State of Education Report 2017 state-of-education-booklet-Final-WEB | Page 2

Contents Foreword
1. Challenges on
p.3
the horizon For this year’s State of Education report, The Key held focus groups with a selection of our members to
identify the challenges and opportunities they can see on the horizon for schools over the next two years.
Armed with these headline findings, we used our annual survey to delve more deeply into these issues and
2. School funding p.7 what they mean for our education system. More than 2,000 school leaders and governors shared their views.
3. School pressures p.15 In the pages that follow, we uncover the real impact of funding constraints and explore how sweeping
changes to assessment and accountability are affecting school leaders and pupils alike. We highlight
4. Pupil wellbeing
p.23
an increase in examination stress and how this is affecting pupil wellbeing, and look at what a reported
narrowing of the curriculum might mean for pupil outcomes and future prospects. We reveal, also, the
5. Pupil learning
and future prospects
6. Perception of
the profession
p.29
p.35
passion and creativity of the education workforce, and the resourcefulness which underpins the sector’s
response to so many of the challenges it faces.
Our report champions solutions where the profession has found them. Readers will notice the
entrepreneurial spirit of some school leaders, who are hosting weddings in their school grounds and running
community fitness classes to raise funds and make the most of their resources. You’ll come away with
a sense of the compassion and dedication of school leaders, many of whom are fighting to support the
mental health of the children they work with.
Let me now hand you over to the people leading our schools, so that we can listen to
their voices and support the sector to learn from all those working within it.
Fergal Roche, CEO
The Key
STATE OF EDUCATION 2017 | WWW.STATEOFED.THEKEYSUPPORT.COM
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