Following on from our feature on St. George’s School in Switzerland, we speak to Hazel Hogg, who lives with her husband and her daughters Morven (11), Rowan (8) and Alexa (3) in France – practically on the border with Switzerland, where they enjoy stunning views of the Alps and Lake Geneva.  Her children attend the International School of Geneva. Here Hazel talks about living overseas, and tells us more about choosing this school for her children. Read more.

Could you explain how you came to be living in France, and why you chose an international school for your children?

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As we bid a fond farewell to 2011, what better time to take a look back over the serious, and not so serious education stories which hit the headlines during the last year. Here we pick out some of our favourites, along with those issues which really got people talking.

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What’s been happening in the world of education this month? In our regular snoop through the headlines, we find out where teachers have been rated in a poll of the best dressed professions, hear about a ‘pupils’ court’ which is challenging speeding drivers, and learn about the youngsters living on a daily diet of junk food. Join us and have your say

Speeding drivers face ‘pupils court’

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There are no specific requirements for British schools overseas, unless the host country has its own requirements, but these can be very varied. Ofsted inspects foreign schools in the UK.

The Department for Education (DfE) was approached by several countries to give an assurance that British schools in their area are run properly. As a result, we introduced the BSO Inspection System last September, providing a government-approved inspection process which is absolutely voluntary.

We called for expressions of interest in carrying out inspections from interested organisations. We had applications from nine international organisations with roots in the UK and six were approved, including CfBT Education Trust, Cambridge Education and Tribal Education.

So far nine inspections have been carried out and they all went well. The schools were sufficiently confident about the education they provided to put themselves forward for the first wave. The problems in the Middle East resulted in a number of inspections being delayed last term because of concerns for the safety of inspection teams, but they’ll take place as soon as things quieten down.

During this first year we have been trialling the process.  At the moment we’re not actively promoting the inspection system but I’m confident it will grow organically, by word of mouth. Once national governments decide to support it – and Egypt and Dubai have been finding out more about it – it will snowball. Large corporates who move people around are very interested as education is very high on the list of priorities for people being relocated.

The British Council is often asked to recommend an international school but until now they’ve had nothing to go by. This inspection system helps them discriminate between schools and direct parent to a respected independent report about the school.

How does the BSO Inspection System work and is it similar to Ofsted?

The inspections are broadly similar to Ofsted’s. However, the international aspect means that they’re not short notice visits and most inspections will be booked in advance – it’s all about being pragmatic. The costs of an inspection depend on the organisation that’s carrying it out; the DfE isn’t privy to this as it’s a commercial matter.

The system looks at two overarching issues:

• how easily will a pupil slot back into schooling in the UK and
• if a pupil completes their education in a British overseas school, how difficult would they find it to fit into a UK university, in terms of their qualifications and awareness of how British society works.

I’d like to stress that the system isn’t just for the expensive top public schools; it’s for every good British school overseas that provides a good quality education: it’s not necessary to have lavish facilities. We want to be inclusive, to provide parents with the best quality information about a range of schools, with the reports giving them a real understanding of the ‘flavour’ of a school.

How does the inspection system combine the British character of schools with the need to allow for different cultures?

Again, we need to be pragmatic. Where there’s a conflict between international standards and the requirements of the host country, schools must comply with the host country – and the schools must make this clear to inspectorates who can reflect the situation in their reports.

The ‘British’ aspect of education in international schools can relate to the school’s ethos, values, and extra-curricular activities – its ‘Britishness’!

What are the benefits of the system?

The benefit for schools is that it makes it clear to parents who want a good quality education and understand the value of inspections that the school has reached the gold standard and is as good as the best schools you’ll find in Britain. It also provides an independent view of whether a school will deliver what parents are paying for and that the education provision on offer is as good as it can be.  This means that they need have no hesitation in sending their child there. A further benefit is that the inspectors can suggest how a school can improve, update them on forthcoming developments and things on the horizon.

It’s useful for teachers too. The inspection reports give teachers a better idea of the kind of school they’re considering working for. They can get information on issues like the curriculum of the country and how it impacts on international schools, the school’s facilities, turnover of pupils and how many teachers speak English.

Finally, the government has just confirmed that schools that have had a BSO inspection will be eligible to provide induction for new teachers training in the UK. These new arrangements are likely to come in from September 2012 and we anticipate consulting British Schools Overseas in the autumn on these new arrangements.

For more information click here.

Colin Bell, from the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), commented:

“We support all schools to work towards a DfE approved inspection. We encourage schools to focus on this in their development plans and target setting, with buy-in from governors, senior leaders, teachers, and parents. The inspection system gives schools confidence, increased pride, a feeling of well being and an opportunity to share collective success. It enables a clear comparison with quality education in the UK independent school setting, and evidence of ease of transition for pupils.

Another tangible benefit for a school with a successful BSO DfE approved inspection and fully accredited COBIS membership is that from September 2012 they will be eligible to support NQTs to complete their induction process – something which COBIS has campaigned for.”

What’s your view of the new free schools: meeting real local needs or detracting from existing resources?

Free schools have been under the media spotlight recently, as the first wave of this new breed of establishment open their doors to pupils for the first time. But – as it seems with most issues relating to education – both the idea and the reality of free schools seem to be hotly contested. Read more and have your say[GP1] .

The BBC explained in its overview that free schools are state-funded but semi-independent, and similar to academies because “they don’t have to follow the national curriculum, can vary the pay and conditions of teachers, are directly funded by central government and are outside of local authority control”.

The Beeb’s article looked at the Aldborough free school, set up because of a shortage of school places in the area; it will apparently shave a week off each side of the summer holidays and offer an optional extended day, from 8am to 6pm.

It also reported on the Krishna-Avanti school in Leicester, which aims to eventually comprise half Hindu pupils and half those from other faiths, and on the opposition of teaching unions to free schools because they say the new school will break up state education.

“Wasting taxpayers’ cash”

Meanwhile the online version of Britain’s second biggest-selling newspaper, the Daily Mail, reported in a piece peppered with archive images of The Beatles in full 60s regalia, that a new free sc hool in Ormskirk, Lancashire, has been “slammed” by a Labour MP for “wasting taxpayers’ cash”. Apparently the Maharishi School in Ormskirk will offer yoga classes, meditation and “follow the way of The Beatles”.

The Mail quoted Labour MP Lisa Nandy predicting that: “People will be shocked that their taxes are going on teaching transcendental meditation.”

In August The Mail also reported that an evangelical church with creationism at the heart of its belief system – the Everyday Champions Church, based in Newark, Nottinghamshire – has been given outline approval to run a free school.

Coupling education with child care

While the Aldborough free school will reportedly be extending school hours and terms, the Free School Norwich will be operating “almost c

Mrs Tania Sidney-Roberts, Principal of Norwich Free School

ontinuously” in the heart of the city, “integrating high-quality education and child care year-round,” according to the Express.

Norwich Evening News reported that the school will cater for primary age pupils aged four to 11, and that, unlike most schools, it will be open 51 weeks a year, from 8.15am to 5.45pm six days a week.

Principal Mrs Sidney-Roberts revealed to the paper that: “We were four times oversubscribed and it was a case of random allocation. We got Norfolk County Council’s schools admissions team in and had a lottery.

“We had four crates of names and picked them out. It really was a case of picking names out of a hat, other than the siblings whose brothers or sisters had already got a place.

“We’ve got a mix of all abilities, faiths and special needs.”

Altruism

In Birmingham, a new primary was getting ready for the new term: Nishkam – which, The Guardian explained, means selflessness or altruism in Punjabi – will be the Midlands’ first “Sikh ethos” school and one of just five Sikh schools in the country, although “open to all faiths and races”. So far most of the refurbishment work has been donated through the Sikh convention of Daswand, and the community raised £1.3m to buy the building, supplemented by a £900,000 lottery grant. It will receive DfE funding soon.

The Guardian also reported that its analysis of the catchment areas of the first 24 approved free schools shows a slant towards the middle class, with white, working-class pupils under represented.

“Hidden costs” of promotion

Its report also claimed that there has been a “hidden cost” of promoting free schools, the legislation for which was apparently “pushed through parliament last summer under procedures usually reserved for counter-terrorism measures”.  The paper went on to report that the government has declined to reveal the costs of funding individual free schools, as well as requests under the Freedom of Information Act to identify groups applying to open free schools next year.

Toby Young’s two-year journey

And finally, The Daily Telegraph featured an article by journalist Toby Young about his last minute headaches and two-year journey setting up the much-publicised West London Free School – which has become a focus for both supporters and those opposing free school policy.

“My wife jokes that if I’d devoted as much time to my career as I have to the school, we’d have enough money to send all our kids to Eton,” joked Toby.

What’s your view of the new free schools: meeting real local needs or detracting from existing resources?