tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/uk-schools-35499/articlesUK Schools – The Conversation2024-03-25T13:05:17Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2246772024-03-25T13:05:17Z2024-03-25T13:05:17ZHow to Have Sex: why using films to teach about consent risks misunderstandings<p>Critically-acclaimed and award-winning film How to Have Sex is due to be <a href="https://www.schoolsconsentproject.com/notice-board/partnership-bafta-nominated-film-how-have-sex">screened in UK secondary schools</a> to help initiate conversations about consent. The plan is the result of a partnership between the film, distributor Mubi and the <a href="https://www.schoolsconsentproject.com/">Schools Consent Project</a>, a charity that provides workshops led by volunteers with legal training to give young people information about the law around sex.</p>
<p>How to Have Sex explores complexities around the conditions in which people make choices about sex and relationships, and how they communicate and interpret consent. The film follows 16-year-old Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce) on a post-GCSEs holiday to Malia, Crete, with friends Skye and Em. </p>
<p>The aim is to party hard and for Tara, the only one in the group to not have had sex, to lose her virginity. However, while her experience is not what she hoped for, this is not a straightforward cautionary tale of the dangers of drinking and casual sex.</p>
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<p>It is encouraging that the Schools Consent Project is offering workshops on consent in schools to explore the issues raised in the film. And taking a legal approach would <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education">meet requirements</a> within current statutory guidance for relationships and sex education on consent in England. </p>
<p>But as academics conducting research with young people about relationships and sex education, we have concerns that focusing on the law is inadequate when it comes to teaching people how to communicate with their partners about sex and ethical relationships.</p>
<p>The Schools Consent Project plans to screen the whole film. We’d advise any schools thinking of planning lessons themselves around the film to do this rather than just showing a standalone clip and then questioning young people on whether or not that constitutes consent under the letter of the law. </p>
<p>How to Have Sex contains important messages on communication and empathy, and focusing on specific scenes risks missing out on the wider and more nuanced conversations on consent watching the film could lead to.</p>
<h2>Ethical sex</h2>
<p>Boys we’ve spoken to in our research work want to know if and when they would be at risk of getting into trouble legally in the event of an allegation of non-consensual sex. They also want to know how to avoid these outcomes. </p>
<p>But framing sex and consent just as a matter of the law does nothing to address how and why consent may come to be compromised in a given situation, nor what it means to have safe and ethical sex based on mutuality and reciprocity. </p>
<p>How to Have Sex offers no easy answers about these complexities and, we’d suggest, shows the limitations of the law. Tara’s first sexual experience with Paddy – characterised by Paddy asking, “Yeah?” and Tara audibly responding, “Yeah,” – probably constitutes legal consent. It is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1077801221992870">potentially reasonable</a> on the darkened beach where they have sex to misread her grimaces, tears and discomfort as not undermining her expressed agreement.</p>
<p>Paddy may, therefore, be able to avoid getting into trouble legally, but has not necessarily behaved ethically or responsibly toward Tara. The scene raises vital issues about respect and empathy, but if it is not used to have these conversations, it risks feeding into polarised narratives of blame and responsibility for consent – which we have encountered with the young people we’ve worked with.</p>
<p>Tara may be deemed to be at fault for not communicating her discomfort clearly enough to Paddy, or for not talking to her friends. In the film, even her friend Em tells her: “you should have said something.”</p>
<h2>Entrenched perceptions</h2>
<p>The young people we work with are often pulled between wanting straightforward answers to the complexities associated with topics like consent and wanting acknowledgement that <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-022-01335-9">no such answers exist</a>. </p>
<p>If young people and teachers are given the tools and spaces they need to engage in nuanced conversations, there is scope for the film to be helpful. If not, it risks being taken up by young people in ways that entrench, rather than challenge, the gender norms and inequalities that shape attitudes to consent. </p>
<p>These include the still pervasive ideas that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14681811.2017.1393407?casa_token=NY0KZg1CfzYAAAAA%3ACjbJ2A9AQ9UORxYqm64MI5Ca5lOoE-qtRnzKuzHACcfqSj-3M0FIk1okHCGVkQOUvB0kbhrRFH5pAg">it is up to girls</a> to clearly communicate their consent or non-consent to boys, and that it is boys who initiate sex in a transactional – rather than mutual and reciprocal – dynamic. Instead, we need to emphasise to young people that sex should be a mutual process of exploring and establishing what both parties want and agree to. </p>
<p>Films can be a productive means of creating safe distance for having challenging discussions in schools about rape and sexual assault, but it would be a mistake to think this is where the conversation should focus. </p>
<p>The great thing about How to Have Sex is that we get to see the wider events that led to the encounter. We can dissect and understand the characters’ motivations and choices. </p>
<p>Tara is a complex young woman, who is witty and confident yet clearly feels out of place and left behind by her peers. The film avoids simply framing Tara as a helpless victim. Instead she is actively seeking to share intimacy with some of the guys she encounters and is doing what she can to explore her sexuality. But that does not mean she wants the sex she is exposed to. </p>
<p>And at its heart, How to Have Sex is a film about the complex and contradictory emotions of friendship. It’s about connection and how individuals treat one another. </p>
<p>In response to the issues raised in this article, the Schools Consent Project said there was clear appetite from schools for legal education on consent. “We believe that consent education has to be a nuanced and ongoing conversation, not a tick-box or law lecture – neither of which we provide.” </p>
<p>They added: “Having a lawyer lead this conversation is in our experience highly effective … students feel safe knowing that their questions will be accurately answered which in turn encourages open discussion.”</p>
<p>We argue that looking at consent in the film from a legal perspective risks narrowing in on specific scenes of sexual encounters, but this approach does not engage with all the wider dynamics and processes that shape how consent comes to be compromised. And these dynamics are all there in the film – they just need careful discussion. </p>
<p>To avoid these unintended outcomes, the film should be used as a catalyst for discussing the nuances of sex and relationships with young people rather than as a conduit for reinforcing binary, legalistic views on consent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224677/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Setty receives funding from UKRI, Leverhulme and British Academy funders. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonny Hunt is a partner of the Sex Education Forum & an Independent Sex Education Consultant. </span></em></p>Without nuanced discussion, the film may end up being interpreted by young people in unintended ways.Emily Setty, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of SurreyJonny Hunt, Senior Lecturer in Applied Social Science, University of BedfordshireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2211552024-03-07T13:03:45Z2024-03-07T13:03:45ZWhy schools need to take sun safety more seriously – expert explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577546/original/file-20240223-16-azytla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=37%2C0%2C4195%2C2788&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The World Health Organization recommends formal school programmes as the key to preventing skin cancer.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-boy-having-sunscreen-applied-339150182">Paul Higley/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite the UK’s rainy climate, there is a one in six <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ski2.61">risk</a> of developing skin cancer. Children, especially, should take extra care as severe sunburn as a youngster more than <a href="https://www.skincancer.org/risk-factors/sunburn/">doubles</a> the chance of developing skin cancer later on. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ced/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ced/llad458/7507665">new research</a> my colleagues and I conducted shows that less than half of primary schools in Wales have a formal sun safety policy.</p>
<p>With skin cancer rates continuing to rise by <a href="https://gettingitrightfirsttime.co.uk/medical_specialties/dermatology/">8% annually</a> in England and Wales, it’s a problem that’s not going away and the disease now accounts for half of all cancers. In 2020 alone, the cost of treating skin cancer in England was <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23554510/">estimated</a> to be more than £180 million.</p>
<p>There is hope, though. It is estimated that around <a href="https://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/skin-cancer-facts">90% of skin cancers</a> are due to ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure from the sun. This means they can be prevented through safer behaviour. </p>
<p>In the UK, though, many people still <a href="https://academic.oup.com/her/article/20/5/579/611761">underestimate</a> the link between sunburn and skin cancer. Research paints a worrying picture, revealing disparities in sun protection awareness and behaviour across different groups. Notably, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/her/article/20/5/579/611761">men</a>, people living in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26875569/">low-income neighbourhoods</a>, those belonging to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/her/article/20/5/579/611761">lower socioeconomic groups</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28125871/">people of colour</a> are often found to be less informed about sun safety and are more likely to put themselves at risk. </p>
<p>With childhood a crucial time for learning healthy behaviour, teaching all children from a young age about sun protection could be one way to reduce future skin cancer rates. And the <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/42678/9241590629_v1.pdf?sequence=1">World Health Organization</a> recommends formal school programmes as the key to prevention. </p>
<p>Overall, school-based interventions have been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743521000438">shown</a> to positively influence sun safe knowledge and behaviour. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyt105">schools in Australia</a> with written policies show better sun protection practices than those without.</p>
<p>But in UK schools, the situation varies. The UK government’s Department for Education has issued <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/physical-health-and-mental-wellbeing-primary-and-secondary#by-the-end-of-primary-school">statutory guidance</a> for England that children should leave primary school knowing about sun safety and how to reduce the risk of getting skin cancer. </p>
<p>In Scotland and Northern Ireland, it is not a legal requirement to teach sun safety in schools. And in Wales, while sun safety is recommended as part of the Welsh Network of Healthy Schools scheme, again there is no mandatory requirement to have a sun safety policy or to teach skin cancer prevention. Nor are there central UK resources provided to help schools in this area. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The red, peeling sunburnt back and shoulders of a young girl." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Being severely sunburnt as a youngster more than doubles the chance of developing future skin cancer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dangerous-sunburn-shoulders-young-girl-601094933">Alonafoto/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My colleagues and I wanted to know how many schools have a sun safety policy, a formal document that sets out a school’s position with respect to the education and provision of sun safety. We also wanted to understand whether the existence of a policy varied by area or school characteristic, and what support schools need. </p>
<p>In 2022, we sent a survey to all 1,241 primary schools in Wales. In total, 471 schools responded. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We found that only 39% of responding schools had a formal sun safety policy. And of these, not all enforced them. Schools that had more children receiving free school meals and with lower attendance rates were less likely to have a sun safety policy.</p>
<p>We asked schools that did not have a policy to tell us the reasons why not. Thirty-five per cent of schools were “not aware of the need”, while 27% of schools had “not got around to it just yet”. Thirty schools (13%) said that a sun safety policy was not a priority at this time. Clearly, there is work to be done on raising awareness among schools and school leaders on the role they can play in this area.</p>
<p>Of course, schools are busy places. So, when asked to indicate what would encourage them to create a sun safety policy, 73% of schools said assistance with development, while 56% said resources to aid the teaching of sun safety. </p>
<p>Previously both Cancer Research UK and the Wales-based Tenovus Cancer Care charities have offered support and guidelines for schools but this support is no longer easily available. The England-based charity <a href="https://www.skcin.org/ourWork/sunSafeSchools.htm">Sckin</a> has a comprehensive and free sun-safe schools accreditation scheme. Some schools told us they based their policies on resources supplied by the local authority, but this was not consistent across Wales.</p>
<p>UV levels will soon rise in the UK and now is the time for schools to start thinking about sun protection. Having a formal sun safety school policy sets out the position of the school when it comes to sun safety. When enforced and communicated properly, this makes it clear to everyone (governors, teachers, carers and pupils) their individual responsibilities when it comes to staying safe. </p>
<p>But with fewer than half of schools in Wales having formal policies, and not all enforced, awareness of the importance of this issue and the potential role of schools is lacking. </p>
<p>It is therefore time for sun safety policies to become mandatory for primary schools across the UK. This could help to improve knowledge and behaviour for all age groups. But adequate support and guidance must be also given to schools to help them educate children about sun safety and protect them while they are at school.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221155/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Peconi received funding for the Sunproofed Study from Health and Care Research Wales through a Health Research Grant Award. She is also a volunteer with the charity Skin Care Cymru, a charity working to raise the profile of skin health in Wales. </span></em></p>Being severely sunburnt as a child more than doubles the chance of developing future skin cancer but less than half of primary schools questioned in new research have a sun safety policy.Julie Peconi, Senior Research Officer in Health Data Science, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2239412024-02-28T13:11:56Z2024-02-28T13:11:56ZUnderstanding how the brain works can transform how school students learn maths<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578023/original/file-20240226-29-lwslum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C176%2C7337%2C4726&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/school-kid-doing-math-exercise-homework-2090861887">SrideeStudio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>School mathematics teaching is stuck in the past. An adult revisiting the school that they attended as a child would see only superficial changes from what they experienced themselves. </p>
<p>Yes, in some schools they might see a room full of electronic tablets, or the teacher using a touch-sensitive, interactive whiteboard. But if we zoom in on the details – the tasks that students are actually being given to help them make sense of the subject – things have <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/curj.159">hardly changed at all</a>.</p>
<p>We’ve learnt a huge amount in recent years about cognitive science – how our brains work and how people learn most effectively. This understanding has the potential to revolutionise what teachers <a href="https://www.deansforimpact.org/tools-and-resources/the-science-of-learning">do in classrooms</a>. But the design of mathematics teaching materials, such as textbooks, has <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14794802.2022.2158122">benefited very little from this knowledge</a>.</p>
<p>Some of this knowledge is counter-intuitive, and therefore unlikely to be applied unless done so deliberately. What learners prefer to experience, and what teachers think is likely to be most effective, often isn’t what will help the most.</p>
<p>For example, cognitive science <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-014-0588-3">tells us</a> that practising similar kinds of tasks all together generally leads to less effective learning than mixing up tasks that require different approaches. </p>
<p>In mathematics, practising similar tasks together could be a page of questions each of which requires addition of fractions. Mixing things up might involve bringing together fractions, probability and equations in immediate succession.</p>
<p>Learners make more mistakes when doing mixed exercises, and are likely to feel frustrated by this. Grouping similar tasks together is therefore likely to be much easier for the teacher to manage. But the mixed exercises give the learner important practice at deciding what method they need to use for each question. This means that more knowledge is retained afterwards, making this what is known as a <a href="https://bjorklab.psych.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2016/04/EBjork_RBjork_2011.pdf">“desirable difficulty”</a>.</p>
<h2>Cognitive science applied</h2>
<p>We are just now beginning to apply findings like this from cognitive science to design better teaching materials and to support teachers in using them. Focusing on school mathematics makes sense because mathematics is a compulsory subject which many people find difficult to learn.</p>
<p>Typically, school teaching materials are chosen by gut reactions. A head of department looks at a new textbook scheme and, based on their experience, chooses whatever seems best to them. What else can they be expected to do? But even the best materials on offer are generally not designed with cognitive science principles such as “desirable difficulties” in mind.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I have been researching <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/curj.249">educational design</a> that applies principles from <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-00153-003">cognitive science</a> to mathematics teaching, and are developing <a href="https://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/lumen/curriculum/">materials for schools</a>. These materials are not designed to look easy, but to include “desirable difficulties”. </p>
<p>They are not divided up into <a href="https://www.foster77.co.uk/Foster,%20Teach%20Secondary,%20Stop%20planning%20lessons.pdf">individual lessons</a>, because this pushes the teacher towards moving on when the clock says so, regardless of student needs. Being responsive to students’ developing understanding and difficulties requires materials designed according to the size of the ideas, rather than what will fit conveniently onto a double-page spread of a textbook or into a 40-minute class period.</p>
<h2>Switching things up</h2>
<p>Taking an approach led by cognitive science also means changing how mathematical concepts are explained. For instance, diagrams have always been a prominent feature of mathematics teaching, but often they are used haphazardly, based on the teacher’s personal preference. In textbooks they are highly restricted, due to space constraints. </p>
<p>Often, similar-looking diagrams are used in different topics and for very different purposes, leading to confusion. For example, three circles connected as shown below can indicate partitioning into a sum (<a href="https://www.ncetm.org.uk/classroom-resources/primm-102-introducing-whole-and-parts-part-part-whole/">the “part-whole model”</a>) or a product of prime factors. </p>
<p>These involve two very different operations, but are frequently represented by the same diagram. Using the same kind of diagram to represent conflicting operations (addition and multiplication) leads to learners muddling them up and becoming confused.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Diagram of connected circles with numbers inside, as described above." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577980/original/file-20240226-16-w2ab9l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577980/original/file-20240226-16-w2ab9l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577980/original/file-20240226-16-w2ab9l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577980/original/file-20240226-16-w2ab9l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577980/original/file-20240226-16-w2ab9l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577980/original/file-20240226-16-w2ab9l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577980/original/file-20240226-16-w2ab9l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Number diagrams showing numbers that add together to make six and numbers that multiply to make six.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Colin Foster</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/multimedia-learning/coherence-principle/4E80B70CB76E2166B76E5653EBDE7D3E">“coherence principle”</a> from cognitive science means avoiding diagrams where their drawbacks outweigh their benefits, and using diagrams and animations in a purposeful, consistent way across topics.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.foster77.co.uk/Foster,%20Using%20coherent%20representations%20of%20number%20in%20the%20school%20mathematics%20curriculum.pdf">number lines</a> can be introduced at a young age and incorporated across many topic areas to bring coherence to students’ developing understanding of number. Number lines can be used to solve equations and also to represent probabilities, for instance. </p>
<p>Unlike with the circle diagrams above, the uses of number lines shown below don’t conflict but reinforce each other. In each case, positions on the number line represent numbers, from zero on the left, increasing to the right.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Number line in red and black demonstrating how to solve an equation, as described above" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578260/original/file-20240227-16-wz37l0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578260/original/file-20240227-16-wz37l0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=133&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578260/original/file-20240227-16-wz37l0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578260/original/file-20240227-16-wz37l0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=133&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578260/original/file-20240227-16-wz37l0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=167&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578260/original/file-20240227-16-wz37l0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=167&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578260/original/file-20240227-16-wz37l0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=167&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A number line used to solve an equation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Colin Foster</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Number line with values from left to right: 0, unlikely, even chance, likely, 1." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577987/original/file-20240226-17-ys3jg7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577987/original/file-20240226-17-ys3jg7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=80&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577987/original/file-20240226-17-ys3jg7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=80&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577987/original/file-20240226-17-ys3jg7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=80&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577987/original/file-20240226-17-ys3jg7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=101&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577987/original/file-20240226-17-ys3jg7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=101&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577987/original/file-20240226-17-ys3jg7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=101&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A number line used to show probability.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Colin Foster</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are disturbing <a href="https://theconversation.com/gcse-and-higher-results-show-worsening-gap-between-richer-and-poorer-pupils-pandemic-assessment-shows-we-should-reconsider-exams-216409">inequalities</a> in the learning of mathematics, with students from poorer backgrounds underachieving relative to their wealthier peers. There is also a huge <a href="https://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/a-level-results-2023/">gender participation gap</a> in maths, at A-level and beyond, which is taken by far more boys than girls. </p>
<p>Socio-economically advantaged families have always been able to buy their children out of difficulties by using private tutors, but less privileged families cannot. Better-quality teaching materials, based on insights from cognitive science, mitigate the impact for students who have traditionally been disadvantaged by gender, race or financial background in the learning of mathematics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223941/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin Foster receives funding from Research England and UKRI Economic and Social Research Council. He works for Loughborough University and is Director of the Loughborough University Mathematics Education Network.</span></em></p>Principles from cognitive science can help help in the design of more effective teaching materials for maths.Colin Foster, Reader in Mathematics Education, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229472024-02-20T15:58:18Z2024-02-20T15:58:18ZLearning music the informal way some popular musicians do could inspire more school students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576588/original/file-20240219-30-ij8n11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C7337%2C4902&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-american-boy-playing-acustic-guitar-660567223">LightField Studios/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Music is a school subject <a href="https://www.ism.org/music-in-peril/">facing difficult times</a>. In England, fewer students are taking the subject <a href="https://www.musicteachermagazine.co.uk/news/article/sharp-decline-of-gcse-music-entries-labelled-a-great-concern-by-ism?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1658310885">at GCSE</a>, not enough people are training to become <a href="https://www.musicteachermagazine.co.uk/features/article/the-state-of-music-teacher-training">secondary music teachers</a>, and the subject is suffering from a <a href="https://musiciansunion.org.uk/news/mu-challenges-government-on-music-education-funding-shortfall">lack of funding</a>.</p>
<p>One problem may be that the way music is taught in school has become increasingly formal. The current <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-music-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-music-programmes-of-study">music national curriculum</a>, introduced in 2014, includes using <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/staff">staff notation</a>, learning music history, and listening to the music of “great composers and musicians”. This was a shift in comparison to the previous, more child-centred national curriculum. </p>
<p>Wider education policy on how future teachers should be trained places emphasis on <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6061eb9cd3bf7f5cde260984/ITT_core_content_framework_.pdf">teacher control and well-structured lessons</a> – again, perpetuating more formal, traditional approaches.</p>
<p>But this isn’t how many popular musicians – the artists students may be listening to on their way into school – learn how to <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/research-projects/2022/jan/adapting-popular-musicians-practices-classroom">play music</a>. Their approach is often more informal. Many learn to <a href="https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/famous-musicians-who-cant-read-music/">play by ear</a>, hearing a piece of music and figuring it out on an instrument. </p>
<p>Bringing this approach into the classroom to a greater extent could help both students and the subject of music itself. </p>
<h2>Freedom to play</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r8zoHT4ExY">Informal learning</a> can look and sound haphazard at times, but has close ties with more natural ways of engaging with music. In one example of the approach, pioneered by the professor of music education Lucy Green, students begin <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14613808.2022.2074383">“in at the deep end”</a> – tasked with copying a song of their choice, by ear, working together in groups. They are required to work out the various parts of the song, often building up to a performance.</p>
<p>This kind of learning gives students more freedom and independence in the classroom, and a more equal power balance with the teacher is encouraged. The role of the teacher is to set the task, then let the students choose how they approach it and help only when needed. The students can decide on their own pace of learning and the level of difficulty of the part they play within their group.</p>
<p>This can lead to increased student confidence in the music classroom. Although the teacher is still in control by default, this approach can prompt them to trust in the musical activity their students are engaging in, resisting the temptation to step in too soon. </p>
<p>Informal learning is linked with increased numbers of students choosing the <a href="https://www.musicalfutures.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Musical_Futures_2nd_Edition_Teacher_Resource_Pack.pdf">subject at GCSE</a>. This suggests it has the potential to capture the interest of some students who might have previously become disengaged with music lessons. </p>
<h2>Learn what you love</h2>
<p>Students are motivated by being able to choose what music they will play with their friends – often selecting popular music. By welcoming student choice of music into the classroom, increased links are forged between in- and out-of-school music. Students are engaging in a learning practice that exists beyond the confines of the classroom, and which has relevance to their musical interests and passions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Children singing together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576591/original/file-20240219-20-ybdu9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576591/original/file-20240219-20-ybdu9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576591/original/file-20240219-20-ybdu9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576591/original/file-20240219-20-ybdu9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576591/original/file-20240219-20-ybdu9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576591/original/file-20240219-20-ybdu9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576591/original/file-20240219-20-ybdu9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Music at school is often formal and structured.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-school-children-singing-choir-268247162">SpeedKingz/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Also, this does not mean that informal learning cannot extend beyond popular music. While students often choose to bring popular music into the classroom, the underpinning research shows once they are motivated and engaged, the teacher can move beyond this genre and draw upon aspects of the approach to introduce <a href="https://www.musicalfutures.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Musical_Futures_2nd_Edition_Teacher_Resource_Pack.pdf">other types of music</a> into the classroom in later stages. </p>
<p>The non-profit <a href="https://www.musicalfutures.org/">Musical Futures</a> has contributed towards the development of informal learning and <a href="https://www.musicalfutures.org/our-approach/">continues to advocate and promote its ethos</a>. And although the approach is largely aimed at secondary school students, primary students can benefit from <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-music-education/article/exploring-the-potential-of-informal-music-learning-in-a-perceived-age-of-pedagogical-traditionalism-for-student-teachers-in-primary-music-education/1D1BD0C865372CE7D5BD11A1A5856C29#article">adapted versions</a> of informal learning.</p>
<p>Facilitating informal learning might feel risky for some teachers. They face a variety of pressures and requirements, and may feel this kind of learning does not align with wider education policy and the expectations of their role. </p>
<p>Informal music learning is not always easy to assess, either. And embracing learning that is informal and “haphazard” might lead to a fear of judgment – that the teacher lacks control of pupil behaviour.</p>
<p>However, informal learning offers a way to challenge thinking about how music is taught, and to consider alternative possibilities to enable the subject to flourish in school.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222947/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Mariguddi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Informal learning is linked with increased numbers of students choosing music at GCSE.Anna Mariguddi, Lecturer in Education (music specialist), Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2162182024-02-16T16:17:34Z2024-02-16T16:17:34ZTeacher apprenticeships may encourage more people into the profession – but greater change is needed to get them to stay<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575301/original/file-20240213-22-yu5twa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C4570%2C3437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-primary-school-students-crowded-round-629766173">DGLimages/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census/2023-24">latest figures show</a> yet another failure to meet teacher recruitment targets in England. In eight of the past nine years there have been <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7222/">too few people</a> entering the teaching profession in the UK. In 2023-24, only half of the targeted secondary trainee teacher places have been filled. </p>
<p>Current indications show that the government needs over 13,000 more secondary teachers to meet the 2023-24 teacher recruitment target – not to mention the hangover caused by previous years’ shortfall. And, of course, the shortage of teachers is being felt by schools. </p>
<p>Now the government has announced <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/02/04/teacher-degree-apprenticeships-how-they-work-and-when-to-apply/">teacher degree apprenticeships</a> as a new way to enter the profession. Prospective teachers can get a degree on the job, rather than needing a degree to apply for teacher training. </p>
<p>This strategy does have the possibility to encourage more people into teaching by reducing the barriers to training. However, it is unlikely to be the answer to the teacher supply deficit when factors such as heavy workload and stress are affecting how many teachers stay in the profession. In the academic year 2021-22, <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england">39,930 teachers</a> – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/jul/05/the-task-is-impossible-three-teachers-on-why-they-are-quitting">nearly 9%</a> of the workforce in England – quit. </p>
<h2>Attracting teachers</h2>
<p>In recent years, the goverment’s strategy to attract teachers has focused on financial incentives. For example, a graduate who trains to be a secondary maths teacher can receive a tax-free scholarship of up to £29,000 while training, which is not repayable. </p>
<p>For those who have already trained to be a maths teacher there are <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/early-career-payments-guidance-for-teachers-and-schools#full-publication-update-history">early career payments</a>, on top of their salary, if they remain as a teacher. For example, if someone trained in 2020 they will receive £5,000 in 2024. </p>
<p>But it’s clear that this approach is not working. In the academic year 2023-24, the government sought to recruit 2,820 new physics teachers, and offered training scholarships and bursaries worth up to £29,000 to attract them. But they only managed to recruit 484 people: just 17% of the target. </p>
<p>Bonuses like these <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-so-many-graduates-shunning-teaching-pay-but-not-bonuses-could-be-the-answer-216963">do not appear</a> to be a significant driver in people’s choice to become teachers. Yet it appears to be the main strategy used by the government for several years, with seemingly ineffective results. </p>
<p>The recent <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-teaching-apprenticeship-set-to-transform-pathway-to-classroom">government announcement</a> to introduce apprenticeships for those working in schools is a positive approach and will enable more routes into teaching. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1754452393264034223"}"></div></p>
<p>Teacher apprenticeships are not a new concept. The <a href="https://findapprenticeshiptraining.apprenticeships.education.gov.uk/courses/402">Learning and Skills Teacher apprenticeship</a> was introduced several years ago to train people to teach in England’s further education sector.</p>
<p>The government suggests that these new degree apprenticeships will create opportunities for a wider group of people. An important element of this strategy is to support teaching assistants – who are already familiarised with working in schools – to become teachers. This is logical. But it does assume that teaching assistants wish to become teachers, which is not necessarily always the case. </p>
<p>However, the recommendation of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-teaching-apprenticeship-set-to-transform-pathway-to-classroom">40% time for study</a> and therefore 60% on-the-job training is a good start for addressing potential burnout as new apprentice teachers move into the profession. This is assuming it is adhered to, and that those on the apprenticeship do not need additional earning to supplement any loss of income due to reduced time at work. </p>
<h2>Working conditions and wellbeing</h2>
<p>A report from the <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7222/">House of Commons</a> highlights that the average secondary school teacher works 49.3 hours a week; this is compared with an international OECD average of 41 hours per week. The average primary school teacher in England works even more: 52.1 hours per week. </p>
<p>It is no wonder that <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7222/">more than half</a> of teachers in England feel their workload is unmanageable. Nor is it surprising that people working in education are subject to <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fb41122e90e07208d0d5df1/Teacher_well-being_report_110719F.pdf">higher levels of stress</a> than other professions and are also likely to be disappointed with their occupation.</p>
<p>The Department for Education’s 2019 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-recruitment-and-retention-strategy">Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy</a> sought to address this for new teachers by guaranteeing 5% teaching relief in their second year of teaching. This means that new teachers have 5% fewer teaching hours per week compared to fully qualified teachers. </p>
<p>When considering the average teacher working hours in England are significantly higher than most comparable countries, though, to offer a 5% reduction for one year seems like the equivalent of putting out a bonfire with a cup of water. </p>
<p>In 2023, the government launched a teacher <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/workload-reduction-taskforce">workload reduction taskforce</a> to find ways to reduce teachers’ working weeks by five hours. It remains to be seen whether the taskforce’s final recommendations, due in March 2024, will lead to significant change. </p>
<p>Initiatives such as financial incentives and apprenticeships seek to address the symptom of the problem rather than the cause. Unless the teaching profession experiences a fundamental shift in working conditions for all we are likely to continue to see poor workforce satisfaction and teachers continuing to leave the profession. There is little point in training more teachers if they continue to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/jun/08/teachers-england-schools-figures-department-education-survey">quit the profession</a> in their thousands.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216218/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Corbett receives funding from the University of Portsmouth. He is affiliated with the Education and Training Foundation. </span></em></p>In the academic year 2021-22, 39,930 teachers in England quit.Stephen Corbett, Professor in Professional Development and Learning, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2221872024-02-14T12:21:03Z2024-02-14T12:21:03ZSchool absence rates have rocketed – the whole educational experience needs to change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574414/original/file-20240208-22-ypx67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C166%2C7940%2C5130&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/schoolchildren-classmates-kids-pupils-students-going-2037583226">Inside Creative House/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than <a href="https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/newsroom/severe-absence-from-school">140,000 pupils</a> in the UK are absent from from school more than 50% of the time: more than double the number from before the pandemic. </p>
<p>Not being in school matters – and not only because pupils miss out on learning. Teachers play an important role monitoring the welfare of their students, and if young people are on the streets rather than at school they are also <a href="https://www.scie.org.uk/safeguarding/children/education/missing">more at risk of harm and exploitation</a>.</p>
<p>Absence rates have prompted <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/203/education-committee/news/198876/school-absence-crisis-education-committee-publishes-govts-response-to-report/">increasing concern</a> from the government. Up until now, measures to tackle absence have focused on <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/05/11/fines-for-parents-for-taking-children-out-of-school-what-you-need-to-know/">blaming parents and issuing fines</a>: more than a third of a million so far. </p>
<p>More recently, the government has acknowledged the role played by inadequate support for special needs and disability as well as the impact of mental health on pupil attendance. They have responded by increasing the number of “<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6569af115936bb000d31682f/Expectations_for_schools_joining_attendance_hubs.pdf">attendance hubs</a>”: collaborative groups led by senior teachers in schools that have good attendance with the aim of sharing effective strategies with others. </p>
<p>But very little attention has been paid to what is actually happening in schools. Education needs to be more aligned with healthy child development, children’s interests, and the importance of relationships for wellbeing. </p>
<p>Children and teenagers are naturally curious and keen to discover the world around them. They want to be active participants in their own learning. And <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-90-481-9667-8_3">self-determination</a> – being able to make your own decisions rather than being controlled by others – is one of the major pillars of wellbeing. </p>
<h2>Exam factories</h2>
<p>But pupils in many schools have very little in the way of agency. They are told what to do and how to do it. Teachers feel pressure to <a href="https://theconversation.com/most-secondary-schools-dont-have-to-teach-the-national-curriculum-it-should-be-revised-and-restored-or-discarded-214806">“teach to the test”</a>, leaving pupils few options to follow their interests, let alone passions. As teenagers get older, the more <a href="https://innovateinstructionignitelearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Bored-Out-of-Their-Minds-Harvard-Graduate-School-of-Education-1.pdf">bored and disengaged</a> they may become in school.</p>
<p>One way of getting students back to school and engaged in learning is to give them more of a voice and increased choice in what they learn. Schools need a broader curriculum that promotes learning about the world because it is fascinating, not just to pass exams. But this will not happen while exam results and league tables dominate education.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Mother trying to encourage daughter to walk to school" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574438/original/file-20240208-28-wtqcii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574438/original/file-20240208-28-wtqcii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574438/original/file-20240208-28-wtqcii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574438/original/file-20240208-28-wtqcii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574438/original/file-20240208-28-wtqcii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574438/original/file-20240208-28-wtqcii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574438/original/file-20240208-28-wtqcii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many children are reluctant to go to school.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/unhappy-girl-holding-moms-hand-doesnt-1595176540">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s more, schools appear to be <a href="https://cypmhc.org.uk/school-behaviour-policies-are-ineffective-in-creating-change-according-to-findings-from-a-new-survey/">increasingly resorting</a> to punitive approaches to <a href="https://cypmhc.org.uk/publications/behaviour-and-mental-health-in-schools-report/">manage student behaviour</a>. </p>
<p>Students may face discipline for not having the right equipment, being late, talking out of turn or in the corridor and uniform infringements. At <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-66734164">St Ivo’s Academy</a> in Cambridgeshire parents have set up their <a href="https://stivoparentsforum.org/">own forum</a> to express concerns, especially about how discipline is affecting their children’s mental health.</p>
<p>Anxiety, depression and other negative emotions impede learning. Young people need to feel safe to focus well. Many do not. The organisation <a href="https://notfineinschool.co.uk/">Not Fine in School</a> supports families whose children are experiencing “barriers” to attendance. Their Facebook group has 37,000 members. It illustrates the many ways pupils can be scared, confused, embarrassed and sometimes panic-stricken in school. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://notfineinschool.co.uk/home/f/learning-from-lived-experience">one mother writes</a> on the Not Fine in School site: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>These past three years have been the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. Watching my vibrant, charismatic, full of life child, become a shadow of himself has been heartbreaking.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Instead, schools should be promoting the positive. Among other things, this means welcoming students, being kind, showing interest and taking account of their context. </p>
<h2>Doing things differently</h2>
<p>Conversations with children should identify and acknowledge the qualities they are developing and the progress they are making, rather than pointing out deficits and negatives. It also means students feeling they belong, that they <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31407358/">matter</a>, and that they are valued and included. </p>
<p>Positive emotions and mental health are strengthened by <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-32884-000">free play and playfulness</a>. However, experiences that might enhance this in state schools, such as art, music, drama, dance and opportunities to have fun together, are <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2019/04/09/how-the-arts-are-being-squeezed-out-of-schools/?sh=2191b75baaf4">under threat</a> in state schools. </p>
<p>It does not have to be this way. <a href="https://globalestonian.com/en/news/knowledge-and-skills-estonian-children-rank-first-europe-and-among-best-world">Estonia</a> has one of the best education systems in Europe: teachers have high autonomy in how they lead classes and children feel happy and safe in school. The school system in England <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/times-education-commission-how-estonia-does-it-lessons-from-europe-s-best-school-system-qm7xt7n9s">could learn</a> from the independence headteachers are granted to set the curriculum, a focus on wellbeing and no schedule of school inspections. </p>
<p>When policies and practices in state education aim to bring out the best in every child and prepare them to be active citizens of the future, maybe kids will actually want to come to school. </p>
<p>When <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/student-resilience-and-wellbeing/resources/scoping-study-approaches-student-wellbeing-final-report">wellbeing is at the core</a> of a school’s endeavours, children will have better mental health and resilience, greater engagement with their learning and better results.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222187/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sue Roffey is affiliated with several advisory boards for mental health and wellbeing in schools and is a member of the Labour Party . </span></em></p>Education needs to be more aligned with healthy child development, children’s interests, and the importance of relationships for wellbeing.Sue Roffey, Honorary Associate Professor, Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219012024-02-01T12:42:39Z2024-02-01T12:42:39ZSupervised toothbrushing in schools and nurseries is a good idea – it’s proven to reduce tooth decay<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572161/original/file-20240130-23-ilrc2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C5734%2C3828&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/little-beautiful-african-girl-brushing-teeth-379214593">didesign021/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nearly a quarter of five-year-old children in England have tooth decay. In deprived areas of the country the proportion is even higher. And it isn’t just one problematic tooth – children with decay have, on average, three or four <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/oral-health-survey-of-5-year-old-children-2022">affected teeth</a>. It’s the <a href="https://www.bda.org/news-and-opinion/news/child-hospital-admissions-caused-by-decay-going-unchallenged/">most common reason</a> why young children aged from five to ten years are admitted to hospital. </p>
<p>When Labour leader Keir Starmer announced the party’s intention to expand <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/10/keir-starmer-announces-plan-for-supervised-toothbrushing-in-schools">toothbrushing programmes</a> in nurseries and schools, he <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/keir-starmer-schools-toothbrush-dentists-b2476479.html">faced criticism</a> for planning to take away responsibility from parents and place further burden on schools. </p>
<p>But supervised toothbrushing for young children already takes place. It has been rolled out <a href="https://www.childsmile.nhs.scot/professionals/childsmile-toothbrushing/">in Scotland</a> and for <a href="https://www.gov.wales/designed-smile-improving-childrens-dental-health">deprived areas in Wales</a> and takes place in some areas in England. It is effective in reducing tooth decay, especially for children in deprived areas. It is not meant to replace brushing teeth at home, but strengthens good oral health practices.</p>
<p>As experts in dental health, we know all too well the impact poor oral health has on the lives of children and families. We are <a href="https://www.supervisedtoothbrushing.com/">leading a project</a> to improve toothbrushing programmes in nurseries and schools in England, and have recently developed an <a href="https://www.supervisedtoothbrushing.com/">online toolkit</a> to help schools, nurseries and parents as well as the NHS and local government.</p>
<h2>Painful – and preventable</h2>
<p>Tooth decay causes pain and suffering. It affects children’s daily lives, including what they eat, their speech and their self-esteem. It stops them from doing things they enjoy and can cause disrupted sleep. And tooth decay has an impact on school readiness and attendance. Children have to take time off school due to toothache and to attend <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-child-dental-health/health-matters-child-dental-health">dental appointments</a>. </p>
<p>While going to hospital for dental extractions under general anaesthetic reduces the impact of decay on children’s lives, the event itself can be worrying for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/sj.bdj.2014.331">children and their parents</a>. And poor oral health in childhood has lifelong consequences. Children with decay in their primary teeth are four times more likely to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28571506">develop decay</a> in their adult teeth. </p>
<p>In England, treatment of decay in children and teenagers <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hospital-tooth-extractions-in-0-to-19-year-olds-2022/hospital-tooth-extractions-in-0-to-19-year-olds-2022">cost the NHS</a> over £50 million in the financial year 2021-22. </p>
<p>Toothbrushing at school and nursery with a <a href="https://www.cochrane.org/CD007868/ORAL_fluoride-toothpastes-different-strengths-preventing-tooth-decay">fluoride toothpaste</a> for young children is a way to tackle this issue. </p>
<h2>On the curriculum</h2>
<p>Supervised toothbrushing involves children brushing their own teeth as a group during the day, overseen by nursery and preschool staff or teaching assistants. It typically takes between five and ten minutes. </p>
<p>In Scotland, the <a href="https://www.childsmile.nhs.scot/professionals/childsmile-toothbrushing/">Childsmile Toothbrushing Programme</a> is offered to all children aged three and four at nursery and to some younger nursery children as well to some older school children. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022034512470690">Research analysing the programme</a> has found it to be effective in reducing tooth decay, especially in children at greatest risk, such as those living in areas of <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/10/11/e038116.full.pdf">social deprivation</a>. In England, though, uptake of toothbrushing programmes is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41415-023-6182-1">currently fragmented</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Girl brushes giant model teeth" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571198/original/file-20240124-17-217af0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Learning about brushing teeth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Zoe Marshman</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s more, oral health is already part of children’s learning at nurseries and schools in England. The topic is included in <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62cea352e90e071e789ea9bf/Relationships_Education_RSE_and_Health_Education.pdf">statutory guidance</a> for primary and secondary schools. Similarly, promoting oral health is included in the <a href="https://www.supervisedtoothbrushing.com/_files/ugd/b03681_311d9c3dcf6c43de9dbc05336733f105.pdf">statutory framework</a> for early years settings such as nurseries. </p>
<p>Running a supervised toothbrushing scheme is one way early years settings can demonstrate they have met the requirement about oral health. </p>
<p>Supervised toothbrushing in nurseries and schools does not replace toothbrushing at home. It serves to complement home toothbrushing to help young children learn and practice good oral hygiene.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221901/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zoe Marshman, via the BRUSH project receives funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaborations South West Peninsula and Yorkshire and Humber through the Children’s Health and Maternity National Priority Programme, supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaborations Yorkshire and Humber (NIHR ARC YH) NIHR200166 <a href="https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk">https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk</a>
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, the NHS or the Department of Health and Social Care. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kara Gray-Burrows, via the BRUSH project receives funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaborations South West Peninsula and Yorkshire and Humber through the Children’s Health and Maternity National Priority Programme, supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaborations Yorkshire and Humber (NIHR ARC YH) NIHR200166 <a href="https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk">https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk</a> The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, the NHS or the Department of Health and Social Care.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Day, via the BRUSH project receives funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaborations South West Peninsula and Yorkshire and Humber through the Children’s Health and Maternity National Priority Programme, supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaborations Yorkshire and Humber (NIHR ARC YH) NIHR200166 <a href="https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk">https://www.arc-yh.nihr.ac.uk</a> The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, the NHS or the Department of Health and Social Care.</span></em></p>Tooth decay is the most common reason why young children aged from five to ten are admitted to hospital.Zoe Marshman, Professor/Honorary Consultant of Dental Public Health, University of SheffieldKara Gray-Burrows, Lecturer in Behavioural Sciences & Complex Intervention Methodology, University of LeedsPeter Day, Professor of Children's Oral Health and Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2205762024-01-17T17:49:46Z2024-01-17T17:49:46ZMentors, nurture rooms and mindfulness: what schools can do to improve pupils’ mental health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569277/original/file-20240115-27-c32m3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6720%2C4466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-american-young-male-teacher-talking-2155310567">wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2023-wave-4-follow-up#:%7E:text=Key%20Facts,20%20to%2025%20year%20olds">Recent data shows</a> that around 20% of children and young people aged from eight to 25 years have a probable mental disorder. </p>
<p>This is an increase from the 10% recorded in 2017, when the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a823518e5274a2e87dc1b56/Transforming_children_and_young_people_s_mental_health_provision.pdf">UK government declared</a> the prevalence of mental ill health in children and young people to be “one of the burning injustices of our time”.</p>
<p>Lack of investment in mental health services, coupled with growing demand, has left many children and young people with <a href="https://www.health.org.uk/publications/reports/improving-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-services?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0PLkg4DQgwMVUrZoCR0jgA_cEAAYASAAEgLJAvD_BwE">limited or no support</a>. </p>
<p>The effects are being felt in schools. Ofsted’s 2023 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-annual-report-202223-education-childrens-services-and-skills/the-annual-report-of-his-majestys-chief-inspector-of-education-childrens-services-and-skills-202223">annual report</a> includes concern about the rising use of part-time timetables in schools – which can be for children struggling with their mental health. Part-time attendance may involve only attending school on specified days or daily attendance but with a reduction in the number of hours pupils spend in school.</p>
<p>Schools are operating with already stretched resources. But they are an obvious route to supporting children’s mental health. Children and young people spend a significant proportion of their time in schools. </p>
<p>With the proper resources to help, schools could offer swift support – especially when many children and young people experience delays in accessing external support, particularly from child and adolescent mental health services. </p>
<p>A key way that schools could support children’s mental health is the introduction of a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing">mental health curriculum</a>. This would aim to develop pupils’ mental health literacy by developing their knowledge of mental health issues and introducing them to strategies to manage their own mental health.</p>
<h2>Dedication to mental health</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://nasenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9604.12301">own research</a> with colleagues explored the impact of a mental health curriculum delivered by a sports community trust and school partnership, with 570 young people in schools across Cambridge.</p>
<p>The curriculum included sessions on stress, resilience, social media use and self-management strategies. A mental health curriculum was designed and delivered by sports coaches who were employed by the community trust and trained in mental health to students in secondary schools. Footballers from the local football club contributed by sharing their own lived experiences of mental ill-health. </p>
<p>Not only did students’ knowledge of mental health improve, but they also gained knowledge of strategies to help themselves cope with adversity and how to help others with mental ill health. </p>
<p>Another strand of the whole school approach relates to working in partnership with children and young people to improve mental health. We conducted <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JPMH-10-2018-0073/full/html">another study</a> in which older students acted as mentors in secondary schools. They designed and delivered weekly physical activity sessions to younger students with social, emotional and mental health needs. </p>
<p>We found that this improved levels of physical activity, which supported children’s mental health. The younger students gained coping skills and the programme also helped with their social skills, by leading to the development of supportive and trusting relationships between mentors and the students they were supporting. </p>
<p>Both studies illustrate that schools can play a role in supporting children and young people’s mental health – but that they require help and funding to do so.</p>
<h2>Space and time</h2>
<p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a800636e5274a2e8ab4dbb5/Supporting_children_with_challenging_behaviour_through_a_nurture_group_approach.pdf">Nurture groups</a> are used in some schools to support children with social, emotional and mental health needs. They can take place in nurture rooms, which tend to be more informal spaces than standard classrooms and provide positive environments for children to develop social and emotional literacy and regulation skills. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="children sitting on floor with teacher" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569280/original/file-20240115-29-gr73c2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Schools need resources to help them dedicate time to mental health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/multiethnic-group-elementary-school-kids-sitting-2183007907">zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nurture groups focus on helping children with their confidence, self-esteem and communication and with establishing positive relationships with others. These skills are explicitly taught and children have opportunities to practise the skills they learn. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/200652726/1_s2.0_S0190740919309697_main.pdf">research study</a> involving 384 children aged five and six demonstrated improvements in social, emotional and behavioural outcomes, although there was no evidence that nurture groups led to improvements in academic outcomes. </p>
<p>Mindfulness is another practice that can take place in schools. The aim of mindfulness, as a practice, is to focus attention on the present rather than the past or the future, through guided participation. This could include focusing on breathing or a specific part of the body. </p>
<p>People can then use mindfulness by themselves to support their own mental health. Research with 216 secondary school students <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15427609.2013.818488">has demonstrated positive effects</a>, including improvements in emotional regulation and emotional clarity as well as a reduction in perceived stress.</p>
<p>However, it is important to remember that teachers are not mental health therapists. There are professional boundaries that apply to what they can and cannot do. In a 2023 documentary on young people and mental health, presenter Roman Kemp called for the government to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001s1mm">commit funding</a> so that all schools can benefit from the expertise of an education mental health practitioner. </p>
<p>These practitioners are employed by the NHS. They are deployed into schools to provide help for children and young people with mental health needs. Increasing investment in this service would ensure that schools are better resourced and able to address mental health needs. </p>
<p>In addition, increased government funding would also enable all schools to appoint a suitably qualified designated member of staff to lead and manage the mental health provision across the school. This should be a protected role, free from other responsibilities. </p>
<p>Proper investment in mental health services is urgently required so that young people can get the support that they need in a timely manner.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220576/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Glazzard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Schools are operating with already stretched resources. But they are an obvious route to supporting children’s mental health.Jonathan Glazzard, Rosalind Hollis Professor of Education for Social Justice, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2076632023-12-19T16:35:49Z2023-12-19T16:35:49ZTrans guidance for schools: the voices of young people are missing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566650/original/file-20231219-29-usud5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C624%2C4293%2C2233&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/students-standing-lecture-381112798">aerogondo2/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After significant delay, the UK government has <a href="https://consult.education.gov.uk/equalities-political-impartiality-anti-bullying-team/gender-questioning-children-proposed-guidance/supporting_documents/Gender%20Questioning%20Children%20%20nonstatutory%20guidance.pdf">published draft guidance</a> for schools in England on “gender questioning children”, from education secretary Gillian Keegan and women and equalities minister Kemi Badenoch.</p>
<p>The guidance is non-statutory, meaning it is not legally enforceable, and the government has launched a consultation on the plans. Until March 12 2024, individuals and organisations can provide feedback before the final version is published. </p>
<p>Already, though, disagreement has emerged. Former prime minister Liz Truss has stated that the guidance does <a href="https://twitter.com/trussliz/status/1737063588873818322">not go far enough</a>, and that it “does not sufficiently protect children”. <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-gender-guidance-schools-uk-pupils-pronouns-transition-2023-3w6qdskpc">Reports have suggested</a> that a previous draft of the guidance was delayed when the attorney general advised that a planned ban on social transitioning – taking actions such as changing names, clothing and pronouns – in school was unlawful. Truss is calling for a <a href="https://twitter.com/trussliz/status/1737063588873818322">change in the law</a> to, among other things, stop schools from formally recognising social transitioning. </p>
<h2>The role of schools</h2>
<p>The guidance states that schools should not consider any action towards allowing a young person to socially transition until it has been explicitly requested by the child. The guidance recommends a period of “watchful waiting” before taking action. </p>
<p>It urges schools to involve parents – “We would expect parental consent to be required in the vast majority of cases” – but does not insist on it. It also states that teachers can listen to a child talk about their feelings without informing parents if no change is explicitly being requested. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1737055920897548607"}"></div></p>
<p>This has the potential to affect how teachers support young people. Teachers regularly speak to students about their wellbeing, as a means of ensuring they are ready to learn. </p>
<p>The expectation that schools “should not proactively initiate action towards a child’s social transition” may make teachers nervous about what they can and cannot say to students who come to talk to them about gender identity, and may well lead to teachers avoiding the topic altogether for fear of breaching the guidance. </p>
<p>According to the guidance, there will be “very few occasions in which a school or college will be able to agree to a change of pronouns”. It states that no teacher or student should be compelled to use preferred pronouns and teachers can refer collectively to students as “girls” or “boys”. </p>
<p>Schools are also asked to first try all other options, such as using first names, in order to avoid requiring staff and other students to use a young person’s preferred pronouns. The guidance states that primary school children should not have pronouns that are different to their birth sex pronouns used about them. </p>
<h2>Voices of young people</h2>
<p>This guidance doesn’t appear to have considered the voices of the very people it serves: young people who are transgender, non-binary or questioning their gender. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/MHRJ-05-2014-0015/full/html">Research with adults has found</a> that social transition can help improve the mental health of trans people. A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/27703371.2022.2076002">small-scale study</a> of the parents of 30 trans children of primary school age found that parents thought delays in affirming their child’s trans identity caused their child distress. </p>
<p>The new guidance may exacerbate mental health issues among young people if some teachers are forced to discontinue the support they currently offer.</p>
<p>The guidance says: “Schools and colleges should only agree to a change of pronouns if they are confident that the benefit to the individual child outweighs the impact on the school community.” </p>
<p>How teachers are expected to make this judgement is not specified but it will place a huge burden upon them. It may be that many headteachers will discourage, or at best avoid, formally agreeing to pronoun changes.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-gender-guidance-schools-uk-pupils-pronouns-transition-2023-3w6qdskpc">Reported suggestions</a> from Kemi Badenoch that a doctor’s recommendation or “clinical gateway” would be required before social transitioning appear to have been abandoned, perhaps due to the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12913-021-06661-4">challenges in accessing support</a> for gender identity on the NHS.</p>
<p>Parallels may well be drawn between this guidance and Section 28, which was law between 1988 and 2003. In my book <a href="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/catherine-lee/pretended-schools-and-section-28/9781915261694/">Pretended: Schools and Section 28</a> I refer to the struggles faced by trans and non-binary people in schools in recent years and point to Section 28 as a cautionary tale. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/twenty-years-after-section-28-repeal-lessons-still-need-to-be-learned-from-uks-homophobic-law-210928">Twenty years after section 28 repeal, lessons still need to be learned from UK's homophobic law</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Section 28 prevented teachers from “promoting homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”. Teachers were banned from discussing same-sex relationships with young people in school. This left a generation of LGBTQ+ young people without support <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14681811.2019.1585800">throughout their education</a>.
Unlike Section 28, this guidance does not silence teachers completely, but it is likely to affect what teachers feel they can say – and, crucially, the extent to which they can support young people.</p>
<p>As we enter a general election year, schools and transgender identities will almost certainly be used for political leverage in the leadership debates. </p>
<p>The government must spare a thought for young people who identify as transgender and non-binary. Schools are already challenging places for them and their voices are not present in this guidance. </p>
<p>Regardless of our political allegiances, let us put transgender young people front and centre in this consultation phase and ask them how we can best create safe and inclusive schools in which they can thrive both academically and personally.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207663/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The government has launched a consultation on the plans.Catherine Lee, Professor of Inclusive Education, PVC Dean Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2186522023-12-18T12:08:43Z2023-12-18T12:08:43ZRishi Sunak wants more maths at school – but finding the teachers will be hard when university departments are closing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565256/original/file-20231212-29-i8mtw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6359%2C5774&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-female-student-writing-equation-on-1131701174">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Oxford Brookes University recently <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/music-and-maths-courses-close-part-oxford-brookes-cuts">announced</a> it will no longer be offering mathematics degrees. This follows reported <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/120416/pdf/">reductions or proposed cuts</a> at other universities. </p>
<p>This is a problem for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s vision for improved maths skills across the nation. Sunak has laid out a vision for young people to study <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-outlines-his-vision-for-maths-to-18">maths to age 18</a>. The goal is to ensure that “every young person has the maths skills they need to succeed”.</p>
<p>This focus on maths was also evident in chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s 2023 autumn statement. This included funding for a <a href="https://rss.org.uk/news-publication/news-publications/2023/general-news/government-funding-announced-for-an-academy-for-ma/">national academy of mathematical sciences</a> to build links between mathematicians in education, academia, industry and government.</p>
<p>But the success of the prime minister’s vision, and the health of mathematics education more generally, rests largely on specialist maths teachers with a mathematics degree. These teachers are needed to educate young people in maths up to the age of 18. They teach the maths skills young people need to go on to study the subject further and use it in their future jobs. </p>
<p>But there is a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/apr/17/shortage-of-teachers-will-be-a-big-maths-problem-for-rishi-sunak">chronic shortage</a> of specialist mathematics teachers in schools – and the university maths education that trains these teachers is under threat. </p>
<h2>University maths under threat</h2>
<p>The cuts in maths teaching at universities has resulted in a new phenomenon: <a href="https://www.protectpuremaths.uk/news/broken-promise-on-maths-puts-science-plans-in-peril">maths deserts</a>. The closing of maths departments at universities that often serve their local population means that many, not just aspiring maths teachers, can no longer study mathematics beyond A-level in their local region. </p>
<p>Students with lower A-level results or from low-income families who are more likely to be living at home while studying at their local university, are disproportionately affected by maths deserts. And it creates a negative feedback loop that sees diminishing numbers going into maths teaching. This further erodes secondary schools’ ability to provide high-quality mathematics education.</p>
<p>Past president of the London Mathematical Society Ulrike Tillmann <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/uk-cannot-afford-cut-m-stem">warned that maths deserts</a> will turn post A-level mathematics education into “an almost exclusively high-tariff, big-city degree” essentially concentrated at large Russell Group universities. Moreover, graduates with degrees like this are less likely to pursue <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-so-many-graduates-shunning-teaching-pay-but-not-bonuses-could-be-the-answer-216963">teaching as a career</a>. </p>
<h2>Protecting the discipline of mathematics</h2>
<p>The importance of mathematics cannot be overstated, both now and for the future. Mathematics underpins almost all technological development in society, from cryptography and information security through to artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing. </p>
<p>There is a <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fight-save-pure-maths-only-24697612">trend for universities</a> across the world to offer degrees in data science and AI. But a rigorous grounding in mathematics is required to ensure graduates are best equipped to meet future challenges in areas such as quantum computing or AI. This means that mathematics still needs to be taught as a discipline on its own, rather than being subsumed into seemingly more “job-ready” disciplines.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Workbook showing equations to solve" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565266/original/file-20231212-15-deb5vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565266/original/file-20231212-15-deb5vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565266/original/file-20231212-15-deb5vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565266/original/file-20231212-15-deb5vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565266/original/file-20231212-15-deb5vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565266/original/file-20231212-15-deb5vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565266/original/file-20231212-15-deb5vi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Good teaching of maths at school needs specialist maths teachers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/handwriting-mathematics-quadratic-equation-on-examination-2154251415">Mehaniq/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The same point applies to training future maths teachers. There is a world of difference between having a specialist teacher who loves the discipline of mathematics and is passionate about communicating it to their students, and one simply teaching out of a textbook. The former is crucial in ensuring a new generation of students go on to become excellent maths teachers and inspire future generations.</p>
<p>We need to equip our young people to manage the challenges of a rapidly shifting world. If we are to tackle challenges ranging from climate change to the explosion of AI in society and environmental resource management, then a rigorous education in mathematics – the subject <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/11/pure-folly-turing-family-join-fight-to-save-blue-skies-maths-from-neglect">Alan Turing considered</a> a combination of intuition and ingenuity – is essential.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218652/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Saunders does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>University maths departments are shrinking or closing.Neil Saunders, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, University of GreenwichLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2171562023-11-28T12:02:18Z2023-11-28T12:02:18ZGirls less likely to be diagnosed with special educational needs – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561328/original/file-20231123-15-vctgar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=121%2C0%2C4372%2C3002&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/upset-caucasian-girl-sitting-desk-writing-2105450654">Mariia Korneeva/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The point when <a href="https://www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs">a child with special educational needs (SEN)</a> is diagnosed is an important moment in their lives. </p>
<p>It allows schools to provide them with access to additional resources, such as assistive technology, specialised teaching programs or the services of professionals such as educational psychologists. These resources help to meet children’s academic, emotional or social needs.</p>
<p>But girls and boys don’t fare equally. My <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rev3.3437">recent research</a> with colleague Hsin Wang, conducted using UK government data, found a consistent gender gap in SEN identification.</p>
<p>Of the roughly 1.5 million children in English schools identified for SEN services in 2022-23, only 0.5 million were girls. We found the same pattern across the country, with girls making up between 34% to 36% of all students accessing SEN support in most regions.</p>
<p>In some cases, this may be because certain disabilities are more common in boys. But it is likely to be also down to gender bias in assessment and from those referring children for assessment, as well as girls being better at hiding the challenges they face from some conditions.</p>
<h2>An established pattern</h2>
<p>When we looked at specific types of special educational needs we found that boys were more likely to be diagnosed for all of them. Boys made up 75% of those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. They were also about two times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with speech, language and communication disorders, as well as mental health disorders.</p>
<p>We did find some changes when looking at SEN identification rates over time. Between 2015 and 2022, the proportion of girls out of all students identified with autism spectrum disorder increased from 17% to 25%. Similarly, there was an increase in the proportion of girls being identified for specific learning difficulties – from 38% in 2015 to 44% in 2022. </p>
<p>However, this trend of increasing female identification does not apply to all disability categories. For example, from 2015 to 2022, girls consistently accounted for 44% of those identified with visual impairments. </p>
<p>Past research has suggested several reasons for these gender differences. Biological factors may make boys more vulnerable to certain disabilities. For instance, research has suggested that neurobiological differences between girls and boys make <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6509633/pdf/CroatMedJ_60_0141.pdf">boys more likely</a> to be diagnosed with speech, language and communication needs. </p>
<h2>Gender bias</h2>
<p>But social factors can also play a big part. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11881-997-0024-8">Past research</a> has suggested that gender bias among people who refer students for diagnostic assessment, like teachers, contributes to this unequal distribution. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17903118/">One study of twins</a> reports that teachers may be more likely to refer boys because boys are more disruptive and command more attention, while girls go under the radar. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Children putting hands up to answer teacher's question" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561339/original/file-20231123-23-uhd0zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561339/original/file-20231123-23-uhd0zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561339/original/file-20231123-23-uhd0zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561339/original/file-20231123-23-uhd0zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561339/original/file-20231123-23-uhd0zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561339/original/file-20231123-23-uhd0zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561339/original/file-20231123-23-uhd0zr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Boys may command more attention in class.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pupils-raising-hand-during-geography-lesson-253351462">ESB Professional/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research on autism also points out the “<a href="https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-016-0073-0">camouflage effect</a>”. This means girls may be better at masking or hiding their autism-related challenges, leading to under-identification or delayed diagnosis. </p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-018-3510-4">Some researchers</a> have also reported that assessments used for diagnosis are typically based on male characteristics, and potentially overlook how autism spectrum disorder presents differently in girls. </p>
<p>This imbalance is likely to mean that some girls are not getting the recognition and support they need. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7557860/">Past research</a> has found that girls have higher rates of mental health disorders such as anxiety compared to boys. Importantly, for some disability categories such as visual impairment or intellectual disabilities, data on gender differences is scarce. </p>
<p>The low number of girls identified with disabilities is worrying. Early detection of disabilities is vital to provide students with necessary services to support their development. Delayed or missed diagnoses for girls can worsen their challenges and affect their long-term outcomes. </p>
<p>Awareness of the differences between girls and boys who need support for special educational needs is crucial. For example, teachers and schools should adopt standardised criteria for SEN diagnosis. This can help reduce subjective judgements that are influenced by biases and ensure fair support for all students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217156/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johny Daniel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Of the 1.5 million children in English schools identified for SEN services, only one in three – 0.5 million – were girls.Johny Daniel, Assistant Professor, School of Education, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169632023-11-21T16:54:07Z2023-11-21T16:54:07ZWhy are so many graduates shunning teaching? Pay – but not bonuses – could be the answer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560001/original/file-20231116-29-zj42q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6230%2C3502&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/horizontal-photo-diverse-employees-team-discussing-1449672428">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england">persistent shortage</a> of teachers in England. Numbers of new recruits fail to meet targets, and too many teachers are leaving their jobs. It’s clear that more new teachers are needed – but apparently not enough people are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1568535">choosing the profession</a>. </p>
<p>Much of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03055698.2021.1915751">existing evidence</a> about why people become teachers is based only on the views of existing or prospective trainee teachers. This is interesting, but says nothing about why other people do not become teachers. And if we need to increase the number of applications to teacher training, it is the people who decide against teaching that matter.</p>
<p>These people are the subject of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03055698.2021.1915751">our research</a>. We asked 4,500 undergraduate students in 53 universities in England about their career decisions generally and whether they had thought about teaching. Our findings suggest that rather than putting money into bonuses for new teachers, the government should focus on improving the overall financial rewards of teaching.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/early-career-payments-guidance-for-teachers-and-schools">Incentive payments</a> are one of the main ways the government seeks to recruit people to teaching. They are currently offered to trainees and early career teachers in hard to recruit for subjects, such as maths and physics. </p>
<p>Understandably, these payments are attractive to people who have already decided they want to be teachers. But we do not know whether they have much pull for people who choose not to become teachers. We don’t know what it is that could lead people who might have considered and rejected the idea of becoming a teacher to think about this career path more seriously. </p>
<p>This lack of information could explain why a succession of policies and initiatives have not remedied the problem. In fact, when we asked all the students we surveyed – including those planning to be teachers – what drew them to a career, getting an introductory bonus was one of the least significant incentives. </p>
<p>For all of the students we surveyed, the biggest deterrent to teaching as a career was that teacher salaries are not high enough.</p>
<h2>Identifying potential teachers</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03055698.2021.1915751">We asked students</a> about their career choices, including whether they had ever considered teaching as a job and what they thought now. We also asked them about their parents’ jobs, their A-level or other pre-university qualification results, and the class of degree they expected to get. </p>
<p>A significant finding was that the students most likely to choose a career as a teacher were those who had somewhat lower prior results and lower expected degree awards than their peers. They were less likely to have a parent with a degree. </p>
<p>On the other hand, the students who were the highest academic achievers had the least interest in teaching. </p>
<p>Between the two groups – those intending to be teachers and those with no interest – was a third group. This was students who had considered teaching as a career option and then rejected it. </p>
<p>These students tend to study humanities, social science, sports science or languages subjects. They were, like those who planned to be teachers, motivated by interest in their subject and a chance to share their knowledge. </p>
<p>This group of students could make excellent teachers. But we found that their interest in teaching declines with every year at university. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Teacher with group of children at table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560369/original/file-20231120-29-88l79t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Better pay over the course of a teaching career could lead more students to choose it as a profession.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/students-doing-creativity-project-their-teacher-2294917535">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also found that the students who planned to become teachers were less concerned about pay and promotion prospects than other students. Instead, they were more interested in job security than other students, as well as the chance to give back to society. </p>
<p>Findings like this might suggest that while low pay may not matter too much to people who were set on being a teacher, it might be the factor putting other potential teachers off. </p>
<p>One sociology student who had considered teaching, only to decide against it, said: “It’s the pay as well … It’s not a nine to five. It’s like a nine to five, plus your weekends and plus hours afterwards.”</p>
<p>Our findings showed that career intentions are reportedly set for most students by the time they have chosen their subject at university. Once at university, incentives such as golden hellos, training salaries, or grants, make little difference. They are popular with intending teachers, of course, but do not appear to change the minds of students who have already decided on other careers. </p>
<p>This suggests any money available to try to attract teachers to the profession could be better used to increase salaries for teachers generally, rather than temporary incentives for some. </p>
<p>But perhaps the best use of such money would be in raising the occupational profile and prestige of teachers, undercut by decades of media and political criticism. Suggestions to pilot could be paid sabbatical breaks, and longer paid working hours but with lower student contact time. There must be others. </p>
<p>Exploring why some people choose not to be teachers means that policies can address the barriers to teaching, and also make teaching more attractive to under-represented groups – such as men and some ethnic minorities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216963/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Gorard receives funding from the ESRC to research teacher supply. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beng Huat See receives funding from the ESRC</span></em></p>Our findings suggest that increasing teacher pay over their whole career would help.Stephen Gorard, Professor of Education and Public Policy, Durham UniversityBeng Huat See, Professor of Education Research, School of Education, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2109282023-11-16T12:16:27Z2023-11-16T12:16:27ZTwenty years after section 28 repeal, lessons still need to be learned from UK’s homophobic law<p>November 18 2023 marks the 20 year anniversary of the repeal of section 28 in England and Wales. This law silenced any discussion of lesbian and gay matters in schools, and was law for 15 years between 1988 and 2003. It stated that local authorities: “shall not … promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”.</p>
<p>I was a teacher for every year of section 28. And I and other LGBTQ+ teachers feared we would lose our jobs if we were outed in our school workplaces.</p>
<p>The scene was set for section 28 at the Conservative Party conference in 1987, an election year. Margaret Thatcher accused “hard left education authorities and extremist teachers” of taking opportunity away from children. <a href="https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/106941">She said</a>: “Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay.”</p>
<p>Thatcher’s speech came at a moment of moral panic. In 1986 <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/1986-12-18/debates/afda921e-413c-46f1-9d08-883838f2367d/LocalGovernmentAct1986(Amendment)BillHl">in the House of Lords</a>, gay people were referred to as exhibitionists, “vicious”, “aggressive” and “reservoirs of venereal diseases”. </p>
<p>Labour authorities funding gay and lesbian groups <a href="https://fiu-original.b-cdn.net/fontsinuse.com/use-images/47/47975/47975.jpeg?filename=90725271.jpg">were mocked</a> and described by the Conservatives as the “<a href="https://notchesblog.com/2017/09/26/the-road-to-section-28/">loony left</a>”. </p>
<p>To erode trust in the Labour party, Thatcher’s government accused left-wing local authorities of pushing a lesbian and gay agenda in schools. </p>
<p>A copy of a book about a girl with two dads, <a href="https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/speccoll/2021/02/22/jenny-lives-with-eric-and-martin-february-2021/">Jenny lives with Eric and Martin</a>, was bought for a teachers’ centre library in the Inner London Education Authority. National newspapers inaccurately reported that the book was being made available in school libraries – and Kenneth Baker, secretary of state for education, <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/equityDiversityInclusion/2018/05/section-28-three-decades-on-the-legacy-of-a-homophobic-law-through-the-lse-librarys-collections/">claimed the book</a> was being used as “homosexual propaganda” by Labour local authorities.</p>
<p>Section 28 of the Local Government Act became law in 1988. It had a profound impact on my life. At school, I <a href="https://theconversation.com/heartstopper-how-this-joyous-teen-show-contrasts-with-my-bitter-memories-of-school-life-under-homophobic-law-section-28-212139">hid the fact</a> that I lived with my girlfriend. I also pretended not to be interested in promotion to school leadership, because to be a headteacher came with a level of visibility in the school community that was frankly terrifying for me as a lesbian teacher. </p>
<h2>Impact on students</h2>
<p>I am filled with regret for a life half lived as a teacher, but the regret is not for me: it is for all the LGBTQ+ young people in my schools that I let down. </p>
<p>I knew that young queer people in the secondary schools in which I taught were being harassed in the corridors for being gay, but because of section 28, I ignored the homophobic language. If I thought a young person was about to come out to me, I acted as though I was too busy to talk to them. </p>
<p>In the dedication of my book <a href="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/catherine-lee/pretended-schools-and-section-28/9781915261694/">Pretended: Schools and Section 28</a>, I state:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This book is also for all the LGBTQ+ students in my schools between 1988 and 2003. I am sorry that I let you down. I hope this book will help you to understand why I was not there for you when you needed me most. </p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14681811.2019.1585800">My research with other lesbian and gay teachers</a> who experienced section 28 shows that it left a damaging legacy for many of those who taught under this law. I found that only 20% of section 28-era teachers are out to their colleagues at school. On the other hand, 88% of teachers who started after section 28 was repealed in 2003 are out to their fellow teachers in their schools. </p>
<p>Looking back, section 28 was a result of a fight between the right and left of British politics. Now, as the left and right battle to win the next general election, schools, teachers and LGBTQ+ identities are again under the spotlight. </p>
<p>We still await promised government guidance for teachers on gender identity in schools. Once again, they are not being trusted to talk to young people about gender and sexuality. </p>
<p>It is with a heavy heart that I await the political debates that will start as soon as the general election date is set. Spare a thought for those of us listening who are LGBTQ+. We are real people and who we are and who we love should not be used for political point-scoring. Let us at least learn that lesson from section 28.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210928/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A teacher reflects on how Section 28 affected her career and the young people she taught.Catherine Lee, Professor of Inclusive Education, PVC Dean Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2142892023-11-06T16:37:51Z2023-11-06T16:37:51ZWhy term-time holidays can be a lifeline for children and young people with attachment needs<p>The holidays are over, and children are back in school – apart from the ones going on a term-time vacation. </p>
<p>The combination of the cost of living crisis and the fact that holidays can be <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/school-days-lost-holidays-term-time-b2302862.html">significantly cheaper in term time</a> makes taking children out of school for a holiday tempting for parents and carers. It has been reported that unauthorised holidays in term time accounted for over five million <a href="https://www.civitas.org.uk/2023/03/27/five-million-school-days-lost-to-unauthorised-holiday-absence/">lost school days</a> in England in the 2021-22 academic year.</p>
<p>Headteachers in England cannot grant term-time holiday requests unless there are “<a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/holidays-during-school-term-time-england/">exceptional circumstances</a>”. If a headteacher declines a holiday request and parents or carers take their child out of school anyway, they can be fined £60. This fine rises to £120 if they do not pay within 21 days, or to potential prosecution if they do not pay within 28 days. </p>
<p>But for some children and young people, there is more to the debate than a cheap holiday and some late summer sunshine. Some need extra time to build secure relationships with the important adults in their lives, and the quality time that a holiday provides can be invaluable.</p>
<h2>Attachment theory</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13632752.2021.1979322">My research</a> is underpinned by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4085672/">attachment theory</a>, which suggests that key adults should be available and responsive to a child’s needs. In such a relationship, the child knows that if they are distressed, they can rely on their caregiver to help them feel better. </p>
<p>With consistent “<a href="https://bjgp.org/content/bjgp/67/660/311.full.pdf">good enough</a>” parenting like this, children will develop a <a href="http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/attachment/online/waters_ahd_comment.pdf">secure base</a> from which to explore the world. </p>
<p>A securely attached child <a href="https://mindsplain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ainsworth-Patterns-of-Attachment.pdf">actively monitors</a> their caregivers’ location while exploring, only returning if faced with a challenging situation. The secure base gives children the ability the navigate the world and, as they become more independent, they can spend longer periods of time away from the important adults in their lives.</p>
<p>But estimates suggest that <a href="https://www.suttontrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/baby-bonds-final.pdf">40% of all children</a> have insecure attachments. This can happen when traumatic events affect how available and responsive important adults are to these children – and this can affect the development of secure relationships. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://mft.nhs.uk/rmch/services/camhs/young-people/adverse-childhood-experiences-aces-and-attachment/">adverse childhood experiences</a> can include bereavement, hospitalisation, living in a war zone, sexual and physical abuse (such as domestic violence) and neglect.</p>
<p>Insecurely attached children respond to challenging situations with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2518099/">hyper-vigilance</a> – they are constantly on alert for threats. This means that for many pupils, school is fraught with challenge. </p>
<p>Pupils have to manage extended periods away from parents or carers, and navigate relationships with peers and unfamiliar adults. They have to keep their emotions in check, even when they feel overwhelmed. </p>
<p>They are required to be increasingly independent. To make and carry out decisions alone. To answer for the consequences of their actions. And to know that a chosen behaviour is practicable, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2753/RES1060-9393310957#:%7E:text=independence%20and%20the%20psychic%20phenomena,external%20pressure%3B%20the%20inclination%20to">sociable, and moral</a>. </p>
<p>This is despite the fact that many of these children still need to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13632752.2021.1979322">develop dependency</a> – where others meet their psychological, social and physical needs –
first. On top of all this come academic expectations. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Father hugging happy daughter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552046/original/file-20231004-17-i8xuhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552046/original/file-20231004-17-i8xuhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552046/original/file-20231004-17-i8xuhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552046/original/file-20231004-17-i8xuhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552046/original/file-20231004-17-i8xuhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552046/original/file-20231004-17-i8xuhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552046/original/file-20231004-17-i8xuhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Families make important memories on holiday.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-american-father-his-little-girl-1213210501">pixelheadphoto digitalskillet/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But holidays can increase the amount of time that a child spends with their parents or carers, giving them the space they need to develop these important relationships. </p>
<h2>Building bonds</h2>
<p>Research suggests that family holidays make children <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/family-holidays/the-science-behind-how-holidays-make-your-child-happier-and-smarter/">happier and smarter</a>. On holiday, families can create <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/parenting/pack-your-bags-to-give-children-happiness-anchors-1.3050796">shared, positive memories</a> that children can draw upon for years to come. Time <a href="https://avondhupress.ie/family-holidays-boost-happiness/">away from routine</a> allows parents and carers to truly attend to their child’s needs in a fun, playful, and focused way. </p>
<p>Having more time with parents or carers, and moving slowly towards these more secure relationships, can help reduce children’s anxiety and hyper-vigilance, and improve their overall mental health. </p>
<p>At pertinent times, then, which may not fit within the existing school holiday structure, children with attachment needs may benefit from extended periods with birth or adoptive parents, or foster carers. It takes <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13632752.2021.1979322">quality time</a> to build relationships, away from commitments such as work and school, and this is what holidays can offer such families. </p>
<p>Dedicating time to building these bonds can serve children well when they are back in school. When children become anxious, school staff can draw on these stronger relationships. A phone call or note from home can help reassure them, for instance. </p>
<p>Holidays give families precious time together – and a term-time holiday should be a matter of what is best for a child and their family.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214289/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Wall is affiliated with The University and College Union. </span></em></p>Disability may place constraints on a family’s ability to take vacations during the school holidays.Sarah Wall, Senior Lecturer in Education, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2162902023-10-30T13:04:48Z2023-10-30T13:04:48ZSchools know sharing sex ed lessons with parents is vital – it’s something they already do<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555872/original/file-20231025-29-eyhfau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C26%2C5982%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teacher-having-meeting-parent-2354102377">Media_Photos/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The education secretary Gillian Keegan has <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/education-secretary-says-parents-can-see-sex-education-material">written to schools in England</a> stating that they should be sharing relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) teaching materials with parents and carers, even if copyright contracts with external providers of school resources appear to prevent them from doing so. </p>
<p>In another letter, this time to <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/10/24/education-secretarys-letter-to-parents-you-have-the-right-to-see-rshe-lesson-material/">parents and carers</a>, she outlines that they have a “fundamental right” to know what is being taught in RSHE sessions.</p>
<p>Keegan is right. Parents should know what their children are being taught – and parental involvement, particularly with subjects such as sex education, is vital. But the letters appear antagonistic and seem to imply that schools are not sharing what goes on in RSHE classes with parents. In reality this could not be further from the truth. </p>
<h2>Key role of parents</h2>
<p>Many years of robust educational research indicates that parents and carers are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08920206211016453#bibr15-08920206211016453">vitally</a> <a href="https://mdpi-res.com/youth/youth-03-00065/article_deploy/youth-03-00065.pdf?version=1693560027">important</a> in the <a href="https://birmingham-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=44BIR_ALMA_DS21115912330004871&context=L&vid=44BIR_VU1&lang=en_US&search_scope=CSCOP_44BIR_DEEP&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=local&query=any,contains,parents%20in%20school%20education&offset=0">education</a> of their children and young people – for all subjects. This is especially pertinent for sex and relationships education. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education">2019 statutory guidance</a> for RSHE outlines that, alongside children and young people, parents and carers should also be involved:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>All schools must have in place a written policy for relationships education and RSE. Schools must consult parents in developing and reviewing their policy. Schools should ensure that the policy meets the needs of pupils and parents and reflects the community they serve.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Parents requesting to see sessions and curriculum plans should be welcomed. Nevertheless, how this is done does need some thought. Putting materials online on a “parent portal”, <a href="https://twitter.com/educationgovuk/status/1716779900454023185">as Keegan suggests</a>, risks making them available without the context which is provided by a discussion with a teacher. This may skew understanding of what is being taught. </p>
<p>It is much more beneficial to talk with parents and carers who have concerns. Then, teachers can explain the rationale for sessions, why they are being taught, and the benefits to the wellbeing of children and young people. </p>
<p>As advocated by expert organisations such as <a href="https://www.brook.org.uk/parents-and-carers/rse-at-school/">Brook</a>, the <a href="https://www.sexeducationforum.org.uk/news/news/home-school-partnership-rse-will-best-meet-childrens-needs">Sex Education Forum</a> and the <a href="https://pshe-association.org.uk/guidance/ks1-4/engaging-parents-governors">PHSE Association</a>, sharing RSHE sessions and curriculum plans with parents is not only a statutory obligation but it also provides opportunity to bridge the educational gap between home and school. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1716779900454023185"}"></div></p>
<p>Schools are aware that it is hugely beneficial for them to work with parents and carers – especially when teaching children and young people topics that are deemed sensitive. This reduces the chance of mixed messages about what is being taught. Engaging with parents can only be a good thing in these circumstances to ensure that children and young people receive a holistic approach to this vitally important subject area. </p>
<p>The problem schools often come up against is getting parents involved in the first place. This is due to a number of <a href="https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/parental-engagement">different factors</a> that inhibit parental engagement with schools, such as time constraints.</p>
<p>When it comes to relationships and sex education in particular, some parents and carers may be concerned about what their children are being taught. And this is both OK and understandable.</p>
<p>There are many stigmas around talking about sexuality and relationships. Talking about sex often evokes <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/sophie_king_hill_stop_talking_about_the_weather_and_start_talking_about_sex">feelings of shame</a> and worry. </p>
<h2>Tools for teen life</h2>
<p>Many parents and carers are also often concerned that children and young people are too young to learn about sex. But teaching about sex early is about protecting children. <a href="https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/youth/fact-sheets/youth-sexuality-education.pdf">Research</a> <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000260770">tells us</a> that young people who have <a href="https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(20)30456-0/fulltext">good relationships and sex education</a> from an early age are more likely to delay having sex. Good relationships and sex education can also help children and young people who are <a href="https://research.birmingham.ac.uk/en/publications/understanding-and-responding-to-sibling-sexual-abuse">being abused</a> to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2310970/">recognise this earlier</a>, rather than later. </p>
<p>Many children and young people will be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23268743.2021.1875028">getting their information</a> about relationships and sex from places outside lessons – such as <a href="https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/2023/how-young-people-are-learning-about-relationships-sex-sexuality">from porn</a>. A <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-report-reveals-truths-about-how-teens-engage-with-pornography-301717607.html">recent survey</a> of teens found that more than half had seen porn by age 13. </p>
<p>Good relationships and sex education allows children to better deal with experiences like this. It might sound worrying to hear that your child is learning about porn at school – but this is education that will help them.</p>
<p>A good RSHE curriculum is moulded by teachers, students, governors and the local community, alongside parents and carers: everyone listening and working together. This is something schools are already well aware of.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216290/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophie King-Hill receives funding from the ESRC.</span></em></p>Schools are aware that it is hugely beneficial for them to work with parents and carers – especially when teaching topics that are deemed sensitive.Sophie King-Hill, Associate Professor at the Health Services Management Centre, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2154982023-10-16T15:50:09Z2023-10-16T15:50:09ZLabour’s plan to focus on early maths is solid – gaps in achievement start even before primary school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554005/original/file-20231016-17-smaari.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C0%2C6689%2C4466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/little-girl-learning-numbers-shapes-play-1059608915">NadyaEugene/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Politicians in the UK have maths on the mind. The Conservatives intend to extend compulsory maths education for young people until 18. </p>
<p>And at the Labour party conference, shadow education secretary <a href="https://www.bridgetphillipson.com/speeches/2023/10/11/bridget-phillipsons-speech-at-the-labour-partys-2023-conference/">Bridget Phillipson announced</a> the opposition’s plans to improve maths skills across the country: a focus on primary school and pre-school education rather than post-16, with an emphasis on children learning the maths they will need for everyday life. </p>
<p>Paying attention to young children’s maths is a good idea. Evidence from the UK and beyond shows that children start primary school with <a href="https://repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk/cepeow/cepeowp22-06.pdf">varying levels</a> of mathematical skills – and disadvantage gaps are already evident at this point, meaning that children from poorer backgrounds may not have skills at the same level as their more well-off peers. </p>
<p>The differences between children’s maths skills then remain remarkably <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2281">stable over time</a>. Children who start primary school with mathematical abilities behind the level of their peers will typically remain behind their peers throughout school. </p>
<p>To reduce these gaps, we need to act early. But positive change won’t be achieved simply by adding more content to the primary or early years mathematics curriculums. Neither is it helpful to push children to learn more complex mathematics earlier. These approaches might lead to children learning maths in a superficial and rote manner, rather than understanding the underlying ideas.</p>
<h2>Primary focus</h2>
<p>Labour has <a href="https://labour.org.uk/updates/press-releases/labour-to-unveil-real-world-primary-maths-teaching-to-encourage-stronger-lifelong-numeracy/">raised the prospect</a> of creating a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/10/labour-announces-phonics-for-maths-scheme-in-planned-curriculum-review">phonics for maths</a>”. Phonics is a <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/10/12/everything-you-need-to-know-about-phonics-in-schools/">method of learning to read</a> that teaches children the sounds that letters and combinations of letters make. It is required in primary schools, and pupils take a phonics screening check in year one to assess their progress. </p>
<p>Although not universally supported, phonics has been linked to improvements in reading levels among children in <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1156633/PIRLS_2021_-_national_report_for_England__May_2023.pdf">England</a>. </p>
<p>However, phonics is a specific technique for teaching word reading, while mathematics is incredibly broad. It involves multiple skills as well as different types of knowledge and understanding. </p>
<p>Even in early primary school, mathematics is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/17470218231175325">complex</a>. Children need to understand quantities and their relationships, to recognise digits and understand place value, to carry out arithmetic procedures, to identify patterns in numbers and shapes, and much more. It is unlikely that a single technique, as phonics is, can underpin this breadth of knowledge and understanding. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1711978621751947728"}"></div></p>
<p>But in another sense, the parallel with phonics is encouraging. The phonics revolution was informed by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618772271">research</a> and developed from a better understanding of how children learn to read. This can and should be emulated for mathematics. Research evidence on the early stages of learning maths can help build a solid approach to teaching mathematical skills to young children.</p>
<p>Another feature of Labour’s plans is their aim to “<a href="https://www.bridgetphillipson.com/speeches/2023/10/11/bridget-phillipsons-speech-at-the-labour-partys-2023-conference/">bring maths to life</a>” by using <a href="https://labour.org.uk/updates/press-releases/labour-to-unveil-real-world-primary-maths-teaching-to-encourage-stronger-lifelong-numeracy/">real-world examples</a>: budgeting, exchange rates, sports league tables. </p>
<p>A desire to give meaning to numbers and mathematics by building on children’s experiences is a good ambition. This can be achieved through play-based and hands-on activities, which involve children manipulating objects such as counters and cards to better understand mathematical ideas and relationships. It is also important to help children see numbers and mathematical patterns in the world around them: the number of red cars on the street or the shapes of windows and doors, for instance.</p>
<p>These approaches may provide a <a href="https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/evidence-reviews/early-years-and-key-stage-1-mathematics-teaching">stronger foundation</a> for future learning than focusing on using written digits or learning mathematical facts (such as 2 + 3 = 5) too early.</p>
<h2>Taking care</h2>
<p>But care is needed to ensure that bringing maths to life truly reflects children’s experiences and doesn’t become a gimmick. It could even increase disadvantage gaps due to differences in children’s experiences, for example, for children from families who lack access to bank accounts or have never had the experience of travelling abroad and using different currency. </p>
<p>There are already good examples out there of how to teach in this way – such as the <a href="https://www.ncetm.org.uk/maths-hubs-projects/mastering-number-at-reception-and-ks1/">Mastering Number programme</a>. Any curriculum changes need to be properly funded and developed in collaboration with experts in the field.</p>
<p>Giving children better mathematical foundations through engaging and meaningful activities can set them up for success throughout school and beyond. This would not only positively affect children’s achievement but could also change attitudes to mathematics for the better. </p>
<p>Changing attitudes to mathematics from the foundations upwards can help children and young people feel confident and engaged with the subject and see its value in their life, leading to more wanting to study the subject.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215498/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Camilla Gilmore receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council and Research England. </span></em></p>Changing attitudes to maths from the start of education can lead to more success later on.Camilla Gilmore, Professor of Mathematical Cognition, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2150212023-10-05T16:30:43Z2023-10-05T16:30:43ZAdvanced British Standard: A-level replacement will require more teachers – but bonuses may not be the way to get them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552340/original/file-20231005-23-k0ujdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C12%2C8509%2C5008&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-young-teacher-helping-student-during-1102460816">Jacob Lund/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a new qualification to replace A-levels and T-levels. The planned <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/651d3c116a6955000d78b292/A_world-class_education_system_-_The_Advanced_British_Standard__print_ready_.pdf">Advanced British Standard</a> (ABS) will also come with more teaching time for students: an extra 195 hours over two years. </p>
<p>But there’s a problem. More teaching hours means more teachers – and the Department for Education <a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-are-quitting-heres-what-could-be-done-to-get-them-to-stay-202654">is already struggling</a> to recruit new teachers and to keep current teachers in the profession.</p>
<p>Since 2010, experienced teachers in England have experienced a real terms reduction in salaries of <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/articles/what-has-happened-teacher-pay-england">up to 13%</a>. During the same period, average earnings across all sectors in Britain have increased by 2.5% in <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/averageweeklyearningsearn01">real terms</a>. This decline in the relative attractiveness of the teaching profession has had <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/120414/pdf/">serious implications</a> for teacher recruitment, retention and diversity.</p>
<p>With these challenges in mind, Sunak also <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-qualifications-to-deliver-world-class-education-for-all">announced</a> a tax-free bonus of up to £30,000 over the first five years of teachers’ careers in subjects with a particular teacher shortage. </p>
<p>This is a welcome boost – but does not go far enough. It risks alienating experienced teachers and does not address the factors that drive teachers’ decision to leave the profession.</p>
<h2>Undervaluing experienced teachers</h2>
<p>One issue with Sunak’s approach is that starting salaries are already competitive. It is the growth (or lack of growth) in teachers’ pay over their careers which causes their pay to fall behind comparable professions. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/files/misoc/reports/explainers/Does-it-pay-to-be-a-teacher.pdf">research suggests</a> that roughly three in ten teachers would be financially better off if they left teaching for another career. The announced bonus scheme isn’t going to substantively change this, but it will contribute to more experienced teachers feeling undervalued and underappreciated.</p>
<p>Experienced teachers are earning less than comparable professions, but they are also now facing a related pay cut compared with newer entrants. To many teachers, this will not seem fair. After all, it could be argued that it is the teachers who have remained committed to the profession who most deserve to be rewarded, not the new entrants.</p>
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<p>Using financial incentives to recruit maths and physics teachers intuitively makes sense – these graduates generally have high-paying alternative career options. But this year, the government has also <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census">missed targets</a> for subjects where graduates typically don’t have as financially strong alternative employment opportunities – such as modern foreign languages, English, and art and design. This suggests the challenges with recruitment and retention are not just about the money.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teacher-recruitment-target-missed-in-england-why-people-dont-want-to-enter-or-stay-in-the-profession-196175">Teacher recruitment target missed in England – why people don't want to enter or stay in the profession</a>
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<p>Given the real difference that teachers make in their pupils’ lives, it is no surprise that teachers, historically, report <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2020/oct/teachers-among-happiest-professionals">higher wellbeing</a> than comparable professions. What’s more, teachers who leave the profession generally report no change, or even a decline, in <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/berj.3680?af=R">their wellbeing</a>. </p>
<p>However, since the pandemic, teacher wellbeing is lower than <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1148571/Working_lives_of_teachers_and_leaders_-_wave_1_-_core_report.pdf">comparable professions</a>. While the decline in pay is certainly contributing to this, other factors such as working hours, school leaders, Ofsted inspections and pupil behaviour have also played an important role. </p>
<p><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4384928">My research</a> exploring the reasons why teachers leave the profession, published in a working paper for the Institute for Social and Economic Research and reviewed by colleagues, finds that reducing teacher working hours and improving the quality of school leaders would be the most effective strategies.</p>
<p>Only teachers in Japan have <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7222/">higher workloads</a> than primary teachers in England across the OECD group of countries. Over <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7222/">half of teachers</a> feel their workload is unmanageable. This is one of the key reasons why people leave teaching. I found that reducing working hours by five hours per week would be as effective in improving teacher retention as a 10% pay rise. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/651d3c116a6955000d78b292/A_world-class_education_system_-_The_Advanced_British_Standard__print_ready_.pdf">government’s proposal document</a> for the ABS states that teachers’ weekly workloads have already been reduced by five hours. But this data is from a 2019 survey. It does not consider how the pandemic may have <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2023/jul/high-work-intensity-makes-teachers-jobs-more-demanding-post-pandemic">worsened teachers’ job quality</a>, in particular compared with other professions. </p>
<p>In September 2023, the government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/workload-reduction-taskforce">announced a taskforce</a> to reduce teacher working hours by a further five hours weekly. It remains to be seen what the measures proposed by this taskforce will be. </p>
<p>While any additional pay for teachers is welcome, Sunak’s approach reinforces the fact that current pay scales do not reward experience, which could create problems with the retention of more experienced teachers. In addition, the failure to address other important issues suggests this might be a short-term political gimmick, rather than a meaningful, teacher-led effort to improve the school workforce.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215021/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Fullard is affiliated with the Research Centre on Micro-Social Change, University of Essex. He has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.</span></em></p>Bonuses for new teachers won’t fix the reasons people leave the profession.Joshua Fullard, Assistant Professor of Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2150222023-10-05T13:40:16Z2023-10-05T13:40:16ZAdvanced British Standard: Sunak’s proposed replacement for A-levels and T-levels could make education less divisive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552299/original/file-20231005-25-c2x7rg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C9%2C6173%2C4106&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-college-students-performing-experiment-using-1892185093">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Prime Minister Rishi Sunak <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-qualifications-to-deliver-world-class-education-for-all#:%7E:text=The%20new%20Advanced%20British%20Standard%20will%20bring%20together%20the%20best,three%20majors%20alongside%20two%20minors.">has announced</a> plans to scrap A-levels and the recently introduced <a href="https://theconversation.com/t-levels-more-vocational-courses-roll-out-but-post-16-choices-in-england-are-still-limited-192785">T-levels</a>. He unveiled proposals for young people to instead study the new Advanced British Standard (ABS) at the Conservative party conference in Manchester.</p>
<p>The proposed changes represent a major shake-up of post-16 education in England. Sunak intends to replace existing post-GCSE qualifications, such as A-levels and T-levels, with a single qualification. Under the ABS, most learners aged 16-19 would study five different subjects, including some form of English and maths. </p>
<p>Most students would study three subjects in depth as a “major”, and two further subjects as a “minor”. The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-qualifications-to-deliver-world-class-education-for-all">government says</a> this will give students the “wider knowledge base” valued by employers. </p>
<p>The new qualification is likely to take <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/rishi-sunaks-a-level-reforms-wont-be-introduced-for-a-decade-number-10-says-12976797#:%7E:text=Asked%20how%20long%20it%20would,experts%20to%20work%20it%20through.%22">at least a decade</a> to design and implement.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/651d3c116a6955000d78b292/A_world-class_education_system_-_The_Advanced_British_Standard__print_ready_.pdf">Advanced British Standard</a> aims to combine the “the best parts of both A-levels and T-levels” – the academic rigour of the former and the occupational standards provided by the latter. In this way, the new proposals build on the principles of the “<a href="https://schoolsweek.co.uk/a-british-baccalaureate-for-schools-what-you-need-to-know/">British Baccalaureate</a>” proposed by Sunak during his first, unsuccessful, leadership bid in 2022.</p>
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<p>Reforms of post-16 education are long overdue. The current system – in which students choose three or four A-levels as an academic preparation for higher education, or a single vocational subject linked to the workplace – is unnecessarily divisive and limiting. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://ijelt.dundee.ac.uk/articles/10.5334/ijelt.39">research</a> suggests that young people are highly aware that vocational qualifications are sometimes seen as second-best by schools, teachers, parents and universities. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32lebdCymaw">Sunak argues</a> that the ABS will give technical qualifications the respect they deserve.</p>
<h2>Cross-party consensus?</h2>
<p>The timescale for introducing this new qualification raises questions over how likely these plans are to happen if the Conservatives fail to win the next general election. A change of government could lead to plans for the new qualification being amended or scrapped altogether.</p>
<p>However, a Labour government might see the attraction in retaining aspects of the ABS. Recent comments from the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, and the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, suggest they share similar concerns about the academic and vocational divide in post-16 education.</p>
<p>In July 2023, <a href="https://labour.org.uk/press/keir-starmer-unveils-labours-mission-to-break-down-barriers-to-opportunity-at-every-stage/">Starmer spoke</a> of his desire to get rid of “the snobbery that looks down on vocational education” and give children a “grounding” in both academic and vocational subjects. </p>
<p>And in May 2023, Burnham <a href="https://greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/media/7867/toward-1.pdf">revealed his plans</a> for a Manchester Baccalaureate for 14- to 16-year-olds. These proposals, currently at consultation stage, suggest creating two different but equal pathways for students choosing GCSE subjects - one academic, one technical. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/manchester-baccalaureate-how-the-proposed-vocational-gcse-route-would-work-and-the-pitfalls-it-must-avoid-208778">Manchester Baccalaureate: how the proposed vocational GCSE route would work – and the pitfalls it must avoid</a>
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<p>This is actually not the first time the UK government has considered combining academic and vocational routes into one qualification. The 2004 <a href="https://education-uk.org/documents/pdfs/2004-tomlinson-report.pdf">Tomlinson report</a>, commissioned by a Labour government, also recommended the creation of a single diploma framework that would replace GCSEs, A-levels and vocational qualifications. This diploma was to have four different levels, allowing learners to progress at their own pace, and fewer exams.</p>
<p>Like the proposals for the ABS, Tomlinson’s recommendations were envisaged to take ten years to come into full effect. But while the diploma was first offered as an option from 2008, it was withdrawn in 2013. </p>
<p>One of the reasons for its failure was the refusal of some universities to <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/universities-take-little-interest-in-14-19-diplomas-study-finds/401909.article">accept the qualification</a>. This suggests that the success of a system like the ABS depends on it being a replacement for A-levels – as Sunak has proposed – not an alternative. </p>
<p>Questions also remain about how much the new qualification will benefit the young people who would have chosen a vocational route. Instead of one subject in depth as part of a vocational qualification, learners will now have to study four or five, suggesting the option to specialise may be reduced. </p>
<p>Young people who may have looked forward to leaving maths or English behind after GCSEs, feeling that academic study of these subjects did not suit them, will now have to take both until 18. </p>
<p>It remains to be seen how well GCSEs will prepare students for the new ABS.</p>
<p>A number of details about the new proposals are yet to be clarified. However, with both the Conservative and Labour parties now talking of major reforms to 16-19 education, it seems that change may (eventually) be in the offing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215022/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Gregory does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The proposal could be the radical change the education system needs.Elizabeth Gregory, Lecturer in Education, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2072592023-09-27T14:07:16Z2023-09-27T14:07:16ZThreats of failure motivate some students – but it’s not a technique to use on the whole class<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550307/original/file-20230926-17-xaszft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5360%2C3562&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teenage-students-listening-male-teacher-classroom-769521343">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is the start of a new academic year, and a fresh group of students will be beginning study towards their GCSEs. After two years, they will be taking exams with important consequences: the results can allow them to carry on in education or go on to certain careers. </p>
<p>Part of the work of teachers is to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02643944.2018.1453858">encourage their students</a> to pay attention and fully engage in lessons so that they achieve the best grades possible. They might emphasise to them how important <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2215091920300018">GCSEs are for their future</a>. For example, teachers might point out how good grades can lead to access to college courses, apprenticeships, and the workplace. </p>
<p>And in dwelling on the importance of GCSEs, teachers may <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01443410.2012.659845">also use messages</a> that focus on the possible negative effects of failure. These include things like: “If you do not work hard, you will fail your GCSEs and you will not get into college.”</p>
<p>We <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fedu0000741">researched</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2215091920300018">how students interpret</a> these motivational strategies from their teachers and found that while <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01443410.2012.659845">warnings of failure</a> are likely to encourage some pupils to work hard, it’s not a message that should be delivered to the whole class. </p>
<h2>Fear appeals</h2>
<p>Messages from teachers that focus on failure are known as “fear appeals”: they can create a strong fear of failure in students. Teachers use fear appeals more often when they believe that students will interpret the message <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-018-9448-8">as threatening</a> and when they believe their class are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0742051X16304735?casa_token=gfqdJaJc1pIAAAAA:9UlZXHp5wWIuBjy5hZPt2zp7V1i_hGY6M0xacOCRqkZNS8aSGyvQBa_6iTAefumZkSoIKAo7M-c">less engaged</a>. The intention may be to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2215091920300018">shock students into engaging</a> in their studies.</p>
<p>Fear can be a powerful motivator. When a student believes that doing well in a test is important, and is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-014-9249-7">optimistic about doing well</a>, a fear appeal – such as: “If you fail your GCSE, you will find it difficult to get a good job” – can be a good thing. It can <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fedu0000741">motivate students to work hard</a>. </p>
<p>We describe this as a student interpreting the message as a challenge. One GCSE student we worked with (in research that is yet to be published) said: “I don’t feel panicked about it at all and I feel quite confident in maths … it gives me motivation to work harder and like learn the topics more and thoroughly.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Stressed teenage girl doing homework" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550561/original/file-20230927-15-829w0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Fear appeals can encourage some students – but reduce motivation in others.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stressed-biracial-teen-girl-student-doing-2210250729">Viorel Kurnosov/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But other students, who also see exam results as very important, may <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-014-9249-7">lack confidence</a> that they will do well. For these students, fear appeals can trigger feelings of <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1348/2044-8279.002005">anxiety</a> and hopelessness. They can <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjep.12334">lose motivation</a>, procrastinate and worry. Ultimately, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fedu0000741">their achievement is lower</a>. </p>
<p>We describe this as a student interpreting the message as a threat. As a <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1348/000709909X426130">GCSE student said</a>: “Every time a teacher tells me exams are near or if you fail you risk not getting a good job I get so scared and sometimes I get so scared and stressed I feel like crying.”</p>
<p>Other students simply disregard fear appeals. They <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-014-9249-7">may not care</a> about their exams, perhaps because they have already disengaged from their studies – or are so supremely confident they have no doubt they will succeed.</p>
<h2>Mixed messages</h2>
<p>This suggests that using the same message to encourage a whole class or year group could be counterproductive. For students who feel confident in their abilities, fear appeals could be the right type of motivational message. </p>
<p>But as it is difficult for teachers to <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1348/000709910X504500?casa_token=ZGc60lQaCzkAAAAA%3AhUm-ZNOGcOwYOXHTYroPjBkpWLe6MYK-qAjnCWFx2yPiKm_4C6eVJCygGndt18iqbJeE-tIqbfKP6A">accurately judge</a> their students’ private self-perceptions, it would be risky to advise the use of fear appeals on this basis. Students’ levels of belief in their competence also <a href="https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8624.00421">vary over time</a>, and so fear appeals could be appropriate at one time but not another.</p>
<p>One option, of course, would be to switch a fear appeal to a more positive message, such as: “If you work hard, you will get the grades you need for college.” But our research shows that students respond to messages like this in a <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjep.12117">similar way to fear appeals</a>. Success-focused messages are still pressuring messages. </p>
<p>A more <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220973.2018.1448745">useful approach</a> could be to increase the chance that students interpret messages like this as a challenge rather than a threat. One <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09571730701315832">way to do this</a> is to give students a greater feeling of control over their learning and exams. This can be done, for example, by helping students reflect on the ways they learn the content needed for the exam. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09571730701315832">Teacher feedback</a> on the strategies that students use in class can increase their sense of control and their understanding that they can improve their learning techniques.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207259/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Messages from teachers like ‘if you do not work hard, you will fail your GCSEs and you will not get into college’ are known as fear appeals.Laura Nicholson, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Edge Hill UniversityDavid Putwain, Professor in Education, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2136042023-09-20T15:09:10Z2023-09-20T15:09:10ZDon’t blame postwar school building programmes for concrete crisis – the fault lies with decades of neglect and ineffective policy<p>Physical spaces make a <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/infrastructure/blackmorelearningspaces.pdf">difference to education</a>. There are small but fairly reliable correlations between the quality of the buildings where students learn and <a href="https://coebank.org/media/documents/Constructing_Education.pdf">student behaviour, attendance and academic achievement</a>. </p>
<p>In particular, inadequate buildings are linked to poorer outcomes: pupils learning in crumbling classrooms do worse. Students are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0013916503035004007">negatively affected</a> when limited or inappropriate space hinders teaching or learning. </p>
<p>Pupils at schools with Raac, who are now packed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/04/which-schools-in-england-are-affected-by-raac-concrete">into temporary classrooms</a> for subjects like science, or who have lost the <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/schools-closed-due-to-raac-full-list-how-many-affected-aerated-concrete-2586719">use of their library</a>, will be currently experiencing such obstructions to their education.</p>
<p>This relationship between where pupils learn and how well they learn should be a central part of decisions about building, or repairing, schools. And what may seem strange is that this relationship was at the centre of the post-war designs carried out using Raac. The crisis comes not as a result of the decisions made when these schools were built, but from subsequent decades of neglect and changing policy. </p>
<p>The light-build school designs that led to the use of Raac were not the result of mindless penny-pinching. They were the product of a determination to spread the benefits of secondary education across the population after the second world war by <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/englands-schools/englands-schools/">building quickly and relatively cheaply</a>. </p>
<p>The resulting buildings had short lifespans, but were intended to be refurbished or replaced as necessary. This way, they could be <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/media/wwwnclacuk/cflat/files/school-buildings.pdf">responsive to new educational needs</a> and ideas in ways that the more substantial brick buildings of the 19th and early 20th century were not.</p>
<h2>Patchy upkeep</h2>
<p>That such <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED472377">renewal did not happen</a> is obvious to anyone educated in postwar buildings during the 1980s and 1990s. New schools were rare and maintenance was poor. This changed after 2000 – but changes in government and resulting policy change stymied the effectiveness of school building programmes. </p>
<p>Labour established the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which ran from 2003 to 2010. This saw school buildings as an opportunity for change in education. <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED472740.pdf">Government documents</a> talked of “transformation” and favoured tailored, individual design solutions, focusing on a <a href="http://ojs.lexis.srl/index.php/ardeth/article/view/64/60">vaguely defined future</a> rather than current circumstances. There was also an intention to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02680939.2010.513741">address inequality</a> by prioritising areas of <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180876/DFE-00073-2011.pdf">higher deprivation</a>. </p>
<p>The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government elected in 2010 moved fast <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180876/DFE-00073-2011.pdf">to stop BSF</a>. The reasons given included the potential inefficiency of more individual school designs, a lack of clarity about educational “transformation” and a fundamental disagreement with funding not centred on the physical state of the building.</p>
<p>Instead, the government set up the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) which ran until 2021. This time, decisions were to be made objectively on the basis of physical need, with new buildings and maintenance as the data dictated. New schools were intended as a functional response to current needs, rather then for an unknown future. In place of individual tailoring and encouragement for innovation, PSBP provided standardisation and “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/baseline-designs-1120-place-secondary-academic-specialism">baseline designs</a>” for schools. </p>
<p>However, the number of planned <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/06/19-schools-crumbly-concrete-repaires-funding-scrapped-gove/">school repairs</a> was cut. Missing the need to replace Raac systematically further suggests that this programme failed on its own terms.</p>
<h2>No consistency</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14749041211021262">own research</a>, which followed an English school through a PSBP rebuild, showed that teachers liked the traditional design of enclosed classrooms along corridors, as it suits the style of splitting learning into individual subjects that the English exam system rewards.</p>
<p>Of course, these buildings will not work so well if there are curriculum innovations or pedagogical change – and here lies the problem with 21st-century school building in England. </p>
<p>The sorts of political twists and turns that have occurred make it much more difficult to pursue a coherent strategy to make school space work for learning. Policy in other countries has been much more consistent – and innovative. </p>
<p>Australia has followed through on its Building the Educational Revolution programme, with <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1365480219894408">continued investment in flexible designs</a>. Iceland has spent the last two decades progressively developing designs to personalise learning and enable <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/11/503">collaboration between teachers</a>. </p>
<p>By contrast, in England there has been an inability to learn steadily from experience in relation to school buildings but also in education more generally. This is in danger of undermining the efforts of teachers and students. It certainly discourages any sense that it’s worth investing effort in new ways of doing things.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213604/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pamela Woolner receives, or has received, funding from the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Uniion, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the Department for Education, the British Academy and Newcastle University.</span></em></p>The relationship between where pupils learn and how well they learn should be a central part of decisions about building, or repairing, schools.Pamela Woolner, Reader in the Use and Design of Educational Space, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2113702023-09-14T16:15:21Z2023-09-14T16:15:21ZShould you send your child to an academy or a council-run school? Why Ofsted results don’t mean much<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545739/original/file-20230831-21-n7bhi3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4984%2C3325&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-elementary-school-pupils-on-climbing-284502623">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Helping your child choose a new school is a daunting process. You have to take into account catchment areas, how your child will travel to school, and where their friends are going. You may be looking at Ofsted results, exam performance or even the universities that pupils from particular schools go to. </p>
<p>What’s more, there are different types of state school – and you might be wondering if your child would be better off at an academy or a locally controlled, council-run comprehensive school. </p>
<p>There are also a few free, grammar, secondary-modern, specialist, foundation, or university-led schools, which might play into your choice. This (needless) variety of schools applies particularly to the secondary age group in England, but the split between academies and locally controlled schools applies also to the primary sector.</p>
<h2>Academy or council-run?</h2>
<p>Locally run schools are able to work with the local authority and to cooperate between themselves to provide experts to deal with learning challenges or disability. Roaming teachers serve more than one school for rarer topics such as musical instrument tuition. </p>
<p>Academies, on the other hand, have meant different things across different government administrations. </p>
<p>When <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/may/26/what-is-an-academy">academies</a> were first established in 2002 there were only meant to be a few of them. They were designed to be a way to turn failing schools around, through new buildings, new management, new curriculum, and standalone independence. They were answerable directly to central government and so were not part of their local authority. And they were given additional initial and recurrent funding. </p>
<p>Then existing schools, including private ones, were allowed to choose to become academies, even when not deemed to be failing. These were often not disadvantaged schools, and the reason for the scheme became confused. Then came several pushes to make all schools into academies, whether they wanted it or not.</p>
<p>The reason for all of these changes by a Conservative government may have been to remove more schools from Labour local authority control. Another reason given was that the independence of academies was a benefit. </p>
<p>But it was soon learned that schools cannot operate alone. Instead of moving them back to local authority control, the decision was made to group them in chains or <a href="https://www.gov.uk/types-of-school/academies">academy trusts</a>. There is no evidence that the often scattered schools in such chains are better off than they would have been as local cooperative communities.</p>
<h2>Ofsted results</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/analysis-ofsted-inspection-outcomes-school-type-2023">recent report</a> has suggested that schools in England classified as academies had <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/aug/03/council-maintained-schools-in-england-outperforming-academies-in-ofsted-ratings">somewhat worse</a> Ofsted inspection grades than schools still controlled by their local authorities. Ofsted is the government-appointed body used to inspect and judge the quality of schools. </p>
<p>This might suggest that parents should look to choose local council-run schools ahead of academies. But a <a href="https://ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2023/08/are-la-schools-more-likely-to-get-top-ofsted-ratings-than-academies/">re-analysis</a> of the same Ofsted data suggests that the difference between academies and locally controlled schools is much less clear-cut than in the initial report. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Pupils playing musical instruments" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545742/original/file-20230831-23-porohz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545742/original/file-20230831-23-porohz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545742/original/file-20230831-23-porohz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545742/original/file-20230831-23-porohz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545742/original/file-20230831-23-porohz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545742/original/file-20230831-23-porohz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545742/original/file-20230831-23-porohz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">School results depend more on pupil intake than the schools themselves.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teen-student-playing-saxophone-her-school-585788390">DGLimages/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Either way, Ofsted grades are not trustworthy or reliable estimates of school quality. They are far too strongly influenced by the nature of the pupils attending each school. </p>
<p>On average, but only on average, schools find it more challenging to deal with pupils who have additional learning needs or a disability, are low-attaining, come from poor homes, have separated parents, live in state care or are otherwise heavily disadvantaged.</p>
<p>Ofsted does not seem to take these factors into account sufficiently. This means that good Ofsted scores are not fairly spread but are far more likely for suburban, girls-only, selective schools with no long-term poor pupils, for example. Perhaps <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/education-policy">70% of the variation</a> in Ofsted grades can be explained by these factors. </p>
<p>If Ofsted grades do not tell us whether academies or local schools are better, perhaps we should look at exam results. The same problem arises here. School exam outcomes are largely the result of their pupil intake. </p>
<h2>Differences between pupils</h2>
<p>Schools that take high-attaining pupils at age 11 get good exam results when those pupils are aged 16. Schools that take heavily disadvantaged pupils tend to get lower results. So the early academies based on the most disadvantaged schools in the country had lower-than-average results. </p>
<p>Once the disadvantage requirement was dropped, and private schools also became academies, the situation changed. Note that this did not mean that academies had improved educationally – merely that their pupil intake had changed. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244018825171">best estimates</a>, taking prior attainment and all relevant school and pupil characteristics into account, suggest that there are no systematic differences between school types. There is no evidence that either academies or local schools produce better results with equivalent pupils. </p>
<p>As more and different kinds of schools became academies, they became less disadvantaged than many local schools. Now some areas with more academies, especially those that have more recently converted to become academies, take more advantaged pupils. This means that the intakes of council-run schools <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0305764X.2015.1045446">become more disadvantaged</a>.</p>
<p>This kind of <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Making-Schools-Better-for-Disadvantaged-Students-The-International-Implications/Gorard-See-Siddiqui/p/book/9781032262499?utm_source=individuals&utm_medium=shared_link&utm_campaign=B029454_te1_1au_7pp_d876_october2022inproduction">social segregation</a> is undesirable for a national school system. It damages average attainment, pupil prospects, and social cohesion.</p>
<p>So there is no particular educational reason for a family to choose either type of school for their child. But the system would be improved at a stroke if only academies or only local schools existed. All in all, the evolution of the academy programme appears to have done more harm than good.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211370/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Gorard has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to investigate the impact of schooling. </span></em></p>There is no evidence that either academies or local schools produce better results with equivalent pupils.Stephen Gorard, Professor of Education and Public Policy, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2129322023-09-11T09:08:00Z2023-09-11T09:08:00ZConcrete crisis: officials thought asbestos in schools was safe too – the same mistakes have been made over Raac<p>The decision to close some schools and erect emergency structural supports in others just days before the start of a new term appeared to come about suddenly. The announcement followed three recent failures of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), in particular the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-66681702">collapse of a beam in late August</a> at a primary school in Leicester. </p>
<p>The schools minister, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-66680856">Nick Gibbs</a>, said: “Raac that had been considered to be a low risk actually turned out to be unsafe.” </p>
<p>This “low risk” status meant that, if these sudden failures had not happened, no immediate remedial action would have been required in the affected schools. These buildings were effectively classified as “safe enough” – until it became clear that Raac even considered “low risk” by officials could collapse at any moment. </p>
<p>Clearly, what is considered safe can change quickly, when there is new evidence (or new interpretations of evidence). </p>
<p>This situation shows that claims about building safety that rely on managing and mitigating known risks – without fixing or removing them – are inadequate for the people who use those buildings. Buildings classified by technicians or officials as “safe enough” are unlikely to be accepted as such by school workers, children and their families.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J4DNOcuHl1c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Asbestos and school safety</h2>
<p>The UK saw a similar situation in the 1980s. Concerns then were not about crumbling concrete, but another major danger in thousands of schools: <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-danger-of-asbestos-in-uk-schools-i-dont-think-they-realise-how-much-risk-it-poses-to-students-203582">asbestos</a>.</p>
<p>For local authorities and officials, as long as it was monitored and managed, the presence of asbestos was not considered a cause for concern. For parents, teachers and children, this wasn’t good enough assurance. </p>
<p>Working with charities and campaigners, parents and teachers launched protests to challenge official declarations of the risks of asbestos in schools, and ensure their voices were heard in debates about what was considered safe. </p>
<p>Children and parents picketed schools, and parents and teachers organised into asbestos action groups. Some parents withheld their children from school, and in at least one case in the 1990s, as I found in archival research, were faced with legal action by the council. </p>
<p>One of the schools subject to these protests was a primary school in the London borough of Enfield. In response to parents’ campaigning and a report by leading <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/feb/23/nancy-tait">anti-asbestos campaigner Nancy Tait</a>, the council took air samples to detect asbestos fibres within the school. </p>
<p>The data appeared to show that fibre levels were within <a href="https://www.britsafe.org/publications/safety-management-magazine/safety-management-magazine/2014/asbestos-testing-up-in-the-air/">the limits recommended</a> by the health and safety executive at the time. But Tait challenged the assertion that this meant the school was safe. </p>
<p>She highlighted that these “official” limits were based on scientific reports that focused on asbestos factories, not schools or other public buildings where conditions were quite different. They also ignored the growing international consensus that there was no safe level of exposure to asbestos. </p>
<p>Reports, like the one <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/assets/docs/exposure.pdf">cited by Enfield Borough Council</a>, used statistical estimates of the likelihood of someone working in a factory for years or decades being diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease. The key assumption was that a certain amount of death and disease in such an industry was, essentially, inevitable. But when this was applied to schools or other non-industrial settings, that argument was far from convincing. </p>
<h2>Raac and risk</h2>
<p>As recently as 2022, the government has <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmworpen/633/report.html">rejected recommendations</a> by a <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmworpen/560/report.html">parliamentary committee</a> to commit to a 40-year deadline to remove all asbestos in schools. Central to this reasoning is the idea that there is an “acceptable” level of risk for asbestos exposure in schools. The government said that it “currently has a mature and comprehensive plan to managing legacy asbestos risks”.</p>
<p>The danger of the approach of managing – but not removing – risks can be seen in the rapidly spiralling Raac crisis. Like asbestos, a known problem with potentially devastating consequences was considered to be manageable until it was suddenly proven not to be. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Workers in full body protection removing asbestos from a small structure with a corrugated metal roof" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547180/original/file-20230908-29-okjsqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547180/original/file-20230908-29-okjsqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547180/original/file-20230908-29-okjsqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547180/original/file-20230908-29-okjsqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547180/original/file-20230908-29-okjsqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547180/original/file-20230908-29-okjsqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547180/original/file-20230908-29-okjsqi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What is considered ‘acceptable’ risk is different for asbestos workers than for schoolchildren.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/professional-asbestos-removal-men-protective-suits-1385432417">Logtnest/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nancy Tait’s report on the Enfield school included a wealth of evidence, including detailed summaries and reviews of technical literature on asbestos products. It also gave a voice to those directly affected, through the names and stories of 16 people who had died from <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/mesothelioma/">mesothelioma</a> after brief exposures to asbestos. </p>
<p>Putting names to the numbers is an important way to challenge ideas about managing acceptable risk. Campaigners like Tait, who were often affected by asbestos-related disease themselves (her husband died of mesothelioma), were instrumental in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2190/NS.21.4.j">shifting public perceptions</a> of asbestos and the eventual banning of asbestos in the UK in 1999.</p>
<p>The current Raac crisis presents the government with an opportunity to re-evaluate its approach to safety in schools and other public buildings. In addition to technical studies, new understandings of safety should be developed by engaging with affected communities – in this case, the thousands of families whose children are now displaced from their school buildings at short notice.</p>
<p>The Raac scandal lays bare the fallibility of expert evaluations, at significant risk to the public. What is considered safe one day can be considered critically dangerous the next. Continuing to rely on the management of risk only will not result in a safe environment in schools.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212932/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Page does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Raac and asbestos in schools show that ‘official’ declarations of safety are not acceptable to families.Adam Page, Lecturer in Modern British History, University of LincolnLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2128122023-09-06T12:07:35Z2023-09-06T12:07:35ZRaac in UK schools: how poor funding and missing data led to closures<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546459/original/file-20230905-24-zbhy7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=96%2C56%2C5255%2C3506&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/female-student-raising-hand-ask-question-769521358">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In September 2022, schools in England were at <a href="https://theconversation.com/schools-in-england-are-facing-bankruptcy-heres-what-the-government-could-do-to-help-193142">risk of bankruptcy</a> as their day-to-day spending threatened to overtake their regular income. A hasty autumn budget included <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-autumn-statement-means-for-financially-struggling-schools-195029">additional revenue funds</a> for schools, coming as a relief to many school leaders.</p>
<p>Twelve months later the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/03/jeremy-hunt-under-fire-after-treasury-says-no-new-cash-to-fix-raac-in-schools">is under pressure</a> to dig deep into his coffers again. This time, schools are hoping for capital funds – money to rebuild school buildings where they present a danger to children.</p>
<p>Usually, discussions of school funding focus on revenue funding, which is related to pupil numbers and pays for salaries and other running costs. Capital funding, for expensive one-off projects, rarely hits the news. But the issue of dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) made headlines when the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-guidance-for-schools-impacted-by-raac">government announced</a>, in the last week of the school holidays, that some schools would have to close partially or wholly until they could be made safe. </p>
<p>Multimillion-pound new build projects are driven by national policy, not local decisions. Significant maintenance work is too costly for the majority of school budgets, so responsibility rests with the government.</p>
<p>Leaving aside timing and the impact on children’s education, there is an important question that must be answered, to hold successive governments to account and to stop such a situation arising again: how did schools come to be in such a poor state of repair?</p>
<h2>Schools in disrepair</h2>
<p>The school estate in England includes all 21,600 state-funded schools (whether they are maintained by an academy trust or a local authority), educating 8.3 million pupils. Many schools were built in the mid-20th century, and a <a href="https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/condition-of-school-buildings-summary.pdf">National Audit Office (NAO) report</a> suggests that more than a third of school buildings are now past their initial design life – and becoming increasingly expensive to maintain properly. </p>
<p>The fact that schools are in disrepair is not news – it has been the case for many years. But it has not been addressed for two fundamental reasons: lack of data and lack of funding.</p>
<p>The government does not have enough information about the actual state of school buildings across the country. The <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180876/DFE-00073-2011.pdf">2011 James review</a> noted that the quality of maintenance across the school estate varied, but that “no good quality data is collected” on the condition of schools. </p>
<p>Eleven years later, the NAO notes that the government still does not have the information required to manage potential risks. These risks include not just Raac, but also other <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-danger-of-asbestos-in-uk-schools-i-dont-think-they-realise-how-much-risk-it-poses-to-students-203582">hazards such as asbestos</a>.</p>
<p>The Department for Education (DfE) carried out a <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf">condition survey of schools</a> in 2021. But its findings do little to convey the detailed knowledge that would be needed to plan a strategic, school-by-school refurbishment and rebuilding programme. Instead, schools have had to bid for money ad hoc if they felt they had a particular need.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students in uniforms and backpacks walking up and down a stairwell in a school" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546467/original/file-20230905-29-6jxdox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546467/original/file-20230905-29-6jxdox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546467/original/file-20230905-29-6jxdox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546467/original/file-20230905-29-6jxdox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546467/original/file-20230905-29-6jxdox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546467/original/file-20230905-29-6jxdox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546467/original/file-20230905-29-6jxdox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The government does not have enough data to come up with a comprehensive plan to repair schools.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-teenage-students-uniform-walking-between-779645437">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Regarding Raac in particular, schools minister <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-04-14/180589">Nick Gibb stated</a> that the DfE “only holds partial data”. His department is asking schools to complete a questionnaire to identify the greatest needs. Teaching <a href="https://www.ascl.org.uk/ASCL/media/ASCL/News/Press%20releases/Joint-union-letter-to-Sec-of-State-RAAC-in-schools-04-Sept-2023.pdf">unions have expressed concern</a> about school leaders having to make assessments without the relevant expertise, and note that 1,500 schools have yet to complete the survey.</p>
<p>Although the government says it has known about Raac in public buildings <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/04/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/">since 1994</a>, it did not begin to monitor it in schools until 2018. In 2022 it issued <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1182192/GUIDE-DFE-XX-XX-T-X-9002-Reinforced_Autoclaved_Aerated_Concrete_Identification_Guidance-A-C02.pdf">technical guidance</a> to schools, asking them to report possible Raac in their buildings. The government says that recent cases of crumbling concrete led to a “loss of confidence”, resulting in hurried orders to vacate affected buildings.</p>
<h2>Lack of funding</h2>
<p>This poor knowledge about school conditions was the undoing of Labour’s ambitious Building Schools for the Future programme, which was launched in 2004 with the aim of rebuilding every secondary school in England over 20 years. This was complemented by a programme for primary schools, and by 2009-10 capital spending was at an <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/articles/decline-spending-school-buildings">all-time high of £10 billion</a> (in today’s prices).</p>
<p>The incoming coalition government, however, felt that money was not being targeted appropriately, and that much was being lost in bureaucracy. In 2010, Michael Gove, then secretary of state for education, scrapped the scheme, saying that it was not prioritising the schools in the <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110719/debtext/110719-0001.htm#11071988000003">worst condition</a>. He later described this decision as <a href="https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/gove-i-regret-scrapping-building-schools-for-the-future">one of his worst mistakes</a>, though remained of the view that it was right to save public money.</p>
<p>Thirteen of the schools with Raac were <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-66723054">approved for rebuilding</a> under Building Schools for the Future, but had their funding withdrawn when the scheme was scrapped.</p>
<p>The coalition government announced the Priority School Building Programme in 2011 to address the most urgent repair and rebuild needs, but it has seen funding fall to well below the amount needed for the job. The 2020 Schools Rebuilding Programme aims to build 50 new schools a year. But even government ministers cannot agree on how many are <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/schools-concerete-raac-sunak-keegan-b2405097.html">actually needed</a>.</p>
<p>It has been apparent for years that there has not been enough money to keep schools properly maintained. A <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7375/CBP-7375.pdf">House of Commons report</a> stated that from 2010 to 2022, school capital spending decreased by 50% in real terms, reaching its lowest level in 2021-22. Although spending for 2022-23 is 29% higher than the previous year, that still leaves it at two-thirds of the 2009-10 value.</p>
<p>Clearly there are conversations to be had within Whitehall, where the Department for Education <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1125417/DfE_consolidated_annual_report_and_accounts_2021_to_2022_accessible.pdf">uses the words “crisis” and “critical”</a> in relation to the risk of school building collapse. Yet the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-hunt-fund-school-repair-treasury-budget-b2404280.html">Treasury says</a> there will be no new money available. A chronic shortfall of both capital funding and system knowledge cannot be allowed to put the education – and lives – of children at risk.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212812/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Rolph does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s not news that Raac is a problem in UK, but funding to fix them is in short supply.Chris Rolph, Director, Nottingham Institute of Education, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2121392023-08-29T15:34:45Z2023-08-29T15:34:45ZHeartstopper: how this joyous teen show contrasts with my bitter memories of school life under homophobic law Section 28<p><em>This article contains spoilers for seasons one and two of Heartstopper.</em></p>
<p>It’s confession time. Despite being well into my fifties, I am a Heartstopper super-fan. For those who don’t know Heartstopper, it is Alice Osman’s Netflix adaptation of their boy-meets-boy graphic novel. Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) and their LGBTQ+ friends come of age and fall in love at school.</p>
<p>I am not the target audience for Heartstopper – the second series of which has recently been released. It is squarely aimed at young people and LGBTQ+ young people in particular. However, I was a secondary school teacher for more than 20 years and Heartstopper to me is a joyous depiction of what teaching and schools could have been, but for me, never was. </p>
<p>This was because almost all my teaching career was spent under a law called Section 28. Between 1988 and 2003, Section 28 of Margaret Thatcher’s <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/9/section/28/enacted">Local Government Act</a> prevented teachers in schools from promoting the acceptability of homosexuality as a “pretended family relationship”.</p>
<h2>Teaching under Section 28</h2>
<p>In my book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pretended-Historical-Cultural-Personal-Perspectives/dp/1915261694">Pretended: Schools and Section 28</a>, I describe the mandated homophobic silence that descended upon every school in Britain. As a teacher in a so-called “pretended family relationship”, I feared constantly that I would lose my job if I was outed at school. </p>
<p>“Pretending” became my MO: I pretended to live alone, I pretended to have boyfriends, I pretended to be too busy to talk to students I thought might be gay and, I am ashamed to say, I pretended not to notice when queer students were being harassed by their peers.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14681811.2019.1585800">My research with other LGBTQ+ teachers</a> shows that Section 28 profoundly affected those who experienced it. I found that 48% of LGBTQ+ teachers who taught under this law sought help for anxiety or depression linked to their role as a teacher and their sexual or gender identity.</p>
<p>My biggest regret as a teacher under Section 28 is that I could not be a positive role model for the young LGBTQ+ people I taught. Thankfully, this law is now long gone from schools and so Charlie, Nick and their queer friends have excellent teacher role models. </p>
<p>The indomitable PE teacher, Miss Singh (Chetna Pandya), ably coaches the boys’ rugby team. When she catches Charlie and Nick kissing after rugby practice, she asks to meet with Nick, the team captain. There is no telling off or warning from Miss Singh. Instead she tells Nick that she met her wife through rugby and we see a framed photograph of the couple on her school desk. If only, I find myself musing as I think back to my time as a PE teacher.</p>
<p>Mr Ajayi (Fisayo Akinade) is the gentle, generous and caring art teacher, whose tiny Pride lapel badge serves as the subtlest reminder to Charlie, Nick and co that he has their backs. When Mr Ajayi finds romance himself with another male teacher, there is no hint of the fear or shame that eventually drove me and countless other LGBTQ+ teachers from careers in teaching. Mr Ajayi is his authentic, queer, brilliant self in his school workplace. If only, I think again.</p>
<p>Charlie, Nick and their friends face challenges whenever they step outside their protective queer bubble. In Heartstopper, the hetero and cis-normative world can still be a perilous place for queer young people. Nick worries constantly about coming out to the school rugby team and his older brother, home from university, is savagely cruel. </p>
<p>Charlie’s mother initially does all she can to stop him seeing Nick, and the mother of Tara, another LGBTQ+ character, forbids her from wearing a suit to prom as she will “look like a lesbian”. In all, the adults make a bit of a mess of things and make life harder than it needs to be for Nick, Charlie and their friends.</p>
<h2>Adult influence</h2>
<p>The Heartstopper friendship bubble is a safe place. The friends have compassion in abundance as they warmly embrace and accept their differences. They show respect, sensitivity and empathy for each other as together they figure out who they are and who they love. They are a nourishing presence in each other’s lives, cheering one other on and picking each other up when things don’t go to plan. When they have each other they do just fine. They don’t do quite so well when the adults intervene.</p>
<p>Since my own Section 28 diaries helped inspire the Bafta-nominated film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8649344/">Blue Jean</a>, many of my former students have been in touch. Several who are LGBTQ+ tell me they were not previously aware of Section 28 but now understand why I and other teachers they suspected were gay never supported them at school. Now, learning something of my own struggles as a teacher, some have thankfully forgiven me for “pretending” and not being the role model they needed in school.</p>
<p>I have started to imagine what impact the forthcoming government trans guidance for schools would have on the young characters in Heartstopper – such as the group’s trans friend Elle (Yasmin Finney). <a href="https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/19/rishi-sunak-trans-schools-guidance/">There are fears</a> that the trans guidance will be a reimagining of Section 28. </p>
<p>Press reports suggested that young trans people would only be able to socially transition at school – take actions such as changing their pronouns and name and changing how they dress – <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-pupils-can-choose-their-uniform-under-guidance-for-schools-p9ftwmwbt">with their parent’s permission</a>. It is of note that the Department for Education missed its own deadline for publishing the guidance, when the <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-gender-guidance-schools-uk-pupils-pronouns-transition-2023-3w6qdskpc">attorney general advised</a> that possible stricter measures, such as a proposed ban on social transition at school, was in breach of the government’s own Equality Act.</p>
<p>Season two of Heartstopper teaches us that young queer people are doing a brilliant job of supporting each other as they figure out their sexual and gender identities. It is the adults who have lots to learn. Heartstopper also shows us that without government intervention on sexual or gender identities, schools have become much more nurturing, safe and inclusive places for LGBTQ+ staff and students than the schools I remember during Section 28.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212139/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act prevented teachers in schools from promoting the acceptability of homosexuality as a ‘pretended family relationship’.Catherine Lee, Professor of Inclusive Education, PVC Dean Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2118042023-08-23T13:24:23Z2023-08-23T13:24:23ZGCSE results 2023: how the qualification is failing disadvantaged young people<p>All the teenagers collecting their GCSE results this year have overcome significant difficulties. Their secondary school education has been thrown into upheaval by COVID-19: they have faced cancelled classes, have had to learn from home, have dealt with the social isolation and uncertainty of spending a significant part of their childhood in a pandemic.</p>
<p>But in England, these students have been marked to match a cohort of students who faced none of these challenges. Like <a href="https://theconversation.com/exam-results-2023-how-to-make-sense-of-grade-deflation-as-a-grades-fall-211708">A-level grades</a>, GCSE results in England will see grade deflation: after higher grades were awarded during the pandemic, marks in 2023 will be brought down to be more in line with those given in 2019. </p>
<p>This approach treats the 2020 and 2021 results as though they are somehow less valid. But the teacher assessment used to grade GCSEs in those years allows pupils’ results to be based on their work across the school year, rather than in three hours of exams. I have argued that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-pandemic-gcse-and-a-level-experiment-what-if-we-never-went-back-to-the-old-system-165838">we should preserve</a> this more equitable, inclusive and thorough way of assessing students. </p>
<h2>Maintaining inequality</h2>
<p>Some teenagers will be celebrating as the 2023 results are handed out and their achievements should be lauded. Others will not be so happy. </p>
<p>The grade-deflated A-level results already handed out this year show that the achievement gap between the wealthier south of England and the poorer north-east has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/aug/17/a-level-results-reflect-inequalities-across-uk-after-challenging-years">continued to increase</a>.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it is likely that the lower GCSE grades awarded as a result of grade deflation will be disproportionately handed out to teenagers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/aug/14/disadvantaged-students-to-bear-brunt-of-grade-deflation-say-experts">from poorer backgrounds</a>, who may have lacked the resources to catch up as quickly as their wealthier peers.</p>
<p>This will continue a pattern that sees GCSEs perpetuate inequality. Success is directly linked to parental <a href="https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/36733">socio-economic status</a>. Three decades after their introduction, working-class students continue to gain fewer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/nov/21/english-class-system-shaped-in-schools">high-graded GCSEs</a>. Similarly, children in social care are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/aug/22/children-referred-to-social-care-twice-as-likely-to-fail-gcse-maths-and-english">far more likely</a> to fail crucial subjects such as English and maths. </p>
<p>This is the opposite of what GCSEs were intended to achieve. They were launched in 1986 as a single qualification for all at the end of compulsory schooling. Before GCSEs, there were a <a href="https://www.aqi.org.uk/blogs/the-birth-of-gcses-what-were-the-reasons-for-gcses/">range of different qualifications</a> at 16, and an advantage for more affluent students with clear professional and university ambitions. </p>
<h2>The failure of GCSEs</h2>
<p>GCSEs were meant to provide a robust and respected qualification for all students, despite their different interests and aspirations. They included coursework and exams, and were meant to be inclusive, promote greater social justice and break down years of educational stratification.</p>
<p>But instead of fulfilling their promise of greater opportunities, GCSEs have become part of an entrenched educational system that rations future success for young people.</p>
<p>In 2013, then education secretary Michael Gove introduced the first in a series of reforms that would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/jun/11/michael-gove-gcse-reforms">reverse the initial GCSE vision</a> of a qualification reflecting broader forms of learning and achievement. Gove removed coursework assessment and brought back the single, high-stakes exam, and justified such changes as a response to perceived falling standards.</p>
<p>When <a href="https://journals.lwbooks.co.uk/forum/vol-55-issue-3/article-5613/">GCSEs were introduced</a> they were also intended to be marked on a <a href="https://www.aqi.org.uk/blogs/the-birth-of-gcses-what-were-the-reasons-for-gcses/">criterion-based system</a>. This means that students should be assessed against clear marking criteria, and not against one another. Assessing students in relation to one another, in other words ranking, is known as norm-based assessment. Giving grades by ranking is problematic because <a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-from-exam-results-crisis-the-way-students-work-is-assessed-needs-to-change-144710">there is no fixed standard against which students are assessed</a>.</p>
<p>This means that what a student has to do to receive an A in one year can vary from that required by a different student in another year: because both marks reflect a ranking, rather than a fixed standard of achievement. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/exam-results-2023-how-to-make-sense-of-grade-deflation-as-a-grades-fall-211708">Exam results 2023: how to make sense of 'grade deflation' as A grades fall</a>
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<p>Understanding this distinction between marking to criteria and ranking is necessary in order to understand the profound injustice wrought upon this generation of GCSE candidates by the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-58734418">government-driven insistence on decreases in overall GCSE grades</a>. </p>
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<p>Such a government directive immediately undermines standards – despite claims to be a robust defence of standards – because it breaks the link between grades and demonstration of fixed and transparent marking criteria. We know that exam boards are going to have to use some norm-based measures in order to meet the government directive. </p>
<p>In other words, no matter what these young people write on their exam scripts, no matter their achievements, no matter the learning that they demonstrate, there will be an overall “marking down”.</p>
<p>Beware the proffered excuse that this is correcting the indulgences of the pandemic years. Today’s GCSE students are also of the COVID generation. We must reflect on why we would want an educational system that mandates what 16-year-olds will be awarded, regardless of their actual academic achievements.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211804/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jan McArthur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Grades in 2023 will be brought in line with those given in 2019.Jan McArthur, Head of Department and Senior Lecturer in Education and Social Justice, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.