Positive thinking

Louise Archer, UCL   The UK is facing massive skills shortages in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers – according to one study 43% of STEM vacancies are difficult to fill. This is why the government has been trying to increase and widen participation in STEM careers and education, to ensure a better prepared workforce for the future. To try and address the STEM gap, the “ triple science ” GCSE qualification was introduced. Triple science is the route allowing students to study biology, chemistry and physics as separate subjects. This leads to three distinct GCSE awards. Triple science has been championed by the government and industry for the way it prepares students for the world of STEM employment. This is compared to alternative routes like double science, which awards students two GCSEs for studying the three sciences. But our research suggests that the triple science route could actually be perpetuating social inequalities among pupils...

Yvonne Skipper, Keele University   Grammar schools are never far from the headlines and the BBC’s new mini-series, Grammar Schools: Who will Get In sheds further light on the selective schooling system, at a time when the prime minister, Theresa May, plans to expand it . The series follows pupils at three schools in Bexley, south London – which has a fully selective education system. The children featured in the programme showed high levels of anxiety and articulated fears that failing the 11+ exam will make them “a failure in life”. Children who go to grammar schools may achieve better GCSE results . But of course, not all children can attend grammar school – and the selection of the children who do attend is fraught with difficulty. Not all children are given the opportunity to take the 11+ – in some counties, only those who are selected by the teachers as likely to pass will take the exam – and of these children between 25-50% of children will pass . Our re...

Brian Moss, Coventry University   Violent behaviour in schools happens everyday and figures suggest bullying is on the increase, too . In a report last year , UNESCO (the United Nations office for educational, scientific and cultural affairs) revealed that school violence affects 246m pupils worldwide, every year. Such violence is experienced through physical and emotional forms of harassment. And it can negatively impact pupils’ educational success and later employment and health prospects. Significantly, a link between school violence and later criminal justice involvement was noted in the report. Not addressed, however, was the earliest trigger for a child using violence. Existing research points to different catalysts – such as parental violence, substance use and neglect – in the first 24 months of children’s lives as contributing to their own later violent conduct. The research shows that the peak age for violent behaviour is age six – which has implications...

   Paul Smalley, Edge Hill University Religion has always been a feature of schooling in England. The Education Act of 1944 made the study of Religion the only compulsory subject in school and it was to be accompanied by a “daily act of worship” for all pupils. Back then religion was largely synonymous with Christianity. But a recent survey from the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education shows there appears to be a growing problem with parents taking their children out of school RE lessons. The findings show that parents are withdrawing children from lessons on Islam, or visits to the Mosque, calling into question their preparation for life in modern Britain. Recently published research suggests that “withdrawal” has been requested in almost three quarters of schools. More than 10% of those withdrawing are open about the fact that they are doing so for racist or Islamophobic reasons. In 2017, the RE Council set up an independent commission...

 Eva Lloyd, University of East London Despite the important job they do, wages for people working in childcare tend to be low . These workers earn less than the average wage across all UK employment sectors and barely half that of qualified teachers . In the latest government provider survey , it was found almost 20% of day nursery workers in England earn less than the national living wage – including 10% of those aged 25 and over. In contrast, qualified teachers working in state nursery schools, children’s centres or state primary nursery classes receive nationally agreed pay and employment conditions. This is partly because, since 1998 and the introduction of universal entitlement to early education for all three- and four-year-olds, early education is no longer required to be delivered by graduate teachers – except in state nursery schools and nursery classes attached to state primaries. Instead, working with children in private sector settings – such as ...

Kirsten Louise Jones, University of Huddersfield Personal debt has reached record levels in the UK. Latest statistics show that people in the UK owe £1.58 trillion. This is up from £1.53 trillion in 2017. This means on average that each adult owes an extra £1,169.92 in 2018 compared with 2017. The findings also show that the average total debt per household – including mortgages – is just over £58,000. To have an understanding of the importance of budgeting and the impact and real cost of debt is an essential life skill. And one primary school in the UK is trying to tackle this issue head on. It has set up its own bank to teach children about money . But is it the school’s job? The government thinks so – financial literacy has been part of the national curriculum in English schools since 2014. But even then, this curriculum is not compulsory in academies, private schools and faith schools, so some children could miss out. And a recent OECD report found that the UK is...

   Ceri Brown, University of Bath Schools minister Nick Gibb reportedly advised MPs that young people should face more frequent tests in secondary school, to better prepare them for the exam stress they experience by the time they take their GCSEs. This is a surprising and somewhat short-sighted approach – not unlike proposing more regular alcohol consumption as the solution to binge drinking . It is hard to understand what appears to be a blatant disregard for the mental health of children and young people on the part of the schools’ minister – especially given that this government has repeatedly called on schools to play a larger role in addressing the purported mental health crisis among students. The prime minister herself has called for an end to the “hidden injustice” of mental illness that “too often starts in childhood and that when left untreated, can blight lives”. Stressed-out students To be clear, there is no doubt that exams contribute to m...

   Simon Burgess, University of Bristol One of the toughest subjects in classrooms at the moment is the recruitment and retention of teachers. Their level of pay is often cited as a problem – and possibly part of a solution. In England, the public sector pay freeze of recent years has meant real terms pay cuts for many teachers. But another part of the picture is the procedure which decides how much an individual teacher gets. Until recently this has been the pervasive public sector approach under which pay has generally increased automatically over time. But what if that were changed? Could the profession be made more attractive to high performers? Could more teachers be persuaded to keep on teaching? Back in 2013 the British government introduced one of the most wide-ranging reforms to teachers’ pay for many years. The most striking element was the requirement for all Local Authority (LA) maintained schools to introduce “ performance-related pay ” (PRP)...