| | Stoke-on-Trent Research School by The Keele and North Staffordshire Alliance Newsletter |
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While teachers and school leaders have been taking a well-earned rest over the summer, a number of important education news items and publications have been announced.
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Grants to pilot curriculum programmes in science, history and geography
DfE specification of requirements
In August, the DfE issued a ‘specification of requirements’ for schools who wish to apply for a grant to pilot curriculum programmes in science, history and geography, with the aim of reducing workload and supporting teachers to deliver a curriculum which has three main principles:
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a knowledge-rich approach
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whole-class teaching
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teacher-led instruction.
These draw upon research carried out by ED Hirsch in Why Knowledge Matters (Hirsch, 2006) and on the findings of the report by John Blake for The Policy Institute’s report Completing the Revolution – Delivering on the promise of the 2014 National Curriculum.
The DfE grant is intended to provide answers to the following questions:
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How do the different curriculum programmes most powerfully affect teacher workload?
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Which frameworks allow for the greatest benefit to pupil outcomes?
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What training and guidance will be needed to share the programmes effectively?
The fund is offering grants of up to £150K for schools to run a pilot over two consecutive terms, and is expected to run from January 2019. Applications are open to eligible schools or lead schools whom OFSTED judges to be at least ‘good’, and the funding round closes on 17 September 2018.
Commenting on the fund in an article for Schools Week, UCL Senior Lecturer Sandra Leaton Gray acknowledges that it provides a great opportunity to build a strong base of practitioner evidence and support less experienced teachers – but only if properly evaluated – an issue as yet unresolved. She provides a robust challenge to the principles of the fund and raises a number of questions including how key concepts around a knowledge-rich curriculum will be defined, and asks whether the evidence base truly supports the exclusive prioritisation of a knowledge-rich, teacher-led approach.
You can read the Schools Week article here | |
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Education Secretary Damian Hinds has challenged the tech industry to launch a tech revolution for schools, colleges and universities
Education Secretary Damian Hinds has challenged the EdTech industry to “spearhead a classroom revolution” – again with the aim of cutting workload, as well as “developing innovative teaching practices” and “promoting lifelong learning”. The Chartered College of Teaching’s ‘Impact’ magazine will devote its February issue to EdTech and provide a useful platform to explore research evidence on the topic.
Read More |
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Can summer schools improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils?
The NFER has produced a briefing on the effectiveness of summer schools, focusing on summer interventions as part of the transition to secondary school. The EEF’s evidence suggests that summer school pupils benefit little (an additional two months) for moderate cost, and success is dependent upon a clear academic focus and delivery by trained professionals. The NFER evaluated the DfE’s national summer schools programme designed to help pupils make a successful transition to secondary school, and although the sample size was large (21,065 pupils in 461 schools, 347 of which had taken part in the summer schools programme) and findings were positive, evidence was generated by surveys only, in contrast to the Sutton Trust
research which measured pupil outcomes. The organisations involved are working together to build a larger evidence base about the topic.
Read the NFER briefing |
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New year, new EEF guidance reports
The new academic year will see publication of more EEF guidance reports. EEF guidance reports provide a robust and reliable overview of research evidence on a number of important school topics, and you can find links to the full suite of guidance reports on the EEF website.
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Look out for opportunities to engage with us and learn more about the evidence and training programmes to support development of evidence-based practice in your school or setting.
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