tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/department-for-education-83208/articlesDepartment for Education – The Conversation2024-02-21T17:44:12Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228402024-02-21T17:44:12Z2024-02-21T17:44:12ZFuture graduates will pay more in student loan repayments – and the poorest will be worst affected<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575972/original/file-20240215-26-nsgaaw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C12%2C8179%2C5444&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/frustrated-woman-shocked-by-bad-news-2391411187">IndianFaces/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Lots of people are hoping to see a tax cut in their payslips after the British government announces its annual budget in March. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has said he wants to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/07/rishi-sunak-says-he-wants-to-cut-workers-taxes-this-year-and-may-reduce-benefits">reduce the tax burden</a> on workers, at a time when the country is paying more of the money it makes to the Treasury than at any time since the second world war. </p>
<p>But in all the discussion about tax cuts, what’s rarely talked about is the fact that last year the government made a change to student loan conditions that means millions of future graduates will get less money in their pay packets – and pay much more to the government over their lifetimes. What’s more, this will affect mostly low and middle earners, while some of the highest earners will actually pay less.</p>
<p>In 2023, the <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/08/01/how-are-student-loans-changing-everything-you-need-to-know/">government introduced</a> the biggest reforms to the student loans system in England in over a decade, in order to increase the proportion of student loan debt that is eventually repaid.</p>
<p>Students starting university from August 2023 will have to make loan repayments for longer – 40 rather than 30 years. And they will start repaying when their salary reaches £25,000, rather than nearly £30,000 under the previous system. </p>
<p>How <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/08/01/how-are-student-loans-changing-everything-you-need-to-know/">interest is charged</a> has also changed. Previously, higher earners paid more interest, but now new borrowers will pay the same rate, which is linked to a measure of inflation (the rate at which prices go up). </p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-young-workers-are-leaving-fossil-fuel-jobs-and-what-to-do-if-you-feel-like-climate-quitting-214759">Why young workers are leaving fossil fuel jobs – and what to do if you feel like ‘climate quitting’</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-challenge-toxic-behaviour-and-help-someone-being-bullied-or-harassed-at-work-214524">How to challenge toxic behaviour and help someone being bullied or harassed at work</a></em></p>
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<p><a href="https://ifs.org.uk/articles/student-loans-england-explained-and-options-reform">Research from</a> the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that 79% of new borrowers will repay their student loans in full, compared with just 49% of those who took out their loans before August 2023.</p>
<p>Good news for the government, which will get more money back. But some economists have described the reforms as “<a href="https://londoneconomics.co.uk/blog/publication/alternative-options-for-higher-education-fees-and-funding-for-england-may-2023/">deeply regressive</a>” for penalising poorer graduates. </p>
<p><a href="https://ifs.org.uk/publications/student-loans-reform-leap-unknown">One analysis</a> estimates that low-to-middle earners could end up repaying on average around £30,000 more over their lifetimes due to the extended repayment period. Meanwhile, high earners could repay £20,000 less due to the lower interest rate and their ability to pay off their loans quicker.</p>
<h2>Things are getting worse</h2>
<p><a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01079/SN01079.pdf">Most students</a> in England borrow from the Student Loans Company to cover the cost of tuition fees and receive a maintenance loan to use towards their living costs. They later repay loans by having a certain amount taken out of their wages every month, meaning they experience repayments like a tax. </p>
<p>And, like tax, the amount they pay is calculated based on what they earn above a certain threshold. If they don’t earn enough, they don’t have to pay. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/previous-annual-repayment-thresholds">The threshold</a> at which repayments start used to rise every year in line with average earnings growth. But in 2021 it was frozen at £27,295. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I <a href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CLS-Working-Papers-2024-1-Sample-representativeness-and-data-quality-in-the-linked-Next-Steps-survey-and-Student-Loans-Company-administrative-data.pdf">have estimated</a> that the repayment threshold would have been £29,860 this year if the freeze had not been implemented. And so those with loans are paying a higher proportion of their income in repayments each month. </p>
<p>For students starting university from August 2023 things look even worse, because the repayment threshold has been reduced to £25,000 and frozen for at least the next three years. With the repayment period extended to 40 years, this means borrowers will be forced to repay even more of their income each year and could be repaying student loans <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/articles/student-loans-england-explained-and-options-reform">into their sixties</a>.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1058933/Higher_education_policy_statement_reform_consultation_-_Equality_analysis.pdf">government analysis</a> reported that those with lower lifetime earnings would be the most negatively affected, including more women and people from ethnic minority groups. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CLS-Working-Papers-2024-1-Sample-representativeness-and-data-quality-in-the-linked-Next-Steps-survey-and-Student-Loans-Company-administrative-data.pdf">new research</a>, suggests that those who will have to make repayments under the new system who wouldn’t have before, are more likely to be from marginalised groups or in precarious work.</p>
<p>The study, which has not yet been reviewed by other academics but released as part of UCL’s Centre for Longitudinal Studies working paper series, used data from the <a href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/next-steps/">Next Steps</a> study which, since 2004, has followed the lives of over 16,000 people born in 1989-90 up to the present day. We focused on data collected in 2015-16, when participants were aged 25. </p>
<p>We found that compared with higher earners, those drawn in to making repayments under the new system were more likely to be from an ethnic minority or a more disadvantaged background, such as those previously eligible for free school meals. They were much more likely to work part time or have a temporary or zero-hours contract, and were also more likely to be in education while also working.</p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>Some researchers have proposed a <a href="https://londoneconomics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/London-Economics-Options-for-English-HE-fees-and-funding-03-05-2023.pdf">stepped repayment system</a>, similar to tax thresholds. Low and middle earners would repay a lower proportion of their income (for instance 3%-7%), while high earners would repay at the maximum rate of 9%. </p>
<p>However, they also recommend introducing a higher interest rate on student loans, in order to support the aim of increasing the proportion of student loan debt that is eventually repaid. This would slow down the rate at which high earners pay off their student loans, and could even fund the re-introduction of means-tested maintenance grants for students from poorer backgrounds attending university. </p>
<p>Another option would be to raise the income repayment threshold, at least in line with inflation. The threshold exists to protect borrowers with no or low income. But, especially given the recent rise in the cost of living, it is unclear whether the reformed threshold is serving this purpose. </p>
<p>As they currently stand, the recent reforms mean that new graduates will be losing a higher proportion of their income than before and will be paying back loans for much longer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222840/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlotte Booth 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>Forget tax cuts: students will pay more of their future income in loan repayments – and for up to a decade longer.Charlotte Booth, Research Fellow in Quantitative Social Science, UCLLicensed 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/2206132024-01-25T12:21:02Z2024-01-25T12:21:02ZHow the tide turned on transgender support charity Mermaids<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568172/original/file-20240108-20-cwznj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C26%2C5955%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/lgbt-pride-flag-symbol-lesbian-gay-1722901423">BlurryMe/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The charity Mermaids, which offers support services to transgender young people and their caregivers in the UK, was once portrayed in the media as a respected source of advice and information. But by 2022, this had changed. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17405904.2023.2291136?src=exp-la">Our recent study</a> showed that negative attention to the charity peaked in 2022, a year that saw British newspapers regularly publishing stories that helped establish an image of Mermaids as a danger to young people. Similar complaints and concerns from members of the public led the Charity Commission to open a regulatory compliance case on Mermaids, in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63081644">late September 2022</a>.</p>
<p>Our findings show how some media outlets have used negative representations of Mermaids to imply that those who support trans young people are untrustworthy. Such representations have threatened to turn the organisation into a weapon against the very people it is trying to help. </p>
<p>In the past decade, there has been a significant increase in media attention on transgender people and the issues that affect them, something that has been noted <a href="https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/news/exclusive-mermaids-research-into-newspaper-coverage-on-trans-issues/">in research</a> commissioned by Mermaids and carried out by linguistics professor Paul Baker.</p>
<p>Studies have also shown how these media representations of transgender people <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14680777.2022.2097727">often dehumanise</a> them, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460717740259">ignore and disregard</a> their identities, and characterise them as either <a href="https://glaad.org/publications/victims-or-villains-examining-ten-years-transgender-images-television">victims or villains</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/news/exclusive-mermaids-research-into-newspaper-coverage-on-trans-issues/">Representations of young transgender people</a> have tended to be more positive, or at least neutral. Yet news stories often suggest that their efforts to transition, for example through the adoption of a new name or clothing choices, should not be supported. </p>
<h2>Increasing interest</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17405904.2023.2291136?src=exp-la">Our study</a> showed that Mermaids became the subject of particularly intense media scrutiny in late 2022. At this time, news articles and opinion pieces were calling into question the charity’s legitimacy and authority, with particular attention to their support of young people’s decisions and preferences around clothing and names. The Times and Telegraph published numerous reports in the autumn of 2022 that called Mermaids’ practices a “danger” to young people. </p>
<p>For example, in October 2022 the Daily Telegraph published an article titled “Trans charity helping 16-year-olds legally change names in secret”, which also states that Mermaids “gave potentially dangerous chest-flattening devices to 14-year-olds against their parents’ wishes”.</p>
<p>Chest binders were a particular focus in many articles. Our research shows that the frequency of the word “binder” dramatically increased in 2022 articles about Mermaids. Binders are tight-fitting items of clothing that some trans and gender questioning young people wear in order to minimise <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gender-dysphoria/#:%7E:text=Gender%20dysphoria%20is%20a%20term,harmful%20impact%20on%20daily%20life">gender dysphoria</a> and affirm their gender identities. </p>
<p>Many of the articles describe binders as destructive, powerful mechanisms that are dangerous to young people. They focus on physical health problems, such as musculoskeletal and breathing issues, which can result from unsafe or unregulated binding.</p>
<p>The articles do not tend to acknowledge the harm that can be caused by gender dysphoria, or by attempting to bind the chest without adult supervision. <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/trgh.2018.0017">Research has shown</a> that the potential for health risks may be worsened if young people try to hide their use of a binder from adults, instead of discussing how to use one safely. </p>
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<img alt="Happy young people dancing at an outdoor event." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568174/original/file-20240108-156527-ff2c23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568174/original/file-20240108-156527-ff2c23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568174/original/file-20240108-156527-ff2c23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568174/original/file-20240108-156527-ff2c23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568174/original/file-20240108-156527-ff2c23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568174/original/file-20240108-156527-ff2c23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568174/original/file-20240108-156527-ff2c23.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">New guidance to schools takes a restrictive approach to gender transitions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-young-people-dancing-outdoor-festival-2192448719">Tint Media/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Mermaids <a href="https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/news/statement-in-response-to-a-telegraph-article-published-sunday-25-september/">responded to the Telegraph</a> article by clarifying that they are working to reduce harm for young people. They note that providing “comprehensive safety guidelines from an experienced member of staff is preferable to the likely alternative”. Mermaids’ guidance says it is important to follow safety tips such as limiting use as much as possible in warm weather, even if you’re struggling with gender dysphoria.</p>
<h2>Changing perspectives</h2>
<p>The services offered by Mermaids have remained largely unchanged over the years. However, when we <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17405904.2023.2291136?src=exp-la">investigated the representation</a> of Mermaids in British newspapers, we found there hadn’t always been such high levels of negative attention. </p>
<p>Between 2015 and 2016, during their first year operating as a charity, there was hardly any interest in Mermaids’ activities. Where it was mentioned, the organisation was usually represented as a valuable support service. </p>
<p>In 2018, media interest increased significantly after the release of Butterfly, an ITV drama about a trans young person and their family. In the same year, the National Lottery announced they would be awarding a grant of £500,000 to support Mermaids’ work through the Big Lottery Fund. </p>
<p>While newspapers were still signposting Mermaids as a source of information and support at this time, there was also resistance to the charity’s growing recognition and positive reputation. For example, the Sunday Times reported “an outcry” following the Big Lottery announcement, calling into question the value of Mermaids’ work as a public service.</p>
<p>Between 2019 and 2022, the frequency of articles grew again. 2022 saw the most significant peak in interest, with four times as many articles being published than in the previous year. </p>
<p>In late November 2022, the Charity Commission opened a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulator-announces-statutory-inquiry-into-mermaids">statutory inquiry</a> that focused on “newly identified issues about the charity’s governance and management”, including internal issues of equality and diversity amongst staff. The charity’s CEO, Susie Green, resigned in November 2022. </p>
<p>These events further contributed to negative interest in the charity. They were frequently labelled a “<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/02/mermaids-transgender-charity-formal-investigation/">scandal-hit</a>” organisation whose experience with trans young people could not be trusted. The commission has yet to report its findings. </p>
<p>These changing representations of Mermaids are in line with wider shifts in the climate for trans young people in Britain. Just before Christmas, the UK government’s Department for Education released its <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">long-awaited guidance</a> on gender questioning children for schools and colleges in England.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trans-guidance-for-schools-the-voices-of-young-people-are-missing-207663">Trans guidance for schools: the voices of young people are missing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The guidance, which is undergoing public consultation and is not legally enforceable, advises educators to take a restrictive approach to transgender pupils’ social transition at school. The LGBTQ+ charity <a href="https://stonewall.org.uk/about-us/news/not-fit-purpose-stonewalls-response-draft-trans-guidance-schools-england">Stonewall said</a> the guidance has “the potential to have a very chilling effect” akin to section 28, which banned the discussion of same-sex relationships in English schools between 1988 and 2003. </p>
<p>Recent years have seen more awareness of trans identities among the general public, and a <a href="https://gids.nhs.uk/about-us/number-of-referrals/">significant increase</a> in referrals to gender identity services. Much of the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12366421/The-trans-lobby-pushed-double-masectomy-bitterly-regret-Thats-Costas-advert-dangerous-writes-SINEAD-WATSON-detransitioned-woman-double-mastectomy.html">media coverage</a> around trans young people alludes to the potential for regret. </p>
<p>However, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X22005031?via%3Dihub">vast majority</a> of young people who socially transition maintain a stable gender identity into adulthood and a 2021 US study found rates of <a href="https://atm.amegroups.org/article/view/64719/html">post-surgery regret</a> are 0.3%. </p>
<p><a href="https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/news/exclusive-mermaids-research-into-newspaper-coverage-on-trans-issues/">Paul Baker’s research</a> suggested that organisations like Mermaids may be targeted because they can more easily be named and critiqued than trans young people themselves. We would agree. </p>
<p>Discrediting the organisation, not the people, allows journalists to question and oppose young people’s gender identities without breaking media <a href="https://www.ipso.co.uk/media/1275/guidance_transgender-reporting.pdf">guidelines</a> for reporting about trans people and children. </p>
<p>The dominant image of Mermaids as a dangerous and controversial organisation has probably contributed to a growing culture of fear and suspicion around trans young people and those who support them. </p>
<p>Hardly a negative word has been directed towards transgender young people, yet the seeds of mistrust, in anyone who upholds their identities and choices, have been firmly planted by the British media. </p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to add details of the Charity Commission’s ongoing regulatory compliance case and statutory inquiry into Mermaids.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220613/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>Research shows how the group once portrayed as a respected source of advice began to be seen by some outlets as a danger to young people.Aimee Bailey, Lecturer in English Language, De Montfort UniversityJai Mackenzie, Senior Lecturer in Applied Writing and Humanities, Newman UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2164082023-11-08T16:41:27Z2023-11-08T16:41:27ZGovernment’s pandemic catch-up tutoring programme is still failing to meet the mark<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557092/original/file-20231101-17-59ic0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5982%2C3997&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/high-school-college-students-studying-reading-770131126">Joyseulay/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A government scheme to help children catch up with schooling they missed during the pandemic is still struggling to help those most in need.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6530d24692895c0010dcba04/Independent_Evaluation_of_the_National_Tutoring_Programme_Year_2_Impact_Evaluation.pdf">recent independent evaluation</a> of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tutoring-programme-guidance-for-schools-2022-to-2023/national-tutoring-programme-guidance-for-schools-2022-to-2023">National Tutoring Programme</a> has assessed the impact of the catch-up strategy in 2021-22, its second year. It has found that while some improvements were made by some children and schools, the overall impact of the scheme has been small. </p>
<p>This follows a <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/9251/documents/160043/default/">critical report</a> delivered by the House of Commons education committee after the first year of the programme, which stated that it “appears to be failing the most disadvantaged”. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tutoring-programme-guidance-for-schools-academic-year-202324/national-tutoring-programme-guidance-for-schools-academic-year-202324">Funding for the National Tutoring Programme</a> is focused on schools with pupils qualifying for the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium">pupil premium</a> payment. These are children who have been eligible for free school meals and children who are or have been in care. </p>
<p>The programme offers <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tutoring-programme-guidance-for-schools-2022-to-2023/national-tutoring-programme-guidance-for-schools-2022-to-2023">three approaches</a> to additional support for pupils. Schools with the most disadvantaged pupils are able to access academic mentors: full-time, in-house staff members employed to provide intensive support to pupils who need it. </p>
<p>A second route is the use of tuition partners, tutors recruited by external, Department for Education-approved tutoring organisations. </p>
<p>The third approach, introduced by the government for the second year of the programme, is school-led tutoring. Schools recruit and train staff of their choosing to give additional help for children.</p>
<p>Small improvements were found in mathematics for pupils and schools who had participated in school-led tutoring. This was the equivalent of about an additional month’s worth of academic progress or less, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6530d24692895c0010dcba04/Independent_Evaluation_of_the_National_Tutoring_Programme_Year_2_Impact_Evaluation.pdf">evaluation</a> found. </p>
<p>There was some improvement in English in schools after school-led tutoring, though again for the equivalent of a month or less of additional progress. </p>
<p>Although the study authors state that these figures are likely to be underestimates of the impact of school-led tutoring, <a href="https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/small-group-tuition">research suggests</a> that small-group tutoring can be expected to lead to between two and four months of progress.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Little boy at school writing with teacher helping" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557093/original/file-20231101-29-rjc2u6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557093/original/file-20231101-29-rjc2u6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557093/original/file-20231101-29-rjc2u6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557093/original/file-20231101-29-rjc2u6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557093/original/file-20231101-29-rjc2u6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557093/original/file-20231101-29-rjc2u6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557093/original/file-20231101-29-rjc2u6.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">For some pupils, the scheme didn’t help them catch up.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teacher-male-elementary-school-pupil-problem-450590299">SpeedKingz/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>However, there was a different picture for pupils and schools taking part in the academic mentoring and tuition partners scheme. The evaluation found no evidence that these schemes led to any improvement in English or maths. There was some evidence that they were linked with poorer results. </p>
<p>There are some caveats to the results. For instance, the report’s authors noted that the effect sizes of their results were small, meaning that they did not find strong indications of improvement or decline in attainment and so the results should be treated with caution. </p>
<p>Also, because the children who have been selected to take part in the programme are likely to face a range of challenges to doing well at school, some bias might remain in the results despite efforts to reduce it. </p>
<h2>The right idea</h2>
<p>The principle behind the programme of additional small-group tutoring as a catch-up strategy <a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-loss-the-national-tutoring-programme-for-england-is-a-valuable-step-but-may-not-go-far-enough-149490">is sound</a>. However, the duration of tutoring is a factor in how successful it is. </p>
<p>The report notes that the National Tutoring Programme recommended a course of tuition take place for 12 to 15 hours – but the tutoring time recommended by charity the <a href="https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/small-group-tuition">Education Endowment Foundation</a> is three times a week for up to an hour for ten weeks. </p>
<p>Positives note can be found in a recent <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/653fd1926de3b9000da7a64b/National_Tutoring_Programme_year_3_-_implementation_and_process_evaluation_-_research_report.pdf">survey of schools</a> taking part in the National Tutoring Programme in its third year, 2022-23. This survey indicates that most schools are using the school-led tutoring route, which this analysis showed led to at least some improvement for pupils. </p>
<p>The survey also showed that over a third of schools were offering tutoring courses of longer than 15 hours. </p>
<p>There’s no doubt that a focus on helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds is needed, not least because gaps in attainment persist and in some cases widen. </p>
<p>In summer 2023, government exam regulator Ofqual required exam boards to resume an approach to grading that reflected <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/grading-exams-and-assessments-in-summer-2023-and-autumn-2022">pre-pandemic standards</a>. In the Department for Education’s own analysis of the results from these exams, the <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance-revised">attainment gap</a> between well-off and disadvantaged students is the widest it has been for over a decade. </p>
<p>It seems that measures to improve attainment and close gaps are needed as much now as at any time before or after the pandemic. </p>
<p>The pandemic has had a significant impact on children and young people: not just educationally but also in terms of wellbeing and physical and mental health. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-governments-academic-catch-up-strategy-is-failing-children-in-england-179227">I have previously argued</a> that a strategy which considers all of these elements would be of most benefit to pupils.</p>
<p>Educational recovery should play an important part in a holistic approach to helping disadvantaged pupils after the pandemic. But this tutoring programme should be expected to make a much greater impact.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216408/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helena Gillespie receives funding from TASO and has previously received research funding from the European Union, HEFCE and Advance HE.</span></em></p>While some improvements were made by some children and schools, the overall impact of the scheme has been small.Helena Gillespie, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Student Inclusion and Professor of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of East AngliaLicensed 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/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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<em>
<strong>
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>
</strong>
</em>
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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/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/2108202023-08-03T12:04:05Z2023-08-03T12:04:05ZTeachers in England accept pay settlement, but the issues causing so many vacancies have not gone away<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540882/original/file-20230802-21-7wayc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5112%2C3403&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-children-raising-their-hands-air-1878871078">Juice Verve/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Teachers in England <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2023-07-31/teachers-in-england-end-strikes-in-vote-to-accept-government-pay-rise-offer">have voted</a> to end strike action and accept the government’s offer of a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-teachers-pay-13-july-2023">6.5% pay rise</a>, which is partly supported by new government funding. <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2023-07-31/teachers-in-england-end-strikes-in-vote-to-accept-government-pay-rise-offer">More than 80%</a> <a href="https://schoolsweek.co.uk/ascl-halts-strike-ballot-as-members-accept-6-5-pay-deal/">of teachers</a> who voted in three unions and 77% in the other accepted the pay deal.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-teachers-pay-13-july-2023">joint statement</a> with the prime minister, teachers’ union leaders stated that the pay offer “recognises the vital role that teachers play in our country, and ensures that teaching will continue to be an attractive profession”. </p>
<p>However, in the face of the increased cost of living – as well as challenging working conditions for teachers – it is unclear whether this agreement will be enough to stem the <a href="https://theconversation.com/teacher-recruitment-target-missed-in-england-why-people-dont-want-to-enter-or-stay-in-the-profession-196175">recruitment crisis</a> in English schools. </p>
<h2>Crunching the numbers</h2>
<p>The prime minister and union leaders’ statement described the pay award as “properly funded”. The government has committed to funding the pay rise <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/13/teacher-strikes-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-24-teacher-pay-award/">above 3.5%</a>, with the rest of the rise coming from schools’ existing budgets. </p>
<p>However, with inflation still running well above the 6.5% rate of the rise, some teachers may feel that the government could have gone further. “They could and should have offered more,” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/jul/31/neu-teaching-union-accepts-pay-deal-england-school-strikes">Kevin Courtney</a>, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said. The union’s leaders suggested they would be campaigning for a further increase in pay in next year’s pay round.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1685985248385830914"}"></div></p>
<p>It is unclear whether the agreed pay rise will be sufficient to stem the tide of teachers quitting. Nearly 44,000 teachers throughout England <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england">left in 2022</a>. Amid the rising <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/costofliving/latestinsights">cost of living</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-are-quitting-heres-what-could-be-done-to-get-them-to-stay-202654">research suggests</a> it would take more than a 10% pay rise to significantly affect whether teachers choose to leave the profession. </p>
<h2>Workload issues</h2>
<p>What’s more, while pay was the most significant factor in the dispute, working conditions also played a role in teachers’ decision to strike. Stress levels and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/teacher-recruitment-target-missed-in-england-why-people-dont-want-to-enter-or-stay-in-the-profession-196175">high workload</a> continue to dog the profession. Recently, a House of Commons committee report <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmpubacc/998/summary.html">suggested that</a> the Department for Education (DfE) does not fully appreciate the pressures primary and secondary schools face as they attempt to help pupils catch up their learning after the pandemic. </p>
<p>The government <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/07/13/teacher-strikes-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-24-teacher-pay-award/">has stated</a> that it is establishing a workload-reduction taskforce to help schools, and that its ambition is to reduce teacher workload by five hours a week. But only 18.4% of teachers responding to the NASUWT union’s survey felt the government’s proposals on workload were sufficient. </p>
<p>High workload and stress are significant reasons why people might choose to leave the teaching profession – or not join it in the first place. The <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england#dataBlock-1327e7fb-adfc-4cee-b7d0-fda00a4dbb6a-charts">number of teachers</a> leaving in 2022 was up 7,800 on 2021. And while the number of recruits increased too, the overall number of vacancies was still up year on year. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Stressed woman leaning on ring binders" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540880/original/file-20230802-25888-2pfbly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540880/original/file-20230802-25888-2pfbly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540880/original/file-20230802-25888-2pfbly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540880/original/file-20230802-25888-2pfbly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540880/original/file-20230802-25888-2pfbly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540880/original/file-20230802-25888-2pfbly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540880/original/file-20230802-25888-2pfbly.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">High workload can be a source of stress for teachers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/burning-out-work-580489588">Cineberg/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Teacher training is another issue which may pose problems for recruitment. Institutions that offer initial teacher training must now go through an <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-itt-market-review/initial-teacher-training-itt-market-review-overview">accreditation process</a>, which is carried out by the DfE. </p>
<p>In 2022, 179 course providers were successful in the accreditation process. This is a significant fall from the 240 providers who were offering initial teacher training previously. Institutions that did not receive accreditation, including Durham University, appealed the decision but were <a href="https://schoolsweek.co.uk/itt-review-dfe-rejects-all-accreditation-appeals/">not successful</a>. Some providers that had received <a href="https://schoolsweek.co.uk/snubbed-uni-slams-inconsistent-and-unfair-itt-review-after-good-ofsted/">good Ofsted reports</a> – such as the University of Greenwich – also did not gain accreditation.</p>
<p>Teacher training has a significant task ahead: the DfE has <a href="https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/dfe-secondary-primary-itt-teacher-training-targets">raised its target</a> for initial teacher trainees for secondary schools in the 2023-24 academic year by 26% on the previous year. But the accreditation process for teacher education providers could jeopardise the supply of new teachers.</p>
<p>The end of strike action will come as a relief to many teachers, as well as to children, young people and their families. However, this pay settlement seems unlikely to address the fundamental issues behind the teacher shortage that continues to plague the profession.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210820/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helena Gillespie receives funding from the European Union. Her previous research has been funded by HEFCE and Advance HE.</span></em></p>Teachers may feel that the government could have gone further.Helena Gillespie, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Student Inclusion and Professor of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2026542023-04-17T16:08:42Z2023-04-17T16:08:42ZTeachers are quitting – here’s what could be done to get them to stay<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520554/original/file-20230412-20-ajhtdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1029%2C5499%2C2634&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/diversity-students-learning-classroom-717764518">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each year roughly <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4384939">one in ten</a> state school classroom teachers in England <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england">leave the profession</a>. This is a significant problem when the government continues to <a href="https://theconversation.com/teacher-recruitment-target-missed-in-england-why-people-dont-want-to-enter-or-stay-in-the-profession-196175">miss teacher recruitment targets</a>. Just recently, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged that <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rishi-sunak-maths-teachers-strike-b2321113.html">more teachers are needed</a> to implement his policy of maths education until the age of 18. </p>
<p><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4384928">My research</a>, published in a <a href="https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/research/working-papers/iser">working paper</a> for the Institute for Social and Economic Research and reviewed by colleagues, explores the reasons teachers leave the profession – and the policies that might stop them leaving. </p>
<p>I <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4384928">surveyed over 300 teachers</a> to find out whether and when they intended to leave the profession. I also asked them how likely they might be to leave teaching in a number of different scenarios, such as a salary increase or an increase or decrease in their working hours, and asked about their expectations regarding opportunities in the job market. </p>
<p>My findings show that policies related to reducing teacher working hours and improving the quality of school leaders would be effective. I also found that increasing teachers’ salaries would reduce their intentions of leaving. However, only a large pay rise – over 10% – is likely to have a significant effect. </p>
<p>Salaries play an <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43551547">important role</a> in the decision to go into (and stay in) a profession. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4384928">Teaching is no exception</a>. I found that those who earn more report lower intentions of leaving. </p>
<p>But it is unlikely that the government would consider a pay rise over 10%. <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/03/28/teacher-strikes-latest-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-teacher-pay-offer/">The latest pay offer</a>, made in March 2023 after talks with teaching unions, was 4.5%. Even a modest pay rise, such as 3.5%, would cost the government <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/03/28/teacher-strikes-latest-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-teacher-pay-offer/">almost £500 million a year</a>. </p>
<h2>Good leadership</h2>
<p>School leaders play a particularly important role in teachers’ decision to leave the profession. I found that teachers in schools with a good senior leadership team have lower intentions to leave. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4384928">My research also shows</a> that an improvement in senior leadership quality would have a greater impact on teacher intentions than a 5% pay rise.</p>
<p>While school leaders are among the most influential factors in teachers’ decision to leave the profession, there are not any obvious policy solutions. In this context improving school leadership is mostly reallocative among schools. That is, you improve one school at the expense of another by moving an excellent headteacher between schools.</p>
<p>It is possible that the effect of poor school leadership might be mitigated by training and development for teachers. But there is <a href="https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/jackson-rockoff-staiger-annurev-economics.pdf">not much evidence</a> to show that this kind of <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=8c63564c06becf5e047b38e0ed08c8567e96c10b">training improves</a> teacher performance. </p>
<p>Another option is reducing teachers’ working hours and workloads. This is likely to be the most effective method of stopping teachers leaving. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4384928">The teachers I surveyed</a> reported working an average of <a href="https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/files/working-papers/iser/2023-01.pdf">around 52 hours</a> a week during term time. One quarter said they worked more than 60 hours a week. </p>
<p>I found that a five-hour-a-week reduction in working hours would have a similar effect on teacher retention as a 10% pay rise – and would be significantly cheaper to implement.</p>
<h2>Alternative careers</h2>
<p>As part of <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4384928">my research</a>, I collect data on teachers’ beliefs and expectations about employment opportunities outside of teaching. What teachers believe about the job options available to them outside teaching play an important role in their decision to leave. </p>
<p>On average, teachers expect that if they left the profession for a different job, they would earn £1,500 more each year and work around 10.5 fewer hours each week. But they are actually underestimating how much they could earn in another career. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4384928">I found</a> that the median teacher underestimated the average earnings of someone the same sex and age as them by £6,000. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman looking at laptop screen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520770/original/file-20230413-24-tp6xkz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520770/original/file-20230413-24-tp6xkz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520770/original/file-20230413-24-tp6xkz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520770/original/file-20230413-24-tp6xkz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520770/original/file-20230413-24-tp6xkz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520770/original/file-20230413-24-tp6xkz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520770/original/file-20230413-24-tp6xkz.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">I found that teachers underestimated what they might be able to earn elsewhere.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/web-lecture-focused-young-latina-female-1953916036">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I found that teachers who thought that earnings would be higher in a different profession were more likely to say that they were intending to leave teaching. If teachers’ estimations about their potential earnings in other professions were more accurate, we could expect teachers’ intentions to leave the profession to significantly increase.</p>
<p>The government is fortunate that teachers underestimate their opportunities outside of teaching. They might not be so lucky in the future.</p>
<p>The effect of wages on teachers’ intentions to leave the profession is small and expensive to implement. Other factors such as school leaders and working hours play a larger role in the decision to leave. But this does not mean that the government should continue to <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/articles/what-has-happened-teacher-pay-england">neglect teachers’ pay</a>. </p>
<p>There are wider benefits of paying teachers higher salaries. It improves teacher <a href="https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/does-money-motivate-teachers">motivation</a> and has an impact on <a href="https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/research/publications/working-papers/iser/2021-06">recruitment</a>, attracting candidates of more diversity, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004727271500208X">higher quality</a> and with the ability to fill specific subject shortages. </p>
<p>The government is, at least partially, relying on teachers’ misconceptions about their alternative career opportunities to ensure that schools are appropriately staffed. This is not acceptable. Teachers are highly educated professionals who perform one of society’s most important roles, and their pay ought to reflect that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202654/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>Reducing working hours might encourage teachers to stay.Joshua Fullard, Assistant Professor of Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1989442023-02-02T15:36:48Z2023-02-02T15:36:48ZTeachers go on strike: the challenges facing the schools sector<p>On February 1 2023, teachers in England and Wales joined their Scottish counterparts by going on strike, resulting in widespread school closures. Teachers made up part of an estimated <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/31/up-to-half-a-million-to-strike-across-uk-as-talks-go-backwards">half a million workers on strike</a> across the UK. They are striking for improved <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/when-are-the-teachers-strikes-why-are-they-striking-and-how-is-your-child-affected-12788528">pay and working conditions</a>. </p>
<p>Recent <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/12/20/nurses-and-ambulance-workers-have-most-public-supp">polling</a> by YouGov suggests that about half of the British public support striking teachers and a significant number (44%) blame the government for the strike, rather than the teachers or unions themselves. Only nurses, ambulance staff and firefighters enjoy more public support for their action. </p>
<p>Teachers are, of course, aware of the effect of the action on children and their education. To minimise disruption, no school will be <a href="https://neu.org.uk/press-releases/neu-take-strike-action-over-pay">closed for more than four days in England</a>, but longstanding issues in the profession have now reached a critical point.</p>
<p>Gillian Keegan is the fifth secretary of state for education in the last 12 months. In recent days she has made it clear that she is <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/national-education-union-mary-bousted-clashes-education-secretary-gillian-keegan-teachers-talks-b1057143.html">talking to the teachers’ representatives</a>, but she continues to face significant challenges in ensuring that the education system is meeting pupils’ needs. </p>
<h2>Pay and workload</h2>
<p>A headline issue for <a href="https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-strike-has-teacher-pay-increased-inflation-and-how-does-it-compare-internationally">the strikes is pay</a>. Despite pay rises for teachers in the 2022-23 academic year, these do not meet the current rate of inflation. But pay is only one of the problems for the school sector. </p>
<p>Continuing challenges in <a href="https://theconversation.com/teacher-recruitment-target-missed-in-england-why-people-dont-want-to-enter-or-stay-in-the-profession-196175">recruitment and retention</a> are particularly important. In their first two years after qualifying, 17% of teachers <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7222/CBP-7222.pdf">leave the profession</a>. And the government is unable to recruit enough new teachers to replace them. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7222/CBP-7222.pdf">serious shortages</a> in recruitment for some key secondary school subjects. In the academic year 2022-23, recruitment for computing teachers was 70% under target. For physics teachers, it was 83% under target. There is an overall picture of under-recruitment across the sector.</p>
<p>Another problem facing the minister is teachers’ workload. A <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/919065/TALIS_2018_research_brief.pdf">pre-pandemic survey</a> in England found that secondary teachers working with children aged 11-14 were reporting a working week of, on average, nearly 50 hours. Full-time primary teachers were working over 52 hours a week. </p>
<p>Over half of teachers felt their workload was unmanageable. There is no doubt that the working conditions for teachers must be addressed to improve teacher retention and prevent further attrition. </p>
<h2>Feeling the effects of lockdown</h2>
<p>Meanwhile, the failure of the government’s post-school closures <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmeduc/940/summary.htm">catch up programme</a> is <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/9251/documents/160043/default/">well-documented</a>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/children-lost-one-third-of-a-years-learning-to-covid-new-study-shows-but-we-need-to-think-about-the-problem-differently-198648">The effect of the pandemic school closures</a> and remote learning are still being felt by children. As a result gaps in attainment persist, especially for children already at risk of disadvantage. This puts further pressure on teachers.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-governments-academic-catch-up-strategy-is-failing-children-in-england-179227">The government's academic catch-up strategy is failing children in England</a>
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<p>In addition, the long-term impact of the pandemic is <a href="https://www.youngminds.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/school-staff-warn-of-the-extensive-impact-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-young-people-s-mental-health/">still felt in schools</a>: with mental health services remaining stretched, many teachers are faced with additional challenges in pastoral care. Recently, <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/about-us/news/government-must-deliver-mental-health-plan-say-mental-health-charities">charities called on the government</a> to develop a comprehensive mental healthcare plan, including for children. </p>
<p>Some parents may regard the strikes as disruptive. This action comes as many pupils’ learning and wellbeing remains affected by COVID, so some will question whether teachers are right to strike now. However, teachers argue that they are taking action to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/30/every-year-more-is-asked-teachers-in-england-on-why-they-are-striking">protect vital public services</a> rather than to threaten them. </p>
<p>Undoubtedly, teachers in our schools face significant challenges to meet the educational and pastoral needs of children and young people. Yet the success of our educational system has never been more important as we recover from the economic and social shocks of the last few years. </p>
<p>To produce a generation of young people with the skills, knowledge and ability to meet the needs of the country, the minister for education will need to be able to create the conditions under which teachers can be trained, recruited and retained in the profession.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198944/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helena Gillespie receives funding from the European Union and has previously been funded by Wellcome, AdvanceHE and HEFCE. </span></em></p>Teachers find their workloads difficult to manage – and the government is struggling to recruit people to the sector.Helena Gillespie, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Student Inclusion and Professor of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1961752022-12-19T11:20:53Z2022-12-19T11:20:53ZTeacher recruitment target missed in England – why people don’t want to enter or stay in the profession<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501011/original/file-20221214-18-mu74w7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5607%2C3732&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/pretty-black-woman-having-migraine-85522705">Phovoir/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Department for Education has <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7222/CBP-7222.pdf">managed to recruit</a> less than 60% of the new secondary school teachers expected this year in England, recent figures show. This is unsurprising for those of us working in education. </p>
<p>Since 2015, the Department for Education has only been able to meet its secondary teacher recruitment target once, <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7222/CBP-7222.pdf">in 2020</a>. These figures are specific to England, but there are indications that <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-63800954">both Wales</a> <a href="https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/secondary/exclusive-almost-40-places-secondary-teaching-courses-unfilled">and Scotland</a> are experiencing difficulties recruiting teachers too.</p>
<p>Part of the issue in England may lie with the Department for Education’s recruitment strategies. There has been a range of initiatives designed to attract people to teacher training programmes. These are often financially incentivised: for example, a graduate who trains as a physics teacher can receive a <a href="https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support/scholarships-and-bursaries">tax-free scholarship</a> of up to £29,000 while training, which they do not have to repay. </p>
<p>This may seem appealing – but, as the recruitment figures show, it is not working. Only 17% of the target number of <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7222/CBP-7222.pdf">physics teachers</a> have been recruited in 2022-23. </p>
<p>Perhaps this is because after completing the training there is no requirement to be employed as a teacher. It might be because the starting salary for a new teacher is £28,000 before tax deductions, meaning recruits may well earn more to train than they do in the job itself. </p>
<p>As well as struggling to attract new teachers, the Department for Education is having difficulty keeping those who do train in the profession. </p>
<p>The government launched a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-recruitment-and-retention-strategy">Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy</a> in January 2019. This took a multifaceted approach, including special consideration of how to support newly qualified teachers. This support included specialist training during their initial years of employment, as well as supporting schools to provide a more flexible working environment. </p>
<p>How effective this framework has been is questionable. Nearly three years after its creation, we continue to see an exodus of new teachers from the profession. As of November 2021, over 17% of new teachers <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7222/CBP-7222.pdf">were leaving</a> after only two years of service.</p>
<p>However, the reasons people are not choosing teaching as a career are likely to be more nuanced. To begin with, it is important to understand what motivates someone to become a teacher. </p>
<h2>Teacher motivation</h2>
<p>If we think back to the teacher that stood out to us, the one we remember ten or 20 years later, these were people who loved what they did. For many who teach, it is not just a job, but a vocation – something that they are internally motivated to do. </p>
<p>They find immense pleasure in creating an engaging and exciting learning environment in which students thrive. By doing this, they can see the positive effect on their students’ lives. This is a powerful motivator and can create high levels of job satisfaction: it is a role to be proud of, one that makes a difference to society. </p>
<p>However, perpetual policy changes, national curriculum reform and the consequence of a poor Ofsted inspection leads to added pressures on schools and colleges. Teachers face an <a href="https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/article-listing/teachers-burnout-due-to-excessive-workload.html">increased workload</a> and the need to meet numeric measures of success. They have less time and freedom to create that engaging learning environment for their pupils, and less job satisfaction for themselves.</p>
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<img alt="Hand with pen grading stacks of papers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501015/original/file-20221214-5067-69rwpz.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">Teachers are facing increased workloads.</span>
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<p>These working conditions mean that for many, teaching may well be an unattractive career proposition. </p>
<p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/936253/Teacher_well-being_report_110719F.pdf">Research by Ofsted</a> in 2019 found that teachers reported lower levels of satisfaction with their life compared with the general public. Three years later, little has changed. The 2022 <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress.pdf">Health and Safety Executive report</a> puts education in the top three professions most likely to experience stress, depression or anxiety. </p>
<p>What’s more, while teaching has never been the highest-paid career, in the past it did offer good job security and a good pension. However, <a href="https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/derby-schools-cut-dozens-teaching-5062675">structural changes</a> in the school system as primary and secondary schools join academy trusts have put <a href="https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/teachers-could-lose-jobs-middle-18028700">some jobs at risk</a>. Pensions are now determined by <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/money/pensions-and-retirement/company-pensions/public-sector-pensions-explained/teachers-pensions-scheme-explained-aBlXS6r6fwEN">career average salary</a> rather than final salary, reducing the end of service package offered to teachers.</p>
<p>There may be no simple or quick way to increase teacher recruitment and improve the number of teachers staying in the profession. But returning teaching to a career that people aspire to and enjoy is key.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196175/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Corbett receives funding from the University of Portsmouth.
I have worked on and led projects which are funded by the Education and Training Foundation
</span></em></p>The benefits of the profession are being eroded.Stephen Corbett, Head of School of Education, Languages & Linguistics, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1931422022-10-28T09:36:28Z2022-10-28T09:36:28ZSchools in England are facing bankruptcy – here’s what the government could do to help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492087/original/file-20221027-23824-wlff80.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C5222%2C3481&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-teacher-helping-pupil-using-computer-779645455">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We have barely reached the autumn half term and school leaders are already beginning to worry about what the academic year beginning in September 2023 will hold. The combined effect of the cost of living crisis with unexpected salary costs have already made it almost impossible for schools to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/oct/22/exclusive-90-of-uk-schools-will-go-bust-next-year-heads-warn">balance budgets</a> in 2022. Headteachers are now warning that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/oct/22/exclusive-90-of-uk-schools-will-go-bust-next-year-heads-warn">worse is to come</a> if urgent action isn’t taken.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://dmscdn.vuelio.co.uk/publicitem/89ae4eec-c350-4dec-8213-f8c92b490d91">open letter</a>, sent jointly by unions and leaders of educational organisations to Conservative MPs, warned of a £2 billion shortfall in school funding by 2024. On average they estimate that secondary schools will face a shortfall equivalent to losing four or five teachers. But of course many schools are far from average: one headteacher <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-62913012">simply states</a> that his school will be bankrupt within a year. </p>
<p>While things are undoubtedly more difficult for smaller schools, even large academy chains are experiencing the same crisis. Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis Trust of over 50 academies, said: “No one is in a position to keep going for very long <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/oct/22/exclusive-90-of-uk-schools-will-go-bust-next-year-heads-warn">eating their reserves</a>.” </p>
<p>So, are the nation’s schools really at risk of bankruptcy?</p>
<h2>Schools in deficit</h2>
<p>The short answer, based on <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure/2020-21#dataBlock-2613467b-f1ab-4c9c-9af5-08d9ae6661a9-tables">recent government figures</a>, appears to be yes. Tables published by the Department for Education show that by the end of the 2020/21 financial year, 8% of local authority maintained schools were in deficit. </p>
<p>Of those with a surplus, the reserve which can be carried forward – and which could potentially be used to support the budget in a difficult year – was an average of £322,000 for secondary schools. This represents about 6% of a typical school’s budget of <a href="https://www.besa.org.uk/key-uk-education-statistics-2/">around £5.5 million</a>. It’s not even enough to fill the gap left by inflation, which is <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices#:%7E:text=On%20a%20monthly%20basis%2C%20CPIH,of%200.3%25%20in%20September%202021.">currently running</a> at 8.8%.</p>
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<p>The government has been encouraging schools to <a href="https://www.s2e.org.uk/news/all-schools-to-become-academies-by-2030">convert to academy status</a> as part of multi-academy trusts, but things are little better for these schools. <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/997799/Academy_trust_revenue_reserves_ad_hoc_stats.pdf">Official figures</a> for academy trusts show they have average reserves of around £1.5 million. Though it’s a lot of money, this represents 13% of total income, so Steve Chalke’s analysis is right. Two more years of inflation at similar levels to now and it will all be gone. </p>
<h2>Government options</h2>
<p>The government does have ways to respond to this. Aside from the obvious answer of injecting more money into the system, there are some policy decisions which could ease things for schools even if they don’t solve the root cause of the problem. One example might be to relax the rules around <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium">pupil premium</a> funding. This huge pot of money – £2.44 billion in 2020-21, according to a <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06700/SN06700.pdf">House of Commons report</a> — is distributed to schools annually to support children identified as disadvantaged. </p>
<p>The targeted nature of the funding means that it is difficult for schools to spend it where it is most needed, on qualified teachers, but there is little evidence that it represents <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/berj.3775">good value for money</a> in its current form. </p>
<p>Analysis from 2019 by the Education Policy Institute <a href="https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/annual-report-2019/">suggests</a> that, at the present rate, it would take more than 500 years for the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers to close – and COVID-19 lockdowns have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/oct/20/gcse-grade-gap-disadvantaged-pupils-england-widest-decade-child-poverty-attainment">made the situation worse</a>. </p>
<p>It could well be time to <a href="https://rebeccaallen.co.uk/2018/09/13/the-pupil-premium-is-not-working-part-iii/">respond to calls</a> to wrap the pupil premium funding into the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1091988/2023-24_NFF_Policy_Document_.pdf">national funding formula</a> for schools. Schools would still receive the pupil premium in proportion to the number of disadvantaged children, but could spend it in a more flexible way.</p>
<p>Similarly, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tutoring-programme-ntp-allocations-for-2022-to-2023-academic-year">National Tutoring Programme</a> provided schools with £349 million in 2022-23 towards the cost of qualified tutors to help children catch up on learning lost during the pandemic. School leaders might well appreciate the same money simply flowing into their budgets, without the need for rules around how they spend it.</p>
<h2>What schools can do</h2>
<p>The measures that schools can take to save money are more limited. School leaders will be making tough decisions about every aspect of their spending. </p>
<p>Some solutions only work on paper. Reducing the number of teachers and making classes bigger sounds fine, but rooms are generally designed for a maximum of 30 children. Others need months or years of planning: reducing the choice of subjects in secondary schools can save costs but would need to be initiated now in order to take effect next September. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-cost-of-living-crisis-will-hit-schools-hard-190186">The cost of living crisis will hit schools hard</a>
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<p>Even losing staff is difficult. So-called “natural wastage”, where those retiring or moving on are not replaced, is a slow process. Making people redundant is not just unpleasant, but also expensive. It is hardly surprising that Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, has said that it is <a href="https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/school-funding-dfe-cuts-will-leave-schools-facing-catastrophe/">not realistic</a> to expect budgets to be balanced within existing limits.</p>
<p>Things may look particularly bleak, but the government has the opportunity to enact changes. In December the Department for Education would normally publish its 2023-24 indicative budgets for schools. This provides a chance to commit to a per-pupil funding increase that is at least in line with inflation, as well as adjusting the formula to reduce the strings attached to some aspects of funding.</p>
<p>At the same time <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/people/gillian-keegan">Gillian Keegan</a>, the new secretary of state for education, could thrash out a deal with the chancellor to provide a one-off injection of funds to help schools get through the next 12 months. If they don’t work together, the doomsday scenario is that our nation becomes educationally bankrupt.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193142/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>School leaders fear they are facing bankruptcy.Chris Rolph, Director, Nottingham Institute of Education, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1864992022-07-15T09:27:22Z2022-07-15T09:27:22ZFour major challenges facing Britain’s education system after the pandemic<p>The UK goverment’s Department for Education has some new ministers in charge following the political turmoil surrounding Boris Johnson’s resignation. After resigning only two days into the job of education secretary, <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/michelle-donelan-quits-cabinet-force-hand-of-boris-johnson-1728424">Michelle Donelan</a> has been replaced by <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/people/james-cleverly">James Cleverly</a>, MP for Braintree. </p>
<p>Donelan’s former role overseeing higher education has been filled by Andrea Jenkyns, MP for Morley and Outwood, who has been named <a href="https://feweek.co.uk/andrea-jenkyns-named-skills-further-and-higher-education-minister/">skills, further and higher education minister</a>. Jenkyns’ credentials as an educational leader were called somewhat into question when she was photographed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/11/teaching-unions-slam-education-minister-over-obscene-gesture">making a gesture</a> to the public gathered outside Downing Street that would certainly have landed her in detention.</p>
<p>While these appointments can be considered, to some extent, to be caretaker roles pending the appointment of the new prime minister in early September, the new ministers still face significant challenges as they oversee schools, colleges and universities. Here are four issues facing them as they get to work. </p>
<h2>Getting exams back to normal</h2>
<p>The first hurdle comes next month with the annual round of GCSE and A-level exam results. This will be the first cohort since 2019 to have formally sat their exams. The Department of Education will be hoping that the exam results, which have already been taken and marked, will not cause such headline grabbing disruption this summer as in the two previous years. </p>
<p>In 2020, the first year that exams were cancelled due to the pandemic, results <a href="https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2020/12/18/further-evaluation-of-summer-2020-awarding/">were overturned</a> after it became clear that the algorithm used by the government to standardise grades was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-53807730">penalising students</a> from disadvantaged backgrounds. Pupils could choose to use teacher assessments to decide grades instead.</p>
<p>In 2021, the government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/how-qualifications-will-be-awarded-in-2021">again elected</a> to use teacher assessment to decide results, but the approach resulted in many more top grades. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infographic-a-level-results-2021/infographics-for-a-level-results-2021-accessible">The jump in A grades</a> at A-level, from 38% to 44%, meant that there were not enough places at top universities to go around – and universities had to offer prospective students packages of support to persuade them to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-58270387">defer to a 2022 start</a>.</p>
<p>However, it is likely that the return to exams will mean a <a href="https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2022/07/06/exam-results-2022-10-things-to-know-about-gcse-as-and-a-level-grades/">drop in grades</a> from 2021, and there may be many disappointed students and parents. Weathering grade fluctuations in future years while also closing gaps in attainment for students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be a difficult trick to pull off.</p>
<h2>Addressing inequality</h2>
<p>In November 2020, the Department of Education launched its flagship initiative to address pandemic learning loss in England, the <a href="https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/">National Tutoring Programme</a> – which pairs schools with tutors who work with individual students or small groups to help them catch up in core subjects. </p>
<p>However, the House of Commons Education Committee recently reported that the National Tutoring Programme is <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1667/the-governments-catchup-programme/publications/">failing to make an impact</a> in the schools in deprived areas where children are most behind with their education.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-governments-academic-catch-up-strategy-is-failing-children-in-england-179227">The government's academic catch-up strategy is failing children in England</a>
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<p>Problems with the catch-up strategy are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to endemic inequalities in education in the UK. School buildings in many areas are facing pressure from growing class sizes and wear and tear. 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">2021 report</a> by the Department for Education put the backlog of school maintenance in England at a cost of £11.4 billion, an eye watering sum at a time of economic crisis. </p>
<p>It is difficult to see how schools can level up for their pupils in buildings that are falling down. The education secretary must hope for sympathy and support around the new cabinet table to access the funds needed. </p>
<h2>Provide support for teachers</h2>
<p>The pandemic has had a serious impact on children and young people’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-governments-academic-catch-up-strategy-is-failing-children-in-england-179227">mental health and wellbeing</a> and the problem remains acute. One of the short-term impacts of this is growing pressures on teachers in classrooms. For this reason as well as the rise in the cost of living, teachers are asking for a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/jun/23/english-schools-warn-of-acute-teacher-shortages-without-inflation-plus-pay-deal">substantial pay increase</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Teacher with puppet talking to class" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473837/original/file-20220713-2711-vcp5da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/473837/original/file-20220713-2711-vcp5da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473837/original/file-20220713-2711-vcp5da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473837/original/file-20220713-2711-vcp5da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473837/original/file-20220713-2711-vcp5da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473837/original/file-20220713-2711-vcp5da.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/473837/original/file-20220713-2711-vcp5da.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">
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<span class="caption">Schools and teachers are under pressure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kindergarten-students-sitting-on-floor-listening-709805509">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>It seems unlikely that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/jul/01/teaching-unions-warn-of-strikes-in-england-despite-reports-of-improved-pay-offer">current proposals</a> for pay rises in schools, which sit below the rate of inflation, will stop a ballot on strike action or address teacher shortages caused by so many leaving the profession. If the new minister is to be able to deliver meaningful educational recovery, schools are going to need to be better staffed and better supported by other sector agencies. Achieving this looks both difficult and expensive. </p>
<h2>Free speech in higher education</h2>
<p>On 27 June 2022, before her promotion to education secretary and subsequent resignation, Michelle Donelan <a href="https://wonkhe.com/wonk-corner/michelle-donelan-fires-a-big-new-shot-at-the-sector-in-the-culture-wars/">had written</a> to university vice chancellors advising them to consider whether their membership of certain diversity schemes was appropriate given their responsibility to uphold free speech. This was regarded with concern by many in the education sector as a move that <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/equality-scheme-letter-crossed-line-universities-tell-donelan">blurred the lines</a> between appropriate regulation and university autonomy. </p>
<p>In addition, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/holocaust-denial-universities-michele-donelan-b1846924.html">the controversial</a> Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, which seeks to ensure that free speech is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/universities-to-comply-with-free-speech-duties-or-face-sanctions">protected on campus</a> by limiting the “no-platforming” of speakers, is currently passing through the House of Lords. However, a <a href="https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2022/06/23/you-cant-say-that-new-polling-shows-students-want-more-controls-on-free-expression/">recent survey</a> has found that 61% of students think that universities should prioritise protecting students from discrimination rather than permitting unlimited free speech.</p>
<p>The new Department for Education team has much to do to ensure that good decisions are made on behalf of the UK’s children and young people. </p>
<p><em>This article was amended on July 19 2022 to reflect that the National Tutoring Programme and Condition of School Buildings Survey refer to England.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186499/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helena Gillespie's research is funded by Erasmus+ and has previously been funded by Advance HE and HEFCE. She is a school governor, multi academy trust member and director of Norfolk Cricket Board. </span></em></p>The reshuffled Department for Education is already facing controversy.Helena Gillespie, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Student Inclusion and Professor of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1819662022-05-04T09:27:21Z2022-05-04T09:27:21ZFive ways the new sustainability and climate change strategy for schools in England doesn’t match up to what young people actually want<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460266/original/file-20220428-18-brzds4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C6%2C4087%2C2719&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Youth protestors in London in 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-united-kingdom-15th-february-1315212515">Ben Gingell/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK government has introduced a new <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainability-and-climate-change-strategy/sustainability-and-climate-change-a-strategy-for-the-education-and-childrens-services-systems">sustainability and climate change strategy</a> for schools. However, our research shows that it does not go far enough to meet what young people and teachers want.</p>
<p>Last year, together with colleagues, we conducted <a href="https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/berj.3803">research</a> with over 200 teachers, teacher educators (the people who train teachers) and young people aged 16-18 from the UK to understand how they wanted schools to tackle sustainability and climate change. Participants were recruited via email and Twitter.</p>
<p>Our research allows us to assess how far the government’s new strategy aligns with what teachers and young people want. Here are five key things that teachers, teacher educators and young people would like to see in schools – and how the government’s sustainability and climate change strategy matches up. </p>
<h2>1. Sustainability education for all</h2>
<p>Many teachers already provide opportunities for pupils to learn about sustainability, such as eco-clubs, recycling projects and sustainable fashion shows. However, this work is optional and tends to happen outside the curriculum, meaning that not all young people have opportunities to take part.</p>
<p>Teachers and young people in our research wanted environmental sustainability to feature across the curriculum, not just in geography (which not all students study after the age of 14) and science.</p>
<p>The government’s strategy includes a new natural history GCSE, which will be taught from 2025. This will increase opportunities for young people to learn about the natural world and sustainability. However, this subject will be optional and so will not ensure that every young person has access to climate change and sustainability education, regardless of their age or subject choice. </p>
<p>The government’s new strategy does include other ways to learn about the environment. Pupils can take part in a climate leaders award, carrying out extra-curricular activities in connection with sustainability, but this is also optional. This means that environmental sustainability remains unlikely to be prioritised or to involve everyone. </p>
<h2>2. Training for teachers</h2>
<p>Teachers we spoke to wanted professional development opportunities so they could feel more confident teaching sustainability in the classroom. As one teacher said: “We can lack confidence because we are navigating this ourselves and do not feel like experts where we might in our subject.”</p>
<p>While the new strategy offers support for teachers through resources and training, there is no promise of time to access this, and there is no fundamental change to existing school or teacher education curriculums in England.</p>
<h2>3. Put knowledge into action</h2>
<p>Teachers and young people do not just want to pass on knowledge – they want to be able to make a difference. We heard that teachers and students wanted education to be more about critical thinking, data literacy, doing research, taking action and communicating and networking with others. As one young person said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We should be taught about big business and corporations - what their impact actually is. A lot of greenwashing goes on with big companies making individuals feel as if they are solely responsible … Education should empower us to demand change and to demand the rights we should have. </p>
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<p>The focus of the government’s strategy is on learning more about sustainability, climate change and the natural world, not empowering young people to act for the environment or challenging the root causes of climate change. </p>
<h2>4. Make schools sustainable</h2>
<p>Teachers and young people wanted greater attention to environmental sustainability in school operations, including handling of energy, waste, transport and food. There is currently little requirement for schools in England to learn about or act for environmental sustainability. </p>
<p>The government’s strategy focuses on net zero targets and promises action on waste by requiring schools to increase recycling and reduce landfill. It also promises at least four new low-carbon schools and one college. </p>
<p>In other aspects of school operations - food, transport and energy - there is encouragement and support in the strategy, which may or may not translate into action. </p>
<h2>5. Make schools community hubs for climate action</h2>
<p>Young people and teachers saw schools as community hubs where people from across different generations could take part in sustainability focused activities. They saw starting sustainability education with young children and incorporating this throughout their lives as vital.</p>
<p>Introducing the climate leaders award provides a way for the contribution young people are already making to environmental sustainability in schools and communities to be recognised and valued. The young people we worked with called for such a scheme and wanted it at no cost. However, the description of the climate leaders award in the government’s sustainability and climate change strategy references existing awards such as the <a href="https://www.dofe.org/">Duke of Edinburgh’s award</a>, which is <a href="https://www.dofe.org/do/costs/">not free of charge</a>. </p>
<p>Teachers and young people told us that at present, there is little support for environmental sustainability in education. The government’s new strategy does little to change this status quo.</p>
<p>We need further change to put sustainability and climate change at the heart of education. This could be done by climate change and sustainability into the core curriculum, making it part of exam specifications and school inspections and part of the core framework for teacher training – in other words, the things that teachers must prioritise.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181966/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Elizabeth Rushton received funding from the British Educational Research Association for this research project. She currently receives funding from the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council for other research relating to education and teacher professional development and from The Leverhulme Trust for research relating to climate resilience. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lynda Dunlop currently receives funding from the Education Endowment Foundation, the Templeton World Charity Foundation, and the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council and the University of York.
She received funding from the British Educational Research Association for this research project. Principal partners on this research project included the Association for Science Education, Black Environment Network, Centre for Alternative Technology, Liverpool World Centre, Routes The Journal for Student Geographers, TEESNet (Teacher Education for Equity and Sustainability Network) and the University of Strathclyde. The manifesto was illustrated by Maisy Summer. </span></em></p>Teachers and young people told us that action was needed in classrooms, schools, communities and from the government.Elizabeth Rushton, Associate Professor of Education, UCLLynda Dunlop, Senior Lecturer in Science Education, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1777782022-02-25T09:58:25Z2022-02-25T09:58:25ZHigher education funding shake-up: what it means for students and universities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448307/original/file-20220224-33175-1k3qm74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C11%2C7337%2C4891&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-library-campus-education-knowledge-concept-427333528">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK government has announced <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1056891/HE_reform_command-paper-web_version.pdf">changes to university funding</a> and student finance in England. It may not be welcomed either by future students or by universities. </p>
<p>While the limit for fees is set to remain frozen at a top rate of £9,250 a year, changes to the system of loan repayments are coming in. Graduates will now have to start paying back their loans as soon as they start earning £25,000, rather than the current threshold of £27,295. The full term for repayment will be lengthened to 40 years, from the current 30 – meaning it will take an extra ten years before any outstanding loan is written off.</p>
<p>The government has also launched a consultation on <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1056891/HE_reform_command-paper-web_version.pdf">thresholds for admission to university</a>, which could see students who do not achieve a grade four in English or maths, or do not get two Es at A-level, refused a student loan. This could result in students from the most educationally disadvantaged backgrounds barred from seeking loans to enable them to study.</p>
<p>The government’s proposals seem to be in contrast to higher education policy of the last 20 years, which has focused on enabling more students to go to university, especially those from disadvantaged or historically underrepresented backgrounds. Instead, these proposals may restrict university study, not expand it. </p>
<h2>Change in direction</h2>
<p>The most recent data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency shows that in 2021 there were just over <a href="https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/whos-in-he">2 million undergraduate students in the UK</a>. This is an increase of nearly 500,000 from 20 years earlier. </p>
<p>This huge growth in student numbers means that some large universities in big cities have got larger. However, it also represents a growth of higher education in small providers – such as the University of Suffolk in Ipswich, which gained its <a href="https://www.uos.ac.uk/content/our-history-0">own degree awarding powers in 2016</a>. </p>
<p>Higher education hasn’t just got bigger, it has become more diverse. An aim of education policy in the last 20 years has not been just to provide more places for students from relatively privileged backgrounds to higher education, but also to provide more <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20464013">local, tailored opportunities to earn a degree</a>.</p>
<p>This was underpinned by the mantra of <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/promoting-equal-opportunities/access-and-participation-plans/">“widening participation”</a>. Universities charging top fees of over £9,000 have been required to invest in outreach, with the aim of raising aspiration and attainment and helping young people from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups to be the first in their families to go to university. </p>
<p>Government policy really did seem to indicate that the more students and universities the sector had, the better. </p>
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<p>Now, the proposals under consultation – limiting loans for students who do not achieve certain grades – aim to prevent students who might not be academically capable from getting government backed student finance for a degree.</p>
<p>As currently billed, the bar is low enough that it may not <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/augar-response-set-restrict-english-student-numbers">exclude many students</a>. But it still matters. Some of those likely not to have made the grade might be those most in need of an educational second chance – those who have suffered illness in their teens, or had a disrupted family background or educational history. </p>
<p>The most recent government data shows that the <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance-revised">GCSE disadvantage gap</a> in England – a measure of the difference in performance between pupils on free school meals and other students – is widening.</p>
<p>This latest announcement is also part of a strategy to limit numbers on degrees perceived as being of lower quality – <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10541233/Pupils-fail-GCSE-maths-English-BANNED-getting-student-loans.html">often referred to as Mickey Mouse degrees</a>. </p>
<p>In reality, establishing an objective measure of the quality of a degree is difficult because so many factors are at play. Ultimately, the value of a degree for any student depends on a range of outcomes from their university time, personally and socially as well as in terms of how much they earn in a job after university.</p>
<h2>The cost of a degree</h2>
<p>The freeze on the top amount of tuition fees – which extends the current freeze to seven years – means that universities already charging this see a real life cut to their funding at a time that costs are rising very quickly. </p>
<p>For students, most of whom borrow their fees through a student loan, the proposals are also challenging. </p>
<p>There may be a view that it is fair to expect a student to bear the cost of their degree. <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-labour-markets/2020">Government figures</a> show that in 2020, graduates earned £9,500 more than non-graduates.</p>
<p>However, this figure hides huge disparity between subjects, universities and students – and ignores the huge benefit that degree holders in lower paid jobs, in the arts, social care, education and other fields – bring to society. </p>
<p>These new policies and proposals are likely to cause a great deal of concern within the sector. As an academic who has worked extensively in widening participation to university, I believe in the power of higher education to transform the life chances of people from all backgrounds, as well as the value of a thriving higher education sector to wider society. Preserving student opportunity is to the benefit of all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177778/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helena Gillespie has received funding from HEFCE and Advance HE. She currently receives funding from the European Union.</span></em></p>The government’s proposals may affect the most disadvantaged students.Helena Gillespie, Professor of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and Academic Director of Inclusive Education, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1651022021-08-17T17:53:10Z2021-08-17T17:53:10ZMajor teaching reform in England will erode the intellectual basis of the profession<p>The quality of any education system is highly dependent on the quality of its teachers. Research has shown how vital universities are in equipping teachers with the theory and the principles <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1575946?casa_token=iAAQmdWw7zAAAAAA%3AcWouuViopObfJVZ7tdETP-4UmPsrKuUFAkbQVf2e8oKbrU7gE5HMfFX8cwxFMWNv1feHp7xvBcI">they need</a> to do their jobs well. </p>
<p>In England, universities are currently responsible for 100% of initial teacher education (ITE) at undergraduate level and around 70% of postgraduate courses. And evidence from the <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census/2020-21#releaseHeadlines-summary">Department for Education</a> itself indicates that this approach works. Between <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/859422/Annual_Report_of_Her_Majesty_s_Chief_Inspector_of_Education__Children_s_Services_and_Skills_201819.pdf">2018</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ofsted-annual-report-201920">2020</a>, all the institutions that offer ITE were rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, the UK government’s quality assurance agency. </p>
<p>Despite this impressive record, a major review of ITE - or as the government prefers to call it, ITT (initial teacher training) - is underway. In July 2021, the department for education published <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/999621/ITT_market_review_report.pdf">the ITT market review report</a>. The public consultation on its recommendations <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/initial-teacher-training-itt-market-review">has been notably short</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/999621/ITT_market_review_report.pdf">This review</a> continues a decade-long trend, shifting the responsibility for ITE away from universities and towards schools. Specialists have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2020.1748722">highlighted</a> how selectively research has been used to justify this approach. The difference in nomenclature between the university label (ITE) and the government label (ITT) for how teachers are taught is not just semantic. It highlights a fundamental conflict of approach: should teachers be educated or trained? </p>
<h2>Significant upheaval</h2>
<p>Since Michael Gove was <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/175429/CM-7980.pdf">education secretary</a>, the UK government has increasingly pushed for teacher training to happen in schools. The <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/999621/ITT_market_review_report.pdf">ITT market review</a> is the latest in a <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508447/Educational_Excellence_Everywhere.pdf">series of attempts</a> by the Department for Education to limit the role of universities. </p>
<p>This latest review makes several recommendations that are not based on national or international evidence. <a href="https://www.ucet.ac.uk/downloads/13250%2DUCET%2DMarket%2DReview%2DResponse%2D%28July%2D2021%29.pdf">Teacher education specialists</a> say they risk destabilising the sector and diluting the intellectual standing of the profession. For instance, if these reforms go through, they could potentially drive out <a href="https://russellgroup.ac.uk/news/russell-group-response-to-the-itt-market-review/">prestigious universities</a>, including the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/notices/news/statement-on-the-uk-government-initial-teacher-training-itt-market-review-report">University of Cambridge</a> and the <a href="http://www.education.ox.ac.uk/government-review-threatens-to-undermine-teacher-education/">University of Oxford</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/manchester-institute-of-education-statement-on-the-initial-teacher-training-market-review-report/">Others</a> cite serious concerns around university independence.
The government wants any institution that trains teachers to go through an accreditation process for quality control - even those universities that have been doing it for years. Conversely, it would open up teacher training to <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/936251/Multi_academy_trusts_benefits_challenges_and_functions.pdf">multi-academy trusts</a> and other groups of schools which have relatively little experience of training teachers, as well as <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429331695">training programmes</a>, which <a href="http://scde.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/TeachFirstReviewParkerGalepaper.pdf">have been criticised</a> for framing teaching as a career stepping stone - and not a destination.</p>
<p>The changes the review suggests also risk placing more demands - and greater costs - on schools. Teaching staff who mentor student teachers on placement, for example, will see their workload doubled. </p>
<p>This review also recommends creating an ITE curriculum that all teacher-training institutions would have to follow. This threatens individual universities’ ability to respond to local needs. Currently, they can devise bespoke teacher education programmes which can make a difference in rural areas, coastal regions and areas of deprivation, where recruiting teachers is often challenging, though <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2020.1775566">more research</a> is required on this.</p>
<p>The Department for Education has, itself, <a href="https://www.tes.com/news/dfe-itt-shake-moving-quickly-maintain-momentum">admitted</a> that it is moving quickly. This has also raised concerns. The review was concluded in six months, without any meaningful consultation with either universities or schools. It was published just as the summer term ended. And the public consultation was scheduled to last only seven weeks. The government’s <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/100807/file47158.pdf">own code of practice </a> requires 12. </p>
<p>By undermining university involvement in ITE, the reforms will erode the <a href="https://www.ucet.ac.uk/11675/intellectual-base-of-teacher-education-report-updated-february-2020">intellectual basis</a> of the profession - the very feature of <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?hl=en&publication_year=2006&author=L.+Darling-Hammond&title=Powerful+teacher+education">high-performing education systems</a> across the world. What then is this dispute between policymakers and education specialists based on? </p>
<h2>Unrealistic expectations</h2>
<p>Recent educational policy in England, much like in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2021.1887359">the US</a>, has focused on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2018.1544665">universal educational excellence</a>. It <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Spirit_Level/jfJMajQulfQC?hl=en&gbpv=0">avoids</a> acknowledging the impact systemic social injustice and structural inequality have on how well children do at school. Instead, it focuses on notions of “what works” and “best practice” in relation to teacher education. </p>
<p>The government’s approach draws a unidirectional line of influence from schools to society. It assumes that the former can compensate for any shortcomings in the latter, fostering <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02680930903428622">undue and unrealistic</a> expectations that schools and teachers are able to fix society.</p>
<p>The government prioritises what specialists call an “evidence-based”, “what works” approach to teaching teachers. This means that teachers are encouraged to make decisions about their pupils’ learning based on what has worked for others, but not necessarily on what the children in front of them actually need. They are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.2006.00241.x">discouraged</a> from using their judgement. This focuses on what is taught in the classroom and how comes at the expense of critical considerations around <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-010-9191-x">why</a> it is taught in the first place. As teacher education specialist <a href="https://theconversation.com/expert-panel-what-makes-a-good-teacher-25696">John Loughran</a> has noted, that “why” is what <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1575946">enhances</a> pupils’ learning. And in its one-size-fits-all approach, the government fails to recognise the distinctive contributions that <a href="http://ref.scielo.org/6gmsbf">pupils bring</a> to their own learning. </p>
<p>Several <a href="https://www.ucet.ac.uk/13249/ucet-market-review-response-july-2022">key</a> organisations <a href="https://www.nasbtt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/NASBTTs-Response-to-the-Initial-Teacher-Training-ITT-Market-Review-Consultation-July-2021.pdf">involved</a> in <a href="https://chartered.college/2021/07/15/itt-market-review-chartered-college-position-paper/">ITE</a> have issued statements challenging this review. They insist that the problems that the government has identified in the way teachers are taught could be resolved in collaboration with universities - not by excluding them. </p>
<p>Universities are well placed to make changes to the programmes they offer via existing internal (university programme review and validation) and external (Ofsted) quality-assurance processes. And they would do so in compliance with existing or amended <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-criteria/initial-teacher-training-itt-criteria-and-supporting-advice">government ITT criteria</a>. </p>
<p>Crucially, universities have the established infrastructure, the extensive resources and the research expertise, that student teachers need. They encourage students to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1757743815607025">systematically interrogate</a> research, policy and practice, including their underlying assumptions and assertions. </p>
<p>It is this perspective on education – informed by critical, historical and sociological expertise – that will best equip future teachers to adapt to changes throughout their careers. Universities have a proven record of working effectively in partnership with schools, too. They know how to enable student teachers to integrate the theory they learn in lectures with the practical experience they gain in the classroom to meet the needs of a diverse population. This needs to be built on, not dismantled.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165102/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>Universities are responsible for the majority of teacher training and eduation in England. The government is set on shifting the focus to schoolsMatthew Clarke, Professor of Education, York St John UniversityKeither Parker, Associate Head of School: Education, York St John UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1488842020-11-11T18:10:07Z2020-11-11T18:10:07ZWales cancels 2021 A-level and GCSE exams: other UK nations should follow suit<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368846/original/file-20201111-23-qj5hjj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5176%2C3453&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-college-students-opening-exam-results-763468423">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The education minister for Wales, Kirsty Williams, has announced that Welsh school pupils will not take <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54888376">GCSE and A-level exams</a> in 2021. Instead, externally set and marked classroom assessments, which can be taken within a broad window of time, will be used to grade students. </p>
<p>Scotland has already made a similar decision for for its <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-54423265">National 5 assessments</a> taken by 15 and 16 year olds, opting for teacher assessment instead – although Higher and Advanced Higher exams will go ahead, a fortnight later than usual.</p>
<p>In Northern Ireland, exams will be <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54482867">pushed back a week</a>, with most GCSEs dropping a module to account for lost learning time.</p>
<p>Exams will also <a href="https://dfemedia.blog.gov.uk/2020/10/13/delay-to-2021-exams-your-questions-answered/">still go ahead</a> in England. Most of these will take place three weeks later than usual, with no slimming down of curricula but with some changes to the format of assessments.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1326132748663152641"}"></div></p>
<p>This year, governments should use more flexible forms of assessment such as classroom assessment, which provide a greater choice of topics, to take into account the uneven access to education that students have faced during lockdown. </p>
<p>England and Northern Ireland should follow Wales’s lead and use externally marked classroom assessment for GCSEs and A-levels in 2021.</p>
<h2>A fair test?</h2>
<p>The UK Department for Education’s insistence that “exams are the <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-09-07/debates/CE3C3B5F-B559-4438-9D95-8FB5BA0E634A/TestingMarkingAndExaminationSystems">best and fairest</a> way of judging students’ performance” reflects a narrow and outdated view of test fairness.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1326214085059469313"}"></div></p>
<p>My <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2018.1409964?scroll=top&needAccess=true">research</a> with GCSE students has shown that students see choice in assessment as a key element of test fairness. Students in the study thought that a choice of options should be available, as different students would benefit from different routes. For them, a fair test was one that enabled all students to show their knowledge and skills. </p>
<p>This aligns with <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1435455?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">recent theories</a> of test fairness, which suggest that tests should be designed to enable all students to perform well. As a result, alternative forms of assessment such as coursework and practical assessments, which aim to capture the knowledge and skills of all students, have become more widely used in many countries.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students in uniform sitting in exam hall facing away" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368843/original/file-20201111-21-1ubaii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/368843/original/file-20201111-21-1ubaii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368843/original/file-20201111-21-1ubaii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368843/original/file-20201111-21-1ubaii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368843/original/file-20201111-21-1ubaii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368843/original/file-20201111-21-1ubaii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/368843/original/file-20201111-21-1ubaii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Exams are not necessarily the fairest way of assessing students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/anonymous-students-uniform-sitting-exam-online-1501419359">Lincoln Beddoe/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A problem with the “one size fits all” approach of exams is that students have very different educational experiences. Working-class children have fared <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/british-education-still-selecting-and-rejecting-in-order-to-rear-an-elite/">much worse</a> under the Conservative government’s education reforms, so that there are now major inequalities in the <a href="https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/inequality-of-pedagogy-in-english-schools-how-significant-is-it">pedagogy</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2018.1409961">curriculum</a> offered to students from more disadvantaged backgrounds. </p>
<p>This year, these inequalities have been compounded by a global pandemic, which means that many of these children have not had their <a href="https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/2020/06/15/how-the-covid-19-crisis-has-affected-childrens-right-to-an-education/">fundamental right to education</a> fulfilled. </p>
<p>When differences between children’s educational experiences become this vast, we must question whether assessments are really providing us with useful information that can be used to make valid comparisons between students. When this happens, flexibility must be built into the system to ensure that all students are able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. </p>
<h2>Contingency measures</h2>
<p>The UK government has not yet released details of the contingency measures it will use if the coronavirus pandemic forces exams to be cancelled again. However, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/oct/10/plan-b-for-rigorous-mock-exams-to-avoid-rerun-of-a-level-fiasco">The Guardian reported</a> in October that schools in England will be required to hold “rigorous mocks” in case of exam cancellations.</p>
<p>There are several problems with this approach. If exams are cancelled and the mocks are used to determine grades, the assessment period will essentially have been brought forward by months, at a time when many students are struggling to catch up with last year’s courses. Mocks would also eat into scarce learning time and would potentially put students under even more pressure.</p>
<p>Classroom assessment is not a perfect solution. There will be concerns that students who have access to greater support at home will do better at these assessments, despite the fact that they are done in class. </p>
<p>There will also be anxiety about the narrowing of the curriculum to one or two course topics. But given the extraordinary circumstances this year, the priority must be to ensure that students are only assessed on content they have had an opportunity to learn. The best way of doing this is to set classroom assessment with a choice of tasks.</p>
<p>Classroom assessments can be rigorous. The full details of the new assessments in Wales have yet to be released, but they will be externally marked, to address concerns about how internal assessment <a href="https://www.runnymedetrust.org/blog/predicted-grades-bme-students-letter-to-ed-sec">may be biased</a> against particular groups. </p>
<p>If the UK government refuses to change course, students in England will end up with exam results that are simply not fit for purpose. The results will tell us more about the impact of COVID-19 upon students than about their subject knowledge and skills. </p>
<p>It would be hard to justify using these grades to make decisions about entry to universities and further education colleges. If they are used for these purposes, it will be the most disadvantaged students who lose out, once again.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148884/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rhian Barrance is a member of Qualifications Wales's research advisory board.</span></em></p>Students must not be assessed on course material that they haven’t had the opportunity to learn.Rhian Barrance, Lecturer in Education, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1307142020-03-03T12:28:35Z2020-03-03T12:28:35ZSchools don’t feel like safe spaces for LGBT teachers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317578/original/file-20200227-24701-ac1oz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C5184%2C3445&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>From September 2020, schools in England will be required to teach <a href="https://theconversation.com/sex-education-gets-a-revamp-but-parents-still-allowed-to-opt-kids-out-99551">relationships, sex and health education</a> (RSHE) that includes LGBT relationships. This means that pupils will, for the first time, learn about all kinds of families and relationships, not just those that are heterosexual. </p>
<p>Some parents and people in faith communities have <a href="https://theconversation.com/lgbt-school-lessons-row-shows-homophobia-is-alive-and-well-in-the-uk-114224">protested outside school gates</a> opposing the efforts of schools already teaching about LGBT people through the <a href="https://no-outsiders.com/">No Outsiders</a> programme. The protests have been so disruptive that one school, <a href="https://www.andertonparkschool.org/important-information/high-court-injunction">Anderton Park in Birmingham</a>, successfully applied for an injunction to prevent future protests taking place in the immediate vicinity of the school.</p>
<p>The protests and associated media attention has reminded some LGBT teachers of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28">Section 28 era</a> (1988-2003), when the Conservative government presided over a state-sanctioned silencing of LGBT identities in schools and local authorities. </p>
<p>Although section 28 ended in 2003, it is clear that LGBT teacher sexuality continues to create moral panic in schools. Indeed, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14681811.2019.1585800">my research</a>
shows that the principal fear of LGBT teachers is that parents of pupils in their care, will align their LGBT identity with hyper-sexuality and paedophilia.</p>
<p>There are an estimated 50,000 LGBT teachers in English schools. Schools have a responsibility under the 2010 <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents">Equality Act</a>, to protect LGBT teachers from harassment in the workplace. But LGBT teachers in my <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14681811.2019.1585800">research</a> report that equality policies do not necessarily make them feel any safer within their schools.</p>
<h2>Ongoing fear</h2>
<p>The Department for Education (DfE) has attempted to make preparations for the introduction of RSHE. In October 2019 it <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-issues-with-lgbt-teaching-advice-for-local-authorities/primary-school-disruption-over-lgbt-teachingrelationships-education">published guidance for primary schools</a> regarding the disruption over LGBT teaching of relationships education. In it, the DfE anticipates disruption which includes the public victimisation of teachers through social media or harassment in person. It advocates that if protests or harassment occur, school leaders should engage the police, consider a legal response where required, and put out clear statements to the media.</p>
<p>The protests so far have shown that LGBT teachers are vulnerable. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/andrew-moffat-who-global-teacher-prize-shortlist-parkland-community-school-birmingham-varkey-a8680146.html">Andrew Moffat</a>, the assistant headteacher at Parkfield School in Birmingham, was particularly targeted for using story books that had LGBT characters and celebrated difference. He endured death threats and was advised by police on how he should travel to and from school. </p>
<h2>Mental impact</h2>
<p>With further homophobic protests being anticipated, it is clear this will have a huge impact on LGBT teacher health and wellbeing. Indeed, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/9/249">my research</a> shows that 64% of LGBT teachers have experienced a serious episode of anxiety or depression linked to their sexual or gender identity and role as a teacher. This compares with just 31% of the overall teaching population experiencing a mental health issue as reported in the 2018 <a href="https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/resources/research-reports/teacher-wellbeing-index-2018">teacher wellbeing index</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317579/original/file-20200227-24694-19kc91u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317579/original/file-20200227-24694-19kc91u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317579/original/file-20200227-24694-19kc91u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317579/original/file-20200227-24694-19kc91u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317579/original/file-20200227-24694-19kc91u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317579/original/file-20200227-24694-19kc91u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317579/original/file-20200227-24694-19kc91u.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 LGBT teachers say they are fearful of threatening behaviour, verbal abuse, bullying and violence from parents and colleagues.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/male-teacher-teaching-group-teenagers-high-585788501">DGLimages/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During a recent <a href="http://www.courageousleaders.org.uk/index.html">leadership programme</a> I ran for LGBT teachers, I asked participants what they wanted to focus on in future sessions. The group was unanimous. They wanted personal support to “survive” the introduction of the new LGBT inclusive <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education">relationships, sex and health education</a>, fearing what this will mean for them as LGBT teachers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130714/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>Research has found that 64% of LGBT teachers have experienced a serious episode of anxiety or depression linked to their sexual or gender identity and role as a teacher.Catherine Lee, Deputy Dean for Education, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.