Schools in inner London are challenging places for many pupils and staff. Inner London has the highest proportion of children in independent secondary schools: 16 % compared to 8% across England as many pupils are withdrawn from state schools.
It is increasingly difficult for schools to attract staff to work in the inner city as the cost of living and needy communities put staff off. 12 % of all teachers in inner London and 7% of all teachers in the outer boroughs are unqualified or temporary supply teachers – compared to just six per cent nationally. This is not just an issue for struggling schools (whose inability to recruit staff exacerbates their situation) but also for those with good reputations. RE teachers in particular are hard to recruit and this has caused the teaching or RE to come under threat. Jobs are regularly readvertised as there are no applicants for posts. Pray for skilled staff to be recruited in London’s schools and for schemes like housing affordable to be properly funded and successful.
Pray for teachers who are having to deal with problems caused by things unconnected with school. One North London school recently had a spate of violent incidents that were caused by tensions in the local community and gang rivalry. Incidents in school were the settling of scores from the previous night. Pray for the safety of staff and pupils and that God would enable teachers to effectively manage pupils and situations.
Pray for the raising of standards in School by good, inspirational, teachers who can motivate and enthuse pupils to learn. Only 37% of inner London state-school pupils leave with five GCSE’s grade A*-C, compared to 47% nationally. Pray for pupils with special educational needs and for Some schools have mobility rates of up to 60%, meaning the school community is disjointed and staff have constantly to adjust to new students who may not understand the work being done or increasingly may have limited English.
Last year London’s schools were crippled by a finding crisis caused by the Government’s new funding formula. Many schools had to postpone staff appointments, cut back on basic facilities and raid funding specified for repairing buildings and extending the more able pupils. Pray for a realistic injection of finance to pay for good teachers and good resources and that these funds would be well managed by local LEAs, school authorities and staff. |