The gender pay gap in academy trusts
The government's gender pay gap data has revealed huge disparities in how much men and women are paid.
How much does private tutoring matter for grammar school admissions?
Before the 2017 general election, it seemed like grammar schools were about to make a widespread return to England. Although this didn’t happen after the Tories lost their parliamentary majority, the new Secretary of State for Education has backed plans to allow existing grammar schools to expand. This renewed interest in expanding selective education has [...]
Chances of success at Key Stage 4, part one
This is the first of two posts in a series of blogposts looking at the relationship between Key Stage 1 attainment and Key Stage 4 outcomes. The second post can be found here. There are many ways of defining success at Key Stage 4. One aspect is whether pupils have attained appropriate literacy and numeracy [...]
Help us to investigate independent alternative provision
This is a joint blogpost from Education Datalab and The Difference. The Difference is a new training programme, creating the next generation of school leaders, upskilled in supporting pupil mental health and reducing exclusion from school. Leaders spend two years teaching in alternative provision while studying a specialist leadership course, focusing on mental health, safeguarding [...]
Long-term disadvantage, part six: Measuring disadvantage in the north
This is part six in a series of blogposts exploring long-term disadvantage. Other posts in the series can be found here. In previous blogposts in this series we have shown that the impact of disadvantage on attainment and progress varies according to the percentage of their time in school that a pupil has been eligible for [...]
Long-term disadvantage, part five: What explains the gap between London and the north?
This is part five in a series of blogposts exploring long-term disadvantage. Other posts in the series can be found here. We looked recently at the Progress 8 scores of long-term disadvantaged pupils – those who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) for 90% or more of their time in schools – and concluded that: [...]
Long-term disadvantage, part four: Our friends in the north
This is part three in a series of blogposts exploring long-term disadvantage. Other posts in the series can be found here. Some of you might remember the 1996 TV series in which Christopher Ecclestone plays Nicky Hutchinson. As an impatient politician he argues that “Tomorrow is too late”. The Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) has today issued [...]
Why is the performance of MATs so extreme?
Answer: It isn’t. So why ask the question? Well, among the glut of statistics published by the Department for Education on Thursday was a statistical first release on the performance of multi-academy trusts (MATs) [PDF]. At the top of the second page was this curious chart. At first glance, this looks rather alarming. It seems to [...]
Is PISA still a fair basis for comparison? Some serious questions have emerged
A version of this blogpost also appears on the Centre for Education Economics website. The OECD's PISA study compares the science, reading and mathematics skills of 15-year-olds across countries, with the results closely watched by journalists, public policymakers and the general public from across the world. Conducted every three years, particular attention is now being [...]