Academies are state-funded schools which are independent of local authority control.

Schools rated as outstanding by inspectors could be fast-tracked into academy status for the autumn.

Education Secretary Michael Gove says he wants to bring back “radicalism” and give schools more freedom.

The proposals could mean thousands of schools leaving local authority control. Some of us might be wondering if this really is radical or a repackaging of the Grant Maintained Status schools from the last Conservative government?

Michael Gove went on to say “It’s about saying to heads, and boards of Governors and teachers – it’s up to you.”

One thing remains unclear at the moment – what incentives are the government going to offer schools to become academies and will their successful application have a ripple effect to neighbouring schools? As a Governor – I will be urging the rest of my Governing Body to consider the invitation very carefully, weighing up any short and long term gains against the support and guidance we enjoy from our local authority.

About one in five secondary schools are currently rated as outstanding.

All other state schools will also be invited to apply to become academies and to opt out of local authority control.  I am very interested to see any success criteria for these other schools and whether attainment seems to be a major factor.

One thing is for sure – this represents a sea of change and our schools will have some serious self analysis and soul searching to do in the coming months.

Read the official Department for Education information here.

Mark

The DCSF has already been renamed as the Department for Education and Mr Gove says that it will be “re-focused on supporting teaching and learning”.

Webmasters across Westminster have had a hectic week (almost as busy as the Learning Pool team!), rebranding websites and changing content to reflect the incoming Government.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on Education announcements and will keep you informed here, and the team are already reviewing our course content.

We’re incredibly lucky to have such flexible, dynamic tools at our fingertips to both review and add new e-learning content quickly and efficiently.  Everyone at Modern Governor is looking forward to demonstrating just how quickly we can adapt our course content – it looks like Mr Gove will be keeping us busy!

Elaine

I’ve always liked the Standard Attainment Tests for pupils after being on first the inside and now the outside of school life.  Maybe it’s because my mathematical nature simply enjoys the potential for statistics it offers; maybe it’s because I spent many hours learning mark schemes and tormented over a pupils intention, rather than their actual answer; or perhaps my involvement in creating some of the papers themselves influenced my belief in their rigidity.  Whatever, I found the results really useful.  As a teacher they are an accurate measure (not for every pupil but for most), there is no need to spend hours (and I assure you they take hours) creating a near perfect test and there is no need to mark them, although the completed tests come back for analysis and feedback to pupils.  They are a powerful way to standardise levels of attainment nationally and across a year group.

No longer teaching, I still value the results.  I want to know when and how much I need to support my children in their education.  Are they ok or are they struggling?  Can we leave them to learn or is there a dip that needs our attention?  The school report tells me they are trying hard and they have lots of friends and can be trusted to return the register to reception.

But I’ve misunderstood this in the past.  I’ve asked this year for an attainment level as well and will find the teacher assessment and the national comparison useful to know how much academic support I need to offer.

I understand that letting SATs take over the months leading to the tests can put unnecessary pressure on children, teachers and schools. But then that’s not the test that does this, it’s the system we allow ourselves to create around them.  League tables being possibly the most contentious.  But as part of my parental assessment of a school, I use the tables as a single snap shot measure.  I appreciate it’s not always a great one (especially for a primary school with a small roll), but together with a visit to the school it’s all I really have if I’m not to rely on hearsay or marketing.

As a Governor, and as part of a Governing Body, I know we will meet to analyse SATs results and teacher assessments together. We’ll look at all the statistical data that RAISEonline allows and listen to the Head teacher’s explanations as we struggle a little to interpret them!  But as a collective we will determine some of the future strategies the schools needs to progress as a result.  That national statistical reference point, for me, is essential.

Mike

Even that small figure however, will change as new rules (coming into practice in 2011) make sex education classes compulsory in England for all students aged 15 and over. The current rules allow parents to withdraw their children up to the age of 19.

Under the new rules, all pupils will be required to have at least 1 year of sex and relationships education before their 16th birthday including classes on topics such as same sex relationships and contraception. These rules will also apply to faith schools although governing bodies will still be able to ensure that classes reflect the religious ethos of the school.

Have Your Say: Should parents be able to choose for their children? Should sex education be the responsibility of schools?

The NGA’s Chief Executive Phil Revell was quoted in a Financial Times interview as saying:

“I think they [governors] would recognise that the chair’s job on most governing bodies is a job, it’s not a volunteering role.”

“You simply cannot do it properly unless you devote a considerable amount of time to it … at least two days a week.”

The argument is that keeping the role purely voluntary, and unpaid, restricts the pool of talent available. Conversely, a paid post would encourage more working people to become involved and enable chairs of governors to invest more time into becoming “better informed” about their duties.

Of course, the money (likely £200 million nationwide) would have to come from somewhere (i.e. existing school budgets) and it’s worth noting that the suggestion is not official NGA policy.

Fair Compensation or an Unnecessary Expense?

I’d imagine that anyone reading this would agree that school governors play a vital role – one which is often undervalued.

But is paying heads of governors the right answer?

Mr Straw’s involvement has, of course, drawn media attention to the case but how councils work with governors (and vice versa) is something that should be on the radar of anyone involved in education.

As you might expect, there are two sides to this story:

The Lambeth councillor in charge of education was quoted in the Evening Standard, as saying: “Officers found that the standard of education was falling year on year. The governors didn’t respond appropriately and we exercised our legal right to replace them.”

But local MP Kate Hoey said: “I feel that he [the headteacher] has not been treated in a way that would generally be considered to be justified and when the governors supported him, they got rid of them.”

A governor’s first responsibility is to the school and its pupils; and the council surely have the same motivations. Without knowing the details we won’t hazard a comment on this particular case but there is an important question here:

When things do go wrong, how far should governors go in supporting the head and teachers before they start pushing for changes?

But despite the deals, not every parent will be able to take advantage of the discounted prices. The LGA quotes research showing that nearly a fifth of parents can only buy the requisite uniforms from a single supplier, or the school itself – meaning they miss out on the bargains availble to others.

The Responsibility of School Governors

School governors have a legal responsibility not to disadvantage children – and could potentially face action under competition laws if they fail to ensure that choice is available.

It may sound like a minor point but a recent report suggested that the average parent will spend nearly £700 a year on clothing, equipment and other costs for a primary school child – rising to almost £1200 per child in secondary school.

Save the Children figures that about a quarter of  low-income households with school-aged children will go into debt to cover these costs.

So What Can Be Done?

The LGA suggests three things:

• Ensuring that there are at least two suppliers of school uniforms for your school
• Supplying school symbols and logos that can be sewn onto uniforms
• Give parents the chance to purchase second hand uniforms

What are your thoughts?

Female students are ahead of men in almost every measure of UK university achievement, according to a report from higher education researchers.

A Higher Education Policy Institute report shows that women are more likely to get places in the top universities and go on to get better grades. Women also outnumber men in high status subjects, such as law and medicine.

The institute’s director, Bahram Bekhradnia, says the cause of this gender gap remains uncertain. Women have been entering university in greater numbers than men in recent years – with the participation rate for young women standing at 49%, compared with 38% of young men.

The study disproves the notion that men dominate in the most highly-regarded subjects and institutions. It found that women are taking more places at prestigious Russell Group universities and on the most sought-after courses.

The only exception is for Oxford and Cambridge, where men and women are now level. There are also still some subject areas, such as courses related to maths, physics and technology, where men are in the majority. But the overall picture shows a consistent trend in women substantially outnumbering men.

There are more women on part-time and full-time courses and women account for a higher proportion of younger and mature students. In degree grades, women are more likely to gain “good degrees” – taking first class and upper seconds together – while men are more likely to gain lower seconds and thirds.

However male students still maintain a narrow lead in firsts – 13.9% to 13% of those who graduate. According to the report, women’s greater success in gaining university places and achieving better degrees extends across different social classes and ethnic groups.