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Issue 1.10

Leadership

Peer Effects And Pupil Attainment: Evidence From Secondary School Transfer

Pupils seem to do better in their early stages of Secondary school when their new schoolmates have a good record of prior achievement. This 42–page report by the Centre for the Economics of Education at the London School of Economics analyses the impact of peer groups on attainment. In this study, the population of state Secondary school pupils in England is used to find out how pupil attainments at age 14 respond to differences in the prior, age–11 attainments of their current school grade peer–group. It concludes that success or failure is not determined by whether a child goes to a school with high or low ability children.

  • 24mins
Leadership

Action Against Drugs In Schools

There has been a great deal of media debate in recent weeks surrounding the issue of random drug testing in schools following the conclusion of a six month pilot scheme at The Abbey School in Faversham that led to improvements in behaviour of pupils and exam results. Following the success of the scheme, Kent County Council has now been approached by the DfES, offering funding to evaluate the benefits of random drug testing in schools across the County.

  • 24mins
Leadership

Child and Adolescent Mental Health: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals

This new 66–page research report from the British Medical Association's (BMA) board of science reveals that the number of children in the UK with mental health disorders has more than doubled in the past 30 years, with a over million experiencing problems. There has been an increase in conduct disorders such as bullying and fighting, and in emotional disorders including phobias and depression. There are now over 7,000 children who are affected by behavioural disorders which can disrupt school classes and family life. The BMA report notes that poorer children, asylum–seeker youngsters, those in care and those who had seen domestic violence are particularly susceptible to mental health problems. Update Note: The full report is no longer available

  • 24mins
Leadership

Special Educational Needs and Ethnicity

There have been concerns for some time about the attainment and progress of children from minority ethnic groups in the UK. One specific concern has been about their overrepresentation among pupils identified as having special educational needs (SEN). This 169–page research for the DfES considers the over and under representation of minority ethnic groups in different categories of special educational need compared with White British pupils. The study comprised four main strands of evidence: a review of the literature; an analysis of the 2005 PLASC dataset; a survey of LAs; and focus groups of senior LA officers. Summary Only - The full report is no longer available

  • 24mins
Leadership

Becoming A Teacher

This 361–page research document is part of a six–year study of teachers’ experiences of initial teacher training (ITT) and early professional development in England. Conducted by researchers at the University of Nottingham, the University of Leeds and MORI Social Research Institute, these findings relate to Year 2 of the project, where trainees had completed ITT and were about to take up their first post. Update Note: The full report is no longer available

  • 24mins
Leadership

The Status Of Teachers And The Teaching Profession

This 113–page research from the universities of Cambridge and Leicester reports on the surveys of public opinion, associated groups’ (including teaching assistants, governors and parents) and teachers' perceptions of the status of teachers and the teaching profession. The report was commissioned as a result of recent government policy to improve the status of teachers and standards in teaching. Update Note: The full report is no longer available

  • 24mins