Last week, we had the opportunity to visit a local primary school. Having grown up in the American public school system, it was helpful to get a glimpse into a state school in the UK. We spoke to the head teacher who introduced us to the many programs and activities their school puts together for their children. What really shone through that visit was his love for his students and his commitment to enriching their lives. Since our project revolves understanding the use of non-attainment-based evidence, which covers things not related to the academic achievement of students, we asked about some of the challenges in the standards schools are held to and whether enough attention is given to the non-academic side of education.
We spoke of the challenges presented to schools by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspections. The head teacher spoke with some positivity of the latest white paper, coming from the Department of Education which does make an effort to stress the importance of enrichment for students and provide guidelines for providing more enrichment opportunities. However, in my reading of the white paper, ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’, I felt that although an emphasis on enrichment was placed it was usually framed as a tool for improving academic achievement. I think it will be helpful going forward to have another look at the white paper to see if I pick up on some of the things highlighted by the head teacher.
Our conversation also highlighted a frustration that schools have with Ofsted’s labelling of schools. By putting schools in certain bands, schools can become attached to a negative label that discourages parents from sending their children to that school. This, then, has the potential to lead to adverse selection. The families with engaged parents choose to send their children elsewhere and a school is left with disengaged families and low funding. The head teacher explained how in Oxford, most schools do not max out their enrolment so families can choose which primary school to send their child to and schools must compete to guarantee enrolment. So schools at the borderlines are quite dependent on how their Year 6 students score in standardized tests. While community organisations are interested in pursuing activities with the younger years, the head teacher explained that they don’t bother with the Year 6 students because the organisations know that the students don’t have time but for their exams. I found this quite strange that so much focus was put on standardized testing at such a young age. I also completed yearly standardized testing from around year 2 to year 7 and then in year 9 and year 11, but I don’t ever remember it being the only focus of those years where tests took place. I wonder if this is just a difference in the UK educational system versus that of California where I grew up or that the schools I attended generally had good exam performance and never had to worry about meeting state and national standards.
My visit with the head teacher has left me with new questions and angles to approach in our research. I am very grateful for the insights that were shared and the time taken to speak with us. In the following week, I’m hoping to zoom in on these new angles and get a clearer picture of what our ultimate report will look like.