Date updated: Tuesday 9th July 2019
- Access to schools for education and training providers (the “Baker clause” requirement) – What schools are required to do and why they must do it.
- Teachers working time – the “new norm” or illegality?
- Still Talking About Sex... (and relationships)
- Assessing curriculum; Ofsted’s new inspection framework
- School punishments – what is ‘reasonable’ or ‘usual?’
- Reviewing your academy’s complaints procedure
- Brief alerts
Please note the Education Bulletin is changing…
From September our monthly Education Bulletin will undergo a refresh. To be as current on topical issues as possible, we will be posting more of our articles and updates on the Stone King website immediately and sharing them on social media. However, we appreciate that many people prefer to receive our articles directly to their inbox, so our monthly Bulletin will continue to do just that, acting as a round-up of the month’s news so that you don’t miss anything.
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Access to schools for education and training providers (the “Baker clause” requirement) – What schools are required to do and why they must do it.
All secondary schools and schools with secondary age pupils are under a statutory obligation to publish a policy statement on the circumstances in which education and training providers are permitted to have access to pupils. This article sets out the school’s obligation and the risks of non-compliance.
Teachers working time – the “new norm” or illegality?
A recent Department for Education workload survey suggests teachers in England work an average of 54 hours a week and school leaders work in excess of 60 hours a week. Regulated working hours for teachers are essential both to help schools plan the school day effectively and to ensure teachers are able to achieve a satisfactory work life balance. So should they be working these hours, including in the school holidays?
Still Talking About Sex... (and relationships)
February saw the first new guidance on relationships and sex education (RSE) issued by the Department for Education in 19 years. The new regime makes RSE compulsory in secondary schools from 2020, with primaries also required to teach relationships education. It also introduces an expectation that pupils will be taught about LGBT relationships, though the point at which this content will be introduced is a matter left to individual schools. Since its publication, the guidance hasn’t strayed far from the headlines, with the proposals around parental rights of withdrawal and LGBT content proving to be particularly contentious. There is little public consensus on the issue, and schools have faced both protests opposing the updated guidance, as well as groups calling for it to be extended further. As a result, many schools have been left confused about what the new regime will mean for them.
Assessing curriculum; Ofsted’s new inspection framework
Ofsted have issued their new curriculum inspection framework. Its main features are outlined in this section.
School punishments – what is ‘reasonable’ or ‘usual?’
We have come a long way in terms of what are considered to be reasonable or usual sanctions in schools, which for a long time was the legal test. Gone are the days of the Victorian school era where pupils were likely to receive punishments eliciting fear, shame, embarrassment and anxiety and this would be supported by the courts. Since then the government has banned corporal punishment and set out guidance in the form of the Behaviour and Discipline in Schools which states what are acceptable (and reasonable) in schools.
Reviewing your academy’s complaints procedure
With policy reviews often taking place over the summer, we send out a reminder of what is required in an academy’s complaints policy, and some tips to effectively handle parental complaints.
Brief Alerts July 2019
- Off-rolling Penalties
- Feeling the Heat
- Examination Problems
- Academy Finances
- Shortage? What shortage?
- Harassment
- Teaching online safety
- In case you missed it
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