News items

Source: RECAP Education News

Interim Report: Early Education and Childcare Qualifications

The Government announced an independent review, led by Professor Cathy Nutbrown, to consider how best to strengthen qualifications and career pathways in the foundation years.

Professor Nutbrown has now produced her interim report. The review looks at qualifications - both for young people who are new to the early education and childcare sector, and for those already employed - and also how to promote progression into the labour market, higher level education and other training routes.

Professor Nutbrown conducted a large-scale public consultation to gather evidence towards her review. The report of this call for evidence can be found on this page under ‘Summary of Results'.

DFE Report on GCSE Early Entries

A DFE report based on research on the outcomes for students from early entries at GCSE is available. Statistical information is presented about recent trends in early entries with a focus on English and mathematics in particular. The report is available for download in PDF format.

National Curriculum Framework Report

A report from the Expert Panel's thinking on a range of important issues has been published. This includes an overarching conception of the purposes, shape, size and structure of the curriculum. The report focuses in particular on a number of recommendations, some of which have the potential to result in radical change to the National Curriculum, beyond change to curriculum content.

New school inspection documents for 2012 published

The three main documents for Ofsted's new arrangements for school inspection, due to commence in January 2012, have been published today. Available on the Ofsted website, they include the inspection framework, the evaluation schedule and guidance on how inspections should be conducted.

Also available, to assist schools in preparing for inspection, are a series of short videos, PowerPoint presentations and detailed "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs). These are all designed to ensure that details of the new arrangements are clearly explained.

Pupil Premium - Increase in value and scope

The DFE has announced that the Pupil Premium will rise to £600 from next financial year. Furthermore, the scope for eligibility has also been widened so that any child registered for Free School Meals (FSM) in the past six years the will now qualify. Further details are available via the DFE website website.

Provisional 2011 GCE A-Level and equivalent results

Information on the overall achievements of young people in GCE and Applied GCE A-level examinations and other equivalent qualifications has been released. This information is based on data collated for the 2011 School and College Performance Tables. Achievements in all Level 3 qualifications approved under Section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act (2000) are included. The DfE Performance Table points are used to calculate point scores for all Level 3 qualifications - see technical notes for more details. Further details are available via the Research and Statistics Gateway website.

Provisional 2011 GCSE Results

Earliest information on the overall achievements of young people in GCSE examinations and other accredited qualifications in 2010/11 has been released. The information is taken from data collated for the 2011 Secondary School Performance Tables. New statistics about the entries and achievements in each English Baccalaureate subject area as well as new national tables showing pupils making expected progress in English and mathematics from 2007/8 to 2010/11 and showing expected progress broken down by prior attainment and KS4 grades. Further details are available via the Research and Statistics Gateway website.

Provisional Subject Results from JCQ

Provisional subject results for GCS A-Levels, GCSE and diplomas area available to download from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JVQ) website. The statistics presented in tables includes both cumulative percentages and percentage by awarded grades as well as gender data and comparisons with results in 2010. Further details and downloads are available via the JCQ website.

Provisional Results for Key Stage 1 in 2011

Provisional results for Key Stage 1 in 2011 have been published, based on the achievements of eligible pupils in the 2011 National Curriculum teacher assessments. Information includes results by level, gender, ethnicity, English as an additional language, free school meal eligibility, special educational need and the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index.

The statistics show 84% of pupils achieved the expected level in reading, 81% in writing, 87% in speaking and listening, 90% in mathematics and 89 per cent in science. Further details and downloads are available via the DFE Research and Statistics Gateway.

Expected KS1-2 Progress in English and Maths

Details about the expected progress of pupils between KS1 and KS2 for 2010-11 have been published and contain statistics at national, regional and local authority levels. The progression data for pupils reaching the end of KS2 uses a revised methodology to take into account the results from KS2 Teacher Assessments for those pupils who did not achieve a level 3-5 outcome in the KS2 National Curriculum tests. Importantly, the data previously published for 2009 and 2010 has been updated using this new method and will help when making any comparisons between results from the different years.

The statistics show that 83% of pupils make the expected progress in English (86% for girls and 81% for boys) and 82% in mathematics (82% for girls and 83% for boys). Further details and downloads are available via the DFE Research and Statistics Gateway.

Interim KS3 Results for 2011

National, regional and local authority interim results for Key Stage 3 tests taken by thousands of Year 9 pupils at secondary school were published today by the DFE. These indicate that 82% attained Level 5 or above in English, 81% in mathematics and 83% in science. Teachers? own assessments in 2011 show increases in attainment at the expected level for all three subjects compared to 2010, with an increase of 3% in English and science and 1% in mathematics. Notably, there was a large gender gap of 12% in English.

Interim KS2 Results for 2011

National, regional and local authority interim results for Key Stage 2 tests taken by thousands of pupils at the end of primary school were published today by the DFE. These indicate that 71% of pupils attained Level 4 or above in English, 80% in mathematics and 74% in both English and mathematics. The overall improvement compared with 2010 was 1% except for writing which improved 4% to 75% this year.

Bew Report on Key Stage 2 Testing

Lord Bew published the independent review of KS2 testing, assessment and accountability. The report profiles the evidence, outlines conclusions and lists a series of recommendations. In essence external school-level accountability remains but with more trust placed on teachers through a greater weight given to their assessment. A wider range of data, to include new progress and attainment measures and rolling averages, should be published to give a fairer picture of school performance and provide better quality information for secondary schools. The review recommend that the writing composition test should be replaced with teacher assessment. The report can be downloaded via the DFE website.

Report on Alternative Provision

Ofsted has published a report on alternative provision, based on sample of 23 secondary schools and academies and 16 pupil referral units. The schools included at least one student with alternative provision and were located in both urban and rural areas and varied in size and composition. Alternative provision at 61 placements were included, representing a wide range of practical courses, work placements and music studios. The report provides insights into an unregulated sector area of provision which is not formally included in inspection. Further details and downloads are available at the Ofsted website.

Report on Economics, Business and Enterprise Education

Ofsted has published this report evaluating the strengths and weaknesses in the provision of economics, business and enterprise education in primary and secondary schools as well as colleges. The report covers formally assessed 14-18 courses as well as enterprise education in primary and secondary schools. The report can be downloaded from the Ofsted website.

Consultation: Changes to Admission Framework

The DFE has published a consultation about making changes to the Admission arrangements for schools. The proposals are for two new codes to slim-down the existing codes and reduce the requirements by around a half of the versions currently in force. Consultations close on 19 August 2011 and details can be viewed and downloads, together with response forms, can be obtained from the DFE website.

Consultation on teacher performance management and capability arrangements

A consultation has begun into making changes to the performance management and capability arrangements for teachers. This is a 12 week consultation and further details and response forms can be found at the DFE website. The consultation closes on 16 August.

Effective School Governance - Case studies

Ofsted has published a report about the quality of governance in maintained schools. Examples of highly effective governance from 14 case studies are highlighted looking at best practice in contributing to effective leadership. The report can be downloaded in different formats from the Ofsted website.

Excellence in English - Case studies

Ofsted has published a report based on a subject survey looking at best practice in the teaching of English in schools. The report contains 12 case studies covering primary and secondary schools and a special school for secondary-age students. Each school operates in challenging circumstances with evidence of skills, knowledge and understanding below average on entry. The report can be downloaded in different formats from the Ofsted website.

Guidance on Behaviour and Discipline

The DfE has published for consultation a series of guidance documents on behaviour and discipline for schools. Documents include guidance for governors, teacher and school staff on behaviour and discipline in schools; ensuring good behaviour; screening, searching and confiscation; and the use of reasonable force. This consultation closes on 30 May 2011 and it is anticipated that the new guidance will be published in July 2011.