Schooling The Estate Kids

Schooling the Estate Kids chronicles the trajectory of one Kent secondary school which was twice dubbed ‘the worst school in England’ in the national press. Serving a high poverty neighbourhood, The Ramsgate School was challenged by national targets, low levels of attainment of the school intake at 11 and difficulties of recruitment and retention of quality staff. The local housing estates were amongst the most deprived in the country and shared the school’s negative reputation. The school became The Marlowe Academy in 2005 with new leadership and a new building (in 2006). Student numbers increased, attendance and attainment came close to the national average and the atmosphere in the school was transformed, though the characteristics of the pupils in terms of special needs (twice the national average) and deprivation (more than twice the national average entitled to free school meals) remained unchanged. This book questions the notion that school improvement and school leadership are key areas to focus on when the socio-economic circumstances of pupils, poverty, dwarf all the other factors which are related to the educational progress of students.

This study of the development of education in the British West Indian colonies during the last half of the nineteenth century examines the educational policies and curriculum used in schools following the abolition of slavery. During this period the nature and development of the educational system in the region was profoundly affected by the decline of the sugar industry, the emergence of black and coloured middle classes and the threat they posed to the ruling white elite, and the institutionalization of cultural divisions between the black and white populations. Bacchus argues that after 1846 the elite white plantocracy used the educational system to maintain domination following the end of slavery. This is the first book to present an overall picture of educational developments in the British West Indies in this period and pays special attention to the historical context in which they occurred. In Education as and for Legitimacy, the author continues the study of West Indian education he began with his previous book, Utilization, Misuse, and Development of Human Resources in the Early West Indian Colonies.

When first published this book had a significant influence on the campaign for comprehensive schools and it spoke to generations of working-class students who were either deterred by the class barriers erected by selective schools and elite universities, or, having broken through them to gain university entry, found themselves at sea. The authors admit at the end of the book they have raised and failed to answer many questions, and in spite of the disappearance of the majority of grammar schools, many of those questions still remain unanswered.

**Winner of the nasen Special Educational Needs Academic Book award 2008** There is an enduring and widespread perception amongst policy makers and practitioners that certain groups of children, in particular those who find learning difficult, have a detrimental effect on the achievement of other children. Challenging this basic assumption, Achievement and Inclusion in Schools argues that high levels of inclusion can be entirely compatible with high levels of achievement and that combining the two is not only possible but essential if all children are to have the opportunity to participate fully in education. Packed with vivid case studies that explore the benefits and tensions for children and schools, this book sets out to answer the following questions: What is the nature of the relationship between the inclusion of some children and the achievement of all? Are there strategies which can raise the achievement of all children, whilst safeguarding the inclusion of others who are more vulnerable? What changes can a school make to ensure high levels of inclusion as well as high levels of achievement for all its children? Achievement and Inclusion in Schools offers an up-to-date analysis of current issues, provides practical guidance for practitioners and policy-makers, and will be of interest to anyone passionate about inclusive education.