Do Schools Make a Difference?

Analysis

BBC

News, Politics

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2012

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The government's brought in new style league tables to help parents choose schools. But do we really know what makes a good school? And how far can schools really transform lives? Researchers have long believed in a so-called 'school effect' that counters, at least in part, factors such as social and family background. But how easy is it to measure this kind of effect, and can parents really be given a clear guide as to which school is best for their child? Or has too much emphasis on factors such as social background made schools complacent about what they can achieve? Fran Abrams talks to head teachers, educational experts, the schools minister and the new head of Ofsted as she investigates what difference schools can really make.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.7	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:08.5	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:18.0	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
0:24.6	poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.
0:29.7	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.
0:36.0	This is a podcast from the BBC. To find out more, visit BBC. co. UK.
0:43.0	podcast.
0:45.0	And in analysis, new school league tables have just been published for England.
0:50.0	But how much difference can schools really make to children's lives?
0:54.4	Fran Abrams investigates.
0:56.4	Settle down now.
1:02.4	This week we've been studying school lead. settle down now
1:06.3	This week we've been studying school league tables haven't we? And I need to know if you've been paying attention.
1:09.9	So hands up everyone, who came top?
1:14.0	And who was it that just plunged through the government's new floor target?
1:18.0	Anyone?
1:20.0	Okay, another question.
1:22.0	What if the League Tables were so fundamentally flawed
1:26.0	that they weren't any use to parents at all?
1:28.0	What if we really weren't sure which schools were good schools
1:32.0	and which schools were worse than useless.
	...

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