Double Plus Ungood: the Hernhill Thought Police

After yet another incident involving the School and local parents over Facebook, we felt we should advise readers that a few people have taken it upon themselves to patrol the virtual corridors of Facebook on behalf of the school, monitoring user content and reporting back on what they feel might be inappropriate content.

Double Plus Ungood

Whilst the issue of Facebook and institutions may be a contentious one – although it is perhaps less so for people who are not directly employed by or affiliated to an institution or organisation, who presumably have the right to use their individual and personal pages as they choose  – it can’t hurt for our local users to be mindful of this small group of Facebook Vigilantes when posting to Facebook, and to be aware of their privacy settings and / or Facebook ‘friends’ when using it.

Happy use of social media, everyone…

Ofsted want your opinion

Ofsted now have a ‘Parent View’ page:

http://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/

“Parent View gives you the chance to tell us what you think about your child’s school.

Parent View asks for your opinion on 12 aspects of your child’s school, from the quality of teaching, to dealing with bullying and poor behaviour. We will use the information you provide when making decisions about which schools to inspect, and when.

By sharing your views, you’ll be helping your child’s school to improve. You will also be able to see what other parents have said about your child’s school. Or, if you want to, view the results for any school in England”.

Please note that Parent View does not currently include independent schools.

Chartwells Menu March 5th

Ofsted report damns one in five schools as ‘inadequate for music’

A new report from Ofsted declares that a fifth of schools is providing an inadequate music education.

A damning report, as indicated yesterday in Music Teacher magazine,  also states that there is not enough emphasis on practical music-making in sessions, and that there is a ‘scarcity of good vocal work in secondary schools.’

Amidst a litany of depressing statements, detailing the failures and short-comings Inspectors found in their assesment of music in schools across the country,  one terse fact rings out:

Too often, inspectors simply did not see enough music in music lessons.

Read the report in full here.

Chartwells Menu 21st February

Do Schools Make a Difference?

The government’s brought in new style league tables to help parents choose schools. But do we really know what makes a good school? And how far can schools really transform lives? Researchers have long believed in a so-called ‘school effect’ that counters, at least in part, factors such as social and family background. But how easy is it to measure this kind of effect, and can parents really be given a clear guide as to which school is best for their child? Or has too much emphasis on factors such as social background made schools complacent about what they can achieve? Fran Abrams talks to head teachers, educational experts, the schools minister and the new head of Ofsted as she investigates what difference schools can really make”:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01b9hjs/Analysis_Do_schools_make_a_difference/

Image: https://rctmoodle.org

Chartwells Menu 6th February 2012

Reading Resources recommended by the NCPTA

http://oxfordowl.co.uk/Reading/

http://readingagency.org.uk/

http://chatterbooks.org.uk/

http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/

http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/

http://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/Primary/Literacy/AllLiteracyresources/BugClub/BugClubOverview.aspx

http://www.yellow-door.net/

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

http://www.readathon.org/

First News children’s newspaper: http://www.firstnews.co.uk/

Texthelp “provides a wealth of online tools to enable children and adults with DYSLEXIA and other learning difficulties to learn to read”:  http://www.texthelp.com/UK

Thanks to the PTA-UK Magazine: http://www.pta.org.uk/pta-magazine-online/pta-magazine.aspx

Chartwells Menu 30th January 2012

Opting out of the National Curriculum?

 

The Children’s, Schools & Families Select Committee’s report 2009 on the National Curriculum states:

“The Department’s argument for Academies’ curriculum freedoms is that these schools have a particularly disadvantaged pupil intake and therefore may need to spend more time on literacy and numeracy or find new ways to engage pupils in their learning. The Department expects that as Academies drive up performance they will offer the full National Curriculum to the large majority of their pupils. In the meantime, however, it deems Academies’ curriculum freedoms to be essential if these schools are to raise standards”.

“Given that the Department sees Academies’ curriculum freedoms as a key factor in their ability to raise standards, and that the Minister is so confident that Academies’ curriculum freedoms have not damaged these pupils’ access to a rounded curriculum, it is not clear why the Department restricts these freedoms to Academies. We recommend that the freedoms that Academies enjoy in relation to the National Curriculum be immediately extended to all maintained schools”.

( Full Report: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmchilsch/344/34408.htm#a14 )

  Estelle Morris writes in The Guardian Today:

“The national curriculum provides an entitlement to all children to be taught a range of subjects. It stops schools giving up on children who find it difficult to learn or who are difficult to teach. Yet there is no doubt that for some young people the national curriculum is too rigid and its restrictions can stifle teachers’ creativity. Getting the balance right between the entitlement guaranteed by a national curriculum and the flexibility sometimes called for isn’t easy.

So what is the government’s response? Schools can have extra flexibility, but only if they are an academy or free school.

On what possible basis can the answers to these key questions about the curriculum be determined by the legal category of the school and not the needs of the children in them? Have children in non-academy schools less need for flexibility or are their teachers less likely to use such freedoms responsibly”?

Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jan/23/national-curriculum-review?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038 

Do you have a view? Please comment!