NPQH to become optional with effect from early 2012

The NPQH  Qualification is to become non mandatory from next year, prospective head teachers will be able to take a new enhanced qualification.

The current qualification – the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) – is to be overhauled to allow prospective head teachers from all types of schools the chance to develop the best skills for the job.

All first-time head teachers in the maintained sector are currently required to hold the NPQH.

As signalled in the Schools White Paper 'The Importance of Teaching', the National College was asked to review the qualification to ensure it matches the best in the world, learns from other leading qualifications such as MBAs, meets the highest standards for leadership development and is based on what is required to be an effective head teacher.

In the light of the review, Ministers have today announced that:

• NPQH will become optional with effect from early 2012 – subject to the Parliamentary process – and developed for all prospective heads in both the maintained and the non-maintained sector such as academies and independent schools.

• The bar for entry and assessment for the qualification will be raised.

• The content made more demanding through the introduction of a core curriculum focusing on the key skills of headship including leadership of teaching and learning, and with a greater emphasis on behaviour.

• The revised qualification will be launched in spring 2012 with the first participants starting in September 2012.

NGA Press Release

The NGA welcomes the announcement by the Department for Education that the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) is to be made more rigorous. A redesigned NPQH must ensure that prospective heads have the full range of skills and knowledge to lead schools effectively not only in terms of teaching and learning but in managing the organisation. School governors are responsible for appointing headteachers and the NGA is not clear how making the qualification non-compulsory will improve the quality of headship candidates.


DfE Press release  http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a00200533/overhaul-of-head-teachers-qualification-to-help-train-the-next-generation-of-great-school-leaders

1,310 Primary Schools below floor standard

The Government have announed they will target the weakest primary schools in a bid to turn around under-performance.

The announcement follows the results of more than 16,000 schools’ Key Stage 2 tests – taken by 11-year-olds this May – were published.

They show that every child in 265 primary schools not only achieved at least the expected level in both English and maths, but also made the expected progress.

The tables highlight, for the first time, the schools – some in challenging areas – which transform the life chances of pupils who were struggling at age seven but who leave primary achieving better than expected.

However, the figures also reveal that 1,310 primary schools were below the standard – and about 150 have been below the floor for five years in a row.

 This year’s Key Stage 2 statistics show that:

• A third of 11-year-olds are still not doing well enough in the three Rs

• One in 10 boys leave primary school with the reading age of a seven-year-old

• One in 14 boys leave primary school with the writing age of an seven-year-old

• The percentage of children achieving the expected level in both English and maths rose one percentage point to 74 per cent. But the proportion achieving above that expected level is down in English and in writing – and by eight percentage points in reading.

DfE Press Release  http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a00200915/primary-schools-test-results-released

DfE: National Curriculum Assessments at Key Stage 2 in England 2010/2011 (revised)

http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001047/index.shtml

Recruitment of Head Teachers continues to be a problem

Schools could be left without leaders, warns the National Association of Head Teachers union, as a new report confirms a looming recruitment crisis in senior education posts.



The 17^th Annual Report of The State of the Labour Market for Senior Staff in Schools in England and Wales says more needs to be done to “clarify issues” surrounding leadership recruitment, “…if the appointment of head teachers is not to become a really urgent issue in the near future.”


The report, produced for the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) by Education Data Surveys, part of TSL Education, highlights a decline in deputy and assistant head teacher vacancies as fewer numbers opt to leave their posts to pursue headships.



In addition, the report notes that the absence of a tail-off in retirement levels for existing heads plus the new wave of academies and free schools fuelling demand for even more new head teachers while offering higher salaries to lure experienced head teachers away from traditional schools, could result in escalating recruitment problems.


The full report can be downloaded from here


http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/comment/key-topics/staff-management/the-state-of-the-labour-market-for-senior-staff/