This article sketches one line of march for the counter-offensive to current education policy called for in the previous issue of "FORUM." It highlights three key areas where, in his drive to "revolutionise" the education service, the Education Secretary has over-extended himself and become vulnerable. It calls for sharp and…

Here, at "FORUM's" invitation, is the text of the 2014 Godfrey Thomson Trust public lecture at the University of Edinburgh. Its backdrop is the centralisation of educational decision-making in England since 1988 and the power and patronage exercised by the Secretary of State. Taking as examples recent policies on childhood,…

This article, an extract from the author's book "Head on the Block," describes how the purpose of the school examination system has changed such that now it is to evaluate the performance of teachers rather than the performance of their students. It highlights some of the negative effects of school league tables--in particular, how…

The flip-side of teaching-as-delivery is assessment-as-ventriloquism. Required to describe pupils and their progress through the language of Level Descriptors and exam grade criteria, any teacher risks losing her voice. This article notes the hierarchising and normalising intention of currently authorised versions of assessment, and looks for a…

There has been research on grouping pupils by ability for most of the twentieth century since Whipple carried out a study of the effects of special class placement on a group of high aptitude 5th and 6th graders in the USA in 1919. Since then hundreds of studies have been undertaken and there have been many literature reviews and syntheses of…

At a time when the relationship between early childhood and compulsory school education is high on the policy agenda, this article questions the dominant, often taken-for-granted, relationship--school readiness; and offers two alternatives, a strong and equal partnership and the vision of a meeting place. Both are potentially transformative,…

This article examines the government's view, as revealed in its June 2012 National Curriculum proposals, of the purposes and character of the primary curriculum as a whole. The proposals are found to be deficient in a number of respects: in their naive, selective and inflated use of international evidence; in their treatment of aims as no more…

Ofsted has always courted controversy. With the appointment of a strident new chief inspector its operations are likely to remain, or become increasingly, controversial. This article provides a detailed critique of key documents which describe the new inspection regime that for good or ill will have major consequences in schools. Although in…

Every school community is made up of several key partners, each of whom has a significant role in relation to the children. These are parents--who are their children's first educators, staff--all staff, the local community, the local authority and the governing body which represents all of these and is ultimately responsible for the school. All…

In October 2010 Perry Beeches school, an 11-16 Local Authority controlled community comprehensive in Birmingham, was widely featured in the national media as the "most improved school in the UK"--Ever. Some of the ways in which this was achieved are explored. Whether the changes undergone by this school reflect a pattern that has become more…

The extent to which education can compensate for social disadvantage is a matter of political controversy, especially in the context of policies for social mobility. On the one hand, to blame poor achievement on social class or poverty was seen to dodge the professional responsibility of teachers. On the other, the strong correlation between…

This article reviews the extent to which effectiveness strategies have compensated for social disadvantage, explores the reasons offered over time for the association between disadvantage and less good student outcomes, and argues that contemporary optimism and pessimism about change and progress relate to a neo-liberal paradigm that has little to…

This article is a contribution to the debate in England about the Coalition Government's policy to encourage interested parties to set up Swedish inspired Free Schools. The article argues, that in order to understand how Free Schools in Sweden operate, it is important to see them in the context of the Swedish school system. The article presents…

Low-attaining schools have been targeted by government for closure and transformation into academies. This article argues that opposition to academies is necessary but not sufficient. It is vital to do more than simply defend the status quo. In the city of Leicester an alternative vision for high-quality education, local authority led and grounded…

This article is an informal description of a forest school outdoor programme designed to boost emotional literacy, inclusion and attainment of secondary school pupils with a range of learning and behavioural difficulties. (Contains 2 online resources.)