Networking Workshop on Supplementary Education in Theory, Policy and Practice

This free one-day networking workshop hopes to bring together academics and other stakeholders in the field of supplementary education for children to examine a range of cross-disciplinary issues in theory, policy, and practice relating to the sector.

The supplementary education sector is hugely diverse. It includes out of school settings run by (and for) members of particular faith, ethnic, and cultural communities; language schools; institutions offering tutoring in curricular subjects (so-called ‘shadow education’); and after school enrichment activities such as sport and the arts.

Perhaps because of the complex nature of this landscape, UK policymakers have largely failed to implement a regulatory framework that both protects the rights and interests of the children attending supplementary settings, and preserves the necessary differences between these settings and mainstream schooling.

In its recently tabled Schools Bill (2022), the UK Government proposed to widen the range of settings that must register as independent educational institutions and establish a legal definition of full-time education. The Bill was later dropped. But, although the Government said it ‘remains committed’ to action in this area, largely to bring certain (religious) supplementary settings into a more appropriate regulatory regime, following the General Election, the future of this legislation is unclear.

Please see below the programme for day.

Registration is essential to receive full details of the event and location. 

Please note, this event is not hybrid and will not be recorded.

Programme:

9.15 – 9.45: Tea & Coffee
9.45 –10.00: Introductions

10.00 – 10.30: Ellen Smith Dennis (University of Warwick) - ‘Supplementary language school provision and language maintenance in Coventry, U.K.’

10.30 – 11.00: Shalini Bhorkar (St Mary’s Twickenham) - ‘Evoking a regulatory response for the heterogenous private tutoring sector: Insights from India’

11.00 – 11.30: Tea & Coffee

11.30 –12.00: Michael Hand (University of Birmingham) - ‘Indoctrination, religious supplementary schools and the scope of state regulation’

12.00 –12.30: Ruth Wareham (University of Birmingham) - ‘Towards an ethical regulatory framework for supplementary educational settings’

12.30 – 1.30: Lunch

1.30 – 2.00: Stephen Parker (St Mary’s Twickenham) - ‘This history of children’s work in the churches: does it point to the need for state regulation in the present?’

2.00 – 2.30: Pete Stones (University of Derby) - ‘Inclusion and decolonisation within British Brass band culture- Four band leaders’ perspectives’

2.30 – 3.00: Claire Kinsella (Manchester Metropolitan University) - ‘Hedging the Alternative, Provisioning the Alternative: A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Analysis of an educational form in motion’

3.00 – 3.30: Tea & Coffee

3.30 – 4.00: Malcolm Richards (University of the West of England), Camille London-Miyo (De Montfort University) & Amy Saleh (University of the West of England) - ‘Black teachers’ and the Black Supplementary School Movement: possibilities for an anti-racist teacher education movement across Britain’

4.00 – 4.30:  Summing up & next steps – Ruth Wareham, Michael Hand, Stephen Parker