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We present the design and characterization of a dual-mode radiofrequency (rf) cavity, a novel electromagnetic structure with potential benefits such as compactness, efficiency, cost reduction and multifunctionality. The cavity was designed to balance the dual-mode structure considering several factors, such as mode frequencies, quality factor (Q-factor), and minimizing cross talk between couplers. We preformed various tests to verify that this cavity preformed as expected compared to simulated results. As exampled here, a combination of the the fundamental mode TM 010 and the TM 011 mode, tuned to a harmonic of the fundamental, was realized to linearize the off-crest electric field, thereby enabling concurrent bunching and acceleration of charged particle (e.g. electrons) beam in high power systems. The reduction in the number of cavities required to bunch and accelerate promises cost and space savings over conventional approaches. This research lays the foundation for further exploration of multi-mode cavity applications and optimization for specific use cases, with potential implications for a wide range of fields including quantum information platforms.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact on all areas of society, including education. On 20 March 2020, schools closed their gates to all pupils apart from vulnerable pupils and children of keyworkers. In June, primary schools opened to selected year groups (Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6) and secondary schools invited pupils in Years 10 and 12 to have at least some face-to-face contact with their teachers. On 23 June, the Prime Minister confirmed that primary and secondary schools in England would return with full attendance in September (Danechi and Roberts, 2020). The Government (DfE, 2020e) acknowledged the challenge of achieving a balance between the priority of fully opening schools and controlling the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Schools are asked to ensure high standards of hygiene (for example through regular hand sanitising, deep cleaning and avoiding pupils sharing equipment). They are also asked to promote social distancing as far as possible (for example by splitting classes into smaller groups and keeping these separate from one other, and by separating year groups, reducing movement around the school, arranging desks in forward-facing rows, asking staff to socially distance and minimising the number of staff working with each group). This research investigates the impact of COVID-19 on mainstream primary and secondary schools in England. It follows an earlier National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) survey of schools' responses to COVID-19 in May (ED608586) and focuses on the challenges schools will face from September. It considers the extent to which pupils are behind in their curriculum learning in relation to teachers' normal expectations for the end of the school year; the impact of COVID-19 on the 'disadvantage gap'; the need for catch-up support from September; and the logistical issues and resource implications of opening schools fully while taking measures to reduce the risk of infection. It also considers schools' experiences of offering remote learning from March, and blended learning (remotely and in-school) from June, in order to inform decisions about the support and resources that schools will need in the event of future lockdowns.

When the British Government ordered all schools to close to the majority of pupils on March 20th, 2020, they were asked to provide on-site education for vulnerable pupils and the children of keyworkers (such as those working in public health, transport and supplying food). Since then, the level of school attendance for both vulnerable pupils and the children of keyworkers has been low, with only 15 per cent of vulnerable pupils attending school (DfE, 2020a). This report focuses on the engagement of vulnerable pupils and the children of keyworkers in-school; remote provision and welfare support for vulnerable pupils; and the challenges involved in continuing to offer this provision as schools begin to open more fully. The report is based on findings from a national survey of 1,233 senior leaders and 1,821 teachers in publicly-funded, mainstream primary and secondary schools in England. Responses between May 7th and 17th have been weighted by phase and free school meal (FSM) eligibility to provide a nationally representative picture. [For a summary report, "Schools' Responses to COVID-19: Key Findings from the Wave 1 Survey," see ED608586.]

On May 10th, 2020 the Prime Minister announced a phased return of some children to school in England from June 1st. Schools have been closed to all but vulnerable and keyworker children since March 20th, meaning that most children have been educated at home for a period of 10 weeks, and some year groups are not expected to return to school until the autumn. Nevertheless, opening their schools to selected year groups (Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and 6 in primary schools and Year 10 and 12 pupils in secondary schools) as well as continuing on-site provision for vulnerable and keyworker children and providing distance learning for others is a considerable challenge for school leaders. In this report the authors set out initial findings on how prepared school leaders are for opening more fully, what challenges they face and what guidance and support they need. This report is based on findings from a national survey of 1,233 senior leaders in publicly-funded, mainstream primary and secondary schools in England. Responses between May 7th and 17th have been weighted by phase and free school meal (FSM) eligibility to provide a nationally representative picture. [For a summary report, "Schools' Responses to COVID-19: Key Findings from the Wave 1 Survey," see ED608586.]

On March 20th, 2020, the British Government ordered schools to close to the majority of pupils. This was a pivotal moment as the majority of pupils transitioned to learning remotely from home and schools had to adapt rapidly to this new way of teaching. With the majority of pupils not expected to return to the classroom until the autumn, remote learning remains at the heart of how schools will need to continue to support pupils' learning in the coming months. Given the potential impact of this extended period of remote learning, National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) undertook an independent assessment to see how engaged pupils are, and the factors that might be driving this, as well as how schools are providing remote learning support for pupils. The report is based on findings from a national survey of 1,233 senior leaders and 1,821 teachers in publicly-funded, mainstream primary and secondary schools in England. Responses between May 7th and 17th have been weighted by phase and free school meal (FSM) eligibility to provide a nationally representative picture. The authors recognise that a number of factors are likely to influence pupils' engagement, including access to IT, their parents' engagement, and the type of support received from their schools. These issues are explored throughout the report. [For a summary report, "Schools' Responses to COVID-19: Key Findings from the Wave 1 Survey," see ED608586.]

Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, England faced a considerable teacher recruitment and retention challenge. The last ten years have been characterised by insufficient numbers of new teachers joining the profession and an increasing proportion leaving the state sector, particularly in secondary schools. This research is designed to shed some light on the immediate effects of the pandemic on senior leaders' and teachers' working lives. Based on the findings of a national survey of 1233 senior leaders and 1821 teachers in publicly-funded, mainstream primary and secondary schools in England, this report explores their levels of job satisfaction, their sense of control over teaching and learning practices, their weekly working hours, and the manageability of those hours. In doing so, it outlines the key pressures and challenges they are facing, together with the support mechanisms they are using to help them get through the current crisis. This report has found that, despite overall reductions in working hours, 41 per cent of senior leaders are still working more than 50 hours per week; a quarter are finding their workload unmanageable; and 31 per cent are not satisfied with their jobs. Key recommendations include the need for government, local authority services (LAs) and Trusts to ensure that schools have access to sufficient teaching capacity. Senior leaders need to use teaching assistants (TAs) effectively, and address the home working needs of the 22 per cent of teachers who are only able to work from home. In order to give leaders and teachers a greater sense of control, the Government needs to ensure that new directives are clear, kept to a minimum, reflect the concerns of the profession, and are sensitive to the pressures school leaders are facing. [For a summary report, "Schools' Responses to COVID-19: Key Findings from the Wave 1 Survey," see ED608586.]

This report provides a follow-up to the T Levels Research Study report, which was published by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in June 2019. It is based on discussions that took place at NFER's T Levels round table event, which was held in October 2019. The aim of the round table was to: (1) explore whether the T Levels research findings still resonated with providers and key sector representatives; (2) discuss the progress that had been made since the research was completed, as well as the challenges that had been tackled and those that remained; and (3) suggest the actions that needed to be taken by providers, policy makers and other key stakeholder to make T Levels a success. During the round table, providers reiterated that they welcomed being involved in T Levels from the beginning, were generally optimistic about the future of T Levels and were embracing the opportunity to be involved in the development phase. However, a number of challenges remain which they are proactively tackling and seeking solutions. Two appendices are included in the report. [For "T Levels Research: How Are Providers Preparing for Delivery?" see ED599354.]

The overall aim of this two-year study is to understand effective practice and lessons learned from approaches to curriculum design and employer engagement by University Technical Colleges (UTCs). Researchers used a case-study methodology supplemented with management information and a survey of UTC students' views. Key findings include: (1) Project-based learning (PBL) represents a different way of learning; projects are industry-relevant and most effectively developed in collaboration with employers to ensure that the outcomes achieved help students to secure positive future pathways; (2) The evidence indicates that PBL and employer input, where delivered in a high-quality embedded way, deliver wide-ranging impacts for students, including work-readiness, enhanced emotional skills, high-level technical skills, and qualifications/awards; (3) The main challenges UTCs faced were recruiting: a suitable range of employers (including SMEs) providing high-quality input into the curriculum; appropriate motivated students with an interest in the specialism; high-calibre staff with relevant knowledge, experience and skills; and (4) Advice for schools included: be proactive and target the 'right' employers; develop and train staff so they fully embrace the importance of employer input into PBL; promote UTCs (or the school) and their educational approach; in order to improve the evolving PBL model, consider including timetable changes; employ key staff with industry backgrounds and connections; make employer contributions clear and easy to understand; and celebrate successful completion of projects. [The Royal Academy of Engineering and the Edge Foundation commissioned this work.]

The overall aim of the study is to understand effective practice and lessons that can be learned from the approaches currently being adopted, particularly in relation to curriculum design and employer engagement, as well as the broader challenges facing University Technical Colleges (UTCs). More specifically the objectives of the research are to: (1) ascertain the use of project-based learning and employer engagement in the development and delivery of the curriculum within UTCs at Key Stage 4 and post-16; and (2) share the most effective practice and identify lessons learned, including areas that have been less successful, in order to inform future sector-wide practice. Key findings in this report include: (1) Employer engagement; (2) Perceived impact on young people; (3) Challenges; (4) What works well and advice for other UTCs; and (5) Next steps. The final report, will systematically draw together findings from phases one and two of this research,will share the most effective practice and will identify lessons learned in order to inform future sector-wide practice. [The Royal Academy of Engineering and the Edge Foundation commissioned this work. To read the final report, "Evaluation of University Technical Colleges," see ED594397.]

Evidence for the Frontline (E4F) is an online brokerage service designed to provide teachers and school leaders with timely access to relevant evidence on supporting young people's learning. It was developed by Sandringham School and the Institute for Effective Education (IEE) at The University of York, with support from the Coalition for Evidence Based Education (CEBE). Teachers and school leaders develop their own questions about improving teaching and learning and post them on the online platform. An online broker then matches the question to an academic researcher for a response; or signposts the teachers to relevant published evidence and answers already provided by the service. In some cases the broker supports the user to frame their question most effectively before passing it on. Examples of the research questions included: 'Are there any studies that set out to explicitly explore the influence that inter-school collaboration has on student outcomes?'; and 'Is there any evidence to suggest that students perform better if their Science teacher is teaching within their Science specialism up to Key Stage 4?' After a development phase, involving representatives from 12 schools, the service was delivered as a pilot in 32 schools (14 primary, 16 secondary and 2 special schools) between September 2015 and July 2016. The aim of the evaluation was to establish: whether the intervention is feasible to deliver; whether it has promise in terms of changing teacher attitudes and behaviour; and whether the service is suitable for evaluation in a randomised controlled trial. Key conclusions include: (1) Demand was at the upper end of expectations: 192 users from the 32 schools (around 9% of teachers) posted a question over the year of the pilot. Sixty percent of teachers who responded to the survey indicated that they used the service to ask a question or to read the responses; (2) The majority of users who responded to the survey had a positive experience of using the E4F service. They were satisfied with the quality of the answers provided and found the E4F website easy to use. The most common topics that users had evidence-based queries on included: pupil engagement and behaviour, developing independent thinking, differentiation, literacy, and feedback and monitoring pupil progress; (3) Users considered that there were benefits to using the E4F service, particularly in terms of providing opportunities for research discussion; increasing their interest and enthusiasm for research evidence; improving their schools' use of research evidence; and (although to a slightly lesser extent) helping to improve their practice in the classroom and pupils' learning; (4) The pilot identified a number of potential improvements needed to the service, including faster responses for teachers, better promotion of the brokerage role, and facilitation of greater direct dialogue between the teachers and researchers; and (5) Although there are signs that E4F is starting to make a difference to research engagement, it is not be suitable for a randomised controlled trial (RCT) measuring impact on pupil outcomes. The service is responsive to the questions teachers ask, which this pilot found to cover a wide range of subject areas, making pupil outcomes a challenge to measure using administrative data. Senior leaders and teachers were most positive in reporting that using E4F helped to improve their schools' approach to using research evidence and that it gave them opportunities to discuss research evidence with others. In addition, although to a slightly lesser extent, they felt it helped to improve their teaching.

Apprenticeships are currently undergoing reform in England. Funding mechanisms and the content of Apprenticeship programmes are being restructured. NFER and the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) have carried out a joint research project to inform future policy and practice with evidence on how providers of Apprenticeships are preparing for the reforms. More specifically, the objectives included: (1) to understand current knowledge of the new reforms amongst apprenticeship providers; (2) to explore areas of concern to providers, such as the move from Frameworks to standards; and the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in spring 2017; and (3) to establish providers' state of readiness and preparation for the reforms and what help they would welcome in preparing for them. This report, based on 15 in-depth interviews with senior leaders in Apprenticeships' providers, concludes that the current context of policy uncertainty and rapid change is putting considerable strain on the provider market. The methodology is appended.

This quantitative report presents parents' views of school choice, local accountability, and academy schools. The survey was conducted in December 2014 and January 2015 with a representative sample of 1,005 parents of children aged 5-18 in England. Samples selected included 50% male and 50% female respondents from across England. Other variables sampled included: respondent age, child age, and household income. Subgroup comparisons (e.g., by household income) are only presented where differences are statistically significant (p = 0.05).

This election factsheet highlights the following points: (1) Academies receive their funding directly from the government, rather than through local authorities like other state funded schools; (2) There are two types: converter academies (those previously with "good" or "outstanding" Ofsted grades that have converted to academy status) and sponsored academies (mostly underperforming schools converting to academy status and run by sponsors); (3) Comparing the most recent Ofsted grade of each type of school, converter academies are the most likely to be good and outstanding while sponsored academies are more likely than maintained schools to be graded requires improvement or inadequate. But this is to be expected as converters were high performing, and sponsored low performing, to begin with; and (4) School performance in sponsored secondary academies increased more quickly than in similar schools. The improvement was greatest in schools that had been academies for the longest, implying that the effect of academy status has a gradual impact on improving performance. There's little evidence available which looks at primaries. Types of primary and secondary schools in England including academies by Multi-Academy Trust, open academies, academies in development (March 2015), and academies' Ofsted performance are discussed herein.

The interaction between deprivation and education is a critical relationship with profound implications for a country's economic prosperity and the social mobility of its citizens. This is highlighted by the Welsh Government which states that: "A good education is critical to better life chances and a commitment to achieving this has been an important part of the culture of modern Wales since devolution." Because of this the Welsh Government commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to carry out a research study to replicate research undertaken for a report on deprivation and education published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (2009). The study aims to provide an analysis which replicates the data tables presented in the DCSF report with data relevant to Wales and additional tables and charts specific to the Welsh context. Further analysis looked at the progression between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 and provided a descriptive commentary identifying the content of the tables and the differences contained within them. Key Findings from the report reveal: (1) Pupils eligible for FSM are more likely to be absent from school than non-FSM pupils. In secondary schools the absence rate of FSM pupils is around double that of non-FSM pupils between Years 8 and 11; (2) Pupils eligible for FSM have, on average, lower attainment than other pupils throughout their progression in the education system in Wales. The gap in attainment identified at Foundation Phase remains at the end of Key Stage 2 and the gap widens further in secondary education; and (3) The attainment gap at GCSE has decreased over time but the attainment of FSM pupils at GCSE remains comparatively low.

The PhunkyFoods Programme (PFP), launched in 2005 by Purely Nutrition, teaches primary children key messages related to healthy eating and physical exercise in a light hearted and fun manner through art, drama, music, play and practical experience with food. It aims to enhance pupil performance, increase concentration, and improve behaviour, motivation and self-esteem. The overarching aims of the research were to evaluate the effectiveness of the PFP in terms firstly of its implementation in schools, and secondly of its impact on pupil outcomes. This report finds that the PFP was popular with school staff, parents/carers and pupils. The PFP's lesson plans and resources were viewed as well designed, fit for purpose, and easy to use, and fitted well into schools' existing health-related activity. The vast majority of schools intended to continue using the PFP. The PFP clearly helped expand, embed and enhance health-related teaching, through increasing school staff competence and confidence, complementing other initiatives and positively impacting on pupil knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. Question schedules are appended. (Contains 1 table.) [Funding for this research was provided by Purely Nutrition.]

Edwards et al question aspects of the methods used in two of our published papers that report results showing Levy walk like and Levy flight movement patterns of marine predators.The criticisms are focused on the applicability of some statistical methodologies used to detect power law distributions.We reply to the principal criticisms levelled at each of these papers in turn including our own reanalysis of specific datasets and find that neither of our papers conclusions are overturned in any part by the issues raised.Indeed, in addition to the findings of our research reported in these papers there is strong evidence accumulating from studies worldwide that organisms show movements and behaviour consistent with scale invariant patterns such as Levy flights., Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures

The results reported in this document are from a large scale survey of employers, apprentices, Local Learning and Skills Councils (LLSCs), and providers carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) between June 2005 and March 2006, which explored their views and experiences of the use and impact of training allowances. Reported findings include: (1) Female apprentices were found to be significantly more likely to be receiving a training allowance instead of a salary than males, apparently linked with the fact that females were more highly represented in sectors such as childcare and land-based occupations; (2) Thirty percent of young people reported that they would have started their apprenticeship even if they had found out, before they started, that they would not be paid for it: the majority would have taken an alternative route, most commonly other paid employment; and (3) Approximately one-third of trainees were satisfied with the level of payments they received during their apprenticeship, but more than half were not satisfied (28 per cent were dissatisfied, while a further 24 per cent were very dissatisfied, and more than 25 per cent dropped out of their training primarily due to insufficient apprenticeship income. Two appendixes are included: (1) Representativeness of Respondents to the Survey of Trainees; and (2) Background Information on Responding Employers. (Contains 13 footnotes and 17 tables.)

Many school accountability programs, including the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act are built on the premise that the threat of sanctions attached to failure will produce higher student achievement. However, the stigma associated with failing schools and the expected costs of possible future sanctions may lead experienced teachers to leave these schools for other opportunities. This may undermine the program's improvement efforts. Particularly it may lead failing schools to rely on a higher proportion of novice teachers. This study looks at elementary and secondary schools in California from 2002-2006 to determine the effect of failing to meet academic performance thresholds on teacher experience under the NCLB accountability system. Because failing schools differ in important ways from schools that meet performance targets, the author takes advantage of the racial subgroup rules to compare groups of schools that may have different failure probabilities despite similar profiles. The author finds that failure to meet AYP is associated with decreases in aggregate teacher experience and increases in the proportion of novice teachers. (Contains 7 tables, 6 figures and 1 footnote.)

Educational interventions are often narrowly targeted and temporary, and evaluations often focus on the short-run impacts of the intervention. Insofar as the positive effects of educational interventions fade out over time, however, such assessments may be misleading. In this paper, we develop a simple statistical framework to empirically assess the persistence of treatment effects in education. To begin, we present a simple model of student learning that incorporates permanent as well as transitory learning gains. Using this model, we demonstrate how the parameter of interest--the persistence of a particular measurable education input--can be recovered via instrumental variables as a particular local average treatment effect. We initially motivate this strategy in the context of teacher quality, but then generalize the model to consider educational interventions more generally. Using administrative data that links students and teachers, we construct measures of teacher effectiveness and then estimate the persistence of these teacher value-added measures on student test scores. We find that teacher-induced gains in math and reading achievement quickly erode. In most cases, our point estimates suggest a one-year persistence of about one-fifth and rule out a one-year persistence rate higher than one-third.