EXAMS
GCSE and A Level exam appeals in decline
New funding formula could cause further cuts after 2020
According to data released by the exams regulator Ofqual, 355 appeals were made against GCSE and A Level results in 2016, in comparison to 466 in 2015. The 24 per cent decline is expected to be as a result of the drop in the number of GCSE and A Level entries, and decline in the number of requests for reviews of marking in 2016 compared to 2015. In 2016, 211 (3.2 per cent) of grades challenged at appeal led to a grade change. In comparison, 49 per cent (0.7 per cent) of grades were changed as a result in 2015. The data also shows that there has been an increase in the number of successful appeals, from 31 in 2015 to 46 in 2016. This follows a pilot run in 2016 which tested new grounds for appeal in three subjects. For AS and A level geography, physics and religious studies the grounds for appeal following a review were extended to allow an appeal on the grounds of a marking error that was not corrected during the review. Traditionally, exam boards have only accepted appeals on the grounds of a procedural error.
According to a report published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, around 1,000 schools could see further financial strain as a result of the new funding formula. The consultation over the new finance strategy closed on 22 March, and the government believes the new formula will ensure that schools in different parts of the country receive a similar level of funding. The report states that moving to a single funding formula “inevitably creates winners and losers”, and so the government has put in place transitional protections for schools. The plans will ensure that no school sees a fall in its budget of more than three per cent in cash-terms until 2020. Around 1,000 schools will still be more than seven per cent above the funding level dictated
by the main formula which could see them see cuts when the protection period ends. As a result of such protections, only 60 per cent of schools will be on the main formula by 2020. The government has also placed a cap on the gains schools can experience of 2.5 per cent in 2018–19 and a further three per cent in 2019–20. The net cost of these transitional arrangements is around £290 million in 2019 –20, which temporarily boosts spending per pupil by about 0.7 per cent in cash-terms. The government has provided no guidance to schools about what will happen after 2019–20.
UNIONS
WORK EXPERIENCE
ATL and NUT join for a “stronger voice”
Pupils in deprived areas lack the work experience they need
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) has voted in favour of joining to form a new union. The union will be called the National Education Union and will come into existence on 1 September 2017 with over 450,000 members. They will be representing the majority of teachers and a voice for the education profession, including support staff, lecturers and leaders working in state-funded and independent schools and colleges. It is set to be the fourth largest trade union in the UK and the biggest union of teachers and education professionals in Europe. Mary Bousted, ATL general secretary said: “With nearly half a million members, we will speak with a stronger voice on behalf of education professionals and the children, young people and adults they support. “The government will need to listen when we speak on the key issues facing education – funding cuts, excessive workloads, the recruitment and retention crisis, the chaotic exam reform, and accountability.” READ MORE: tinyurl.com/lxffqs6
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According to a government-commissioned report, children from poorer areas are not getting the relevant work experience they need to prepare for the future. The Work Experience and Related Activities in Schools and Colleges report stated that overall, satisfaction with work‑related activities and work placements was high among schools and colleges. However, it also stated that staff working in schools in high deprivation areas were “significantly less likely to feel that their school or college offered students enough placements of the right type”.
Education Briefer
FINANCE
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Forty-two per cent of staff in schools in areas of high deprivation revealed that they did not offer enough work experience placements, in comparison to the 58 per cent that stated they did. Out of schools in low deprivation locations, 74 per cent also said they did offer enough placements, while 26 per cent said they did not. The majority of people who took part in the research stated that extra funding was needed. READ MORE: tinyurl.com/m53uunu
Volume 22.3 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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