. This short post outlines problems with ‘most able education’ – and what needs to change to bring about national improvement. The broad premiss is that, following a period in which comparatively prescriptive, centralised, top-down programmes were de rigeur, the English education sector has become wedded to a market-driven philosophy and ‘school-led system-wide improvement’. But … Continue reading Eight types of ambiguity
. This post features analysis of the 2016 primary transition matrices, but mostly raises awkward questions. . Context Publication of the 2016 primary performance tables is imminent, together with revised national figures for achievement of the KS2 higher standard and new breakdowns by pupil characteristics, including receipt of pupil premium. We also await the results … Continue reading The perennial problem of primary high attainers
. This post: Reviews progress to date on white paper policies to improve the education of higher attaining learners Considers some wider implications of the white paper’s commitment to equality of educational opportunity, regardless of background and prior attainment, and Proposes a dedicated national centre, based in a leading university, to specialise in the education … Continue reading Rescue Plan (or how to get from where we are to where we ought to be)
. This post discusses the gap between what the schools white paper said would be in the ITT core content framework and what was actually published. . Background In a previous post – Differentiation in the ITT core content framework (March 2016) – I described the origins of the framework and its intended focus on … Continue reading What’s amiss with the ITT core content framework?
. HMCI Sir Michael Wilshaw devoted his monthly commentary for June 2016 to the education of our most able learners. He has consistently championed the education of the most able in non-selective secondary schools, having instigated two Ofsted survey reports on this topic, published in June 2013 and March 2015 respectively. This new commentary is … Continue reading Sir Michael on the most able
. Several of my recent educational posts have mentioned the new-found commitment to ‘educational excellence everywhere’. This was the title selected for the March 2016 white paper, but it is also the strategic goal at the heart of this government’s education policy. It should influence every part of the white paper, informing every educational decision … Continue reading Exposing the implications of ‘educational excellence everywhere’
. This brief post offers a preliminary assessment of provision for the most able in the 2016 schools white paper. . Background There was a little-noticed commitment in the Conservative Election Manifesto: ‘We will make sure that all students are pushed to achieve their potential and create more opportunities to stretch the most able.’ The statement … Continue reading Education Excellence Everywhere for the most able
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