British Science Week

The ability to take time to critically reflect on a situation or development is a key skill which we endeavour to develop in our students. As such, the weekend always provides a good opportunity to model this behaviour and reflect on the week just gone and look forward to the week ahead.  There is always so much going on in day schools, each week brings a fresh set of lunchtime activities, after school lectures, assemblies and packed days and it is one of the real pleasures of working with young people to enjoy these events and to see how they help them to grow and develop.  So this weekend sees me reflecting on an academic lecture by a pioneering Otologist, a very inspiring assembly led by our school Leadership Team, the Head Girl and her Deputies, on International Women’s Day and a House Eco-Initiative to take action to improve the sustainability of textiles, whilst also looking forward to the activities which we have planned for British Science Week.

It goes without saying that scientific and technological developments bring many advantages.  It is always an exciting time to be a Scientist, to be a pioneer in your subject and look for ways to make something better.  It seems that every week, if not day, there is a news article or research report about the impact of technology (either positive or negative) on society, most often on young people.  This week is no exception: we have the suggestion from Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, that it might be right to have different time cut-offs for the length of time young people can spend on social media; discussion of advances in artificial intelligence and role of digital technology in the classroom with a suggestion that a time may come when pupils receive one-to-one tuition delivered via digital devices; and the University of London offers its first online BSc degree.

Independent schools are very lucky to have plenty of resources to invest in technology and to keep up to date with technological developments and this is an important aspect of our curriculum and teaching.  Some of the equipment, such as the 3D printers and laser cutters, which is used by our pupils on daily basis was not conceived of when I was a pupil at primary school, with one shared computer in the building.   So too, many of the jobs which we are preparing our students for do not yet exist.   So how do we best prepare our students for success?  The answer is I think to develop students’ ability to think critically, to be confident and resilient, and to be able to apply their knowledge to different situations.   Many of these skills are developed both inside and outside the classroom in co- and extra-curricular activities on which we place such high value.  Similar sentiments were echoed by Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum and former shadow education secretary, this week when speaking to students as part of Skills 2030 campaign by the charity Speakers for Schools, saying creativity was a key tool in future proofing their careers.

There is a balance to be had and we also have a duty to make sure that we are teaching our pupils to use technology responsibly.   Alongside this, we have a duty to teach our pupils how to work with a wide range of people who have different skills and experiences and embrace occasions for collaboration.  Providing these opportunities for all is one of the reasons why FIDS places such high regard on developing partnerships with other schools.  Technology is brilliant but it does not replace the human element and we should not lose sight of the individual or the person. Online learning or tuition delivered by digital devices does not offer the same level of opportunity for the development of emotional intelligence and skills of empathy and understanding, kindness, compassion and sensitivity to be nurtured, which are essential for a tolerant and progressive society.  I think back to my Head Girl’s assembly and the role models which she used to exemplify her point; students are less likely to aspire to something they cannot see.

You might not be a Scientist but you need to be scientifically-literate to engage in discussion and debate so that you can respond and reflect critically on advances and developments as they arise.  It is with this mindset that I look forward to joining in with lots of conversations with girls and staff during our British Science Week ahead

Sarah-Elizabeth Rees

Deputy Head Academic

Edgbaston High School For Girls,

Reading for pleasure

One of the greatest pleasures of Half Term is the opportunity to read for pleasure without the distraction of e-mail or the phone. I’ve really enjoying Madeleine Bunting’s excellent ‘Love of Country’, a cultural trek across the Hebrides. Reading for pleasure is something we tend to take for granted in independent schools, rich as we are in well-stocked libraries, trained librarians and most parents imbued with the importance of reading even if too many claim to be too busy to give time, and the example to their children, of losing themselves in a good book.

So it is a particularly distressing aspect of recent austerity cuts that there has been drastic reduction in local library provision and a haemorrhaging of expenditure in state schools on books. In 2016 public libraries took a £25m hit to their budgets in the year to March while the number of public libraries still open reached a 10-year low, with visitor numbers sliding by 15 million. Book budgets were also severely hit, taking an 8.4% fall over the period. For those with little opportunity to read at home the impact can be profound.

It is worth reminding ourselves of just how important reading is, particularly to those with marked social disadvantage. The Department for Education’s own research provides substantial evidence to suggest that cutting library resources in schools and local communities is incredibly short-sighted.

The DfE 2012 report on the importance of reading for pleasure quotes extensively from the work of the National Reading Trust. There is a growing body of evidence which illustrates the importance of reading for pleasure for both educational purposes as well as personal development. Study after study suggests that there is a positive relationship between reading frequency, reading enjoyment and attainment. This will come as no surprise to those working in FIDS schools. Perhaps more interesting to those teaching in maintained schools, particularly those with significant proportions of children on free school meals, is the OECD conclusion that reading for enjoyment may be more important for a child’s educational success than his or her family’s socio-economic status.

There is certainly no reason for complacency about literacy levels in the UK. The Reading Agency notes that statistics from 2014 show that one in five children in England cannot read well by the age of 11 and research conducted in 2012 found that 17% of 15 year-olds in England do not have a minimum level of proficiency in literacy. In fact analysis conducted in 2013 found that in England 16 to 24 year-olds have lower levels of literacy than young people in 21 out of 24 countries in the OECD. Literacy levels are higher in Japan, Estonia, Czech Republic and the USA. Depressingly England is the only OECD country out of the top 24 where 16-24 year olds have lower literacy skills than 55-65 year-olds. This is certainly no time to be making cuts in provision for library resources in state schools.

What can FIDS schools do to encourage reading in neighbouring state schools? Fundraising for book purchases and sharing library resources, including critically the support from a professional librarian, are all very important but one of the most effective measures is the provision of time from our own students. As the ISC/DfE Schools Together initiative shows many FIDS schools have devoted time to developing partnerships with reading as the focus. Over the past twenty years at KES we have developed a number of reading partnerships involving dozens of our Year 10, 11 and 12 students each week working with children in Years 4 and 5 in local primary schools.

This sort of partnership activity is unlikely to make great headlines. It isn’t glamorous, costs little, is relatively easy to organise and can take place almost anywhere in a school. But such links are amongst the most effective when supporting school improvement. Our own impact assessments show each year increased pupil interest in reading with staff noting consistently the novelty for many children of having a young adult reading with them regularly, talking about the books they liked when 8 or 9 and, through this, modelling habits which have improved the enjoyment of reading, a point supported by the DfE report.

The best partnerships are those where there is a strong mutual interest to continue with the venture. In our school the driver is the Duke of Edinburgh Award. For students chasing valuable activities to log for community service, reading partnerships work really well and they sign up in droves. And once started, every year most report on the positive impact reading with a young child has on their own well-being as well as their enjoyment of books. Friendships develop and many continue visiting ‘their’ schools long after that Duke of Edinburgh badge has been awarded and lost. FIDS schools literary partnerships with local schools may be a drop in the ocean but show what every school with willing students can do to help their local primary schools.

As the Reading Agency notes, low levels of literacy cost the UK an estimated £81 billion a year in lost earnings and increased welfare spending. The research is convincing; average reading age of the UK population is just 9 years. Reading for pleasure is more important for children’s cognitive development than their parents’ level of education and is a more powerful factor in life achievement than socio-economic background. There is a difference in reading performance equivalent to just over a year’s schooling between young people who never read for enjoyment and those who read for up to 30 minutes per day. Children who read books often at age 10 and more than once a week at age 16 gain higher results in maths, vocabulary and spelling tests at age 16 than those who read less regularly.

With World Book Day coming up soon on 1 March, Damian Hinds, the new Secretary of State for Education, might pause and reflect on what cuts to school and local authority library provision really mean. And he might also consider what FIDS schools already do to support children in their local communities read more.

Julian Thould,

Head, King Edward VI School, Southampton

A balanced curriculum that supports the creative arts – but where do our day schools find the time?

One of the unique aspects of being an independent school is just that, being independent, free from external influence or pressure.

Last week the BBC covered a story about the marginalisation of the creative arts from state schools in England.

More than 1,200 schools responded and of the schools that did responded, nine in every ten said they had cut back on lesson time, staff or facilities in at least one creative arts subject.

Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman said academic subjects were the best route to higher-level study, particularly for working-class children.

However, schools reported to the BBC via the survey, that an increased emphasis on core academic subjects, together with funding pressures, were the most common reasons for cutting back on resources for creative subjects.

I am sure such pressure on the curriculum is felt by independent day schools too and given the slow turnaround of the economy, particularly in some areas of the country, I am certain that funding has been a key decision-maker in the viability of such subjects moving forward. However, the contribution that the creative arts makes to the breadth and skillset of our students within a broad and balanced curriculum cannot be underestimated.

I realise, of course, that fitting the creative arts into a busy day school curriculum is becoming more and more challenging but it is a challenge, I would argue, worth trying to solve. Day schools are incredibly busy, with packed days, busier lunchtimes and often, students have to choose where to attend as clubs and societies clash. As day schools, we have to adapt and try ever more innovative ways to ensure that Art, Music, Drama, CDT, to name just a few, are given the opportunity to stand side by side with Maths English and Science.

The Arts Council England produced a pamphlet that outlined 10 Reasons why arts and culture make a difference to young people’s lives:

https://weareive.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/10-reasons-why-arts-and-culture-make-a-difference-to-young-peoples-lives.pdf

The document makes compelling reading.

And whilst ‘academic subjects’ may be one route into higher level study and a successful career why are the creative arts not considered an important route for some to achieve a successful future career?  Furthermore, research by the Cultural Learning Alliance (https://culturallearningalliance.org.uk) suggests that learning and skills developed through creative arts and culture can enhance attainment in academic subjects like Maths and English and that school experience and cognitive ability is enhanced too. (https://culturallearningalliance.org.uk/evidence/).

It is all too easy for independent day schools to attempt to square the circle of increased teaching in Maths and English by removing teaching from the practical creative subjects, or worse, by removing these departments completely.

The creative sector is ever growing and future roles in the creative sector are projected to continue increasing, with 1.2 million new skilled workers required by 2022.

With automation, artificial intelligence and robotics seemingly spelling the end of certain labour markets as we know them, then a call for creativity skills, unable to be delivered by computers, will place our students who possess such training at a selective advantage.

My hope is that as independent day schools, we continue to flex our timetables and review our subjects taught to meet the needs of an ever-changing world and the students that we serve. But we must continue to fly the flag for the practical creative subjects, finding time for them to be taught, helping celebrate the diversity and balance that they bring to the curriculum, but above all, recognising that careers in the creative industry are just as valid as more traditional careers.

With the state sector seemingly having its hand forced on this issue, the independent day school market has an important role to play in demonstrating that, even with similar challenges, we are willing to make this work.

If FIDS members wish to share their challenges and solutions to how they accommodate the creative arts within the curriculum, I would be pleased to receive them. Such collaboration and research would then assist us all in addressing the issues we are all facing in our own schools.

Richard Marshall

Headmaster, Ashville College Harrogate (www.ashville.co.uk)

FIDS Chair

How to choose the best school for your child

PREPARING FOR HEADSHIP (Sponsored by Odgers Berndtson)

This Conference will be held on June 17th at the East India Club, London, and is specifically planned for Heads and future Heads to discuss the developing role of the Head Teacher – and how to prepare for it.

For details, contact Stephen Smith on smithstephen30@gmail.com