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For the equivalent in the former Soviet Union and United States see specialized school. For the equivalent in the UK see Specialist school. Schools for students with special needs are discussed in the " Special school " article

The specialist schools programme is a UK government initiative which encourages secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational Institution where the final stage of compulsory schooling known as Secondary education, takes England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust is responsible for the delivery of the programme. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT is an independent not-for-profit membership organisation in the United Kingdom, working in partnership with schools to Currently there are over 2,000 specialist schools, over two thirds of the secondary schools in England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The government plans that eventually all schools in England will specialise; Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland control their own education systems, there are no specialist schools in Scotland or Wales. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of In Northern Ireland specialist school status has been granted to 34 schools by the Department of Education as of June 2008, part of a three year pilot. The Department of Education ( DE) ( Irish: An Roinn Oideachais, Ulster Scots: Männystrie o Lear) is a Devolved [1][2].

Contents

Summary

Gaining specialist school status

Specialist school status requires an application in the form of a four-year development plan with quantified targets related to learning outcomes. The school must also raise £50,000 in private sector sponsorship. The reward for achieving specialist status is a government grant of £100,000 to go with the £50,000 in sponsorship for a capital project related to the specialism and an extra £129 per pupil per year for four years to support the development plan. This is normally targeted on additional staffing and professional development. While specialist schools are able to select up to 10% of their students on aptitude in the specialism, few have taken up this option. The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation Verb "studēre" Specialist schools must still meet the full requirements of the English national curriculum and so the specialism is seen as adding value to the existing statutory provision rather than being a radical departure from it. The National Curriculum was introduced into England, Wales and Northern Ireland as a nationwide curriculum for primary and secondary The important aspect in the eyes of the government is the focus that the specialism provides for providing leadership in the quest for whole school improvement.

Specialisms

The fields a school can specialise in are as follows:

A school can also specialise in more than one area; combining specialisms. Arts Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. Business and Enterprise Colleges (BECs were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the UK. Engineering colleges generally refer to institutes of higher education which offer an engineering course at degree (undergraduate level Humanities Colleges were introduced as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. Language Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. Mathematics and Computing Colleges were introduced in England in 1995 as part of the Government's Specialist Schools Programme which was designed to raise standards Music Colleges were introduced as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. Science Colleges were introduced as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. Sports Colleges were introduced as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. Technology College is a term used in the UK for a Specialist school that focuses on design and technology, Mathematics and Science

Success

A 2003 study of the non-selective specialist schools found that they scored almost 10 percentage points higher in their GCSE results than their comprehensive non-specialist competitors. The General Certificate of Secondary Education ( GCSE) is the name of an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject generally taken in a number of subjects by A comprehensive school is a Secondary school and State school for children from the age of 11 to at least 16 that does not select children on the basis of academic The research, by David Jesson from University of York, showed all types of specialist schools performing better than non-specialists. The University of York is a Campus university in the city of York, England. Jesson's data appeared to show that the longer a school had been specialist the better its results. Critics attribute this examination success to the extra funding, not to the specialism adopted. Since the amount of additional money provided by specialist status is rather less than the differences in budgets of schools simply by virtue of their different geographical locations, and there is no direct correlation between performance and funding on that basis, it seems likely that while funding might make a difference, it is not the entire story. If the earlier adopters of specialist status are the people with the greatest drive, for example, that alone could explain the difference with the funding being a mechanism for providing the incentive. Given the variables involved the real reasons for improvement are always likely to be obscured by the political perspective.

Participation

Sponsorship

Private sector sponsorship includes charitable trusts, internal fund raising and donations from private companies. In Economics, the private sector is that part of the economy which is both run for private Profit and is not controlled by the State. In some cases donations can be made in cash from entities in the private sector such as Arcadia and HSBC. HSBC Holdings plc ( (,,,) is a Public limited company incorporated in England and Wales, headquartered in London. Until recently software was ineligible due to the difficulty in evaluating the true value of something that has no manufacturing cost and can simply be given away as a form of collateral. This changed when Oracle and then Microsoft were allowed to sponsor the programme with "in kind" donations. Oracle Corporation ( specializes in developing and marketing Enterprise software products — particularly Database management systems In 2007 Oracle ranked Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer The total sponsorship to date is of the order of £100m. Schools that make a good attempt at achieving their targets normally have their grants renewed after the 4 year development plan period with no further need to raise sponsorship. Schools that do particularly well are invited to apply for a new specialism to give a new line of attack for raising standards.

International

It has always been an important objective of specialist schools, to work with the most innovative schools across the world. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust has links with schools and organisations in all continents. It has worked effectively with Khanya[3] in South Africa to improve teaching and learning through technology in township schools. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

Criticisms

The specialist schools programme has been widely criticised. The two biggest UK teaching unions have opposed the programme because they say that it creates a two-tier education system, made up of specialist schools with extra funding and non-specialist schools which cannot benefit from any extra money. This is becoming untenable as all schools achieve specialist status and with the wide variation in funding of similar schools in different parts of the country for reasons unconnected with specialist status. Academics have criticised the programme on the same grounds and because there does not appear to be any evidence to demonstrate that it is the specialism, as opposed to the additional funding, that drives the success of the schools. Left wing critics argue that the specialist schools represent a drift away from the comprehensive 'ideal'. The main criticism that does hold up among the political noise is scepticism about student and parental choice. If a school is unpopular, there is little likelihood that those in the surrounding area will have the space and flexibility to admit many individual students based simply on their choice of curriculum.

See also

References

External links

The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT is an independent not-for-profit membership organisation in the United Kingdom, working in partnership with schools to In England, City Technology Colleges (CTCs are independent schools which charge no fees as their recurrent costs are borne by the Department for Education and Skills A comprehensive school is a Secondary school and State school for children from the age of 11 to at least 16 that does not select children on the basis of academic Education in England is the responsibility of the Department for Children Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills of the
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