Education News from this week

Week Commencing 24/05/22?

Could more maths testing really benefit primary school children??

Government is proposing more testing as part of the plan to raise standards in reading, writing and maths. Some think early testing in maths could identify children who need help.?

Takeaway Topics:?

• Could more testing help identify pupils with dyscalculia??
• Is enough known about dyscalculia??
• If the government proposes to introduce universal dyslexia screening for primary school pupils, why not dyscalculia screening, too??
• Are schools aware of and doing enough to tackle ‘maths anxiety’ - a common problem that affects many children and adults??
• Will more testing induce more anxiety in pupils??

The Conversation article ?

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New NHS data reveals dramatic and alarming increase in the number of children and young people being treated for mental health problems?

In February 2020, the figure stood at around 272,000 children and young people undergoing mental health treatment. This had reached 411,000 in January this year and the latest figures for February 2022 show that it has now hit 420,000.?

Takeaway Topics:?

• Can mental health education and support in school help to address this pressure on the NHS??
• Is there scope for the education and health system to work together more effectively to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbing??
• The vast majority of school staff are seeing increased levels of anxiety among their pupils, but only a fifth say they can access specialist support for children who need it. A survey by Place2Be and the National Association of Head Teachers asked 1,130 school leaders and teachers what they were seeing. They reported increased anxiety (95%), low self-esteem (86%), depression (76%), self-harm (72%), suicidal thoughts (61%), eating difficulties (56%)?

Headteacher Update news article ?

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Links found between adventurous play and better mental health?

Study shows that children who spend more time engaged in adventurous play have fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression – with a more pronounced effect among children from lower income families?

Takeaway Topics:?

• How can schools provide more opportunities for children to engage in adventurous play??
• Is school the right place for ‘adventurous’ play (sometimes referred to as ‘risky’ play) such as climbing, jumping from high surfaces, riding bikes or playing in woodlands??
• Does adventurous play help children to build coping mechanisms and resilience??
• Do we protect children too much from taking risks??

The Guardian news article ?

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New support for schools to address mental health?

New ‘extracurricular handbook’ to help schools tackle mental health but government rejects MPs' calls for all students to undergo a mental health assessment?

Takeaway Topics:?

• Pupil wellbeing remains one the biggest issues in schools since the pandemic?
• Department for Education said it will work with schools and multi-academy trusts to publish a handbook for schools on enrichment and extracurricular activities?
• How will schools make the enrichment extracurricular provision available for pupils??
• Who will organise and run these extracurricular activities??
• How will they be funded??

Schools Week news article ?

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7 Ofsted findings on the English curriculum?

Watchdog reveals its latest subject research review, focused on English literature and language teaching?

Takeaway Topics:?

• Phonics teaching is essential – good quality schemes and teaching are vital?
• Reading weaknesses are often mislabelled as dyslexia?
• Developing vocabulary is key – how do we address the ‘word gap’ between pupils are ‘word-rich’ and those who are ‘word-poor’??
• Increasingly challenging texts need to be used and students need to read whole texts – how can we motivate students to read more and build their reading stamina??
• Teachers need to model spoken language – do we need to up-skill teachers to model competence as a speaker and listener and to introduce unfamiliar vocabulary to students??
• Early exams can lead to lower grades?
• English A-level is decreasing in popularity – how do we inspire a love of literature in students??

TES magazine article ?

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Schools are told to give weaker students the best teachers, in order to raise their grades?

Research finds that highly-rated teachers can have the biggest impact on lower-achieving students’ grades?

Takeaway Topics:?

• Research involved 251 maths and English teachers and over 7,000 Year 11 students?
• Teachers who had been rated highly by peers observing them had a bigger impact on lower-achieving students than on higher achieving students?
• Students did better in maths when spending more time on individual work?
• Students did better in English when spending more time working with classmates?
• Will all schools be made aware of this important research and be able to put report findings and suggestions into practise??

TES magazine article ?

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Half of new teachers struggle to balance teaching and training?

Government evaluation report also reveals three in four mentors have struggled to spend time on their own training?

Takeaway Topics:?

• Survey of participants found 45 per cent of early career teachers (ECTs) found it difficult to spend time on provider-led training alongside their teaching workload, while 54 per cent of mentors found it difficult to spend time supporting their ECTs alongside teaching.?
• This is despite the early career framework (ECF) extending the induction period for new teachers from one to two years, providing additional time off-timetable for second-year teachers.?
• Heavy workload came up as the main issue for ECTs, mentors and induction tutors – there are fears that this may mean schools are to take on ECTs.?

Schools Week news article ?

DfE report ?

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‘Recovery premium’ rolled out for all special school and AP pupils?

Catch-up cash will double for mainstream secondaries, rising to ￡60k on average, but rates frozen for most primaries?

Takeaway Topics:?

• Funding is allocated based on the number of?pupils eligible for free school meals?in the past six years, and the number of looked-after children.??
• But next year it will also be widened to cover every pupil in special educational needs and disability units in mainstream schools, as well as special schools, pupil referral units, alternative provision and hospital schools.?
• disadvantaged or looked-after children in mainstream secondaries will now receive ￡290 a head, up from ￡145 last year.?
• Secondary special schools and mainstream SEND units will receive ￡552 a head, versus ￡290 last year for disadvantaged and looked-after pupils and nothing for the rest.?
• Overall funding floor of ￡2,000 per primary school and ￡6,000 per secondary has been frozen, despite soaring inflation.?
• Funding remains flat for eligible pupils at mainstream primaries at ￡145 a head. It has even been cut from ￡290 to ￡276 a head for special primaries and mainstream SEND units, though this is likely to be offset by eligibility being widened to cover all pupils.?
• The DfE said the average secondary would receive more than ￡60,000, and the average primary almost ￡7,000.?
• How will schools be looking to spend this funding to best support those pupils??

Schools Week news article ?

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Research on early delivery of the T Level Transition Programme?

Report on the first year of the programme, including preparation, teaching and what students thought.?

Takeaway Topics:?

• The research focused on the first 3 routes introduced, which were: education and childcare; digital; construction?
• Students said they’d have liked more practical content on their courses and more opportunities for work experience (though the pandemic did limit this)?
• Following the research, providers plan to embed more opportunities for collaboration between T Level and Transition Programme students?
• A fifth of providers plan to retain a blended learning?
• More than a third of providers plan to make a range of changes to their English and maths delivery – increasing hours devoted to English and maths and increased focus? on these subjects in the first term, with the aim of students passing their retakes in November?
• Providers plan for face-to-face placements to go ahead next year, with virtual placements still being offered where necessary (particularly in the digital sector)?
• Some providers?plan to more closely align Transition Programme assessments to those set on the T Level so that students will be better prepared?
• Providers intend to increase employer engagement as well as the number of employer-set projects – how can education settings make stronger connections with employers??

DfE report ?