Mid term review Jan 2013 Coalition and Education

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20969488

SCHOOLS

Original coalition agreement pledges:

• Shake-up of state school system to allow "new providers" to start schools
• Additional funding for schools with poorer pupils
• Help schools to reward good teachers and tackle underperformers
• Anonymity for "teachers accused by pupils"
• Increased flexibility in the exam system

What coalition says it's achieved:

• 80 new "free schools" opened and a further 102 due to open in 2013
• 60% of schools have already become academies or are converting
• The "pupil premium" means that schools receive £623 per pupil on free school meals
• Simplified Ofsted school ratings
• Creation of English Baccalaureate
• Strengthen right of teachers to impose discipline

Labour's verdict on coalition so far:

• GCSE system has been in "chaos"
• New curriculum too "narrow", failing to equip young people for job market
• Government responsible for "biggest cut to education funding since the 1950s"

Coalition's mid-term 'to do' list:

• Pupil premium to increase to £900 per pupil by 2014
• Extra funding to help 11-year-olds with maths and English
• Funding for a further 100 free schools and academies
• GCSEs to be replaced by English Baccalaureate
• "Restore the reputation" of A-levels
• Performance-related pay scales for teachers
• Expansion of parental choice in special needs education
• Train 2,000 exceptional graduates as teachers by 2016

BBC education correspondent Sean Coughlan says: The promise of new providers and greater school autonomy has seen the emergence of dozens of free schools, with numbers set to rise. These are part of a wider shift away from local authority control of schools, which has seen a majority of secondary schools become academies. The targeting of school funding at deprived children - the pupil premium - has been implemented against a background of tightening budgets.