ABSTRACT
Local authorities distributed the sums to schools according to a formula, which included weightings for the number of pupils receiving free school meals and the numbers failing to obtain level 4 in the primary stage standard assessment tasks, or in the case of secondary schools, registering poor GCSE performance. The Labour Government under Tony Blair encouraged schools to develop approaches to formative assessment, after an internal investigation was able to show that this approach led to significant learning gains. The decline in influence of local authorities has meant that schools are largely on their own when it comes to matters of curriculum development, particularly in improving subject knowledge and expertise in subject content pedagogy. Some School Centered Initial Training courses, especially those in partnership with university education departments based in secondary schools, seem to work. An independent schools council as existed could play a useful role in providing support for schools.
