dramatic change for the education system set to continue in
2012
21 December 2011
As 2011 draws to a close with playgrounds silent until next
term, it is time to reflect on the past year’s developments in
education and look at what lies in store come 2012.
Academies full steam ahead
This past year, the Government’s academies programme has taken
off, with 1,463 open as of 1 December. Will the pace of conversions
keep up? Yes - if the number in progress is anything to go by.
There will undoubtedly be further controversy as plans announced to
force poorly performing schools to convert under a sponsor will be
met with stiff opposition in some areas. How this will work in
practice if a school does not want to cooperate with their sponsor
remains to be seen.
Power to the teachers
This past year we saw government plans set out in the White
Paper ‘The Importance of Teaching’ come to fruition in the form of
a much debated bill. The bill gained royal assent on 15 November,
though most of its provisions will not come into force until next
year.
The act will give teachers the power to search pupils for items
banned under the school rules and issue same-day detentions.
Teachers will be better protected from false allegations by pupils
and will have anonymity until charged. Exclusion appeal panels will
be replaced by review panels with no power to direct reinstatement,
which could result in far fewer appeals in 2012, but a greater risk
of legal challenge.
Admissions and admission appeals
The new streamlined codes should come into force early next
year, replacing the current 130 pages and 600 mandatory
requirements in the current two codes. The Government promises the
new code will make it easier for popular schools to take more
pupils, ban local authorities from using area-wide “lotteries” and
improve the current in-year applications scheme. The new code will
also give priority to children of school staff when a school is
over-subscribed (if the school wishes). Will we see the best
teachers flock to work at outstanding schools, leaving
poorer-performing schools struggling to recruit?
Ofsted
Come January, Ofsted will judge schools under four criteria –
the quality of teaching, leadership and management, behaviour and
safety of pupils and the achievement of pupils, replacing the
previous 27 headings. Will this change simply subsume the 27
headings underneath the 4 criteria? Or will there be a renewed
focus on standards of teaching and school governance in line with
the government’s expectation?
Meeting the challenges head-on
It is clear that the Government is intent on numerous reforms
over the next few years; consultations are underway on funding and
performance management of teaching, a new system for SEN
statementing is being trialled and there are plans to overhaul the
curriculum. Few aspects of the educational system look to stay the
same.
Schools will have to continue to find new funding streams and
share resources by collaborating and partnering with other schools
in their area. Challenges remain and are likely to get tougher, but
as schools have already shown, they are more than ready to pull
together to meet these demands and adapt to whatever 2012 has in
store.
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