Tag Archives: grammar schools

Ofsted: notoriously unreliable

Ofsted judgments have never been trustworthy. There have been problems from the start. It should come as no surprise that none of the 46 schools wearing an Outstanding label which were inspected this January retained that label: 37 became Good, … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Social Justice | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Grammar schools and “ordinary working families” again

In our last blog post, we looked into a new and deeply flawed ‘research report’ by former Department of Education official Iain Mansfield. It was written in support of the Prime Minister’s argument that expanding grammar schools across England would … Continue reading

Posted in Social Justice | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Grammar schools helping “ordinary working families”?

On becoming prime minister Theresa May decided to expand grammar schools in order to benefit ‘ordinary working families’. There is no evidence that this is what grammar schools do. This week a former Department of Education official Iain Mansfield tried … Continue reading

Posted in Social Justice, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Grammar schools do not overcome disadvantage

New research has further undermined the Government’s case for expanding grammar schools. Stephen Gorard and Nadia Siddiqui (Durham University) have taken a closer look at the Department for Education’s data, revealing some neglected factors. It was already beyond doubt that children … Continue reading

Posted in Social Justice | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Back to the 1970s? I’ll vote for that

A personal comment by Dr Terry Wrigley, Visiting Professor, Northumbria University A few days ago the Daily Mail threatened that a Labour victory in the General Election would mean a return to the 1970s. That set me thinking. I started … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The crisis in secondary schools: where is it leading?

All kinds of schools in England are facing damaging budget cuts. Large meetings are being held all over the country where parents and teachers together are showing their opposition to Government cuts. Every concerned teacher or parent should join the … Continue reading

Posted in Curriculum, Social Justice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Who will vote for secondary moderns?

The elephant in the room of Theresa May’s plan to open more grammar schools is – secondary modern schools. Selecting a minority of children at age 11 for grammar schools means an inferior kind of school for those who failed. This is what … Continue reading

Posted in Social Justice | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Progress 8 – another attack on working-class schools

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

Posted in Accountability | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A curriculum for all? GCSEs, EBacc and Progress 8

We are pleased to announce a new survey, commissioned by the NUT and carried out by a research team from King’s College London. A curriculum for all? The effects of recent Key Stage 4 curriculum, assessment and accountability reforms on … Continue reading

Posted in Curriculum | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Britain treats its children – a UN perspective

by Dr Pam Jarvis, Leeds Trinity University In June 2016, national news headlines were dominated by Britain’s referendum on whether to remain within or leave the European Union. Other news disappeared beneath this maelstrom, including a story which lays bare some … Continue reading

Posted in Social Justice | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment