Schools and education

[Ian]

The recent revelation that Conwy comes way down the list of schools in terms of what they're delivering can['t be good news.  Eirias is excellent, and always has been, by Ysgol Aberconwy is in the bottom five in Wales.  It's not to do with affluence, either; some of the most socially deprived wards in Wales are making a better showing.

[Trojan]

Ysgol Aberconwy is in the bottom five in Wales.

Isn't that Pendragon's old school? 

[Paddy]

Ysgol Aberconwy is in the bottom five in Wales.

Isn't that Pendragon's old school? 

I'm sure it wasn't in the bottom five when she was there.

[Ian]

The 'value added' score might be thought contentious.  The higher that score, the greater the perceived social deprivation of the general area. The idea is to form a level playing field in school assessments between counties.  But it's a tricky calculation.

[DaveR]

Aberconwy always used to have a very poor reputation. A lot of money has been spent on it in recent years, so I'd hope it would have improved significantly?

[Ian]

To make a difference, you need very committed teaching staff with seriously high academic achievements themselves. But the two don't often go together.   

[Pendragon]

Ysgol Aberconwy is in the bottom five in Wales.

Isn't that Pendragon's old school? 

Actually Aberconwy had one of the best reputations of any any educational facility for miles in the 80s, they taught some of the best, most incredibly intelligent pupils imaginable, bordering on genius I'll have you know..............but then I left 

[Ian]

The row about the data rumbles on. The BBC has released tables showing the relative performance of schools across what the WAG calls 'families'. The Welsh Government places schools in "families" - groups of about 10 - where pupils have similar levels of family income and special needs.

In one case a school's results are 42% better than another in the same family, and the Welsh Government has dismissed the tables as "extremely simplistic". Which - if the tables are that useless - begs the question as to why they've been collated in the first place.

The exercise may seem irrelevant to those whose children are out of the system, but in fact Education accounts for the biggest slice of the WAG financial pie, so we need to be sure that society is getting decent value. However, how that should be done is in hot contention.

Plaid Cymru AM Simon Thomas said "Plaid has made the case for a radical overhaul of the education system in order to get education right for all children, in all areas of Wales," he said and added that Labour plans to reintroduce school league tables "could mask the reality of underperformance and further undermine underperforming schools" before stating "It is not for parents through competition to improve schools but government and LEAs through action and direction," said Mr Thomas.

That's an interesting perspective, given that local authorities are so good at running complex systems, like repairing potholes.

Conservative AM Angela Burns said the performance figures were "no real surprise", although league tables had to be treated carefully. She is calling for local education authorities (LEAs) which administer schools, to be removed from the funding process.
"We would directly fund the schools, we would cut out the middle man, we would cut out the LEAs," she said.

The only expert in education, School inspector Gwynoro Jones, said schools in Wales should be administered by four education boards rather than LEAs.

"This data tells us what we've all known for a long, long time, but unfortunately it has been brushed under the carpet for various reasons. There are significant variances in performance of pupils in schools in Wales, a wide range of variation in relation to the performance of teachers, head teachers, local authorities."

So: some favour LEAS continuing with their sterling work in education, some favour removal of all powers from the LEAs and education boards running the show and others still believe school should be directly funded by the government.

[Yorkie]

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[SteveH]

Nearly half of England’s teachers plan to leave in next five years

I think this quote sums it up......“I just want to do what I love without all the red tape and stress,”   

Teachers, at breaking point trying to cope with the relentless exam and curriculum changes, already plan to leave the state system in record numbers, a Guardian survey has found, as the government calls for longer school days and more maths lessons.

In England 43% of the state school teachers polled said they were planning to leave the profession in the next five years. The survey shows that the staff recruitment and retention crisis, described by ministers as “scaremongering”, is a reality: 79% of schools say they are struggling to recruit or retain teachers and 88% predict things are going to get worse and that this will severely affect students.

43% of teachers in England plan to leave; 98% are under increasing pressure; 82% say their workload is unmanageable
Bureaucratic systems to record pupil progress and staff performance, plus a heavier burden of written marking to please Ofsted inspectors, are taking a toll on the health of the school workforce and prompting more to escape to schools in the independent sector or overseas, the survey finds.

More.....http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/mar/22/teachers-plan-leave-five-years-survey-workload-england

[SteveH]

The teachers who plan to quit over George Osborne’s academy plans

The chancellor’s plans to make all schools academies by 2022 are prompting teachers to say they will leave the profession.

In his latest budget George Osborne called for all schools to become academies by 2022. The chancellor says he wants to remove schools from council control to “drive up standards”.

But not everyone is behind these proposals, and many teachers have expressed concern. More alarmingly – especially as there is a huge shortage of teachers – we have also heard from many who say the latest shakeup makes them want to quit the profession for good.

Here they explain why:   http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/mar/23/teachers-quit-george-osbornes-academy-plans

[Ian]

The academy debate is nothing new and last reappeared during the early '90s. It revolves around removing education from Local Authority control. Some teachers like having Local Authorities involved, since they can offer training, assistance and materials. Others feel that councils can barely be trusted with ensuring the tide comes in each day and should be kept well away from any involvement with education.

The government is keen on the switch because Academies can set their own teacher salaries - which they hope will be lower than currently. But one huge attraction is that Academies are not required to follow the National Curriculum - a thorn in the side of many teachers. In terms of teachers leaving, I doubt many will do it because of the Academy switch. They may claim they will but it's hard to pick up salaries as good as the gold-plated teacher salaries, along with inflation-proof pensions.

[SteveH]

The changing face of growing up....

Three-quarters of UK children spend less time outdoors than prison inmates – survey

Three-quarters of UK children spend less time outside than prison inmates, according to a new survey revealing the extent to which time playing in parks, wood and fields has shrunk. A fifth of the children did not play outside at all on an average day, the poll found.

Experts warn that active play is essential to the health and development of children, but that parents’ fears, lack of green spaces and the lure of digital technology is leading youngsters to lead enclosed lives.

Most of the parents polled said their children have fewer opportunities to play outside than they did when young. The new research is strongly supported by previous work, including a government report in February that found more than one in nine children had not set foot in a park, forest, beach or any other natural environment for at least a year.

“The truth is we are enclosing our children,” said Mark Sears, at The Wild Network, which works to increase wild play. “We are stifling their ability to be free, to be at their best as children and it is having significant impacts.” He said increasing obesity and lower mental wellbeing in children was linked to a lack of physical activity.

A separate study from the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), published earlier in March, found that children from poorer backgrounds were less interested in being outdoors in nature than better-off children. But WWT found this difference was overcome after just one day spent learning outside.

“Young kids that learn and play outside get direct experience of weather and the seasons and wildlife – things that are only possible outdoors – and they get to assess risks, solve problems and develop creativity,” said Lucy Hellier, WWT learning project manager. “The benefits may seem obvious, but in reality many children don’t get to be outdoors in a natural environment in any regular or meaningful way. And that’s even more common among kids from deprived areas.”

In 2013, the RSPB published a three-year study, which concluded that four out of five children in the UK were not adequately “connected to nature”. In 2012, a National Trust report called Natural Childhood revealed the growing gap between children and nature. Less than one in 10 children regularly played in wild spaces, it said, compared to half of children a generation ago.
MORE
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/25/three-quarters-of-uk-children-spend-less-time-outdoors-than-prison-inmates-survey

[SteveH]

A small, cash-strapped Welsh university paid £490,000 for TWO vice chancellors in one year

Wales’ smallest university has been criticised for paying two vice-chancellors almost half a million pounds at a time when it was battling serious financial issues.

A report into vice-chancellors’ pay and pensions found that Glyndwr University gave its former vice-chancellors Professor Michael Scott and Prof Graham Upton a combined £490,983 in 2014-15.

Glyndwr’s outlay on senior leadership was by far the highest in Wales and the fourth largest in the whole of the UK, ahead of universities including Oxford and Cambridge.

Figures compiled by Times Higher Education (THE) trade magazine showed Glyndwr forked out 116% more in pay and pension contributions to its vice-chancellors in 2014-15 than in the year previous.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/education/small-cash-strapped-welsh-university-11380507

[SteveH]

Here we go again.....
Bangor university's £250,000 make-over of boss's plush home outrages hard-up students
A university has come under fire for spending over a quarter of a million pounds on its vice chancellor’s grace and favour home.

Bangor University spent a total of £267,125.84 on maintenance, furnishing and refurbishing the luxury residence on the banks of the Menai.
The university purchased Felin Tysilio in Menai Bridge , for a total of £475,000 in 2010 on the appointment of Professor John Hughes.
But over the past five years, some of the items bought for the home include over £16,000 of Laura Ashley furnishings , £3239 for four sofas and even £700 on cushions.

The figures also showed that £95,000 was spent with a local company who specialise in refurbishing kitchens and bathrooms, and another £3500 on curtains.
A sideboard set the University back another £1500, £538 for two dining chairs, £1500 for a bed frame and £520 for a mattress.
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/bangor-universitys-250000-make-over-11393937