League table woes, no proof academies raise standards and Ofsted on religion

Good week for

Science practicals. Education secretary, Nicky Morgan, called for a U-turn on Ofqual plans to scrap science practicals for GCSE and A-level qualifications.

Christian schools. Chief inspector Michael Wilshaw has denied that Ofsted had a political agenda against Christian schools after he came under fire from MPs following damning inspections for two free schools in north east England.

Bad week for

League tables. The number of schools in England failing to hit their GCSE targets has doubled in a year, according to figures released by the Department for Education. Exam reforms and changes to the way league tables are made up are thought to have led to the change.

Academies. A report by the cross-party education select committee said that while the increase in academies had led to greater competition, which helped drive school improvements, there was no proof academies raised standards.

What you’re saying

Almost three quarters (73%) of trainee and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) have considered leaving the profession, according to a new survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL). The stats got a lot you chatting on Twitter, with many sharing their workload woes.

Photograph of the week

What stage are you in? This illustration shows the four stages of teacher confidence in the use of technology:

The week in numbers

Hundreds of schools and colleges aren’t sending their students to top universities, according to data from the Department for Education. More than 1,600 didn’t send any pupils to Oxbridge and about 335 failed to get any students into a russell group university.

The Welsh education watchdog, Estyn, found that the standards of primary schools in Wales declined in 2014 compared with previous years. About two in three primary schools required a follow-up.

Government figures show that black and Asian young people leaving school are more likely to go to university than their white counterparts. Of those educated in the state sector, 64% of Asian students and 62% of black students went to higher education in 2012-2013 compared with just 45% of white students.

Dates to remember

February kicks off with LGBT History Month. A variety of events will be taking place in Manchester across Valentine’s weekend to educate about LGBT issues. And did you know that more than 600,000 people in the UK live with epilepsy? National Doodle Day on Friday 6 February aims to raise awareness of the condition by asking students to pay £1 to submit a doodle, or bid on a celebrity doodle.

Resources for you

Hidden histories looks at groups not previously given attention by historians, including LGBT history. Do you know which year each of the listed events took place?
Telling tales looks at why we should tell stories – a great starter for National Storytelling Week.
Discover how variation can help survival of the species, as described in Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.
Consider ways of judging art with this doodle lesson plan.

Blogs and comments

• How English teachers in China are lied to and exploited
  
• Apps aren’t creative, teachers and students are
• Schools need to be part of a community, not stand alone
• The push for coding in schools
• Boarding schools bring hunger and misery for China’s “left behind” kids

Quote of the week

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