Page 25 - ELG2009 Sep Issue 472

UK RANKINGS 2020-21 . UK LANGUAGE CENTRES

Digging down in the data and so differences of less than 0.2 are Specialising ISCA
unlikely to be significant.

Melanie Butler on how we differentiate schools Reading the reports in under-16s
To see how the calculation works, look at the
example below from a 2017 report. This
ith seven per cent of all British applicable to one centre, it would have a section, covering Care of Under-18s, has eight Welfare is the key to success
Council accredited centres now lower possible maximum than the others. criteria, but two are marked N/A under
awarded 10 areas out of 15 on Also, the number of criteria in a given area Strength, which means a strength cannot be with under-16s, so stick with
Wthe summary statement of their may vary from year-to-year. For example, in given. the schools for young
inspection report, there is an obvious need to 2017 there were four criteria in the area of A strength is marked for three out of the six In the summer, multicentre
differentiate between centres with the same Leisure opportunities, but by 2019 that had applicable areas, or fifty per cent. This would learners, says Melanie Butler specialists like family-run Isca predominate
overall score. risen to five. normally mean the centre would be awarded
First, we divide providers into two To iron-out statistical differences, we an area of strength in the summary statement. oung learner specialists now make up differences under these categories and do between the state sector and the private
generally-accepted educational categories: calculated all results as a percentage of However, one criteria is marked Not met, so the some 24 per cent of all accredited not affect the overall ranking score of each language school rankings on pages 31-33, the
adults (over-16s) and under-16s. Then we available criteria for each area reported, inspectors cannot award an area of strength, centres, and some 30 per cent of all centre. educational providers are more consistent,
selected the key subjects of concern for each across the same base number. This does not and we therefore deduct a point for the bonus YEL Gazette Centres of Excellence. If we compare the outcomes between but the top language specialists can exceed
group: welfare and safety for children, entirely eliminate the statistical discrepancy, calculation, giving a net of 2 out of 6. In order to differentiate between schools, schools run by language school specialists them.
teaching and learning for adults. this analysis focuses on the main area in (see the ranking below) with those of the Year-round, when few boarding schools run
We then we checked the full reports for which provision for under-16s differs from boarding schools (opposite) we can see that language courses, some adult providers do
the areas completed by the inspectors under that of adults: the level of Safeguarding of language specialists do better at the top, but well (see Sidmouth, St Giles Highgate and
the relevant headings, as in the example. Under-18s and the three areas under Welfare when it comes to bonus points, the boarding now IH London) though the top performer is
Each strength awarded is given a point and Student Services. We have also looked at schools show less variation, from 3.5 to 5.17, a specialist: Broadstairs English Centre. In
towards a bonus. the area of Premises and Facilities, which than the private language providers, who the summer, the multicentre specialists like
The British Council place particular impacts on student well-being. range from 1.54 to 5.5. Discovery and the family-run centres like Isca
emphasis on the importance of meeting every We have weighted the scores by assigning a We should also note that 54 per cent of all predominate.
criteria, and one judgement of Not met means maximum of six bonus points for the criteria accredited Boarding Schools are Centres of But as this ranking shows clearly, just
an area of strength will not be awarded in the covered under these headings. Differences in Excellence—by far the highest for any sector. because a provider does well with adults
summary statement. So, we deduct a point bonus points are used to show slight But as we can also see in the difference doesn’t mean they are as good with under-16s.
for any criterion which is judged as Not met.
Then we adjust the scores, because if any
of the individual criteria in one area are not

24 September 2020 editorial@elgazette.com 25