernment-wide spending moratorium– such as advertising and consultancy.Among the expenditure recorded inthe latest release (July – September) was£3,879,000 spent on an initial teachertraining (ITT) marketing campaign forthe current academic year. Coming onlya couple of weeks after figures for newtrainee teachers show targets are beingmissed, maybe it makes sense for this tobe one of the areas where an exception ismade to the spending ban.The listed £400,000 for the DfE’s YourLife campaign to get more young peoplestudying STEM subjects looks a bit harderto justify, especially given that maths andscience are already compulsory subjects.TUESDAY:Bit of a depressing read today – guidanceon when to exclude pupils, somethingheadteachers are often reluctant todo. The advice has been updated, totake effect from the start of next term(January 5), but mainly states it wants togive heads more “confidence” in makingsuch decisions.The document reveals that those mostlikely to be excluded include pupils withSEN, pupils eligible for free school meals,looked-after children and pupils fromcertain ethnic groups. The groups withthe highest rates of exclusion are: gypsy/Roma, Travellers of Irish heritage, andCaribbean pupils. Not great news foranyone.WEDNESDAY:Speaking in the Commons, NickyMorgan introduced plans to set up a new“employer-led” company to boost careersadvice. Opposite number Tristram Hunt– deadpan – thanked the EducationSecretary for trailing the announcementin the pages of The Sun.CHECK OUT @AWONLOCATION FORLIVE TWEETS OF WESTMINSTER EVENTS

AN EDUCATIONAL NEWSPAPERDELIVERED TO YOUR DOORA SUPPLEMENT BROUGHT TO YOUBY ACADEMIES WEEKACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK | @ACADEMIESWEEKSSAT4-5NATIONAL CONFERENCEDECEMBER 2015, MANCHESTER8 PAGE PULLOUT

12SSAT ANNUAL CONFERENCE:LAURAMCINERNEYDeputy editor of Academies Week @miss_mcinerneyt’s not a trust, it’s a network. That’swhat SSAT staff told me vociferouslyover the two days of the organisation’sannual conference.The group has even changed its name toreflect this fact. No longer is it the “specialistschools and academies trust” but is now,officially, “SSAT (The Schools Network)”.In the near-past the longer name workedbecause it brought together a specific groupof schools. With the invention of many moreschool types (think: free schools, UTCs,studios) plus the gradual ebbing of specialiststatus, the new name brings SSAT into themodern era.The conference was modern too. In fact,it was exciting. At the Academies Weekstand we shared more than 500 ridiculouslytasty coffees with some of the 600 delegatesdesperate to share details of the stirringworkshops, keynotes and performancesthey had attended. And they weren’t alwaysstirring in a good way.Speakers were commonly from theprogressive end of education thought. PasiSahlberg, Sugata Mitra, Eric Mazur: eachtalked of dismantling schools of old, andpushed learner-centred, non-examined,non-inspected systems. These are big-drawspeakers often lauded across the broaderschool sector but it surprised me to seethem here among a notionally harder-edged“school leader” crowd.Delegates varied in their reactions.Some were ecstatic to see the conversationgetting back to learning. Years of focus onfree schools versus academy versus someother form of faff, have led to a wearinessamong leaders. They just want to get on withteaching children, whatever the school sayson the door.Others were not so happy. It may be easyto get a round of applause by proclaiming“let’s have no more exams” when you’re ina room of people who didn’t do too well atthem – but when facing an audience whoknow that exam grades might make thedifference between one of their studentsliving comfortably or living in poverty, it’s atougher sell.It’s also true that some speakers wereabstract. Espousing lovely ideas aboutleadership or collaboration but not sayingwhat those really meant. “I love the idea ofempowering students,” one delegate said,“but tell me how! Where do I start? What do Iactually do?”Unused to disagreement, some might havethought SSAT had missed the mark. Butactually, all the choices were deliberate.Networks rely on interaction. If people onlyhear the same safe messages, or the sametrick for dealing with year 9, then there’slittle conversation and far less learning.Professor Mitra’s desire to tear apartclassrooms (page 16) may not be to everyone’staste, but having to justify why it’s not meansteasing out thoughts about what learningis, something all teachers should regularlyponder.At the end of the two days, I packed awayour coffee-stained stand and paused beforetrashing a soggy agenda. The conferencetitle — “The Learner” — stood out. I realisedit wasn’t just about children, but applied tous all: school leaders, thinkers, governors,business managers. We are all learning, andgood networks help us do it even better.Martin RobinsonHOT TOPICS ON THE COFFEE STAND“Fat” maths, tightening finances, thefuture of academies, and sheer terrorabout British values characterisedconversation at the Academies Weekcoffee stand.“Fat maths” was new to me, but wasmentioned by leaders struggling withthe minefield that is the new widerrangingmaths GCSE. Teacher JoanneMorgan (pictured) explains better ina full article (page 9), but the generalconcern is that more time needs togo to maths from next year – butschools neither have the staff nor thetimetable space for it.An easy solution is to reduce thenumber of other GCSEs sat by students.The downside of this approach is thatthe subjects likely to be cut are theones already struggling – art, music,technology. Not only would this be ashame for students whose talents liein this area, but what of their teachers?David Cameron’s announcement thisweek suggests they might retrain asmaths teachers but I suspect more thana few art teachers would blanche at theprospect.On finance: everyone knows thata lean winter is heading our way.Suspicions are that schools will getno extra funding next Parliamentand performance-related pay (PRP)is already causing a headache. Asschool business manager MiconMetcalfe said in a workshop on PRP, ifan exceptionally talented new teacherapplies for a raise to the top of the payscale, a headteacher must consider it.If the teacher has all necessaryevidence, turning it down would provetricky.People also chatted about thefuture landscape of free schoolsand academies. With news revealedlast week that regional schoolscommissioners will soon become theapprovers of free schools, interest (andscepticism) is growing around theirpowers. Several heads spoke of theirconcern that the headteacher boardsadvising the RSCs are too secretive. Ifthe board heads are seen to favour theirown academy trust, scepticism willlikely lurch even higher.Despite these concerns, though, therewas an overall feeling of optimism. Aswith the story on our front page, thecrowd showed a sense of being “demobhappy”. The worst of the changes havehappened, many said, we are just goingto have to work exceptionally hard toimplement them.

13MOVING INTO THE MODERN ERAAcademies Week coffee standSTUDENT VOXPOPSPictured left: Academies Week learner media team from St Mary’s Catholic Academy inBlackpool. From left: Chloe McLoughlin, Arpitha Puthenpurayil, Olivia Maginnis-Jonesand Gemma BrownOUR REPORTERSFour learners from St Mary’s Catholic Academy inBlackpool joined the Academies Week team at the SSATconference to experience journalism first hand.During the two days the learners spent time with deputyeditor, Laura McInerney and publisher, Shane Mann, whoexplained how a newspaper operates on a day-to-daybasis.The learners also went on to interview several delegatesabout their experience of the conference and what theyhad learnt.DAVID MCQUEENFOUNDER, MAGNIFICENTGENERATIONHow has the conference been for you?I have learnt a great amount from speakingwith lot of enthusiastic teachers andlearners.Do you think the issue of the learner hasbeen addressed?By being educators, we focus on what we can do to help. But we wantto know how learners think. The learner performances have provided areminder of what is happening in schools.What can you take away for your organisation?It’s good for young people to have a voice and they should have moreparticipation.FELICITY MARTINFREELANCE MARKETINGCONSULTANTROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANYHow has the conference been for you?I have been working on getting young peopleinvolved in Shakespeare and meetingenthusiastic teachers.Have the student performances had a positive effect?It has been very positive having young people at a conference thatconcerns them.What can you take away for your organisation?It’s our first conference and we have been able to meet with lots of newpeople and develop new links and relationships.GRAHAM HARRISPROJECT LIAISON OFFICERROYAL AERONAUTICAL SOCIETYHave you enjoyed the conference?I have learnt a lot and it has been aninteresting experience. I am a retiredaerospace engineer, so a new experiencefor me.How have the student performances affectedthe conference?It has provided the learners with the opportunity to grow in confidenceand experience a conference.Do you think the issue of the learner has been addressed?Yes, It has helped to focus efforts on inspiring.OLIVIA MAGINNIS-JONESYEAR 13ST MARY’S CATHOLIC ACADEMYHow have you enjoyed the conference so far?It has been very interesting and shown me adifferent light into education.Have the student performances had a positiveeffect on the conference?The student performances, I think, represent the whole reason for theconferences and remind people of why they are here. So they’ve beengreat.Do you think the issue of the learner has been addressed?I was able to understand most speeches, which highlighted that theywere completely focused on the learner.Why did you decide to come?I thought it was a good opportunity to expand my journalism skills andmeet new and innovative people.

14DAY ONE HIGHLIGHTSOPENING CEREMONY: PUPILS AT THE CENTRESOPHIE SCOTT@SOPH_E_SCOTTPink Floyd’s 1979 hit AnotherBrick in the Wall rang out in theauditorium as dancers fromSwinton High School kicked off thetwo-day conference.SSAT chief executive SueWilliamson then introduced pupilsfrom schools across England, andthe Netherlands, to talk about theirlearning experience.“The focus this year is the learner,”she told the 600 delegates.It was a notable contrast withyears of education conferences thathave anxiously focused on policy,implementation and Ofsted. This wasgoing to be different.And it was. Pupils from NorthEast WolverhamptonAcademy told howbuilding a planetaught them a vastrange of skills.Two pupils from Van der CapellenSchool, Zwolle in the Netherlands andnow spending time at a schoolin Manchester, explained thedifferences between the Britishschool system and the Dutch way oflearning.“Young people have to be giventhe skills to learn, and the characterand determination to persistwhen a problem is difficult,” saidMs Williamson. “As teachers wemust resist the temptation to givethe answer, if we spoon-feed thetransition from any stage it becomesmuch more difficult.“While I am very impressed bythe quality of people entering theteaching profession, and I have metsome wonderful practitioners, I amconcerned about the quantity.“Teachers make lives. Your wordsand actions have an enormousimpact on young people. Thingswe do which we don’t think areparticularly significant, can leave alasting impression.”Swinton High School dance performanceDavid McQueenTHE ROLE OF DIGITAL LEARNERSIn a time of shrinking budgets andconstantly changing technology, PaulBruce, services architect at RM Education,explained how schools could stretch theirfinances to get the best outcomes forlearners.They must look at their own situation, hesaid, and not react to neighbouring schoolsgiving out hundreds of iPads.“What we find in schools is that we arestarting to develop digital leaders. It couldbe a Teach First teacher who has a lot ofexperience in presentations, it might bean NQT who has the latest technology andinnovation from their training.”He told of a pupils in Leeds who came tothe attention of the headteacher because hedidn’t do any homework.“The reason he didn’t do any homework isbecause he was an Apple app designerwho earned slightly more than theheadteacher.“That particular boy is now working withthe ICT team and the teachers, and he isdeveloping a curriculum that teachers andhis colleagues can follow.”Technology was an important themeacross the exhibition hall with many standsdedicated to integrated software that wouldallow teachers to access online applications,such as Google docs, but in a mannersuitable for the classroom.Paul Bruce

15CHIEF INSPECTOR WAS RIGHT ABOUT ‘CLUSTERS’Former education secretary Lord Baker backed SirMichael Wilshaw’s recent call to create school“clusters” that would allow pupils to move betweenvocational and academic institutions at 14.The chief inspector told business leaders last monththat school clusters should join forces with local businessnetworks, such as chambers of commerce, to identifylocal industries that needed young people with specialisttraining.Lord Baker spearheaded the creation of universitytechnical colleges (UTCs) – where 14-year-olds can moveto for vocational learning — alongside Sir Ron Dearing.At the conference, Lord Baker said he did not promptSir Michael. “He rang me up and told me he was sayingit. And I welcome the ally of Michael Wilshaw. I know hemay not be the most favourite person of you all, but he isan outstanding chief inspector in my view . . . and I haveknown many of them.”Lord Baker added: “We are right on a big cusp ofchange in education and I very much like the ideaof a cluster of schools, having a variety of differentopportunities available to youngsters.”Take-up of UTCs has been slow with some collegesonly 10 per cent full, as reported by FE Week inSeptember. All 17 of the schools opened in 2013/14 areunder capacity.However, the UTCs have high-profile advocates fromboth the left and right, with Andrew Adonis recentlyarguing that institutions such The Brit School in Croydon,the model for UTCs, should exist “in every region of thecountry”.We are righton a bigcusp of changein the educationsystemWHY TRUST WILLBOOST RESULTSHaseeb Akhtar, Kingsford SchoolNicola Chakma, Kingsford SchoolFinnish education expert Pasi Sahlbergtold the conference that trustingteachers and pupils was the best way toimprove education.The first day’s final keynote speakerexplained how countries such as Finland,which continued to achieve highly in thePISA charts, were doing sowell compared with theUK.The professor ofpractice at HarvardUniversity’s schoolof education saidstandardisation acrossschools minimised risktakingand creativity,and narrowed thecurriculum.Mr Sahlbergalso said thattest-basedaccountabilitycould lead tocheating, anda market-typechoice ofschools leadto segregationof students andteachers.“The political argument that competitionand choice will boost results and enhanceperformance hasn’t happened everywhere.“[In Finland] we had very little trust in oursystem.”But now, where there was this trust,“everybody who comes to see our schoolstakes the trust aspect with them.“They say ‘now I know how important it isand how it changes everything in education’.If you have a system where teachers trusttheir students, principals trust their schools,and politicians trust the education systemand parents are happy with what the schoolsare doing, it changes so many things weare doing in the school system.“We have to change someof the things we are doinghere. Do we need aninspection system? Youhave more and moredifferent things, amore fragmentedsystem, you doneed some kindof inspection tomake sure thisis under control. Butinspection is not going tochange things in the waypeople believe.”

16DAY TWO HIGHLIGHTSWHY CAN PUPILS PASS TESTS BUT FAIL AT LIFE?REBECCA COONEY@REBECCAKCOONEYHarvard physics professor EricMazur kicked off day two bycalling for a complete rethink ofassessments.“I know a lot of people who dropped out ofschool and were hugely successful,” he said.“And at Harvard we’ve admitted plenty ofpeople with straight As who, when they showup, are missing the most fundamental skills.”The problem, he said, was that traditionalexams failed to mimic real life, relied heavilyon memory and did not engage higher-levelthinking skills.Even assessments that claimed to focus onproblem-solving did not really do so, he said.“When you have a problem, you generallyknow what the desired outcome is — it’s thesolution that’s unknown.“Any problem you face in life follows thatpattern — you want your business to besuccessful, you want to get to your meetingon time even though your flight is cancelled.It’s the path to doing that which is unknown.”But in most exams he said, the problemswere of a different kind — he gave theexample of a physics question challengingthe pupil to work out the velocity of a car,using a memorised formula.“You end up applying a known procedureto find an unknown answer.”He also said that asking students to work inisolation during an exam was “inauthentic”.“Ask yourselves, after taking your lastexam, whenever that was, have you everencountered a situation where you weresimilarly cut off from any other individual orsource of information?“It’s not about knowing the information, it’sabout knowing how to use it, so why do wetest our students this way?”Professor Mazur outlined five waysin which he wanted to see assessmentschanged.“Let’s mimic real life — so have open bookexams.” This should include access to Google.“Second, let’s focus on feedback, not onranking.“Ranking is a myth anyway. How can wecapture a person with a letter or a number?”He also called for a focus on “skillsnot content”, saying teachers should askthemselves “what do we want our students tobe able to do at the end of the course?”His fourth recommendation was that allassessment should be run by colleaguesor external adjudicators as there was aninherent conflict between a teacher playingthe role of coach and judge.His last “solution” was more peer and selfassessment,which would let students placetheir own work in the context of others.“Unless you can judge and regulate yourown learning you cannot advance.“Unless we rethink assessment, wewill continue to educate the followersof yesterday rather than the leaders oftomorrow.”Sue WilliamsonEric MazurTHE CLASSROOMS WHERE PUPILS TEACH THEMSELVESIn an environment where teachers set thefrom George Stephenson explained more toquestions and give pupils access to information, delegates. “It doesn’t look like an averagebut are banned from the classroom, can children classroom,” James McKelvey said.teach themselves?“So if you were to blindfold someone, walkNewcastle University’s professor of education them into the Sole room and un-blindfoldtechnology Sugata Mitra believes they can — and them, they wouldn’t be able to tell that they wereexplained how in a speech on self-organised in a school.”learning environments (Soles).The two UK schools use the facility as part of“When horses got replaced by the internal a standard timetable, with teachers fromcombustion engine, the coachman went away different subjects booking students into theand the passengers became the drivers.space. They then give them a question to“A whole new system had to be created but we research before leaving the room.never went back to the horses.“The first change in the job of a teacher is“Not only things, but concepts too can become to take the curriculum material that you haveobsolete and dematerialise, so could we have a and convert it into what many describe as a ‘bigpassenger-driven education system?”question’,” Professor Mitra (pictured) said.Professor Mitra’s Sole classrooms areThe spaces are designed to encourage groupdesigned to put children in the driving seat work, with six computers for a class of about 25,and demonstrate his controversial theory of forcing pupils to collaborate.“minimally invasive education”. He believes that “Children learn much faster in groups thaneven in the absence of any direct teacher input, when they are on their own,” he said, addingin a stimulating environment children will teach that groups could be “self-correcting”; a childthemselves and each other.who looked up something that was incorrect“A Sole basically consists of computers,would be put right by their peers.a broadband connection, collaboration andWhile addressing delegates, he used Skype toencouragement.”contact a “School in the Clouds”, a Sole-basedSeven Sole facilities have been set up, five school in rural Bengal.in India and two in the UK — one atWhen asked if he liked the school, one pupilGeorge Stephenson High School inreplied: “Yes, it has lots of pictures andNorth Tyneside and the other atinformation.”Greenfield Community CollegeProfessor Mitra said: “When a child saysin County Durham.‘I like pictures and lots of information’, IAll look different, but theydon’t think we have the right not to give themall include large,that.brightly coloured“For any school, it makes sense toopen rooms withconsider a space where childrencomputers, seatsdrive their own cars.”and places to writeideas on thewalls.Students

17DESK HOPPING WITH A DIFFERENCELike many conferences, the lastsession gave delegates a chance toswap ideas — but with a twist.In a “speed learning” session,representatives from 18 schools offeredpractical advice on subjects that rangedfrom flipped learning to marking tocontinuing professional development.Each representative sat at a table andhad five minutes to explain their idea.Delegates then moved to a new table – andthe next idea.Tom Middlehurst, SSAT head of researchand national conference programmedirector, said the short, sharp format wasto encourage “true peer-to-peer sharing”.“We find it works really well to gathertogether lots of ideas that you canimplement tomorrow in the classroom.“As opposed to some of the bigger, moreinspirational and theoretical keynotespeeches, these are practical ideas byDelegates get a speedy lesson inco-constructed learningpractitioners who are doing the same thingas you every day.”He added: “It’s a Friday afternoon at theconference and the fact that teachers wantto come together to share good practiceshows a commitment to collaboration and tonetworking.”Academies Week caught up with someof the participants to find out what theythought.Dan Roberts, deputy headteacher,Devonport High School for Boys,Plymouth“I was running a session on how you canuse five different online tools produced byGoogle — all free and easily available — tohelp improve feedback to students.“The session’s been great, it’s just hardsticking to five minutes and keeping totime. But because it’s only five minutesyou’re able to hear a lot of different ideasin quite a short space of time.“The conference has been reallygood, and its great there’ve been somany students represented; we’ve hadperformances but also heard them voicingtheir ideas on every level.“It makes you go away and think aboutyour own school in context.”Liz O’Mara, director of learning for staffperformance, management and trainingat Landau Forte College, Derby“I was trying to showcase the learningjourney that we’ve been on in termsof co-constructing learning. I wantedto highlight some of the strategies andexperiments and investigations we’vebeen doing across college but also withinsubject areas to allow us to scaffoldlearning for students.“Co-constructing means a sharedlearning journey with the emphasis onstudents so that they understand whythey’re doing something, and how they’redoing it, but also understanding whatthey’re doing as a learner as well.“I thought the speed learning elementwas great, everybody was really enthused,asking lots of really great questions.“It was a really positive experience.”Stephanie Gilby, associate principalat West Lakes Academy, Egremont,Cumbria“I was speaking about the way we’vestreamlined marking at the academy. Weuse four basic colours — students writein black, teachers mark in green, studentspeer assess in blue and self-assess in red— and then we have different colouredhighlighters for good work and forincorrect work.“I quite like the speed dating format. Wedid that at school with some students toget feedback on the new marking system,and it means you get a lot of informationquickly and you get to meet lots of newpeople.“People today seemed very positive,they made notes, they asked questionsand they wanted more details.“I managed to sit in on a couple ofsessions myself — I was very interested inthe one about student ambassadors.“We’ve had prefects for a couple of yearsnow but I don’t think we use them verywell. I just wanted to see how they trainedthem and encouraged the children to dothat.”SMSC: A NEW APPROACHMatt Bawden, head of wellbeing at Queen Elizabeth’sGrammar School, Derbyshire, told the conferencehow his school was developing spiritual, moral andsocial cultural (SMSC) education, an area increasinglyunder Ofsted’s spotlight.“The sort of stuff you’re dealing with in SMSC canactually be the sort of stuff you don’t want to talkabout,” he said. “So how do you find a way roundthat?”Queen Elizabeth’s pupils discuss values andemotions, using worksheets to get them talking aboutthings they might otherwise find “icky”.“Take sexual exploitation, which was one of the firsttopics we looked at.“If we’re talking about qualities people need to avoidbeing exploited or British values and exploitation,then that becomes easier, it’s a framework to hangthings off.”As part of their model, the school embedded SMSCinto form time, rather than put it in a timetabledcurriculum slot.“We wanted to have tutors who really know the kidsbeing central to the work,” Mr Bawden said.“It was done through form time, which happens atthe end of the day, as that seems to be the best placefor it. We trained staff so our tutors come out of formtime once every term and I sit with them and talkthrough what it is they need to be doing.”The school is now helping volunteer pupils todevelop their own materials and explain it to staff.“For us it was important not to take the route ofsaying ‘this is the sort of person you should be, thesort of character qualities you should have’,” he said.“It’s about an ongoing dialogue with the pupil,saying ‘what sort of person do you want to be? Whatqualities do you think are important?’“This isn’t about creating a scheme of work anddropping it in at one point in curriculum.“What we’re interested in is the ethos of the school,how the whole place works.”

SSAT4-5NATIONAL CONFERENCEDECEMBER 2015, MANCHESTER8 PAGE PULLOUTCOVERAGEBROUGHT TOYOU BY@ACADEMIESWEEKACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK

ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK EDITION 12 FRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014REVIEWSTOP BLOGSOF THE WEEK19To view individual blogs visitwww.academiesweek.co.uk/reviewsBOOK REVIEWOur reviewer of the week isAndrew Old, teacher and blogger@oldandrewukDamned if I do, damned if I don’tBy @ImSporticusA PE teacher recounts the grim tale of hispoor relationship with a parent. He describesunreasonable behaviour on the part of theparent; ill-judged and unsupportive actionsby senior managers, and his own mistakes.He concludes that he is in a no-win situation.This may be familiar to any teacher who isfaced with a parent unwilling to acknowledgethe problems with his or her child’sbehaviour.Jesus Christ: The Nativity PlayBy @surrealanarchyWriter and educationist Martin Robinsonconsiders recent debate about schoolsmodernising nativity plays. He argues thatthere is value in the tradition. “If a schoolwants to do a nativity play then it shoulddo a very traditional one. If there is musicit should be traditional carols. If a schooldoesn’t want to do a nativity, then don’t doone; if you want to do a show, do a cabaretor a pantomime. Both forms allow forfoolishness and fun. The nativity does not.”Bad RE: Own Up!By @iTeachREFollowing a Guardian article criticising REteaching, an RE teacher acknowledges whatis wrong with what happens in many schools.The article, “hit a nerve because deep down,we know that the examples he highlightedare possibly still happening in classrooms”.Suggestions are made about what needs toimprove, and includes the issue of addressingthe quality of the GCSE which he has found tobe widely criticised.Judgement WeekBy @MissCrankyA teacher describes the stresses of beingobserved:“Would I be so heavily scrutinised in anyother field? Doubtful. Would I constantly bewondering if I’m good enough in any otherfield? Possibly, but it would likely be withoutthe fear of having to perform constantlyunder such threat of informal support andcapabilities procedures. Could I continueto do my job accurately and professionallyif I was simply observed once per year?Absolutely.”Put down that measuring cylinder and stepaway from the pond.By thequirkyteacher.wordpress.comIn a post that is music to the ears of asecondary maths teacher such as myself, anew primary teacher picks apart the fashionsin primary maths that, “inhibit children’sprogress through to secondary school andin life in general”. Of particular concern is anaversion to practice and fluency that leaveschildren unable to do their times-tablesexcept by repeated addition. “Children needto practise, practise and practise. This shouldbe done at every stage, and this should beright from the very start of a child’s schoolcareer.”Excuses, ExcusesBy @suzie81blogThis post, from a form tutor, describes theway her students always have an excusefor failing to comply with the school’sexpectations. “The excuses are never original,the only difference being that it is a differentchild daily that gives them and after hearingthem repeatedly for years I feel like I shouldbe in Groundhog Day.” She concludes withGeorge Washington’s maxim that, “It is betterto offer no excuse than a bad one.”The dark side: a rant about SLTBy welcometobigschool.wordpress.comA new member of primary school SLT isdismayed to be doing a job not in the interestsof teachers or children: “We have designedtick-box forms to assess, scrutinise and pickapart every aspect of teachers’ practice. Wehave fussily picked over the bones of theirwriting books, shaking our heads and writingactions for improvement. We do it to ‘buildup a picture’ and to ‘identify inconsistencies’.We are so completely, smugly sure about thevalue and righteousness of what we are doingwith these scrutinies that we don’t notice thedevastating impact it is having on teachers’confidence to come to work and simply dotheir job.”The Rise of Data in EducationSystemsAuthor: Martin LawnPublisher: Symposium BooksISBN-10: 1873927320ISBN-13: 978-1873927328Reviewer: Jack Marwood, primary teacherand education data bloggerAs we move into an increasinglynumerical future, many areas ofpublic life – including much of theworld of education — appear to be defined bynumbers. This short history of the rise of datain education systems reveals some surprises.It’s a punchy read, if squarely aimed atacademic readers, and its dry and densewriting makes it unlikely to feature on manyteachers’ readinglists. But maybe itshould, as it has newinsights into the wayin which informationabout schooling hasdeveloped.You might not haveguessed, for example,that one of the earlydrivers for producingdata on educationsystems was theVictorian mania forworld exhibitions.In editor MartinLawn’s chapter onthe history of the centralised collection ofdata, the United States Bureau of Educationemerges as a cutting edge provider of annualeducation reports. These were used tocreate displays for events such as the ParisExhibition of 1878, and, as a result, directlyinspired the increasingly sophisticatedcollection and analysis of education data inother countries.At this early stage, the data was actuallyreal, honest-to-goodness, factually (vaguely)accurate countable data, too. There wereendless lists of “number enrolled”, “numberin daily attendance”, as well as informationon the number of teachers in each school.That said, even in the 1870s the “data wasincomplete and impressive only in itscollection and not in its accuracy”, a criticismthat many level at data collection today.Lawn charts the rise of the InternationalAssociation for the Evaluation of EducationalAchievement (IEA), founded in 1958. Theassociation brought together a range ofpeople responsible for a whole new set ofnumbers, test scores based on measures ofknowledge that have become “a key elementin assessing productivity and efficiency”.As Lawn notes, with some understatement,these numbers have “become key to thegoverning of education in several Europeanstates”.The somewhat surprising driver for theuse of measured test scores as opposed tocounting – in which numbers were used tosummarise what children had learned, therebeing no way to “count” knowledge – wasthe Second World War and the needs andexperiences of the military. The chapteron “(Mis-)Trust in Numbers”, based on thehistory of education data in Sweden, revealsthat the development of standardised testsof student outcomes was driven by thosetrained in the Swedish Institute of MilitaryPsychology.Post-war education was blinded by theglare of those purporting to use, in theauthors’ phrase, “educational science”. Thishappened elsewhere, of course, not least inthe US, where many of the driving forcesbehind controversialvalue added measuresmovement came frommilitary backgrounds.The authors notethat “standardisedmeasurements becameassociated with thegoods to come, withoutanyone really reflectingabout possiblebackwash effects”, andthey chart the rise, andfall, of the first phaseof test score use inSweden in the 1960sand 1970s.Of course, test score “data” has come backin Sweden, and risen inexorably elsewhere.We are living through an era of new publicmanagement, in which public goods such ashealth and education provision are subjectedto “markets, management and measurement”.The lesson from Sweden, and of this book,is that using test scores splits students,teachers and systems into winners and losers,and therefore creates a “language of crisis”,which would not be possible if countable datawere used to inform our view of education.Many of us are keen to challenge the “crisis”narrative, in part because we don’t recogniseany “crisis” and because the use of test scoresis flawed for reasons that this book does notexplore.Children, schools and countries cannot bereduced to numbers. Comparisons betweendifferent populations make no sense. Acompanion volume will, eventually, have tobe written: The Inevitable Fall of Test Score“Data” in Education Systems. Let’s hope it iswritten soon.NEXT WEEK:Books of the YearReviewed by Laura McInerney

20 @ACADEMIESWEEK ACADEMIES WEEKFRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014PROFILELAURA HENRYSOPHIE SCOTT@SOPH_E_SCOTTLaura Henry’s enthusiasm and energy for early years’education is undimmed after more than 25 years inthe sector. As is her determination to speak up forchildren.“That is what I’m passionate about — trying to be a voicefor children; talking about things that matter to childrenand to families, and giving them a foundation. We mustrecognise that there are some children who don’t reachtheir full potential for a variety of reasons.”Now the head of an early years’ consultancy, she wasborn in the same hospital as Princes William, Harry andGeorge — St Mary’s in Paddington — in 1968, the fourth ofsix children.She grew up in Notting Dale, an enclave of westLondon’s Notting Hill and home to a strong St Luciancommunity; her grandparents, parents, aunts and unclesemigrated from the Caribbean island.She believes it was this community that put her on theearly years’ path. “We work on a subconscious level. Mygrandmother was a childminder, so I think it probablycame from her levels of caring.“She only had two children herself, but looked after somany in terms of childminding, and unofficial short-termfostering.“If you’ve soaked up that environment, you’ll probablypick it up. I probably didn’t realise that at 19, but now,on reflection... my grandmother died five years ago, andseeing how she was with my own children, it then clicked “Because of that level of trying to fit in, we were denied...in terms of how soothing she was with her voice to them.” but I suppose now, as we know, if you’ve got a secondHenry’s grandmother went back to St Lucia in the 1970s, language, you’re laughing.”but was sure to promote Henry and her work.At school Henry struggled with dyslexia, a disorder that“She would say, ‘This is my granddaughter Laura,was not recognised until she was in secondary school.visiting from England. She works with children, youShe was also shy. At primary school she lagged behindknow!’ I thinkher sister, 18there was thatsense of pride.Funnily enough,there wassomeone on mycollege coursewho my granhad looked after.Small world!”Thoughembedded in StLucian culture,Henry regretsnot learning tospeak patois, abroken French“I’m passionateabout trying tobe a voice forchildren”months older,but teacherscouldn’tunderstandwhy.“They wouldsay to mymum thatI was veryintelligentwhen Ivocalised,but they justcouldn’t see iton paper.”She saysspoken on the island. But she speaks positively of thethat she has never had a problem reading: “I can readdiversity in the area where she grew up, and of the Notting speeches in front of 1,000 people in a conference, that’sHill carnival held every year in her part of London.not an issue.“The only thing that my mum regrets was that they“But the struggles of my dyslexia are with pronunciationthought it was best not to speak French in the home. She of new words. And my handwriting is atrocious, as is mykicks herself now because we would have had a second spelling and grammar. So, hallelujah for computers!”language. I would have understood French completely.Despite her difficulties, Henry enjoyed the social

ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK EDITION 12 FRIDAY, DEC 12, 201421IT’S A PERSONAL THINGIf you could be an animal, what animalwould you be?A bird. I love listening to birds singing in themorning, and I love singing myself. Listening tobirds brings joyfulness, so I would just like to be arandom bird, singing away . . . bringing light.If you could only eat one thing for the rest of yourlife, what would it be?Avocados. They’re versatile in terms of what youcan do with them.What has been your favourite age?I think 21. That’s when I graduated from a courseand I went to St Lucia; I had a really magicalyear. And not achieving at school, then goingon to get this qualification, that was awesome.So academically, spiritually, emotionally,memories of my 21st, memories of going toSt Lucia, remembering my best friend Mandy.A good year.Laura in 1989, not long after completing hercollege courseA recent photo of LauraWhat’s your favourite flower?Lilies. They’re closed when I buy them, so Iput them in a vase in front of my fireplace andwatch them evolve over the week. It’s like anawakening and it’s a sensory extravaganza . ....the smell. And there’s always one that comesup in the end, just when you think, come on,come on, so evolution and the cycle of life....and because they’re just so beautiful.Laura on a visit to Jumbo Kids, Podar Education, in India last monthWith her sister Catherine at their first communion in 1976aspect of school and her quiet primary school self soondisappeared when she moved up to Sion-Manning RC Girls’School. She became, she admits, “mischievious” and leftafter one term in the sixth form.She joined a solicitor’s office as a clerk but was so boredshe found herself “counting the hairs on my arm”. Then shehad a brainwave: she would train in childcare.“I became the most studious person ever, everything wasdone in on time to a high standard, research . . . I just threwmyself into it.”She has since worked in almost every area of childcare –nurseries, children’s centres, local authorities, as an Ofstedinspector, as a lecturer and a manager. She has also raisedtwo sons, Rian, 21, and Rohan, 17.On Monday she is set to launch the National EarlyYears Trainers & Consultants (NEYTCO) in Westminster,a project she spearheaded that aims to bring early years’professionals together.What message does she have for the current and futuregovernments?“Let’s have professional debates with the sector, and openup the debate to more people from a diversity point of view.It would probably save the government a lot of money,taxpayers’ money, in the long term.“There are domestic violence issues, there’s abuse, so youcan’t just say, ‘Oh, it’s this school, it’s that early years centre’,it’s about ‘let’s see if we can have some conversationstogether to see where we can support them’. I know thatwhere I have worked, at the coal face in the city withchildren living in abusive homes . . . that the things that I’vedone for these children have made a difference.“You cannot begin to talk about maths or literacy witha child who is extremely vulnerable and emotionallychallenged with their family. You cannot do that.”Henry talks of watching a child early in her career afterhis mother’s weekly access visit. He was devastated whenshe left.“I have never seen a child crying like that before. It washeart-wrenching stuff.“We had to let him get it out of his system, and it affectedme no end. Although I was able to snuggle into him andgive him some affection . . . there was a level of helplessnessand feeling his pain.”Rapport with stable adults is vital for children, Henry says.Only once children trust people can they really move on toother aspects of learning.“The teacher needs to give the child the tools to negotiateand to resolve conflicts, and we need to do more of that inthe early years, to give children the tools that, when theygo to school and beyond, that they can use to self-regulatetheir behaviour.“A child who is having an emotional breakdown is notgoing to be able to learn – so we need to be able to givechildren the tools to vocalise when they are feeling upset, tovocalise how to compromise sharing a toy with their friend.That can be done.“They [the government] have talked about investment forcommunication and language, literacy, mathematics, but asI said, that’s all a waste if we can’t support them with theiremotions – it’s simple.”Curriculum VitaeBorn June 1968EducationOxford Gardens PrimarySt Thomas’s PrimarySion - Manning SecondaryWorkLondon borough of Camden - education early yearsSouth London Health AuthorityBromley CollegeLondon Borough of Southwark - education early yearsOfsted inspectorCroydon CollegeFreelanceLaura Henry Consultancy – managing directorNational Early Years Trainers and Consultants - CEONational Representative for the World Forum for EarlyCare and Education

22 @ACADEMIESWEEK ACADEMIES WEEKFRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014SCHOOL ASSEMBLYThe winning line-up: From L to R: Simon Lemieux (Teacher), Dom Waters, Nick Ward, Hugh Summers, Ellie Jewell, Lara Spirit,John Bercow MPSpoof wins Speaker’s praiseAvideo spoof of The Jeremy KyleShow has won five learners fromPortsmouth Grammar School (PGS)top prize in the annual Political StudiesAssociation’s student video contest.Competing against students from all overthe country, the pupils had to make a fourminutevideo on “EU – In or out?”A judging panel led by CommonsSpeaker John Bercow picked Dom Waters,Lara Spirit, Nick Ward, Hugh Summers(all 18) and Ellie Jewell (17) as thewinners.The five have been offered internships atthe political polling organisation YouGov aspart of their prize.Simon Lemieux, politics teacher atPGS, said: “It all came together at theeleventh hour when the students securedthe necessary range of political views tomake it a balanced piece and not overtlypropagandist.“In the end they plumped for the JeremyKyle format. It certainly made them thinkand reflect on the complexities of EUmembership.”You can watch the winning video onYouTube.Cabot academies fill the stageBrian Kelly, Project Manager, BAM Construct, hands the keys to the new Heathrow UTC building to Principal Bryan BerryAcademy opens ahead of scheduleKeys have been handed over for a building envelope and photovoltaic panels,new £10 million UTC building in which will reduce the overall energy costsHeathrow, west London, six weeks for the UTC.ahead of schedule.Natural light will be used as much asThe 4,500sqm building includes state of possible, rainwater will be collected andthe art engineering workshops aimed to used for flushing toilets, and permeablepromote the school’s aviation engineering paving will reduce rainwater run-off.specialism.Heathrow UTC principal Bryan BerryMany sustainable features have also been said: “We are delighted to take ownershipincluded. Carbon emissions will be reduced of our fantastic new building ahead of time,by 25 per cent against building regulation and all our staff and students are lookingrequirements, using a high performing forward to opening the doors on January 5.”An insider’s view of HollywoodPupils from a host of schools in South Gloucestershire perform their annual Christmas concertCarey Mulligan visits pupils at Greenside Primary SchoolSchools across South Gloucestershireput on a Christmas spectacular whenthey joined forces for their annualconcert.Hosted by King’s Oak Academy, theconcert took place in the academy’s ColstonHall and included eight of Cabot LearningFederation’s academy’s partner primaryschools, Beacon Rise, Courtney, The TyningsSchool, Kings Forest, Parkwall, SummerhillAcademy, the Park Primary and St.Stephens.With more than 500 voices on stage,the children performed a range of songsincluding, Happy, Standing in the Hall ofFame, Hallelujah, The Camel Boogie Woogieand a medley of Christmas songs.Amongst all the fun and excitement, theconcert doubled up as a fundraiser with asilver collection being made in aid of YoungCarers for Bristol & South Gloucestershire.Tim Warren, team leader of performanceand participation at King’s Oak whoproduced and directed the concert, said: “Thestudents and pupils really enjoyed the dayand worked really well together, they put ona fantastic performance thoroughly enjoyedby the audience, who also joined in.”British actor Carey Mulligan recentlygave a group of 200 west Londonpupils an insider’s view of life behindthe lens.Pupils from Greenside Primary Schooland Hammersmith Academy questionedThe Great Gatsby actress in an exclusiveQ&A event.Ms Mulligan, who recently played aschoolteacher in a West End production ofSkylight, talked openly about her career,inspirations and how to get into film.Having been counselled for her role inSkylight by Greenside headteacher KarenBastick-Styles, the actress was keen to visitthe school and help young people use film asa cultural and educational tool.“I remember school and the times that Iwasn’t engaged . . . the minute a film wasshown, I found a way in to learning.”Ms Bastick-Styles, said: “It is not everyday pupils have the chance to engagewith an actor such as Carey and get aunique insight into the world of film. Ihope that it will be a real inspirationto them.”

ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK EDITION 12 FRIDAY, DEC 12, 201423FEATUREInterested in being featured by School Assembly?Email us: news@academiesweek.co.ukTeacher duo aims to top off ‘amazing’ yearBILLY CAMDEN@BILLYCAMDENTwo teachers from York are takingon Band Aid and letting themselvesdream of a Christmas No 1.Robin Parmiter and Ian Wilson, bothteachers at Huntington School, will re-formpop duo Disco Mister in an attempt to sealan amazing year.The two came to prominence when theyreleased their song Bring It Home during theWorld Cup earlier this year.The song quickly became a favourite offans and had the backing of celebrities suchas Clare Balding and Jack Whitehall.It also lasted longer than the Englandteam did in the tournament to becomeAmazon’s most downloaded World Cup 2014song.Now the pair want to follow in thefootsteps of Slade and Wizzard with theirChristmas offering, Everybody Dance(Happy Christmas).Ian, 28, who is a music technician andalso teaches some music at the school, said:“We want people to celebrate and partywith us, and what bigger party is there thanChristmas time?“It’s a big challenge trying to ignore theclichés and create something new, so we’vefocused on making a song that gets peopledancing and gets them even more excitedfor the holidays.”His music partner Robin, 33, has beenteaching for six years and currently teachesphilosophy. “It’s reminding everybody of themagic and mystery of the season,” he says.“It’s the best time of year when family andfriends get together to dance, drink and bemerry.”The pair have recorded the video forEverybody Dance with Karl Elwell, whodirected their previous videos, and they planto release it in time for the song to competefor the coveted Christmas No 1 slot.“We hope the video makes people smileand captures a bit of the mystery of theseason.” Ian says. “It ends on a question -and we’d love to hear people’s answers.”Like Bring It Home, the festive song willraise money for charity, this time helpingto build and equip a school in rural westernKenya.They have teamed up with the YorkbasedWebcertain, which specialises ininternational campaigns, and joined itscharity venture Build a School in Africa.“We want to raise money that supportseducation for people who desperately wantDisco Mister duo Ian Wilson (left) and Robin Parmiter (right)record the music video to ‘Everybody Dance’Inset: From left, Ian Wilson and Robin Parmiter atHuntington Schoolit, and need it. People may grumble aboutschools in this country sometimes, but we’reso privileged really. This money will help acommunity fight poverty for themselves.”Robin says.Ian adds: “We hope the song and videobrings a bit of Christmas cheer and getseverybody in the mood for this magical timeof year.”Huntington headteacher John Tomsettsaid: “I’m very proud of Disco Mister’screative and charitable Christmas song.Their effort, energy and exuberance addsomething fun and uplifting to our schoolculture and the wider teaching profession.I’m always delighted to see members of staffpursue projects that bring them (and others)meaning and joy.”AN EDUCATIONAL NEWSPAPERDELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR£25ONLYFOR ONE YEARSPECIAL OFFER 50% OFFANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONUSE DISCOUNT CODE EB2014 BY 19.12.14ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK@ACADEMIESWEEK

24 @ACADEMIESWEEK ACADEMIES WEEKFRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014jobsMeadow Walk,South WoodfordLondon, E18 2ENTelephone:020 989 9975Snaresbrook Primary SchoolHeadteacherPermanentFull TimeL18 – L24 (£60,525- £69,624 Including Outer London Weighting)plus up to 25% Discretionary AwardJob start April 2015 or September 2015 depending on availabilityJourney to OutstandingUnder the leadership of an executive headteacher the school has made rapid progressto good from special measures and we are now seeking a headteacher to lead theschool’s journey to outstanding.Snaresbrook Primary School is a highly regarded, over-subscribed, multicultural twoform entry school; including a 36 place nursery. The school is situated in a popularresidential area of the borough with good facilities and a large playing field. Staff,governors and parents are highly ambitious for the school and the children.Ofsted said of the school:• Morale is very high and the passion for moving the school forward is strong;• Standards are significantly above average;• Senior leaders have developed a good range of systems and structures to raisestandards further;• Pupils behave well and are safe; they want to learn and are well nurtured toachieve well;• It is well placed to develop further.We will appoint an effective, strong and inspirational leader who can:• Promote excellent standards of teaching and learning• Show commitment to continuous school improvement• Provide a culture where everyone is valued and encouraged to succeed• Build upon the school’s recent success to guide it to the next exciting phase of itsjourneyVisits to the school are highly recommended. Please contact Carel Buxton (Executive Head Teacher) to arrange an appointment byemail Carel.Buxton@redbridge.gov.uk or by phone 020 8989 9975.Applicants pack and application form can be accessed on the school’s website or can be requested by contacting the RedbridgeGovernors Support Team on 020 8708 3507 or email Governors.Support@redbridge.gov.ukClosing Date: Midnight Tuesday 30th December 2014 Assessment Day: Tuesday 20th January 2015 Interview Date: Wednesday 21st January 2015EXECUTIVEHEADSouth Gloucestershire and Stroud Academic TrustMulti-Academy TrustStratford Road, Stroud,GloucestershireWest of England, GL5 4AH£80,000 – £85,000South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (SGS) is a very successful college serving communitiesin Gloucestershire and the West of England. We are now seeking an inspirational, enthusiasticand innovative individual with experience at Deputy / Head of a Secondary School to lead theeducational strategy on behalf of our newly established SGS Academy Trust.The Executive Head will report to the SGS Group CEO and be responsible for the development of theTrust’s educational strategy and for the educational performance of The SGS Academy Trust’s familyof schools.The Executive Head will ensure the Trust’s mission and vision is delivered and will have significantdelegated responsibility for management and day-to-day academic operations of the schools inthe Trust in accordance with the direction and policies established by the Board and its governanceframework.This role will be challenging but rewarding and will grow as more schools join the Trust. This positionwill suit a dynamic and confident senior manager with drive and vision to develop the Trust into anoutstanding organisation.If you are passionate about education and changing the life chances of young people and wish tojoin an established and supportive Executive Team complete the on-line application form atwww.sgscol.ac.uk/vacancy by the closing date of 12.00pm on Friday 19th December 2014.The selection process will be held w/c 12th January 2014.The successful applicant will be required to obtain and maintain a satisfactory Disclosure Certificate as a requirement of the job.BUY ONEGET ONEFREEOn job adverts (both online and print). There is no complicated T&C’s.Simply purchase any type of job advertisement with Academies Weekbetween now and the end of December and advertise your next vacancyfree! (Free credit has to be used by January 31 2015).to advertise call us on: 020 81234 778

ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK EDITION 12 FRIDAY, DEC 12, 201425EARLY YEARS AND KS1 PHASE LEADERSALARY GRADE: INNER LONDON L1-4START DATE: 13 APRIL 2015The Belham Primary School will open in September 2015in a vibrant and rapidly changing area of south London fastbecoming known for its creative community.As a member of the school leadership team and a full timeclass teacher, you will be responsible for setting up the firstprovision in this brand new school: establishing the EYFS/KS1 learning environment, building the curriculum anddeveloping schemes of work to an outstanding level.We are seeking candidates who:We can offer you:• The chance to shape a brand new school• State of the art educational facilities housed in abeautifully restored Victorian school building• An aspirational environment where positive learningbehaviour is practised and staff have high expectations• A motivated and supportive local community whichembraces the new school and is keen to be involved inits growth• Understand the school ethos with our emphasis onenhancing the curriculum through use of the arts andthe amazing resources London has to offer• Are forward-thinking, innovative and imaginative intheir approach, with a thirst for learning• Can motivate, enthuse and inspire confidence in staffClosing date: Thursday 8 January 2015Information afternoons: Thursday 4 and Thursday 11December at 4.30.Please call Joanne Pink on 020 7525 9188/9 and visitwww.thebelhamprimaryschool.org.ukDulwich Hamlet Educational Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Appointments are subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check.Executive Head: Sonia CaseDulwich Hamlet Educational Trust | The Belham Primary School | Bellenden Road,Peckham, London SE15If you want to make your mark as an outstanding teacher we want you

26 @ACADEMIESWEEK ACADEMIES WEEKFRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014jobsCannon Lane Primary SchoolCannonbury Avenue, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 1TSwww.cannonlaneprimary.org(London Borough of Harrow)Dates: Apply by 16th January 2015Salary: L8 – L12Location: Pinner, HarrowContract Type: Full TimeContract Term: PermanentFollowing our recent amalgamation and expansion to a four form intake primaryschool, the Governing Body is seeking to appoint four Assistant Headteachers tohelp lead our very successful and over-subscribed school. Whilst the job descriptionsfor these posts are the same, Assistant Headteachers will be deployedaccording to their strengths and experience with responsibility for either the EYFS,Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2 or Upper Key Stage 2.These are exciting new positions to commence in the Spring Term 2015 or as soonas possible thereafter.The successful candidates will be passionate about improving outcomes for children,excited about collaborative working and keen to join a school that strives forexcellence.• Be able to inspire, challenge and motivate all children to achieve.• Have a commitment to working strategically as part of a team to improvestandards of teaching and learning.• Have the confidence, skills and abilities to lead and manage teaching andlearning in a designated ‘phase’ of the school.• Be able to analyse data to support school improvement.• Be a positive role model in school.• Be committed to the principles of inclusion.• Be a team player, open to coaching and mentoring.• Have high expectations of achievement and behaviour.• Be committed to fostering excellent relationships between parents, carers andthe community.We are looking for an Assistant Headteacher who will:• Be an experienced class teacher who can demonstrate a record of success inraising children’s attainment.• Be able to work in a creative and inspirational way, demonstrating a record ofconsistently delivering outstanding lessons.In return we can offer:• Highly motivated and well behaved pupils• A team of friendly, hard-working staff and a supportive Governing Body• A well- resourced school• Excellent training and development opportunities.An information pack is available to download from: office@cannonlane.harrow.sch.ukVisitors are welcome and encouraged. To arrange a visit to the school or for any other enquiries please contactMrs Raval on 020 8866 3536.The school is committed to safeguarding children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The school follows safe recruitment practices to protectchildren. Successful applicants will be required to apply for an enhanced disclosure from the DBS. Further information can be found at www.direct.gov.ukHEADTEACHERStowmarket High SchoolRequired from September 2015 (ideally April 2015), for Y7-13 Community School, currentlyY9-13. Are you an exceptional leader with the drive, ingenuity, tenacity and vision to leadthis school forward?With the retirement of our current Headteacher, the governors are looking for aninspirational leader to join us at this exciting time in the schools’ history.This is a unique opportunity to make a difference by:• ensuring the successful integration of Y7 and 8 who will be joining us inSeptember 2015• maintaining our strong sixth form• developing education throughout the whole school.We aim to be a school where everyone is inspired to become the best they can be and everystudent receives the best we can provide in teaching, learning and guidance to becomewell-educated, caring and independent.Informal visits are warmly encouraged. Please contact Keith Penn, Headteacher on(01449) 613541 or email: enquiries@stowmarkethigh.suffolk.sch.ukFor further information and an application pack, please contact the HeadteacherRecruitment Team on headships@suffolk.gov.uk or Tel: (01473) 263943.CLOSING DATE: 5 JANUARY 2015.INTERVIEW DATE: 21/22 JANUARY 2015.This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people andvulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS checks or policevetting will be required for relevant posts.Suffolk County Council - welcoming diversity.All vacancies appear on: www.suffolkjobsdirect.org

ACADEMIESWEEK.CO.UK EDITION 12 FRIDAY, DEC 12, 201427The OpportunityFor April 2015 startVice Principal (Quality Assurance)Derby Manufacturing UTC will open on 1st September 2015.The UTC will provide a distinctive and targeted curriculum forstudents from 14-19 who wish to study STEM subjects.The successful applicant will have:• Relevant qualifications (both formal and through appropriateexperience). A proven track record in raising standards is essential.• A genuine commitment to making a positive contribution to the UTC andmost importantly a difference to the lives of young people including theireducational and broader achievement, self esteem and confidence,social well being and future employability.We are offering:• An attractive salary based upon experience and expertise.• A first class working environment with excellent resources.• The opportunity for professional growth and continued developmentwithin an organisation committed to continuous improvement.• The opportunity to shape the future of the UTC from the beginning.In the first instance please send your full CV, and a letter (max 2 sides of A4) stating your skill set for this role, to Mrs Amanda Miller, PA to the Principal, c/oDerby College, The Roundhouse, Roundhouse Road, Pride Park, Derby DE24 8JE or to Amanda.Miller@derby-college.ac.uk.Further information available from: www.derbymanufacturingutc.co.ukAll appointments made are subject to satisfactory references and a criminal background check.Closing date for applications is Friday 16th January 2015.Deputy Headteacher,Hoe Valley School - a new Secondary School in Woking, SurreyIf you are the type of school leader that has yearned for the chance to create a school - fromscratch - without the burden of a legacy, then you will see this as a tremendous opportunity tojoin an exciting project.Hoe Valley School is planned to open in September 2015 subject to final approval, and theGovernors are looking for a candidate to lead the implementation of the school vision andensure that the school successfully materialises in line with the DfE’s timeframe.Working to create a new school will not be like working at most other schools. As DeputyHeadteacher of this new venture, you will have the challenge of:• Assessment and reporting• Building the trust and partnership with our parents• Attainment and progress, establishing a track record• Enrichment and interventionHoe Valley School, founded by a group of parents, has the support of the community, parentsand other local schools. We have already received enough applications for our first year of 120pupils. Our Initial surveys of support from local parents have indicated a high level of demandfor places at the free school for every year until 2021, and particularly in the first two years.So, if you are: innovative, a team player, a great leader and you are driven by a strong sense ofpurpose to improve the life chances of young people, then we are the school you are lookingfor; to ensure every one of your students develops the skills and qualifications necessary tosucceed in an ever changing world.We anticipate that the role will initially be offered in the salary range up to £62k.Woking is only 26 mins from London Waterloo by train, on the edge of the North Downs. Thereare also excellent road links to the M25, M3 and A3.The school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young peopleand expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All successful appointments aresubject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced checkInterviews will be held in early February with a view to the successful candidate starting in May, or as soon as possible thereafter. Express your interestby emailing dht@hoevalleyschool.org to receive an application pack or request an informal conversation.Closing date: Friday 19th January 2015

28 @ACADEMIESWEEK ACADEMIES WEEKFRIDAY, DEC 12, 2014The UK’s largestpractitioner-lededucationconference, nowin its eighth yearFRIDAY 26 JUNETWICKENHAM STADIUMWWW.SSATUK.CO.UK/ACHIEVEMENTSHOW2015ACADEMIES WEEK Sudoku challengeHow to play: Fill in all blank squaresmaking sure that each row, columnand 3 by 3 box contains the numbers1 to 9Spot the differenceto WIN an ACADEMIES WEEK mugLast Week’s solutions8 5 7 4 3 9 27 5 2 61 612 3 8 75 3 7 4 68 532 8 3 7Difficulty:EASY9 8 3 7 2 1 5 4 64 6 7 8 5 3 1 9 22 5 1 4 6 9 3 7 85 3 2 9 1 6 7 8 48 4 6 2 3 7 9 5 11 7 9 5 4 8 6 2 36 9 4 1 7 2 8 3 53 2 8 6 9 5 4 1 77 1 5 3 8 4 2 6 9Difficulty:EASYWhat’s the caption? tweet a caption @academiesweek3 46 8 4 1 72 6 18 1 9 66 5 4 99 52 8 37 1 5 8Difficulty:MEDIUMSolutions:Next week5 2 7 6 9 8 4 3 14 6 8 5 1 3 9 2 71 3 9 2 4 7 8 6 53 9 1 8 6 2 5 7 46 8 5 4 7 9 3 1 27 4 2 1 3 5 6 9 89 1 4 7 8 6 2 5 32 7 3 9 5 4 1 8 68 5 6 3 2 1 7 4 9Difficulty:MEDIUMSpot five differences. First correct entry wins an Academies Week mug. Tweet a picture of yourcompleted spot the difference using @academiesweek in the tweet.