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Related posts:

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2. Are the school summer holidays just too long?
3. Interesting article on the brain controlling accent

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Related posts:

1. Are the school summer holidays just too long?
2. The classroom should be a place of learning – but not for teachers
3. Interesting article on the brain controlling accent

I also blog for Mumsnet on Tales Behind The Classroom Door.

My YouTube channel is Wonderfrancis.

My Soundcloud Channel is Electric Schubert.

I am @wonderfrancis on Twitter.

Other blogs:

A Streetcar Named Desire for A Level students

Arguing, Persuading, Advising for Key Stage 3 and GCSE students.

Aesthetic autobiography which is about my research into life writing and the theories surrounding autobiographical writing.

Anthony Thwaite’s poetry — my blog devoted to this important contemporary poet.

As You Like It Reloaded — my blog devoted to Shakespeare’s great gender-bending comedy with comments from students.

Barack Obama’s Oratory — my blog devoted to the American President’s great speeches.

Beautiful Northumberland — my blog devoted to the wildest, most northern English county.

Bethnal Grit — my blog devoted to this classic East End area.

Creative Writing Reloaded — my blog devoted to story writing and creative writing generally.

Funny Words — my blog devoted to the language of humour.

GCSE English Information and Ideas — my blog devoted to this GCSE English topic.

Ghost Stories Reloaded — my blog devoted to Ghost Stories.

Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry –my blog devoted to our greatest living poet?

Much Ado About Nothing Reloaded — my blog devoted to Shakespeare’s classic play.

Of Mice and Men Reloaded — my blog devoted to Steinbeck’s classic novel, so beloved by GCSE students!

Pedagogy On The Run — my blog devoted to the educational theory behind teaching.

Romeo and Juliet Reloaded for GCSE students.

Spag4Skool — Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar — my blog devoted to all aspects connected with this issue.

The Kite Runner Reloaded — my blog devoted to Khaled Hosseini’s classic first novel.

Wilfred Owen Reloaded — my blog devoted to this vital First World War poet.

William Blake Reloaded — my blog devoted to William Blake’s poetry.

Stories From Different Cultures for GCSE and Key Stage 3 students.

The Curious Incident In The Night-Time for Key Stage 3 students.

First World War Poetry for GCSE and Key Stage 3 students.

Media Studies blog for AS students.

Canterbury Tales Reloaded blog for Key Stage 3 students.

Nation States literature for undergraduates.

Related posts:

1. Wilfred Owen’s poetry — a Prezi with links to YouTube explanations of the poems
2. Dramatising your life
3. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, my YouTube Videos on Stevenson’s novel

I know from bitter experience that appearances can be deceptive. I taught in a school, high in the league tables, which had seemed great when I visited: quiet classes and happy staff. When I started teaching there, I realised I had been shown the few classes that were well-behaved, the “happy” staff were leaving in droves and bullying was endemic.

I was really annoyed with myself for believing the propaganda of the senior management and not doing more research. How can you tell the difference between a school’s public and private face? Here are some tips for prospective parents from those who know…

The nitty gritty

What to look for in Ofsted reports

“The most recent Ofsted report will give you a snapshot of the school and some of its strengths and weaknesses, but it may be several years out of date. Have a look at the previous report to see if the school has progressed between inspections.” Sarah Kerr, teacher

“Read but don’t necessarily just go by Ofsted. One of my children went to an outstanding school that just could not cope with his deviance!” Daniela, literacy teacher, Cambridgeshire

“The most important part of the Ofsted report is the targets it sets for a school; these tell you about its weaknesses and the things it needs to improve upon most. Ask about these targets.” Gill, teacher, Kent

What to look for in the league tables

“Avoid selecting the school just because it is top of the tables – there are many more nuanced factors at work. Often results that determine league-table placing are a self-fulfilling prophesy; for example, if the school is selective by ability, it will fly high in academic league tables. This does not necessarily mean that such a school has the right climate for your child.” Alex Quigley, teacher at Huntington secondary school, York

“Look at the long-term academic profile of the school and not just one year’s results. Does the school have a history of academic success? Is it moving upwards, or downwards?” Andrew Millar, team leader, English and drama, Dr Challoner’s grammar school, Amersham, Buckinghamshire

Parents’ homework

What to look for at the open day

“Is the tour ‘access all areas’? To me it should start with a simple, ‘Is there anywhere in particular you’d like to go?’ and go everywhere!”  Mark Creasy, teacher

“Go to the school open day and have a tour … but bear in mind: this is as good as the school ever looks.” Vic Goddard, headteacher of Passmores academy (star of Channel 4′s Educating Essex)

“Are there pupils involved in the open day? Are they polite and articulate, are some of them from the younger year groups? Ask them what they think of the school. This is useful if some are year 7 or 8 as their experiences will be similar to your child’s.” Sara Kerr, teacher

Killer questions to ask the head

“Ask if he/she knows the name of every child.” Emma, primary teacher, Yorkshire

“What is the staff turnover every year? If more than a third of the teachers are leaving, alarm bells should be ringing. This could mean an unhappy atmosphere. And it’s worth finding out how many supply teachers are currently being used to fill staff absences.” Chris, teacher, London

“Ask how many children have been excluded in the past year, and what for? If fixed-period exclusions (ie not permanent) in a secondary school amount to more than 10% of the school population,  you should be concerned, or 1% in a primary school.” Dave, business studies teacher, Surrey

Killer questions to ask teachers and pupils

“Ask teachers: would you send your own children to this school? They are unlikely to say No, but watch how much they fidget when they reply.” Tanya, teacher, Yorkshire

“Ask students what levels they are  working at and what they need to do to improve. If they don’t have a clue, beware.” Jane, teaching assistant, London

“Ask children what happens to bullies and badly behaved pupils. This will give you an idea of how much of a problem behaviour is.” Pete, design and technology teacher, Essex

“Ask students how often their books are marked and whether they understand or can read the teachers’ comments.” Alison, history teacher, London

“Ask them what subjects they like/dislike and why. This may reveal a lot about some of the teaching.” Henry, languages teacher, Manchester

Your other spies: who else to talk to

“Parents are an obvious source, but also visit local shops – they tell you a lot. Talking to teachers at other local schools can reveal some home truths as well. I’ve always done this as a candidate for a job at schools.” Mark Creasy, teacher

Things that really matter

How seriously does the school take bullying?

“If the head says there is no bullying, they have it wrong and you may want to look at another school. It really is that important. You want to know how it is prevented and what action is taken when it does happen.” Vic Goddard, headteacher

“Look at the school’s bullying policy and then ask teachers and pupils what the policy is. If they don’t know, be wary.” Wesley, PE teacher, Midlands

Is the headteacher effective?

“Find out what the headteacher stands for/believes in by working out what his or her core values are: does he or she really care about the pupils? Look for evidence of this around the school. Check out how staff talk about the head and his/her values, and pupils, too. Gordon Bamber, senior teacher, Southend, Essex

Does this school care about each child?

“Are children given a locker to put their stuff in? Do the children know who to speak to if they are unhappy?” Ali, maths teacher, Staffordshire

“Do the children give the impression of being happy and loving every brick of their school?” Russell Hall, teacher

“When visiting the school, make sure you see a break/lunchtime and judge how the children are playing and interacting – lunchtime is good for this, especially for seeing how the staff interact with the children. Do they all sit on one table, or engage with the children?” Mark Creasy, teacher

“Find out how closely the pupils’ views of the school match the staff’s views.” Gordon Bamber, teacher

“A good indicator is the range of clubs and activities on offer outside the classroom. If teachers care, and are passionate about their subject, they will find ways to offer enrichment.” Hannah Parsons, English teacher

Are the teachers happy?

“Ask about the rates of staff sickness and turnover. Ask how many are on long-term sickness. Find out if teachers are covering lots of lessons. If so, there’s usually a serious problem in the school.” Ingrid, special needs teacher, Essex

Does the school have stable leadership?

A prolonged period of leadership instability can be an indication that something is preventing heads from staying (or applying). It could mean the school does not enjoy the support of the community, for example. Whatever the reason, it is worth investigating.” Shane Rae, governor

How is behaviour really?

“Check the exclusion figures. If there are a lot of fixed-period exclusions for disruptive behaviour, then this suggests behaviour might be a real problem.” Ken, science teacher, London

“Look carefully to see if there is graffiti on the desks, and the general fabric of the buildings. Does the furniture look like it’s been treated badly?”  Janice, art teacher, Midlands 

Good signs to look out for

“Talk to the office staff and the head’s PA and find out how nice they are. It says something about the school, and they are the people you’ll talk to on a day-to-day basis about things like dinner money, school trips etc.” Jenny, English teacher, London

“Does the school hold events/classes that involve people outside the school?  A successful school is integrated with the community around it.” Shane Rae, teacher

“Look at the walls: are they full of colourful children’s work? This is a sign that pupils’ efforts are really valued. Is the display of a good quality, mounted with care or just pinned up randomly, or dog-eared?”   Chris Chivers, teacher

Signs that should ring alarm bells

“Visit the students’ toilets – the state of them shows how much the school really cares about the kids.”  Vic Goddard

“Look at the local press to see if any disasters have happened recently such as bad accidents, or local people complaining about poor behaviour etc.” Yasmin, inner-city teacher, London

“Beware of glossy publications; they could mean too much money spent on advertising.” Chris Chivers, teacher and former headteacher

• Francis Gilbert’s Working The System – How To Get The Very Best State Education for your Child is published by Short Books

Related posts:

1. Revealed … the great schools test for parents. How to choose the right school?
2. What secondary school should I choose for my son? The comprehensive, the Academy or the Federated School?
3. Should students choose their teachers?

The free schools policy is the most ideological of all the coalition’s policies. Trumpeted in the Conservative manifesto, it was one of Michael Gove’s first projects as education secretary. His vision was that thousands of schools set up by parents, private companies and faith groups would spring up in direct opposition to their state-run counterparts – as they did when a similar policy was pursued in Sweden in the 1990s. Free schools, Gove believed, would turn the state sector into a free market with schools competing for pupils in the way shops compete for customers.

Over two years later, the reality is very different from Gove’s vision. His aim was that free schools would educate 200,000 pupils but my estimate indicates they will educate no more than 20,000 pupils by 2015 – and this is a generous estimate because most free schools are very small. Clearly, the policy can never hope to meet the demand created by the recent baby boom with hundreds of thousands of new places needed in the coming years.

Indeed, the 55 free schools opening this week cannot hope to meet the demand of the 78,000 extra school places needed right now. The majority of free schools are small and most of them aren’t in areas where there are shortages. For example, One in a Million Free School in Bradford and the Newham Free Academy have been shelved because they couldn’t find enough pupils. Many others are struggling to find accommodation and have either delayed opening or shut entirely.

Of 17 schools due to open in London, at least 10 are on temporary sites; of the 55 schools whose opening has been trumpeted, 26 will not open on their permanent site.

The policy is not only unworkable but also very wasteful – and in these times of austerity, too. It’s hard to quantify exactly how much money has been spent because a veil of secrecy has been drawn over the policy, with countless freedom of information requests being turned down by a defensive government. What we do know is that nearly 100 civil servants at the Department for Education are working on the policy and that the capital costs for some free schools are between £10m-£20m. Nearly £400,000 was spent on Bradford and Rivendale free schools alone, despite the fact they will not now open. The total cost of the free school project could run into billions.

But it’s not just the huge waste of resources that should concern us. Worse, perhaps, is the fact that free schools will not raise standards overall – indeed, they are likely to damage the prospects of the country’s poorest pupils. Gove claimed that free schools would narrow the attainment gap between the richest and poorest children. However, existing free schools admit fewer poor children than the national average, with figures showing that only 9.4% of their pupils are on free school meals – a key indicator of poverty – compared with a national average of 16.7%. In my borough, Tower Hamlets, the free school – Canary Wharf College – has only 2% of pupils on free school meals when the borough average is 48%. Indeed research carried out by this paper indicates that the majority of free schools are being established in wealthier areas.

While the efforts of those individuals who set up free schools may be commendable, the overall effect on society is to deepen social segregation. Research shows that long-running free school policies in the US and Sweden have fuelled social segregation in both countries.

The policy is fostering religious segregation as well. The British Humanist Association has identified 39 proposals for faith or pseudoscientific schools, out of a total of 102 schools hoping to open in 2013. These include three schools supported by creationists. There are fears that some of these schools will not give children a broad and balanced curriculum. The creationist schools are the most obvious example, but other schools, such as the Steiner Academy in Frome, are also likely to pursue controversial agendas such as discouraging parents from getting their children vaccinated. The Health Protection Agency specifically mentions Steiner children as likely to be unvaccinated.

The free schools policy is a wasteful, ill-conceived and ideologically driven disaster. The taxpayer and, more importantly, our children deserve better.

Related posts:

1. Gove’s free schools policy is already in trouble
2. A presentation on the problems with Free Schools
3. Tory free schools will spread inequality

http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/articles/2005/03/16/wilfred_owen.shtml

Related posts:

1. Wilfred Owen’s poetry — a Prezi with links to YouTube explanations of the poems
2. My YouTube videos which explain Wilfred Owen’s Exposure and Spring Offensive
3. The Machine Gunners — Teaching Activities, links and videos

The news today that the education secretary is to remove the requirement for academies to employ qualified teachers sent a shudder down my spine. For a teacher like me, who has taught for more than 20 years in various comprehensives and has spent a great deal of time, quite a bit of it my own time, being “trained”, I know that pupils get a raw deal if they are taught by an untrained teacher.

Firstly, a properly trained teacher is fully conversant with the various theories about how children learn; he or she understands that you can’t just stand at the front and bark orders, that you need to engage children in “active” learning where they are doing things that assist with their learning. A well-trained teacher knows how to assess their pupils lesson by lesson, and use their assessments to shape further lessons, building upon a child’s strengths and tackling their weaknesses.

I know I wouldn’t be nearly as effective as a teacher had I not been trained. My training has equipped me to deal with both the academic rigours of my subject, and managing hundreds of children over the course of my career. It’s enabled me to draw on a variety of techniques and approaches so that I feel I can constantly innovate and improve my teaching.

A well-trained teacher understands how to nurture good behaviour; they know how to set clear boundaries and understand the complexities of children with special educational needs who may be struggling. They are also specialists in subjects.

Much research shows that the best teachers have been very well trained. Indeed, it is puzzling that Michael Gove should be instituting this policy when he himself has praised top-performing education systems such as Finland’s where teachers are intensively trained.

So why is he instituting this policy? I think there are two major reasons. First, he himself has admitted to disliking the “educational establishment”; he has a covert agenda to “de-professionalise” the profession. He wants to give the impression that anyone off the street can teach, that it is a “craft” – as opposed to an art or science – that can be learned on the job.

Second, he’s got his eye on setting up “for-profit” schools where companies can move into the sector and offer education at “cut price”. This is the equivalent of offering children “ready meals” instead of home-cooked food. If the Conservatives get a majority in the next election, I’ve no doubt this will happen.

It’s time the teaching profession spoke out collectively against this outrage; our children’s future is at stake.

Related posts:

1. Don’t judge teachers by their degrees
2. The classroom should be a place of learning – but not for teachers
3. Training teachers at college is better than on the job

This said, old people get a largely negative press; scarcely a day goes by without some dreary headline about our “ageing population”. When I’ve canvassed people about whether they want to live to a hundred, many of them have reacted with horror, saying they couldn’t think of anything worse. Being old in our culture is tantamount to being “diseased”. For all the success of some high-profile pensioners, we’re largely a youth-obsessed nation, yearning for all the perceived benefits of being young.

That was why it was so refreshing to encounter an American-based movement, Blue Zones which promotes the benefits of growing old. Based on the best-selling book, Blue Zones – Lessons for Living Longer From People Who’ve Lived the Longest by National Geographic writer Dan Buettner, the movement is popular because it reassures us that we shouldn’t be frightened of growing old. Buettner’s research took him to what he dubs “Blue Zones”, areas in the world where people live disproportionately longer than others. He travelled all over the globe with a team of researchers: from Sardinia, Italy to Okinawa, Japan; from Loma Linda, California to the Nicoya Penisula in Costa Rica. Here Buettner and his team, using a mixture of scientific and anthropological observation, explored the reasons how these cultures promoted happy, healthy longevity. His findings make fascinating reading. For example, in the mountainous Barbagia region of Sardinia, 47 men and 44 women lived past their 100th birthdays in a population of 17, 864 born between 1880 and 1900 – a rate of centenarians which exceeds America’s by a factor of 30. It appears that their mountain walking, their largely plant-based diet supplemented by goat’s milk and red wine, and their respectful, family-based communities all contribute to longevity.

Similar stories emerge from Nicoya and Okinawa; healthy habits have been passed on from generation to generation which have meant people live much longer than in much richer areas. The Okinawans, for example, have an “eighty percent” rule which means that they stop eating before they are full; this has meant there are very few obese people. Sadly, the younger Okinawans who have embraced Americanised, sedentary lifestyles are suffering from health problems such as diabetes — which none of their elders have. The comparison between the older and younger Okinawans is hard proof, if we needed any, that Westernised life-styles do not foster long, happy lives. There are some communities, though, that buck the trend. The most notable of these are the Seventh-Day Adventists, an evangelical Christian sect, living in Loma Linda California. Their teetotal, largely vegetarian and community-based life-styles are particularly conducive to longevity. There’s no doubt that their strong faith plays a part, but it appears that it doesn’t have to be religious faith that sustains you, it could be your family or a way of life that might be your source of comfort.

For all the “Blue Zones” self-help tone – which inevitably leads to some simplistic sounding advice – the overwhelming message that comes through is that it’s a complex interplay of factors which leads to certain cultures fostering happy, long lives. Some common threads, however, can be drawn out: environments which make exercise compulsory and a part of daily life and promote healthy, largely plant-based diets go a long way towards creating the conditions for disease-free, active old people. But above all, societies which give old people a very firm sense of identity, which celebrate rather than denigrate old age, and have in-built structures which mean old people socialise give people a real incentive to live longer.

The book made me re-evaluate my life. As a middle-aged person in a highly-stressful occupation, teaching, who enjoys rather too many bacon sarnies and buns and gets much of his sense of identity from his job, I’m not exactly in line for a long life. The book made me think again; I decided to take a step back from work, eat a bit more healthily and to socialise more. I would love to have the spirit and body of the cheery goat farmers in Sardinia or the smiley-faced 100-year-old gardeners in Okinawa when I’m older.

The Blue Zones website offers all sorts of tips – some of which are hotly contested, such as an instruction to drink two glasses of wine a day. But I found the book complex enough to draw out my own “tips”. These are things that struck me:

• Saying you’re going to live a long happy life makes it much more likely that you will –I’ve encountered a number of people who feel it’s arrogant and tempting fate to make this kind of statement – perhaps it is – but it’s clear that articulating a desire to live a long life is an important to leading one…
• Eating meat on a daily basis isn’t good for you – all of these long-lived cultures only eat meat very sparingly.
• Make your own Sabbath – a day of complete rest! The Seventh Adventist benefit a great deal from having a day when they don’t work, but just do things like going for walks and socialising.

Blue Zones, details of the book here. www.bluezones.com

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2. Why does Gove believe dead languages and Ancient History are more important to learn than the Arts, R.E, Sports and Technology?
3. Why does Gove believe dead languages and Ancient History are more important to learn than the Arts, R.E, Sports and Technology?

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Marking the GCSE essay was both easier and harder. The marking criteria was very clear; for writing it’s divided into two main areas, Assessment Objectives i and ii, which were marked out of 20, and Assessment Objectives, iii, which are marked out of ten.

To get a top band answer, you have to meet these criteria for AO i and ii:

In this band a candidate’s writing:
 shows sophisticated control of the material and makes  effective use of linguistic devices.
 demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the task,  addressing it with complete relevance and adapting form and style with flair to suit audience and purpose.
 uses precise vocabulary which is fully suited to the purpose of the writing, conveying subtlety of thought and shades of meaning, and where appropriate is imaginative and ambitious in scope.
 uses structure to produce deliberate effects, developing  the writing coherently and skilfully from a confident opening which engages the reader to a very convincing and deliberate ending.
 is organised into coherent paragraphs which are clearly varied for effect and used confidently to enhance the ideas and meaning.

For AO iii, you have to meet these criteria for a top band answer:

In this band a candidate’s writing:
 uses a wide range of sentence structures to ensure clarity and to achieve specific effects relevant to the task.
 uses ambitious vocabulary with very few spelling errors.
 uses punctuation consciously and securely to shape meaning, with very few errors.

Unfortunately, Paddy’s answer just a little wayward and all over the place, though full of good ideas. With some teaching, he would achieve a top band answer, but his answer went off topic and lost focus in places, and there’s no doubt in my mind that he would have not achieved an A* as one would expect, but actually get a low A grade. It made me realise that at the top end, GCSE is a demanding exam; to really excel, you have to be pretty darn good! It also brought home to me — and Paddy — just how terrifying these exams are; Paddy confessed to being nerve-wracked and quite stressed by it. He took the GCSE question after the O Level question and it showed; he’d lost a bit of concentration. Many of my students  were taking two or three exams in one day; I’ve noticed time again that my classes’ results are worse if they’ve taken an exam in the afternoon. The poor things are exhausted!

I’m just not sure that these exams are an accurate test of ability, though there’s no doubt in my mind that GCSE English is a far more rigorous exam than the old O Level.

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2. The unfair representation of a collective group in two media platforms
3. Exam boards are failing our pupils