Daily summary of the latest news and opinions from the world of independent education bought to you by Education Advisers...  

New LSE research says alumni from Britain’s top public schools 94 times more likely to reach the most powerful positions – HMC Chair’s statement

LSE research states that the alumni of the nine Clarendon schools within HMC have been 94 times more likely to become leaders in British society than those who attended any other school based on their historical analysis of Who’s Who. Researchers studied various birth cohorts between 1830 and 1969 and found pupils from other HMC schools were 35 times more likely to achieve such positions.

The joint lead authors of the paper, Dr Aaron Reeves of the International Inequalities Institute at LSE and Dr Sam Friedman of the Department of Sociology at LSE, commented:  “Although the Clarendon schools have not always been the best performing schools in the country they have consistently remained the most successful in propelling their alumni into elite positions.

“Clearly their power lies beyond simple academic excellence and may be rooted in an extensive extra-curricular education that endows old boys with a particular way of being in the world that signals elite male status to others. While the democratisation of education clearly dented the influence of these elite schools, their power remains a testament to how far adrift Britain lies from true equality of opportunity.”

Chris King, Chair of HMC and Head of Leicester Grammar said:

“This research shows the consistent quality of these schools through times of change in society and government policy.  It is wrong and illogical suggest the richness of their extra-curricular provision ‘signals’ male status; in fact it is the essence of a rounded education and helps develop resilience, team work and appreciation of others’ points of view.

“Two of these schools are now co-educational; further reason why this research does not serve as a guide to modern-day realities.

“Independent schools are increasingly sharing their teachers, facilities, drama, sport and events with state schools. So, rather than criticise excellence, let us find new ways to work together to help all pupils reach their potential.”

Read more at: http://www.hmc.org.uk/blog/new-lse-research-says-alumni-britains-top-public-schools-94-times-likely-reach-powerful-positions-hmc-chairs-statement/?utm_content=bufferc1401&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Improving inspection frameworks in schools

Significant changes to private school inspection processes have been introduced by the Department for Education (DfE). Christine Ryan, CEO of the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), looks at the key details of the new inspection framework and explains how the not-for-profit organisation continues to work with member schools to achieve educational excellence

Two key changes to inspections were implemented last year which have produced a separation of educational performance and regulatory compliance, as detailed below:

  • Educational Quality Inspections report on how well the school performs in terms of the achievement and personal development of pupils. These two judgements are each graded on a four-point scale (excellent, good, sound and unsatisfactory). The report explains why a school achieves the outcomes it does by referring to contributory factors such as teaching and pastoral systems. By explaining the reasons for the outcomes the report indicates how well the school caters for pupils of different needs and abilities, how broad the education is, what the atmosphere of the school is like in terms of the ethos, behaviour of pupils and relationships and how well pupils are cared for. Recommendations are made to help schools identify and address areas for improvement and build on good practice.
  • Regulatory Compliance Inspections report on whether the school meets the minimum standards set out by the DfE for all independent schools. Action points set out what the school must do to improve and these are followed-up by the DfE.

For a detailed look at the latest changes to independent school inspections see Ofsted’s School Inspection Handbook.

Read more at: http://independentleader.co.uk/improving-inspection-frameworks-in-schools/