News
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As part of a wider programme, aimed at improving the educational performance of children from financially disadvantaged households, the government announced earlier this year changes in the way Ofsted will assess the standards of schools in England and Wales. As of September 2013, there has been a greater emphasis on the achievements and progress of poorer children. To allow adequate monitoring of this measure, the test results of children in receipt of the pupil premium are to be included discretely, as part of the schools performance tables.
The pupil premium is a payment made to schools in respect of any child who has qualified for free school meals within the previous six years, and is therefore considered to be a good indicator of financial disadvantage. The detrimental effect of being from a low-income household has been found to be quite substantial. For example, in 2012, the results of the national tests carried out at the end of the primary phase showed that 68 per cent
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A report from the National Literacy Trust has found that a reading campaign led by Premier League footballers has achieved significant success with participating pupils.
The scheme was launched in January 2012 and involved 472 primary schools and 232 secondary schools.
The focus of the scheme was to target and work with schools that were not reaching national literacy levels and had large numbers of children from financially disadvantage backgrounds.
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A recent study compiled as part of the European Survey on Language Competences (ESLC) has found that English teenagers are the worst in Europe when it comes to foreign languages.
Pupils of 14 European countries were tested through reading, writing and listening tests on the first foreign language taught in schools, and within these tests English pupils came last with the language of French.
The study found that the French reading skills of 90% of English pupils were “basic” meaning they could only understand short, simplified tests, and in their listening skills, 93% of those studying French again had just “basic” use in that they could only comprehend simple expressions and phrases.
Of the report a Department for Education spokesman said: “We are addressing the chronic lack of attention paid to foreign languages in schools.
“It is vital young people start studying a language at an earlier age. That is why from next year we are ensuring that children learn a lan
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An international league table today revealed that science standards in primary schools in England are slipping.
Out of 50 countries, England has dropped from 7th to 15th in tests of 10 year olds around the world. The results of 14 year olds have fallen also, with England 9th in the league tables.
Reasons cited for the decline have included suggestions of poor teaching, and the scrapping of the national curriculum tests, and have consequently left the Department of Education citing the slipping of standards a “major concern”.
Whilst it has been accepted that there is indeed a marked correlation between standards in science and the stopping of science testing at 11, many are debating the necessity of a return.
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Recent data from the Department of Education has revealed that more than one in seven boys can’t write their own name at the age of five, and figures indicate that 15 per cent of boys struggle to form simple words such as ‘dog’ and ‘cat’ from memory at the end of reception.
When it comes to basic writing, boys are twice as likely to fail as girls, and eight percent of boys cannot count up to ten, compared to five per cent of girls.
This data comes amid concerns that increasing numbers of boys are failing to get a good start to their education, with the Department of Education stating that “girls continue to achieve at a higher level than boys” in areas of development.
Further Figures
The data also revealed a number of other trends:
- 38% of boys were not of able to “attempt writing for a variety of purposes” compared with 19% of girls, this included a basic letter to Santa.
- 5% of boys wer
