This week’s lecture was taken by former Minister of Education Jane Davidson who is now involved with Trinity College. Jane spoke about the history of education and The Learning Country which she herself introduced.
In 1983 Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of Britain. Thatcher wanted to create a curriculum that was available to every child, a curriculum that was fair and gave children equal opportunities to education no matter where they were from in the country. However, at the time there was opposition from teachers as the introduction of the National Curriculum meant they would not have the freedom to teach what they wanted to. One of the main aims of the curriculum was to ‘promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepare all pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life.’(National Curriculum, 2008) The Conservative government then introduced SAT tests which would be taken at the ages of eleven, seven and thirteen. Every child would be assessed using the same test to see what level each child was at in their learning of the new curriculum.
In the year of 1997 the Labour Government came back into power led by Tony Blair. When Blair came into power he stated that his three main priorities were ‘education, education, education’ which struck a chord with the British public as many disagreed with Thatcher’s policies on education. The education policies were seen to be to structured, that children were being trained instead of educated. It was believed that teachers and children should have more freedom instead of teaching children for tests.
In Wales in 1999 the welsh government really started to take action on the education system in Wales which led to the Referendum for the National Assembly being introduced. This meant that Wales would have separate education policies to England. Initially there were two ministers of education in Wales, one for pre sixteen’s education and one for post sixteen’s education. In the year of 2000 Rhodri Morgan became the first minister of education along with Jane Davidson herself. While Minister Jane along with others developed The Learning Country and The Learning Country Vision into Action as the education system in Wales needed to be revamped. The aim of the Learning Country Vision into Action was ‘to provide a ten-year strategy that would embody vision and action, so that we might transform education and lifelong learning in post-devolution Wales.’ (Welsh Government, 2001)
References
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/publications/guidance/learningcountry/?lang=en Retrieved 21st May April 2012
Education, education, education" BBC News,14 May 2007. Retrieved 21st April 2012.
Monday, 23 April 2012
Sunday, 22 April 2012
ICT Assignment Ideas
My first thought was to do my assignment, on football because it’s something that I love doing, and I know quite a lot about football. It also fitted in with the 'sense of place' aspect, of the assignment because I feel like I’m part of something when I play it. As I began to think about it more I realised, that maybe I would not have enough content to complete a sketch book, on just football so I broadened my topic, to sport as there would be so much more to put into my assignment.
As I started to think about sport, I began to remember all the good sporting memories from Comprehensive School which then made me reminisce about school and how it gives you a sense of place, and how important school is. So my final decision is to complete my assignment on Comprehensive School. I think that putting all my school memories into a sketchbook will be an enjoyable process.
As I started to think about sport, I began to remember all the good sporting memories from Comprehensive School which then made me reminisce about school and how it gives you a sense of place, and how important school is. So my final decision is to complete my assignment on Comprehensive School. I think that putting all my school memories into a sketchbook will be an enjoyable process.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
What is education? January 23rd, February 6th and 13th
Our guest lecturer Steve Gullick spoke to us about the governing bodies within a school. Steve Gullick is the director for All Wales Centre for Training and Research. Steve spoke about the roles governors play in schools and how vital they are to the schools.
‘Every state school has a governing body, consisting of specified numbers of various categories of governors depending on the type and size of school.’ (Direct Gov.) There are 300,000 school Governors in Wales making them one of the largest voluntary groups in the country as the work governors do is unpaid however they are reimbursed for any travel costs or any expenses paid out for child care while they are busy volunteering.
Governors are in place to increase school standards by setting out a plan of direction they want to see the school progressing towards while at the same time giving help and support to the school. In order for Governors to do a good job they are advised to take full advantage of the training provided to them. ‘Governors Wales is committed to supporting the effective management and provision of high quality learning opportunities for all pupils and young people in Wales.’(Governors Wales) While Head Teachers are responsible for the day to day running of the school and are seen to be the face of the school, Governors are still there setting out the long term plan for the school.
Governors have the responsibility of making sure teachers are following the curriculum correctly, they are also involved in employing new teachers including the head teacher. Governors are in charge of the school budget which covers maintenance, salaries and equipment. Governors can also set out targets for the school and pupils to reach.
There are different categories of Governors. Firstly there are parent Governors who are parents of children at the school. Next there is Staff Governors who are members of the school staff. Then, Authority Governors (previously known as LEA Governors) who are nominated by the Authority. Also Community Governors who are members of the local community appointed by the rest of the governing body. Lastly Foundation, Partnership and Sponsor Governors who are representatives of any sponsoring bodies. (Department of Education: 2) Every governing body is directed by a chair who is elected from within the association who is then supported by a vice chair.
Governor’s work is unpaid as they look for those who are actually interested in the welfare of schools and for those who want to make a positive effect on children’s education. Direct Gov. exclaims that ‘becoming a governor is a rewarding way of making an important contribution to education, If you become a Governor you are making a contribution to education in a rewarding way, as you can learn new skills and develop the one you already have further. ‘However, it may seem to be unfair not to be paid for all the positive work they do and time they give up in order to help schools.
Parents seem to be the largest category of Governors within a school maybe this is because they have children who attend the school so they want to be able to contribute to their child’s and other children’s education and oversee that the school is being run efficiently. In areas that suffer with poverty there is a lack of Governors, mainly because people do not have the time to be volunteering as they are at work trying to provide for their families. There is also a lack of black or foreign governors because of the type of work they do such as working at restaurants which would mean they would not be able to attend meetings which are held in the evening. Some foreign people are not able to speak English which is a disadvantage as all Governors must be able to speak English quite well in order to communicate with the schools.
Steve Gullick highlighted the different kinds of Governing bodies you can have within a school. Firstly, there is an abdicator group of governors who do not show much support to the school as they claim to be busy a lot of the time. Then there is an adversaries group of Governors who place a lot of the pressure on the school and are very critical of the school. Supporters club Governors who let the Head Teacher make all the decisions while providing support but not asking many questions. Lastly, there is the partners group who work hand in hand with the head teacher, sharing the responsibilities.
References
"Time off for public duties". Directgov. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Timeoffandholidays/DG_10028529. Retrieved 17th April 2012.
‘Constitution of governing bodies. ‘Department of Education. http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/guide%20to%20the%20law%20for%20school%20governors.pdf. Retrieved 17th April 2012.
Governors Wales http://www.governorswales.org.uk/about/. Retrieved 17th April 2012.
‘Every state school has a governing body, consisting of specified numbers of various categories of governors depending on the type and size of school.’ (Direct Gov.) There are 300,000 school Governors in Wales making them one of the largest voluntary groups in the country as the work governors do is unpaid however they are reimbursed for any travel costs or any expenses paid out for child care while they are busy volunteering.
Governors are in place to increase school standards by setting out a plan of direction they want to see the school progressing towards while at the same time giving help and support to the school. In order for Governors to do a good job they are advised to take full advantage of the training provided to them. ‘Governors Wales is committed to supporting the effective management and provision of high quality learning opportunities for all pupils and young people in Wales.’(Governors Wales) While Head Teachers are responsible for the day to day running of the school and are seen to be the face of the school, Governors are still there setting out the long term plan for the school.
Governors have the responsibility of making sure teachers are following the curriculum correctly, they are also involved in employing new teachers including the head teacher. Governors are in charge of the school budget which covers maintenance, salaries and equipment. Governors can also set out targets for the school and pupils to reach.
There are different categories of Governors. Firstly there are parent Governors who are parents of children at the school. Next there is Staff Governors who are members of the school staff. Then, Authority Governors (previously known as LEA Governors) who are nominated by the Authority. Also Community Governors who are members of the local community appointed by the rest of the governing body. Lastly Foundation, Partnership and Sponsor Governors who are representatives of any sponsoring bodies. (Department of Education: 2) Every governing body is directed by a chair who is elected from within the association who is then supported by a vice chair.
Governor’s work is unpaid as they look for those who are actually interested in the welfare of schools and for those who want to make a positive effect on children’s education. Direct Gov. exclaims that ‘becoming a governor is a rewarding way of making an important contribution to education, If you become a Governor you are making a contribution to education in a rewarding way, as you can learn new skills and develop the one you already have further. ‘However, it may seem to be unfair not to be paid for all the positive work they do and time they give up in order to help schools.
Parents seem to be the largest category of Governors within a school maybe this is because they have children who attend the school so they want to be able to contribute to their child’s and other children’s education and oversee that the school is being run efficiently. In areas that suffer with poverty there is a lack of Governors, mainly because people do not have the time to be volunteering as they are at work trying to provide for their families. There is also a lack of black or foreign governors because of the type of work they do such as working at restaurants which would mean they would not be able to attend meetings which are held in the evening. Some foreign people are not able to speak English which is a disadvantage as all Governors must be able to speak English quite well in order to communicate with the schools.
Steve Gullick highlighted the different kinds of Governing bodies you can have within a school. Firstly, there is an abdicator group of governors who do not show much support to the school as they claim to be busy a lot of the time. Then there is an adversaries group of Governors who place a lot of the pressure on the school and are very critical of the school. Supporters club Governors who let the Head Teacher make all the decisions while providing support but not asking many questions. Lastly, there is the partners group who work hand in hand with the head teacher, sharing the responsibilities.
References
"Time off for public duties". Directgov. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Timeoffandholidays/DG_10028529. Retrieved 17th April 2012.
‘Constitution of governing bodies. ‘Department of Education. http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/guide%20to%20the%20law%20for%20school%20governors.pdf. Retrieved 17th April 2012.
Governors Wales http://www.governorswales.org.uk/about/. Retrieved 17th April 2012.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
What is Education? Guest speaker- Ken Jones January 9th
Our guest lecture this week was Professor Ken Jones. Ken spoke about the local authorities in education and issues with their size and capacity. Children Act 2004 states ‘A local education authority (LEA) is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction.’ Ken also spoke of The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
There are currently twenty two local education authorities in Wales. Prior to the re-organisation in 1999 there were only eight local authorities in Wales. In England, authorities are divided up into district councils which differ from Welsh authorities as they are ‘on a more local level, community and town councils provide services in their immediate areas.’(Welsh government)
Democratic elections are held every four years to decide who has a place in each local authority. Welsh Government states ‘Local authorities have a cabinet-style executive with the dominant political group or coalition making decisions under the scrutiny of the council as a whole.’ Welsh Unitary authorities spend up to seven million year; the majority of it is paid by the Welsh Government with council tax making up the remainder of the bill.
Issues with local authority sustained school is that it can lead to redundancies and closures as unfortunately the numbers of pupils attending local authority sustained schools are decreasing year after year. There are a number of schools in Wales which have fewer than ninety pupils and the smaller the school the more expensive it is to fund every pupil.
In 2006 the PISA results showed that Wales had made a development, however there was much work needed to be done so Wales would be at the same level as other countries that were assessed such as Finland and Taiwan. The PISA results led to the Welsh Government introducing the school effectiveness framework. The framework ‘describes the most important things that we need to do to build on what we are already doing well in Wales. It also shows what each of the partners in our education community in Wales must do to make it work.’(SEF, 2008)
References
Children’s Act 2004
SEF 2008 http://www.sefcymru.org/eng/sef-p2-home/sef-p2-about-sef/sef-p2-about-sef-2/sef-p2-sef-doc.htm. Retrieved April 15th 2012.
Welsh Government http://wales.gov.uk/topics/localgovernment/localauthorities/?lang=en. Retrieved 15th April 2012.
There are currently twenty two local education authorities in Wales. Prior to the re-organisation in 1999 there were only eight local authorities in Wales. In England, authorities are divided up into district councils which differ from Welsh authorities as they are ‘on a more local level, community and town councils provide services in their immediate areas.’(Welsh government)
Democratic elections are held every four years to decide who has a place in each local authority. Welsh Government states ‘Local authorities have a cabinet-style executive with the dominant political group or coalition making decisions under the scrutiny of the council as a whole.’ Welsh Unitary authorities spend up to seven million year; the majority of it is paid by the Welsh Government with council tax making up the remainder of the bill.
Issues with local authority sustained school is that it can lead to redundancies and closures as unfortunately the numbers of pupils attending local authority sustained schools are decreasing year after year. There are a number of schools in Wales which have fewer than ninety pupils and the smaller the school the more expensive it is to fund every pupil.
In 2006 the PISA results showed that Wales had made a development, however there was much work needed to be done so Wales would be at the same level as other countries that were assessed such as Finland and Taiwan. The PISA results led to the Welsh Government introducing the school effectiveness framework. The framework ‘describes the most important things that we need to do to build on what we are already doing well in Wales. It also shows what each of the partners in our education community in Wales must do to make it work.’(SEF, 2008)
References
Children’s Act 2004
SEF 2008 http://www.sefcymru.org/eng/sef-p2-home/sef-p2-about-sef/sef-p2-about-sef-2/sef-p2-sef-doc.htm. Retrieved April 15th 2012.
Welsh Government http://wales.gov.uk/topics/localgovernment/localauthorities/?lang=en. Retrieved 15th April 2012.
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