In the news

Women in headship

ASCL president Jane Lees was interviewed on Radio 5 Live about the figures that show that women appointed to headships has dropped to 32 per cent this year (from 40 per cent), according to the annual labour market survey conducted for ASCL and NAHT.

The Metro, Guardian, Times, Yorkshire Post, Birmingham Post and Western Mail also picked up the story.

ASCL said: "Based on one year's results, it is impossible to tell whether this is a blip or a trend. If we see the same drift downward again next year, it will be very worrying. The government must urgently address those issues, like excessive workload, that may be discouraging highly qualified women, in particular, from taking on headships."

Governors agreement

The Guardian and the TES reported on the agreement between ASCL, NAHT and the National Governors' Association setting out ground rules for engagement between schools and governing bodies.

ASCL said: "Governing bodies can add considerable value to the leadership of schools. But there is considerable scope for misunderstanding on the part of both heads and governors about the proper role of governors. This joint agreement sets out clearly the way in which the relationship works best for schools."

The DCSF is due to publish its review of school governance.

Chartered assessors

The Independent carried an article by John Dunford on 11 September in which he called for external exams to be replaced by a system of chartered assessors - in-course assessment led by highly trained and accredited teachers.

Not only would this be more effective and accurate than external exams, John said: "The £700 million or so that is spent annually by secondary schools could be halved."