Schools' Concerns and Their Implications for Local Authorities: Annual Survey of trends in Education 2006
17 October 2006
The annual survey of trends in education 2006 is a series of questionnaire surveys of headteachers, which has been conducted by the NFER in primary schools each year since 1994. Since 2005, a similar survey has also been carried out with secondary school headteachers. Some questions on current issues in education have been included in the annual surveys over a number of years, allowing an investigation of headteachers’ changing perceptions over time.
This folder contains a series of papers, funded by the Local Government Association, reporting the findings from the Annual Survey of Trends in Education 2006 in both primary and secondary schools. Headteachers from almost 400 primary and over 1100 secondary schools in England took part in the annual survey, covering a range of important current issues in education.
This is important reading for headteachers, school managers, local authority staff and all those interested in what really matters to headteachers, what lessons might be learned by local authorities, and the trends in education over time.
Key Findings
- A large proportion of schools were not aware of the developments within their local authorities (LAs) for implementing the Every Child Matters agenda.
- Schools with high levels of attainment, and those with relatively few pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, were generally less likely to prioritise looked after children in their support arrangements than other types of schools.
- The majority of participating schools were providing some extended services, but many were also planning to develop their provision. This was most notable in schools with the greatest needs - with high numbers of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Secondary schools were less satisfied generally with LA support for school improvement than primary schools. For a large number of headteachers, there was a gap between the support they want for school improvement and the support they feel they receive from the LA.
- In line with previous years, budgets were the main concern for headteachers.
Related Titles
Schools' concerns and their implications for local authorities , Schools' concerns and their implications for local authorities , Schools' concerns and their implications for local authorities , Annual survey of trends in education 2007 , Annual survey of trends in secondary education , Annual survey of trends in primary education