Can private schools transform state education?

Transforming state education: class sizes in state secondary schools are on average more than double those in independent schools says the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develpment (OECD). Photograph: Alamy

Private schools should end their "splendid isolation" and work with state schools, according to chief inspector of schools Sir Michael Wilshaw. He was speaking at a recent conference hosted by one of England's most prestigious private schools, Wellington College. The college's master, Anthony Seldon, is a strong advocate of links between the two sectors and praised Sir Michael for giving "such a lead in ending the stagnant division between the state and the independent sector".

Another vociferous and influential proponent of such links is Lord Adonis, the peer who was a key figure in initiating New Labour's academy programme, which was heavily influenced by the 'public' school model and which the coalition has massively expanded. But what is the real potential of this type of development?

Sir Michael was certainly right about the privileged character of private education. Take the issue of class size. The OECD has just produced the 2013 edition of its vast store of education statistics, called Education at a Glance. Table D2.1 shows that class sizes in UK state secondary schools are on average more than double those in independent schools – 21.1 compared with 10.1. This is not because our state school class sizes are high by international standards – in fact the OECD average is significantly larger at 23.4. Nor are independent schools in other OECD countries anywhere near as privileged in this respect as ours are – in fact the average, at 21.2, is almost identical with our figure for state schools.

These huge differences in class size are a reflection of the much stronger resource base of independent schools. Their fees are much higher than the per-pupil spend on publicly-funded schools and they employ around twice as many teachers as would be expected from their proportion of pupils.

In spite of these great advantages there is room for doubt about the educational superiority of our private schools. One little reported finding from the last PISA results was that, once account has been taken of the socio-economic background of pupils, state schools in the UK outperform private schools by a considerable margin. In fact the gap in this country is much greater than it is across the OECD as a whole where state schools have only a slight performance advantage over private schools.

This indicates that much of the 'success' of our private schools can be attributed to the very distinctive nature of their intake rather than their educational excellence. It's surprising that this highly significant finding has been almost entirely overlooked in public discussion about this topic.

A little more attention has been given to the growing body of data which suggests that, once they reach university, students from state schools tend to do better than those from private schools.

No-one should be complacent about weaknesses but it appears that overall comprehensive schools have much to be proud of, working often in considerably more challenging contexts and with far fewer resources than private schools.

This is not to suggest that links with private schools will have no benefits for them. Where a state school is connected to a prestigious 'public' school with a well-known brand name some of the aura may well spread across the sector boundary. But there can also be more substantive gains. It is now widely accepted that professional collaboration is an important driver of educational improvement. Specifically in relation to private schools, Seldon of Wellington College suggested in an article in The Times in 2009 that three factors account for what he regarded as the superior academic performance of independent schools in England: a far higher ratio of subject specialists; much smaller class sizes; and higher parental expectations. While state schools can do little about the last two of these, collaborative schemes might help them draw on scarce subject expertise, though whether that would be welcomed by the parents who have paid large fees to secure this benefit is another matter. And of course any sharing of the lavish buildings and facilities that some private schools possess is to be welcomed.

People are often captivated by the model of the English 'public' school and what it is able to deliver for its pupils in the shape of access to high status universities, prestigious jobs and so on. One result has been a sometimes over-enthusiastic advocacy of links between state and private schools. Some of the claims are surely exaggerated and it is time to take a more realistic look at what such arrangements can be expected to achieve.

Ron Glatter is emeritus professor of educational administration and management at The Open University.

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Academies and free schools in the rush towards the opening of the boarding schools funded by the State

New statistics show that there was a huge increase of requests for academies, charitable organizations educational and committed individuals in the schools without arrange movement of internships for students.

Throughout the first four months of 2013 (SBSA) State boarding schools Association said that received 20 applications for those who are interested in the opening of new institutions. This compares with a single application per year over the past five years. These new schools would offer a free education and the burden for boarding costs - reducing the demands on the bank accounts of parents for more than ￡25,000 per year around ￡ 10,000.

Although still an important monetary expense, charges can cancel care expenses and it is hoped that schools could provide an option for the children than families experiencing problems at home.

The new generation of boarding comes following the City Centre London school Durand of the Academy plan to open the "Eton of the public sector" in West Sussex for 600 children.

Three academies open boarding schools last year, with five plans announcing more doing the same thing. The Wellington Academy to Tidworth, Wiltshire, sponsored by the College of Wellington ￡ 30,000 per year, also offered places of embarkation to 100 students in 2012. Even the elite Eton College is planning to sponsor a boarding school of State, Holyport College, which will open its doors in 2014 to seven km from the public school in a village near Windsor-leaves.

The Academy of Harefield in Hillingdon, West London, was the first Academy to open a boarding school nearby for 50 of his students in 2012.

Director Lynn Gadd said the school has decided to offer to come aboard to help working-class students.

"For children who are about to have omitted because they are not in class, if you put internship, it will make a difference - it's a no brainer", she said.

"There also many children that we sofa surfers. They move from MOM to Dad at gran, so they are never in the same place to do their homework or to have a place to call their own. ?

She admits however, very few families can afford to pay ￡ 10,000 for the costs on board more than a year - say that it might sometimes be a struggle to find money for children who would benefit the most from the experience.

"The government finance the construction and equipment but it is not possible to finance places", said Ms Gadd. "You have to run to the charitable foundations for funding and local authorities for the financial sponsorship."

Melvyn Roffe, a veteran of the SABS and the Director of State of Wymondham College boarding school in Norfolk, said: "it's kind of come back in the future. It was a form of education that was popular years ago and now she is back. ?

Lauryn Nwaeze, 16, finished his GSCEs at Harefield Academy and moved to boarding school at the school in September.

I moved because of the long drive to the school, which would have been an hour-and-a-half.

It really helped me because it is so close to the school that if I ever need help from their teachers, they are literally two minutes from the hotel. My homework has improved because we have planned some study time.

I like be in the boarding house because it's like a family; Everyone looks at each other.

If you stay at the weekend you are allowed to do what you like, but obviously we have a curfew - for the year of 11 which is 22.

Before my arrival, I thought boarding would be like in Harry Potter, but it is really normal and you are in good hands. I have my own room and toilets, and we have a head-mistress home and people who take care of us and keep us online.

I don't mind not being at home because my mother a nurse and it works great. What I like most about his presence, is that I'm not on my own as well, and you get to be more independent without your parents.

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Rising numbers of state school headteachers paid £100,000 salaries

Heads of the Government’s flagship academies were more likely to be in the highest pay bracket while their teachers earned less than those working for local authority schools, a breakdown revealed.

The findings have angered teachers’ leaders who say they confirm that government moves to allow schools to fix their own pay levels will lead to the majority being paid less.

In all, 600 heads were earning between ￡100,000 and ￡110,000 and a further 200 received a salary of more than ￡110,000 - double the average salary for a headteacher.? Last year 700 heads were in the ￡100,000-plus bracket.

Heads of the Government’s flagship academies were more likely to be earning six-figure sums, according to a breakdown of the figures by statisticians at the Department for Education - 400 as opposed to 300 who were working in local authority maintained schools.

On average academy heads’ salaries in both primary and secondary schools were also higher than in local authority schools - with leaders in secondary school academies earning on average ￡61,900 - compared to ￡60,900 in local authority schools.? In primary schools, the figures were ￡53,900 in academies and ￡51,900 elsewhere.

However, teachers in both secondary and primary school academies were earning less than their counterparts in local authority maintained schools - ￡35,200 as opposed to ￡36, 100 in secondary schools and ￡31,100 and ￡32, 200 respectively in primary schools.

The figures appear to indicate that giving academies the power to set their own pay levels has benefited school leaders at the expense of classroom teachers - prompting unions to fear it will be a similar story when all schools are given the freedom to set their own pay levels from September.

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “It is quite obvious that despite what the Secretary of State (Michael Gove) says about his plans for the deregulation of pay, it is clearly not about paying a few teachers more but about paying the majority of teachers less.”

Today’s document pointed out that comparisons between the two sectors could be misleading because they failed to take into account the geographical location of the schools - teachers in London and the surrounding areas are entitled to higher salaries than elsewhere.

On headteachers’ pay levels, a spokesman for the DfE said: “It’s essential we have the best people in place to lead our schools if we are to raise standards.? That’s why decisions on pay are down to schools so that they can recruit and retain the highest calibre of school leaders.”

Meanwhile, the figures showed both the number of full-time teachers and teaching assistants have grown in the past year from 438,000 to 442,000 and 219,800 to 232,300 respectively. However, Labour pointed out the number of full-time teachers had declined since the General Election in 2010.

They also revealed thousands of pupils were receiving lessons from teachers not trained in the areas they were covering. Almost one in four (23.1 per cent) of maths teachers and a fifth (20-1 per cent) of English teachers do not have a qualification in the subject they are teaching.? However, the figures show a slight improvement on the previous year.

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'Reservoirs of disease': Private school pupils 'at much greater risk' of getting measles than those in state sector, says leading doctor John Ashton

Professor John Ashton said Britain's 600,000 privately-educated children were at much greater risk of infection than those in the state sector.

Prof Ashton, who represents the UK's public health doctors, said a mix of large numbers of middle-class children who were not vaccinated against measles following the Wakefield scare in the 1990s, along with pupils from overseas with unknown health records, meant schools could become "reservoirs of disease", the Daily Telegraph said.

He said the risk was similar to that from groups such as gypsies and travellers, who have previously spread the disease.

Prof Ashton, who will soon become president of the Faculty of Public Health, said: "You've got a lot of middle-class, well-off parents, large numbers of whom did not have their children immunised because of the Wakefield scare - which was a very middle-class phenomenon.

"Layered on top of that you have got a lot of children from abroad, especially from the Far East, from countries such as Hong Kong and China, and there are few checks being done to establish their immunisation records."

He said private schools were a "law unto themselves", and warned both pupils and the wider population were being put at risk from infectious diseases because the schools do not have proper policies to protect children and are bad at keeping adequate medical records of pupils from abroad.

Prof Ashton said: "The danger is that you have a population that can potentially become a reservoir of infection.

"Normally when you are talking about subsections of the population that are at particular risk of disease outbreaks, such as measles, you are talking about groups like gypsies and travellers.

"But actually children in private schools, and in particular boarding schools, are one of the categories most at risk."

He urged independent schools to check immunisation records of overseas pupils as a matter of urgency, and advised them to "engage with" families who refused to vaccinate their children.

Dr David Elliman, an immunisation specialist from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said he believed there was a high chance that an outbreak of measles would occur at an independent school, saying health officials were braced for such a crisis, the Telegraph said.

Prof Ashton's warning comes as health chiefs launched a major in-school vaccination drive across three counties neighbouring a region battling a measles epidemic.

Thousands of unprotected children are being targeted as part of an exhaustive four week programme to stop the disease spreading in South Wales.

The number of measles sufferers in the greater Swansea area looks certain to pass the 1,000 mark over the weekend.

Four local hospitals will host drop-in vaccination clinics today, for the fourth consecutive Saturday.

Vital vaccination sessions will also continue in a number of Swansea and Neath and Port Talbot schools next week.

A parallel programme is now being rolled out across three counties to the west of Swansea.

It comes as a major ￡20 million vaccination programme was announced in England targeting one million unprotected children and teenagers.

PA

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