100%!

Thank you, that is a really important point.

For me, this is exactly why supporting the most vulnerable pupils has to sit at the centre of how we evaluate schools.

Headline outcomes matter, but they do not always reflect the complexity of the work being done for those who need the most support.

Too often, staff working in the most challenging circumstances are overlooked.

While those in more favourable contexts receive the plaudits.

There may not be a simple answer.

But it feels like a question worth asking more often.

Are we always recognising the schools doing the strongest work?

Or are we sometimes rewarding the results that are easiest to see?

How much weight should we give to absolute outcomes, and how much should we give to context?

And what if, in the lower scoring school, 43% of the 55% FSM cohort are White British?

Does that add something important to the picture?

What if a large proportion of the disadvantaged cohort in the higher performing school comes from groups that tend to perform more strongly nationally?

What if the lower scoring school has 55% FSM, and the higher scoring school has 23% FSM?

Does that change your view?

At first glance, most of the recognition would go to the school with the higher Attainment 8 score.

But is that the right conclusion?

One school has an Attainment 8 score of 57 and outperforms the local authority average by 1.5.

Another has an Attainment 8 score of 44 and outperforms the same average by 1.9.

Which school has done better? A thread…

Fair point. If the same outcomes keep appearing over time, they start to look less like failures and more like functions. Ind schools/grade inflation matter, even within state system the pattern is stubbornly consistent. That’s why I think this is a systems question, not just a policy one.

4/4 And we now see the pattern even more clearly.

Schools serving disadvantaged or historically lower attaining cohorts are marked down because of those intakes, while schools with more advantaged cohorts are celebrated.

So the real question is: what would it take to redesign the system?

3/4 That means the system, as it currently operates, functions to distribute top grades and the opportunities attached to them in line with existing advantage.

Not by intention alone, but by repeated outcome.

2/4 Across decades of data, one pattern has held despite new governments, reforms and accountability changes:

those with more to start with are still more likely to secure the best grades and, with them, stronger life chances.

1/4 What is the function of the English education system?

In systems thinking, a system’s function is not what it says it does. It is what it consistently produces over time.

Delighted to share that I have signed my first professional publishing contract for my book, ‘A Leadership Blueprint for Behaviour and Inclusion: Systems for Belonging’. A project I care deeply about, and I’m looking forward to sharing more soon.

It's our esports team

Curriculum Leader for English, Salford - Tes Jobs The Lowry Academy, United Kingdom

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Four in five headteachers suffer abuse from pupils' parents, including physical assaults, spitting and trolling, survey finds Some 82% of school leaders said they had been abused, according to the survey by the National Association of Head Teachers.

news.sky.com/story/four-i...

Isn't this true of lots of positions in the public sector? Doctors, higher ranks of civil service, police, fire brigade and so on. Many heads will earn £110-120k. Add pension contributions and it will be close.

Interesting but not surprising

Data from the report

Yesterday we held our first ‘Flavour of Home’ Parent/Carer and Child Cooking Class! 🌟🧑‍🍳

This week, attendees made delicious tomato and basil soup along with fresh bread rolls! Thank you to all who attended - you did an amazing job.

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Congratulations to our amazing group of Y8 & 9 students who successfully secured £500 of funding from Transport for Greater Manchester! 🌟

They delivered a fantastic pitch aimed at reducing traffic outside our school gates and encouraging students to walk or cycle to school. 👏🚲

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Congratulations to our new students who have secured a place at The Lowry Academy! 🌟

Keep an eye out for your welcome letter and next steps in the post and over email. ✉️👀

Exciting times ahead!

#TheLowryAcademy #NationalOfferDay

Leading a school is intense but it doesn't compare to the pressure of an Under 10s Cup game. Great performance and of course the win!

Finding My Voice: Authentic Oracy as Disciplinary Power Finding My Voice - free CPD on Tuesday 25th February at 5pm

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Tuesday 25th 5pm

With @marymyatt.bsky.social and @creativehigg.bsky.social

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The Lowry Lions are about to take the esports world by storm.