New Ofsted chief proposes creation of team to identify failing academies

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/dec/28/new-ofsted-chief-failing-academies

A team of local commissioners should be employed to identify institutions that should lose their academy status and find headteachers who should be replaced, the incoming head of Ofsted has said.


As more schools become independent academies, Sir Michael Wilshaw called for the creation of the network of commissioners who would report back on the performance of schools in their area.

Wilshaw, who will take up his post as England's new chief education inspector next month, also suggested in an interview with the Times that some school governors should be paid in a bid to improve their performance and that scruffy teachers could be reprimanded.

"If we turned up at the doctor's surgery or the lawyer's offices … we would expect them to look professional, it's the same with teachers," he said.

He said that the local commissioners would be needed to help with the task of identifying problems as more schools became academies.

"I speak as someone who believes in autonomy and who believes in independence and as a great supporter of the academy programme, but we know there will be some academies that won't do well," Wilshaw said.

"It is no good just relying on Ofsted to give the judgment. By that time, it is too late. We need some sort of intermediary bodies which can detect when things aren't going well, look at the data and have their ear very close to the ground to determine when there is a certain issue."

He added: "These people would be non-political, in other words they would not be like LEAs responsible to a council, they would be people who would report directly to the secretary of state."

"The job of the commissioner would be to meet the managing directors, the chief executives of those clusters, report to him or her on the performance of the group. And the commissioner would then make a judgment on whether a school needs to be improved, report to the secretary of state and then bring in other agencies to improve those schools or not."

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "We welcome Sir Michael Wilshaw's thoughts on how we can continue to drive up standards in schools."

"We have already established the Office of the Schools Commissioner and will take action to deal with any failing school or academy. We have also published more information than ever before about how schools are performing, including their spending and results, so they can be held to account and parents really know what is going on in schools, including academies."

Stephen Twigg, Labour's shadow education secretary, said the party will give "serious consideration" to the suggestion in its policy review.

He said: "We have been looking at the idea of local schools' commissioners to raise standards and deal with poorly performing schools, whilst protecting autonomy and local accountability."

"But the Tory-led government must answer serious questions before bringing in any changes. Will the new posts be accountable to local parents and communities? Will the new superintendents be qualified professionals?"

Parents believe nursery have more influence on childrens reading than them

http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1120219/Parents-believe-nursery-influence-childrens-reading-do-survey-suggests/

Michael Glenister, 02 March 2012, 10:43am

Many parents consider early years settings to be more important than the home environment when it comes to children's communication and literacy skills, according to research published by the charity National Literacy Trust (NLT)

Almost a third of parents said they did not consider themselves to be the main influence on children’s communication and language skills, with 15 per cent citing school and nursery teachers as the primary influence on children’s communication skills.


As a result, 14 per cent of parents shun the opportunity to read to their children at home, as shown by the poll of 1,000 parents of 0-16-year-olds, carried out as part of the launch of the NLT’s Words for Life campaign.

Clare Bolton, campaign manager at Words for Life, encouraged nurseries to work in conjunction with parents to improve literacy standards. 'It’s about getting parents involved as much as possible in what is happening in the nursery,' she said.

'Reinforcing messages from the nursery environment is really important and nurseries can help by doing things like sending reading lists home with children and celebrating World Book Day in order to get families talking about reading.'

The Words for Life campaign encourages parents to aid the development of children’s reading and communication skills and provides tips and guidance for parents on their website.

Advice for reading with three- to five-year-olds includes hints such as voicing different characters to bring children’s books to life. The site also includes resources such as worksheets and puzzles relating to popular children’s books.

Ms Bolton also encourages nurseries to use the resources as well in order to promote literacy among children.

'If nurseries can use the resources and encourage children and parents to utilise those resources at home and create continuity between the two environments then that is fantastic,' she said.

Bestselling author James Patterson is also supporting the campaign. He encouraged parents to set an example to children by reading at home themselves.

'Let's face it, most of us don't realise it, but we are failing our kids as reading role models,' he said.

'The best role models are in the home: brothers, fathers, grandfathers, mothers, sisters, grandmothers. Mums and dads, it's important that your kids see you reading. Not just books – reading the newspaper is good too.'


The research did find that 91 per cent of parents wanted to spend more time reading with children.