S1E14: Rachel Macfarlane on Learning to Learn, Rethinking Assessment and Obstetrics for Schools

Rachel Macfarlane is the Director of Education Services at Herts for Learning, providing the strategic lead for all education services to schools across all phases. Prior to joining Herts for Learning, Rachel was the Principal of Isaac Newton Academy in Ilford, in the London borough of Redbridge. She opened this non-selective all-through academy for 4-18 year olds in 2012, the school was rated Outstanding by Ofsted when inspected in 2014, and when they received their first set of results in 2017, they went straight into the top 1% of schools in the country. Rachel has recently written a fantastic book about how to close the disadvantage gap, called Obstetrics for Schools. Since the invention of obstetrics, the infant mortality rate has decreased by several orders of magnitude. In the book, Rachel makes a compelling case that if we can import some of this thinking into education, maybe we do the same for the disadvantage gap, and perhaps even get beyond the point where one third of young people leave school after 12 years branded a failure. Here are a few of the really quite astonishing things people have written about Rachel’s book: "Obstetrics for Schools takes a bleak account of poverty, disadvantage and underachievement and – using real-life case studies and data – shows that it doesn’t have to be like this. If ever there were a time to recalibrate our education system around equity, it’s now. If ever there were a book to help us to do it, it’s this one." (Geoff Barton, General Secretary, Association of School and College Leaders) "It is a disgrace that we can accept that a third of our children will fail at school. Such a rate of attrition, and such inequity, is no longer tolerated in childbirth, and it should not be tolerated in schools. Medicine has developed robust procedures to make sure this doesn’t happen – but where are the equivalents in education? Thankfully, they are right here, in Rachel Macfarlane’s brilliant Obstetrics for Schools. Wise, passionate, compassionate and, above all, practical, this book is an intimate guide to reducing the poverty gap in education. Every head teacher, administrator and minister of education should read it and be judged on their responses to it. If this doesn’t happen, it will only show that we as a society still don’t really care, and that intellectual and ethical torpor still rule the roost." (Guy Claxton, author of The Learning Power Approach: Teaching Learners to Teach Themselves) "Rachel Macfarlane’s book is exactly what we all need right now. The perfect antidote to COVID-19 gloom, it’s a stirring call to arms in the fight against education inequality. Rachel counters the defeatist acceptance that the education system will inevitably fail some students and, through a series of case studies, shows how it is possible to ensure that every student receives a great education. Accessible, practical and inspiring, Obstetrics for Schools is a great read for anyone who cares about education." (Lucy Heller, Chief Executive, Ark) Here are some articles either by or about Rachel: https://arkonline.org/blog/rachel-macfarlane-how-our-brand-new-school-went-straight-top-1 https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/jul/01/leaders-schools-g2g-g4g-talking-heads https://www.headteacher-update.com/best-practice-article/knowledge-and-skills-how-you-can-achieve-both-in-your-school-guy-claxton-education-1/228451/ https://bigeducation.org/lfl-content/the-responsibility-of-educators-to-nurture-strong-relationships-with-learners-and-their-families/ https://www.hertsforlearning.co.uk/news/great-expectations-new-herts-learning-leadership-programme-launches-hertfordshire-schools https://theeducation.exchange/the-role-of-the-teacher-as-facilitator-of-out-of-school-learning/ The Rethinking Education podcast is hosted and produced by Dr James Mannion. You can contact him at rethinking-ed.org/contact, or via @RethinkingJames on Twitter.