Dear Subscribers
I am pleased to bring you the last weekly updates before the welcome half-term break!
We begin with news from the world of teacher education. The DfE has published a list of all providers who will be accredited to deliver courses from September 2024 – these are providers who have satisfied the requirements of the recent market review. You can read the list here. Also out this week some news about a pilot scheme for a new teacher degree apprenticeship which is designed to provide more flexibility – the government hopes that the new route into teaching will attract teaching assistants or staff already working in schools. Apprentices will spend around 40 per cent of their time studying for their degree with an accredited teacher training provider. They will gain qualified teacher status and all tuition fees will be paid. This autumn will see the launch of a pilot which is open to those training to become maths teachers. You can find out more here. Providers wishing to offer the pilot apprenticeship can find the relevant information here.
This week, I have summarised a report from the Sutton Trust which, among other things, highlights the recruitment and retention challenges in the early years sector which is set to worsen as the childcare offer to working parents is extended. This week, the DfE has announced the launch of a childcare recruitment campaign, Do Something Big. A £1,000 sign-on bonus for childcare workers is also being launched.
Moving on to schools, the DfE has published the most recent guidance about school accountability measures. For 2022-23, all headline KS4 performance measures remain the same. These are: Progress 8 scores, the percentage of pupils entering the English Baccalaureate, the percentage of pupils staying in education or progressing to employment after Key Stage 4, the percentage of pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in English and maths, pupils’ attainment across the same 8 qualifications as Progress 8, and the English Baccalaureate Average Point Score (APS). There will be 2 new measures in 2023-24 – the percentage of pupils entered for triple science and the percentage of pupils taking an EBacc language.
The DfE has also this week published the revised data on Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 performance in 2023. Key stage 4 headlines are: 39.3% of pupils entered the English Baccalaureate, and 45.3% achieved a Grade 5 or above in English and maths. The average EBacc APS score per pupil was 4.05, and the average Attainment 8 score was 46.3. More detailed granular statistics on the Key Stage 4 results can be found here. At Key Stage 5, the average A level result was B-, the average Applied General result was Merit+, and the average tech level result was Merit+. More details can be found here.
Finally, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have published findings from their recent review of alternative provision. I will be including this report in the February summaries. It highlights a worrying number of gaps and weaknesses in the current system.
I look forward to updating you again after the half-term break.
